Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Why didn't I take Tulmond with me? What's the point of carrying a piece of junk? I glow brighter, I hit harder, I can kill people with a stick. That idiotic weapon can't even transform, it's inconvenient to carry around. I'll leave it to Raphael. Speaking of Raphael, I get angry. That piece of trash is a disgrace to our Crusader leaders. Half his strength is in his sword. I originally thought of giving him a weapon to see if it could raise the average strength level of the Crusader leaders, but that idiot can't even handle two weapons at the same time. Those weapons are completely useless. Why didn't the Holy Light take him? Was it to keep this piece of trash to tell our brothers and sisters that the Crusader leadership isn't out of reach?

Chapter 164 The Gulf Seekers

The rolling waves, like the hem of a goddess's skirt falling to the ground, with white spray, crash against the jagged rocks.

This deep green bay, like its sickly color, seems to be suffering from some kind of disease. Silt accumulates beneath a thin layer of soil, emitting a foul stench; there is none of the natural beauty typically found in bays.

The bay resembled the receding seabed, with hand-shaped corals rising upright. The sunset's glow shone on the water droplets, painting their vibrant colors with an ominous beauty. Everywhere lay enormous, strange seashells, and shipwrecks hollowed out by seaweed and barnacles. A cool sea breeze often swept through these wonders, playing a mournful, plaintive melody.

This is not a place for the living, yet today, someone has set foot here.

The white gauze dress trailed on the muddy, damp ground, yet remained completely unstained. Even though the seemingly flat ground concealed ravines and fissures, the white figure moved as if on flat ground, as if her slender frame were weightless, seemingly floating in the air.

Her black leather pants, adorned with two spiraling patterns, hugged her long, slender legs. Although dressed in a neutral style, her long, wavy black hair and the pair of eyes beneath her hat, like bright red onyx, spoke volumes about her beauty. That allure, like the fragrance emanating from the jeweled rose pinned to her chest, was irresistible and intoxicating.

They display two sides of beauty, inspiring imagination and captivating allure.

The woman in black raised her arm to shield her face from the sun. The unpleasant warmth had hardened her skin into a dry, diamond-like structure, possessing an odd beauty she disliked. A hint of complaint lingered in her gentle, melodious voice.

“My dear lady of curiosity, what has prompted you to decide to take this sudden trip? Are you already tired of the scenery of Naslan? More importantly, why in the afternoon? You know I don’t like daytime activities, being rudely woken up, and on a Saturday. Do you know how many guests the Blood Rose will be gathering tonight? It was my biggest mistake not to stop you on the spot.”

Ms. Bai paused for a moment, as if she were seriously accepting her sister's accusations, or as if she were carefree and enjoying the sea breeze.

"I think I hear singing, Beatrice."

“You’re not listening to me at all, you’re such a nuisance, Ariana.”

"No, I've been listening, my dear sister. I just want to take a spontaneous trip with you. You've been spending too much time in your slumber and your bar. In my eyes, you're like a puppet controlled by life. I want you to relax and enjoy our time together."

Beatrice tugged at the brim of her hat, her voice becoming soft and spoiled, "Then why didn't you take Helena with you? Isn't it too pitiful to leave Helena alone at home?"

“Helena can’t leave the castle, you and I both know that. But I think Helena is doing much better now; lately I can always hear her laughing from outside her building. Perhaps my sister has found her own happiness.”

Beatrice pouted. "Helena's an idiot too, she just does her own thing."

Ariana's veil fluttered in the wind as her gaze fell upon the towering reefs in the distance, where the air carried an indescribable stench and dampness.

"I hope this is the place I'm looking for, a living siren, and that we can exchange songs happily."

"Ariana, you said this trip was to be with me! Not to have your damn music!"

"Of course I'll stay with you, my restless Beatrice. Your anxious look is just like Gruto we had when we were kids. But I can also use a little bit of that time to pursue my music."

Beatrice's face darkened instantly. "I must remind you, dear sister, Gruto drowned when I was ten years old, a macaw that drowned because it was in such a hurry that it forgot to fly. You may think it's cute, but please don't use it to describe me; that would be an insult to my intelligence."

"I'm sorry, Beatrice, I think I missed it too much, especially when it kept repeating that lovely word that Father gave it under our eaves. I remember laughing so hard."

"【Pretty girl】is not exactly a cute word. Your strange taste is still as strange as ever. So, why have you recently started learning music again? I remember you were quite proud of your singing, weren't you?" Although I completely can't understand why Andre's skeleton would like your singing.

"I feel I'm not good enough and I want to be recognized."

Beatrice's eyes held a questioning look, but her tone was already one of certainty: "In Andreas, is there really anyone who doesn't appreciate your singing?"

"The doctor, he seemed to be avoiding my voice."

As expected, Beatrice's face was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.

"Ariana, why are you so concerned about him?"

Ariana looked back at Beatrice, her words tinged with indifference.

"Because the plague doctor is very interesting, I am very curious."

"Your curiosity will eventually subside, and the sweetness will eventually breed disgust. You will eventually get tired of it."

Ariana was about to retort when Beatrice turned to face the other side. Grotesque veins appeared on the back of her hand, her fingers became long and sharp, and the red in her pupils instantly filled her entire eyeballs.

"enemy."

Ariana drew her wand and pointed it at the bubbling sea.

First to appear were bluish-green dorsal fins covered in a layer of mucus, ferocious fish mouths filled with three rows of sharp, shark-like teeth, and two bulging, pale white eyeballs with a field of vision reaching 270 degrees. Humanoid bodies, skin covered in thick scales, holding tridents wrapped in seaweed and anchors, three fish-men appeared in their field of vision.

They let out sharp roars, and their sticky saliva fell into the mud and sand.

"It seems your so-called Siren companions are not hospitable."

A hazy figure appeared behind Ariana, the ruby ​​on her wand gleaming.

"Of course, since we didn't give her the letter of visit, we hope she won't mind if we send her one now."

Chapter 165 The Withered Ones of the Wilderness

Like a festering sore on Mother Earth, this land is a withered yellow, teeming with the stench of swampy mud.

Rotting animal remains bobbed up and down in the mud, and flies buzzed in the air, staining the once-clean sky.

The plants here are struggling, fighting for a sliver of life on the rotten, toxin-laden earth.

For example, this relatively resilient grass sprout demonstrates tenacious vitality on this diseased soil.

An ugly foot covered in deformed herpes trampled the grass into the mud, and it never got up again.

It was a human body riddled with tatters, covered in lumps of flesh resembling tumors or mushroom caps. Even where the skull once stood, a giant mushroom had taken its place. His entire body was covered in tiny yellow spots, from which tiny white hairs, like dandelion seeds, began to float in the air. If you ignored the tattered arm ravaged by the spots, it was actually quite cute.

It is alive, as evidenced by the caps that resemble beating hearts growing on its limbs and the spores that are clearly sprayed out as if breathing.

This deformed life form is the only suitable host for this diseased land. It spreads its virulent spores, concentrating its life force within its own body—this is nature's selection. It is the new form of life.

Then a rapidly flying arrow pierced the creature's body, its immense impact like that of a ballista. It was instantly sent flying, pinned to the ground by the arrow, but this higher form of life was not afraid of such an attack. Strange sounds emanated from the friction within its cap; its heat-sensing organs had already locked onto the intruder.

Her long white hair was like falling snowflakes, and two long, narrow elf ears peeked out from her fine hair. Her delicate skin was like a freshly ripened fruit, and her two pale yellow eyes were lively and seemed to speak, as if they were expressing her disgust for this life form.

The elven girl's light blue hunting attire was concealed beneath a dark gray cloak, and she nocked another arrow with her hunting bow.

As the monster was about to struggle to pull out the arrow, the white-haired elf girl instead withdrew her bow.

"It's up to you, Uncle Hines."

No one noticed that a male elf carrying a wooden lantern appeared behind the living being.

The man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, had an expression as calm as still water, his eyes, which were fixed on the restless parasite, showing no ripple of emotion.

"For the sake of nature's balance, please wither away."

The lantern in his hand glowed with a white light, but it was not warm. The falling sparks landed on the living creature, but instead of igniting it, it seemed to have been hit by strong acid, and its body began to disintegrate, leaving only a shriveled human skeleton and a pool of yellow, pungent liquid seeping into the soil.

This change did not end there; the ground beneath the male elves began to turn white, and this whiteness spread like a plague, causing all the plants that came into contact with it to wither and die.

"What are you doing, Uncle!" The elven girl rushed over, took out the green leaf pendant she had tucked into her bosom, knelt down, clenched it tightly in her palm, and began to pray. Green light began to shine, the whitening of the land stopped, and the dead plants were reborn.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at her uncle reproachfully, hoping to see a trace of guilt in his calm eyes.

"How could you kill them? They are living beings!"

Hines was not defeated by his niece's questioning; in fact, he was quite dissatisfied with the girl's behavior.

“Fanila, you are stopping the right thing.”

"Moon Goddess, have you gone mad, Uncle? According to the teachings of the priests, we are the guardians of nature."

Hines scoffed at the so-called rituals.

"I prefer the Senate to the Moon Festival, and I have always been protecting the balance of nature."

Fanila's eyes were filled with disbelief.

“You’ve changed, Uncle. The you of the past would never have talked back to Mother, run away from home, or live in a human city serving those barbarians. You’ve also betrayed the mission of the elves; you’ve harmed nature.”

“I have changed because I have come to understand the truth, the truth that our race has been blinded to. Rather than associating with some escapists living in their own worlds, I would much rather work with those who have vision and aspirations. For the sake of nature, some local adjustments are worthwhile.”

"I can't believe that the family I've been searching for has turned out like this."

"When the Secret Council notified me, I couldn't believe it. My meeting with my niece was in a prison cell in the City of Wanderings. She was arrested for using a honey trap scam in the Light and Shadow District with a criminal gang!"

Fanila's face flushed. "They told me they wanted to find a righteous woman to punish some lustful bad people. I didn't know they would profit from this."

"That's why I was able to get you out of there so quickly, because you're just a naive, inexperienced girl who was being used."

Fanila retorted angrily, "I don't care, Uncle Hines, you've gone bad! You were once the finest young druid in Temwood, and what have you been through to now be using such evil magic to harm nature?"

"The Withering Magic is not evil. You bunch of dream elf idiots, Dorudo is one, Frannell is another. You are all idiots, idiots who only see nature in a one-sided way. You cannot understand the great power I wield, because your vision is as narrow as it was fifty years ago."

“Death is not terrible. It is just a part of nature, like life. But you fools discard it like a worn-out shoe. Look at this land. This is what the future will look like for you blind people.”

"You're talking nonsense! This land is sick; it needs to be healed, not killed!"

Looking at his angry niece, Hines's inner turmoil subsided.

He spoke calmly, as if there were no fluctuations in his emotions, just like usual.

"Do you remember when you advanced to the second tier, Fanila?"

“Of course I remember,” the elven girl said, looking at her pendant. “The power of nature wrapped around my body, and my body rejoiced in this vitality. My power was growing, and my life reached a higher level. The vitality washed over my body, and my parents poured their dissipated life force into this green leaf, which became my second-tier ability.”

"Why do we gain new abilities with each advancement? Why do we risk failure and injury with every promotion? Why do we experience energy loss? Is our body truly unable to handle the magic it generates?"

"The teachings of the sacrifice are a challenge to life. Just like a herd of deer evading predators, only by striving with all our might can we bloom with a life far surpassing our own potential and receive the reward of life's sublimation, which is our ability. This is a gift from the gods."

Hines listened carefully to Fanila's words, just like every dream sprite would hear in their childhood—unchanged, unchanging, stubborn, and foolish.

“Fanila, do you know that all living beings gain new abilities when they ascend to higher realms, even if they are atheists or enemies of the gods?”

"That's because God has mercifully blessed every life."

"That's because of limitations. Every living being, when ascending to higher levels, will have their life instinctively impose limitations on them, like an invisible wall that suppresses the being itself. Because the birth of every higher life means the accumulation of limited resources, even if you cross that limitation, that limitation will still leave its mark on you. Nature will also instinctively limit your future, using a portion of your power to give back to the world. Ability is the bargaining chip that nature uses to extract power from our bodies. There is no grace, no charity, only exchange."

"However, there will always be some greedy beings in this world who want to enjoy the convenience of their abilities but do not want to lose them. They break the limits. And nature punishes them. Their bodies become twisted, lose their original coordination, deform, split, and devour. These limit breakers are the disease of the world. They seize the power of nature for themselves and expand infinitely."

"As guardians of nature, we should kill them instead of using our power to correct their limitations, because their greed will still break those limits."

"This is the magic of decay, which gives death to all things, allowing them to return to their roots."

"Death is the greatest limitation for living beings, and also the last protective barrier of nature."

Fanila seemed to be deep in thought, as if she had thought of something.

“Those liches! They crossed the barrier of death. Indeed, they are the destroyers of nature.”

Hines looked at the excited Fanila. His niece was still as easily startled as ever. Even though she had matured in appearance, she was still the little girl who used to catch insects and birds in the forest.