Chapter 355: Ending the Mission of [Blue Rose]

The third year of the New Era.

The month of the Wind, May 20th.

Deep in the valley of the Abelion Hills.

Dense, thumb-sized specks of holy energy, like fireflies, gathered rapidly toward the center like a torrent, releasing a dazzling light.

The holy radiance dyed the entire area pure white as the holy energy was gradually absorbed.

The white light began to fade, revealing a figure in white robes at the center of the glow.

Accompanied by the disappearance of the final glimmer of light.

Tang Zheng appeared at the very center of the ritual, his entire body wrapped in a faint layer of light that subsequently vanished completely into his skin.

【Experience Bar: 1.50m/1.88m】

"The business in the Slane Theocracy is over for now."

Tang Zheng felt his whole body filled with holy energy, a warm, cozy sensation, and couldn't help but stretch.

Having stayed in the Theocracy for nearly 10 days, he had collected over 15 million experience points; now that he had returned to the hills, the first thing to do was naturally to claim those points.

"Zesshi Zetsumei must be very angry right now, but the ones who should be getting a headache are the people of the 【Black Scripture】; she will likely take it out on them."

Tang Zheng chuckled as he thought of his actions when he left the Theocracy.

After the three parties confirmed their subsequent plans.

Tang Zheng and the Holy Kingdom naturally had no reason to stay any longer, intending to leave the Theocracy the next day.

As it turned out.

Zesshi Zetsumei suddenly sought him out, according to her somewhat overbearing intent.

"The new toy you made is not bad, just stay in the Theocracy."

"That won't do."

"Do you think a weakling like you can escape before my eyes?"

"Alright, may I ask, do you know the ability of this feather necklace?"

"That magic item? It seems to be the one the blonde used before, what was the ability again..."

Hearing this, Tang Zheng silently put on 【Messenger of Hilma】 and activated the item's ability.

A flash of light!

A bronze feather the size of a person appeared first, then transformed into a Flame Archangel, and Tang Zheng's figure vanished from before Zesshi Zetsumei's eyes.

Flashback ends.

"The intention of those Pontiffs in gifting me this magic item was likely based on the premise of my safety."

Tang Zheng lowered his head, reached out, and removed the bronze feather necklace from under his collar, the corners of his mouth curling up imperceptibly:

"It doesn't compare to true 【Teleportation】 magic in terms of transport, and it requires mana consumption, so for me, it's better than nothing.

"But for the identity of the adventurer 'Tang', this item is still quite good."

The Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy should be putting most of their energy into the "Holy Project" next!

I wonder what kind of expression that Holy Queen will have when Remedios and the others return to the Holy Kingdom and she inexplicably gains such an astonishing harvest?

"As the ruler of a nation, there should at least be some proper display of gratitude."

Tang Zheng was actually looking forward to it.

About 5,000 angels per year is a powerful force for the various human nations, but for Tang Zheng, it is still far from enough.

"One of the harvests from this trip to the Slane Theocracy is a more comprehensive understanding of the 'Fusion Potion'."

"The Holy Project?"

A sharp glint flickered in Tang Zheng's eyes.

The true core of this project is not the few thousand Low Rank angels and the handful of Mid Rank angels that the Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy have cobbled together.

Don't forget!

Tenth Rank magic "Armageddon (Good)".

He needs to further research and determine the application of "Frogman Egg · Artificial Monster".

"I always feel like there's a mountain of things left to arrange."

"The application of 'Frogman Egg · Artificial Monster' and neutral angels."

"The advancement plan for the Valley of Despair."

"The next arrangements for the Kingdom, and so on."

Tang Zheng breathed in the fresh air of the valley, feeling quite a headache at the many things that needed to be arranged.

But compared to these things.

The most important thing is still job building and leveling up!

He summoned his attribute panel.

"【Sword Saint】 job has been removed; next, I should further determine the job construction for the True Dragon Lord system."

Tang Zheng looked thoughtful, then whispered: "Teleport."

Swish!

The air contracted, and his figure vanished along with it.

——Tob Forest.

The outskirts.

Towering, lush trees stood with their branches and leaves intertwined into a single mass; as far as the eye could see, there was only a deep sea of forest.

Rustle, rustle!

Five figures of different builds stepped on the rotting leaves and lush weeds on the ground, slowly advancing toward the depths of the Tob Forest.

Various insect chirps and bird calls surged from all directions, forming a dense wave of sound that vibrated the air, permeated with a noisy, terrifying quality.

Whoosh!

A sharp, silver-bright dagger with blood-like veins sliced through the air, cutting open the bushes and weeds blocking the path ahead.

"Ga~"

"Look what I found." Tia lifted her foot to step on the weeds in front, crouched down, and carefully pulled out a shorter medicinal herb.

Seeing Tina glanced at it, continued to observe the surroundings with caution, and said flatly: "Enge herb, a specialty of Tob Forest."

"The core ingredient for making healing potions, the price is about 5 to 7 silver coins."

"Not a bad harvest."

Tia expressionlessly placed the herb carefully into the magic belt at her waist, a look of satisfaction appearing in her eyes:

"As expected of the resource-rich Tob Forest, the harvest of herbs alone might just catch up to 1/5 of this commission."

Click, click~

The hard armor parts rubbed together, emitting a faint sound.

Gagaran, in her red gear, carried a terrifying iron hammer on her shoulders and followed closely behind: "You two, don't forget the mission this time."

"Alright, alright."

Tia stood up, and with Seeing Tina on the left and right, continued to scout the path ahead with daggers in hand, saying lightly: "This counts as an unexpected harvest of the mission, how could we not take it."

"At least for now, there is no abnormality in the Tob Forest."

"We must be cautious nonetheless." A cool, smiling voice came.

Lakyus and Evileye were positioned at the rear.

At this moment!

Lakyus wore a full suit of armor constructed of gold and platinum, with unicorn decorations carved everywhere; this was the magic armor named "Pure White Snow".

She wore a simple cloak over her back, a magic item named "Cloak of Rat Speed".

Such attire left no doubt about Lakyus's solemn attitude.

Except for Evileye, who appeared relaxed, the entire 【Blue Rose】 was fully armed!

After all!

This is the dangerous Tob Forest, where any form of danger could be encountered.

"According to previous investigations, this should belong to the territory of the Forest Sage King; the Adventurer's Guild does not have specific intelligence on this magical beast."

Gagaran's sharp gaze looked toward the dark corners of the forest from time to time, speaking steadily:

"In terms of strength, it has fully reached the level of an Adamantite-ranked adventurer, so we do indeed need to be careful."

Evileye, wrapped in a black robe, followed behind the group with light steps, her mask embedded with a ruby slightly raised, and suddenly warned: "Something is coming."

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The lush grass and bushes began to stir, and the various insect chirps and bird calls vanished all at once.

Magical wolves with pitch-black fur darted quickly through the jungle, approaching the direction of 【Blue Rose】 and the others.

Seeing Tina spoke: "They are in all 4 directions." "The number is probably over 30, it should be a large pack of magical wolves." Seeing Tina said flatly.

"Haha."

Gagaran took the giant crushing hammer she was carrying off her shoulder, a fiery look appearing on her face: "No wonder there aren't many monsters nearby, I can stretch my muscles again."

Lakyus's emerald eyes swept slightly: "Since we cannot avoid it, let's make it a quick battle, Evileye will be on guard!"

"Understood, Captain!"

"Received!"

As the words fell.

The four members of Lakyus rushed toward their respective directions, colliding with the magical wolf pack in an instant.

The hissing of weapons and the screams of the magical wolves suddenly erupted in the forest!

In just a moment's time.

More than 30 magical wolves had already been wiped out, and a bloody scent filled the forest.

"Evileye, I'll leave the rest to you." Lakyus pulled out the magic sword stuck in a magical wolf's head and looked up toward Evileye's direction.

Evileye nodded and whispered: "Odorless."

Swish!

Invisible magic fluctuations spread, and the bloody scent in the air was quickly cleared away.

"Since there is a large pack of magical wolves here, it means we are already close to the depths of the Tob Forest."

Gagaran walked out from another part of the jungle, grinning: "Perhaps we will run into the legendary Forest Sage King in a while."

Lakyus looked thoughtful, lifted her arm, and waved it forward.

The members of 【Blue Rose】 gathered together again and continued to march toward the depths.

The lush branches and trees grew taller and taller.

Even in the daytime, the dense leaves blocked the light, making the surrounding light increasingly dim.

"What's wrong, Devil Leader." Gagaran noticed Lakyus's furrowed brows.

"It feels a bit strange, but I can't put my finger on it for a moment." Lakyus opened her mouth, then shook her head, her fair cheeks tense.

She always felt that this Tob Forest exuded an inexplicable sense of eeriness!

Seeing Tina and Tia also put away their previous relaxed attitude, constantly observing the surroundings with caution.

"My intuition tells me that there is indeed a problem here." Seeing Tina said.

"Don't you have it, you big block?"

Gagaran made a strange sound.

Seeing Tina retorted with a sneer.

"The mission given to us by the Adventurer's Guild is to investigate the depths of the Tob Forest, and the reason given is the abnormality over the past half year."

Tia stopped the argument between Gagaran and Seeing Tina and analyzed softly:

"According to current intelligence, over the past half year, villages around the Tob Forest have rarely been attacked by monsters."

"Although this is a good thing, it is strange compared to previous years."

The group fell into a brief silence.

It was clear that they could not determine what exactly caused it.

"Speaking of which, 【Freedom Will】 has now become the Kingdom's second Adamantite-ranked adventurer team ahead of us." Gagaran curled her lips, speaking with some annoyance.

"The undead incident in the Abelion Hills..."

"That Leader Tang is indeed remarkable."

Lakyus suddenly felt a bit decadent, her shoulders drooping: "Really, being beaten to the punch by the other party."

"Haha, we are following closely behind!"

"As long as we complete this investigation mission, it should be enough to be promoted to an 'Adamantite-ranked' adventurer team. So cheer up, Devil Leader!" Gagaran encouraged heartily.

"That's right!"

Brightness flickered in Lakyus's emerald pupils, her emotions began to rise, and she squeezed her fist hard to cheer herself up.

Suddenly.

"We should have entered the depths of the Tob Forest by now."

Evileye, who had been silent, said flatly: "Haven't you noticed that the number of monsters is even fewer than in the outskirts?"

The sudden reminder.

Made Lakyus, Gagaran, and the others freeze, and then they realized this point.

"No wonder I always felt something was strange?" Seeing Tina thought thoughtfully.

"【Life Detection】!"

Evileye directly activated the magic and whispered.

Faint magic fluctuations quickly spread and surged into the depths of the jungle.

"Ho... how is this possible!" Evileye's voice suddenly rose, emitting an incredibly excited tone.

"What's wrong, Evileye?"

Lakyus's expression tightened, and she quickly asked.

Gagaran, Seeing Tina, and Tia looked over while maintaining their guard, their bodies tense.

Being able to make the little one feel incredible must be an unexpected situation beyond everyone's expectations.

"In the northeast direction, there are about thousands, no, there are tens of thousands of life energy reactions!"

Evileye looked up toward the northeast, her voice filled with confusion and astonishment.

"Tens of thousands?"

Lakyus's expression was slightly stunned.

No one expected such a thing to happen; tens of thousands of life energy reactions gathered together, and in the depths of the Tob Forest, no matter how you think about it, it's impossible.

The group looked at each other.

Simultaneously, they quickened their pace and moved rapidly toward the direction Evileye had detected.

The smell of rotting stench began to grow stronger!

The lush bushes and grass even began to show signs of withering.

On a rolling hill at a forest rift.

Lakyus and the others were covering their noses, looking at the bottom of the hill in astonishment; the stench was emanating from there.

Dense green figures gathered there, making noisy "Wala Wala" sounds, and black, cloud-like mosquitoes and flies filled the air.

At a glance, they were all Goblins!

"This is the depth of the Tob Forest, why are there so many Goblins?"

Gagaran's expression was somewhat sluggish as she asked.

However!

None of the people on the scene could answer this question.

"Could the abnormality of the Tob Forest be related to these Goblins?" Seeing Tina tightly covered her nose, muttering to herself in confusion.

But she also felt that a weak race like Goblins shouldn't have anything to do with this.

"Perhaps..." Lakyus said softly, but before she could finish, a cold chill suddenly rose from her spine and rushed straight to her brain.

Hum——

Ripples appeared in the air out of thin air.

A figure in a full red robe appeared behind 【Blue Rose】 and the others.

Evileye reacted immediately and was just about to cast magic.

"Undead Control!"

A hoarse voice rang out, and Evileye's body stiffened.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 356 =====