Chapter 220
A year ago, one day, Lady and Yak had lunch together, and then they didn't see each other for several days.
At first, she thought something had happened, or perhaps she needed to heal. After all, she had been injured so severely before, and she didn't know that the Benevolent Ones had come, so she didn't feel anything unusual.
When half a month had passed, she became a little uneasy and asked others about Yak.
They told Letiak that she was gone.
They're gone. Where did they go?
She asked this question many times and to many people, but to no avail.
It was as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth, vanished from the world.
It's unsettling; it feels like something's wrong.
That's ridiculously wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me when you left?" Lady asked the monsters.
"Perhaps he didn't want to take you away," others said.
There is nothing more dangerous than traveling through high-risk areas in a flimsy horse-drawn carriage.
With a survival rate of less than two-thirds, the most significant cost of doing business is human life.
In such circumstances, the stronger an individual is, the higher their survival rate.
However, this doesn't mean people won't die. Many merchants intentionally hire cheap mercenaries so they can be sacrificed to save others in dangerous situations.
But Ark left alone, which means that guy didn't intend to find any scapegoats.
Lady just felt very sad because she had been abandoned and was all alone.
It was Ark who saved her back then. In that city, she roughly understood that humans and rats were the same in that they were prone to dying.
Can she stay in this land of the dead for long? This is the safest place for monsters, and the administrator here is Ark's friend. He will protect Lady; there's no need to say more. Here, she can live peacefully until all her body parts age and she dies.
However, she also left that place and went to Nidra alone.
It took her half a year to return there, and she stayed there for half a year. Now, she has come to this forest again and asked Karl for help in order to cure the corruption in her body.
The ritual lasted four hours. Karl was surprised by the extent of her injuries, because even at this point, she still hadn't turned into a mindless monster.
Perhaps during the year she was away, she also became stronger and no longer cared about such trivial matters.
At the time, Carl and Lady's relationship wasn't actually that good. Even though it improved in the end, it only meant they wouldn't fight to the death when they met.
"Alright," Karl said softly, then removed his cloak and skillfully tore off a piece of cloth to use for bandaging.
Although using clothing to wrap oneself is not considered proper, to be honest, as a clergyman, his clothes themselves have an anti-corruption effect due to the long-term use of holy power.
Something is better than nothing, and it's perfectly reasonable to use it for bandaging.
"Thank you," Lady said curtly. "Do I need to pay?"
She took out a money belt from her pocket and pulled out a few gold coins.
“I’m not a businessman, this is my job,” Carl said. “Keep it for yourself.”
"Thank you." Lady didn't stand on ceremony. After putting it back, she took a dagger from her pocket and placed it on the table. "At least accept this, so we're even."
"We're friends, there's no need for this..."
"We were never friends."
"...At least considering I helped you outside of work hours, we can be considered friends, right?" Karl paused, then said helplessly.
Lady hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and nodded.
“Take it.” Karl handed over a silver cross: “I’ll take your dagger, and you should take this too.”
"In my opinion, this thing with holy magic is disgusting."
"This disgusting thing will save you when you need my help. If you put it on your wound, it can at least suppress the pain for a while." Karl picked up the dagger from the table and examined it from all angles.
It's a perfectly normal dagger; perhaps the only problem is that I can't identify what kind of metal it is.
"If I remember correctly, your ability is to change the properties of matter, right?" He remembered this and turned to look at her. "That sounds like a very powerful ability."
Is this a mockery of me?
“No, that’s not it. I just mean you can do much more than I can.” Carl looked at her. “You can do many things that I can’t.”
"Thank you for your kind words," she said, then pushed open the door and left.
This was their brief meeting. She walked through the forest and tied up her hair, which had been loose earlier.
She put on the hood of her cloak and walked slowly, allowing herself to rest gradually.
Suddenly, she paused and turned her head warily.
“I meant no offense,” Lady said softly, a cross appearing in her pupils.
She opened her hand, and in a few seconds, thin, elongated pieces of metal assembled into a long shotgun. She turned and aimed at the man standing not far away.
"This is where elves live; you monster shouldn't be here."
Before her stood a ram-horned monster, pointing an unusual greatsword at her, its face reeking of alcohol.
The sound of gears turning and the magic swirling around the shotgun made it look exaggerated. She rested it on her shoulder, the wide muzzle pointed at the passing guy.
But after a three-second standoff, both sides were stunned.
"Is that Lady?" The passerby was Deedrey, who looked at Lady, who was holding a long spear and pointing it at her, with some uncertainty.
“Deedri?” Lady was also stunned.
The two looked at each other and remained silent for a moment.
"I never thought I'd see you again." The spear in his hand began to disintegrate, and countless metal pieces were collected into his pocket.
“Yes.” Deedri sheathed her broadsword, looked at her hesitantly, and said, “Are you in a hurry to leave now? If you’re not in a rush, I’d like to invite you to stay at my place for the night.”
"I'm sorry to bother you," Lady said softly, without refusing.
If I weren't truly desperate, I really wouldn't want to send the elf to find Karl for help in the middle of the night.
"You refused my invitation." Not far away, Karl had just come out and overheard their conversation.
"I have a psychological trauma from you," Lady said without hesitation. "If I could, I'd want to smash your head in."
......
In short, Lady rested here.
"You should ask for our help first. Although our situation is very special, we elves will not do nothing for you."
This place is where the Elf King is staying.
Unlike other houses, his dwelling was much quieter. It was even a bit chilly, not damp, but like a place where bats would live.
He explained that this was to preserve his wife, the one who had to use this method to preserve her life because of her trip with Ark, and she was still unconscious.
That old man doesn't have the habit of going to bed early either, or rather, because he has to take care of his wife who is basically unable to wake up, he now basically doesn't have the habit of sleeping.
In a sense, the four of them were brought together by that guy who seemed to have lived for quite a long time. Although they didn't get along well, it was only because none of them were good at socializing.
Then he paused and looked at Karl sitting in front of him.
"Your arrival at this hour is giving me a stomachache." The Elf King's expression was somewhat cold. "Your appearance once so late at night was enough to make my sleep tonight very poor. Your coming again makes me hesitate about whether to kill you."
Carl sat silently at the other end of the table, being stared at by the three men with murderous eyes.
The three men reached a consensus on the point that this guy had to be killed.
The consensus is that this guy should be torn to pieces right now.
Because of Karl's desertion, the whereabouts of the Demon Race are currently unknown. Under the circumstances at the time, being a high-ranking clergyman and having a voice within the church would undoubtedly have been a factor in their survival.
However, they were actually unaware that Ark and Benny had persuaded Carl to leave.
Carl didn't bother to explain, saying that he left because of Ark and Benedict.
He is a saint; he should be able to make many decisions himself. From the moment his own ideas were swayed by others, he began to neglect his duties.
"It's a little embarrassing to say, but there's something I can ask you for a favor," Lady said, looking at Deedrie. "I want to go to the Central Church and bring Lori back."
They got straight to the point, with no intention of changing the subject in any other way.
"Why?" Deedri didn't answer, but just frowned and looked at her.
She sipped her tea, surprised by her directness.
“I want to know exactly where Ark is right now,” Lady said softly. “And in the Central Church, there are eyes that can see the whole world. There, at least we know the Heroes of Honor. With her and Ark’s information, they can’t be lying.”
“So, what does this have to do with Lori?” Karl asked softly.
When he heard Lori's name, he was suddenly surprised, and then immediately realized his own conservatism.
The reason I'm idle and sleepless here is because I failed to protect Lori. But I've never considered bringing her back from the central church.
Perhaps subconsciously, it's no different from being dead. But in reality, she's still alive, thriving somewhere in the world.
Karl thought to himself that he might need to go.
"It has nothing to do with me, but since even the Central Church went there, shouldn't we give it a try?" Lady said casually. "As a demon, if we can bring back an important pawn right now, as long as we bring her back to the Land of the Dead, then I'm sure the Demon Kings will start to reconsider going to war with the Church."
“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Carl raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure I'm telling the truth?" Lady glanced at him, deciding not to pay him any more attention, and looked at Deedri instead: "Please, you're a mercenary, right? I'll pay you."
"Are you tired of living?" The Elf King sipped his tea, seemingly uninterested in such a plan.
There is absolutely no possibility of implementation there. That is the central church, and even if everything goes in the best direction, it is a place where the guardians of the faith reside.
He had personally witnessed just how capable that entity that could block timelines truly was; even if Benny betrayed them, they still wouldn't be able to accomplish this task.
“Failure means death,” Deedris said softly. “Are you sure about this?”
"Do you find life interesting?" Lady didn't mince words and said directly, "And I'm not the same person I was back then."
"Make yourselves at home and rest here." The Elf King suddenly stood up. "You can stay for as many days as you like. Just let me know when you leave so I can have someone pack up."
He paused, looking at Karl sitting there: "Priest, I suggest you leave as well. Neither of us should get involved in the issues they're about to discuss."
"Thank you." Lady nodded and smiled helplessly.
Karl didn't try to refuse, but instead left the room with the Elf King.
“Aren’t you planning to participate?” Carl asked, looking at him.
This plan may sound like a pipe dream, but it's not impossible.
The Spirit Forest now has several Demon Lords, and their strongest forces might very well turn around and help them. In this situation, if a dozen or so Demon Lords were involved in this plan, rescuing the trapped girl shouldn't be too difficult.
"My magic is that tree," the Elf King said softly. "I have left this forest, and perhaps I don't even have half of my power anymore. To my shame, I am not a combat-type user; all I can do is protect my people."
“At least on this issue alone, you did a great job,” Carl praised.
Elves have always enjoyed a fairly good reputation among humans, primarily because they are good-looking, and secondly because they have had very few conflicts with the church.
At the same time, they are not without options. When they cannot integrate into human society, their homes are always ready to welcome them back.
Among monsters, the Elf King doesn't have a good reputation. This guy is too pessimistic, only seeking self-preservation and not any hope or possibility of turning the tide.
However, among the current leaders, he is the oldest and most visionary. His claim of being unskilled in combat is merely modesty. Its power is manifested in this forest; wherever there is magic, it can nurture towering trees.
It can even turn those within it into trees, making it a targeted, instant-kill ability. It's arguably one of the most troublesome abilities.
A person walked towards them, and the two of them almost froze on the spot.
He glanced at the two of them and nodded slightly, which was enough for him to acknowledge their meeting.
Then continue walking down the narrow corridor.
The Arbiter appeared here out of nowhere, carrying a huge bottle on his back. Inside was black mud...
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