Chapter 140

Fura's face turned white instantly.

"Master, this poison..."

"Damn it!"

Unprecedented killing intent erupted in Roko's eyes.

He no longer held anything back.

The Battle Qi in his body surged madly into the longsword in his hand.

"Blazing Slash!"

The longsword in his hand shone brilliantly.

It seemed to illuminate the entire night.

A golden sword aura, more solid and hotter than before, shot out from his hand.

The target was aimed directly at that traitor Ano!

Ano's face was full of terror.

He wanted to run, but his body seemed to be completely restrained by an invisible force.

He could only watch helplessly as the sword light of death grew larger and larger in his pupils.

"No!"

He let out a desperate scream.

The next second.

His body, along with the few black-robed men around him, was completely swallowed by that destructive sword aura.

Not even a trace of ash was left behind.

With the mastermind dead, the leader of the black-robed men's face changed drastically.

He knew the situation was lost.

"Retreat!"

He let out a sharp roar.

The remaining black-robed men, as if granted amnesty, began to flee toward the depths of the forest.

"Want to leave?"

A cold arc curled at the corner of Roko's mouth.

"Hart!"

"Leave none alive!"

"Yes!"

Hart led the Storm Knights and began the pursuit.

This was a one-sided slaughter.

Although the black-robed men were eerie, how could their speed compare to warhorses charging at full speed?

Soon, only intermittent screams remained in the forest.

The battle was over.

Roko immediately came to Fura's side and grabbed her poisoned arm.

A cold, fishy-smelling toxin was spreading rapidly through her meridians.

Roko didn't hesitate to channel his pure Flame Battle Qi into Fura's body.

The scorching Battle Qi began to burn the cold toxins madly.

"Sizzle—"

Wisps of black smoke rose from Fura's arm.

Fura let out a painful muffled groan, but she gritted her teeth and didn't cry out.

A moment later.

The eerie blackness on her arm finally faded away slowly.

Her complexion also regained a hint of rosiness.

"Thank you, Master—"

Roko breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to touch her head.

"It's good that you're okay."

At this time, Zewen also dragged his heavily injured body over.

He looked at the mess on the ground and the dead tribesmen, his eyes filled with grief.

But he still forced himself to cheer up and bowed deeply to Roko.

"Brother Roko, this time, if it weren't for you—"

"Our Red Leaf Forest would really be finished."

"Great kindness needs no thanks; from now on, I, Zewen Brick, and the entire Red Leaf Forest tribe will be your most loyal allies!"

"Your enemies are our enemies!"

【System Prompt: Red Leaf Forest tribe loyalty has reached MAX, officially becoming your vassal force.】

【System Prompt: You have gained complete control over the Red Leaf Forest tribe.】

The crisp system prompt sounded in Roko's mind.

But this did not make him feel much joy.

His gaze crossed the messy camp and looked toward the deeper parts of the forest.

What secret was hidden in that ancient altar?

It was enough to make the Poison Scorpion Society pay any price to obtain it.

After the crisis was resolved, the camp was filled with sorrow.

The hunters began to collect the corpses of their companions and treat the wounded.

Zewen's injuries were very serious, but after simple bandaging, he still insisted on taking Roko to that ancient altar.

"They dug open the outer perimeter of the altar."

Zewen's voice carried a hint of weakness and anger.

"I don't know what they wanted to do, but I can feel that something in the forest has been awakened."

Passing through a dense, primeval forest that no one had ever set foot in,

A huge altar constructed entirely of dark blue-black rock appeared before them.

The style of the altar was very ancient, full of traces of erosion by time.

Many complex symbols and patterns that couldn't be understood were carved on it.

Around the altar, a layer of visible, pale blue energy shield circled.

On the shield, electric arcs flashed from time to time, making a "pop" sound.

A powerful, heart-palpitating energy fluctuation permeated the air.

"This is it."

Zewen's face was somewhat pale.

"The ancestors of our tribe have guarded this place for generations, but no one has ever been able to truly get close to it."

"Legend has it that an ancient evil god is sealed inside."

Roko's gaze was fixed on that layer of energy shield.

He could feel that the energy contained in the shield was very pure and very powerful.

He tried to take a few steps forward.

Just as he was about to touch the shield.

A mutation occurred!

The surface of the shield suddenly fluctuated violently.

The surrounding air also began to gather madly.

Wind, fire, earth, water.

The four most basic elements quickly condensed and formed above the altar.

Finally, they formed four huge humanoid creatures several meters tall, composed entirely of pure elements.

Bodies made of raging wind, fists burning with flames, armor made of rock.

Elemental Guards!

The energy fluctuations emanating from them actually reached the late Bronze stage!

"Roar!"

The four Elemental Guards let out silent roars.

They took heavy steps and charged toward Roko and the others.

"Protect the Master!"

Hart roared and led several Storm Knights to meet them.

The knight lance stabbed fiercely at the Earth Elemental Guard made of rock.

"Clang!"

A loud noise.

Hart only felt as if he had stabbed into a mountain.

The huge recoil made his arm numb, and he almost couldn't even hold the lance.

And on the body of the Earth Elemental Guard, only a few gravel stones fell off; it didn't suffer any substantial damage at all.

The other knights also encountered the same situation.

Their physical attacks were almost ineffective against these elemental creatures.

"Let me!"

Roko's eyes narrowed, and the longsword in his hand burned with golden flames again.

He met the Fire Elemental Guard with the strongest momentum.

【Flame Slash!】

A scorching sword aura slashed fiercely onto the Fire Elemental Guard.

However, a shocking scene occurred.

After being hit by the sword aura, the Fire Elemental Guard was not only uninjured, but it seemed to have eaten a powerful tonic.

Its body suddenly expanded by a circle.

The flames on its body burned even more vigorously.

It actually absorbed Roko's flame attack directly!

"Damn it, physical and same-attribute magic are both ineffective against them!"

Roko's heart sank.

This was a bit tricky.

Just when everyone was at their wit's end.

The small beast Tain, which had been held in Fura's arms, suddenly became unusually restless.

It broke free from Fura's arms and jumped to the ground.

Not only was it not afraid, but it let out a milky roar at the four huge Elemental Guards.

"Meow-roar!"

A strange scene occurred.

The four Elemental Guards, which were originally extremely violent, stopped their movements simultaneously upon hearing Tain's cry.

On their faces made of pure energy, there seemed to be a hint of... confusion?

Then, it was awe.

They actually knelt down on one knee toward Tain slowly.

As if they were welcoming their king.

Everyone was stunned by this surreal scene before their eyes.

What was going on?

Roko's heart was also full of shock.

He looked at Tain, which was only the size of his palm and was brandishing its little claws at the Elemental Guards in a show of force.

He suddenly realized that he might have underestimated this S+-grade magic pet all along.

Tain seemed very satisfied with the performance of the Elemental Guards.

It took its four short legs and walked swaggeringly to the front of the energy shield.

It looked up and opened its little mouth.

A dark red, ancient, and mysterious flame gushed out from its mouth.

The flame landed directly on the energy shield.

There was no violent explosion, nor any earth-shattering sound.

The moment the indestructible energy shield touched the dark red flame.

A gap large enough for one person to pass through melted silently.

Tain turned back and meowed triumphantly at Roko.

As if it were asking for credit.

Roko suppressed the shock in his heart and nodded at Tain.

"Well done."

He didn't hesitate and was the first to walk into the gap.

Fura and Zewen followed closely behind.

When they entered the inside of the shield and arrived at the foot of the altar.

A more ancient and vast aura rushed toward them.

The core of the altar was a huge diamond-shaped crystal floating in mid-air.

Inside the crystal, billions of stars seemed to be slowly rotating, emitting a soft and mysterious light.

Roko could feel that his body was craving the energy contained in that crystal.

He reached out and slowly touched the crystal.

Hum!

Roko's mind shook violently.

A torrent of information, so vast it was unimaginable, instantly flooded into his mind.

It was about the mysteries of the most fundamental elemental power of this world.

The flow of wind, the burning of fire, the heaviness of earth, the changes of water...

Everything was displayed in his mind in the clearest and most intuitive way.

His body was also greedily absorbing the purest elemental energy from the crystal.

【System Prompt: You have come into contact with a fragment of the "Ancient Elemental Heart".】

【System Prompt: You have gained the trait "Elemental Affinity (Primary)".】

【System Prompt: Your understanding of elemental power has deepened significantly.】

【System Prompt: Your sword technique 【Great Sun Blazing Slash】 is undergoing an unknown transformation—】

A series of system prompts made Roko's heart and mind surge uncontrollably.

This was simply a massive stroke of luck!

At the same time, he also saw some ancient images remaining in the crystal.

That was a world of flames and lava.

The sky was dark red.

Golden magma flowed on the earth.

And in the center of that world lived a creature so powerful it was unimaginable.

Their bodies were as huge as mountain ranges.

Their wings covered the sky and the sun.

Every breath they took could trigger the power of heaven and earth.

Their appearance was extremely similar to—a magnified version, a giant form of Tain!

Roko's heart was stirred by huge waves.

He finally understood what Tain's S+-grade talent really meant.

Its bloodline origin was actually so noble and powerful!

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Roko slowly opened his eyes.

The floating crystal had already become dim and lusterless.

The energy inside had been completely absorbed by him.

He could clearly feel that although the total amount of Battle Qi in his body hadn't increased.

Its quality had undergone a earth-shaking change.

It had become more solid and more agile.

He had a feeling.

As long as he was willing, he could convert his flame Battle Qi into any other elemental attribute at any time.

This was the mastery of elemental power!

He glanced at the mottled murals on the altar.

The murals depicted an earth-shattering battle.

A group of winged, god-like creatures were fighting a tragic battle against a group of monsters emerging from the darkness.

In the end, the gods seemed to have won.

They sealed the leader of the monsters under this altar.

And they themselves fell into eternal slumber because their power was exhausted.

Roko withdrew his gaze, already having a rough guess in his heart.

The goal of the Poison Scorpion Society was likely that sealed ancient monster.

And Tain's bloodline seemed to have an inextricable connection with those god-like creatures.

This game of chess was getting bigger and bigger.

And it was getting more and more interesting.

When Roko walked out of the altar, the sky was already slightly bright.

Those Elemental Guards had long since disappeared.

Hart and the knights were cleaning up the battlefield.

Seeing Roko come out, everyone's gaze focused on him.

They could feel that their Lord seemed to have become a bit different.

But they couldn't quite say what was different.

They just felt that his aura had become even more unfathomable.

On the way back to Vanguard Valley, everyone was full of joy.

Successfully rescuing an ally and winning a great victory made all the knights wear proud smiles.

However, when Roko returned to the Lord's Mansion.

What greeted him was Martina's face, which was written with "I'm busy, I'm tired".

"You're back just in time."

Martina slapped a thick stack of documents in front of Roko.

"This is the 'Xin Feng Alliance Unified Act' I drafted based on the existing laws of Vanguard Valley and the actual situation of the Xin Feng Province."

"Take a look; if there are no problems, we can start promoting it across the entire alliance."

Roko picked up the act and began to read it carefully.

The act drafted by Martina was very detailed.

From a unified tax system to unified trade route tariffs, and then to unified military deployment and contributions.

It covered almost every aspect required by an independent territory.

"Once this act is implemented, our alliance can truly be twisted into a single rope."

Martina's voice carried a hint of fatigue, yet was full of drive.

"However, the resistance will definitely be very great."

"Those old-school nobles are used to acting on their own and won't easily give up the interests in their hands."

Roko nodded.

"You're right."

"So, we need a 'chicken' to kill to warn the monkeys."

A beautiful arc curled at the corner of Martina's mouth.

"I have already scouted a very suitable candidate for you."

The implementation of the act, as Martina expected, met with strong resistance.

Old-school nobles like Earl Adrian accepted it quite readily.

But more small nobles were paying lip service while resisting passively.