Starting with the defeated female knight

Edith was unaware that although her physical sensitivity was much higher than others, she was still regarded as a treasure after entering the church because of her noble birth.

With much care and attention, although she is still a bit sensitive, her body is basically in good condition, if not perfect.

But female warriors are different.

Born into a middle-class family with no outstanding lineage, and without any good teachers when he first started training, many hidden problems were already present in his early years of building a foundation.

Later, after growing up, she became an adventurer, constantly getting injured in her adventures.

In addition, her income, which is not low but not very high either, means she can't afford the best treatments. As a result, although she seems to be fine on the surface, she is actually only holding on because she is young.

If she were to grow up in another ten or twenty years, when she was older and her body was no longer so energetic, and she could no longer suppress those old wounds and acne, she would understand what it meant to be worse than dead.

And this is the fate of most adventurers.

Even now, despite her young age and the fact that she hasn't reached that point yet, she has already begun to experience various discomforts.

It's always aches and pains, and when it flares up, the pain is so intense that I can't sleep all night. At most, I just bite down on a piece of cloth and endure it.

but now......

After emerging from the cave, I touched my skin, which was smoother than ever before, and felt a lightness I had never experienced before.

For some reason, the female warrior felt a sense of emptiness.

Like an entwining embrace, the sticky substance exudes a healing aura; the body visibly improves; and after acceptance and adaptation, there's a 'torture' that, while still a little shy, is by no means 'uncomfortable'...

Want to go back.

I want to soak in that pool again.

I want to be gently entwined by tentacles.

I want to experience that fulfilling and warm feeling again.

At the end of the experiment, the female warrior, who had completely accepted, or rather succumbed to, was trapped in the wriggling tentacles. She closed her eyes, as if she were in that distant home, which was somewhat blurry in her memory. She subconsciously hugged a tentacle the size of a pillow next to her and gently rubbed it.

"I'm so tired, Mom..."

Now, back in his tent, lying on the rough, stiff fabric, he looked at the empty, cold surroundings.

The feeling of emptiness grew stronger.

for a long time.

The night is getting darker.

The female warrior slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and looked towards the defense line in the cave.

Stroking her smooth skin, feeling the emptiness swelling within her, her gaze gradually became hazy, then turned resolute.

She made her decision.

Volume 1: Chapter 13: No Loss Either Way

[Does anyone want to stay?]

Inside the cave filled with tentacles, Green tilted his head to look at Edith.

The latter nodded slightly.

"Even if the demonic tide ends, the damage it caused will probably not be able to be recovered in the short term."

"Moreover, although in general, most of the creatures inside will return to normal after the demonic tide dissipates, there will always be some remnants, which are also dangerous to them."

"Their homes have been destroyed by the demonic tide, and the important figures in the capital mostly don't care much about these ignorant border people. Even if we take them there, they're unlikely to receive any help, and there's even a chance of accidents along the way..."

“You don’t need to do anything extra, just give them a place to live.”

"At the same time, if you have any requests or things you don't want to do yourself, they can help you with anything that they can do."

"I only ask that you provide them with some shelter when they encounter similar events as the demonic tide."

Homes destroyed, people displaced, and polluted by a demonic tide.

Having nowhere to go, and having encountered someone who at least seemed friendly, coupled with their previous camaraderie, it's only natural that they wanted to stay.

Of course, not everyone planned to stay. At least the knights and priests who came with Cecilia were prepared to return to the church.

But they're the only ones left.

Almost everyone who remained, including the female soldier, decided to stay after discussion.

Of course, this is all predicated on Green being willing to let them stay.

When faced with the human's request, Green thought about it and did not refuse.

After all, even disregarding morality and such, these humans are still very useful to him.

Understanding and learning about human culture, exploring technologies and capabilities, helping with delicate tasks that are difficult for him to do, or helping to collect materials that are outside his control or inconvenient for him to collect...

So that was settled.

After determining whether the humans should stay or leave, the dark green eyes slowly turned, focusing their gaze on the girl in front of it.

And what about you?

Edith fell silent.

What kind of answer would you like me to give?

Of course I want you to stay, to stay by my side.

The dark green tentacles spoke frankly.

Of course, I just hope that the decision of whether to stay or leave is yours to make.

There was another moment of silence.

"I......"

After thinking for a long time, Edith finally spoke slowly.

"I'm leaving here and going back to the church."

"Then, after I've dealt with things over there, I'll come back to see you."

To be honest, Edith had no feelings for the church and her faith was not firm. The reason she joined the church was purely for a certain person.

Moreover, this wasn't just her concern; aside from the person directly involved, most people in the church were also aware of it, but due to her status and talent, they didn't make a big deal out of it.

Even if she disliked the church and longed to get away from that glamorous cesspool of the capital, she still had reasons to go back.

"The king is gravely ill, the people are restless, the princes and princesses are all ambitious, and the nobles are stirring up trouble..."

"His Holiness the Pope is suffering from dementia and can't even hear clearly anymore. The other bishops, not wanting to cause trouble, have mostly chosen to stand by and watch..."

"The Mage's Association seems quite enthusiastic, but that's not hard to understand. After all, those academic fanatics have been dissatisfied with the Church's ban on human experimentation for a long time. If they can really get in touch with the new king, they might set a precedent, and even more outrageous research is not impossible..."

"In addition to this strange demonic tide and the frequent chaos in various places... I am very worried."

Edith wasn't quite sure what she was worried about, but it certainly wasn't her parents.

She just had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Moreover, she left in a hurry this time, and all her belongings were still in the capital. Even if she wanted to take Cecilia away from that troublesome place, she would still have to take her things with her.

Okay.

If this is your decision

Green agreed to her departure, though he was somewhat disappointed that there would be one less translator for the time being, but that was all he felt was regret.

Before leaving, Edith spent the rest of her time acting as Green's translator, helping him communicate with humans, and in the process, she tried her best to teach him the skills to communicate with Green.

In the end, although it was far from achieving the effect of communicating with Green, it at least enabled the two sides to have some simple communication.

Days passed by, and the magic mist gradually dissipated.

After that battle, the thick fog gradually dissipated, from being impenetrable at first, like a gray wall, to gradually thinning, like semi-transparent flowing water, and then to almost not obstructing the view, so that the horizon could be seen at a glance.

Finally, after the last wisp of demonic mist dissipated.

Edith stood on the mountaintop, gazing at the devastated land in the distance, ravaged and devoured by the demonic tide. After a long while, she sighed softly.

"ended."

This unprecedented and terrifying demonic tide, which lasted for nearly a month from beginning to end, has finally come to an end.

Then, it was time to say goodbye.

Cecilia and Edith stood before the dark green tentacles, and together with the other knights and priests, bowed to Grin to express their gratitude for his shelter and protection during this time.

Of course, mere verbal expression is not enough, but Edith still wants to come back, and they are afraid of not being able to find a reason.

So privately, she discussed it with Green and they decided to use her as the 'thank you'.

Oh, and bring this with you.

As they parted, Green handed Edith a small bag.

Upon opening, a small section of dark green tentacle was found inside.

But unlike the other tentacles, this one is a darker color, and there are faint patterns shimmering in its flowing eyeballs.

Let alone touching it, just a glance at it can make people feel dizzy, as if countless voices are whispering in their ears and many blurry figures appear in their vision.

However, although Edith's body was soft and sensitive, her spirit and will were among the best in the entire church. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to maintain such close contact with Grimm's eye-like tentacles. Although it was rarely mentioned, Grimm's eye-like tentacles, or rather, the area where he focused his attention, were very likely to cause mental pollution.

Moreover, the pollution did not come from any malicious intent; it simply existed, and for ordinary people, it was a disaster.

As for why this characteristic hasn't been fully revealed until now...

Those who survive the demonic tide, even if the tide was weakened, are no longer considered normal people.

Especially those with slightly lower mental resistance will get lost in the fog and eventually go berserk and become monsters. Those who can survive must not only be able to escape the monsters physically, but more importantly, they must be able to resist the erosion of the demonic tide.

Even these survivors only dared to approach tentacles that resembled 'limbs' or 'tools,' and were not too willing to approach eyeball tentacles, let alone enter caves.

Even the female warrior who cooperated with the Green experiment was able to remain in a relatively clear state until the end of the experiment only because Edith accompanied her throughout the process and constantly provided her with various mental resistance buffs.

The perspective returns to the present.

Edith blinked as she looked at the tentacle in the box, which she had never seen before and which was clearly much stranger, before glancing at the dark green tentacle beside her.

"This is......"

【seed】

[Also eyes]

After drawing cards for so many years, even if he's incredibly unlucky, he should be able to draw some hidden, powerful tentacles by now.

Because their numbers are too small and they are difficult to split, they are rarely used. Even in previous battles, they were just mass-produced cannon fodder that were used without much thought. Edith and the others had never seen them before.

This is why, after witnessing Cecilia's immense power, he only felt that she was very strong, but he wasn't particularly wary of her.

To reiterate, he's just too lazy to do it, not incapable of doing it.

As for the abilities of this tentacle, although they haven't been fully developed, Green has at least discovered two uses for it.

One of them is the ability to operate over extremely long distances, even when far away from a large group, without any sense of awkwardness.

Although I haven't been able to test the exact limit distance due to previous limitations, this time I can finally test it.

As for the second effect, it is 'assimilation'.

Although it cannot split itself and its regeneration ability is extremely weak, this tentacle can absorb various nutrients to create the 'seeds' of the tentacles that it has already analyzed.

Given the right environment and temperature, those seeds can germinate quickly and evolve into corresponding tentacles. As long as they are not too far from the core tentacle, they can also share the operational bonuses.

The only problem is that its manufacturing ability is not that strong; the tentacles that develop from the seeds are degraded in various ways compared to normal ones.

Strength, agility, survival time, and the inability to create unanalyzed special tentacles...

After much thought, Green decided that instead of keeping this thing at home, it would be better to send it out to open a branch mine.

I haven't taken any action because I haven't been out much and don't know where would be a good place.

but now.......