Chapter 355: Ending the Mission of [Blue Rose]

Three years before the New Era.

The 20th day of the Month of Wind, the fifth month.

Deep in the valleys of the Abelion Hills.

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

The holy light dyed the 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.

Along with the disappearance of the final glimmer of light.

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

[Experience Bar: 1.50m/1.88m]

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

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

Having stayed in the Theocracy for nearly 10 days, he had collected over fifteen million experience points; now that he had returned to the hills, his first task was naturally to secure those points.

"Zesshi Zetsumei must be very angry right now, but it’s the people of the [Black Scripture] who should have a headache; she’ll probably take it out on them."

Tang Zheng chuckled as he thought about his behavior when leaving the Theocracy.

After the three parties confirmed their subsequent plans.

There was naturally no need for Tang Zheng and the Holy Kingdom to continue staying, so they planned to leave the Theocracy the next day.

As it turned out.

Zesshi Zetsumei suddenly approached him, following her somewhat overbearing intent.

"The new toy you made is not bad; just leave it 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 tool the blonde one used before; what was its ability again..."

Hearing this, Tang Zheng silently put on [Messenger of Hilmi] and activated the item's ability.

A flash of light!

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

End of flashback.

"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 under his neck to remove the bronze feather necklace, and the corners of his mouth curled up imperceptibly:

"In terms of teleportation, it doesn't compare to true [Teleportation] magic, 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 focus most of their energy on 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 unexpectedly gains such astonishing results?

"As the head of a nation, there should at least be some show of appreciation."

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 gains from this trip to the Slane Theocracy is a more comprehensive understanding of the 'Integration Potion'."

"The Holy Project?"

A sharp glint flickered in Tang Zheng's eyes.

The true core of this project is not the thousands of low-tier angels and the few mid-tier angels that the Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy have produced.

Don't forget!

The tenth-tier magic "Armageddon (Good)".

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

"I always feel like there's a mountain of things 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 class building and leveling up!

He summoned his status panel.

"The [Sword Saint] class has been removed; next, I should further determine the class build for the True Dragon Lord system."

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

Swish!

The air contracted, and his figure vanished.

——Tobl Forest.

The outskirts.

Tall, lush trees stood with their branches intertwined, forming a single canopy; at a glance, all that entered his vision was a deep sea of forest.

Rustle, rustle!

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

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

Whoosh!

A sharp, silver-bright dagger with blood-like veins cut through the air, slicing through the bushes and weeds blocking the way.

"Ga~"

"Look what I found." Tia stepped on the weeds ahead, squatted down, and carefully pulled out a shorter herb.

Tina glanced at it, continued to observe the surroundings vigilantly, and said indifferently: "Enge herb, a specialty of the Tobl Forest."

"The core ingredient for making healing potions, priced at about 5 to 7 silver coins."

"A good 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 Tobl Forest; the harvest of herbs alone might equal 1/5 of this commission."

Clack, clack~

Her hard armor rubbed together, making a faint sound.

Gagaran, in red armor, carried an intimidating iron hammer on her shoulders and followed closely behind: "You two, don't forget the mission."

"Alright, alright."

Tia stood up, kept her dagger in hand with Tina on the left and right to scout the path ahead, and said easily: "This counts as an unexpected gain from the mission; there's no reason to refuse it."

"At least for now, there is nothing unusual about the Tobl Forest."

"We should still be cautious." A cool, smiling voice came.

Lakyus and Evileye were at the rear.

At this moment!

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

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

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

Except for Evileye, who appeared relaxed, the entire [Blue Rose] was fully armed!

After all!

This is the perilous Tobl Forest; encountering any form of danger is possible.

"According to previous investigations, this should be the territory of the Forest Wise 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, and she spoke 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; the mask with a ruby embedded in the forehead lifted slightly, and she 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.

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

"Haha."

Gagaran took the huge crushing hammer 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 finish it quickly; Evileye, you take guard!"

"Understood, Captain!"

"Received!"

As the words fell.

Lakyus and the other three each rushed in a different direction, instantly colliding with the pack of magic wolves.

The hissing of weapons being swung and the miserable shrieks of the magic wolves suddenly rang out in the forest!

In just a brief moment.

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

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

Evileye nodded and whispered a chant: "No Scent."

Swish!

A ripple of magic power invisible to the naked eye spread out, and the bloody scent in the air was quickly cleared away.

"Since there is a large pack of magic wolves here, it means we have already approached the depths of the Tob Forest."

Gagaran walked out from another part of the jungle and grinned: "Perhaps we'll run into the legendary Wise King of the Forest later."

Lakyus wore a thoughtful expression and waved her arm forward.

The members of Blue Rose gathered together again and continued to advance toward the depths.

The lush branches and trees grew increasingly tall.

Even in the daytime, the dense leaves blocked the light, making the surroundings grow dimmer.

"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." Lakyus parted her lips, then shook her head, her fair cheeks tense.

She kept feeling that this Tob Forest held an inexplicable sense of eeriness!

Tina and Tia also put away their previously relaxed attitudes and kept observing their surroundings with caution.

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

"A woman's sixth sense?" Gagaran asked strangely.

"Don't you have one, you big lug?"

Tina retorted mockingly.

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

Tia stopped the argument between Gagaran and Tina and spoke in a low, analytical voice:

"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.

Clearly, they could not determine what had caused this.

"Speaking of which, 'Freewill' 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 at the Azerlisia Mountains..."

"That Leader Tang is indeed remarkable."

Lakyus suddenly felt a bit dejected and let her shoulders slump: "Really, being beaten to the punch by them."

"Haha, we're following right behind them now!"

"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 her heartily.

"That's right!"

Bright light flashed in Lakyus's emerald pupils, her spirits began to rise, and she clenched her fist tightly to cheer herself on.

Suddenly.

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

Evileye, who had been silent, spoke calmly: "Haven't you noticed that the number of monsters is even lower than in the outer areas?"

The sudden reminder.

Made Lakyus, Gagaran, and the others freeze, and they immediately realized this point as well.

"No wonder I always felt something was strange," Tina said thoughtfully.

"'Life Detection'!"

Evileye cast the magic directly and chanted softly.

A faint ripple of magic power quickly spread and surged into the depths of the jungle.

"H-how is this possible!" Evileye's voice suddenly rose, emitting an incredulous and excited tone.

"What's wrong, Evileye?"

Lakyus's expression tightened, and she quickly asked.

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

If something could make the little one feel incredulous, it must be an unexpected situation beyond everyone's anticipation.

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

Evileye looked up toward the northeast, her voice full of confusion and astonishment.

"Tens of thousands?"

Lakyus's expression went slightly blank.

None of them had expected such a thing to happen; tens of thousands of life energy signatures gathered together, and in the depths of the Tob Forest—no matter how one thought about it, it was impossible.

The group looked at each other.

They simultaneously quickened their pace and moved rapidly toward the direction Evileye had detected.

A rotten, foul stench began to grow increasingly thick!

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

On a rolling hill at a rift in the forest.

Lakyus and the other three were covering their noses, looking down at the foot of the hill in shock; the foul stench was emanating from there.

Dense green figures were gathered there, making noisy "walah walah" sounds, and black, cloud-like swarms of 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 here?"

Gagaran's expression was somewhat dull 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?" Tina covered her nose tightly and muttered to herself in confusion.

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

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

Hum—

Ripples appeared in the air out of nowhere.

A figure in a red robe appeared behind the members of Blue Rose.

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)