Damn, damn, damn!
Is this family completely insane?
They actually want to summon Fiddlesticks?!
Li Lin's heart raced violently, almost leaping from his throat.
He was fairly certain this was the house of Andel and Natalie.
The content on this parchment was an obscure poem from an unknown author, passed down from a distant era of Demacia.
For various reasons, this poem had not been preserved; instead, it had been lost in the endless flow of history.
Its subject matter was easily understood, focusing on the ten ancient demons, with particular emphasis on the foremost among them: the fear demon, Fiddlesticks.
However, even Li Lin couldn't discern the precise meaning the poem intended to convey; he could only speculate broadly.
From what he understood, currently, only Fiddlesticks was able to roam freely in the outside world, and it was this fearsome demon whose legends circulated across the globe.
As for the other nine demons, there wasn't even a mention of them in any literature or texts.
Considering the term "crown," could it be that they were sealed like the Star Forged Dragon King donning a diadem?
Yet pondering this was meaningless at the moment.
The crucial questions were: Where did Andel and Natalie obtain this parchment, and had they successfully summoned Fiddlesticks?
Given the current situation where all the villagers of Hengfeng Village had seemingly vanished, Li Lin was almost certain of the latter.
Fiddlesticks had indeed manifested, consuming the souls of all the villagers.
As for the first question, there was no time to contemplate it.
Li Lin quickly used Data Mind to check if the parchment was cursed.
After confirming it was safe, he summoned another drone to retrieve the scroll while this one continued to be controlled by the AI to explore the house.
While waiting, he thought for a moment and pulled out a tiny storage box from his pocket, from which he produced a glowing glass marble.
[Zoe's Marble: Just crush it, and Zoe will be by your side in no time.]
[Zoe: I'll be there soon~~ I promise!]
Having confirmed that Fiddlesticks was lurking around the village, Li Lin crushed the "glass" marble, which felt just like hollow plastic, without hesitation.
However, just as he had anticipated, Zoe did not appear immediately as she had promised.
"Ugh, of course... I wonder how long that unreliable girl will take to show up at such a critical moment."
Reluctantly, he was about to use Morgana's feather.
This was his only opportunity to summon her, and he had hoped to wait until the Demacian magical reforms encountered obstacles before calling her forth.
Two to three minutes later, the drone returned with the parchment.
Without any hesitation, Li Lin quickly sought out Jarvan IV, who was engaged in conversation with Shyvana, and handed him the scroll.
"Your Highness, this incident is connected to demons; we must evacuate immediately."
Jarvan IV looked up at Li Lin, surprised, and upon examining the parchment, his expression changed: "This is... a poem describing demons?"
Li Lin was taken aback that he could understand ancient Demacian script and recognized it was about demons.
Noticing Li Lin's reaction, Jarvan IVquickly explained, "Studying all the texts of Demacia is a necessary course for the heir... The library of the Lightshield has some scattered records on this."
He then stood up, followed by Shyvana. "Have you found any other clues regarding the demon?"
"Your Highness, this is not a trivial matter," Li Lin said seriously, "That is the foremost of the ancient ten demons; regardless of the situation, we cannot linger here any longer."
Hearing the commotion, Barrett emerged from the tent.
The camp was quiet; he had overheard most of the conversation between Li Lin and Jarvan IV, and thus he advised, "Jarvan, this is not the time to be reckless."
His tone bore a hint of reproach. "Now that it's been established that a demon is at play, you cannot gamble with your life or the lives of your soldiers, even if you are concerned."
"Father…"
"Do not forget, even if we have rune-forged armor, it only mitigates some of the magical effects; we are still mere mortals.
"The Fearless Vanguard can coordinate to slay a dragonling. While we are uncertain about the demon's strength, I believe it surpasses those hybrid creatures with only a trace of dragon blood.
"Are you suggesting we risk our own lives to gauge the demon's power?"
Jarvan IV frowned in silence.
"Tedd taught you that as a leader, the most important principle in leading soldiers into battle is?"
"To prioritize the lives of the soldiers and minimize unnecessary sacrifices."
"Correct, avoid unnecessary sacrifices." Barrett walked over to Jarvan IV, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Let's retreat."
…
…
Jarvan IV heeded the counsel of Li Lin and Barrett, ordering a swift dismantling of the camp in preparation for evacuation.
Isidore and the others had long departed, heading down the river toward Terbisia, which was also their next marching direction.
As they packed their gear, Li Lin switched his perspective back to the nanobots exploring Andel's home, and the AI made a new discovery.
Beneath the main house, there was a newly excavated space.
Rather than referring to this narrow underground chamber as a cellar, it was more fitting to call it a small altar.
Countless animal carcasses had been drained of blood and eviscerated, laid out in one corner of the room.
Their blood had been used to draw a hexagram magic circle identical to that on the parchment.
Yet the organs, like the heart and lungs, with their dim colors, lay dry in the corners and nodes of the hexagram formation, showing no signs of decay whatsoever.
[This must be their altar for summoning the demon of fear.]
[I can't understand why these animal carcasses and organs, which have been here for at least two weeks, show no signs of decomposition. This defies the laws of nature.]
Could even microorganisms be affected...?
Li Lin initially believed that Fiddlesticks' fear was directed at beings possessing the primal emotion of "fear."
However, upon closer inspection, it seemed to influence all life forms except for plants.
"I can't stay here any longer…"
Before Li Lin could call back the nano-drone, one of the machines scouting the field suddenly captured a humanoid figure on the dirt road leading to the rice paddies.
He stood silently in the middle of the path, tilting his head, obscuring his features, but dressed in the same clothes as Andel, who had gone missing today.
"Is that… Andel ?"
Li Lin's eyes widened.
He had not expected that after several hours of absence, Andel —whom he had already equated with "death"—would reappear in the village.
"Why? Why would you listen to them… you're all murderers… you're all fucking murderers!"
The voice was strikingly similar to Andel's, like an amplified version of his mad ramblings.
Yet when this voice reached Li Lin's ears, it felt as if sharp iron spikes pierced his brain, churning his thoughts while unearthing the darkness hidden within.
[No! Master, that is not Andel. I have detected no signs of life!]
Before Li Lin, now in a daze, could issue a command, the AI abruptly severed the connection with the drone.
[According to my analysis, that should be a scarecrow.]
"Damn it… we've been targeted!"
Regaining his senses, Li Lin covered his head, his mood sinking as he hurriedly transformed his clothing into battle armor.
The demonic assault was shockingly sudden.
Over ten minutes had passed, yet Zoe had still not arrived.
Suppressing the aftereffects of his headache, Li Lin reluctantly retrieved the feather Morgana had given him, channeling magic into it.
Moments later, the black feather in his hand brimmed with magic, swiftly transforming into countless blue motes that dispersed into the air.
However, just then, a chilling sense of dread washed over him, as a cacophony of cawing ravens erupted around him.
Amid this discordant sound, a hoarse, deep voice—one that no earthly creature could possibly mimic—uttered a word that sent a jolt of terror through him:
"Earth… Earth!"
(End of chapter)
=========================================================
DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE
SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS
PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).