Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 872 - 872: Evil Creatures of Pantanal (Seeking Monthly Pass)

Looking from the outside at this oil painting of the temple, the temple itself is not large, so the room before my eyes should be the only room in the temple.

This ancient temple's interior room is still illuminated by the eerie green glimmer of those vines, and the Grand Witch, clad in a lavish dress, is currently confronting a man with a hooked nose. Both of their Rings of Fate are fully manifested, with Miss Sylvia's ring having ten rings, while the man's ring has nine rings.

Even though the Grand Witch did not show any visible injuries on the surface, and even her dress did not seem to have any scratches, her Ring of Fate was tightly bound by the vines climbing the walls. Dozens of vines wound around the ring from all directions, with the Spirit Runes on her ring flickering weakly.

Meanwhile, the blue-eyed, hooked-nose man was now controlling the temple, his Ring of Fate rotating normally behind him. But his condition was even worse; his face was deathly pale, his chest heaving violently with each gasp, and his left arm, severed by a sharp weapon, lay nearby.

The desecration element emanating from the dreadful plant statue, though not as potent as a true Evil God's Divine Statue, still made Shard dare not look directly at it. When Miss Sylvia saw Shard appear here, she immediately spoke to stop him from advancing further:

"Don't come any closer! This is the Pantanal Temple, an arcane technique projected by the original beliefs of Pantanal into subspace. These vines will bind all powers. Right now, I'm temporarily trapped, but I've also locked this man within this space. Find a way to shoot flames from outside, burn the statue, and once it's gone, we can escape."

"I never expected this. I was originally hired to prevent the worst-case scenario. I didn't expect there to be a High Ring Sorcerer here. Madam, who exactly are you?"

The man, also speaking in an almost unidentifiable Carsonrick accent, glared unwillingly at the woman in front of him:

"Who are you? Why is there a High Ring Sorcerer beside Margaret Anjou? The Church protects the Royal Family, but weren't they also forbidden from interacting freely with unofficial Circle Sorcerers?"

"Who I am doesn't matter, but you're definitely doomed."

It was evident that Miss Sylvia was in a foul mood. She turned to Shard:

"Get to it."

"Don't even think about it! The glimmer of Pantanal shines here; flames will be useless!"

"Flames useless?"

Shard retorted, speaking quickly:

"Madam, Her Highness is missing; we need to find her as soon as possible. I think throwing fireballs from outside might not work; these vines are too agile. I must get close to burn down that statue."

"But these plants..."

Miss Sylvia knew Shard was only a Four-Ring Sorcerer, and the space's power was suppressed here, not enough for him to reach out to that horrifying plant statue in a single step.

"It's alright, trust me."

Shard took a deep breath and, under the gaze of the two within the room, stepped inside.

The green glimmer illuminated Shard's face, the booming of enormous steam whistles and bells almost bursting the eardrums of the other two instantaneously. The shadow of the Ring of Fate, glowing with blinding four-colored spiritual light, slowly emerged in the searing steam, rapidly rotating as if coming from the depths of the steam to his back.

At this moment, all three Rings of Fate in the room were fully revealed. Though all were brass rings, Shard's ring stood out distinctly, unlike any other.

Before Miss Sylvia and the hooked-nose man could ponder what made Shard's ring different, the surrounding vines shot forward like arrows, entangling the Four-Ring Sorcerer's Ring of Fate in an instant.

The high-temperature brass ring tried to break free from the binding vines, but its rotational speed was gradually slowing.

Shard continued to move forward, the vines similarly creeping along the floor towards him, seemingly trying to encase him in a cocoon.

Shard's gaze fixed on the terrifying plant statue, the power coursing through his body boiling under the evil object's provocation:

"May the Fire of the Primordial..."

In the palm of his untied right hand appeared a slender flame. Following Sister Delphine's teachings, Shard clenched his fist, crushing the flame utterly, the scattering sparks clinging to his skin, forming the first fiery red crack on the back of his hand:

"...protect me."

"What!"

As the hooked-nose man stared in astonishment, the vines completely enveloped Shard. But in the next moment, golden cracks spread across the surface of the green 'cocoon'. As the flames combusted, burning vine fragments scattered around.

The reappeared Shard continued to advance, cracks spreading from the back of his right hand across his entire body, the fiery red embers seemingly igniting him instantly.

The explosive flames dragged behind him, then gradually calmed, with Shard's body now covered in fiery red cracks. Sparks flickered at the hem of his clothing, and as he lifted his foot, the ground where he stepped left a trail of fire-red footprints.

The fiery red cracks on his body's surface extended to the Ring of Fate as well, with the Primal Fire directly igniting the green plants, and the ring resumed its rotation. Within a few breaths, raging flames engulfed the walls of the entire room.

Blinding firelight surrounded the three, rendering the man speechless, unable to comprehend the situation, while Miss Sylvia looked at Shard with puzzlement. She had seen Sister Delphine in the council and naturally knew about the Primal Fire.

The Ring of Fate spun rapidly, shielding Shard from the influence of the bizarre statue.

In the firelight, he took one step after another up to the high platform, facing the writhing plant statue:

"In the Pantanal region, there is no deity named 'Pantanal.' So, what the Voodoo Society believes in is actually the sealed Evil Object in the Great Swamp area?"

Although this power was extremely similar to divinity, Shard, who had twice transformed into a deity, was quite certain that the other party was definitely not a god.

He reached out his hand towards the plant statue, and without even touching it, the embers drifting from his fingertips instantly ignited the entire statue.

ya~

A piercing scream came from a distance, a momentary instinctive fear almost made Shard punch forward. In a daze, he saw that the statue composed of various plant fragments seemed to entangle his hand, but upon closer inspection, the burning statue had not moved at all.

He suddenly turned his head. In the empty air, a terrifying colossal entity composed of various plant remnants stared down at him from a high place behind him. In the extreme fear that made his heart nearly jump out of his throat, the phantom of the giant entity disappeared in an instant.

[Outlander, you have gained an insight into "plants."]

A soft voice reminded him by his ear, and everything around him gradually faded in the firelight, the plant statue also gradually turned to ashes.

Breathing heavily, Shard roughly understood that what he had just seen was the so-called "Pantanal Evil Creatures." Although he currently lacked the divine support for his soul, luckily the other party was not an Evil God, so the impact on him was merely that momentary feeling of fear.

"However..."

Shard looked around again. When he ignited the statue earlier, he distinctly felt that the Primal Fire was eager to burn the statue's body. In other words, the "Pantanal Evil Objects" were exactly what Sister Delphine was looking for to make the Fire of the Primordial burn more intensely.

The "Fire of the Primordial" could not become more intense from just burning anything; only a few special existences qualified. And apparently, the "Evil Objects of Pantanal" qualified.

As the flames burned through the surroundings, the scenery of the second-floor corridor of the Rothschild Estate gradually returned, and the foul and rotting odor also began to dissipate.

Looking at Miss Sylvia again, the vines entwining the Ring of Fate disappeared, and with just a wave of her hand, the beak-nosed Sorcerer of Nine Rings' head fell to the ground. She then reached forward and grabbed the transparent soul, which was obviously angry, in her hand:

"Where?"

Her tone was extremely severe, and with a sudden squeeze of her fair right hand, at least a third of the soul shattered. The soul, screaming in pain, began to transform into an Evil Spirit but could not harm this beautiful lady at all. With a gentle tap of her spare left hand, the trend of the soul's transformation into an Evil Spirit was forcibly halted as the grayish-white light stimulated it.

"Where is Margaret? You have only one chance; otherwise, you will burn forever in the 'Soul Eternal Lamp.'

"On the rooftop! On the rooftop!"

"What knowledge did the Truth Society use to trade with you, to make you assist in planning today's conspiracy?"

"I don't know! I don't know!"

"Hmm?"

"Possibly the location of the Heart of Pantanal!"

The soul shouted loudly, then was casually thrown aside by Miss Sylvia, almost shattering completely.

Shard drew a black rift with his hand, allowing the soul to flee into it for its life:

"What is the Heart of Pantanal?"

"According to legend, one of the terrifying Evil Objects sealed underground in Pantanal, the only remaining body."

Miss Sylvia said, and Shard nodded, knowing this matter had nothing to do with him for now, so he didn't ask more:

"There are four floors here, we need to get to the rooftop quickly, we have wasted too much time."

"Don't worry, they definitely won't dare to harm Margaret, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths. Now I'll take you straight up."

Miss Sylvia took Shard's right hand with her left hand, and with a stroke of her right hand, their height, weight, appearance, and clothing changed instantly. Her right hand then lifted her skirt, revealing her right foot in red high-heeled shoes. She kicked the corpse with her right foot, sending the corpse and the head into an open black spatial rift, making them disappear entirely from the material world.

Miss Sylvia led Shard to the window, which automatically opened as the evening breeze caused the curtains to flutter up and down.

"Do you really have the 'Soul Eternal Lamp'? That terrifying Sage-Level Relic?"

Shard asked in a low voice again, the witch pursed her lips and glanced at him. Her beautiful face showed a slight upward curve at the corner of her mouth, and she replied softly:

"Guess."