"What you said is correct." Shillenfeel smiled, "The lich did come here, and the current situation of this palace is also inseparable from him." Her expression turned serious,
"However, the Ayrna people also share a large part of the blame."
Lin gently grabbed Yuffie's arm. Lily and Alphonse also came closer and listened quietly to Shireenfeel's words.
"The origin of the matter was a mess. Due to some disputes, we and the empire accused each other of breaking the agreement between the two countries. During this period, a series of incidents such as the murder of messengers and the attack on villages occurred. Finally,
The dispute turned into a war." The woman closed her eyes and shook her head, "Thinking about it now, the doubts about those events were not completely undetectable, but our arrogance and lack of sufficient communication between the two parties resulted in the worst consequences.
"
"The war started near where we are now, sweeping across the entire southern part of the forest. As the war continued, neither we nor the empire could remain rational and began to attack the civilians and cities on the other side. In order to severely damage the enemy's morale, we
A large number of wizards were gathered together, targeting the palace, and jointly cast a battle-level spell." She spoke in a calm voice, but her face looked a little pale, "However, we have already fallen into a trap.
Under the sudden intervention of the demon, the spell was completely out of control."
"Magic power erupted in the sky above the target location, covering the entire palace, the nearby medium-sized cities with a population of about 40,000, and a large amount of land further away, turning all creatures on them into zombies and wraiths." Shireen.
Phil exhaled slowly, "The empire had to abandon this area, and what was left to us was a place of complete death. Every grain of soil there carries fatal magic power, and anyone who enters the area will
All living things, including us, will lose their lives and turn into zombies without thoughts and only instincts."
"Then what? There's no way to recover?" Lily interjected.
Shireenfel shook his head helplessly, "After the war, we spent a lot of energy and sacrificed several outstanding wizards to separate the land from the surrounding areas so that the pollution would not continue to spread outward. If we force it
Purification would probably take several times more time and more than ten times the sacrifices. We didn't have that kind of energy at that time. We set up mythical locks and blocked the entrances and exits of the land, hoping that time would gradually let go of the corrupt magic power.
dissipate."
"So, have you explored the changes there over the years?" Yuffie pushed her hair back and looked at the woman opposite.
"In the first few decades, we would send a team about every ten years to enter the inside of the mystery lock to check the situation. Due to the isolation characteristics of the inside and outside of the mystery lock, we have to wait for the exploration team to return before we can know the results." The woman replied in a low voice.
, "However, not a single team successfully returned. Therefore, one hundred and thirty years ago, the Royal Court decided to suspend this operation that could not get any reward, until now."
"But... there should be someone who has come back successfully, right?" Lin glanced at her friends beside her and raised her eyebrows, "It's the mercenary group to which Yuffie's mother belongs."
"That's true. When they asked me how to enter the mystery, I thought they were a little confused - but I didn't expect that they actually successfully completed the exploration." Shireen Feier looked a little nostalgic, "When they directly entered
When he entered my residence and said that he had something to tell Her Majesty the Queen, I was really shocked."
Alphonse's eyes lit up in a physical sense, "Then, have they seen Her Majesty the Queen?"
Shireenfel recalled for a moment. Lin turned to look at Yuffie and saw the girl swallowing nervously.
"His Majesty summoned half of the important ministers in the royal city and met them in the Hall of Elders. They told His Majesty that the corrupt magic power in the area sunk underground has mostly dissipated and will no longer cause fatal harm to humans. However, the path leading to
A trap has been set on the road to the palace, and when the trap is lifted, deeper mechanisms will be triggered, so they cannot go deeper." The woman walked up to Yuffie and lowered her voice, "Guess what, your mother is still there
What did you say?"
"Will we come here?" Yuffie tapped her chest.
"It's not that exaggerated." Shireen Feier laughed out loud. "She said that in the near future, the palace's trap will be lifted from the inside, and those who lift the trap will also try to escape from the lock. However, she
Tell us not to worry too much, because by then, another group of travelers will come here and report the anomalies in the forest to us - thinking about it, she is talking about you."
"That sounds really scary." Lin stuck out her tongue, "Then what should we do next?"
The woman did not answer immediately, but walked to the wizard not far away and patted him on the shoulder.
"Issei, what did you find?"
The wizard, who seemed to be in a trance, waved his hand vigorously, indicating to the woman to wait for a moment. About three minutes later, he came back to his senses, exhaled heavily, and strode to Shireen Feier's side.
"I told you, don't disturb me while I'm casting the spell!" He glared at the woman slightly angrily, but was quickly defeated - Shireen Fehr just looked back at him calmly, without saying a word, "Okay
, that little girl is right. The lock is indeed a little looser than before... about four percent."
"This is a big change for a Mystery Lock with an expected lifespan of nearly ten thousand years." Shireen Feier pondered, "We need an exploration team to confirm what is going on inside. Ises, from your
I asked my subordinates to find two calm wizards and tell them the mission of this trip...and the possible risks."
"Just let me go." The wizard leader pondered for a moment and replied coldly.
The woman shook her head, "No, Issei. The wizarding group needs your instructions, and you are indispensable for the purification of the forest. Calm down, some things may... not be as bad as you think."
After a few seconds of silence, Issei snorted coldly, pursed his lips, turned around, and strode towards the wizard team that was not far away. Lin could understand his dissatisfaction - letting his familiar subordinates come before him.
Going on a life-or-death adventure is a difficult decision for anyone to make. She blinked, and a bold idea suddenly came to her mind.
Before she spoke, a calm and soft voice spoke out what was in her heart.
"Ms. Shireenfeld." Yuffie looked at the woman's face seriously, obviously she had already made up her mind, "Can you leave the matter of exploring the palace to us?"