Chapter 305: Star Spirit

During the invasion of Shiying Town by the Ruins Brotherhood.

Luo De had once been ambushed by a Star Spirit mage, a sentient race with pale blue blood and semi-translucent flesh.

They are naturally frail, incapable of close combat, and almost all are mages.

He had also encountered the Shi Laimu.

According to Tally, they're mushroom people.

During the Atu the Demon invasion, a sixth-rank peak Shi Laimu mage named Toru was captured by Luo De and remains imprisoned in Shiying Town to this day.

I heard that the Tooth Fairy fairy Rosalia once wanted to recruit him.

But he's an addict of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and she feared it would damage the city hall's image, so she never acted.

After the Claw Valley mountain beast-patient assault, she likely wouldn't care anymore.

Luo De scanned the battlefield.

Besides the Shi Laimu and Star Spirits, he saw several beast-patient corpses.

One of them, a two-meter-tall beast-patient, had its forehead split in two by a stone axe; based on the lingering spiritual residue, Luo De judged him to be a spiritual warrior at the brink of seventh rank.

Their blood flowed as if it had no value, still pouring continuously, pooling beneath them into a small river of black-red fluid.

He cast an identification spell and unexpectedly found something interesting.

"Neither the Shi Laimu nor the Star Spirits were infected."

The Shi Laimu having no blood circulation and thus being immune made sense—but why the Star Spirits? Because their blood is pale blue?

"It seems they killed each other. Someone's coming, Tally, hide."

"Okay~~"

Tally instantly vanished into the shadows.

Luo De turned his head to the sky and saw two giant gargoyle creatures flying toward them.

On their shoulders stood two Star Spirits clad in brown mage robes.

The two Star Spirits gazed at the battlefield with sorrow.

Presumably, the fallen were their comrades.

They landed slowly.

They were wary of Luo De but showed no intention to attack.

That was normal—he stood right at the edge of the battlefield.

Luo De shrugged and stepped aside to let them collect their comrades' bodies.

Star Spirits deeply value their kin's remains, believing each one is a fragment of the stars; only by returning the dead flesh to the cosmos can they receive guidance home.

Yes, that's right.

Star Spirits do not consider themselves native to this continent but rather star-born children who journeyed from a distant starry sky.

It's not strange to think so.

Luo De recalled briefly.

When he had sliced open the Star Spirit who ambushed him, he'd seen countless starlike specks within their muscles and bones, like a galaxy.

The taller Star Spirit, who was gathering his comrade's body, suddenly turned his head.

He glared fiercely at Luo De.

"Have you killed a Star Spirit?!"

Huh?

Mind reading?

No, impossible—even Oona, the eighth-rank nanny mage of the Rabbit Clan, couldn't use mind reading on him, let alone a seventh-rank Star Spirit mage.

Could Star Spirits mark their killer before death?

That's possible.

Luo De didn't hide it.

He openly stated that half a year ago, a Star Spirit who had joined the Ruins Brotherhood ambushed him on the road.

Upon hearing this, the tall Star Spirit frowned slightly.

The other Star Spirit said: "His imprint is faint—it matches half a year ago."

It was a girl's voice.

She wore a hood, and her semi-translucent flesh made her features hard to discern.

Luo De looked closely and saw her face was quite delicate and beautiful.

But her oversized mage robe concealed her figure.

"Who knows whether he was the one ambushed—or the one doing the ambushing?"

The male Star Spirit said coldly.

"Don't stir up trouble. The mission is paramount."

"The mission is paramount—but so are the lives of our kin!"

Saying this,

he placed the body down, drew his staff, and cast a lie-detection spell.

"Sir, please prove you're not lying." His tone was icy, his expression defiant.

Luo De smirked.

Lie-detection spells require a willpower and spiritual resistance check; if passed, the target resists the spell and can continue lying.

This male Star Spirit mage, at early seventh rank, was merely average in power.

He couldn't possibly detect whether Luo De was lying.

Luo De shook his head, too lazy to explain.

Instead, he smiled at the Star Spirit girl: "Miss Mage, you're truly beautiful. May I ask your name?"

The girl frowned:

"Sir, I suggest you answer our question first."

"Frankly, this gentleman mage's magical strength isn't enough to detect whether I'm lying—it's pointless."

"Heh." The male Star Spirit sneered. "You're merely a sixth-rank spiritual warrior—how dare you speak so boldly? I think you're just guilty."

Luo De calmly shook his head.

"Even without me, even my subordinate could easily pass your detection. Tally."

"Meow~~"

Tally leapt out from the shadows.

She playfully flicked her cat ears—adorable as a kitten.

The two Star Spirit mages were startled by the sudden appearance of a person.

They had scoured the area thoroughly and hadn't sensed a single Cat Clan member hiding in the shadows.

The Cat Clan girl smiled sweetly at the lie-detection magical sphere:

"You're your grandma~~"

Ding dong—

The magical sphere turned green, indicating the statement was true.

Tally, possessing the skill 【Deceive Gods and Demons】, naturally passed the check effortlessly.

The male Star Spirit's face darkened, visibly embarrassed.

"You must have used some—"

"Jeremy, that's enough."

The female Star Spirit stepped forward, interrupting her companion.

"This gentleman has shown sufficient sincerity and courtesy. I can tell he's no indiscriminate killer—otherwise, with this cat girl's stealth, taking down two mages would be child's play. My apologies, sir—we overstepped."

Luo De waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.

"I care more about your name, Miss Mage."

"I am Haley, captain of the second squad of the Star Association's Security Division. This is Jeremy, my subordinate."

Star Association?

Never heard of it.

Luo De silently linked with the elf Kali Site via 【Chain of Far Speech】, asking about it.

【Kali Site: Star Spirits firmly believe their homeland lies on some planet within the boundless Milky Way, so they regard the galaxy as their mother and the stars as their brothers, forming an organization dedicated to preserving stellar peace and returning home. Where are you?】

【Luo De: Keshi Plains. I encountered Star Spirits while clearing high-rank beast-patients.】

【Kali Site: Hmm. Not surprising. In recent years, Star Spirits have been acting strangely—they believe beast-patient blood can help them find the way home, so they deliberately infect themselves with it.】

(End of Chapter)