Chapter 258 The End of the Journey (1.2w)
Xia stared at the dark-patterned ring on her ring finger, her expression changing from gloomy to bright.
At this moment, he was riding in a carriage towards the foggy sea. He was originally resting his eyes, but the ring that symbolized his and Hillina's love vows began to flash frequently.
"here we go again"
Xia gritted his teeth. Even though he had complete faith in Hillina's loyalty, the recent unusual events still left some shadows in his heart.
According to the God Ancestor's narration, if Hillelina's feelings for Xia waver in the slightest, the ring on his finger will gradually dim.
And if one day she breaks her oath and falls in love with another man, Xia's ring will be completely reduced to dust along with the divine power contained in it.
"Perhaps..." Xia clenched his fists suddenly, "It's time to test the authenticity of the oath."
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and took out an antique silver mirror from his arms.
Ancient runes were entwined on the mirror frame, but the mirror surface was hazy as if shrouded in fog.
This is the "Mirror of True Vision" bestowed upon him by the God Ancestor Xia, and it contains a ray of the will of the God Ancestor Xia.
When Xia's fingertips touched the mirror, the dormant runes suddenly lit up, emitting a faint blue light.
In an instant, the mist in the mirror began to surge, and the figure of Sillina could be vaguely seen emerging in it.
Xia could feel the vast divine power coming from the mirror. It was the will of the God Ancestor that spanned thousands of years and was unveiling the curtain of time and space for him.
"Let me see." Xia murmured softly, dripping a drop of blood on the mirror. "What are you doing, Sillina..."
Blood spread across the mirror, and the ancient runes began to spin rapidly. Then the mist in the mirror gradually dissipated. With a faint spatial fluctuation, ripples appeared on the mirror surface like a calm lake being broken by a stone.
After a moment, a picture gradually came into view.
Xia held her breath and watched the scene in the mirror gradually solidify.
However, the picture seemed to be covered by a hazy veil and could never be completely clear. The sound was completely isolated and only blurry figures could be seen swaying.
Not only that, Xia felt a biting chill spreading from the mirror along her fingertips.
This was no ordinary interference, but some kind of powerful restriction that blocked the Mirror of True Vision from spying, which made him terrified in an instant.
You know, there is a ray of the will of the God Ancestor in this mirror, but even the will of the God Ancestor Xia can only penetrate to this extent at this moment.
"Didn't Sillina go to the Tomb of Heremus? Why is that place able to block the will of the God Ancestor?"
Shia found it unacceptable.
According to the information he had, judging from the style of the reliefs on the mausoleum, its age could probably be traced back to the early Second Age, which was the Age of the War of Gods.
At that time, the gods had not yet established their kingdom, but walked on the earth in their complete forms, exercising their respective powers.
It is not difficult to imagine the identity of the tomb owner, as he could have such a magnificent mausoleum in that era.
So Xia also knew that the Tomb of Heremus was extraordinary.
But he didn't expect that the tomb owner was so powerful that he could interfere with the will of the God Ancestor.
After all, in his cognition, the God Ancestor is already the most powerful existence in the world, and it is hard to imagine who else can compete with him.
Xia wanted to see the blurry picture clearly, but despite her best efforts, she could only vaguely see that Hillina was in a small world at the moment.
It was a vast and desolate wilderness. The barren land was covered with cracks, like the bloody mouth of a thirsty beast, which was shocking to the sight.
Looking around, there was no grass growing, only sharp stone spikes protruding abruptly from the ground, shining strangely under the dark red sky.
Dead silence—this is Xia’s most intuitive feeling about this world.
There were no birds flying, no animals walking, and even the air seemed to be frozen.
Even if you just look at it from a distance through the picture, you can still feel the suffocating sense of oppression that permeates the entire space, as if your throat is being strangled by an invisible giant hand.
Xia tensed up unconsciously in front of the mirror. Even through the mirror, the creepy aura still made his back chill.
What concerned him even more was that distorted black shadows flashed by the edge of the mirror from time to time, as if some indescribable existence was wandering on the edge of the mirror world.
Whenever these dark shadows passed by, the image on the mirror would produce slight fluctuations, as if it was disturbed by something.
"I'm afraid only Hilly could have safely entered such a dangerous alternate dimension alone."
Shea sighed.
The next moment, ripples appeared on the mirror, and the figure he had been thinking about day and night finally emerged clearly.
Even through the blurry mirror, he could recognize the iconic golden hair at a glance - under the blood-red moonlight, Sillina's waist-length hair shone like flowing gold.
She was wearing light mithril armor, holding a holy sword, standing alone in the center of the wasteland. Her cold temperament seemed incompatible with this filthy world.
"Not bad." Xia's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. No other suspicious figures appeared in the mirror. It seemed that her previous worries were unnecessary.
However, just as he was about to put away the Mirror of True Vision, something strange happened!
The mirror suddenly trembled violently, and a terrifying figure riding a giant beast from the abyss rushed from the edge of the screen.
The monster was wearing rotten shadow armor, with sharp white fangs exposed under its helmet. In its hand, it wielded a giant axe wrapped in red mist. The giant beast under its crotch was spewing flames. Even through the mirror, Xia seemed to be able to hear the creepy roar.
"A fourth-level demon?" Xia frowned slightly. Although the fourth-level demon was extremely powerful, he was not invincible.
The girl in the mirror didn't move at all, but she slightly adjusted her sword-holding posture.
The runes on the holy sword lit up one by one, gleaming with holy silver light under the blood-red moonlight. Her platinum eyelashes drooped slightly, and a familiar sneer from Xia appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s about to begin”
Xia unconsciously clenched her fists and stared intently at the image in the mirror.
Hillina's swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle, and even the royal chief swordsman is amazed.
In particular, her unique fighting style always inspires Xia.
The golden-haired knight in the mirror leaped up as lightly as a moonlight elf, and his holy sword drew a brilliant trajectory in the air, colliding violently with the red mist axe of the demon knight.
But soon, Xia noticed something strange - the intensity of this battle was completely disproportionate.
"strangeness."
Xia frowned.
With her strength, Sillina should have easily dealt with demons of this caliber, but the battle was proving incredibly difficult. Several times, the giant axe, shrouded in red mist, narrowly avoided striking her vital points. Xia felt that Sillina's current strength was, at best, that of a third-rank transcendent.
Is Hillina injured?
Xia gradually discovered some clues. The injury was not difficult to understand. He was curious why Hillina did not run away, because she was obviously at a disadvantage in this battle and the situation was getting worse and worse.
As the eldest princess of the Saint Laurent Empire, Sillina must be carrying precious holy light amulets and high-level seals that can help her escape from danger at any time.
The battle in the mirror became more and more intense. The giant axe of the demon knight suddenly broke through the defense and left a deep wound on Hillina's arm.
Blood dripped down the silver armor.
This made Xia frown instantly. She had known Hillina for so long, but she had never seen her suffer such serious injuries in battle.
But even so, she only teleported to a few dozen meters away, still stubbornly staying where she was, not retreating an inch.
In those beautiful eyes, Xia saw a determination and resolve that she had never seen before.
"Why would she do that?"
Shia felt confused.
In his impression, Hillina was by no means a pedantic person. In such a battle where the strength was completely unequal, she would never fight head-on.
But the reality is that Hillina's attitude now is that she would rather die than retreat.
This resolute look gave Xia an idea that he didn't want to believe.
Could it be that who is Hillelina protecting?
Xia frowned.
But what is she guarding?
Shia was the only one in the carriage, and he couldn't help muttering to himself, his voice hoarse with nervousness.
As far as he knew, Hillina was heading to the Tomb of Heremus with her team of gravediggers.
Although Xia knew that Hillina had always been very nice to her subordinates, he did not think that Hillina would sacrifice her own life for them.
So, what exactly is it that is worth Hillina protecting with her life?
After a moment, Xia suddenly understood something: "It must be the secret treasure of the Hermuse Mausoleum. Sillina's goal this time is to completely conquer the Hermuse Mausoleum and decipher the mysterious rules within!"
Thinking of this, Xia's heart tightened even more.
The Sillina in the mirror was already covered in wounds, but she still stood like an insurmountable wall, blocking the demon knight.
Every time she swung her sword, she did so with a fearless attitude, as if silently declaring: If you want to get through, you have to step over my dead body.
At this critical moment, Hilina in the mirror suddenly sighed.
Xia's pupils suddenly contracted as he saw Hillina take off a crystal pendant emitting a faint blue light from her chest.
This was also the work of the God Ancestor Xia. It was a high-level seal made by him personally, and it contained a trace of divine power bestowed by the God Ancestor Xia.
"She actually..."
Xia's Adam's apple rolled.
This protective pendant was a token of love he gave to Hillina. She always wore it carefully on her body, but now she was planning to use it to deal with the demon knight.
A complex emotion surged in Xia's heart, both distressed and relieved.
But he changed his mind and thought that at least this token could protect her safety in times of crisis, and Xia felt a little better.
"According to the Divine Ancestor, although this pendant only contains less than one ten-thousandth of its power, it is still enough to kill this fourth-level demon knight."
Shea muttered to herself.
At the same time, Sillina in the mirror had already begun to infuse extraordinary power into the pendant. Her long golden hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her pale cheeks.
Xia knew very well that this pendant was originally a high-level defensive seal. When Hillina was in danger of her life, it would automatically block a fatal blow.
But at this moment, Hillina wanted to activate this high-level seal and actively release the power inside. For the user, he would have to endure the pain of the backlash of divine power - that is a burning of the essence of the soul, which is far more unbearable than physical pain.
Finally, at the moment when the demon knight pounced again, the pendant in Hillina's hand burst out with dazzling starlight, and a beam of light containing the power of the stars pierced through the sky and the earth, annihilating the demon knight and his mount into ashes!
However, at this critical moment, the mirror suddenly twisted violently, and the image shattered into pieces like broken ice.
The last thing that came into Xia's eyes was the figure of Hillina falling to the ground vomiting blood, and the pendant fragments in her hand turned into powder.
"What's going on?"
Xia stood up suddenly, and the Mirror of True Sight slipped from his hand. He was obviously unwilling to let this happen, so he used his own blood as a guide and madly infused it into the mirror.
With his desperate efforts, the Mirror of True Vision once again held up the mirror-like water curtain.
In just a moment, the scene changed and the battle seemed to be over.
The eldest princess of the Saint Laurent Empire, who always held her back straight and was extremely proud, was now hunched over, struggling to move forward on the barren scorched earth.
Her steps were obviously not as light as before, and she had to stop to catch her breath every few steps.
Xia also noticed that she looked back from time to time, as if confirming something. Unfortunately, due to the limited angle of the mirror, he could only see half of her profile. But the fleeting gentle expression made Xia breathe a sigh of relief, and then a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
"Silina must be missing me right now. After all, it was the pendant I gave her that killed that fourth-level demon knight."
Xia unconsciously raised the corners of her mouth, and her tense nerves finally relaxed.
He imagined how Hillelina felt at the moment—perhaps just like how he missed her.
This thought swept away Xia's gloom of the past few days. He gently stroked the mirror, which had become cold again, as if he could touch the figure thousands of miles away.
No matter what Hillelina was guarding, at least at this moment, she was safe and sound, and that was enough.
At the same time, the light on the mirror completely went out, and no scene could be displayed anymore.
This also means that the divine power of the God Ancestor in the Mirror of True Vision has been completely exhausted.
But just as Xia was about to put the mirror away, a picture suddenly appeared in his mind.
In the picture, due to the angle, although the scene behind Hillina cannot be seen, but thinking back carefully, it seems that Hillina's walking posture seems a bit strange.
It's like... carrying something on your back.
"Maybe it's a secret treasure in the mausoleum."
Xia did not associate the thing on Hillina's back with a "person".
…
dark.
cold.
Severe pain.
Am I still alive?
His consciousness was floating in nothingness, and Lin En felt like he was falling into an eternal abyss, but strangely, there was not a trace of fear in his heart, only a calmness that was almost like relief.
If death could end this heart-wrenching pain, perhaps it would be a mercy.
But for some reason, Lin En always felt empty in his heart, as if he had forgotten someone important?
Who is that woman in a black skirt that keeps appearing in my dreams?
In a trance, Lin En felt someone gently holding him up. The warm body temperature dispelled the biting cold. A faint and refreshing fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. Then it seemed that some warm liquid dripped onto his cheek, with a slightly salty taste.
"Don't die. Don't die."
An almost choked whisper came to my ear, containing a hint of sadness and pleading.
That voice was like a key, suddenly opening the floodgates of Lin En's memory—
I remember now.
It's her, the person who must never be forgotten.
"Yvesette?"
Lynn's eyes snapped open.
But what he saw was not the familiar black in his memory, but a delicate face close at hand. Silina, with long platinum hair, was leaning over and looking at him, her eyes slightly red, and her lips still in the curve of a soft whisper.
But when she saw Lin En wake up, she quickly turned her face away.
However, the fleeting joy in his eyes did not escape Lin En's eyes.
It took Lin En about three seconds for his brain to freeze and figure out the current situation.
He did not die at the hands of the demon knight, but was rescued by Sillina.
Feeling a strange soft touch on the back of his head, Lin En turned his head and found that he was resting his head on the other person's legs. Hillina's warm and slender fingers had just left his cheek, and there was still a trace of the girl's body fragrance left.
"woke up?"
After a moment, Hillina's voice had returned to its usual calmness, as if the fragility just now had never existed.
The sharp pain in his shoulder blade made Lin En gasp, but he still sneered, "I clearly told you to get out."
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
Hillina gazed calmly into the distance. Although she had lost her memory, she was not demented. She naturally knew that Lin En's previous words were just to provoke her and make her leave her and run away.
Lynn was speechless.
Reason told him that he should continue to speak ill of him - after all, when Hillina regained her memory and remembered all the advantages he had taken advantage of her during this period, she would definitely not let him go. Given her pride, she would probably fight him to the death.
But at this moment, feeling the warmth of the girl's thighs and watching her blood-stained blonde hair fluttering in the wind, Lin En's mood was a little complicated.
Just as Lin En was thinking about mocking Sillina again, he caught a glimpse of Sillina's hands out of the corner of his eye. The pair of hands that should have been as white as jade were now covered with shocking scars, as if they were burned by something. Not only that, there was also a wound on her arm that was so deep that the bone could be seen.
This shows that Hillina had experienced an extremely brutal battle.
Lynn's throat suddenly tightened, and all the harsh words were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say a word.
He didn't want to think about how this guy, whose strength had been greatly reduced, had saved him from the demon knight.
It is the hardest to accept the favor of a beautiful woman.
Lin En closed his eyes and swallowed his sigh.
However, Sillina didn't seem to notice his abnormality. After resting for a moment, she turned sideways and listened to the roars of the demons outside the cave. She couldn't help but frowned: "We have to leave here."
Lynn didn't ask any more questions.
I think during the days when I was unconscious, Hillina took me to encounter many demons. It is not difficult to imagine what she went through along the way.
He just looked down at his scarred body - especially the pierced wound on his right shoulder, where the skin and flesh were rolled up and black blood was still oozing out.
The healing medicines that the two men carried with them had long been used up, so they were both dragging their bodies around.
"I'm afraid I can't leave."
Lynn spread his hands helplessly.
Hilina stood up and looked at him as if he were a fool: "How do you think you got here?"
After she finished speaking, before Lin En could react, Sillina had already bent down and carried him on her back.
He just lay on Hillina's soft back, his hair close at hand, gently brushing against Lynn's cheek as she moved forward, bringing with it a hint of the crisp scent of cedar.
Hillina's slender neck had beautiful lines and a pearly luster. Lin En hugged her gently and fell into silence.
"You've clearly recovered some of your strength..." After a moment, Lin En suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, "Why are you pretending to be so weak that you can't walk, and asking me to carry you..."
"Bang!"
The next moment, Lin En fell heavily to the ground, grimacing in pain.
"Are you crazy?"
Lin En glared at the condescending Sillina.
"Sorry, my hand slipped accidentally."
Hillina said calmly, which made Lin En angry, but he was just a fish on the chopping board, so he could only be forced to accept the reality.
What's more, he remembered what he had done to Hillina when she lost her ability to move.
He became even more irritable.
"At worst, I'll let you touch it back."
Of course, Lin En only dared to say this in his heart.
Afterwards, the two embarked on an unknown escape journey again.
In the following days, Hillina trekked across the wilderness carrying Lin En on her back. She dealt with the occasional demons she encountered with her exquisite swordsmanship. Although the process was dangerous, she managed to escape unharmed.
The days passed one by one, and a month went by in a flash.
But the wound on Lin En's shoulder could never heal. One reason was that the spear of the demon knight contained the demonic energy of the abyss, which was constantly eroding his wound.
Of course, the main reason is that the moonlight essence has run out.
Otherwise, even for such a terrible injury, a small bottle of moonlight essence would be enough to resolve it.
At the same time, Lin En was also very clear that if Hillina had not used the few remaining healing medicines on him, the injury on his shoulder would probably have continued to worsen.
The two of them rarely talked along the way, but Hillina kept praying silently, hoping to find the tribe of intelligent creatures that Lin En mentioned as soon as possible.
In this cursed land, loneliness is the deadliest poison.
Without the passage of time, it would be difficult to even notice the passage of time if we didn’t try to remember it.
In this state, humans will not be able to hold on for long before losing their minds and becoming lunatics, or being affected by the strange red fog and turning into killing machines no different from those demons.
Therefore, Lin En and Hilina were secretly glad in their hearts that they still had someone to accompany them during these terrible days.
In this case, the suspension bridge effect is undoubtedly fully reflected in the two of them.
However, as long as Hillina doesn't say it, Lin En will naturally not know what she is thinking.
What he was most worried about was whether some unexpected events had happened in the outside world during the time he was gone.
For example, whether Yvesette's physical condition has worsened as she fell into a coma.
But now that Lin En is trapped in another world, he can only pray for Yvesette. Apart from that, he really can't do anything else.
With each of them having their own thoughts, this long and arduous journey finally took a turn for the better on this day.
When Hillina suddenly stopped, Lin En felt her body tremble involuntarily.
"What's wrong?"
Lin En raised his head and followed her gaze, then his pupils suddenly contracted.
At the end of the horizon, a towering tree pierces the blood-red sky.
Its branches are like giant pillars supporting the sky. Under the lush canopy, the outline of a towering city can be vaguely seen.
The most shocking thing is that the leaves of the giant tree emit a pure silver-white light, just like a bright moon in this dark world.
Hilina turned her head and looked at Lin En on her back.
"Finally found it..."
At this moment, Hillina was undoubtedly more excited than Lin En. God knew how many hardships the two of them had experienced in the past month. After an endless escape, they didn't expect that the city tribe with intelligent life that Lin En mentioned would really appear.
It is like trekking in the desert for many days, and when the scorching sun is about to dry up the last drop of water, an oasis suddenly appears in front of you.
The next moment, before Lin En could even react, Hillina started running quickly.
In almost a moment, the two arrived at the gate of the city shrouded by the sacred tree.
As if they had already anticipated the arrival of a mysterious traveler today, the towering city gate actually opened slightly at this moment, revealing a gap only wide enough for one person to pass through.
Hillina was carrying Lin En on her back, her whole body tense, ready to withdraw at any time.
After all, in this cursed land, any seemingly safe shelter may be hiding dangers.
She wasn't sure if the creatures in this city were the same demons she had encountered before.
"Don't be afraid." At this moment, Lin En's voice sounded in her ears, with a reassuring calmness, "I will observe the surroundings. If the situation is not right, I will tell you immediately."
Hearing this, a flicker of fluctuation flashed in Hillina's eyes.
After a month of sharing life and death together, she had already developed an inexplicable trust in Lin En, so as long as he was by her side, she was not afraid even if there was an abyss ahead.
Thinking of this, Hillina raised the corners of her mouth slightly and stepped into the city gate.
At the same time, Lin En, who was hanging on Hillina, also became extremely alert. After all, this place was never mentioned in the original novel, so he had to be on high alert.
But after entering the city, the scene inside stunned both of them. They saw hundreds of women with purple skin lined up in an orderly manner. They had single horns on their foreheads and mysterious runes engraved on their exposed skin.
The most surprising thing is that these warriors are all women. Each of them has a beautiful appearance, but they hold cold and sharp weapons in their hands and are full of murderous intent.
"There's not a single man here. Is this the land of women?"
Lynn muttered softly, narrowing her eyes in alarm.
Hillina was just about to speak to show her goodwill, but at this moment, something strange happened!
These women, who were obviously from other races, suddenly shouted in unison, and slammed their weapons heavily to the ground. The deafening sound of metal collisions echoed between the city walls.
Just when the atmosphere was tense to the extreme, something even more bizarre happened - they seemed to have seen something terrifying, and their faces turned pale instantly.
The next second, hundreds of brave female warriors knelt on the ground with their foreheads pressed against the ground, their bodies shaking uncontrollably, and the weapons in their hands fell one after another, making crisp collision sounds.
"What's going on?"
Hilina was extremely confused.
…
"Priest Granny, are you saying that a very important guest will be coming to our place today?"
Nora, the demon girl, looked up and asked the priest standing at the front of the line. Almost the entire city had gathered at the gate, gazing at the ancient door with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. As isolated descendants of the demons, they had lived in this cursed city for generations, never having seen outsiders.
And because of the characteristics of their race, they have an extremely long lifespan, which means they don't even need to reproduce through normal mating to maintain the size and number of their population.
At this moment, the young priest in a long robe gently stroked the moonlight pendant on his chest: "According to the prophecy on the stone tablet in the city, a traveler will arrive here today and free us from our predicament."
She didn't know how many long years she had waited for this day, but her belief never wavered.
Even though the prophecy mentioned that the savior who could save them was actually a cursed person cursed by the gods just like them.
"According to the guidance of Master Shenshu, those travelers from another world will arrive in our territory today."
There was a hint of hope in the priestess's eyes, but also a bit of uneasiness.
"Want to teach them a lesson?"
A fully armed demon woman tightly grasped the shadow spear in her hand. Despite her stunning appearance, the fighting instinct ingrained in her blood made her hostile to any outsider, even if this person was the prophesied savior.
Before the priest could answer, the sound of footsteps coming from the city gate attracted everyone's attention.
A girl in mithril armor walked in slowly, carrying a young man in black on her back.
This combination was beyond all of their expectations. The seemingly weak girl was carrying the dying injured person on her back.
Is he worthy of being called the legendary savior?
Seeing this scene, the demon female warrior laughed contemptuously and suddenly slammed her spear to the ground.
"kill!"
Hundreds of warriors simultaneously roared a deafening roar, their weapons crashing to the ground. This was a common tactic used by their tribe, enough to scare the weak-willed out of their courage.
In fact, they also wanted to give Lin En and Hilina a warning.
Because in their opinion, if someone can't even handle this, then the so-called savior may just be a complete lie.
They don't believe that this kind of garbage can save them and bring them light and a future.
However, the next second, when the young man in black raised his head——
All sounds stopped abruptly.
In fact, Lin En just looked at everyone present with some confusion, and didn't mean anything else.
But the pupils of the female demon warrior who took the lead in the provocation suddenly shrank. Under Lin En's gaze, she felt a shudder from deep in her blood, as if she was facing the legendary master of the abyss. Her knees became weak uncontrollably, and the weapon in her hand fell to the ground with a clang.
This overwhelming pressure spread rapidly. In a blink of an eye, all the descendants of the demons on the street knelt on the ground. Even the young priest felt tremendous pressure and barely maintained his last dignity.
At the same time, the leaves of the sacred tree moved without wind, and the silver-glowing crown cast mottled light and shadows, making the scene seem like a miracle.
“Plop, plop…”
The sound of people kneeling one after another broke the silence.
Lin En looked at the scene in disbelief. Hundreds of demon girls knelt on the ground in unison, but he clearly did nothing. In fact, with his current physical condition, he really couldn't do anything.
"What's going on?" He looked at Hillina, who was carrying him on her back, in confusion, but found that this girl had the same puzzled expression as himself.
On the entire street, only the young priest with his eyes closed was still barely standing. The rest of the demon girls were all crawling on the ground, and some of them had the stone slabs beneath them soaked with some liquid - they had obviously lost control of their bodies due to extreme fear.
There was a strange atmosphere in the air. The demon girls lowered their heads, not daring to meet Lin En's gaze.
Looking at this strange scene, Hillina tensed her body, ready to deal with any emergency at any time.
The silence lasted for a long time. Finally, Lynn coughed twice to try to ease the atmosphere.
About ten minutes later, Lin En was sitting in a dilapidated stone house, staring warily at the fluorescent green liquid in the ceramic cup in front of him, while Hillina was staring at the little demon girl who brought the drink.
"Little sister, can you tell me where this place is?"
Hillina asked softly. It must be said that she was indeed more approachable than Ivester. After putting down her airs as the eldest princess, she seemed very approachable.
But what no one expected was that after hearing this, the little girl looked at Lin En in horror, uttered a string of rapid foreign language that was completely incomprehensible, and then ran away in a panic.
It was as if Lin En would eat her if she didn't leave.
"What on earth did you do to them?"
Hilina looked at Lin En helplessly, then her eyes fell on the green liquid in the ceramic cup: "It smells like a fresh grass fragrance, it seems to be fine."
"But do you dare to drink?"
Lynn said with a serious expression.
Both of them seemed very cautious. After all, in this world, if you let your guard down even a little, you could lose your life.
At this moment, a pleasant voice came from outside the door, speaking in a broken human language that they could barely understand: "Two distinguished guests, the sap of the sacred tree is our tribe's most precious gift. It is usually used to entertain the most precious guests. On ordinary days, even I rarely have the opportunity to taste it."
The next moment, the young priestess opened the curtain and walked in. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Her purple skin glowed in the dim light, and the unicorn horn on her forehead was faintly visible.
Although she was dressed simply, the temperament revealed in her every move demonstrated her noble status in this city.
To Lin En's surprise, the priest's command of the human language was quite good, at least normal communication was no problem.
This also made him feel relieved. Otherwise, if they could not communicate, it would be a troublesome thing and some conflicts might arise.
"My name is Lida, and I'm the current priestess of Moro City." The purple-skinned girl gently stroked the moonlight pendant on her chest. "Because everyone trusts me, some people also call me Priest Granny."
Lin En didn't respond, but pushed the ceramic cup in front of her: "Ladies first."
Rita was visibly stunned. "This is a drink for our distinguished guests."
"In our place, ladies and children have priority."
Lynn shrugged.
These words made Lida frown slightly, and then she said, "But in our Moruo City, this is not very polite."
Hearing this, Lin En smiled and said, "It's okay. I just like to drink what beautiful girls have drunk."
But before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist - Hillina's fingers had pinched a piece of his soft flesh.
At the same time, she picked up the ceramic cup expressionlessly, took a sip, and put it down: "If they wanted to poison me, they wouldn't have to do that."
"Besides, I've already tried it for you." Sillina and Lin En exchanged glances. "It tastes pretty good, even better than I imagined."
Lida finally realized that Lin En had refused because he was worried they would poison her. This made her cheeks flush purple with anger. "You're going too far. We treat you as our most precious guests and even offer you the sap of the sacred tree. You should know that most people in our tribe can only drink it once in their lifetime. Moreover, if we had ill intentions towards you, we would have prayed to the Lord of the Sacred Tree to kill you on the spot before you even entered the city."
Hearing this, Lin En sighed with a complicated expression. Now that things had come to this, he no longer hesitated and directly picked up the clay cup in front of him.
However, to his surprise, the juice of the sacred tree was refreshing at first, but immediately turned into an indescribable bitterness, which made his whole face wrinkle.
He had never tasted anything so strange.
But soon, a warm current spread from the stomach to the whole body, even the wound on the shoulder that was corroded by the evil spirit began to itch and heal, and the whole person felt refreshed instantly.
To a certain extent, Lin En felt that the effect of this sacred tree juice was no less than that of the moonlight liquid.
It can even be said that the taste may be a bit strange, but the effect may be even better.
"It seems I was overthinking it. Although these people seemed hostile to me and Sillina when we first entered the city, it might just be an instinct for self-preservation."
Lynn thought to himself.
"This is Moro City." Then, Lida took the initiative to explain, "The women of our tribe have lived here for generations, hiding from the wars in the outside world under the protection of the sacred tree."
"What, female?"
Lynn frowned slightly.
"Yeah." Lida nodded. She seemed to recall some bad memories, and a hint of fear appeared in her eyes. "You have come all the way to us. You must have encountered many devil-like creatures along the way."
"Um."
Lynn nodded.
These devil-like monsters were all dealt with by Hillina.
"Actually, those were once our male tribesmen." Rita's voice suddenly dropped, a shadow cast over her violet eyes. "But under the erosion of the red mist, they gradually lost their sanity and became monsters who knew only to kill."
"If it weren't for the protection of the sacred tree, even we survivors would have fallen into madness."
When she said this, Rita's mood became noticeably depressed, and she was obviously feeling sad for her male compatriots.
Lin En raised an eyebrow and looked at Lida: "Have you ever thought about finding the source of the red fog and solving this problem once and for all?"
The question raised by Lin En stunned Rita. She didn't know whether she was surprised by Lin En's boldness or was thinking about the feasibility of Lin En's method.
She was silent for a moment, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. "It is said that in ancient times, the demons angered the gods with their bloodlust and bellicosity, and were eventually cursed and exiled here, suffering an incredibly long imprisonment."
"We are a group that bears original sin, with sinful blood flowing through our bodies, destined to be cursed by the world..."
Rita's voice was filled with a fatalistic calm. "This is the punishment we deserve, so we never dared to think about the question you raise."
"Ridiculous," Lin En interrupted with a sneer. "War and slaughter are the norm in every world. If I were to ask you, the only mistake your ancestors made was being so arrogant as to challenge the authority of the gods, yet they themselves lacked the corresponding strength."
He thought to himself that this red fog might be a punishment from the gods.
But even the most severe divine punishment will leave a glimmer of hope, otherwise the survivors in Moro City would not exist at all.
"But..." Lin En changed the subject, "Hundreds of thousands of years have passed. After so many generations of atonement, I think even the heinous sins should be washed away."
A glimmer of hope suddenly shone in Rita's eyes. "So your arrival must be an oracle! You've come to lead us to break the curse!"
Hearing her words, Lin En was also stunned for a moment, and he saw him stroking his chin thoughtfully, "So you want us to help you leave this world? But have you ever considered that after so many years, the outside world has already been turned upside down and may not be suitable for you to survive."
When he said this, Lin En's eyes swept over Lida's almost bewitching beauty. "Especially for special beings like you, you are likely to become playthings or slaves of the powerful. At that time, your situation may be even more miserable than in this world."
Hildena rarely refuted, but just stared at the young priest in silence.
"We know that during the long years of waiting, we've already deduced countless possibilities." Rita's voice was as soft as a sigh. "But rather than wait for death in this decaying cage, we'd rather trade our freedom for a glimpse of the real world."
After she finished speaking, she raised her head and met Lin En's gaze with a stubborn look: "Even if that one glance costs my life."
The stone house fell into a long silence, but it was undeniable that Rita's words had a strong impact on Lynn and Hillina.
Lida took a deep breath and smiled sincerely. "As the prophesied savior, we are certainly willing to listen to your opinions and give you two choices."
"What's the meaning?"
Lynn asked.
"If you are unwilling to break the barrier that shrouds this world for us, then for the sake of our tribe's continuation, we cannot let you, a rare man, go. Therefore, our first choice is to stay in Moro City forever, continue to unite with our people, and continue our bloodline until the day you die."
As she spoke, she twirled her slender fingers around her hair, "Second."
"No need to say, I'll choose one." Lin En interrupted firmly, "What's a mere curse from the gods? If the gods want to exterminate your race, then I will go against them. After all, breaking the rules is what I'm best at!"
The pain in his waist came again - Sillina's fingers pinched his soft flesh again, and at the same time said coldly: "We choose two and help you break the barrier."
This time, Lin En gasped in pain. He had to admit that Hillina was really cruel.
Although her memory hadn't yet returned, some instinct told her that she had to return to her original world. But a voice in her heart whispered, "Perhaps it wouldn't be bad to stay here, and continue this complicated relationship with Lin En..."
Because she knew clearly that if she regained her memory after returning to the real world, she would regret it.
When she thought of this, Hillina couldn't help but take a look, and couldn't help but be curious about what Lin En thought about this matter.
Unlike Hilina's hesitation, Rita clapped her hands in delight. "Before that, I have something I want to confirm with you."
"During the past month or so, those terrifying thunder and lightning in the sky, are they related to you?"
"Forehead……"
Lin En couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. He was indeed the one who caused the thunder and lightning, but it was because he had desecrated Hillina.
But he didn't show it and could only nod as if nothing had happened.
After receiving the confirmation, Lida's expression suddenly brightened: "Dear traveler, to bring down such a terrifying thunderbolt, I'm afraid you will have to pay a huge price."
"Although I know it's a bit presumptuous to ask this, I would still like to ask you to demonstrate it for us."
When she heard this, Hillina seemed to have realized what was happening. The tips of her ears instantly turned crimson, and she turned her face away unnaturally.
Because when the thunder was roaring in the sky before, it seemed that it was when Lin En touched her...
"this……"
Lin En was also a little embarrassed. He couldn't touch Hillina in front of Rita.
So he could only pretend to be serious and said, "Don't you believe us?"
Lida quickly waved her hand and said, "Of course not. We've been waiting for ages according to the instructions on the stone tablet, and we really don't want our hopes to be dashed, so please understand."
Having said that, Lin En could only come up with an excuse: "It's not that I don't want to show it, it's just that the cost is too high."
Seeing Lin En's sincere eyes, Lida nodded nervously: "I understand, so if you need anything, you can ask for it, and we will do our best to meet it."
"In that case, just give me ten more buckets of the same juice as before."
"This..." Hearing this, Lida looked embarrassed and bit her lip and said, "Our tribe doesn't have this much stock right now. I need to ask the Lord of the Divine Tree."
Just as Lin En was wondering what kind of existence the Lord Divine Tree was, an old voice echoed in the stone house: "I am just a dying ancient tree. But you, little one, I sense the extremely strong resentment and evil thoughts from the world's will in you. I am really curious about how you have survived until now."
The next moment, a branch shining with silver light poked in from the window and swayed gently.
It turned out that the entire conversation had already been heard by the towering tree.
(End of this chapter)
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