Chapter 58: It's too hellish for the sake of "guarding"!
"You stay here!" Shu Xin said hastily, then released Nuonuo Li, cast a defensive shield on herself, and fell straight down into the thick, dark fog below.
Before even entering the black mist, Shu Xin sensed another layer of defensive barrier surrounding her. The soft, serene light of the light purple magic enveloped her. Shu Xin glanced up and saw the elderly flower fairy with purple hair and eyes looking at her with worry. She smiled and said, "I'm fine!"
Withdrawing her gaze and casting a concealment spell on herself, Shu Xin flapped her wings and soared into the thick fog.
She flew towards the deer-shaped creature in the thick fog with a clear goal in mind, but Shu Xin did not expect that as soon as she flew into the fog, she would feel a powerful resistance that seemed to be pressing down from all directions.
The thick, dark fog resembled some kind of sticky, heavy liquid, making it impossible for Shu Xin to increase her speed no matter how hard she flapped her wings. Even acceleration magic was useless; she could only fly forward inch by inch, incredibly slowly, enveloped in the fog.
Before she could even get close to the deer-like creature at the very front, Shu Xin heard a long, mournful howl.
Under the siege of the flower fairy combat team, the leading deer-like creature collapsed with a thud. In the field of vision of the detection magic, its enormous body dissipated into wisps of mist in the blink of an eye, and the already dense black mist between heaven and earth became even thicker.
After the leading deer-like creature was defeated, the other deer-like creatures that followed slowly sped up. They raised their heads high, made bleating calls, and one after another met the flower fairies who were rushing towards them.
Unlike the flower fairies who were struggling to move forward, the flower fairies' movements were not affected at all. They quickly advanced the battle line. Under the vision of the detection magic, Shu Xin could clearly see that one deer-like creature after another fell down. They turned into scattered mist, and the black mist that clung to the ground was becoming thicker and thicker, and darker and darker.
The resistance that Shu Xin felt was also getting bigger and bigger.
In the end, Shu Xin stopped trying to move forward. She stood still and watched one patrol member after another fly past her. Seeing that the flower fairies were all wearing defensive shields, Shu Xin's heavy heart felt a little relieved.
Just as she exhaled, Shu Xin saw the defensive shield on a female flower fairy collapse and suddenly dissipate.
Thick black mist enveloped the flower fairy with long pink and white hair. Large, scorching red wounds instantly appeared on her fair skin exposed outside her uniform. However, she seemed to feel no pain, gripping her magic wand tightly and continuing to fly forward. Shu Xin gasped for breath and immediately cast a defensive shield on her. As soon as the magical light shone, the flower fairy with long pink and white hair flew far away.
Holding the magic wand, Shu Xin's feelings were complicated and hard to describe. If her casting speed was even a fraction of a second slower, her defensive shield would miss!
Thinking of something, Shu Xin gritted her teeth and tentatively extended her fingertip outside the magic shield around her—it felt like dipping her finger into concentrated sulfuric acid; half of her knuckle instantly dissolved. The excruciating pain made it impossible for Shu Xin to fly, and she plummeted straight down. If it weren't for the already difficult movement within the black mist, she would likely have suffered a terrible fall!
Having regained some strength, Shu Xin flapped her wings vigorously to steady herself. She then quickly cast healing and restorative spells on her fingers, and only then did she feel like she had come back to life.
Shu Xin thought she would scream in pain, but in reality, she was in so much pain that she couldn't make a sound. Now that she had recovered, she awkwardly raised her hand to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. The ancients were right, if you don't court death, you won't die...
Seeing the pitch-black mist outside the magic shield, Shu Xin was filled with fear. She had no doubt about its destructive power. She felt that if she removed the defensive shield, she would definitely die instantly.
So, are those deer-shaped creatures in the black mist really "living things"?
Just by looking at their large, branching antlers, one can easily identify them. This feature is too distinctive. There were giant deer in Shuxin's original world, but they have become extinct. Giant deer also exist in this magical world. Unfortunately, in Shuxin's memory, this gentle and powerful giant deer, which was called the "Guardian of the Forest Goddess," has also become extinct.
Shu Shuxin did not find out the reason for the extinction of the Great Horned Deer, so she naturally had no way of knowing. She also did not know why these long-extinct creatures would appear with the black mist and be attacked and driven away by the flower fairies as so-called "extraterrestrial monsters," which meant that such a situation had probably occurred countless times.
Could it be that all the magical beasts from the outer continent are the incarnations of long-dead spirits?
Shu Xin had wanted to get closer to observe them in order to determine exactly what they were.
This herd of great antlered deer, seemingly in ghostly form, had been heading straight for the Tree of Life since their appearance. The flower fairies clearly mistook this for an attack. If Shu Xin were unaware of the riverside spirits' tragic past, she would have thought the same. But now, she found it hard not to interpret their actions in a different light—
The kind-hearted river elves must have their own friends. The Great Deer, known as the "Guardians of the Forest Goddess," is just like a friend of the river elves who are skilled in nature magic and can improve the magical environment. When their friends' homes are attacked, will the Great Deer stand idly by or come to their aid? The answer is probably the latter.
The deer herd resolutely walked toward the Tree of Life, not to "attack," but to "defend" it!
Is their lack of defense due to unwillingness to defend, or inability to defend?
The Tree of Life, besieged by human mages, must have employed numerous methods. Could the extinction of the Great Horned Deer herd be related to human mages? Even in death, they could not find peace, instead transforming into their current gloomy state. Could this also be related to human mages?
Are they not attacking because they cannot attack, or because they do not want to attack?
Do the river elves, taken away and modified by human magicians, truly retain control of their bodies? Could they, under the manipulation of human magicians, cruelly kill their own friends? And faced with these pitiful, manipulated elves, could the Great Deer bring themselves to retaliate?
Although all of this was just Shu Xin's speculation, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for her own conjecture.
If this is truly the case, then the scene of "elite flower fairies bravely fighting against monsters from the outer continent" is simply too hellish!
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-07-27 20:34:14 and 2024-07-28 19:37:02!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ranran (20 bottles); Go study!; and MomoMo183888 (1 bottle).
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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