Chapter 63 Castile (XIV) An Encounter

Xu Lingzhao continued leading Yu Yu toward a water source. Water is often the best place for Oberyl to build its nest. Using mental energy to find their way around reduced a lot of unnecessary trouble. Along the way, they encountered almost no insectoids of C-rank or higher, and they were basically killed in one hit.

The miasma grew thicker, like a fog blocking their path. Xu Lingzhao felt that the forest itself wasn't too dangerous; the danger lay in the miasma. Yu Yu was already somewhat delirious. She frowned slightly. If the miasma grew in a place like this, then the antidote to dispel its interference must also be in this place.

This can't go on. Yu Yu's condition is already very bad. Xu Lingzhao chose to retreat. She led Yu Yu behind a large rock, pressed down on Yu Yu's shoulders and made her sit down. The situation wasn't too bad.

Xu Lingzhao looked at the few small purple flowers on the ground, which seemed to be an antidote. She squatted down and was about to reach out to touch the flowers when she heard hurried running and two A-level Karak bugs.

She quickly got up and leaned against a rock, hiding herself behind it. She originally didn't want to get involved in this, but Yu Yu's words suddenly came to mind—"His Highness might come here."

If she could actually encounter the Crown Prince and save him, things would be much easier. She peeked her head out from behind the rock and immediately saw a blond Alpha running at the front, which told her directly that this was the Crown Prince. However, she did not act rashly but waited to see what would happen.

The best results are achieved when you strike at the most dangerous moment.

Alistair listened to the roars of the Karak worms and felt utterly desperate. He had been to this forest several times, but very few people knew that there were precious medicinal herbs here, so he did not bring many guards, only two S-level mental power guards and three A-level mental power guards.

The Queen has recently become obsessed with elixirs, and he personally picks the herbs to please her and show respect. After all, among the many princes and princesses, he is the most likely to become the first in line to the throne, but the current situation is not optimistic.

When they first entered the forest, everything seemed normal, but the deeper they went, the stranger things became. White fog appeared out of nowhere, and everyone's mental energy was disturbed and even suffered mental damage. Alistair had just witnessed his two A-level guards being pounced on and eaten by beetles that suddenly appeared.

His combat power plummeted, and coupled with this damned fog, he grew increasingly desperate. In order to have this forest all to himself, he had hardly told anyone about his itinerary. If he died here, he would lose everything he had!

But the Karak bugs were hot on his heels. In particular, Alistair felt his vision blurring and couldn't see the road ahead. Oh no! He suddenly turned to the side, and a black, slimy tongue knocked the sword from his waist. He was just a hair's breadth away! He was then wrapped up by that long tongue and carried away.

A chill ran down his spine to his feet, and he felt as if he could barely lift his legs. "Your Highness, be careful—!" The guard shoved him, and Alistair felt a dizzying sensation as the guard's legs were caught in the air. The Karak bug stood still, its mouth open, waiting for its meal to be devoured.

As another Karak bug ran toward him, Alistair felt completely unable to think. He tried to dodge but his legs felt as if they weighed a ton and he couldn't move.

As the Karak bug's claws swung down, he instinctively closed his eyes, but the expected pain did not come. Instead, he felt someone standing in front of him. He opened his eyes, panting heavily, and saw a female Alpha dressed in knight's attire standing in front of him, using her sword to block the claws.

Her golden hair clung close to his face as she looked at him.

Xu Lingzhao focused her mental energy, looked into the eyes of the Karak bug, and attacked it with her mental energy. As expected, its movements stopped, and almost the next second, the Karak bug's head exploded like a balloon. She immediately shifted her target to save the guard. Amid the guard's painful screams, another Karak bug died in the same way.

She ran towards the guard, squatted down to check her injuries. Fortunately, the female Alpha was only injured in the abdomen. Xu Lingzhao took out some herbs from her bag and applied them to stop the bleeding.

The pale-faced female Alpha gasped for breath. She suddenly grabbed Xu Lingzhao's wrist, her eyes scrutinizing him. Her lips trembled as she asked, "Who are you?"

"Xu Lingzhao, a third-class knight of the Rose Knights," she replied, looking into her eyes.

The female Alpha released her hand and lay on the ground as if exhausted. She shook her head at Xu Lingzhao and said, "I'm fine. Go protect His Highness."

Xu Lingzhao pursed his lips and finished bandaging her wound without saying a word. As soon as he stood up, he felt the coldness of a sword sheath on his neck. "Why are you here?"

"I came here with a friend to find medicinal herbs to treat his father's illness," Xu Lingzhao replied calmly.

"Where is your friend?" Alistair's rationality returned slightly, and he asked in a cold voice. His act of stepping forward at the most dangerous moment made people suspicious.

Xu Lingzhao turned around and looked up at Alistair, who was on guard. She slightly raised her chin and gestured for the guard standing next to Alistair behind the rock. After a while, the guard brought Yu Yu, whose eyes were glazed over, to Alistair.

Yu Yu? Alistair was startled. It was her. He had indeed told her that there were precious herbs here. Combining this with what the female Alpha had just said, he lowered his sword from Xu Lingzhao's neck. "You are Yu Yu's friend."

Xu Lingzhao nodded, took two steps forward, and pinched Yu Yu's cheek with her hand, applying a little force. "Ouch—! Why are you pinching me again!" Yu Yu's eyes cleared a bit. She was about to look at Xu Lingzhao with a resentful gaze when an undeniable face appeared before her. She rubbed her eyes exaggeratedly, her tone filled with disbelief, "Your Highness! How could it be you! I must still be hallucinating, oh God!"

Seeing her like this, Alistair was completely relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief and said to her, "I didn't expect to see you here. Thanks to your friend, otherwise..." He didn't finish his sentence.

Yu Yu glanced at her surroundings and roughly understood what had happened. Her admiration for Xu Lingzhao grew even stronger, and she secretly rejoiced at her good judgment in choosing the right person.

Alistair looked at the silent blond Alpha standing to the side and asked, "Do you know how to remove or reduce mental interference?"

“Yes, but it’s uncertain,” Xu Lingzhao said. “Someone has to try it first.”

Xu Lingzhao pulled up the few purple flowers by the roots and handed them to the A-level guard, who had been designated by Alistair as a "test subject." He put the flowers into his mouth without hesitation.

Everyone was watching his reaction.

Alistair's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the blonde female Alpha. From his angle, he could only see her profile. It was the first time he had seen a very beautiful and powerful female Alpha. Since it was all a coincidence, she had done something worthwhile.

Xu Lingzhao noticed someone was watching her, but instead of turning around, she observed the guard's reaction. Fortunately, she guessed right; his eyes gradually cleared, and he said that the strange feeling had disappeared and his body was no longer heavy.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was this inexplicable miasma that had limited their mental strength. Alistair and his guards sat under the rock, and the task of finding the purple flower fell to Xu Lingzhao, who was still relatively conscious.

Alistair watched Xu Lingzhao's departing figure and asked Yu Yu, "Who is she?"

Yu Yu leaned against the rock, a blade of grass dangling from the corner of her mouth, and mumbled, "She just joined the Knights, she's very strong, and she's a nice person. You can trust her."

He was completely relieved when he heard Yu Yu say it herself.

Xu Lingzhao walked into the forest alone. There weren't many of those small purple flowers, and if she needed to take them continuously, it would be better to prepare more. She spread her mental energy and used it to search for these small purple herbs and medicines that could remove scars.

It was very quiet all around, so quiet that there wasn't even a sound of wind. Xu Lingzhao became alert. The atmosphere was too strange, with a feeling of familiarity and strangeness. She gripped the sword in her hand tightly. Suddenly, the sound of flowing water came from beside her ear, breaking the silence.

Reason told her she didn't need to go alone, but her legs moved forward uncontrollably, as if someone was pushing her. Xu Lingzhao arrived at a cave with a natural entrance, and the sound of flowing water came from inside.

As soon as she stepped into the cave, black mist suddenly appeared before her eyes. She frowned, wanting to turn back, but found that she could not. Was the miasma bewitching her? No, no, she felt that her mind was very clear, but her body was out of control. So she walked alone into the depths of the dark cave entrance.

She could see nothing. She took out a dagger and plunged it into her thigh. Pain shot through her thigh. She held her breath and focused her mental energy.

Finally, she stopped moving forward. This place was too strange. Xu Lingzhao had a bad feeling. There seemed to be something more powerful than her here. She couldn't resist it, but she had no choice but to continue.

Xu Lingzhao felt a mist brushing against her cheeks. The feeling was sticky and disgusting. She turned her head to avoid it but found that she could no longer move. What was this thing?

The melodious singing echoed in the empty cave. Xu Lingzhao felt that the singing had a strange magic that was constantly attacking her mental power. It hurt so much, as if needles were constantly piercing her body.

The intense pain caused Xu Lingzhao's hands to tremble slightly. She closed her eyes, and the singing seemed to be gouging them out. Warm tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks to the corners of her mouth.

It is blood and tears.

For the first time, Xu Lingzhao felt so close to death. She was powerless to resist and could not even make a sound. Her internal organs were being pierced by fine needles, and her skin felt like it was being cut by a sharp dagger.

Like being slowly sliced ​​to death, she eventually collapsed to her knees, unable to hold on any longer. Her hands hung limply, her nails scraping the ground, her head bowed, and tears of blood streaming from her eyes.

With a mouthful of rusty taste, Xu Lingzhao felt his consciousness becoming sluggish.

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Author's Note: [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]