Starting with the defeated female knight

Because the demonic tide can spread and proliferate, even if the fog concentration is extremely high at the beginning, it will be diluted due to continuous diffusion, and eventually dissipate over time after being diluted to a certain extent.

Not to mention that they had already resisted the demonic tide for three days before entering the mountains. Even assuming that the demonic tide broke out from the moment they started resisting, six days had already passed.

However, the fog did not dissipate; in fact, it was terrifyingly thick.

After relaying the news to the female knight in the tentacles, Cecilia's expression also turned serious.

But even with their heavy hearts and worries, after discussion, Edith and Cecilia had to admit that there was nothing they could do right now.

It's not just because of Green's presence. In fact, even if Green returned all the equipment to them now and didn't restrict their movements, they would just be wasting their time if they went out.

Thick fog has enveloped the entire mountain range, concealing countless dangers.

Although Edith has almost fully recovered due to overexertion, Cecilia's condition is still far from optimistic.

The holy seal dimmed, and rampant power raged within her body. Even with the help of nutrient solution to repair her body, it only made her feel a little better.

This is one of the reasons why Cecilia never left the cave.

Another reason is that she looked really bad because she was covered in nutrient solution almost all the time, and she was too embarrassed to go out and see people.

In conclusion, after discussion, they reached a consensus.

That means staying here, not thinking about going out or doing anything, and obediently cooperating with the tentacles' demands is the best option.

"We've secured a three-day buffer period; hopefully, our efforts will be worthwhile..."

Cecilia sighed as she soaked in the pool of tentacles, her body trembling from time to time.

Although she had been with the tentacles for three days, she was still a little unaccustomed to the sticky feeling, especially the feeling of the tentacles enveloping her.

[They're even complaining now. Can't they learn from other girls?]

Across from her, Edith's gaze swept subtly over Edith's dress, which was covered in slime and outlined her body, and was slightly transparent. She then nodded and gave an innocent smile.

"Yes, we have done our best. The rest is up to those big shots in the capital. Trust them... well... we can only trust them anyway."

When the topic turned to the important figures in the capital, a strange expression flashed across both of their faces for a moment, before they tacitly chose to change the subject.

"To be honest, I think living here is not bad."

Edith picked up a tentacle, held it in her arms, and gently kneaded it. A viscous liquid kept secreting, covering her hands.

Don't mess with my tentacles!

The eyeball in her arms glared at her, but Edith pretended not to see it, then raised her hand and smeared the slime on Cecilia's still-clean areas.

Since it seemed to be helping with treatment, Cecilia didn't think much of it and let the small hand stroke her while lowering her eyelids.

Do you really think life here is good?

"Yeah, it's true. The capital is bustling, but there are too many annoying people there. In comparison, the living environment here is a bit worse, but at least there's no annoying noise..."

"...Are you planning to stay here?"

"perhaps."

"..."

"I see."

Cecilia took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind.

"If you decide to stay here, I won't object."

"I need to go back to the church, at least to bring the knights back, and to investigate this demonic tide."

"Then, I will come back to you."

"I'll stay with you as long as you stay here."

The little hand, which was applying the sticky substance, paused slightly.

"Ah."

Edith nodded slightly.

There was nothing unusual about it.

Book 1: Chapter 7: The Great Miracle

Cecilia said she had no choice but to come back to be with Edith.

Because of the previous misunderstanding, she was convinced that Green had his eye on Edith, and that Edith might have made some kind of deal with that strange being in order to protect them.

Therefore, when Edith said that she might stay, she immediately realized the hidden meaning in Edith's words.

But she didn't know what to do.

After making up her mind, she took various actions and tried in various ways to get that being to forgive her previous offense, and tried to show her abilities in the hope of attracting the other party's attention and exchanging herself for Edith's freedom.

But as it turned out, the other person didn't care about her at all. After giving her a strange look, they turned their attention elsewhere.

But Cecilia could understand, after all, as a former village girl, she didn't have much to offer besides being good at fighting.

Because of her poor condition, let alone fighting, she might not even be able to put on her equipment if Green returned it to her, making her even less comparable to Edith.

Ultimately, after all her attempts failed, she had to accept reality.

But Edith was someone she had mentored, and given the current situation, she felt she had to take responsibility no matter what.

After hearing Edith's hint, she paused for a moment, and then made a decision.

"I'll stay with you as long as you stay here."

What she didn't know was that Edith had just been trying to change the subject and was just chatting with her casually.

After three days of getting to know each other, Edith still couldn't ascertain Green's background, but she gradually realized that he wasn't the kind of person who was harsh or terrifying.

Or perhaps, quite the opposite.

Especially after a few minor incidents that others might not have noticed, Edith, while not completely letting her guard down against the tentacles, found that the feigned trust she had previously put on was becoming less and less pretentious.

She began to try to talk to the tentacles, and she was no longer so resistant when they entered her body. She even found herself able to accept the previously sticky and slippery nutrient solution after getting used to it, as long as it didn't go into her mouth.

However, since she rarely had the opportunity to openly touch Cecilia in church, she casually brought up some topics to change the subject and get Cecilia's attention.

She just hadn't expected Cecilia to react that way.

After Cecilia spoke, Edith, though she didn't know how she got to that point, was genuinely tempted.

If she stays, Cecilia will stay, far away from the church, just the two of them...

After the exchange, Edith left with a glint in her eyes.

......

Two days later.

The fog has thickened again, and...

Edith's expression was rather unpleasant.

"It's starting to spread into the mountains."

Although he didn't fully understand what she said, even without Edith speaking, Green sensed that something was wrong.

Although he lacked knowledge about the demonic tide, he had been rooted in this place for so long and had even been intentionally maintaining the local ecosystem in order to find more materials to mutate his tentacles. Therefore, if anything unusual happened, Green would naturally notice it.

He hadn't paid attention before because the fog hadn't spread into the mountains where he was, and even the monsters lurking there deliberately avoided his territory.

But it's unclear whether it was due to the excessively thick fog or something else.

In short, the demonic tides that had always avoided the mountains where Green lived had invaded his territory for the first time.

Although it was still only on the edge, the beasts inside remained restrained and did not cause a particularly large impact, but it was enough for him to notice something amiss.

Moreover, Green is not easy to deal with.

It's not that he couldn't defeat those things in the fog. In fact, although there were very few, there were indeed a few completely berserk monsters that rushed out of the thick fog and charged towards the mountain where he was.

But those ferocious beasts didn't even enter the camp's humans' sight before he used the 'Whipper' to knock them to the ground, and then used the 'Cutter' to cut them into eight pieces.

Therefore, the root of the problem is not whether it's worth fighting or not.

If Green wanted to, he could right now overturn the mountain range he's currently inhabiting, take all his tentacles, and go out to give the thing in the fog a good beating.

But the cost is that the environment he has maintained over the years, the various tentacles he has painstakingly built and categorized, and the stable cultivation methods he has tried to develop will, if not completely destroyed, at least suffer considerable damage.

In addition, there are concerns about the potential loss of tentacles during combat, the environmental damage, and the potential pollution from leaving seemingly abnormal objects dead unattended...

These are all questions.

The best outcome, of course, is that the other party doesn't come, and it's as if nothing happened.

But if the opponent insists on coming over, then Green will have to consider how to fight back.

Winning isn't the problem; the problem is how to win with the least amount of cost.

As he pondered, his dark green eyes moved continuously, causing the mountains below to tremble slightly.

As the tentacles flowed, the tough, sharp, and venomous tentacles began to multiply and were transported to the edges through the underground tentacle network.

Inside the mountain range, tentacles that secrete hardened mucus climb continuously, reinforcing the mountain, while some hard tentacles also stand out everywhere, forming supporting structures.

[Move some more tentacles with ranged attack capabilities to higher ground, and prepare some falling rocks and logs on hillsides and cliffs... Hmm?]

During the preparation, he felt the tentacle wrapped around Edith being squeezed.

He thought it was because he was fidgeting while thinking, which she couldn't stand, and he was about to say that he would be more careful next time, but he saw Edith looking at him with a very serious expression and saying earnestly.

"My lord, I would like to retrieve that holy book first."

【Can】

The tentacle nodded without any hesitation.

After spending a few days together, he learned that the people in the camp had fled here because they were being chased by those things outside.

After spending a few days together, a basic level of trust had been established. Coupled with a common enemy, he didn't believe that these people would turn against him once they got their weapons.

And it doesn't matter if you're betrayed.

At worst, it'll just mean dealing with more corpses.

These corpses even looked much cleaner than the monsters outside.

So, at Edith's request, Green not only returned the Holy Scripture to her, but also returned the weapons and equipment of the others.

Although he didn't expect these people to be of much help, every little bit counted, and it would also allow him to see how humans fight in this world.

As he expected, after obtaining the weapons, the people in the camp did not rebel against him. Instead, they became extremely serious and tense when they heard that the demonic tide might strike again.

The camp was bustling with activity.

Constructing fortifications, polishing equipment, pre-battle mobilization...

Although they didn't know if the demonic tide would come or what that being's attitude would be, the people in the camp remained on high alert, as this concerned their lives.

As for Edith, after retrieving the Holy Scripture, she regained the ability to perform miracles.

First, they went into the cave and cast a full set of healing and restorative miracles on Cecilia. After confirming that it had no effect and instead caused the tentacles below to swell up, almost squeezing Cecilia so much that she cried out, they temporarily gave up on healing this being who made up 99% of the entire investigation team's combat power and instead went outside.

Reaching the edge of the mountain range, but still some distance from the mist, Edith raised the holy book and began to chant incantations.

"In the name of the Triple Crown, in the name of the Supreme Throne flowing with silver flames, let the dawn be the string, and the moon the pillar..."

The monsters within the mist seemed to sense something, opening their scarlet eyes and then bursting out of the mist, rushing out in a rush to tear apart the threat before them.

But the next second, dozens of tentacles suddenly rose up in front of her, piercing their bodies with their sharp tips and pinning them to the sky.

"Tracing back to the silver stream where creation first rang, with the tears of Saint Etheras as our witness, we question the laws slumbering within the ancient rock..."

A winged monster descended from the sky, spewing terrifying flames from its mouth.

But the next second, dozens of tentacles rose up from around Edith, forming an iron wall that blocked all the flames and attacks.

At the same time, one tentacle broke off its own sharp blade, allowing another tentacle to coil up and project, instantly piercing through the monster's body, causing it to fall from the sky.

【man! 】