"You seem to have something on your mind?" The voice of the Black Earl reached Angel’s ears.
Everyone also turned around, looking at Angel with confusion.
Angel smiled lightly: "I was thinking, the information I received said that the Flying Phantoms were supposed to appear before the Maneater Flower, which means that there should be Flying Phantoms around here. But now, it seems this information might be wrong."
Dox: "It’s normal for information to be inaccurate, and besides, Flying Phantoms aren’t necessarily here. The underground aqueducts are so vast, and Flying Phantoms are fast-flying magical creatures, so it’s normal for them not to linger in one spot."
Angel nodded: "You’re right, Flying Phantoms aren’t like Maneater Flowers, which can remain stationary for extended periods. But Flying Phantoms... even just for survival, they can’t stay in one place forever. I misunderstood."
After a bit of "self-reflection," Angel looked toward the small alleyway at the edge of the square: "Let’s go, even though the Flying Phantoms aren’t here, the information on the Maneater Flower must be accurate. We should go and confront it."
With that, Angel took the lead and headed towards the passageway, his previously preoccupied expression now completely gone.
Everyone felt that Angel’s behavior was somewhat strange, but now wasn’t the time to question it. They exchanged glances and, without speaking, followed Angel into the dark alley.
Just after entering the alley and walking only a few steps, everyone stopped.
It wasn’t that they stopped voluntarily, but because Angel, who was at the forefront, had stopped, so they followed suit.
Vay wanted to ask Angel why he stopped, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Dox.
Dox put a finger to his lips, signaling Vay to remain silent, and then gestured for Kaier to come over, retreating out of the alley with Vay.
"Don’t come in for a while. Rest assured, if I activate the Plane Corridor later, I’ll take you away immediately."
Dox made a promise through the Mind Ribbon.
Initially, Vay and Kaier didn’t know what was happening, but seeing Dox’s serious expression, they seemed to understand.
"Infant Spirit, is it appearing?" Vay asked softly.
Dox solemnly nodded.
Vay opened his mouth, wanting to say something but felt that speaking now would be verbose and somewhat melodramatic.
In the end, Vay only whispered, "Be careful."
Dox nodded without replying further, quickly returning to stand by the Black Earl and Angel.
No matter how strong this Infant Spirit might be, Dox, as a Bloodline Wizard, could definitely not retreat. Especially, he couldn’t let an illusion wizard lead the front line.
Quickening his pace, Dox aimed to overtake Angel, ready with a series of sarcastic remarks raring to go.
However, just as Dox prepared to move past Angel, he was intercepted by Angel’s outstretched hand.
Confused, Dox looked at Angel, who merely gave him a glance, telling him to be patient.
Despite Dox’s mind being filled with questions, the group had long trusted Angel’s arrangements, so even without an explanation, Dox stopped. Though he stubbornly refused to step back, choosing instead to stand alongside Angel.
Once stationary, Dox directed his gaze forward.
A tiny silhouette was barely discernible ahead of them.
He had glimpsed it earlier but was concerned about Vay and Kaier at the time, so didn’t take a closer look. Now scrutinizing it, his brow involuntarily furrowed.
That faint and elusive small figure was likely the Infant Spirit. Its precise appearance was currently obscured, so what worried Kaier wasn’t the Infant Spirit itself but something else.
The alley ahead was covered with coagulated blood-red wax, laid out irregularly, as if a wax wall had been scorched into a large hole.
Yet, what was crucial wasn’t the wax-strewn ground, but the layers of white weaving webs ahead.
These webs were indistinguishable from spider webs, just larger and tighter, clinging to the alley walls.
Moreover, there wasn’t just one web but many interlaced throughout. Through the dense web gaps, countless more webs were visible, layer upon layer, extending endlessly.
Their inability to clearly see the Infant Spirit’s features was because it wasn’t on the outermost web layer.
It resided behind several layers of webs, and through its shadow, its peculiar actions were evident—climbing walls, hanging from ceilings, occasionally frenzied.
Though the Infant Spirit was not visible, it could be set aside temporarily. The immediate concern was the dense layers of white weaving webs.
"Does it look like these are made of silk?" Dox deduced from the web’s reflections and the gentle swaying at the edges that the webs appeared unlike sticky, thin spider webs but seemed constructed from silk fabric forming a net-like structure.
Angel’s eyes flickered slightly with light, indicating the use of the Eye of Nalda.
After a while, Angel calmly closed his eyes, the light fading away.
"That’s silk." When Angel reopened his eyes, he provided a definite answer.
"Really silk?" Dox hesitated: "There’s dripping wax and woven silk everywhere, it feels like we’ve arrived at Elysium Pavillion..."
The Black Earl shot Dox a cold glance, prompting Dox to feign a cough and quell his colorful imagination.
"What I mean is, since it’s silk, using fire should work, right? Might as well melt the wax on the ground, it’s an eyesore otherwise."
Angel: "It is silk, but not ordinary silk. As for the wax on the floor, I couldn’t perceive anything unusual, but its presence here suggests it isn’t ordinary."
"Not ordinary silk?" Dox questioned: "What’s unusual about it?"
Angel: "Can’t you sense it yourself?"
"Facing the undead, releasing spiritual power recklessly is practically inviting death." Dox spoke earnestly.
Angel: "..." These words are for the two apprentices, why is an official wizard worrying?"
The Black Earl added lightly: "Infant Spirits, like the undead, once they detect living beings, they rush forward to hunt without hesitation. Yet now, the Infant Spirit remains busy within the depths of these webs, indicating two possibilities."
"First, Angel’s illusionary realm has obscured its senses, and it hasn’t discovered us."