Cornflower Witch

Chapter 251 The Senior on the Path of Death and Ash
A treehouse in a secluded settlement.

This is where Hilti is temporarily staying. The tree has grown under her guidance, forming a huge canopy that covers dozens of meters. Under this tree, she built a treehouse using the same material as the tree bark, relying on the trunk of the tree.

Inside the treehouse hall, the warm orange light of lanterns illuminated the scene where Hilti sat opposite an old man, with a small tea table between them.

"Are you feeling better, Mr. Van der Hee?" Hiltiya stood up and poured the old man some brewed flower tea, which contained a little 'sun seed oil' and 'white camellia', which was good for restoring vitality.

"I'm feeling better, thank you, Miss Tiya." He picked up his teacup and replied, his voice slightly weak.

Afterwards, Hilti sat back down and asked Vanderhi about his experiences over the past few years.

"...That year, after I brought you to Jiaoshi City, I went to the distant commercial capital to purchase goods."

"When I returned, Taliel told me that you had already gone to the Hidden Woods. It's a pity that I couldn't see Miss Tia one last time."

"For the next two years, I continued my business as usual, traveling to various places until the war broke out and the Antirians invaded."

"After the Anti people took control of this land, many rules changed, and I found it particularly difficult to adapt. Although I tried to bribe the local officers with money to make them less harsh."

“However, during that year, there were frequent personnel changes. After the Antiy officer I knew left, the new commander would start collecting money again.”

“I wasn’t originally the kind of big businessman with abundant capital, so I couldn’t support it for long and the business failed miserably.”

"After that, I was arrested by a junior officer on a non-existent charge. They first made my family pay money to bail me out, but even after we paid, they would ask for more money."

“In the end, my family couldn’t afford it anymore, so they threw me into the mine,” Van der Hee said, recounting his past.

“My wife and children have already run away because they were afraid of being implicated. I will probably have to live alone from now on.” He sighed, his eyes no longer showing the spirited and shrewdness they once had.

Upon hearing this, Hilti comforted the other person for a few words, and then talked about the year she lived in Scorched Stone City.

"That year, I made many friends and also had two teachers who cared about me a lot."

“If you don’t mind, I can find you a place to settle down in the future.” Hiltiya thought of the Radiant Plains in the woodlands, where the environment was peaceful and the city was exceptionally safe.

"Well, thank you, Miss Tiya." He didn't have the courage to be polite anymore, so he could only nod in agreement.

After resolving his future plans, Van der Hee's spirits improved slightly, and he was able to speak to those around him more readily over the next two days.

In the past few days, Hiltiya wrote a letter and entrusted it to a messenger bird summoned by a special secret method, instructing it to carry the letter to the forest's outpost on the surface.

It would probably take another 1-2 months for 'Golden Plains' to respond. Hiltiya thought that if the mine wasn't destroyed, the lord of Scorched Stone City would definitely repeat the same trick and keep capturing people to fill the pit.

Since that's the case, let's completely destroy that mine.

Secondly, she also wanted to go down into the mine to see if there were any remains or legacies of the skeletal dragon there.

Of all the sexual characteristics in this world, there is only the 'Dragon Eye' characteristic that she has never encountered or understood before.

……

She returned to Scorched Stone City, but this time Hilti didn't enter the city. Instead, she bypassed the mountains outside Scorched Stone City and went directly to the mine she had left several days ago.

The mountains here are covered with marks of knife cuts and fires, indicating that the weeds and vines she left behind before she left required a lot of effort to clear away.

Then several more sentries were added in the mountains to observe the mountain paths and the mine camp. Although they were well hidden, they were still spotted by Hilti at a glance.

Easily evading their gazes, Hilti moved through the shadows of the trees.

When she returned to the outside of the mine camp, she was surprised to find that people were already fighting there.

The other party was also dressed in a gray robe, his face hidden. He held a pale skull in his hand, and several monsters made of white bones were beside him. He was fighting with the Antian soldiers in the camp.

'Mist of Death'

In his hand was a pale skull, from which puffs of mist emanated from its hollow eye sockets, spreading along the mountain wind toward the enemy. Any soldiers caught in the blast fell quickly. Unfortunately, this time, there was no mercy from Hilti, and these men soon clutched their throats and died, motionless.

At this moment, only two second-tier Antian officers remained fighting on the field. They covered their mouths and noses, desperately trying to escape the gray-white mist, preparing to jump down the mountain path to avoid the pursuit of the gray-robed 'Bone Fighter' behind them.

But the opponent didn't bypass them. He raised a finger, and a skeletal monster beside him shot out a row of bone spikes, directly hitting the two fleeing men. The bone spikes embedded themselves in their bodies, and the power of the 'Deathly Ash' aspect spread, rapidly devouring the life force within their bodies. In the end, the two men collapsed to the ground, their faces withered, no longer breathing.

After dealing with all the soldiers in the camp, the mysterious man in gray robes slowly turned his gaze toward the direction where Hilti was located in the treetop.

“You’re probably not from Antioch, and you have similar goals to me. Please come out.” His voice didn’t sound old; he was probably around thirty years old.

At this moment, Hilti jumped down from between the trees, lightly touched the grass with her toes, and then stood firm.

Two strands of black hair peeked out from under the hood, and Hiltiya faintly exuded the aura of 'Tier 3: Emerald Honey'. The surrounding flowers, plants and trees swayed and changed slightly, dispelling the lingering 'Mist of Death' in the air.

At this moment, the mysterious person on the other side also exuded the aura of the 'Third-Tier · Death Ash' attribute, and the two were evenly matched.

Upon seeing this, the other party nodded slightly, then put away the skull in his hand and began to explain.

"My name is Lucas, and I originally came from Scorched Stone City. If you've ever lived here, you've probably heard of me," the man introduced himself.

Sigh, is the other person a well-known local? Hilti blinked, unable to quite remember who it was.

Seeing that Hilti didn't reply, the other frowned slightly, seemingly not understanding whether the girl was friend or foe. The fingers under her sleeve gripped her skull again.

“My name is Hilti, and I lived in Scorched Stone City for a while. I studied under Maester Hyde at the time. I’m sorry I haven’t heard of you before.”

The girl finally spoke, and the other party seemed slightly relieved.

"Which year were you in? Did you graduate before me?" The appearance and age of extraordinary individuals are not necessarily the same, especially many women who prefer to maintain their appearance.

The girl in front of him, who looked 17, might actually be older than his grandmother, so Lucas had to be careful.

“I should be considered as having enrolled four years ago and graduated three years ago,” Hiltiya counted.

“You’re lying. How could you have enrolled four years ago?” Lucas felt like the other person was playing him.

"Why do you say that?"

“You enrolled four years ago, and you were only at the first level at most. Even if you were exceptionally talented, you would have reached the second level at that time. But how could you possibly have reached the third level in just three or four years? Isn’t that a lie?” Lucas pointed out the flaws in the girl’s words.

“This…” Hilti felt it would be difficult to convince the other party with words, so she took out two badges, one representing the highly recommended 'Woodland Badge' and the other representing the 'Bluebell Badge' which received an excellent rating.

Upon seeing the two badges awarded by the Forestry Association, the other person's pupils contracted, and they looked somewhat incredulous.

"How could this be..." He was speechless, and felt a sense of defeat.

“I thought I was already a rare genius, but I never expected this.” After saying that, he shook his head and took out the same 'Wind Chime Grass' badge, showing it to the girl.

After a conversation, Hilti finally remembered that she had heard Lucas's story from Winnie.

'...The one who got the spot that time was a commoner in Jiaoshi City. His father was a merchant guild employee, and his family was relatively well-off, which supported his studies. He was also quite talented and showed a special talent in the 'Death Ash' attribute.'

At only seventeen years old, he mastered two abilities of the 'Death' aspect and successfully killed the second target in the assessment using his self-made 'Corpse Poison,' thus obtaining the qualification.

"So it's Senior Lucas." Hilti bowed obediently, her gaze filled with curiosity.

If Winnie's description is accurate, then it has only been ten years since the other party entered the forest. To go from the first level to the third level in just ten years is indeed a rare genius in the forest.

“Since we both come from Scorched Stone City and have returned from the woodlands, I imagine you’re also interested in what’s inside the mine. How about we go explore together?” Lucas thought that having another person would be helpful in resisting the Antian garrison if they came later.

Besides, even if you team up with someone, the other person is a gardener, not a professional fighter, so they won't pose much of a threat and can even help you solve some minor problems.

Upon hearing the suggestion, Hilti hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Then thank you very much for taking care of me and accompanying me, senior."

Since the other party trusts her, she seems to have nothing to worry about. If she really encounters an extremely dangerous situation, she can use her 'alien' nature to travel and escape.

Moreover, besides the 'alien', she has many other untapped abilities. Whether it's the 'Knight's Badge' or the 'Cornflower's' power boost, both can instantly increase her strength.

(End of this chapter)