Chapter 177 A smooth road strewn with flowers, a path strewn with thorns...
Unlike ordinary people who are filled with fear of the demons that bring calamity and death in legends, magicians who have come into contact with the laws of the world know that the demon race is actually just elemental life forms born from the demon realm. However, magicians do not want to provoke the demon race. The demon race itself is eyeing the material plane covetously. In addition, elemental life forms are essentially immortal. Destroying one will only lead to the birth of another. It is better to maintain a safe distance.
The problem is that magicians who can truly perceive the laws of the world are still a minority. Not to mention that even if the facts and reasoning are explained very clearly, a considerable number of humans still harbor various unrealistic fantasies about demons. Demons who can freely travel to the material plane by crossing spatial barriers are quite rare, but there are quite a few demons appearing in human territory. Aren't they summoned by humans themselves?
Having confirmed that the demons before him were not summoned by humans, Grand Duke Flower felt a little relieved. Even if demons could corrupt human souls, the constraints of the plane's laws would prevent large-scale horrific events. However, if humans actively summoned demons, the situation would be entirely different—wolves that eat sheep will stop hunting once they are full; humans that eat sheep will continue hunting even after they are full!
"Has the territorial war in the Demon Realm ended?" the blue-robed mage asked after a long silence.
Xi glanced at her, revealing an overly exaggerated expression of surprise: "The Demon Realm? The territorial war is over? We might as well hope that the Creator God will recreate the world! I rushed over here because I didn't want to die in the territorial war."
Blue-robed mage: "...I misspoke. You should have taken away all the corrupt souls in this city that you found delicious. Do you have any other plans for coming here now?"
Xi clapped her hands, with a "you should have said so earlier" expression: "I just wanted to find some spatial coordinates. Emperor Blatzman was a holy warrior who once slew a red dragon, right? My friend here has some red dragon blood, and she really wants to know how that happened. Could you provide the coordinates of the capital city of the Blatzman Empire? If it's convenient for you, I won't bother searching for it."
Bluehorn cooperatively revealed a hint of Red Dragon's aura.
Grand Duke Flower wisely remained silent. The blue-robed mage's expression changed several times before he finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "I will provide it to you."
The mages naturally knew that legendary elemental beings like red dragons could not enter the material plane. However, the "great achievements" of Emperor Blatzman in slaying the dragon had reached the ears of demons with red dragon blood. This was very awkward, extremely awkward. It was like a family member boasting about their neighbor's achievements, only to find the neighbor smiling and listening to them brag.
As for the "information search" mentioned by the demons, their methods were certainly not normal. After the blue-robed mage gave the coordinates of the capital city of the Bratzman Empire to this demon who called himself Belial, she breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming several times that the group of plague gods had indeed left.
They exchanged a glance and both gave a wry smile.
Although she obtained the spatial coordinates of the royal city, Xi did not go there directly, but instead went to another city near the royal city.
Bluehorn explained to the river elves, “It would be too easy for us to expose ourselves if we just went over like this. The Holy Warriors who slay dragons are just a front for this country. We are just using an excuse. They made their fortune by using the bodies and souls of your ancestors. What we are looking for now is also the bodies and souls of your ancestors. But we can’t let them find out that we are looking for this. If we are discovered, it would be fine if they secretly hid it, but what if they destroyed it directly?”
Shu Xin was unaware of Xi's progress; she was preparing for the harvest month.
As the number of civilians heading to the Land of Sin continues to increase, the number of patrol members is also growing in tandem. In addition, after learning Elvish script, the flower fairies are becoming more and more adept at using and controlling magic, and their combat power has naturally increased significantly. Most importantly, after dividing the functional areas, they only need to focus on defending the planting area in the agricultural area and the magic workshop in the industrial area, which has greatly reduced their workload compared to before.
Harvest month has arrived as scheduled.
The patrol team members began to take turns patrolling day and night, and the demons ate and slept at the forefront of the battle line—they didn't have to study for a whole month and could fight to their hearts' content. The demons were so excited that they wished the harvest month could be extended for another month.
The enormous, sky-covering magical cat reappeared, and the flower fairies in the territory began to skillfully harvest and pick the flowers. Shu Xin also led the fairies who hadn't gone out to join in, and they started working busily. In the first few days, Shu Xin would miss Xi a little, but later she was so busy that she fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, and she didn't have time to think about anything else.
After receiving the reply that the Land of Sin would only pay half of the original magic tax, Patrolman Sissis pondered for a night and said the next day that he needed to stay in the Land of Sin for a while longer, and that he would take the magic tax from two harvest months with him after the harvest month ended.
Shu Xin expressed her understanding and told him that the Sinful Land would pay its share of magic tax during this harvest month as usual, without being halved. Upon hearing this news, Sissis looked at the Flower Fairy as if he had seen a savior.
During the harvest month, Sisis also fought on the front line against the monsters from the outer continent. As expected of a patrol envoy who travels within the territory year-round to kill monsters from the outer continent, Sisis's combat strength alone is comparable to that of three or five demons.
Sissis possesses an extremely rare and precious innate magic: time magic. Although he can only manipulate time within a small area, his use of this innate magic is extremely precise. He can always appropriately speed up or slow down the flow of time, thus defeating the monsters from the outer continent more effectively and quickly.
Furthermore, Sisis was very familiar with the weaknesses of these phantom monsters and their respective appearance patterns. After observing Sisis's battle scenes in her spare time, Shu Xin immediately ordered him to command the flower fairies in battle. Sisis lived up to expectations and repelled wave after wave of outer continent monsters in a shorter time and at a faster speed.
When the harvest month ended and the patrolmen were about to leave, Shu Xin felt a little reluctant to part with Sissis.
Sissis was even more reluctant to leave the land of sin—
The residence in the Land of Sin is quite comfortable. Even though the weather became hotter after the arrival of the harvest month, the princess activated the Garden of Wonders magic as soon as possible to regulate the temperature in the Flower Castle. When Sissis slept in the cool room temperature, she had to cover herself with a soft, fluffy floral blanket.
As for food, Sissis felt like he had entered a divine kingdom every day. His space stone was now filled with all kinds of delicacies. When he shamelessly asked the cooks how to make a few dishes, the cooks, seeing that he still didn't have a good look on their faces, still gave him a detailed recipe with specific steps.
During his leisure time, while wandering around the land of sin, Sissis was amazed by everything from the bellflower huts for slaves to the tall treehouses for commoners. The incredibly convenient teleportation array also broadened his horizons. He also explored all the functional areas, visiting the classrooms, the artificial lake, the medical room, and the dungeon. He even fought with the demons and obtained several pieces of nut candy and magic gems.
Because he slew a large number of alien monsters, Sissis, who made outstanding contributions during the Harvest Month, naturally received ample rewards. Besides various delicious meals and desserts, his magic wand was reforged, he received a magic cloak with maximum defensive capabilities, and finally, he received an invitation from the princess—
"The Land of Sin welcomes you at any time, and naturally, your friends and family are also welcome," the Flower Fairy said with a smile.
Patrolmen are not only highly skilled in combat, but also highly educated. Compared to the general population who are illiterate, the specially trained patrolmen have a systematic grasp of Elven script. If you could bring a patrolman to the Land of Sin, he would definitely be a reserve cadre!
Before leaving the land of sin, Sissis said one last thing: "My family will move here."
While he feasts at a table laden with delicacies in the Land of Sin, his parents, wife, and siblings are probably stuck indoors gnawing on withered wild fruits and coarse wild vegetables, and his newborn child is probably only able to fill his stomach with water. Meanwhile, the young flower fairies of the same age in the Land of Sin can eat soft and tender egg custard and drink magically potent soups, living healthy and happy lives.
His fellow villagers and former friends may not even have wild fruits and vegetables to eat, and can only gnaw on bitter and astringent acorns, while their children may not even have clean water to drink and can only endure hunger...
Before this, he had always firmly believed in His Majesty the King's decision. The current poverty and confinement were only temporary, while the future riches and freedom would last forever. All the suffering and torment he and the other patrolmen had endured was for the sake of a truly better future, so it was all worth it!
Yet, the almost unreal, blissful experience of life in the land of sin caused Sissis to begin to waver uncontrollably.
The bright future chosen by His Majesty the King has yet to arrive after thousands of years, but the suffering endured by the flower fairies throughout countless years has always been real!
If he hadn't seen the other, flower-lined, smooth road, he would have surely thought he was destined for a thorny path, but now he has.
Sitting on the back of the white-feathered bird, Sissis took a deep look at the incredibly bountiful and peaceful land of sin below. He had chosen this path, and he had gone too far to turn back, nor did he intend to. But his family and friends could take another path.
As long as the end of the road is bright, it is good. ... Even if you reach the end and find it's a dead end, it doesn't matter. No one will know it's a dead end until they reach the end. Once they know, those who come after can stride confidently onto another road.
Turning his gaze away, Sissis patted his old friend on the back of the neck, and the white-feathered bird flapped its wings and took flight. They flew over the snow-white high wall, farther and farther away, until they disappeared from sight.
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Author's Note: This chapter was so laggy! I only finished it at 5:30, and then when I was about to publish it I realized the previous chapter hadn't gone through! [A bolt from the blue!]
Waaah, I'll correct any typos after I wake up. I'm going to sleep now!
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