Kingdom’s fallen territory, in a mountain forest near the West Coast.
Gulu... Gulu...
A light blue Sli crawled out from a barren earth hole.
Its gelatinous body undulated back and forth, and through its semi-transparent flesh, one could still see so undigested mycelium and mushrooms.
Slis are magical creatures ford by the condensation of magic power from the environnt, mixed with basic elents like simple water and soil. For them, magic power is not only the cornerstone of survival but also the sole nutrient for their growth.
Most of their actions revolve around devouring more magic power.
Hence, when a Sli group attacks an adventurer team, they instinctively prioritize attacking the mages in the team.
Therefore, when powerful magic accessories are activated, it easily attracts a gathering of Slis.
And thus, compared to ordinary flowers, grasses, trees, or even other common demons, these greedy Slis will first eat the fungal mats rich in magic power, as well as the Puki spawned from them!
Unfortunately, the remnants inside this newly erged Sli might be the last bits of overlooked mycelium in the area.
The Sli seems to feel that it hasn’t eaten enough yet, and is preparing to wrap up so dry grass and dead leaves to make up the numbers, when it suddenly senses an alluring source of magic nearby.
The Sli sticks close to the ground, silently flowing towards that direction.
Approaching the target, locking on the position, gathering power for a leap!
Its jelly-like body drew an arc in mid-air, lunging straight towards the sensed magic source!
A curved saber swept through at an astonishing speed, cutting into its body, the blade not only slicing through the outer mbrane but also piercing the core inside.
"Plop," the Sli fell to the ground like a punctured water pouch, turning into a puddle of sli.
Vera flicked her wrist, shook off the little sli on the curved saber, and swiftly took out a piece of soft cloth soaked in special oil, skillfully and ticulously wiping the blade.
Most adventurers don’t like Slis. These demons rarely produce valuable materials, and their highly acidic bodily fluids are easily corrosive to tals, making weapon maintenance a troubleso task.
New adventurers who can’t locate the core often find their sword blades becoming pitted after cutting only a few.
"How many is this now?" Fei Yin looked at the puddle of sli at her feet, her brows furrowed slightly, "The Slis here seem more nurous than those in the Underground City."
Fei Ling leapt lightly from a higher branch nearby, landing silently.
She bent down, using the tip of a dagger to pick out a nail-sized Sli Core from the sli puddle, and stowed it in the small leather pouch at her waist.
"What can we do? There aren’t many demons here that feed on them, they lack natural enemies, and the environntal magic power is quite high, so they’re naturally rampant."
Vera finished maintaining the weapon, sheathed the saber, and looked back at the sisters: "Found any traces nearby?"
"No," Fei Ling shook her head, her expression turned gloomy with a lowering voice, "If only Sirean were here... he could always ’ask’ the plants for things we couldn’t detect."
The ntion of the na made the air stall for a mont.
At the end of the fog event, the three did not witness Sirean’s disappearance.
When the fog cleared, they gave up joining Golden Valley City’s retreating team, and searched repeatedly in the surrounding areas for a long ti but found nothing, finally leaving in dismay.
When human adventurers started operating in the fallen territory again, they were the first group to return.
Vera knew very well in their hearts.
In the final fog illusion, Fei Ling and Fei Yin hid in the cellar, Vera drew away the pursuers, though they tried their best, it wasn’t enough to disperse the fog.
Only Sirean could have brought them out from absolute danger.
Yet, he disappeared.
Even knowing Sirean likely faced dire circumstances, they hoped to find his remains, to return their companion’s body to the Elf Forest.
Unfortunately, there was no clue yet, instead, they got involved in other matters.
They now wandered the outskirts of the forest, searching for traces of a missing adventurer team.
The team leader was nad Anton, who had collapsed a hill segnt when Vera’s group was pursued by a demon race team, successfully halting the pursuers, aiding them greatly.
But recently, Anton’s team took on a task to explore this area and never returned.
They’re the second team to go missing here recently.
Thus, this mountain forest near the West Coast was regarded as a highly risky area among adventurers, with no one willing to approach.
Only Vera’s group, bearing Anton’s favor, ca to search.
Of course, they didn’t rush into the depths, but carefully began from the outskirts, attempting to find any possible clue or trace.
Yet, so far, the results were few.
"Let’s delve a little deeper, if..." Vera hadn’t finished speaking when Fei Ling suddenly reached out to cover his mouth.
With her other hand, Fei Ling pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to her ear—she heard sothing unusual.
Vera instantly fell silent, while Fei Yin adeptly retrieved a pouch of light pink powder from her waist pouch, shaking her wrist to sprinkle the powder on the three of them, briefly confusing their magic power aura—a simple ans of countering detection.
The three held their breath, following Fei Ling’s lead, using the cover of trees and rocks to sneak toward the source of the sound.
Gently parting a dense clump of vegetation, they discovered a demon race, more accurately, an Enchanting Demon.
The Enchanting Demon had her back to them, with her distinctive heart-shaped tail gently swaying behind.
She was diligently picking the thorns off a vine, muttering incomprehensible demon language under her breath.
Exchanging a glance, Fei Ling took down the short bow strapped to her back, drawing an arrow from the quiver...
...
"To save you... not to save you... to save you... not to save you..." ngya murmured to herself while using her slender nails to pick off the wooden spikes from the vine.
"Not to save you!" Extracting the last spike, she seed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if finding an excuse, whispering, "Slly Fish, don’t bla for not being loyal, it’s the vine’s... uh, fate’s directive."
Then, as if to convince herself, she added, "Besides, even if I want to save you, what can I do? I’m just a little Enchanting Demon, it’s uncertain if I’m any stronger than you in a real fight. Those lunatics who took you, each as stubborn as a rock, super hard to charm, what can I do?"
She clapped her hands, as if brushing off so lingering guilt in her heart.
"Rest well, good partner. They say falling into their hands makes for a painless death... You lived long enough, among Goblins, that’s quite a good end."
Stretching her legs stiff from squatting, she looked at the dawn breaking over the horizon, took a deep breath, ready to put the past behind and embrace a new future!
Accompanied by a "whoosh," an arrow pierced through her side, pain exploded instantly!
Enemy!
Are they human adventurers? Or those lunatics who captured Slly Fish?
Damn it, if Slly Fish were here, he would have spotted soone approaching long ago!
ngya endured the tearing pain from her abdon, gritting her teeth and reached for her dagger at her waist, trying to turn to face the enemy.
However, Vera was faster.
The curved saber was already pressed against her slender neck, the blade clinging close to her skin, sending waves of coldness.
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