Chapter 84 Applying Knowledge: Ancia is the First
At dawn, the last wave of the main monster horde was successfully repelled. Everyone in the camp looked exhausted, but their eyes were bright and excited because the monster horde was over.
Warriors and guards cleaned up the battlefield, collecting materials from the corpses of the last wave of monsters. The seriously wounded lay scattered in the priests' tents, where priests bustled about, busy treating the wounded.
A flash of green light appeared, and Ancia released a nourishing rain upon the sleeping Knight of Light. Suddenly, the shadow of the oil lamp beside her lengthened, and she stopped in her tracks.
The shadows rippled, and Mertri emerged from the darkness, his expression grave. He quickly whispered, "Something's wrong. The magical beasts in the central and outer areas have returned to normal, but the high-level magical beasts deep within the mountains are still behaving abnormally, and the magical energy fluctuations from the abyss haven't stopped."
Ancia frowned, but without the slightest hesitation, said, "Take me to see it."
She trusted Murtrie's judgment; there must be something wrong on the other side of the abyss, and she had to see for herself how serious it was.
Murtrie nodded, stepped forward, bent down naturally, and picked up Ancia with one arm, letting her sit in his embrace. "That way it'll be faster, and I can take you with me."
Ancia's gaze suddenly rose, and she hurriedly put her arm around Murtrie's shoulder, leaning against his firm, elastic chest. The two of them instantly disappeared into the shadows.
Heligalo and Verion were standing not far away, still discussing the finishing touches. Before they could ask anything, they saw Mortley and Ancia disappear before their eyes.
Vilian stopped the conversation and abruptly threw out a question, "...Heligalo, how could you tolerate her trusting the Nightwalker more?"
Heligalo remained expressionless, still smiling. "My relationship with her is naturally different from that of others."
This statement seems to offer no direct response, yet it also seems to say everything.
*
Mortley led Ancia through the shadows. Most of the magical beasts in the outer and central parts of the Monster Mountain Range had disappeared. The closer they got to the abyss, the more magical beasts survived, yet the mountain range was unusually silent. No magical beasts attacked them, as if all living things had been drawn away by something deeper.
Upon reaching the edge of the abyss, the demonic energy here was much denser than in the middle. Mertri lowered his head during a brief pause, "There's even more demonic energy here than before I left."
After the ritual to transform into a demon general was stopped, he became unusually sensitive to the presence of demonic energy. Even the slightest change was noticed by Mortley.
Perhaps due to her high affinity with the light element, Ancia also sensed the anomaly here. The dense demonic energy made her feel dizzy, and she only regained her senses after casting a cleansing spell on herself.
Ancia patted his shoulder, "Get a little closer to the abyss."
Murtrie moved forward, leaping and weaving through the shadows of the treetops, finally stopping atop the canopy of a towering tree. He still held Ancia tightly in one arm and asked in a low voice, "Can you see clearly from here?"
Ancia held her breath and after a long while answered, "...I saw it clearly."
She not only saw it clearly, but she will probably never forget this horrifying sight for the rest of her life.
High-ranking magical beasts, who usually lived in their own territories, charged in droves towards the abyssal rift as if on a pilgrimage. Their eyes were bloodshot and empty as they rushed straight into the deep and eerie crevice, which spewed out swirling demonic energy as if a heart were beating and contracting.
The vast majority of magical beasts disintegrated the moment they came into contact with the abyssal rift, turning into pure demonic energy that was swallowed by the rift and became part of the abyss's nourishment. But the magical beasts that followed, after witnessing their fate, not only did not retreat, but became even more frenzied due to the even denser demonic energy.
Only a very small number of exceptionally powerful magical beasts can escape their fate of death, successfully merge into the abyssal rift, and disappear.
Murtrie's shoulder was gripped tightly by Ancia's fingers. He didn't utter a sound, only looking at Ancia's heavy expression, and calmly asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Having been in the game for over a year, Ancia's magical knowledge had become quite extensive, and she subconsciously said, "Sacrifice ritual."
All magic is subject to the law of conservation of energy. Just like the Lionheart King's soul transfer ritual, high-level magical beasts must have been absorbed by the abyss as energy, and the culprit should be on the other side of the abyss.
Ancia and Merri exchanged a glance; without needing to say anything, the heaviness in their eyes spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation.
The sacrifice of the high-level magical beasts did not last long. By the time they arrived, the sacrifice was nearing its end, and there were no magical beasts left near the abyss rift. Apart from the slightly heavy demonic energy, no one who came here could detect anything unusual.
Ancia then realized what she had done wrong; there were several fingernail marks on Merriel's thin, close-fitting vest. She awkwardly raised her hand and touched them. "Sorry, does it hurt?"
Murtrie looked over with deep, dark red eyes, a hint of a smile flashing across her face. "It's alright if you use a little more force."
Ancia coughed lightly, "Hmm... take me back."
It was already broad daylight when Ancia and Merri returned to the camp, and not much time had passed.
When Heligalo saw them return, he immediately went up to them and asked with concern, "Did something happen in the Monster Mountain Range?"
Ancia sat on the box and called Verion over as well, explaining in detail the anomaly she had witnessed. "...That's it. The demons have never stopped their activities, so we need to be highly vigilant."
Heligalo nodded. "Understood. I will inform the bishops of the Holy See."
Verion had no liking for demons, and his voice turned colder. "The Empire will monitor the demons' movements at all times, and the royal family will not have any dealings with them."
She stood up too abruptly, and her hunger bar, which had dropped to a dangerous level, immediately gave her a warning. Ancia's vision blurred for a moment, and her body swayed before she was firmly supported by Mortley.
Merri steadily supported Ancia's arm and skillfully took out a bottle of milk from his spatial jewelry and fed it to her.
Ancia leaned against him, eagerly drank the beverage, and her satiety level returned to green, revealing a "saved" expression.
Neither of them spoke; a silent understanding and trust flowed between them. Murtrie patted her back and said, "Drink slowly, I'll go find you something to eat."
Verion keenly observed this series of actions and fell into deep thought.
It seems that this is also a way of getting along with Ancia. Although he and Ancia are allies now, Ancia obviously does not trust him that much. In the long run, the alliance will become fragile.
Did you gain her trust by decisively becoming her support when she was vulnerable?
As he was pondering, an exhausted griffin guard passed by him. There was a protruding rock on the ground, and the griffin guard accidentally stepped on it, falling towards Velien.
Suddenly, Villion moved. He imitated Merrith's movements, stepped forward, and tried to mimic that reliable posture, firmly grasping the guard's arm with a very serious expression.
The guard was terrified, thinking he had offended His Majesty. He had heard of His Majesty's temper and immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Verion reacted quickly, helped the guard up, and said stiffly, "...It's alright, you've worked hard, get some rest." He then patted the guard on the shoulder, "Go and get a double dose of recovery potion."
He then maintained an indifferent expression, turned and left, walked to the high platform and stood there, seemingly focused on admiring the scenery of the Monster Mountain Range.
The guard breathed a sigh of relief and walked away, bewildered yet grateful.
Heligalo took it all in, and the smile on his lips deepened.
Ancia was stunned. Why would Verion suddenly help an ordinary guard? But judging from his awkward concern, whether it was a whim or for some other purpose, it was still a good thing that he did this.
She quickly finished the safe food that Murtrie had found, walked up to the platform, and said with relief, "Villien, until just now, I didn't feel like you were a living person."
Verion turned around. "What did you think I was like before? A puppet?"
Ancia thought for a moment, "Like ashes, ashes that have been burned and cooled down."
Verion paused, “Cold ashes…that’s right.”
Ancia smiled, "I don't feel that way anymore. Seeing how concerned you were about that guard just now, I realized you're quite humane. But he probably doesn't need the double recovery potion; he just needs a good night's sleep."
Verion looked away. “I really don’t know what he needs, and not just him, I don’t know what others need either.” His voice sounded like a sigh. “Ancia, I’m just playing the ideal king described in books. That guard was more afraid of me than respectful.”
He swallowed another sentence: "And you, Ancia, you doubt me more than you trust me."
Bathed in the morning light, Verion still appeared as a somber, cold color, lonely and indifferent.
Ancia was silent for a moment, then suddenly blurted out impulsively, "Then why don't you go ask?"
She stepped forward and stood beside Verion, her voice soft yet firm, “When we return to the Eternal City, if you’d like, I’ll take you to see the real people, listen to the steakhouse owner’s complaints about taxes, see what the children want to learn, and ask the elderly what services they need.”
Vilian looked up and saw his own greedy gaze reflected in her bright black eyes.
No one had ever invited him like this before, and no one had ever thought he needed to know these things; Ancia was the first.
He suddenly remembered what he had learned yesterday, lowered his eyes, and said softly, "Anciya, you have seen my memory palace. You know that my understanding of the world outside the palace is indeed shallow."
He paused, a rare pleading glint in his grey eyes, "Ancia, I have no friends, you are my only ally, would you be willing to be my guide?"
Anciya nodded. "Okay, I'm willing. I haven't strolled around the Eternal City in a long time. I've been so busy, it's a good opportunity to go and have a look together."
Verion smiled and said, "Okay, I learn very quickly."
Yes, he has always been a fast learner.
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