Chapter 1908: 535 Barthor’s Skull

…

Facing the questions and reflections of the young wolf,

Matthew simply smiled faintly and did not reply, as he always preferred to keep a low profile.

However, there were simply too many Summoning Banners in the Shadow Rift Valley.

They had not gotten far before they encountered several.

The aura emanating from the banners almost covered the entire landscape of the Shadow Rift Valley!

Although these banners were merely projections, the artifact in Glacia’s possession projected into the valley, but the naturally occurring summoning aura of the banners still boasted remarkable anti-stealth capabilities.

The presence of these banners caused significant trouble for Matthew and his group’s progress.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t avoid the anti-stealth aura of the banners.

It was just quite troublesome.

Moreover, the locations of these banners often coincided with large, chaotic congregations of devils.

Not every chaotic situation was suitable for taking advantage of confusion.

When the number of summoned devils occasionally exceeded the valley’s capacity, many areas became overly congested.

They couldn’t just blend in with the Devil Army and slip through unnoticed.

After observing,

it was noted that all the devil troops gathered there would collectively march toward the lower parts of the Wind-Supporting Slope.

Even if identity wasn’t an issue,

they would still face the dilemma of going in completely the wrong direction.

At the same time,

Matthew and others noticed an even denser formation of flying units in the sky, including rare devils hidden among the clouds.

This meant they could hardly fly across the valley unnoticed either.

In the end,

the only viable route was to slowly and meticulously navigate on the ground.

Matthew had just tried to estimate the time this method would require when his brows quickly furrowed–

At this rate,

it would take at least half a month longer to cross the Shadow Rift Valley and reach the Tears of Barthor!

And that was based on the assumption that the conditions in the latter half of the valley would be similar to what they had observed at the beginning.

If the latter half turned out to be even more congested, that would be a real problem!

“Indeed, setting out is fraught with difficulties.”

Matthew couldn’t help but click his tongue,

“No matter how detailed the plan, it can never keep up with changes.”

At this moment,

the wolf, still in his Shapeshifting Form, suddenly suggested in Matthew’s ear,

“I recall there’s an entrance to a torn plane near the manor where the Blissful Spring is located.”

“That torn plane is made up of an extension from purgatory, an exclave from the Air Elemental Plane, and fragments from the Shadow Plane.”

“It seems there are treasures hidden within that plane unknown to the public; the Phantom Baron did a lot of work to explore that area.”

“He has constructed at least three two-way portals in his Deep Black Castle that lead to the torn plane, and I am very familiar with two of them.”

“If you can handle the risk of approaching Extreme Bliss Manor and Deep Black Castle, we could use that torn plane as a stepping stone; if all goes well, we could end up directly at the tail end of the Shadow Rift Valley, thus avoiding the lengthy and congested journey in between…”

Saying this,

the wolf emphasized again,

“However, Extreme Bliss Manor and Deep Black Castle are both heavily guarded places.”

“The Phantom Baron has a severe case of paranoia; he always thinks that others are out to get him. The density of Devil Guards in his residence is also ridiculously high.”

“Of course, that’s still better than the current situation in the Shadow Rift Valley filled with summoned Devil Soldiers.”

After pondering for a moment, Matthew consulted with Char and Lorraine before deciding to take the wolf’s advice.

After running into trouble at the Wind-Supporting Slope,

they had already been significantly delayed, which was why Matthew subsequently decisively chose to use the form of the Eastern Immortal Ape to climb the cliffs on the side.

Once this Shapeshifting Form was utilized,

it was only a matter of time before news of Matthew reaching purgatory spread.

Under these circumstances,

time and efficiency became even more crucial factors.

Matthew was well aware that he didn’t have many options left.

It was either give it his all,

or potentially have to willingly end this attempted stealth mission prematurely at some point in the future.

Without a doubt,

Matthew would not choose the latter.

“The terrain of purgatory is too complex; the abilities of the Holy Deer are not only insufficient to smoothly traverse the layers of purgatory’s plane but also prone to leaving numerous flaws…”

He felt some regret in his heart.

Immediately, the group made a detour toward the nearby lower hill.

There,

a small path led to the junction of the valley and the Wind-Supporting Slope,

which was also the location of the Blissful Spring.

However, just as they were adjusting their direction of advance,

Char, the purgatorial merchant, privately approached Matthew with a troubled expression, requesting to leave the group:

“I don’t want to get close to that Extreme Bliss Manor.”

“My gut tells me it’s not a good place– bluntly speaking, my insides and soul are incredibly resistant, more so than ever before!”

“I could try to cross the Shadow Rift Valley from the front and then meet up with you at Deep Black Castle. With my abilities, I should be able to avoid detection by others.”

Matthew looked thoughtfully at Char.

A moment later,

he approved Char’s request.

With the Kunlan Blood Book in their possession,

Matthew didn’t think the purgatorial merchant could cause too much trouble.

Unexpectedly, however,

upon hearing this,

Lorraine also requested to accompany the merchant.

His reason was to scout the devil side’s military information to provide more intelligence for the upcoming planetary defense battle.

It would also serve to monitor and intimidate Char.

Naturally, Matthew wouldn’t refuse,

but after cautioning them to be careful, he watched as Lorraine and Char headed together toward the direction in which the Devil Army was gathering.