Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 468 Let's see how the Demon Race was born.

boom!

The sword energy erupted behind Frilian, just like the aftershock of killing "The Corruptor of Magic" Domenico, tearing a huge chasm in the ground, large enough to serve as an insurmountable barrier.

[Defense Magic] It's not even as good as a piece of paper in front of Xia Zuo's attack.

Xia Zuo is certainly very strong, the kind of strong that is invincible, but the fact that he could destroy the [defense magic] so easily without using his full strength only proves that the magic itself is very weak.

This is a problem of magic, and also a problem of the elves.

The elves have existed for tens of thousands of years, but their progress in magic and swordsmanship has been negligible.

Especially in the last few thousand years, as elven society became extremely rigid, the development of magic and swordsmanship almost stagnated.

If we exclude the two outlier Pokémon, Seria and Shazo, the Pokémon's combat power is actually significantly reduced.

Xia Zuo wasn't initially indifferent to the elves.

At the beginning of his transmigration, he was overjoyed. Elves were a race with near-infinite lifespans, could continuously grow stronger by learning magic, and all members were handsome men and beautiful women.

Okay, all the female elves are beautiful, the only problem is that they don't fit Xia Zuo's taste.

That's why Xia Zuo tried so hard to solve the demon problem, even going so far as to kill the poor Demon King seven times in a row.

The Demon King was devastated.

However, even though the Demon King died and his army disbanded, the disorganized demon race did not die immediately.

However, something Xia Zuo didn't expect happened: the disorganized Demon King's army actually defeated the Elf race.

The Elf race, the dominant world power with a civilization history spanning tens of thousands of years or even longer, was forced into retreat by the Demon King's disbanded army.

Ultimately, the elves withdrew from the fertile plains and retreated to the forests and mountains, giving humans more space to live.

Despite the scourge of the demons, humanity experienced a population explosion, leading to a rapid increase in civilization.

Flame was able to achieve such great success in popularizing magic because human society was already wealthy enough to have many people who could inherit knowledge.

If things were still like they were a thousand years ago, with all humans dependent on elves and living a life of constant toil for a bite to eat, even if Flame were incredibly powerful, she wouldn't achieve anything significant.

After thrusting out his sword, Xia Zuo felt much of his frustration released. He smiled and said to Frilian, "If you can withstand this sword strike, you should have enough ability to protect yourself."

Frillie nodded timidly: "I understand, Mr. Shazo."

When Frilian first met Flame 40 years ago, she was shocked by Flame's magic that could instantly kill demons.

But now, after 40 years of practice and study, she can also achieve the same destructive power as her teacher, Flame.

But because of her profound understanding of magic and power, Frilian was able to better comprehend the level of Shazo's sword strike, and a sense of awe arose within her.

Frillie bowed respectfully and said, "Mr. Shazo, could you teach me magic?"

Xia Zuo agreed: "It's possible, but my profession is a swordsman, so I can only speak according to my understanding. Perhaps it's not that suitable for you."

Frillian replied, "It's alright. I've already graduated from Professor Flame and am a full-fledged mage. Please trust my judgment."

Xia Zuo nodded: "Then there's no problem."

"There's another problem—" Frillie looked at the huge chasm behind her and asked hesitantly, "What should we do about this?"

"My master, Celia, once said that it would take her many spells to heal such a great wound to the earth."

"I... I can't fix it before the next rain."

As an elf, Frilian instinctively knew that this ravine was the weakness of the entire forest.

When heavy rains arrive, this gully will not only accumulate a large amount of water, causing small-scale floods, but may also trigger disasters such as landslides.

Xia Zuo chuckled: "It's alright, just focus on repairing it. There are still several months until the rainy summer, so there's no rush."

"If it really doesn't work in time, I have a solution."

After that, Frilian stayed at Shazo's house.

However, she did not move into Xia Zuo's house. Xia Zuo had built a large wooden house for her in advance, with a separate yard, and she was a neighbor of his own house.

Celia still cares about Frillie and often visits her, bringing her new spellbooks that make the little elf jump for joy.

But before leaving, Celia would assign new homework, making Frillie's face scrunch up like a bun.

Frilian's arrival disrupted Shazo's comfortable life.

At this time, the little elf was very diligent and eager to learn, and never slept in late.

She would get up very early every morning and go to repair the huge ravine as part of her magical training and earth elemental magic.

Practice the law.

When her magic was exhausted, a tired Frillie returned home to rest and diligently completed the homework assigned by Celie in the afternoon.

In the evenings, she would have extra study time to learn some magic that interested her.

If she encounters a problem she can't figure out, she will immediately ask Xia Zuo for help, and she will never give up until she gets a satisfactory answer.

Unfortunately, Frillie's magical learning was progressing by leaps and bounds, and she encountered problems she couldn't solve every day.

So Xia Zuo could no longer leisurely lie on the deck chair and sunbathe in the afternoon.

Before he knew it, Xia Zuo's pace of life had quickened.

Not only did he double his daily training time, but he also practiced swordsmanship for an additional two hours. Although the improvement in his strength was not very obvious, Xia Zuo's mental state changed.

His mindset became more positive, and the drive that had been exhausted hundreds of years ago reappeared.

Xia Zuo's mental state affected his physical state, and he became younger overall.

The only problem is that Frilian can't cook.

Moreover, she not only can't cook, but she's also a natural kitchen destroyer.

No matter how patiently Xia Zuo teaches her how to cook, the result is inevitably a waste of perfectly good ingredients.

Furthermore, Frilian has a special talent: the more ingredients she uses and the more serious she is when cooking, the more likely she is to create a terrifying dish that inspires fear.

Eating it is out of the question; after all, it's a terrifying thing that, once discarded, could poison an entire forest.

In the end, Xia Zuo had to take charge of cooking, preparing meals every day. Although the food wasn't very tasty, at least it wouldn't poison anyone.

Time flies.

As spring was drawing to a close, Xia Zuo sensed something unusual in the forest.

Soon after, Frillie also noticed: "Mr. Shazo, what is this strange feeling?"

Xia Zuo replied, "This is the aura of a demon race that is currently being conceived."

Frillie gripped her wand tightly: "Is it a demon invasion?"

"It's not an invasion," Xia Zuo shook his head and said, "It's gestation."

"This forest has gathered all the negative energy in the world, giving birth to the seeds of the demon race, which are now mature and about to give birth to a wave of demons."

Frillie asked in surprise, "Is this how demons are born?"

Xia Zuo suddenly laughed and said, "This is a deduction I made based on my own experience, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, so I can't be 100% sure."

It is well known that demons cannot reproduce with each other, yet demons continue to appear in ever-growing numbers.

Moreover, every hundred years they would swarm and become a plague, forming a demon army under the command of the Demon King, bringing immense disaster to life all over the world.

How the demon race came into being remains a mystery.

As far as Frilian knew, Shazo was the first elf to propose a method for the birth of demons.

Xia Zuo said, "Frilian, you've noticed it too, haven't you? This aura is very well concealed. If we hadn't lived here for a long time, we wouldn't have been able to detect it."

Frillie nodded: "Yes, it is indeed very faint. I only noticed the slight difference by comparing my memories."

"If it were somewhere else, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Xia Zuo said with a smile, "I've finally waited for this rare opportunity. It's worth leaving the village and living in this remote place for a hundred years."

"I plan to follow the scent to find the demon's lair and see how the demon race was born."

"Frilian, come with me."

Frillie nodded in agreement: "Yes, Mr. Shazo."

Xia Zuo walked into his armory. This time, instead of taking the Domenico Killer, he chose a simple, unadorned all-steel greatsword.

Then he prepared enough dry food before going out with Frilian to find the demon's nest that gave birth to the demon race.

However, this aura was extremely weak, and the interference was also very strong. It took them a full ten days to find the source of the faint demonic aura.

It was a newly discovered cave, dark and deep, exuding a strong, fishy stench and a faint demonic aura.

Both Shazo and Frilian were experienced adventurers, and they could tell at a glance that this was a newly built underground labyrinth.

Xia Zuo murmured, "I knew the Demon Nest wouldn't be a simple existence, but how could it be a complete underground labyrinth!"

"Is this world just a game, or do the demons originate from the underworld?"

"Hopefully I can find concrete evidence this time; I'm tired of endless repetition—"

Frillie comforted him, "Mr. Shazo, you will definitely be able to fulfill your wish this time."

"Haha, thank you for your blessing, Frilian." Shazo smiled. "Let's go in."

Frillie nodded: "Mm."

Carrying his luggage, Xia Zuo took the lead and led Frilian into the maze.

With the help of magical illumination, Shazo easily cleared away all the monsters along the way.

All sorts of underground creatures like goblins, bear goblins, dwarf bears, and drooling dogs can be cleaved into corpses with a single sword strike from Xia Zuo.

As for the weaker bats, slimes, and ghost beetles, Xia Zuo didn't even need to draw his sword. He only needed to release his aura slightly to make these monsters stick to the cave walls.

Frillie had never experienced such an easy adventure. The warriors in the front row easily wiped out all the monsters, which filled her with a desire to try it herself.

"Huh?" Xia Zuo suddenly stomped on the ground and said, "There are signs of artificial repair. It seems that the monster in front is not just a simple wild beast."

Frilian smiled and said, "Lord Shazo, this is a good thing. Only in a maze like this can you find real treasure."

Xia Zuo turned around and glanced at her, then suddenly smiled.

So Frillie was a money-grubber even as a child!

With this little sprite's luck, is it really possible to encounter a treasure chest instead of a mimic?

As you continue, the traces of man-made structures become increasingly apparent, with even steps, columns, and sculptures appearing.

Xia Zuo and Fulilian's expressions gradually turned serious, no longer as relaxed and carefree as before.

Such architecture indicates that the master of the labyrinth possesses immense power, and its scale surpasses that of a single tribe, making it a far greater threat than the beasts and insects of the past.

Shazo asked, "Frilian, can you draw a map of the maze?"

"Yes, Mr. Shazo," Frilian couldn't help but ask, "But I'll be using up most of my magic, is that alright?"

Xia Zuo replied with slight surprise, "Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility for the battle."

With Shazo's assurance, Frilian's heart was completely at ease. She no longer held back her magic and devoted herself to drawing the labyrinth map.

【Exploring the Magical Labyrinth of Bats】

【The Magic of the Glowing Mark】

[Malicious Detection Magic]

Frillie combined the three maze-exploration spells and then used the Map Drawing spell to draw the map on parchment.

After expending a great deal of magic, a simple yet complete maze map was successfully drawn, with the map thoughtfully marking the possible locations where monsters might gather.

"Well done, Frillie!" exclaimed with delight.

"I didn't expect your magic to have reached such a powerful level. I underestimated you."

"Oh my, a mage who can use magic at will can play a far greater role in dungeon adventures than a warrior like me."

Frillie pointed to the central location on the rough map and said, "Lord Shazo, the monsters are clearly concentrated in this area, but there are just too many of them—"

"Won't you destroy the maze?"

Yes, having witnessed Shazo's power, Frilian's concern wasn't about being unable to defeat the monsters, but rather that Shazo might accidentally destroy the labyrinth, burying them both alive along with the monsters.

Xia Zuo paused for a moment before smiling and assuring her, "Don't worry, I guarantee it won't cause the cave to collapse."

"The underground environment does limit me somewhat, but at most it reduces my killing efficiency and takes a little longer."

Next, Shazo demonstrated his skills to Frilian through his actions.

The massive steel longsword moved with the agility and nimbleness of a tree branch in his hand, slaying patrolling and sentry monsters without making a sound.

The slain monsters couldn't even scream; they just collapsed limply to the ground, barely bleeding.

When monsters appeared from both directions at the same time, Xia Zuo even used his longsword to unleash visible sword energy, instantly traversing a distance of 100 meters and killing all the monsters from both patrol teams.

Similarly, not a sound was made.

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