Mixed Blessing System

There shouldn't even be a dozen level 24 Sages in the world right now. Therefore, the threat of hundreds of them appearing in a short period was gigantic, and even Lothur, someone with impressive abilities, couldn't help but feel a little afraid.

Even if these demons could eventually be killed, once there were so many of them at a high level, human life on this continent would most likely be wiped out in no time.

A single one of them could cause quite a stir, so if even the majority of them were prevented from acting because of him or his allies, even a 'small' group of 10 or 15 peak demons would be enough to wipe out states.

"We need to get to those states immediately." He commented, worried.

"Spectre, do you have the location of the spectre groups in those states? Or rather, do you have anything to help us find these groups in these two states?" Elke asked.

The spectre was silent for a moment, but when he saw Lothur's eyes on him, he answered. "I do not know the location of these groups. Normally, we find our subordinates and give them orders. But we don't have their location in real-time.

We only know it when we're about to meet them because they go to where we've arranged to meet them.

But as much as there is no way to locate these spectres, there is a method that the master can use to attract the attention of groups."

"Oh? What's that?" Lothur asked with interest.

"Through a spectral signal, something that can be done using the element of darkness to call the dead back to earth." He said.

The people in Lothur's group didn't quite understand, for only he had an elemental affinity with the darkness that was developed to the point where he could perceive certain possibilities.

The element of darkness was behind creatures like spectres and demons, as well as other challenging races in this world. Not only that, but darkness was behind the laws of death itself.

Normally, when someone dies of natural causes, the elements in their body would weaken considerably. Then, the free darkness in the sky and on the earth would gradually take over their body.

When they finally died, that darkness was what set the wheel of reincarnation in motion, increasing their chances of ascending to a transformation.

The more darkness a body and soul could accumulate, the greater the chances of success in this process. For this reason, higher-level cultivators had a better chance of being reborn than weaker cultivators, and it was rarer for high-level cultivators to form spectres.

Success in this transformation would lead to the purification of the soul and the rebirth of that being at some point in the future. Failure would cause them to "cling" to the darkness and become a spectre.

The element of darkness was not necessarily evil. It could create hideous creatures, but it was part of the process of life and death, part of the structure of this world.

But it was because of this element's properties that it could be used to link the dead and the living, to increase the chances of failure in the transformation, and thus to increase the chances of the creation of spectres.

Using this element to summon the dead was a basic ritual of the spectres, a way for them to gain more followers and powers.

Lothur didn't know much about it but understood how to do what that creature had just suggested.

"If the master does this, I guarantee you that many spectres will approach your position. Only the leaders of the Castle of Shadows can do this, and every spectre can become stronger if near the place where the ritual takes place.

So many will definitely come to your position if you do this." He said.

This ritual was a way for the spectres to increase their numbers, but not only that, to increase their strength.

There were two ways for a spectre to become powerful after its formation. The first was by possessing bodies and using them to accumulate spiritual energy and increase the power of their souls. The second was to absorb the power of other spectres!

However, the second way was not as simple as the first. After their formation, spectres could hardly be threatened by others, even those of a higher level.

Cannibalism between these beings was only possible before the spectre was fully formed, that is, during these creatures' natural or artificial creation.

For example, before Simon Frost's spectre formed in Peters City, it had been developing for weeks until it fully awakened and began to act. Before that day, an already-formed spectre that found him could devour his essence and become stronger!

This was the natural way of cannibalism. But there was an artificial way, which was the ritual the spectre mentioned earlier. 

In this ritual, a high-level master would initiate it to force the creation of spectres. In this way, they would create different essences that could become spectres or food for others.

The second option was the most interesting from the Castle of Shadow's point of view. As such, any spectre that sensed such a ritual taking place nearby would move to try to devour some of the essences being created.

"But won't that attract very powerful spectres to my position?" Lothur asked the being.

He wanted to prevent the worst but didn't want to alert the master of the Castle of Shadows to his actions.

"If the master uses all your power to perform the ritual, then yes, that would attract the attention of the strongest spectres, even on the other side of the world." That spectre was sincere. "But if the master limits your powers to create a ritual that can only interfere with early 4th-stage spectres, then at most, you will attract the attention of spectres within a radius of 300 kilometers from your location."

That made sense. After all, something that could affect those at the beginning of the 4th stage would require less than 3% of Lothur's current power.

That fraction of his power alone would hardly alert creatures far away from where he would perform such a ritual.

At the same time, high-level creatures had high-level things to worry about. Thus, a simple ritual practiced relatively often by powerful spectres over time would hardly attract the attention of beings beyond the space mentioned by that spectre.

With that in mind, Lothur accepted the risks and said. "All right, we'll do it." He looked at his women and Cykad. 

As they took deep, anxious breaths, Lothur looked back at the spectre and commanded. "Now go. Do everything I've told you."

As Lothur's slave, he had ways of finding him or sending information to the young Ritter. So, without receiving anything more from him, the spectre returned to his home, towards the sea.

Lothur and his group wouldn't be there much longer and would soon be on their way to those two states!