area51novel Page 376
Page 376
"Why did King Herod summon all the elves back to Herod City? Wouldn't it have been better to leave some of their bloodline on the continent?"
Artemis shook her head slightly and said:
"For the elves, it was a normal thing to return to Herod City because of some common emotion. At that time, everyone had already foreseen the fall of Herod City, and after the last homecoming festival, they were unwilling to leave again."
"As for me, I was still away from home because of the novelty of the outside world, and by the time I wanted to go back, Herod City had already closed off." The half-elf sighed and said:
"I probably didn't believe Herod would fall at the time, but things turned out differently than I expected."
"I see."
Latis was speechless for a moment, then gently squeezed the half-elf's hand before looking at the last corner in his field of vision.
They originally wanted to quickly navigate the maze and obtain the core of the Blessed Land, but after discovering that the soul images of the elf cubs were hidden at every corner, they had no choice but to wait until each image had finished speaking before leaving.
In Latis's perception, these elf cubs may have already turned into seeds, but only under the protection of a powerful soul force were they able to leave behind such vivid soul images.
This spectacle may have been created by the power of the roots of the World Tree, and it's unknown what the elves have hidden in the very core.
……
……
"Finally... we've reached the end."
Doug collapsed at the exit of the bush maze, looked up at the road that had finally widened in front of him, and a relieved expression appeared on his face.
Although the images in the maze terrified him, he was fortunate to find that he was not harmed. So apart from a lingering sense of fear, he was in a pretty good state.
"As long as we anchor the most crucial element in the demiplane in space, we won't have to worry about it drifting away again for the time being..."
He carefully took out a seven-ring "spatial anchoring" scroll from his pocket, held it in his hand, stood up and walked forward.
This was an investment from the Gretel family. If he could seize the opportunity to take the Herod Ruins during this incident, it would be enough to meet their requirements.
This spell can maximize the overlap between the demiplane and the prime plane. Imagine the demiplane as a balloon floating in the air, and the core of the demiplane is the balloon string tied to the ground. The overlap between the demiplane and the prime plane is because the balloon will occasionally fall to the ground due to the wind.
The spell's effect is to pull the rope sharply, causing the entire balloon to descend to the ground in a short time, allowing explorers to enter.
As for why he didn't use the spell directly on the outermost World Tree roots, firstly, he wasn't sure if those huge roots were the core of the demiplane, and secondly, to completely pull the demiplane, this "balloon," to the ground, it was better to be as close to the top of the rope as possible; otherwise, even if it was pulled down, it would still maintain a certain distance from the ground.
"I wonder what kind of treasure the Herods will place in the most central area..."
A glint of greed flashed in Doug's eyes. He swallowed hard and took a step forward.
After leaving the maze of bushes, the roots that had been lying on the ground gradually rose up, revealing their immeasurable size.
Surprisingly, Doug initially thought he was following only one root, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that there were dozens of such roots extending in all directions, and all of these roots grew from the same main root.
He looked up at the main root, which was placed on top of a high platform in the center, and couldn't help but tremble slightly.
This main root, apart from its wide diameter, is only a dozen meters long. However, its beginning and end are smooth as if they were cut off, and upon closer inspection, they seem to disappear into the dark space.
This space is completely unlike the shallow space we usually teleport through. It is deep and calm. If the space we usually teleport through is just a surface of the sea that is easily disturbed, then this main root is like a root that is completely rooted in the deep sea, only touching the view of the shallow sea in this short, winding section.
Doug quickly lowered his head, not daring to look any further.
Only the upper-middle class are qualified to touch such things, while people from lower-class families like his can't even understand what it is, let alone get involved.
He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and began searching for the "treasure" in the blessed land. Under the deep and empty dome, something immediately caught his attention.
It was a huge flower bud hanging low beneath the high platform, emitting a crystalline, ghostly light. At the same time, as a mage, he instantly sensed the highly active magical energy in the vicinity, as well as the high-energy magical reaction within the flower bud.
what is that?
The legends of the Elves began to flash through his mind: the Fountain of Youth that prolongs life, the Herod Crown that can control the forces of nature, the magical star map that can guide the way through planes, the Silver Moon Amulet that allows one to travel through nature under the silver moonlight, and the Heart of Nature Strings that can add countless buffs when plucked...
The legends of various treasures instantly made his eyes water, and he took off running towards the giant flower bud. As the bud drew closer, he couldn't help but shout:
“Treasure! My treasure! My…”
boom!
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and Doug's consciousness went blank for a few seconds before his senses slowly returned, making him realize that he had fallen to the ground.
"Damn it...what is that thing..."
He struggled to lift his head, looked at the tall, dark figure blocking his way, and gritted his teeth as he shouted:
"That is...my treasure!"
"Treasure?" Latis turned around, looked at the intruder he had just kicked down, and shook his head, saying:
"These are not treasures. The legendary treasures of your floating island families are worthless compared to these things."
He paused, then turned back to Atelius, who was using elven magic to slowly open the flower bud. Watching the elven seed gradually emerge from the bud, he said softly:
"This is the past of Herod City, and it will surely be repeated in the future."
Chapter 374 The Mage's Claw
"seed……?"
Doug's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief:
"Impossible... Even if it's just a seed, it must be the seed of a priceless magic potion! Give it to me!"
"It is indeed priceless."
Latis took a deep breath, slapped a mage's hand to stun him, then shook his head and added:
"...for us."
He glanced at Doug's tattered clothes and frowned slightly.
The magic network spell record just now has revealed Doug's real name. As expected, he is a member of the Nuri family. If what the high-level mage Spike said is true, Doug should be the heir of the Nuri family.
Before Spike lost consciousness, he revealed that the Nuri family was a pawn planted by the Queen in the floating islands. Although they were certainly not the only pawn, they must have known some of the Queen's plans.
Latis didn't want to alert the Nuri family and wipe them out, so he planned to use Doug's life to exchange information with the head of the Nuri family.
Most importantly, of course, they didn't want the elves' blessed land to be stained with the blood of humans from the outside world.
"Big brother."
Artemis held the flower bud and whispered:
"It looks like everything's here."
"Hmm... let me see." Latis leaned closer to the flower bud, examining the seed nurtured within by strange elven magic. The active soul fluctuations stirred his consciousness, and he couldn't help but ask with some doubt:
"I don't know why, but I actually felt a sense of vitality from it..."
“That’s true.” Though a hint of sorrow lingered in the half-elf’s lake-like eyes, it wasn’t overwhelming grief. After plucking the flower bud and closing it, she turned to Latis and explained:
"I don't know why, but a very powerful soul force has been nurturing these children, which is why we were able to use the lantern grass, which can briefly reveal their messages, to display them before."
"Huh?" Latis scratched his head and asked:
"Does this mean that although they have turned into seeds, their souls are still active? Could it be the effect of this flower bud?"
"I also find it incredible."
Artemis shook her head, looked at the still-vibrant stem after the flower bud had been removed, and said:
"This is just a common flower in Herod City called the 'Sunflower.' It blooms when exposed to sunlight, emitting a rich fragrance, and is the main source of nectar for Herod City."
"Its roots and buds absorb starlight in the dark to grow, and in the mouths of the Herods, it is a symbol of praise for waiting and patience."
Latis thought for a moment, then asked with some surprise:
"It sounds like these kids grew it themselves?"
“I think so too…” Arterifus sighed and said, “And judging from the state of these seeds, they probably turned into seeds on their own.”
"Hey, why?"
Seeing Latis's curious gaze, the half-elf organized his thoughts for a moment before saying:
"For the Herods, death is not an eternal end. We all believe that when we open our eyes again, we will still see the familiar faces of our relatives and the prosperous city, even if it is thousands of years later. Because of this mentality, the Herods are not afraid of death. No matter whether life feels long or short, we will not be dissatisfied. Perhaps this is what these children think."
"So, they are hoping that when they open their eyes again, they will see a city as prosperous as Herod was before they were born."
Latis suddenly thought of the "Corridor of the Dead" in Titania. Perhaps, when Titania was truly open, he could sow these seeds in the "Corridor of the Dead" so that these young elves could witness the prosperous world they had never seen before in the form of spirits.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.
Different colored streams of magic energy swirled around them in the dim environment. Latis knew that these were the demon spirits that had followed them before. Perhaps because the core area was too small, the demon spirits had not solidified into physical forms, which was why they followed them in this form.
"What's wrong?" Latis looked up at the streams of magic energy and scratched his head.
Whether it was because of Ateliers' blessing within him or because of his performance in defeating the rampaging demons, he seemed to feel a sense of closeness from these demons, as if they were welcoming him to the elves' territory.
"what?"
Artemis walked to Latis's side, curiously looking up at the flowing magical energy in the air, and subconsciously raised her hand.
A wisp of cyan magic essence slowly descended, circling the slender hand of a half-elf. It briefly transformed into the Lucky Bird from before, perched on her finger, turned its head slightly, flapped its wings gently, and then transformed back into magic essence.
"They seem to be trying to tell us something..."
Artemis looked uncertainly at the surrounding magical energy streams. Suddenly, they paused and began to crash into the roots of the World Tree on the high platform.
"What..." Latis reached out in surprise, about to ask what was going on, when the entire demiplane suddenly roared, and then a wave of magical energy burst forth from the roots of the World Tree and surged outwards with a bang.
The vines that had been entwined around the perimeter slowly dissipated in the flow of magic, casting the dim light of the demiplane into the core area.
The octagonal white pillars once again stand beneath the dome, and the crescent-shaped arched gate connects to the descending steps, slowly breaking free from the covering shrubs and extending into the winding forest.
At the end of the steps, the words "Palace of Blessed Virgins" finally reappeared on a stone tablet written in Elvish.
"Such powerful magic!"
Latis quickly shielded the half-elf with his body, releasing his mage domain to tightly envelop the two of them to prevent them from being blown away.
In the turbulent flow of magic, Doug, who had been slapped unconscious, was jolted awake. He slowly opened his eyes, subconsciously touched his face, which was swollen like a pig's head, and couldn't help but gasp. He struggled to lift his head and looked at the constantly shaking roots of the World Tree.
"Oops!"
Doug was taken aback. Before he could figure out what was happening, he quickly pulled out the "Spatial Anchoring" scroll from his pocket, locked his consciousness onto the roots of the World Tree, and hurriedly tore the scroll to shreds.
"What?" The spell's prompt appeared before Latis's eyes instantly. He had no time to stop the spell from the scroll and could only watch helplessly as the dark magical energy surged toward the trembling roots of the World Tree.
"Oh no... wait?"
Latis was shocked. Just as he was about to protect the two of them and prepare to avoid the possible spatial fluctuations, he was surprised to find that the vibration of the World Tree's roots had stopped. At the same time, the demon spirit that had been blown away earlier floated back dejectedly, casting a somewhat embarrassed and relieved look at him.