Chapter 254: The seal is repaired, behind-the-scenes news, emotional issues...
The news that the main boundary marker in the orc territory had been repaired came back in winter.
Two months before Neil's wedding, Ray and Edmund were trying various ways to cancel the unwanted ceremony.
No one expected that the three main boundary markers could be repaired in such a short time.
This restoration project, which spanned several years, is of great significance.
The demons were once again sealed in the darkness of the subspace, and the continent of Casa successfully weathered this crisis.
The general public only hears the final result, but only those who are personally in the eye of the storm can truly understand the hardships and suffering they endured.
The orcs and humans were the most affected by this war with the demons.
Both groups suffered the greatest losses of soldiers and civilians, and their lands were also the most extensively damaged.
Many villages and towns were destroyed in the war, and their former bustling scenes are no more. Landmark buildings have all disappeared, leaving only cold ink marks on the map.
Over the course of several years, the forest vegetation in Eaton Forest was destroyed by the war, and countless magical beasts were killed or injured.
However, the completion of the seal does not mean the end of the war; there are still many demons remaining on the continent.
These demons require a great deal of time and effort to eliminate, and every demon that infiltrates the population has the potential to cause devastating consequences in the future.
Dealing with this situation requires not only national-level intervention but also the joint efforts of all residents across the mainland.
There is still a long and tough battle ahead.
That's the situation. But right now everyone is immersed in the joy of the main boundary marker being completely repaired, so the subsequent matters such as clearing out the demons can be put on hold for now.
The regent appropriately relaxed the restrictions, and after receiving confirmation that the boundary markers had been repaired, celebrations lasted for three consecutive days both inside and outside the capital.
The city streets were brightly lit at night, and even Cher couldn't help but sigh that the royal city had finally returned to its former glory.
Lai led Tata through the colorful lights. People like him, bringing magical beasts along, were commonplace in the royal city; it was nothing unusual.
As long as Tata doesn't speak, no one will notice that he's different.
Having been in the royal city for so long, this was the first time Lai had felt the city's vibrancy.
The scene looked like a harvest festival.
Beneath the enormous statue in the central square, a bard sat singing on a xylophone. A crowd of people, including the elderly and children, surrounded him.
"Hey! Ray!"
When Ray turned around, he saw Nash dressed in ordinary clothes. Every time he had seen him before, Nash was wearing a mage's robe, as if he could go out and fight at any time.
When did you get back?
"I've been back for several days now! My parents gave me two weeks to rest."
Nash replied with a cheerful laugh.
"Lord Vesper has returned as well?"
"Hmm. The master isn't feeling well. He returned via the teleportation array as soon as the seal ended, as if he has something to take care of."
"Oh, okay. Where are the others?"
Nash thought for a moment.
"The people from the Vatican stayed behind to help clear the battlefield. The rest of the people basically didn't move."
As you know, far too many demons have entered Eaton Forest and the orcish territory; the army needs to conduct a large-scale cleanup.
"Um."
The two walked and talked, and found a tavern where they sat down in a corner.
The tavern was crowded, and two simply dressed young men were serving drinks to the guests.
"Their ale is very good. I often come here with my colleagues from Baita in the evening for a drink."
Nash introduced to Ray, and they ordered two large glasses and some snacks.
The malt liquor here tastes similar to beer, but a little less flavorful.
When the ale was served, Nash took a large, satisfying gulp.
I've been craving this for so long!
"Then you should drink more today."
"Hahaha!"
Tata stayed under the table, avoiding the feet of the passing crowd, and munched on the beef jerky that Lai had brought him.
"You drink some too, you should try it and taste it."
"good."
Lei raised his glass and took a sip.
"Nash, what material was used to repair the third one? I heard that we might not have enough materials."
Ray accepted Nash's invitation with a purpose; Nash, always on the battlefield, would surely know more.
"You've come to the right person with this question."
Nash raised an eyebrow.
"I wasn't told this couldn't be revealed, but telling you shouldn't be a problem. Even if I didn't tell you, Master Golden Oak would definitely have told you anyway, so it's not a secret."
Nash kept everyone in suspense for a moment, but once he had piqued Ray's interest, he finally began to explain.
The two huddled together, trying to keep their voices as low as possible.
"Lai, as you know, the first main boundary marker was made of dragon bone, the second used several tons of mithril, and as far as I know, they tried many different materials for the one in the orc territory."
Initially, they used the horn of a unicorn raised by the elves, the tears of the orcish merfolk, and soul stones from the undead race. However, even these materials were insufficient to maintain the stability of the seal when used as the core of the monument.
Later, the adults went to the Elf Kingdom and brought back a large section of tree trunk.
"The trunk of the mother tree?"
"That's right. But it's not."
It seems that Golden Oak's judgment at the time was correct.
Ray thought to himself, "Let's hear what Nash has to say next."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's not the current Mother Tree, but the one from the past. Even so, it's still extremely rare. The Mother Tree is a sacred object for the Elf race, and it's the foundation of their clan."
It is said that they can communicate with the Mother Tree and purify evil. Therefore, the elves made a great sacrifice by using it as material for the boundary marker, and later indeed used this section of the tree trunk as the main body of the seal.
All races contributed significantly to the sealing effort. The demon race is indeed recognized as an enemy by the other races.
"It's always good that the boundary markers can be repaired successfully."
"yes."
"Have the undead joined the war as well?"
"Um."
Nash nodded.
"There aren't many of them; they mainly do some rear-area work. Do you remember that strange person who always wore full armor, covering himself up completely? That's the undead."
Ray recalled that he did indeed seem to have seen such a person in the Eton City Lord's Mansion.
"What about the three dragons? Are they still in the orcish territory?"
"Here I am."
Nash clearly had a lot to say about the three dragons who came from the dragon race.
"I heard that they're not going back to Dragon Island this time."
"Wouldn't it be very dangerous for them to stay on the mainland?"
Nash understood what Ray meant.
Dragons are treasures from head to toe. Dragon scales, dragon blood, dragon claws, dragon bones—every part that can be seen can play a great role in various aspects.
"No one would risk their life to provoke these three. You have no idea how powerful they are. On the battlefield, a single breath of their dragons wiped out a small company of demons. You can only truly understand their strength by witnessing the dragons' performance firsthand."
Nash sighed repeatedly.
Why do they want to stay here?
"this......"
His tone was somewhat hesitant.
"This is just my guess. The master of the Third Territory is too young. He doesn't seem to want to leave the territory for Dragon Island, so the three of them decided to stay and raise him to adulthood."
Upon hearing this conjecture, Lei couldn't hold back his emotions.
"Isn't he already an adult?"
"From a human age perspective, that's certainly true. But from a dragon perspective, he's still too young."
Even though he had the mind of an adult, in front of dragons who could live for thousands of years, that adult was just a cub who had not yet learned to fly.
In the dragon race, every young dragon is extremely precious. The incubation period for young dragons is long, and their growth period is also long, especially in the last hundred years, with very few young dragons being born.
So as soon as Dragon Island received the token sent by Willard, they sent someone over.
Those three were elders who were experts in three different fields.
Perhaps they stayed here to ensure that person could grow up smoothly.
In a way, Nash guessed the truth.
The reason why Dragon Island attaches so much importance to Willard is partly due to his mother.
However, this matter cannot be told to outsiders yet.
If Willard asks, the dragons might tell him something.
"Well, I didn't expect something like this to happen."
The two chatted for nearly an hour, and the smell of smoke in the pub grew stronger and stronger, making Tata very uncomfortable.
The little monster, with teary eyes, nudged Laiyi's leg with its forehead. Laiyi looked down and saw the little monster's pitiful appearance.
He said goodbye to Nash, and the two of them got up and left the tavern.
Are you feeling better?
Tata nodded.
As they walked, they arrived near the vegetable shop, which was already closed, but the strawberry shop was still open.
Quite a few people came to buy strawberries today, and the extra stock we had prepared was almost sold out. Kama was planning to have Vincent go back to the manor to get some more when, just then, Ray and the others walked into the shop.
"Sold out so quickly?"
"Yes, I'd like Vincent to bring some more. We'll stay here for the next two nights."
Kama answered.
"No need to go back, I still have some here, but I'll have to trouble you to repackage them."
After saying that, Lai took out eighteen boxes of strawberries from the ring space, ten of which were prepared as gifts for a certain nobleman the next night.
However, it's fine to take them out early tonight. There are only ten boxes of strawberries, and they can be picked in less than two hours.
After leaving the strawberry shop, they strolled around for a while before saying goodbye to each other near the White Tower. Lay gave Nash the two boxes of strawberries he had specifically set aside; there were originally twenty boxes in his ring's storage space.
Nash looked at Ray, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to ask you something."
"What's up?"
Lei was a little puzzled. Why not just ask? It's not like it's something embarrassing to talk about.
Do you have a fiancée?
Nash was actually asking this on behalf of his sister.
Ray had visited his house a few times to deliver things, and his parents took a liking to him, so they asked Nash to inquire about it. His sister also seemed to have some interest in him.
Nash thought it would be great if Ray could become his brother-in-law, making their relationship even closer.
Moreover, Rae is not only beautiful and capable, but also has a clean lifestyle and is very reliable in her dealings with others.
The family is simple, with no complicated relatives. Although both parents are deceased, their side of the family is clean and there are no illegitimate children. If my sister can marry Ray, her future life won't be bad.
He agreed to it. Today, I had the chance to ask about Ray's relationship status.
"No, I don't want to get married."
"Oh, so you don't want to for the time being?"
If you don't want to do it right now, waiting a few more years is fine.
"No, I had no intention of doing that at all. What's wrong? Did someone ask you to find out about this?"
"right."
Seeing that things were not going well, Nash did not reveal his sister's identity.
"Just refuse anyone who asks again. Actually, I have a younger brother, but he was kidnapped. That's why I came to the capital."
Once this is all over, I'll go back to my small mountain village; I won't settle down here.
"I've never heard you mention this before. You actually have a younger brother. Finding your brother is a big deal. If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."
"Okay, definitely."
Ray appreciates Nash's kindness.
But this matter involved aristocratic families, and he didn't want Nash and his later friends to get involved.
Ultimately, rescuing Neil was his own business.
Edmund got involved because he was Neil's blood relative, and it was only right that he put in the effort.
There's no need for others to get involved.
They weren't close enough to confide in each other, so why risk offending nobles and even losing their families to save a complete stranger?
And the current situation is still under his and Edmund's control.
Taking advantage of the escape of the monsters from the Colosseum, the two of them gathered a lot of dirt on the Duchess.
The further you investigate, the more you discover. The Arcanis family was also behind the Colosseum.
After talking with Nash, Ray returned to the store to meet with Cher and the others, and then went back to the manor.
In the public eye, the restoration of the boundary markers was tantamount to the end of the war. Even in winter, the royal city's economy began a brief period of recovery.
Specifically, the business of vegetable and strawberry shops has improved significantly, and many more people are going out for walks.
Everyone was in a good mood, and there were many more smiles on their faces.
A few days later, Ray received another invitation from the White Tower; Vesper seemed to have something to discuss with him.
Without thinking, Ray hitched a ride with Vincent on his way to town to sell vegetables in the carriage and went to the White Tower.
Unexpectedly, this trip led them to learn some truths about the demon race.
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