Chapter 17: Crisis... Who Is More Ferocious!

Vivian let out a breath, turned her head away, and refused to stoop to Tetelot's level.

Anyway, given the current sudden situation, naturally the more helping hands the better; every bit of strength is precious — she might as well just accept it as this fellow having conned a free bodyguard.

She gently closed her eyelids, letting her magical energy spread out quietly like ripples, keenly sensing a certain subtle feedback. Before long, her gem-like emerald eyes snapped open, her expression slightly grave:

"The quantity of Mors is extremely large... already too many to count."

"But... how is that possible..."

"For so many to appear all at once, there wasn't even the slightest sign beforehand."

She was also quite perplexed by this; a sudden outbreak of the Mors Calamity would be one thing, but such abnormal large-scale activity is a bit inconsistent with past patterns, and from within it she faintly perceived a trace of ill omen.

Because they needed to enter the Wing Clan's town to investigate, the two of them had made quite a few preparations in advance.

These included not only a thorough reconnaissance of the terrain around the town and the careful planning of multiple backup emergency evacuation routes, but also the deployment of early-warning magic formulas at several key nodes near the town.

Of course —

At first these were only early-warning measures prepared to guard against threats from the Fairies.

However, fate is still such a terrible dramatist; its arrangements are always full of unexpected twists.

When the alarm suddenly sounded, the threat revealed was not the anticipated Fairies, but the Calamity from the Mors.

"Can you confirm how many Mors there are, Vivian?"

Amidst a town where turmoil and chaos spread as swiftly as wildfire, Xia Zhi calmly scanned his surroundings while asking.

"The exact quantity still cannot be accurately determined; anyway the quantity is enormous, there are signs of them surging from almost every direction..." The girl shook her head, hesitating slightly, "And this probably still isn't all of them; there seem to be even more Mors behind..."

"Oh, meaning these are just the Mors vanguard, and the real main force might still be in the rear, right?"

Hearing this, Xia Zhi couldn't help but tilt his head slightly: "Have Mors ever displayed this kind of initiative and organization before? This kind of action, how does it look like they have intelligence and command?"

— Without any warning, they quietly surrounded an entire Fairy town...

— Sealing off all directions, only then launching a ferocious attack, like a ferocious beast that had lain in wait suddenly revealing sharp claws and fangs...

— And with a continuous stream of reinforcements still pouring in, their target pointing straight at the complete devouring of the entire town, not leaving the slightest opening...

This situation is so unusual, so unnatural; he would of course subconsciously suspect whether something behind the scenes was commanding the Mors' actions, meticulously planning this grand trap.

"No, Mors wouldn't do this before... after all their essence is merely the existence of Calamity; they cannot speak, nor hear sounds from the outside world."

Vivian also revealed a rare trace of perplexity at this moment.

This Fairy Kingdom is by no means some innocent paradise from a fairy tale; on the contrary, it is more like a cage ruthlessly whipped by the lash of fate, confining those living beings struggling in sin and punishment.

From the vast, deep island land...

To the Fairy races dwelling upon it...

One can practically say that everything in this Fairy Kingdom, without exception, is an object of curses.

All sorts of Calamities, either erupting periodically like time bombs or occurring irregularly like natural disasters, have left one terrifying wound after another on this land.

The so-called Mors are one of the "Calamities" that have existed since the Creation Period.

Their existence is exceptionally unique and frequent, like the Fairy Kingdom's shadow, lingering and entangling every corner of this land.

Fairies that have lost their purpose, lost their radiance, and thereby become "meaningless" will distort into Mors. And once Mors come into contact with Fairies, they will attach to the Fairies' bodies, ultimately turning the attached Fairies into Mors as well.

In short, this Calamity is a kind of biochemical virus with extremely strong infectivity, specifically targeting Fairies.

Killing Fairies, destroying Fairies, corrupting Fairies...

"There's probably some inside story to this..." Xia Zhi pondered for a moment, still leaning toward the idea that some secret hides behind the Mors, something even Vivian doesn't know, that the Rain Clan hasn't recorded.

The golden-haired girl frowned slightly, as if she too had realized something.

In those beautiful emerald eyes, a hint of gloom also faintly lingered; this Britain Fairy Kingdom is just a troublesome mess, who knows how many darknesses and secrets hide behind the scenes, and those are all things she will have to face next.

It's just a pity —

Although there is intelligence from Pan-Human History, it is not detailed enough, not clear enough.

Because what the other self saw was already the scene countless years after Britain's destruction; even if there were once secrets and clues, they were long ago buried in the past by time, erasing all traces.

Therefore, these dark secrets hidden in the deepest parts of the island still require Vivian to personally investigate afterwards.

"Hey hey! What are you guys still waiting for, hurry up and go!"

Tetelot's anxious voice came from not far away; she had originally wanted to charge out of the encirclement with her kindred spirit in high spirits, but after walking a few steps forward, she turned back only to discover the person hadn't followed at all.

"Don't rush, Grand Master, you don't run around recklessly either, let the bullet fly for a bit..."

The youth waved his hand very calmly, telling the Visual Color Master not to be so anxious.

Everyone knows the current situation is terrible, but they also can't rashly blunder about like headless flies; after all the entire town has already been surrounded, no one knows which direction has the most Mors...

If they want to break out, they still need to observe a bit more.

He and Vivian weren't simply wasting time standing there; they were waiting for confirmation, preparing to see which direction's Mors forces were weakest.

After all, no matter what, the quantity of Mors is ultimately finite; especially to be able to surround this Fairy town in a short time without being discovered beforehand, the troop strength must be controlled within a certain range.

Because this is ultimately the Wing Clan's territory; if there were Mors active on a scale exceeding the norm, they would definitely have been discovered long ago.

No matter how unreliable the Fairies are, no matter how lax, facing Calamities that are purely out for their lives, if they still didn't care in the slightest, they would have gone extinct who knows how many times over.

"Still waiting for what... didn't you see everyone's running! If we don't run now it'll be too late..."

Tetelot was both angry and anxious; she truly cared about this human, not wanting this kindred spirit she had finally met to die in this sudden turmoil just minutes after their acquaintance.

Anxiously looking toward all parts of the town, the turmoil had already completely spread; as the Fairies' natural enemy, the Fairies' fear of Mors is engraved in their souls; most almost didn't even think of resisting before they were scared trembling.

Even some Fairies, having despaired completely, simply didn't run anymore, just collapsed on the ground, fearfully wailing loudly, or screaming hysterically —

Then, in this process, obvious black qi rapidly emerged from their bodies, distorting and emitting, until it completely enveloped them...

As if fragments of the old body fell away one after another, and what was born from within were brand-new Mors.

When Fairies' hope vanishes and their hearts shatter, they transform into this bizarre, distorted curse of Mors amid pain and resentment... and when they hatch directly inside the town, their lethality is naturally even more terrifying.

Miserable cries, screams —

Black smoke, flames —

If it weren't for the lack of rain, and if it weren't the dead of night, this scene would be practically identical to the night the Rain Country was destroyed not long ago.

Vivian was somewhat dazed; she bit her lower lip hard, not immersing herself in this scene, but carefully sensing once more, then turned around and pointed in a direction: "That way is the way out, we can break through from there……"

"Then let's go!"

"However, if we go that way, we might have to take a bit of a detour to get back to the Camp." The girl added a line.

"The Camp should be fine, there's the Idle Dispersal Technique's Jutsu, and your Bounded Field, Vivian, and the Scouting Magecraft hasn't been Triggered either, indicating it's still Safe." Xia Zhi Waved Hand, not very worried.

Index's side probably won't have any Danger either.

She has the "Automatic Secretary" defense system inside her body; once a life-threatening situation appears, it will forcibly activate, unleashing the strongest magic to intercept Enemies;

Outside her body she has that habit named "Moving Church", practically draping an entire Church over herself, able to Endure even a Nuclear Bomb explosion;

So to speak, instead of worrying about the little nun's Safety, better think more about this side's problems.

————

————

In the distance.

In a hidden Camp.

"So hungry……"

The silver-haired little nun was rolling around on the ground, or boredly wriggling and crawling, like a caterpillar that couldn't stop.

"How come Xia Zhi still hasn't come back……"

"Didn't you say he went to procure ingredients and would be back soon……"

"Ugh, lunchtime is almost here, if he doesn't come back soon we won't make it in time to cook……"

She propped herself up on the ground, lifted her head, and Subconsciously looked toward that carriage parked in the center of the Camp. Unlike the usual travel carriage, this one was not a Magecraft Projection, but something Xia Zhi later built by hand.

For the purpose of carrying those ingredients and supplies and such, without the existence time limit that Projection Magecraft inevitably has.

Usually as long as they set off, and Summon Familiars to serve as draft power, they can easily hit the Road.

And inside that carriage, there were still quite a few ingredients left, at least enough for Index to eat one more meal. It's just that directly edible ingredients were mostly fruits and such, not many choices.

If it were before, Index definitely wouldn't be picky, because she was never a picky eater, had no likes or dislikes towards food, as long as there was a Meal to eat she'd eat anything with relish.

But…… that was before.

She bit her finger, stared at the carriage and pondered for a good long while, then still firmly and resolutely Shook Head.

When it comes down to it, people all go from frugality to extravagance easily, but from extravagance to frugality with difficulty. Before, not being picky was because there was no choice, but for the past half month, in order to completely capture the little nun's will with sugar-coated cannonballs, a certain someone has always been in charge of cooking, and always giving it one hundred percent effort.

How should I put it, as a monster in terms of experience……

To describe it with slight exaggeration——

The reason Xia Zhi's cooking doesn't glow and doesn't make clothes explode when eaten is mainly because the World view Restricted his performance.

Index, who had choices, thus continued rolling in place, rolling the felt spread on the ground into a mess, still muttering to herself, as if cheering herself on, making her slightly Wavering self firm up her Faith.

"Can't eat can't eat…… gotta save stomach space for the meal later……"

"If I eat too much now, I'll have to eat less later……"

————

————

In the Town.

The originally bustling market turned into a mess, the Place once full of laughter now only leaves wailing everywhere.

Death and slaughter rage like a plague.

"To think it deteriorated to this extent all at once……"

Xia Zhi followed Vivian, the two of them striding swiftly through those large swathes of ruins, shattered Roads underfoot and collapsed Constructions on both sides, as if narrating the tragic fate of this small town that was incomparably Peaceful not long ago.

"Not only do they not Resist, they're desperately making trouble……"

The Town is already completely paralyzed, Moss's Sudden attack was merely the prelude to this great calamity, the Suanrao they triggered is like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up layer upon layer of Ripples, rapidly Diffusing to every corner of the Town.

Even more Jing Guai is the Fairies' internal mutual slaughter, they not only didn't choose to unite Consistently against external Enemies, but actually all turned their butcher knives toward their Peers, pushing the already devastated Town into an even deeper abyss of Despair.

Truly hard to Imagine, this is clearly a completely Unnecessary move.

Xia Zhi cannot understand their brain circuits.

If facing a desperate situation closing in from behind, forced to adopt Extreme measures for Survival——like sacrificing Companions to delay Enemies, winning Precious escape time——such a choice, though cruel, could still find a trace of Helpless yet Reasonable Explanation.

However the actual situation is completely Different From that, they seem immersed in a pure desire for Destruction, that kind of apocalyptic revelry atrocity, like madmen who have lost Rationality, only seeking momentary pleasure, arbitrarily smashing looting burning, wantonly killing.

"Look quick! There's a Human still alive over here!"

"Catch him! Catch him! I want his head!"

"I want the arm!"

Fanatical voices came, but it was a small group of Fairies on the other side of the ruins, seeing the party of three, they quickly called companions and shouted. They wore Distorted Smiles, Fanatically Rushed over.

"Damn it! Don't get too cocky!"

Tetelot roared angrily, these lunatics really have not a shred of Rationality, to the extent that breaking through this way, they didn't encounter Moss, but instead repeatedly clashed with these lunatics.

"Quick battle, quick decision!"

Vivian's expression was icy, she also raised her Selected Staff.

After several rapid clashes, from Unproficient to Proficient, it took merely the lives and blood of ten-odd Fairies. She already harbored resentment in her heart, killing Fairies ruthlessly required no Realization or psychological Preparation.

Battle on the verge of breaking out——

Tetelot responsible for Restraining, Vivian seizing the Opportunity for a one-hit kill, the two seem to get along well in this aspect, with a little running-in they Cooperated very tacitly.

"Quick! Come with me! They've all gone mad!"

A concerned voice came, tone carrying panic and unease.

Xia Zhi very Wisely observed from the Rear, hearing this Sudden hail, Turned Head and simultaneously revealed a Surprised Expression.

Behind a collapsed house not far away, a woman was beckoning to him, her face gentle yet clearly showing a frightened expression, as if she were trembling but forcing herself to stay calm, yet still determined to help him.

"They've all gone mad! Come with me quickly......"

"I, I know where we can hide nearby......"

She beckoned to the other party repeatedly with an anxious and worried look, the very picture of someone clearly afraid yet forcing herself to hold it together.

The youth opposite wore a fluctuating expression; he gritted his teeth, glanced again at the two sides battling up front, and as if making a ruthless decision, turned and ran straight toward the woman.

"Wh-where can we hide? Is it far?!" As if clutching a lifesaving straw, the youth asked repeatedly in great haste, looking around in panic, his complexion pale and uneasy.

"Right over there, not very——"

The woman showed a smile, decisively grabbed his hand, turned and tried to drag this human away.

However, in the very instant she just turned around——

Pfft!

Intense pain pierced through her chest; she stared wide-eyed in shock, subconsciously lowered her head, and saw a blood-drenched blade tip protruding from her chest, the iron weapon's toxin spreading rapidly through her body.

And almost simultaneously, she felt the hand she was holding reverse its grip, clamping hard on her arm and exerting force backward......

Pfft! Pfft!

The iron blade withdrew, then at extreme speed delivered two more consecutive strikes!

Two stabs pierced the chest, one horizontal slash aimed at the neck.

Especially the final slash, its force so great, its eruption so fierce, it nearly defied reason, and nearly severed the cervical vertebrae.

No time even to turn back; the rapidly lifeless body crashed heavily to the ground, and in the Wing Fairy's shocked, darkening vision, she saw the youth with extremely swift, decisive movements stomp down viciously several times.

Cracking sounds rang out in succession, stomping all four limbs' joints until they snapped!

Having completed all this at the fastest speed, Xia Zhi still very vigilantly let go immediately, agilely stepping back to create distance.

He maintained a very vigilant guard, as if worried the heap on the ground might not stay dead, might counterattack in death.

Soon, the battle over there also drew to a close.

Although one enemy remained unkilled, Tetelot could already handle it alone.

Vivian was frantic with worry, directly disengaged from combat, and rushed to the youth's side at top speed, pulling him over and anxiously looking him up and down: "Are you okay? Not injured?!"

"Fine, fine...... I know what you want to say, but just now you were tied up for a moment; if I hadn't done that, she would likely have come straight at us. That would be worse; better to go along with her wishes, let her lower her guard......"

Xia Zhi spread his hands, indicating he was unharmed, his expression very natural and composed.

"Fairies generally regard humans with contempt as toys, so this plan was quite reliable. And I was very careful; unsure how tenacious a fairy's vitality is, I delivered the finishing strikes and immediately fell back, giving her no chance......"

(Chapter End)