The Beginning and Ending of Silent Hours is not a story about revenge or satisfaction.
No one is the winner. Whether it is the Silent Hour who killed the villagers and was hanged by the villagers, or the villagers who were retaliated by the Silent Hour and killed countless humans.
In any case, from today on, another shadow that shrouded mankind has disappeared.
With the reputation and humanity of hunting for the quiet time, Lu Li returned to the undercurrent of Midnight City.
Full of humanity lingered around him. Wherever he passed, buds emerged from the soil and grass stretched out at his feet.
The strange thing foraging for food in the ditch at the edge of the castle raised its head. The smell it smelled made it feel crazy desire, and it retreated into the sewer due to the terrifying aura surrounding the castle.
In the castle hall, the whisper of the Swamp Mother echoed:
"He's back...and I can no longer feel the power of the quiet time."
"Dead in silence."
Lu Li's wheelhouse appeared in the empty corridor outside the hall.
The Land of Light resumed the suspended negotiations, and before heading to the Brood again, Ophelia asked Lu Li: "Do you want to release some humanity?"
"It's not necessary anymore."
The swamp is already aware of their existence. There is no need to hide his identity, and the more human Lu Li is, the greater his appeal.
And full humanity will bring a false sense of fulfillment - as if being favored by this world.
Lu Li's return was "received" by the Brood. The passage paved with flesh and blood leading to the interior of the nest was crowded with the Brood's offspring after hearing the news. The allies who followed were on guard, worried that the Brood would attack Lu Li.
Lu Li, who was filled with tens of thousands of humanity, did not arouse the desire for plunder in the Brood and its offspring. When they talked about the swamp again, the Brood said that it wanted to personally witness that what he said was true.
So Lu Li came outside the nest, and the pervading dreamland turned the soil under his feet into transparency, extending deeper into the depths.
The rock formations gradually become harder and deeper due to the depth, and the withered roots of the World Tree are far more spectacular than the giant trees above the surface. And beneath the layers of roots, an oval and yellowish swamp like an egg emerges before the eyes——
The swamp still maintains its original size, silent and quiet.
He even showed no response to Lu Li's exploration, as if the radical actions of the Land of Light were just stress caused by ridiculous hallucinations.
Lu Li and the others knew that this was a poor disguise in the swamp, but the Brood had no way of knowing. Therefore, it refused to form an alliance, and left a loose condition: if Lu Li was willing to give humanity, the Brood could join them.
"Why didn't you agree to the brood?" Claire sat on the head of the eldest sister, who sat in the hood.
"The Brood is a natural ally against the swamp. This position does not change whether it is agreed or not." Lu Li replied. And the Brood broke its promise - at first it only asked Lu Li to speak.
A being who cannot contain his greed is not a suitable ally.
"I don't understand." Claire lowered her voice, seeming to avoid the mother next to her. "What's your stance? This kind of vocabulary is too complicated for a young bird."
"The Kingdom of Allen is preparing to invade the ancient Saint Mark, and their army will pass through the neutral city-state of Chais." Mother of the Swamp said.
Claire fell into a thoughtful silence.
The Swamp Mother talks about the swamp she saw earlier: "It's camouflaging itself..."
Whether he traps the Ghoul King or maintains silence, it shows that the swamp has wisdom and knows what is happening in the outside world.
Its silence has indeed blinded many strange people, and they still refuse to believe that the swamp is awake.
And the restless Midnight City weirdos may be careless.
Advising won't change anything.
Only lessons will come.
But the Land of Light cannot really leave Midnight City unprepared for the swamp.
"We should maintain the plan... Lu Li, I have a new idea." The Swamp Mother said at this time.
…
The swarm of bat monsters took off from the castle and rose to a strange and unreachable height. The Ghost Town Cultists on their backs threw something outward.
A "snowfall" dominated by the Land of Light enveloped Midnight City, falling like leaflets of snowflakes.
The nuns wandering around the Midnight City curiously received the flyer, which contained a warning about the swamp's awakening and an illustration: an egg-like oval shadow stretched out its tentacles to cover the city above.
Monster claws in dark alleys or deep in ruins grab the crushed leaflets and shrink back into the shadows; monsters fighting with their prey swallow the leaflets and flesh together; monsters chasing "snowflakes" crash into death; or stuff the leaflets into their mouths
, liking the smell of paper, he picked up leaflets and stuffed them into his mouth, cleaning the streets like a scavenger.
Similar scenes happened all over Midnight City.
The response to the first batch of flyers was mediocre. Many of the eccentrics were illiterate and could not even read pictures.
Mother of the Swamp produced the second batch of leaflets with the help of nuns from Maiden's Grace Church - there are no words, no pictures, they directly form a babble in the ears and soul when touched.
The weirdos were wary of the pagan objects, but as the third, fourth and more batches of leaflets fell, and they were unable to reach the bat monsters high in the sky, the weirdness of Midnight City could only passively accept it.
…
Vicious obscure green flames suddenly burned on the rag doll carved with runes.
In the corner of the hall, the nun blew the ashes exuding a strange aura into the rune wooden box and placed the new rag doll in its place.
This is the eighth stand-in doll to bear the backlash on behalf of the Swamp Mother.
Covering Midnight City always comes with a cost... and in a way this is good news - it means there are at least eight beings in Midnight City who can harm the Swamp Mother.
Lu Li is also here. Because making a stand-in doll requires humanity, and because only here will the elder sister stop disturbing Lu Li because she can't stand the scene.
Unfortunately, their efforts did not yield much results - the visiting delegation led by Chris kept running into obstacles.
But whether you believe it or not, Weird is at least on guard against the swamp - it will be difficult for the swamp to swallow up the ruins of Midnight City like it suddenly swallowed up Midnight City.
The nun from Girls' Grace Church came close to Lu Li at this time, and a cheerful voice like wind chimes came from the hood: "Lu Li, Lu Li~ Our sisters have found a few strange guys, maybe you will be interested~"
Lu Li followed the nuns to a hidden place and discovered a group of aliens with most human characteristics and thinking.
They are actually the survivors of Midnight City.
"Ten survivors of the wasteland..."
The dance song that arrived at this time proved their human identity.
The mottled dream suddenly faded, sending a survivor far away. The ritual was broken, and the illusive pale dance skirt gradually faded away under Lu Li's calm gaze.
After returning the survivors to the castle, Lu Li cooperated with the Swamp Mother's plan and used the reputation of the swamp to condense the strangeness of the dark wilderness.
or escape.
At this time, Claire, who had been quiet for a long time, shouted belatedly:
"I understand! What you mean by metaphor is that the brood cannot move, and it has to help fight the swamp regardless of whether it is an ally or not!"
