Chapter 455 - Palace of Darkness (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

As the Abyss of Tharlen had no day and night, the sky above was a constant dull gray. While the black flames could be seen everywhere, they did not provide any warmth in the world filled with haze and cold. Staying here for a long period of time made one feel as though their body was rotting away.

Lin Li could barely remember how long he had been flying along the Water of Death; the only thing he knew was that the sky above him was always a dull gray and the water beneath his feet was a dark red. As the world seemed to only consist of two colors, the whole journey was dry and boring.

If he had to think of anything that added a little something to their journey, it would be the fact that Hutton’s mana would be depleted every once in a while, and the two of them would have no choice but to take a rest by the Water of Death. The low-ranking demons that would appear then were the only excitement in their boring journey.

Hutton had to take a rest 14 times throughout the whole journey….

The 14th time he took a rest, Lin Li finally noticed that the river started flowing faster.

“I finally made it to the end…” Lin Li could hardly wait to fly into the sky after Hutton regained his mana.

Indeed, Lin Li noticed that the Water of Death ceased to flow after they flew another 2000 or so meters. A ma.s.sive waterfall appeared before Lin Li’s eyes as water fell with a deafening noise from the top of the waterfall. There was no end to the waterfall that they could see, just as if it was a never-ending abyss.

“The Palace of Darkness is down there.” After getting Hutton’s attention, Lin Li plunged into water and dived down while closely following the edge of the waterfall.

The scenery whizzed past them on both sides like a movie on fast-forward. Lin Li dived for a good half an hour before he finally saw a huge lake.

He cast a Levitation Spell and slowed down the speed at which he was diving before coming to a stop and lightly landing at the edge of the lake.

After waiting for Hutton to land, the two of them circled the lake.

“This place is little strange…” Lin Li said as he brushed his chin with a face filled with doubt.

This place was strange indeed as they could not hear the sound of water even though there was clearly a waterfall coming down from the sky. There was not even a ripple in sight; it was as if the waterfall did not end at the lake, but went through an invisible door to another world instead.

“Mage Felic, look… look here!” Hutton exclaimed and pointed at the middle of the lake just as Lin Li was deep in thought.

“What?” Lin Li paused before he looked at where Hutton was pointing at.

Then Lin Li’s eyes became big…

There was a reflection in the middle of the lake!

“What… What’s going on?” In his surprise, Lin Li did not even bother to think about whether the lake might be poisonous before he flew over to the center of the lake with a Levitation Spell.

Then, he inhaled sharply. The reflection in the center of the lake was clearly that of a towering palace. It was mysterious, solemn, and eerily enchanting, all at the same time. What else could this be if it was not the legendary Palace of Darkness?

But where was this reflection coming from?

Lin Li looked around with wide eyes, but there did not seem to be anything besides the gloomy gray skies, dark red water, and raging black flames. Even the demons that roamed everywhere seemed to have disappeared without a trace, much less the Palace of Darkness!

“I must be seeing things…” Lin Li stared with wide eyes as his mouth hung agape. Wasn’t this too strange? The legendary Palace of Darkness did not exist, so why was there a reflection in the middle of the lake? Wasn’t this too much of a joke?

“See, I told you! If not for my help, you might not even find the true Palace of Darkness even if you ask around all your life.” After staying quiet the whole time on Lin Li’s back, Connoris finally spoke. “Huh, I’m not tooting my own horn, but besides the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, there could not have been more than three people in the whole of Anril who knew where the true Palace of Darkness is!”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Perhaps it was because he had been cooped up in the Ring of Endless Storm for too long, but there seemed to be no end to Connoris’s singing his own praises. Unfortunately, Lin Li had a favor to ask of him, and thus he did not dare to cut him off out of frustration, and even had to add a few words of affirmation occasionally so as to satisfy this lonely hammer’s twisted sense of achievement.

Connoris’ praises for himself lasted a good 10 minutes—until Lin Li thought his ears might drop off and Connoris realized there was nothing more that he could praise himself about. Only then did he happily say, “Alright, step aside, both of you!”

“Sure.” Lin Li nodded before he quickly came up with an excuse and dragged Hutton to the side of the lake.

Then, Lin Li heard an incredibly convoluted string of chants coming from afar…

The chant was incredibly strange: it was not said in the common language, nor was it in the language of the High Elves. It was not even in language of the ancient deities nor that of the ancient dragons. It was a language that Lin Li had never heard of. However, the language had simple sounds, and was merely a mix of repeated vowels and consonants. There were even a few sounds that sounded like the growls of magical beasts; based on that, Lin Li wondered if it could be the legendary language of the demons?

Hutton fared no better than Lin Li. In fact, he had been in a constant state of shock ever since Connoris made his appearance.

It was not that Hutton was making a big fuss out of nothing—anybody in his position would have the same reaction. After all, his companion had suddenly produced a hammer that could chant spells! Anyone else would have been terrified to the point of insanity, so he was quite impressive to only be in a state of shock…

“Mage Felic, this… this…” Hutton had a glazed look the whole time, and he even stuttered when he spoke.

“Well, this…” Lin Li scratched his head before seriously replying, “I picked it up along the way. At first, I thought it was left behind by a human blacksmith, but I didn’t think that this fellow was capable of speaking. I think this must be some twisted demon, so you should be careful not to ever go too near. Who knows whether this fellow will hurt anyone…”