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Chapter 671: Nature's Heart

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Malfurion looked at Lankshear and did not say anything. He turned around and said to Lucien, Natasha and Atlant. "I'm very sorry about that. Ferragond has placed his personal attitude above the life and death of all elves. Also, I do not agree with his opinion. Human beings are undoubtedly part of nature."

He did not criticize Nature's Abhorrence, nor did he ignore the matter. Instead, he subtly expressed his opinion and his apology, letting them know that Ferragond could not represent all elves. On the contrary, he was among the minority. Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked for the Congress of Magic's help at all.

"I believe our investigation will be easier if there isn't anyone stirring things up next to us." Lucien accepted Malfurion's apology and smiled back.

Lankshear, the Vengeful Hunter, had a pair of silver, deep eyes. He said, "Thank you for forgiving Ferragond's lack of manners. I'll bring you to Her Majesty the queen."

He did not say anything about the conflict between Nature's Abhorrence and Nature's Balance which was represented by Malfurion.

Led by him, Lucien and his partners passed the lake that looked like a blue gem and flew towards the elvish tree whose one branch was enough to form a forest. In midair, the dense twigs were shaped into houses that were as delicate as artwork.

Yellow and white flowers blossomed on the houses, emitting refreshing fragrance.

"I do feel that my mind is cleansed here. My inspirations are surging…" Natasha complimented the natural view sincerely. "When the night comes, the silver moon will raise ripples of light when it shines above the lake. That will be the most vivid representation of your 'Moonlight'."

Lucien nodded with a smile. "My whole heart is calmed down in such an environment. If you like it here, we can live here in the future."

Natasha chuckled drily, "If I live a couple of weeks here, my soul of musician will be gone, and my cheesy and knightly side will surface. This place is beautiful, but I'm not cut to live here for long."

Lucien was merely joking. Allyn, which was full of discussions and disputes about arcana, was obviously more suitable for himself than Nature's Residence.

Malfurion said next to them. "Although we tried to keep the incident a secret, the Kuo-toans in the ocean seemed to have sensed something and raised conflicts nonstop. Therefore, Yantis has gone to the Boundless Ocean to help with the defense with Jarde, and Selinda and Lodell are defending the abyssal gap on the other side of the forest."

"Therefore, only the queen and the three of us are left here."

Jarde was a legendary druid of the Sea Elves. Thanks to his longevity, he had reached level two of legendary. Yantis, on the other hand, was 'Wind of Moonfall', a legend among the Moon Elves. She had advanced with her talents like Lankshear did. She was still in level one right now.

Selinda and Lodell were the other two members of the Elder Council of the Druids. The former was a nymph and in level two of legendary, and the latter was a human being, known as 'Hand of Balance'. He was in level one of legendary.

"Elder, it's alright. After examining the elvish tree and the corrupted elves, we will go to the abyssal gap and ask Selinda and Lodell for updates as soon as possible." Lucien said as he stepped into the tree house.

Natasha moved her right foot, sensing the status of the elvish tree carefully. Atlant also opened his eyes, observing the surroundings deep in thought.

Led by the Vengeful Hunter, Lucien, Natasha and Atlant went through the tree houses and entered the elvish tree through a natural gap.

The colors turned from brown green to dark green, and when the color became mostly dark, ivory and hallowed brilliance appeared. The purest power of life seemed to be contained inside.

Those spots of light surrounded a green object that looked like heart, bringing vigor and exuberance.

The heart was vague and fickle. Green tubes that looked like veins extended from it and connected the trunk around. Translucent liquids and light flowed in and out, but they were now mixed with blackness.

"Nature's Heart…" Lucien and Natasha observed in the telepathic bond at the same time.

It was the most fundamental thing for the elves. As long as Nature's Heart existed, they would be able to regrow the elvish tree after they were relocated.

There were five Nature's Hearts at the beginning, but as the time went by, four of them had been wasted. Only the one in the Stroop forest still retained the glory of the elves.

Also, it was the most powerful 'Nature's Heart'. After melting into it, Aglaea, the elvish queen, broke the limits and became a top legend. That was the reason why the elves always had a top legend!

Of course, only the level-three legendary experts could reach the peak by melting with Nature's Heart.

Inside Nature's Heart stood a fuzzy, blond shadow, who was trying to eliminate the black spots. But for some reason, the progress was remarkably slow despite her strength.

"Thank you for your aid." The shadow became clear. There was maturity and solemnity in her innocent beauty. She looked more like Iristine's sister than her mother.

"How gorgeous…" It was not Lucien but Natasha who remarked, but she was soon back to herself and chuckled to Lucien. "Rest assured. This is only appreciation."

Malfurion introduced them to Aglaea. She nodded softly. "Please investigate as soon as possible. Whatever the final result is, you will have the gratitude of the elves."

She did not specify what the gratitude would be.

Lucien had come mainly to maintain the alliance. Trade was only his personal purpose, and he certainly wouldn't take the elves' items without giving anything in return. So, he simply said to Aglaea, "Your Majesty, we will begin our investigation."

"Alright. I can prevent the elvish tree from being further contaminated, but I fear that the Will of Abyss will arrive if the gap is expanded. That will be a disaster." She was worried about the abyssal gap most.

Lucien walked to Nature's Heart and chanted with a mysterious voice. "Mirror of Fate."

The environment suddenly dimmed, but many firefly-like spots popped up from the dimness and gathered before Lucien into a mirror that was full of sophisticated patterns.

The Mirror of Fate that Maskelyne and McLeod crafted was exactly based on this legendary spell!

The mirror was hazy, but when Lucien tossed the crystal ball on his left hand into it, ripples spread out and manifested black spots everywhere. They were also getting larger and larger.

In the meantime, the black spots wriggled hideously, as if they contained all the chaos and slaughter in the world. With immense hatred, they wanted to destroy everything.

Crack. The mirror of light let out a noise as if it were a real mirror, dispersing into dancing butterflies again.

Frowning, Lucien seemed to have grasped something and continued his examination with other spells. Atlant also investigated with his own magic.

After a while, Lucien stopped and said to Natasha. "Attack the black spots with your sword. Don't cut the life channel of Nature's Heart."

What he didn't say was 'this is an exercise on your ability of control', or Aglaea and Malfurion wouldn't look very good.

Natasha, on the other hand, understood Lucien's meaning. She immediately narrowed her eyes and drew the Sword of Truth, melting her body and her heart into it.

She saw that Lucien held the Moon Timer in his right hand and knew that he would prevent her from harming Nature's Heart if she made a mistake.

After a blink, Natasha reappeared, and a black spot on the green tube was suddenly chopped into half. It was not until one minute later that it was finally dissolved.

Lucien secretly raised his thumb for Natasha. Then he said seriously, "The nature of the power is close to the level of a demigod. Therefore, spells such as 'Mirror of Fate' can only offer ambiguous hints. I suspect that it is the air of the Will of Abyss, but I'm not certain, because other ways can also achieve the result, an example of which is to use the power of Nature's Heart itself."

"Yes, there are other possibilities!" Before Atlant, Aglaea, Malfurion and Lankshear talked, an angry voice echoed from their back.

His spiritual power spreading out, Lucien 'saw' a green-haired male elf walking into the room. He looked young, but he had a myriad of beautiful stripes on his neck and his hand. He glared at Lucien and the other strangers. "This is nature's punishment!"

He shouted, "You human beings have set up alchemical workshops one after another, polluting the sky and the water and hurting nature. Your greed cannot be curbed, either. You destroyed forests and murdered animals. So, I sensed that nature became full of hate, and the hate was reflected in Nature's Heart, hence the corruption and contamination!"

"This is all your fault!"

"Ferragond, shut up." Malfurion spoke in a low voice.

This elf was exactly Ferragond, a grand druid and a Wood Elf, known as 'Nature's Avenger'.

Lucien believed that most of the alchemical workshops did not have terrible pollution. Although it was their instinct to make profits, none of the workshop owners wanted to pay an environmental tax for that. After he became a grand arcanist, the Affair Committee had paid special attention to that. The sorcerers also knew his tough attitude and were unwilling to piss off a grand arcanist on such trivia, or they would be dead for sure when the mandatory missions were issued to them.

They were perhaps unwilling to follow the regulations, but since most of the fees collected were given back to them through tax returns, few of the workshop owners had asked for trouble.

Faced with such a situation, Lucien could only say that power worked better than reasoning.

The only problem was the minor workshops that the nobles built themselves. Those in Holm were better thanks to Natasha's pressure on the cabinet, but the workshops in the other three kingdoms had more pollution.

However, it was not the time to debate with Ferragond on the problem yet. Lucien turned around and looked at Aglaea, "Your Majesty, does this mean that we are not welcomed here?"

After a brief silence, Aglaea demanded, "Ferragond, get out!"

"Your Majesty…" Ferragond still wanted to say something, but he sensed the pressure of the top legend as Nature's Heart beat faster. Therefore, he simply sniffed and left.

In the telepathic bond, Natasha asked in confusion, "I don't think he can't control his hate. Was he trying to piss off us and get us to leave? Or was he trying to sabotage the relationship between the Congress and the elves?"

They had come a long way to aid the elves, only to be accused of the cause of the problem. Normal people would've stormed off in fury.

Lucien said calmly, "I know. That's why I didn't argue with him and simply kicked the question to the queen to see their attitude."

At this moment, Atlant said, "A very mature, rational and graceful approach…"

Chapter 672: Daily Life of Elves

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The sunlight illuminated the mist, leaving a gold spot where the rays were vaguely changing between the different shades of greenness. Nature's Residence was made even more dreamy and exuberant.

"Everyone, you will live here for the time being. Don't go to random places. Some elves are not friendly with human beings." Iristine pointed at a forest that was made of dozens of trees. There were plenty of houses on them.

Hearing her words, Alferris shook his tail and said solemnly, "No problem."

He heard it very clearly that some elves were only unfriendly to human beings. It seemed that he could wander around and collect souvenirs for himself.

Jurisian smiled at Iristine. "Your Highness, please give me the list of the corrupted elves."

"They are caged in a prison near the elvish tree. Are you going to investigate them now?" Arcelion acknowledged the sorcerers' activeness.

Jurisian shook his head. "In that case, I'm sure that Mr. Evans will check them later. We'll simply walk around in the forest and ask the friends of those corrupted elves for more details, so…"

Smiling, he left his intention unfinished.

Iristine nodded. "I'll give the files of the corrupted elves and their friends to you."

"You'd better mark those who were close to them before their corruption." Felipe added. Although it did seem to be the corruption caused by the abyssal air, no possibilities should be ruled out until things were investigated, or they might be misled.

Arcelion's face slightly changed, before he nodded in acknowledgment.

It was not because he had any secret but a normal reaction that every leader of the elves should have when they heard Felipe's words, which obviously stated that something went wrong within the elves.

Under the sunlight, Felipe looked no different from vampires who hadn't been out for years. However, he did not explain that it was a regular procedure of investigation but simply let Arcelion and Iristine guess. What if some of them jumped out under the pressure?

After ten minutes, Annick and Sprint walked to the southeast of the forest with the list and the marked location.

"Ulmer, the best friend of the corrupt elf Kalette…" Annick read the list.

Watched by the elves who were beautiful regardless of their gender, his face flushed beyond his control. He hurried to cast 'Mechanized Mind' onto himself.

Sprint looked at him. "What's to be shy about? We're investigators, and we take the natural initiative. It should be them who are nervous!"

"I'm always anxious and unable to control my feelings when I'm faced with strangers." The redness on Annick's face was gone, and he became as cold as an iron golem.

Sprint sniffed. "Anxious? You are too unconfident. It's perfectly normal to say or do wrong things."

"Are you afraid that you will leave them with a bad impression? Hilarious. There's no telling whether or not we will ever be back to the Stroop forest. Even if you may do something downright humiliating, so what? Also, your awkwardness will leave a more terrible impression than any humiliating thing ever will."

He had always been criticizing Annick's personality. This time, he had accepted Heidi's mission to help Annick to be more confident and bold, so that he could face his teacher with a better attitude without caring about the argument about arcana.

"Why? I like the shy boys most. It means that they have a pure and simple heart!" Suddenly, a mild voice joined their conversation.

That is not necessarily true. Some people don't talk much simply because their heart is too filthy. Sprint thought to himself while he looked at the source of the voice, only to see a beautiful elf walking toward them. She had black hair, silver skin and was wearing simple clothes made of tree leaves, with a harp in her hands.

Eyeing the stranger up and down, Sprint secretly said to Annick, "This elf is interested in you. Don't let go of this opportunity, or you will live the rest of your life alone."

Clearing his throat, he asked on behalf of his best friend, "My lady, may we know your name?"

"I'm a male." The pointy and soft ears of the beautiful elf waved. He did not seem surprised at the situation.

Despite the 'Mechanized Mind', Annick's face couldn't have looked more awful. Sprint asked, his facial muscles cramping, "You are a male? And you said you like boys most?"

The beautiful elf shook his harp and spoke like a poet. "Love is genderless."

Pulling Sprint, Annick held back his discomfort and turned around.

"No wonder the files in the library said that elves have all kinds of quirks because of their long and casual life…" Sprint regretfully thought to himself. He had almost pushed his friend into an abyss.

Before Annick was able to reply, the beautiful elf behind them already spoke with a smile. "Right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Ulmer. I heard you mentioning my name just now."

As a Moon Elf, he had exceptional hearing abilities, particularly when the wind was in his favor.

"Ulmer?" Sprint and Annick stopped. They turned around, neither of them looking too good.

"Mr. Ulmer, there's something that we'd like to ask you." Eventually, Annick, with 'Mechanized Mind', summoned his courage and asked.

Ulmer replied with a smile, "What's your opinion on the heptachord? Has the human beings' modification on the harp lost its essence?"

"…" Annick and Sprint were immediately rendered speechless. While their teacher was a great musician, they had been learning arcana and magic after him, not music! They did not even know what the professional music question was about at all!

Ulmer sighed, "We can't be friends if you don't know art, and we can't have a pleasant conversation if we are not friends. Do you have any opinion on wax figures? I bought one of them recently and I feel that they are very interesting. Do you like them?"

"…" Sprint and Annick were lost for words again, suddenly feeling that their life lacked a profile.

"You don't know wax figures, either? Well, what about the lost civilizations? I'm told that the Congress of Magic found a relic of a steam civilization?" Said Ulmer in disappointment.

Hu. Annick and Sprint both heaved a sigh of relief. History and lost civilizations were the specialties of every arcanist, or they wouldn't be able to explore and identify things. Also, their teacher was the discoverer of the relic.

After a pleasant exchange of opinions, Ulmer finally changed his attitude. "You have come to ask about Kalette?"

"Yes, we would like to know if he showed any anomalies before his corruption." Said Annick, greatly relieved.

Ulmer moved his long and beautiful hand on the strings, producing cheerful music, but he said sadly, "Everything was good. Kalette even mentioned that he learnt a special dance and was going to perform it for you. However, he was corrupted and demonized later…"

His voice lowered and was barely audible.

"A special dance?" Despite his shyness, Annick had always been scrupulous and wouldn't let go of any clue.

"It's our deal. We write poems, songs and create special dances according to the records of different civilizations to entertain each other.' Ulmer explained gloomily.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong about that… Sprint continued asking, "Who else was Kalette intimate with except for you? Or rather, which faction of elves did he prefer?"

"We are both believers of Nature's Balance. We both love the music, statues, painting and other artworks of human beings." Ulmer did not keep it a secret. Suddenly, he remembered something. "He did have a few friends who believed in Nature's Abhorrence. However, the society in Nature's Residence is small. Everybody has a few friends who believe otherwise. Right, before his corruption, he just served in the abyssal gap. That was probably the reason why he was demonized…"

It was a major clue provided by the Elvish Court. Both Annick and Sprint knew it very well. Seeing that no other valuable intelligence could be obtained, they bid Ulmer farewell and looked for the next elf on the list.

...

Heidi and Katrina traveled in the woods protected by Nature's Residence. Now and then, they saw the elves making statues with the dry roots of trees, or painting with special natural pigment on the rind paper. Their life couldn't have looked more peaceful.

"Everyone…"

A hundred elves had been gathered on the empty ground up ahead. A medium-height female elf was giving a speech on the tree. Heidi was certain that she was a female because she was wearing a long skirt woven with fresh tree leaves. The male elves, on the other hand, wore two-piece suits made of leaves that were covered by beast hide.

If they wore the same clothes, Heidi and Katrina would have to observe them more carefully to decide their gender. After all, both the males and the females of the elves were slim and gorgeous, and it would be too rude to examine them with magic.

Stopping next to the empty ground, Katrina pulled Heidi's clothes and pointed at the other side. "Mr. Felipe is there…"

Felipe was standing below a tree quietly with his hands in his pocket, listening to the speech of the elvish girl.

"…I am Nodanielle. I'm here to call for you to capture more deer." The elvish girl spoke in a high but not unpleasant voice.

"What?"

"Why do you want to kill such a docile animal?"

The elves down below were all confused.

Nodanielle? Heidi and Katrina looked at each other. That's the target that the two of them were looking for.

Nodanielle said earnestly, "The previous incident made the predators in the forest more crazy and bloodthirsty. Their number has greatly reduced after many of them were killed by us. Under such circumstances, the number of deer will grow exponentially after their nemeses are gone, because they are as fertile as mice."

"Once the number of deer surpasses a certain threshold, they will cause irrecoverable damage to the forest because they feed on the roots and stems of the plants."

"We have to maintain the balance of nature!"

Was she a member of Nature's Balance? Heidi and Katrina joined the crowd and listened to her with great interest.

After Nodanielle finished her speech and most elves accepted, the two of them went forward to greet her.

Chapter 673: Every Elf is a Tree

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"Dear guests, are you looking for me?" Seeing that Heidi and Katrina were walking towards her, she pointed at herself in confusion.

With a warm smile, Heidi said, "Nodanielle, your speech on the balance of nature is fantastic and intriguing!"

She had sensed that Nodanielle was relatively sunny, so she simply greeted her as if she were her old friend instead of calling her lady or miss.

Hearing Heidi's sincere and straightforward compliment, Nodanielle was immediately more or less shy. She waved her hands awkwardly. "I was merely talking about the doctrines that the elders taught us."

"My name is Heidi. This is my partner, Katrina. We've only just arrived at the forest today. It's great to make your acquaintance." Heidi was even warmer.

She was not nearly as introverted as Annick, and she introduced the two of them to Nodanielle openly.

The anxiety in Nodanielle's heart was soon gone when she found that the guest was friendly and unimposing. Their conversation became natural.

"Well, we are here to investigate the corruption of elves at the request of Her Majesty. We have some questions for you regarding Tracy." After the smalltalk, Heidi went directly to the topic.

After a brief silence, Nodanielle said gloomily, "Heidi, Katrina, feel free to ask whatever you want to know. I do hope you can find the source of corruption and restore Tracy. Even if they cannot be recovered, they should at least be freed from such suffering."

"Did Tracy show any anomaly before her corruption?" Katrina asked the standard question that they had agreed upon.

As a Sun Elf, Nodanielle had fair skin and brilliant gold hair, which made her look gorgeous under the sun, but there was not the slightest smile on her face. She said, "At least for me, nothing too strange happened before that. My friends and I hunted, picked fruits, fixed the places in the forest where balance could be broken, perceived nature, and read the classics that were composed after the age of myth…"

"Everything was so calm and peaceful, as if the beautiful life would last forever. However, that day in the morning, I suddenly noticed that the tattoos on Tracy's skin were full of the sense of hate and slaughter… But everything was fine the day earlier. We danced the special dance she learnt and bid each other goodnight."

"A special dance?" Heidi wrote Nodanielle's reply on the notebook, her interest piqued by the dance which was described as 'special'.

Nodanielle nodded. "She said that Ms. Marsha taught her. Should I show it to you?"

Heidi and Katrina replied at the same time, half for their investigation and half for their curiosity, "Okay!"

Nodanielle stepped back and started dancing although there was no music.

The dance had many peculiar movements that were almost in violation of biophysics. Only elves who had soft and tensile bodies could manage it.

"Although the movements are strange, the dance is truly beautiful…" Heidi moved her left hand and her legs, feeling the urge to learn the dance, but she soon patted her cheeks regretfully and considered applying for drugs to stimulate her blood power, or it would've been impossible for her to learn the dance.

Katrina tapped the beat for Nodanielle and spoke in the telepathic bond. "This dance gives me a weird feeling. Let's bring it up in the meeting at night."

In the dance, Nodanielle became grievous as if she recalled her friend. She wasn't back to herself until a long time later and asked in a low voice, "Is this dance alright?"

"There are no magic waves, no scent of divine power, and no peeping from weird existences, but it doesn't mean that the dance is alright. You'd better not dance it until the investigation is done." Heidi reminded her new elf friend whom she liked.

After Nodanielle nodded, Katrina continued asking, "Did Tracy have any emotional fluctuations or opinion changes before the corruption?"

Recalling her memories, Nodanielle said, "She was a bit down because she hadn't made any significant breakthroughs for a long time. So, she told me that she wanted to become a druid to better maintain the balance of nature."

To better maintain the balance of nature… Frowning, Heidi wrote down Nodanielle's narration and asked, "Are you a druid?"

"Yes, I just became a Nature's Protector, or a middle-rank druid in your words." Nodanielle was obviously very proud of her identity as the Nature's Protector.

Elves did not classify their levels by middle, low, high, and level one, level two and level three like humans did, but the categories were similar. 'Nature's Guard' was the druid apprentice, 'Nature's Friend' was the low-rank druid, 'Nature's Protector' was the middle-rank druid, and 'Staff Bearer' was the senior-rank druid (including level nine).

Heidi was rather interested in druids and investigated them earlier.

"…Every elf can perceive the grace of nature, so they can become Nature's Guards without any difficulty. Then, we need to turn our understanding about nature into our beliefs and practice the beliefs in our life. As our beliefs are melted with nature, we will form 'Nature's Heart' that is similar to your cognitive world. Named after the core of the elvish tree, it is the foundation to carry out our power…" Nodanielle did not keep it a secret.

They were separated after chitchatting for a while longer.

In the evening, Heidi and Katrina returned with their notebook full and met with Jurisian, Felipe, Annick and Sprint.

"Special dance… Ms. Martha…" Jurisian recited. "More than 70% of the corruptions are related to the special dance. 30% of them learnt it from Ms. Martha, and the others picked it up in places we do not know."

Felipe said in a low voice, "It may be a custom of elves. They are all avid dancers."

"In any case, we will meet this Ms. Martha tomorrow." Said Jurisian.

At this moment, Annick said shyly and solemnly, "Is it possible that the dance is like 'Viken's Special Summoning Ritual', which has nothing strange on the surface but inculcates ideas into the learners when they learn it?"

Having just cracked such a case, Heidi was very sensitive about it. She nodded carefully. "It's possible. Nature's Abhorrence. I remember that one of the primeval devils is named 'Abhorrence'!"

"The problem is that 80% of the corrupted elves followed Nature's Balance, and the other 20% wavered between the two factions. Few of the elves of Nature's Abhorrence were corrupted, or the Elvish Court would've noticed something wrong…" Jurisian looked at the data and rubbed his temples.

...

After examining Nature's Heart, Lucien, Natasha and Atlant went to the prison under Malfurion and Lankshear's lead, hoping to find clues from the corrupted elves.

The prison of the elves was still made of huts of trunks. However, those trunks were in lead grey and as tough as iron.

Lankshear asked two elves who watched over the prison to open the gate. Miserable and terrifying howls immediately came out, like the cries of beasts at night.

The two guards couldn't have looked more sorrowful. It was their companions inside, not beasts!

Lucien, Natasha and Atlant stood out of a prison cell, observing the corrupted elf inside through the bars.

It was a pretty elvish girl, but her tattoos had proliferated from her neck and arm to all over her body. Also, it was not in the color of fresh green as the tattoos of general elves but emitted abnormal, intimidating redness from it.

"It's like the pattern on the back of human-faced spiders…" Natasha said in the telepathic bond.

It was true that the tattoos and skin of this elf showed that she was turning into a spider!

"I'm going to kill you!"

"For a green and peaceful world!"

"All intelligent creatures must die!"

The corrupted elvish girl jumped at the bars and gazed at Lucien, his eyes widened. There was no sign of wisdom inside her pupils but only frozen redness with the deepest feeling of brutality and destruction. Also, she opened her mouth and bit the trunk. That seemed to be her only way to attack now that she could not use her talented abilities.

Her neat and pure teeth were like bones at this moment.

"She was a follower of Nature's Balance…" Malfurion introduced the elvish girl to Lucien.

Both Lucien and Atlant had seen worse. Unaffected, they examined the elvish girl's conditions with magic.

Time went by. Lucien suppressed the corruption of the elvish girl and said, "I am certain that this is related to the contamination of the elvish tree, but there's still no telling this is the cause or the consequence. Also, my prophecy told me that all the corrupted elves shared similarities below the surface. That's the key to solving our problem."

"I'll ask Iristine to investigate with the sorcerers. Would you like to take a look at the abyssal gap with me?" Lankshear proposed.

Without any objection, Lucien nodded.

At this moment, the elvish girl's eyes suddenly became clear when the power of corruption was suppressed by Lucien. She held her head in pain, "Why did this happen?"

"Why did this happen?"

Greenish brilliance emanated from her body with a vague feeling of tranquility.

Lucien's face changed. He meant to stop her, but Malfurion sighed. "She's miserable. Let her free herself. There are still other corrupted elves that we can investigate…"

The elvish girl sang a beautiful melody:

"Every elf is a tree. We come from nature and we return to nature…"

"We are born from the combination of love, and we return in peace and serenity. We sing for the forest. We praise life…."

As the hollow song spread out, the green light on her body became dense. Then, Malfurion opened the door of the prison cell.

The elvish girl stepped out as if she were dancing, before she bowed deeply at Lucien, Natasha and Atlant.

"Every elf is a tree. We are rooted in the ground and breathe the sky…"

"We defend nature and maintain the balance…"

She struggled to fly out. The green light on her body consumed her, and she slowly descended on the ground. At this moment, the eyes of the two guards of the prison were already red.

"Every elf is a tree…"

The song was less and less audible, but it still echoed in the forest. When the green light was gone, a tall and graceful tree had been added to the forest.

Every elf would turn into a tree after their death. That was why they loved green so much.

"We have to find out the cause of the corruption!" Witnessing such a scene, Natasha clenched her right hand and said to herself.

Lucien closed her eyes and turned to Lankshear. "Let's take a look at the abyssal gap."

Chapter 674: Intimidation

The abyssal gap was northeast to the Stroop forest and far away from Nature's Residence. There was also the space disorder caused by the unsteady gap. Therefore, they were not teleported over but flew towards the destination.

Looking at the ocean of trees below and hearing the singing birds, Natasha suddenly asked as if her soul of a musician had been awakened. "What is nature?"

It was one thing to learn from books that elves would turn into trees after they died, and it was a whole different thing to observe it in person. She had a lot of mixed feelings.

"Yes, what is nature?" Lucien repeated and looked at Malfurion and Lankshear.

What is nature?

Malfurion suddenly had no idea how to answer the question. Every elf and every druid had their own definition of nature. Whether they followed Abhorrence or Balance, they all considered themselves to be nature's guards. Also, it was exactly because their definitions and opinions on nature varied that the 'Nature's Hearts' that druids formed and the powers they were capable of were different.

"Nature is the world, including both plants, animals, humans, elves and other lives and volcanoes, swamps, fog and other phenomena. All those things constitute a balance system where everybody is interdependent with each other. Once the balance is lost, nature will decline into a lifeless wasteland." Considering for a moment, Malfurion spoke of his understanding about nature, in which balance and life were the core.

Lankshear had the unique pride of the elves. Although he was not exactly a follower of Nature's Abhorrence, he was not interested in discussing the question with humans. He merely stressed, "Nature must include life; a lifeless desert cannot be called nature."

His eyes closed, Atlant said with a smile, "We're arriving at the abyssal gap."

The five of them were all legends. Even though they had intentionally lowered their speed in case of dangers, it did not take them long to finish the journey.

At the center of the forest down below, the bloodstained dust enshrouded a fairly large territory. A giant crack that was as hideous as a centipede could be found at the center. Through the crack, the bumpy, Scarlet Plain could be vaguely seen on the opposite side, spreading out the intense air of blood and slaughter.

In the middle of the dust, a rather prosperous town stood at the edge of the crack.

It was exactly Town of the Anonymous.

...

During the long history when the abyssal gap was steady, demons which were chaotic and bloodthirsty in nature had been attacking the gap and hoping to arrive at the main material world to transform this world into a land of mayhem and destruction like abyss.

As for the human adventurers, although demons were horrible, their body parts were precious materials. It was not a bad choice to capture demons without entering the abyss. Therefore, many adventurers had gathered in this place and set up a town.

After that, the grand knights and the radiant knights realized that it was a perfect battlefield to improve themselves. They had often come from thousands of kilometers away to gain battle experience. For the senior-rank knights, unless they had extraordinary blood powers and gifts, they could only find opportunities of breakthrough in fighting.

The situation on the continent was relatively steady, and adventuring in the Dark Mountain Range or the Swamp of Dragons, where level-nine magic creatures were frequent, could prove very dangerous. The gap in the Stroop forest, on the other hand, capped the strength of the invading demons, relieving the senior-rank knights of their concern that they might run into Demon Lords or Demon Dukes. Therefore, the town was more and more prosperous and became one of the places with the highest population of senior-rank experts.

Of course, the battles here were not entirely risk-free. Many radiant knights and senior-rank sorcerers had died here. The adventures below the senior rank often had huge casualties, too. Therefore, the town had been named as 'the Anonymous':

"You will leave with glory, or die without a name!"

Mason, the Azure Dragon, looked at the wood plate that had stood in Town of the Anonymous for hundreds of years. He sighed yet again and said anxiously, "When can we leave?"

The elves who watched over the gap had always been indifferent to the adventures, but the strangers' operation did save a lot of their work. Therefore, they had been turning a blind eye to Town of the Anonymous.

The young, brown-haired man next to Mason took out a special cigar made in Brianne and lit it. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Brother, stop upsetting yourself. Until they figure out why the gap is expanded, the elves won't let us go."

"I feel that my lungs are full of sand and filth." Mason accepted his friend Fred's cigar. "You know that I promised my family that I would return in half a year, but I'm now already two weeks late. If they come to look for me, they will be hurt in this crazy place."

Fred exhaled smoke and smiled bitterly, "We should've left earlier… Elves forbid us from leaving because they fear that we will expose the change in the abyssal gap to the sea clans. Until they figure out a way to resolve the problem, or the sea clans obtain intelligence through other channels, we will have to stay here."

"If the abyssal gap loses control again…" As a level-six radiant knight, Mason couldn't help but feel scared when he remembered the swarming army of demons and the frightening Demon Lords and Dukes. They were the nightmare that he would never forget. If it were not Malfurion, Mentor of Night, who guarded the place at that time, many radiant knights including himself would've died!

Hearing his words, Fred couldn't help but tremble, too. He remembered the 'Sovereign of Blood' who had two heads, crimson scales, and gold and cold eyes. "I hope that elves ask for reinforcements as soon as possible…"

"Elves are a proud people. They will never ask for help unless they really can't handle it on their own." Mason often praised elves' pride, but he couldn't have hated it more at this moment.

Then, he moved his eyes back and looked at the half-burnt cigar in his hand. "Something is wrong in the town…"

Fred squinted. "Yes, something is indeed wrong…"

...

Lucien, Natasha and Malfurion descended and approached the abyssal gap. At this moment, two figures, one green and the other brown, flew over from down below and stopped before them.

"Honorable guests, thank you for coming to help us." The brown figure was a tall, middle-aged human male, who was holding a wood staff with a symbol of balance in his hands. It was exactly Lodell, Hand of Balance.

On their altitude, the view of the abyss behind the crack was very obvious. It was a bloodstained plateau, with weird white rocks standing everywhere.

On the plain, there was nothing but red mud and sand except for a few plants that were full of scales. A sandstorm was raging whenever there was a wind.

In the sky, Lucien saw a pale sun that was half blocked by the dust. It was enshrouded in a weird red halo because of the bloodiness.

Everything was so dim and depressing. It was the best announcement of slaughter and destruction.

"Elder." The green person was a mini lady who was only the size of a head. She had deep green hair and a beautiful face. She was slim, with a pair of transparent wings on her back. She was surrounded by the dense air of the forest.

She was exactly Selinda, a nymph known as the Green Guardian.

After greeting Malfurion, Selinda did not say anything. For nymphs, human beings, who destroyed forests, were unpardonable villains.

"Selinda, what is nature?" Lankshear suddenly asked.

Selinda looked at Lankshear angrily, not too friendly with the elf. "Nature is the greenness that represents life and allows all creatures to flourish. It is vulnerable and calls for our protection. Anyone who sabotages nature is our enemy."

Lankshear smiled, "Evans, what is nature? Do you have an answer to the question you asked us?"

Lucien looked at him. Although he did not know what was on the elf's mind, the elf obviously had his own purpose. Perhaps, he was trying to reach a certain purpose by instigating conflicts at this moment?

Malfurion seemed too absent-minded to stop Lankshear from asking. Perhaps, he was interested in Lucien's and Atlant's answers, too.

Lodell opened his mouth and tried to say something, but he eventually fell silent.

Lucien smiled and pointed at the Scarlet Plain. "Is this not nature? There are lives that are demons, and there is mud, wind and the sun…"

"It's a polluted and damaged nature that is escalating into destruction." Replied Selinda solemnly.

Lucien shook his head. "Nature in my mind is a cycle."

"As long as its constituents can make up a cycle from life to death and from death to life, it will be nature. Therefore, swamp is nature, volcano is nature, abyss is nature and nature is abyss, too…"

Before Selinda refuted him, Lucien went on, "Nature has a myriad of meanings. The nature we see and get in touch with are different from one another. Therefore, the nature in our mind is a unique nature that is based on our own experience and knowledge. It's nature from our own perspective. Just like the microscopic particles, we will see different results when we choose different methods of observation. As to exactly what they originally look like, that is a meaningless question."

"Therefore, my nature is nature from the perspective of human beings. The nature that is suitable for us and facilitates our development is good nature. The purpose of our environmental protection is also simple, which is to build a better nature where we can live more comfortably. In that regard, we recognize nature with ourselves as the center, and I think that elves are the same!"

Malfurion and Selinda were about to speak, when roars of slaughter and destruction suddenly burst out from down below. An army of demons surged out of the gap again.

Those demons were in an assortment of appearances. The one thing that they had in common was their aggressiveness.

"The Sovereign of Blood has driven his army of demons to attack again…" Lodell was greatly relieved and hurried to change the topic.

Looking at what was inside the gap and calculating the distance, Lucien suddenly extended his right hand and chanted a long spell:

"Eternal Blaze!"

Boom!

A scorching sun suddenly rose from the center of the Scarlet Plain. The terrifyingly high temperature could be felt clearly even though it was in a different world.

An unimaginable energy storm swept out, drowning everything with the glow.

Watching the rolling mushroom cloud and the shaking abyssal gap, and sensing the world-destroying power, Lankshear and Selinda fell silent.

Whatever you are trying to manipulate us to do, you'd better consider if you are strong enough first!

Lucien moved his right hand back into the pockets of his double-breasted suit.

Chapter 675: Integration

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Even though the translucent spacial gap reduced the light, the brilliance that felt like a rising sun still made Malfurion, Lankshear and the other unprepared elves, nymphs and humans close their eyes to resist the glare. Even so, they still felt that they were faced with an overwhelming, dazzling ocean of light!

When the light was gradually gone, Lankshear and Selinda opened their eyes and looked at the Scarlet Plain, only to discover that a weird mushroom cloud was rising from the center. The demon experts at the core had already been obliterated. The edge of the giant pit looked like melted and reconsolidated glass, which reflected the bloody sunlight and presented a spectrum of colors.

As for the demon army further away, no intact body could be found at all. Broken limbs, heads and wings were everywhere, irrigating the earth with their red and green blood and spreading out a weird, bloody sense of beauty, as if a gigantic crimson flower was blooming.

The demons further away were already dispersed. Some had turned into dead bodies, and some were writhing on the ground with their eyes covered. The scales on their bodies had been destroyed. No naturally-endowed defense could be found anymore, either.

Because it was a plain where many frail rocks were standing, the tide-like army of demons were dried like a torrent whose source was cut off under the attack of 'Eternal Blaze'.

As for the demons at the edge that were not harmed at all, because Lucien's attack had been aimed at the experts who led the army, they were frightened and fled in a flurry now that their commanders were gone. After only one minute, nothing could be heard from the Scarlet Plain except moans, and not a single demon was standing.

What was even more weird was that the air that was full of curses seemed to have been purged after the explosion of 'Eternal Blaze'. It became very pure and not corrosive at all.

At this moment, the Scarlet Plain had been temporarily upgraded from a chaotic, bloody, stinky abyss into a clean and tidy paradise on earth – that is, not counting the blood and bodies all over the ground.

The Sovereign of Blood, master of this layer of abyss, showed no reaction to that, nor did he stop the fleeing demons. In his silence, the overwhelming attack stopped.

The translucent space gap quaked under the terrifying energy storm, significantly weakening the seal. It was a shame that no demons dared to seize the opportunity before Malfurion and the other druids enhanced it again.

Inside Town of the Anonymous…

Mason was discussing things with Fred worriedly, when he heard the cries of demons. He frowned, "Demons are attacking again. They are truly slaves to the desire of slaughter."

"It's said that there are 666 floors in the abyss, but nobody has ever confirmed it. Infinite demons live inside. The losses in the daily attack are not a big deal for the Demon Lords." Fred had a deeper understanding about the population of demons recently.

Demons were creatures that were chaotic in nature and could not control their bloodthirst, but they also preferred living to death. If they were not coerced by the senior-rank demons, they certainly wouldn't have attacked every day, particularly when their invasions suffered heavy losses each time.

Mason was about to complain about such a life, when an unimaginable explosion broke out and deafened the two radiant knights briefly.

They looked at the abyssal gap subconsciously, only to be dazzled by the brightest brilliance as if the sun in the sky had burst out right before them!

The two of them shut their eyes abruptly, their tears dropping nonstop. They could barely keep their feet steady.

"What extraordinary ability is this?" Mason blurted out after he stabilized himself, but his exclamation of shock was drowned in the explosion.

In the meantime, he found that his skin was vaguely burnt and got even more shocked. The explosion took place on the Scarlet Plain, but the temperature had been spread to this place from so far away with an abyssal gap in between?

How powerful would it be on the site?

After a moment, thanks to the radiant knights' exceptional recovery abilities, Mason's eyes were back to normal, and the feeling of earthquake was also gone.

Weird blue scales grew out of the corner of his eyes, and his pupils were constricted and pricked, before he looked at the abyssal gap again, only to discover a mushroom cloud with a particularly huge head.

Mason felt shock from the bottom of his heart when he remembered his experiences just now.

"…The beauty of destruction…" Fred's cigar had already hit the ground when he appreciated the picture far away in admiration.

Mason was back to himself. "Mushroom cloud… Eternal Blaze? The reinforcements of the Congress of Magic have come?"

During the battle between the Congress of Magic and the South Church, 'Eternal Blaze' was performed in front of the whole Rentato city. It was so terrifyingly powerful that the leadership of all countries paid attention to it. Also, according to what the Congress of Magic revealed to the nobles of those countries in private, the power of such a spell did not have an upper bound…

As radiant knights, Mason and Fred were undoubtedly the leadership of Colette. The mushroom cloud described in the intelligence had left a deep impression on them.

"Has the Emperor of Arcana, the Lord of Storm, or the Lord of Elements come?" Fred speculated, before he said in relief, "It seems that we can get out of here now…"

Yes, now that the reinforcements are here, the elves wouldn't need to worry about the sea clans possible attacks.

Mason seemed also pacified. He looked at the town and said in a low voice, "I do not want to spend one second longer in this place, or I may lose control of myself…"

After that, the two of them looked at the hazy, bloody plateau behind the gap, before they remarked at the same time, "What a horrifying spell…"

...

"The army of demons has retreated. We can now discuss and examine the abyssal gap." Lucien said, with his hands in the pockets of his double-breasted suit.

Observing the silent reaction of Lankshear, Selinda and the other elves, Natasha chuckled to herself and said in the telepathic bond. "Well done!"

She liked the feeling of intimidating everything with pure strength. After watching 'Eternal Blaze' destroy the army of demons, her blood was boiling, and she almost couldn't stop herself from chasing after the demons.

Moving his eyes back, Malfurion said in a low voice, "I was the supervisor in this place when the abyssal gap had changed. Everything was normal until dawn, when I suddenly sensed the arrival of chaos and slaughter from the abyss as well as a space-time change. By the time I realized what was going on, I discovered that the gap, which had been ten meters long and two meters wide previously, had been stretched to thirty meters long and almost four meters tall. It was almost a natural portal…"

He introduced what happened at that time with the actual situation of the gap, trying to inform Lucien and Atlant of every detail so that they could ascertain the cause with their special knowledge.

After hearing him out, Lucien and Atlant did not offer any comment but began to examine the gap with spells. It was not until a long time later that they finally asked, "Elder Malfurion, did the arrival of abyss and the space-time change happen simultaneously, or did they happen one after the other?"

Recalling it carefully, Malfurion replied, "I think they happened simultaneously, but after two seconds, the space-time change overpowered the air of abyss. By the time I was back to myself, the air of abyss intensified and covered all the other changes."

Lucien and Atlant asked a few critical questions, and Malfurion, Lodell and Selinda answered them dutifully. Their description was the same. None of them seemed to be lying.

"Evans, do you have any conclusion?" Asked Malfurion concernedly.

Lucien nodded. "It looks like integration of space. Near a space gap, when the environmental parameters of the space on two sides become similar, the space will gradually melt, resulting in the expansion of the gap. If we don't stop it, the assimilation of the abyss will result in shocks in this world. The volcano eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes will destroy most lives and most places.

Lucien and Atlant reached the conclusion based on a similar case in the Magic Empire, but nobody knew whether or not the space could be truly melted. Lucien could not offer any detailed arcana theories until he knew more about the truth of the world.

"Similar environmental parameters?" Asked Malfurion in confusion. "But I didn't feel that the territory around Town of the Anonymous changed towards the abyss at all…"

Lankshear squinted. "Perhaps, it was a scheme…"

"Why did it happen on this side instead of on the Scarlet Plain?" Natasha reminded them.

Malfurion frowned. "Were the demons patient enough to establish a gargantuan magic circle or resort to other complicated approaches?"

It was well-acknowledged that demons were as intelligent as human beings. They had tried to conspire like devils, but they were chaotic in nature and would often forget the very plan they came up with last second. So, they tended to take random actions.

"It's not entirely impossible. Two of the Demon Lords are less chaotic. One of them is Apsis, the Lord of Spectres on 'Skeleton Land', and the other is Gonheim in 'Frozen Fortress'. They are both more like devils than demons." Atlant corrected Malfurion. Both of them were level-three Demon Lords, who were equal to top legends in their domain.

"Do we have to investigate inside the abyss?" Asked Lodell worriedly. "Also, the problem may be on our side."

Atlant looked at the town below and discovered that the elves had already blocked it. So, he asked, "Are you suspicious that something is wrong with those adventurers? Or are you worried that they will expose the intelligence?"

Malfurion explained. "It was Ferragond who proposed it at the beginning to prevent the sea clans from learning the news and keep the possible schemers here. We will continue the blockage and identify them one after another."

"I can help you with that." Said Atlant with a smile.

Lankshear and Selinda did not suspect that. The Eye of Curse was definitely the authority in that.

Hearing their conversation, Lucien nodded, "We do need a legend to stay here. Natasha and I will pay a visit to the abyss."

Naturally, not all the legends should enter the abyss. It would be troublesome if the sorcerers in Nature's Residence were left alone and the believers of Nature's Abhorrence went mad.

"You're going into the abyss?" Malfurion was concerned.

Lucien smiled. "The Will of Abyss is still recovering from the heavy wounds caused by God's Arrival. It's hardly likely that he will attack directly. Even if he is insane enough to do so, now that he is not as strong as before, we can always flee if we cannot defeat him, can't we? The other Demon Lords are the same. I won't be silly enough to be surrounded by them."

That was the confidence of a grand arcanist, like how Fernando believed that he could escape from the pope as long as he could not perform God's Arrival.

Malfurion was still worried. "I'll go with you."

Chapter 676: Lucien's Reminder

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

A brutal wind raged, blowing the sand on the Scarlet Plain into the sky. The sun, which had illuminated the earth through the thick dust temporarily, was reduced to the previous dim redness.

Three-headed dogs came, feasting upon the dead demons. Scales gradually grew on their body. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they gulped the corpses as if it were a contest, not even leaving the body parts that were burning. Even the bones had been chewed and swallowed.

That was what Atlant saw when he opened his eyes. He said gently and warmly, "Are you entering the abyss right now?"

He was asking Lucien, Natasha and Malfurion's operation plan.

Malfurion simply offered to assist Lucien in case of accidents in the abyss, which would've worsened the relation between the Congress of Magic and the elves. So, he did not reply and simply looked at Lucien with his green eyes.

Lucien shook his head. "We'll enter the abyss tomorrow. Let's stay in Town of the Anonymous today and see if we can notice anything wrong."

He smiled. "Investigating inside the abyss is one of our final choices. We should consider the abyss as our target without searching the surroundings first. What if the source of the problem is here? I do not want to waste my time. Let's do things one step at a time."

"Very well. Then, let's search for the anomalies in the Town of the Anonymous and the area nearby." Atlant rather agreed with Lucien.

Malfurion naturally did not have any objection. Having sensed the power of 'Eternal Blaze' just now, Lankshear and Selinda fell silent.

As they flew towards Town of the Anonymous, Natasha asked in the telepathic bond, "Why do you want to go to the abyss? Such an adventure is unnecessary… If you are looking for battle opportunities for me, we can wait in Town of the Anonymous for the Demon Lords to attack. It will definitely suffice."

She knew that Lucien wouldn't do it for no good reason, so she was rather puzzled.

"The integration of space here is rather similar to one of my thoughts. Therefore, I'm hoping to study it more. Chances are that I will be able to find certain things." Lucien explained. Looking back at the abyssal gap, he shook his head and said in the telepathic bond. "Integration of space?"

Seeing that Lucien had his own purpose, Natasha nodded her head and did not say anything. She felt that all her cells were refreshed, craving for a battle.

...

Inside Town of the Anonymous.

Mason and Fred paced back and forth on the street, surrounded by adventures who were also waiting anxiously and desperate to leave. None of them intended to become sacrifices of the abyss.

"Boy, stop! You hit me!" In such an ambiance, a brawny man suddenly roared. He had a tattoo of entangled leaves on his bald head. That was the totem of the barbarians from the Dark Mountain Range.

The young man whom he yelled at carried a short bow and held a cold, blue dagger. He raised the dagger angrily and shouted, "Barbarian, shut your mouth, or I wouldn't mind letting you know how it feels to be frozen."

Due to the aftermath of 'Eternal Blaze' just now, the small street had been crowded with adventures. It was inevitable that they might bump into each other.

"Ass*ole! Apologize, or I will make you one of the anonymous!" The barbarian was so infuriated that his veins and his muscles on his two-meter-tall body were all bulging in a thick, bronze layer of light.

The two of them were about to fight, when a radiant knight's right hand turned into fire and slashed between them from the sky, resulting in a blackened crack on the earth.

"Quiet!" The radiant knight glared at the two knight-level adventures coldly.

Looking at the trace on the ground, the barbarian and the young man both stepped back and looked at each other angrily, before they turned around and left.

Mason, observing everything from nearby, observed with mixed feelings, "Having been blocked for such a long time, and due to the tide of demons and the death of so many adventures, it seems that everybody is getting agitated. Even the most unimportant thing may lead to a bloody fight."

Even he had similar feelings that he would like to vent out on someone.

Taking a breath, Fred took a breath and intended to criticize the elves for their low efficiency, because the blockage hadn't been canceled for such a long time after 'Eternal Blaze'.

Then, he sensed something and raised his head, only to discover that the sky of the town changed weirdly. The sky which was brimming with bloody dust suddenly 'fell'. It was low, and dim!

Then, half of the sky became bright, in which erratic light changed all the time and was now and then replaced by obscure darkness, and the other half became dimmer and darker, until all the bloodiness faded away, leaving the deepest, heaviest and most boundless darkness behind!

Inside the darkness, however, stars were shining brilliantly showing weird colors.

Looking at the sight that was as profound as the cosmos and the luminescence fluctuations, Fred was immediately lost. His soul floated away, and he couldn't sense anything for a long time.

After a long time, when a breeze with the air of blood brushed him, Fred suddenly shivered, only to discover that the sky was back to normal, and the overwhelming dust still blocked the sunlight. No, it was not sunlight but the silver moonlight!

"Was it my illusion…" Fred turned around, only to discover that Mason and the rest of them all stood like statues. The whole Town of the Anonymous was unusually quiet. Even the ferocious dog at the bar did not bark at all.

"No, it's the projection of a demiplane of a legendary sorcerer…" Mason was also back to himself.

Some rituals that helped knights practice their blood power required communicating with and summoning the power of the demiplanes of legends, like how the 'Lord' had to be summoned for the promotion of the clerics in the Saint Truth.

Fred said in a self-mocking smile. "This is the first time that I have seen a legendary demiplane, not counting the Scarlet Plain."

'Sovereign of Blood', the lord of the Scarlet Plain, was a level-two legendary demon. If sorcerers, cultists and knights with special blood powers wanted to hold rituals in terms of blood and slaughter, it was possible that they would summon the power of the Scarlet Plain. Therefore, it was also a legendary demiplane.

"The two Excellencies of the Congress are finally done with their examination." Mason felt exhausted from the bottom of his head. It was already late at night at this point.

...

In the polluted forest outside of Town of the Anonymous, irregular trees were growing. They were twisted to such a point as if certain kids had made mischief to them. On the rind grew tremendous lumps from which bloody fluids were flowing out hideously and disgustingly.

"This is a forest that was polluted because it was too close to the abyssal gap, but the influence diminished a hundred meters away, and it's almost normal two hundred meters from here. The requirement that integration of space is required can barely be satisfied." Lodell, 'Hand of Balance' introduced the only place that possibly matched the parameters of the abyss nearby.

Lucien observed carefully and examined the trees with magic. He then nodded his head. "It can be confirmed that this place has nothing to do with the expansion of the abyssal gap."

Atlant gave a similar conclusion.

"It seems that we do need to pay a visit to the abyss." Malfurion was not super interested in the trip. The Will of Abyss was an out-and-out lunatic. Nobody knew what he would do next, not even himself! What if he suddenly decided to blow himself up in front of them? What could they do?

The brainless Will of Abyss scared him more than the Lord of Hell did although the latter was full of schemes.

"The integration of space only just begun. It's only between the Scarlet Plain and the Stroop forest. Therefore, while this place is affected by the abyss, the abyss will be influenced by the main material world. Having been wounded, it's impossible for the Will of Abyss to arrive at the Scarlet Plain, no more than he could directly arrive at the main material world." Lucien explained it to Malfurion based on the ancient sorcerers' experience.

As he spoke, Lucien turned to Lankshear, Lodell and Selinda and said solemnly. "Some progress has been made regarding the investigation on the corrupted elves. Therefore, I'm obliged to remind you of something."

The 'investigation report of day one', written by Jurisian, Felipe and Heidi, had been delivered to Lucien through electromagnetism messaging. So, he was aware of their suspicion.

"What is it?" Lankshear became solemn, not as egoistic as before.

Lucien briefly introduced it. "There are seven uncanny primeval devils, named after abhorrence, pain and other feelings, in the deepest relic in hell. As long as the corresponding feelings are stifled to a certain point, and a seemingly harmless ritual stimulates them, making them believe in the primeval devil from the bottom of their heart, the seed of devil in everyone's heart will be awakened and germinate, navigating the said primeval devil to project…"

"…The sorcerers that came with us suspect that the elves were corrupted by the primeval devils…"

"The primeval devils…" The elves had a perfect collection of ancient classics. Therefore, Malfurion soon remembered the tale that was told by different bards after Lucien's reminder.

He was very grave. If such a monster did exist, it would be much more tricky to deal with than all the Devil Dukes and Devil Counts were.

Lodell, Selinda and Lankshear all repeated the names of the primeval devils. They had never thought that such monsters existed before!

Lucien went on. "When I examined the Town of the Anonymous earlier, I realized that the adventures in the town were rather anxious, pained and uneasy after being stranded here for a long time under the threat of demons. They are already on the tipping point. If this is truly associated with the primeval devils, such an atmosphere can be easily taken advantage of. You must pay attention to it and set them free as soon as possible."

"Leave this complicated issue to me," said Atlant.

...

The next day, Lucien, Natasha and Malfurion entered the Scarlet Plain through the abyssal gap.

In Town of the Anonymous, Mason and Fred just got up when they heard the scream down below. A grand knight had been heavily wounded by a radiant knight who lost control of himself. Blood spilled on the ground.

Looking at the dazzlingly red fluids, Mason felt that his eyes had been occupied by them. The veins on his forehead bouncing, he found it impossible to endure the weird and depressing environment anymore.

"No, we can't stay here any longer!"

He rose abruptly and charged at the elvish guards with Fred.

Back in Nature's Residence, Jurisian, Felipe and the rest of the investigators looked for Martha under the direction of Iristine.

Chapter 677: Dance of Revenge

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Enshrouded in the azure light, Mason and Fred flew out of the hotel and rushed at the edge of the town where the elvish guards were stationed.

Sudden, dark red fire erupted from the ground into the sky, as ferociously as if from a volcano, and blocked Mason and Fred.

"Mattwe, what are you doing?" Mason stopped his flight in time and did not run into the fire and smoke. He glared at the tall, slender man who stopped them. It was Mattwe, 'Anger of Earth', a level-seven radiant knight.

Mattwe's hair was short and the color of seaweed. He raised his head and looked at Mason and Fred, before he said unhurriedly, "Have you forgotten that flight is prohibited in the town?"

The ban was not realized by magic circles but ensured by a few 'townkeepers' who were strong radiant knights. After the initial disorder and blood when Town of the Anonymous was established, a few radiant knights who often came to the place forged an alliance and set up an order for the town to restrain each other and maintain the peace of the town.

Mattwe, on the other hand, was one of the 'townkeepers'.

"What's the point of forbidding flying under such circumstances?" As radiant knights themselves, Fred and Mason were not scared of Mattwe, but they were worried that they might raise the elves' attack. "We are only hoping to receive the investigation of the elves. Are you going to stop us?"

Mason and Fred were vaguely wary of Mattwe, because the weirdness they sensed was exactly from him and his partners.

Mattwe and his fellows did not do anything strange, except that they often expressed their desperation, pain and anxiety after the first assault of demons. They believed that it was impossible for the elves to defend the abyssal gap, because the Will of Abyss might arrive directly as the gap was gradually expanded. Therefore, staying in Town of the Anonymous meant waiting for death. There was absolutely no hope to escape at all.

Such anxiety, desperation, frustration and agony quickly spread throughout the people under the influence. Since such feelings were normal reactions, Mason and Fred did not suspect anything. They simply did not want to get in touch with Mattwe and his partners, because the more they met those people, the more gloomy and painful it would be.

"We have to receive the inquiry of elves and sorcerers, too, but we are in no rush, and we do not violate the order of the town." Mattwe's green eyes were as steady as before. "Mason, Fred, you should be very clear that times of anxiety and impatience like right now call for order. Only by keeping a reliable and strict order can we ensure that the situation will not escalate and that we will be safe. Therefore, I will not spare you just because you are radiant knights. Please follow me to the Townkeepers' House for punishment."

Mason had to admit that Mattwe did have a point, but the strange depression haunted him and prevented him from moving. Fred did not take any action, either.

Mattwe raised his right hand. "Mason, Fred, are you trying to resist seven radiant knights, high-rank elves and legendary experts?"

The adventures on the street slowed down and became prudent, sensing the danger that might burst out at any point.

...

On the east side of Nature's Residence was a forest so dense that it was almost sunless.

"Ms. Martha lives inside. She is a representative of Nature's Abhorrence. Try not to infuriate her. In case she says anything inappropriate, I'll apologize on behalf of her first." Iristine, wearing a green dress of tree leaves, spoke to Jurisian, Felipe, Heidi and Annick.

Because several directions required further investigation, the sorcerers were divided into different groups. Heidi, believing that Sprint's lecture on Annick yesterday showed barely any effect, had rearranged the team and decided to work on it in person. She planned to lead Annick to get to know a few more elf friends. Yesterday, she already became good friends with Nodanielle and made acquaintances with many other elves.

Since Martha was the strongest of all the elves to be investigated, Jurisian and Felipe, who hadn't really seen eye to eye with each other, had to act together.

Jurisian smiled courteously. "It's alright. Everyone has their own beliefs. It's not a big deal as long as we are not really harmed."

Even the princess of elves had apologized in advance. What else could he have said?

Felipe nodded his head with his hands in his pocket, but his eyes surpassed the woods and looked somewhere far away. The communication with elves and the investigation on Nature's Residence yesterday were obviously fruitful.

Since two members of the Affair Committee were ahead of them, Heidi inevitably got absent-minded. She said to Annick in the telepathic bond, "When the investigation is over, I'll bring you to the elves' 'Ball of Nature'."

"B… Ball? I… I can't dance." Annick was so shocked that he stuttered.

Heidi gazed at him. "Who's born to dance? Well, maybe elves are… But I'm not asking you to date an elf. It will help you keep a good mood by getting to know more friends and things. I do not want my good friend to suffer severe psychological diseases because of arcana and magic studies."

Being a close friend to Rachel, she did know a lot about psychology.

Annick meant to say that he was very happy just studying arcana and magic, and that solving a problem was much more satisfying than dancing and making new friends, but he was a person who appreciated friendship, too. Seeing that Heidi, Layria, Sprint and Katrina had been worried about his shyness, he more or less decided to change a bit. After all, he would be devoted to arcana and magic again, and so would Heidi and the rest of them.

Like a deer, Iristine traveled in the forest agilely. Very soon, they saw a green, undecorated house under her lead. On the empty ground below the house, a dozen elves were receiving dance lessons.

Martha was a famous musician and dancer among elves.

Before the dozen elves stood a Night Elf whose hair was tied and whose dark green skin gave a weird sense of beauty. She had such a mature vibe that she felt like a fruit that had come to the sweetest season.

"Bend backwards more… What's this pain compared to the pain when forests are cut by human beings and when green is reduced to deserts?" Martha was rather rigorous in her teaching and did not hesitate to show her attitude as a follower of Nature's Abhorrence.

"This dance is called Dance of Revenge. Every movement has a special meaning and expresses the anger of nature. You can never dance the dance well without understanding the feeling. For example, in this movement, you need to recall the extinct animals. They are completely gone from this world just because of the greed of human beings, because their fur, flesh, meat and bones are useful…"

"Because of their selfishness, human beings blatantly hurt nature, and one day, nature will burst out her fury and cleanse all sins…"

Hearing Martha's tutelage, Jurisian frowned and thought to himself. "Such a narration and such a dance are truly similar to the Special Summoning Ritual. It will work out as long as they are convinced that 'revenge of nature' does exist… But why were the elves of Nature's Balance more corrupted? Why is Martha still teaching Dance of Revenge knowing that the Congress has helped with the investigation? Does she think that we can never find that it's her, or was it not done by her at all?"

Iristine stepped forward and said, "Ms. Martha, excuse us. A few guests would like to ask you some questions."

Martha had long noticed the approaching strangers but turned a blind eye to them. It was not until Iristine opened her mouth that she finally bowed with an awful face. "Your Highness, I do not want human beings whose minds are filthy to trespass on my place, and I don't know what questions I can possibly answer."

"Madam, we only wish to know where you learnt Dance of Revenge." Not infuriated at all, Jurisian asked calmly.

Martha scorned. "I was inspired by human beings' damage on nature and reorganized the fete movements that I found in the ancient classics. It's my own creation. Are you satisfied with my answer?"

"What ancient classics?" Felipe asked the core of the question.

Martha sneered. "Are sorcerers supposed to be knowledgeable? You can't tell? It's from 'Moon Rite of Werewolves', 'Book of Rituals'…"

She said a series of titles. Obviously, her previous statement was not a lie.

Answering another few questions, Martha asked them to leave. "My patience has run out. I do not want to answer any other questions. If you want to blame the accident on me, be my guest."Read more chapter on NovelFull

After that, she went back to the tree house and continued her lesson on Dance of Revenge.

Returning in silence, Iristine said again, "I apologize to you on behalf of Ms. Martha…"

"Wait a moment." Felipe interrupted her. "I would like to search Martha's tree house and the area nearby."

"Why?" Asked Iristine in surprise.

Felipe said coldly, "Are we supposed to believe whatever she says?"

Jurisian nodded with a smile. With such a guy in the team, he was saved from the trouble of saying things he would rather not say.

Iristine struggled hesitatingly. It was an important issue to search the house of a 'Staff Bearer'.

...

The bloody dust pervaded the air, blocking the sunlight from the sky. The environment that had been cleansed by 'Eternal Blaze' previously was full of curses and poisons again.

Lucien's spiritual power spread out. Seizing the power of the projection of his demiplane, he blurred the environment around, making it impossible for the curses and poisons to leak in. Wearing her silver armor, Natasha looked no different from before, but the curses and poisons somehow collapsed and disintegrated when they approached her without any exception.

"Have you found anything?" Malfurion asked Lucien, who was standing next to a mirror with complicated stripes. He was casting 'Mirror of Fate' to decide the origin of the 'integration of spaces'.

Lucien put the crystal ball in his left hand at the center of the Mirror of Fate. The picture immediately became clear. The crystal ball also glowed, and the stars in it were connected into a straight line.

"It's in that direction." Lucien said to Natasha and Malfurion. "Did the accident really originate from here?"

Chapter 678: Clues

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The sun that was shining through the bloody dust seemed dim and cold, but it was in fact even more scorching than the sun in the main material world. The river of lava that flowed at the bottom of the plain added to the heat of the area, making the temperature above sixty degrees all year around. Normal human beings could not survive in such an environment at all even without the many curses and toxins.

A silver light flashed and slashed out in the shape of a crescent moon, before it vanished into thin air, leaving the illusionary and terrifying gap that seemed to be piercing through the abyss on this level.

The hundreds of demons, led by a six-armed snake-like monster, came to an abrupt halt, as if somebody had cast 'Time Stop' upon them. One second later, their bodies suddenly exploded into a spring of blood. The pieces of their bodies hit the ground like raindrops, tiny and neat.

"Your control over the power of the legendary 'Sword of Truth' is better and better." Witnessing the scene, Lucien did not hesitate to compliment. Natasha was not holding the legendary longsword 'Sword of Truth' but 'Pale Justice'. She was practicing the delicate control over her blood power by executing demons.

Natasha was in a high mood. "I am not a knight with only brawn. I have always been a great controller of my strength. During the three years I spent in the abbey after I became a radiant knight, I was able to really grasp my will and my body…"

She accepted Lucien's praise without any embarrassment. Then she said regretfully, "It's a pity that we've met nothing more than senior-rank demons on our way. We didn't even see Demon Dukes, not to mention Demon Lords. I cannot carry out my full strength and look for places where I can make improvement."

"Each level of the abyss can support only one Demon Lord at most. That is to say, if a Demon Duke cannot control most of the territory in his plane, he cannot receive the feedback of the abyss and be promoted into a legendary lord at all." Lucien explained it to Natasha with a smile. Although she had picked up a lot of knowledge about abyss before the mission, it was still far from Lucien's expertise. The studies on demons were a basic subject for every sorcerer. "Therefore, unless there is any joint operation, we can see nothing but the Sovereign of Blood at most on the Scarlet Plain."

In the abyss, except for the Lord of Spectres, the Demogorgon of Darkness and few other special demons, most of the demon monarchs did not have names but only the titles that the experts of the main material world made up for them.

A lot of monarchs of the abyss had been known. There were eighteen of them, three times more than the nine-floored hell. However, just like nobody knew how many floors the abyss had, nobody could tell how many legendary demons there were exactly. Even Rhine, as a vampire prince who had lived tens of thousands of years, wasn't sure about the answer. It certainly deserved to be called 'Abyssal Maw'.

However, because of the chaotic slaughter amongst themselves, and since they had to advance by defeating and absorbing other monarchs, the abyss was not even as powerful as the hell where there were only nine Devil Dukes in general. After Tiphotidis, the Ice Duke and the Master of Argent, completely perished, a new legendary devil had grown up in the Silent Hell in recent years and was appointed by the Lord of Hell as the 'New Ice Duke'.

Having been approved by the Lord of Hell, he had received the feedback and enhancement of the demiplane, thereby improving from level one of legendary to level two quickly.

It was said that the new 'Ice Duke' was particularly cunning and deceptive. He was known as 'Lord of Mysteries'.

"Hehe. It will be good enough if we can encounter the Sovereign of Blood!" Although she craved battle, Natasha did not want herself and her husband to be caught in the danger of a joint operation of the demon monarchs.

Malfurion was enshrouded in green light, as if countless plants were growing from him. Refreshing and enjoyable, it was a major contrast to the terrible environment. He observed the environment attentively in case of an ambush from the demon monarchs, overlooking Natasha and Lucien's jolly talk as if they were on a trip in the suburb.

According to the feedback of his astrology and the Mirror of Fate, Lucien altered his direction now and then. Suddenly, the picture inside the crystal ball became clear!

Inside a gigantic circle of white rocks, bloody mud rose weirdly into what seemed to be a mysterious altar!

The bloody wall around the altar was fully engraved with complicated, cubic patterns. Whoever saw them would immediately be grasped by the lust for killing. Those patterns spread out from the top of the altar and seemed to be connected to the whole Scarlet Plain. Above the altar, however, vigorous green was oozing, as if the world inside was a natural environment like the Stroop forest.

Outside of the circle of rocks was a bloody fortress whose tough wall was piled up by the corpses of different races. Hearts, intestines, heads and other body parts could be vaguely found.

It was exactly the Sovereign of Blood's 'Fortress of Flesh'!

"This truly seems to be the source of things…" Looking at the crystal ball, Lucien was more or less surprised. "Things are going on too well, aren't they?"

After locating the source of the expansion of the abyssal gap, Malfurion was no longer as silent as when he entered the land hesitantly. He looked at the crystal ball thoughtfully and said, "Let's go over and investigate it first. We'll try to take care of them if we can, but if the enemy is too formidable for us, we will retreat and summon enough legends."

"They may be ambushing us. It's too simple and smooth…" Natasha's delightful smile after the battle was gone as she said very solemnly.

However, it did befit the demons' characteristic that they weren't capable of complicated schemes.

...

The muddy mound that seemed to be an altar was very spacious inside. The dense, flourishing forest was letting out fresh air. At the center of the trees was a green object surrounded by green spots of light, which fluctuated and brought a strong sense of vigor.

Next to the green object, a giant demon who had tiny bloody scales all over his body was pacing back and forth anxiously, with bloody, scorching brilliance emanating from the wings on his back.

The most special thing about the demon was that he had two heads. One of them looked like a dog's head, except that it had two horns like those of a sheep, whereas the other head looked like a human-faced goat.

"I said that I hate such environments most! Damn it, I'm going to destroy it!" The dog head roared, its gold eyes full of chaos and destruction.

The human-faced goat head chuckled. "You cannot even endure such a short moment without losing the ability of thinking. No wonder you are suppressed by me all the time."

"One day, I will take you down!" The dog head jerked forward and opened its mouth, baring the creepy tusks and biting the other head.

The goat head turned around and dodged it, as if it had already been used to such 'self-brutalization'. "You brainless moron, are you trying to sabotage our plan? Do you want to be punished?"

The dog head suddenly stopped. Fuming, it roared, "How does a plan help anything? We might as well press forward directly!"

It did not create any further mess. Obedience to those who were more powerful was a common behavior of the demons. If the powerful were unable to suppress the demons lesser to them, those demons wouldn't mind betrayals and assassinations at all. As a matter of fact, when they were most befuddled, they often attempted to overthrow those more powerful than them without considering the gap of their strength.

"Why would I bother to explain the plan to you? Can you understand it?" The human-faced goat scorned. "All in all, we have to wait here for the investigators of the Congress of Magic and the elves. Then, we will have a 'fierce battle' with them, before we 'fail' and flee, leaving this place as well as the 'clues' to them."

"We don't kill them?" The dog head found it impossible to understand. "What's the point?"

On the Scarlet Plain, it felt that it was capable of dealing with Malfurion. As to exactly whom the Congress of Magic had sent, it simply did not care!

"The bottom line is, we have to fail!" The human-faced goat was too lazy to argue with the idiot. It had been tens of thousands of years that it could not make any progress because of the idiot.

But it also believed that on the Scarlet Plain, where they were enhanced and the enemy was weakened, they would be able to escape even if Douglas or Aglaea arrived in person. Nobody except the few minorities in the abyss was fond of intelligence collection. Their demigod had set up a good example for them and they certainly had followed him well.

Chapter 679: Progress

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Inside Town of the Anonymous.

Mason, the 'Azure Dragon', and Fred, 'the Knight of Frost', slowly landed in front of Mattwe who was known as 'Anger of Earth'.

"It seems that you've both picked the right way. Following me to the Townkeepers' House for punishment is a smart choice." said Mattwe in the rising tone, showing his sarcasm.

This tone was quite annoying but it would not be a big problem in peacetime. However, as now the adventurers in Town of the Anonymous were under great pressure and anxiety, this tone sounded very offensive and could easily set them on fire.

Mason's fists clenched tight and it took him great effort to control his fury, "…Mattwe, I hope that I can go through the joint questioning of the elves and the sorcerer's first and then go to the house. You can follow me all the time in case I decide to run away. Does that sound okay to you?"

There was no way that a knight squire or a knight below senior-rank could bargain with a town keeper like this. But as Mason and Fred were radiant knights, as long as they were willing to take the punishment, some extra requests should be granted.

Mason was ready that he would emphasize the strangeness of Mattwe and his people when he was going through the sorcerers and elves' investigation. In this way, even if Mattwe had got other plans, he would not be able to do anything to them as they would be under close watch.

Mattwe, however, burst out the dry laughter, "No, that doesn't sound okay to me. You're wasting my time! You're a radiant knight, and so am I! Every second of my time is precious. You two better follow me to the house right now, or I'd show no mercy."

His voice was cold, and that was his final warning.

Mason and Fred exchanged a look between each other and started talking to each other secretly using the blood power of the Azure Dragon.

"Is there any personal enmity between Mattwe and us?" Mason asked confusedly. He wondered why Mattwe had to be so harsh. There were two possibilities: One was that they had pissed him off badly somehow earlier, or Mattwe had got other plans."

Fred's eyes were ice-blue, and they now looked very serious, "No, we barely talked to him. Therefore, the reason that he's behaving like this must be something deeper. We cannot go to that house!"

As a radiant knight, his instinct told him that if they were going to follow Mattwe to the Townkeepers' House, they would be in great danger. This feeling had been piling up on his heart, and it was going to explode at any time.

Mason very slightly nodded and he turned to look at 'Anger of Earth', "Mattwe, you're not the one who decides. We need to see those senior elves and sorcerers. They'll be judging!"

His voice was very loud and determined. He was trying to make every adventurer nearby hear, as well as the elves.

The elves who closed the town looked back. But when they found that it was Mattwe who was doing his business, they all turned back.

Mason did not care but kept going. He roared like a dragon, "Do you have the guts to see the sorcerers with us!"

The positions in the conversation had been exchanged.

Then he turned around and walked to the other side of the town, followed by Fred. The muscles in the back were in full alert.

Mattwe sneered and said out aloud, "The sorcerers and senior elves have commissioned us for this!"

Before his words faded, the land that Mason and Fred were standing on started waving. The waving was also shaking the houses and cabins along the street. They were going to collapse at any time.

On full alert, Mason quickly reacted. A thick bolt of lightning was summoned and fiercely launched the strike at Mattwe.

Within a second, his body had grown two times bigger. His skin was covered in azure scales and between the scales there were jumping electric arcs.

Fred's sword cut into the wind and the temperature in the small town suddenly dropped. In the cold wind, pieces of ice as sharp as sword blades swirled at Mattwe in the strong wind.

On the way, the blue blade light formed sharp icicles and a thick layer of ice on the ground.

At this time, the place where Mattwe was standing cracked and the scorching red lava gushed out. The extreme temperature resisted the frost and ice. Meanwhile, Mattwe's hand grabbed a brownish-yellow huge hammer energized by bolts of lightning.

"Senior-rank elves and sorcerers… They have helped Mattwe?" Mason quickly talked to Fred using the special blood power.

Fred jumped up and hacked downwards. The thick ice brought by the sword blocked the lava.

"Even if they have, it is only a small part of them. We make this big to let all of them know!"

As a radiant knight, he was very decisive.

When he was about to launch his storm attack, he suddenly felt that their small battlefield had been separated from the town and entered a piece of shadow.

All the roarings, storms, and bolts of lightning had all been trapped within the shadow. There was no way that these could get out and attract the elves and sorcerers' attention.

It was Shadow Baron! Mason's heart missed a beat. Shadow Baron was another townkeeper. How could he come so fast? There must be something wrong!

In the shadow, there was a figure jumping around. The figure had taken total control of Fred, as it was so fast jumping around that it could jump out and launch its attack at any time.

Mattwe dragged the heavy hammer and jumped at Mason, "They're coming very soon. Stop being stupid! The punishment won't kill you!"Read more chapter on NovelFull

He was using words to weaken Mason and Fred's fighting wills.

Mason was getting more and more angry by Mattwe's words, and he knew that the situation was getting even more dangerous. Making up his mind, he suddenly turned himself to a azure dragon in the sky.

In the blue sky, the azure sky did not look very clear. Wrapped in electric currents, the dragon suddenly exploded like fireworks!

The silver-white electric snakes filled in the entire space in the shadow, turning this place into an ocean of lightning.

The shadow was being penetrated by the lightning power!

This was the maximum of Mason's blood power and the forbidden power in his blood. All this was to break the shadow and make the elves and sorcerers know.

This was the struggle between life and death!

...

In Nature's Residence, after a long time hesitation, Iristine finally said, "I'm not against it, but searching Ms. Martha's treehouse will infuriate all the elves from Nature's Abhorrence. We have to be cautious. I have another plan. We can sneak in and see if we can find any strong evidence, and then the thorough investigation can be carried out without any problems. If no evidence could be found, it would not cause any big trouble."

His hands in pockets, Felipe said in the cold tone, "So we're going to sneak in like thieves? What if Martha finds out? Who's to take the risk?"

"Your Highness," Felipe added, "there's one thing that you have to figure out. We're invited here to investigate what has caused the abyssal gap and pollution. We are not the one asking. We have doubts, and we ask. You try your best to support us. We don't take any risk. Because if we cannot find the reason, we are not the one worrying. You understand?"

Jurisian tried to make this situation easier, "You Highness, it's in fact quite simple. All elves have to contribute to this to stop the pollution of the elvish tree. So please, your highness, please report this to Her Highness so that we can search Ms. Martha's treehouse without any concerns. I know it's hard, but we need your help."

One playing the good person, the other bad, Felipe and Jurisian made the princess have nothing else to say.

Heidi said to Annick through the telepathic bond, "Her Highness is still too inexperienced, but we do have good reasons."

When Heidi was talking, she turned to look at Iristine. Suddenly, she saw a dog-sized dragon behind Iristine. The little dragon had half-transparent scales, and it was busy enjoying the many colorful berries held in its paws.

"Alferris, why are you here?" Heidi was surprised. No one could predict where and when the Little Crystal wanted to show up.

Alferris said seriously, "I was playing with my elf friends in the nearby forest, but I heard that you need someone to sneak into Martha's treehouse, so I am here. I'm good at illusion spells. I am in the seventh circle. No one's more suitable than me!"

Treehouse. Searching. Staff Bearer. Alferris could see that piles of treasure were waving hands at it!

The corner of Heidi's mouth twitched a bit. How sharp Alferris's instinct was!

"Alright. I'll talk to my mom." Iristine finally agreed.

Alferris, however, was a bit disappointed, "So there's no need to sneak in?"

...

On Scarlet Plain, Lucien, Natasha, and Malfurion had approached the Fortress of Flesh. However, the demons in it were totally quiet. No one came out of the castle, from a little demon minion to a senior-rank demon. That was because all the three of them had totally released the stressful air from their legendary power!

The sky was bloody red. The red was dark, like the universe was close enough to touch. The light of different elements was dazzling. From the soil soaked in blood, strange green plants grew out, stopping and extinguishing the sand and curses in the air. However, the fine electric arcs in space contained horrible power strong enough to destroy everything.

To those demons which were used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, facing these three people, they would never take the initiative to step out of the fortress.

"Sovereign of Blood isn't in." Lucien had expected this. "We restrain the air and approach the altar in the array of rocks."

At this time, a horrible roaring burst from the array of rocks and made the entire plain shake. The angry voice arrived and filled in the space.

"The smell of human beings! I'm going to kill you all!"