Chương 144: Youth is Wonderful

On the scorched earth of the empty land.

Zain was pinned in mid-air by the thorns, and Lylein's staff pierced through Falshu's chest.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

"Zain!"

Shutark exclaimed in surprise, immediately pulled off the battle axe from his back, and was about to rush forward.

The tip of Philon's staff lit up, and an attack spell was about to be unleashed.

As a result, both of them were stopped by Frillie raising her hand.

"etc."

Shutark paused, his brow furrowed, and he was about to blurt out, "What are you waiting for?"

Just then, in front of everyone, Lylene pulled out her blood-stained staff, turned around, and without hesitation, shot a thick beam of magic at Zain, who was pinned down by thorns. Zain, along with the thorns, vanished instantly.

Philon was stunned.

Shutark couldn't believe it.

Shane slowly narrowed his eyes.

"Frilian, this seems to be—" Before he could finish speaking, Frilian nodded knowingly.

"It's exactly what you think."

As Frilian finished speaking, the figures in front of everyone—the dead Falshu, Zain with only a pair of legs, and the "murderer" Lylene—began to sway, but in a moment, they shattered like reflections.

Behind these shattered phantoms.

Falshu held a rope formed from a wisp of black shadow in his hand, kicked off the fallen demon, and tightened the rope in his hand.

The illusory image had already vanished due to being "seen through".

He turned his head and immediately saw the stunned crowd.

"Oh, you've arrived."

Xia En was speechless.

"This is----"

"Oh, we've captured three demons, but one is still on the run, so I set this trap to lure him out."

As he spoke, he kicked the four demons who were tied up like dumplings on the ground.

Xia En looked over.

The three demon youths, dressed similarly to the one he had just killed, each had the characters "B," "C," and "Y" tattooed on their foreheads.

Man".

It's obvious without even thinking that they're in cahoots.

"The one with the 'A' on his forehead has been dealt with by us."

Upon hearing this, Falshu immediately showed an expression of appreciation.

"Not bad, not bad at all. You actually managed to take down the [Man in the Mist]. Your team's strength should not be underestimated."

"The man in the mist?"

"These are the names of these demons."

As he spoke, the ropes formed from shadows in his hands suddenly tightened, forcefully constricting the remaining three demons into magical particles that drifted away in the wind.

"Since there are no survivors, there's no need to leave any alive."

After dealing with the demons, Falshu casually patted his hand and continued explaining to Shane and the others.

"The Mist People are a special type of demon race recorded by the Continental Magic Association. They can use the water mist in the air after rain to cast invisibility spells, and they usually hunt together in groups of four."

"If ordinary adventurers encounter them, their entire party is easily wiped out."

"And they especially enjoy toying with their prey, because they believe that prey that dies in fear is full of blood and has more delicious flesh."

"The best way to deal with them is to wipe them out completely. Otherwise, the remaining members will follow up and seek revenge until they have killed everyone."

"This is a very cunning and cruel demon race."

Shaun stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "Sounds like they hold grudges even more than dwarves—" Falshu asked in confusion, "What?"

Xia En quickly waved his hand.

Just then, Lylene appeared with Zain.

The old man's gaze immediately fell on Ailu on Shane's back.

Seeing the girl's pale face, he rushed to Xia En's side.

"Elu!"

Lylene called out anxiously to her granddaughter.

Ailu's eyes were tightly closed, showing no sign of waking up.

Shaen quickly put the girl on his back down and told Lyleen that Ailu had been controlled by the "Mist Man" and had quickly exhausted her magic power in a short period of time.

Upon hearing this, Lylene raised her hand and touched her granddaughter's hair.

The movements were very gentle, and her eyes were full of heartache.

Xia En felt a little reluctant.

He turned and glanced at Zain.

Zain clutched his Bible, looking disheveled and exhausted, clearly having been tormented by the Man in the Mist.

"Is there—" Before Shane could finish speaking, Zain shook his head.

"Restoring magic power takes time; the Goddess's magic cannot do that."

"Moreover, in her current state, she probably won't wake up for at least two or three days."

The old campsite has been completely destroyed.

The group moved their new campsite to the west side of the forest.

This time, Shane added another layer of [Goddess's Barrier] outside of Falshu's barrier.

After we settled our things, it started raining again in the mountains.

Looking at the layers of clouds in the sky, Frillie judged that the rain would last at least a day or two.

Shutark and Zain made a bet on whether it would take one day or two days.

Shutark said that Zain didn't understand the weather.

"I've been learning how to read clouds and predict the weather from my master since I was a child. It's a survival skill that every qualified adventurer must master."

Zain said that Shutark did not understand the northern countries.

"As a native northerner, I can tell you definitively: in the northern countries, once it starts raining, it will rain for half a year's worth of rain within a few days, and it won't stop until it stops."

The two argued their points, each holding back a parting shot of "If you win, you're amazing," and then sat down to observe the world around them.

Philon thought the boys were really boring.

The little girl prepared the ingredients and went to cook for everyone.

Frilian smiled but didn't say anything. She took a magic book and went back to her tent to pass the time.

Lylene took care of the unconscious Ellu.

It's clear that the old man dotes on his granddaughter.

He stayed by Ailu's side without leaving her side for a moment.

Every now and then, use a damp handkerchief to moisten Ailu's pale lips, and feed her water and food on time as instructed by Zain.

The movements were very careful and meticulous.

The old man already had a somewhat melancholy look in his eyes, and every time he looked at Ailu, his eyes were filled with extra sorrow.

Later, Falshu told Shane, "Ailu's parents were killed because they were ambushed by demons while fighting against them. They fought desperately and exhausted their magical power."

"Elu was only two years old at that time."

"The little girl cries herself to sleep every day."

Falshu casually picked a foxtail grass from the side of his feet.

Pinch the grass stalk between your fingertips and twirl it; the foxtail grass spins, releasing a few seeds. Those tiny seeds fall onto the grass and disappear in an instant.

Falshu sighed and continued, "In the northern kingdoms, there are many children like Ailu who have lost their parents and relatives."

Xia En remained silent.

He thought of Philon and Shutark.

Whether it's a war between humans or a war between humans and demons, it's always these innocent children who suffer in the end.

peace.

It seems like a distant dream in people's hearts.

Xia En looked up, his gaze drifting beyond the mountains and forests to the north.

【The Mad Sage, Charles】brought himself to this world "so that humanity can completely eliminate the demon race and achieve final victory."

He was furious when he first found out about this.

It's infuriating that someone would use the banner of justice to kill so many people.

I think he's a madman.

But along the way, he witnessed too many tragedies and too many people who were willing to sacrifice themselves on this path.

Now, he feels lost.

Sacrificing the lives of a few to secure peace for the majority.

Is it madness or helplessness?

"By the way, Shane, I wanted to ask you this from the very first day I met you: do you possess something that belongs to the demon race?"

Falshu's words interrupted Shane's thoughts.

He suddenly came to his senses.

Then, from deep inside his backpack, he pulled out a large glass jar that was wrapped tightly in layers of packaging.

Is this what you mean?

Falshu stared at the glass jar in Shane's hand and pushed up his glasses.

"This is----' Shane then gave a brief account of the Bloodlust Curse that had occurred in the territory of Earl Granat.

Falshu's gaze gradually shifted from a little curiosity to intense curiosity.

He took the jar and carefully examined the black asphalt inside.

When Falshu's hand touched the glass bottle, the black asphalt inside seemed to come alive, desperately trying to escape Falshu and converging towards Shane's location through the glass.

Falshu stood up, holding the jar, and circled around Shane, conducting the experiment several more times.

The black asphalt seemed to have its own navigation system, always converging on the side where Shane was.

Falshu gave Shane a deep look, his eyes filled with intense inquiry.

"This little guy seems to like you quite a bit."

Xia En was speechless.

"I don't like them. Since you're interested, you can take them."

""

"I just want you to find a way to purify them, or simply tell me what they are."

Falshu held the jar and raised his chin.

"Don't worry, Falsh, a first-class mage of the Continental Magic Association, is no fool."

"That's good."

After a while.

Xia En's brows gradually furrowed.

"Wait a minute, why does it feel like what you just said was an insult to me?"

"Hahaha----" The rain drizzled for two days straight.

Zain won the bet.

Shutark gave him a thumbs up, "You're awesome."

Zain tossed his hair with a smug look on his face.

This drew a disdainful look from Philon.

The little girl couldn't understand at all what was so exciting about this meaningless bet.

Are all boys really stupid?

Thinking about this, she looked at Xia En in the distance.

At this moment, Shane was looking at a map of the area on the west side of the mountains with Frilian.

The two men huddled together, pointing at the map and whispering to each other, both looking very serious.

The little girl secretly sighed to herself: Thank goodness, Mr. Shane isn't an idiot.

far away.

Shane pointed at the map and asked Frilian very seriously, "Why can't the [Tracking Magic] be used on you? You're an elf, and to find the city of elves, you're the one who should be used to find clues."

Frilian looked at him without saying a word.

Xia En frowned.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"That's right."

"So you're going to kill me and use the ancestral information remaining in my bloodline to activate the [Tracking Magic]?"

Xia En stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

"Is it really necessary to go to the point of 'killing'? Magic is not such an inconvenient thing."

Frillie didn't want to talk to him.

I simply rolled up the map and put it away.

Just then.

Ailu walked over.

The little girl woke up last night.

It has to be said, youth is a wonderful thing.

Two days ago, her complexion was as white as paper, but now it has completely regained its rosy hue.

"Thank you, Shane."

The little girl smiled and thanked Xia En.

Shaun waved his hand, "Your grandfather and Falshu are both first-level mages, they don't need my help at all."

"But what about you? Are you really alright?"

Ailu summoned her staff and drew a beautiful crescent-shaped magic circle in front of her.

"Mr. Zain, I've already been examined, and I'm perfectly fine."

"That's good."

The two chatted about other things for a few more minutes, and Shane briefly explained to Ailu the search plan for the ruins that everyone had made a couple of days ago.

The little girl listened attentively.

Suddenly a gentle breeze blew by, splashing water droplets from the nearby trees.

Swah— Ailu raised her staff high, creating an arc-shaped [magic shield] for Shane and herself.

Crackle, crackle.

Water droplets hit the magic shield, making a sound that was neither too loud nor too soft.

Shaen looked up and thankfully Ailu reacted quickly, otherwise he would have had to go find Frilian or Philon to help him dry his clothes.

He smiled gratefully at Ailu.

Ellu smiled back.

Snapped- Xia En heard the sound of a tree branch snapping beside him.

He turned his head and looked around, but there was no one there.

He frowned.

Am I hallucinating?

Because of the appearance of the "Man in the Mist," everyone decided to move out and leave no one behind at the camp while searching for the "Elven Relics."

To prevent the demons from taking advantage of the situation.

then.

After the rain, the eight people set off in the mountains.

According to Lylene's speculation: People need to look for any exposed stone structures or areas where obvious magical reactions have occurred.

Following this standard, Shane carefully searched the bushes.

Before setting off, Frilian was a little worried that he might miss some clues, since Shane himself couldn't sense magic.

But Xia En wasn't worried at all, because he believed that [Strong Luck] would definitely be able to sense it.

Frilian was speechless.

The group of people were scattered in the mountains, keeping a distance where they could hear each other when they called out.

Xia En walked in the middle of the group.

He would occasionally part the weeds in front of him with his long sword.

The soil is very soft after the rain, and if you're not careful, you can easily step into a muddy puddle filled with water.

Xia En walked very carefully.

As I walked, I pondered the topic that Frillie had brought up this morning while I was looking at the map.

She once traveled the world with Vlamé, visiting many places and reading many books.

Vlame once mentioned that the Demon King wanted to exterminate the elves not simply because they had long lifespans and could reach the pinnacle of magical skills, thus posing a threat to the Demon King.

In reality, elves have a very weak concept of time. Whether they do cultivation now or a thousand years from now, there is no difference.

Therefore, there are actually very few powerful elven mages.

Therefore, Vlamé guessed that there must be another reason why the Demon King was willing to go to any lengths to exterminate the elves.

There was a hint of sadness in Frilian's eyes when she spoke of this.

"Shane, do you know why the Golden Tree is called the Golden Tree?"

"Because it's a yellow tree."''

Frillie's eyes had a dangerous look in them.

Xia En touched his nose.

"Go on."

"Craft told me that the Golden Tree is called the Golden Tree because gold represents eternity."

Does gold represent eternity?

Xia En fell into deep thought.

In terms of the inertness of metals, gold is indeed the most stable substance.

"so?"

"Therefore, the Golden Tree might be the reason why the Demon King wants to exterminate the elves. He—wants to obtain the Golden Tree."