Shillenfeel smiled softly, as if she had expected this. However, she did not immediately agree to Yuffie's request.
"Your mother did successfully complete the exploration, but her strength is far superior to yours at this time." The woman said softly, "Moreover, the interior of the palace now may be more dangerous than she was then."
"I understand, so I need a certain degree of assistance, as well as as detailed information as possible about the underground area." Yuffie replied calmly, "The source of the contaminated forest may come from there. This is my speculation. Therefore, I will go there myself.
It’s reasonable to confirm the facts.”
"What big talk are you talking about?" Shillenfeel slapped the girl on the head in a funny way - in her opinion, Yuffie, who is only twenty years old, can only be regarded as a child. "Your companions will also be in danger.
Have you asked them for their opinion?"
Lin turned her head and looked at Yuffie. Then she raised her eyebrows and nodded without thinking.
"I was just about to go there and have a look." She clapped her hands and said relaxedly, "If there are living things in a closed environment for more than two hundred years, what kind of ecosystem will be formed? This is an excellent experimental environment.
, as long as the data is sorted out, it is not impossible to win an Arcana Award!"
What she was talking about was that it is awarded every three years by the Wizards Academic Association to wizards who have made outstanding contributions to the development of arcane knowledge. The award was established about six hundred years ago by the legendary Ai who introduced magic to the world.
Erna Wizard, named after Ain Arcana, is divided into three sub-categories: Magical Structure, Magical Application, and Magical Biology. The winner of each sub-category is usually one person, and occasionally it is shared by multiple people.
After the war that engulfed the continent more than 200 years ago, the barriers between various ethnic groups have not been completely eliminated. Today, most members of the Academic Federation are Kamal, which makes the weight of this award smaller than it was earlier.
Quite a bit. When she mentioned it, it was actually more of a fun thing to do.
"Count us in." Lily followed closely and continued, "We must not let go of this good opportunity to become famous in the mainland, right?"
"If Lily goes, I will go with her." Alphonse's eyes glowed with determination - also physically, "I will protect everyone, please don't worry."
"How could you forget me!" Amberly leaned her head over, "I've told you before, I haven't avenged this forest yet. When I find the guy who caused the trouble, I will hang him up and whip him.
Hit again, hit again, hit again, until I am satisfied!”
Lin felt a warmth in her heart. Lily and others had only been together with Yuffie for less than a month, and Amber had just met a few days ago, and they were all trustworthy and kind-hearted people. When the academy was attacked, she
She had once slightly complained about the mentors who failed to take action - of course she knew that might be a wise choice. But if the same thing happened again, she was almost certain that these people in front of her would not stand idly by.
"Hey, you, what are you thinking about?" Lily poked Bell's lower back, "Don't tell us that you plan to back down?"
"Then...how is that possible!" said the Beron man with his face flushed. He didn't know whether it was because of excitement or because he drank too much of the Ailna man's green ale wine. "I am such a powerful person, if... I don't go,
Aren’t you going to be in big trouble!”
The people around him laughed together, dispersing the vague solemnity and uneasiness in the air.
…
At noon the next day, the completed exploration team officially embarked on the journey. The team was led by Yuffie, and the team members included Lin, Amberley, Lily, Bell, Alphonse, Eskar and Yudina, a total of eight people -
—In addition to Lilino and Sister White Bear, they also include a natural messenger who is good at detecting intelligence, and a second-class wizard from the Elna people. The reason why ten people were not gathered together at once is because Yuffie proposed
, if something changes in the outside world, there may be a need to send personnel in.
The dire bear Ruth was handed over to the care of Modilola. Grace has been successfully transformed into Lin's secret spirit. She can freely enter and exit a small demiplane constructed by the girl and accompany her anytime and anywhere. For those who only use
Lin, who completed the ritual in less than a day, Issei even showed his willingness to accept her as his disciple - of course she politely refused.
The forest was as cold and deep as ever. The expedition team carefully passed through the decaying trees and stinky swamps, and once again came to the wilderness full of the smell of death.
The messenger of nature Shireen Feil, the wizard leader Isais and four other wizards, as well as the commander of the Golden Lily Guards Astana and more than twenty knights also came together. The team of nearly forty people obviously attracted a lot of people.
At the attention of those purgatory creatures in the wasteland, those jackals or hyena-like guys swarmed in, mixed with some standing on two feet, holding heads that looked more like jackals than humans, and holding tattered weapons.
biology.
"Jackals? These scum are actually here. It just saves the energy to find them." Astana snorted with a frosty face. These dirty and short creatures are more cunning than the Kamal people.
Naturally, he does not like poachers. "Knights, form a formation and give them a good time!"
The Golden Lily Guards responded in unison, and the snow-white mounts under them spontaneously lined up in two lines and began to trot forward in response to the instructions. The sharp horns of the mounts shone with light, spreading further to the surroundings, and the sacred aura caused the beasts to
They all retreated involuntarily.
The group of jackals shouted chaotically and tried to resist, but more than twenty heavy-armored cavalry ran over them mercilessly. The silver-gleaming spears pierced most of the enemies who failed to escape, and a few
The fish that slipped through the net were also knocked to the ground by the shield, and then trampled into pulp by the heavy iron hooves.
They turned their mounts around and repeated this step. This completely destroyed the morale of the jackals. They screamed and dispersed, and the beasts who saw the situation in bad shape also retreated away. Shillenfeel was satisfied.
He waved to the knights and signaled the team to continue moving forward.
Not long after, the exploration team followed Shillenfeel's guidance and arrived near the entrance and exit of the Mystery Lock. Compared with the way, it seemed even quieter and silent. No sound could be heard around, and the dead and black tree trunks disappeared from sight.
In the distance, there is only a worthless land covered with chalky sand.
"This place shouldn't be like this." Astana shook his head in disbelief, "The inside and outside of the Mystery Lock are independent of each other. This place should be a normal forest. Who did it?
"
"That is exactly the purpose of this expedition." The wizard leader's face turned gloomy. It was obvious that he had to agree with Shireen Feier or Yuffie after witnessing this. "We will also conduct investigation and analysis from the outside and strive to speed up the investigation and analysis."
Find out the composition and origin of this land's magic."
"Please prioritize your own safety, because only by returning here alive can your discoveries be known to the world." Shillenfell looked at the members of the exploration team and said softly.
"Since you learned that ritual from me, you are considered my honorary disciple." Issei said with a straight face, "Remember it, don't fail, it will embarrass me."
"Don't worry, 'Mentor', you have to work hard to investigate, lest we steal the limelight." The blond girl waved to the other party and replied with a smile.
"The structure of the Mystery Lock is changing every second, so the position you enter every time is uncertain." Shireen Feier took out a branch from her arms and distributed the emerald green leaves to everyone, "Through
The anchor of the key, the place where you entered, is the exit when you leave. Remember to keep them, but generally speaking, there are few ways to destroy the key, so you don't need to worry too much."
Amberley, Esca and Yudina nodded seriously. Lily looked nonchalant, and Bell rubbed his hands complacently. Alphonse's eyes flickered rapidly, as if he was analyzing the structure of the leaf. Lin held Yuffie's hand.
Hands, suddenly remembered a strange question that I never had time to ask.
"By the way, Shireen Feil. I have been hearing you talk about lichs and lichs these past few days. The records in the book are all about 'powerful lichs'. What is that guy's name?"
The female natural messenger exhaled and softened her voice.
"The destruction and death he caused were indeed too heavy. There is a group of people who believe that as long as there are still people who remember him, he will return with disaster again - therefore, many people deliberately forget his name." Shillenfell stared.
Looking into Lin's eyes, "But in my opinion, remembering history will not bring disaster, forgetting will."
"That man's original name was Fimmel Stark, a genius wizard of the White Tower family, and the last member of his family." The woman said word by word, "And when he made trouble, the name he called himself
It's...Huruman Stark."
The blond girl nodded, trying to remember these two names.
"Next, I wish you a smooth journey." Shillenfeil held the branch with only two leaves in his hand and recited an ancient mantra in a low voice.
Lin opened her eyes wide and saw a door that seemed to be both virtual and real, with silver light flowing in front of her.
She raised her steps and walked in there with Yuffie beside her.