Book 11: Chapter 71: Success Achieved

Suddenly, the air in the palace garden was filled with a rich and vibrant wood-element aura. All the flowers, plants, trees, and every green thing that touched this aura seemed to come alive all at once, stretching and loosening up their limbs…

“Crack, crack, crack!” The plant vines that had been clinging to nearby walls, originally just decoration, lifted their ends like living creatures. They slithered down the walls like countless green pythons, rapidly swelling and twisting together. When they grew as thick as buckets, the ground beneath the walls could no longer hold them. They began rushing outward like waves.

Meanwhile, the flowers and grasses on the garden lawn underwent a terrifying change. Slender grass stems grew wildly, stretching from the ground toward the sky. From a distance, they looked like countless green whips lashing through the air.

“This is… Everyone, be careful, don’t get tangled up!” Laini’s face changed. She glanced back toward the Banquet Hall and shouted a warning to the group.

The few people who had been surrounding the Necromancer on the lawn were very alert. Besides, the intense fluctuation of the wood-element aura was something anyone could sense. Since the rapidly growing and spreading giant plants had no specific target, everyone could easily step on them to avoid being entangled by the vines and flower stems.

“Qin Lun, your timing is as precise as ever, just perfect!” Hill’s eyes held a hint of a smile as he dodged, expressing heartfelt praise.

Although everyone could easily avoid the affected area of the flowers and vines, the Necromancer’s Teleportation Array was helpless.

“Snap!” Under the incredulous gazes of the Necromancer and his two followers, the protective barrier of their Magical Array emitted a strained cracking sound. The next moment, it was crushed by the giant plants squeezing in from all sides.

The swirling portal that had appeared above the array shook violently and finally collapsed. The Necromancer and the other two were “spit out” from the opened Dimensional Space. Paralyzed, they fell from the air and were instantly swallowed by numerous plants.

As for the two Golden Skeletons, their intelligence was low, and they didn’t know how to dodge. Although each slash shattered a patch of plants, they couldn’t hold out for more than a few seconds before being wrapped up by waves of incoming vines and roots into two giant bundles.

Even though the Palace of the High covered a large area, the spreading green waves reached the edge of the barrier surrounding the palace in just a few breaths.

“Boom, boom…” A deep, drum-like pounding sound arose. To everyone’s astonishment, the wave of plants climbed up an invisible wall, eventually forming a curved green wall dozens of meters high, arching inward. This revealed the rough outline of the colorless, formless Mythal Barrier.

At a glance, the outer areas of the entire castle had transformed into a primitive forest. Huge plant roots crisscrossed the ground. Flowers as large as millstones vied in beauty, their intense, fragrant aroma filling the air. The pollen they released was so thick that it slightly obscured everyone’s vision.

Ninth-rank peak wood-element magic—Tree World Descent!

This was a large-scale magic second only to Legendary Forbidden Spells. In terms of effect, it wasn’t an offensive spell because its activation was slow. If the space where it was cast was vast, most professionals could avoid it. Its original purpose was sealing and defense.

Typically, only Elf Archmages or Druids could cast this spell, as only they possessed such high affinity with wood elements. Ordinary Legendary Mages couldn’t achieve it.

Of course, if cast by a true Elf Mage or Druid, this spell would be more powerful and offensive. Although Qin Lun met the casting conditions by borrowing the “Eye Tyrant’s Will,” his mana was insufficient and his control poor. Thus, he only managed to create a simple plant Fortress.

“I wonder which Archmage acted in fury!” Laini patted her chest in relief. “Fortunately, at this time, the ordinary servants are gathered inside the castle. The patrolling Silver Guards outside, as long as they aren’t completely foolish, should also avoid these plants.”

“Don’t relax; those three Zhentarim Assassins aren’t dead yet!” Mastashia cautiously scanned the surroundings. “This spell will probably destroy the Teleportation Array they set up near the palace. But these guys are cunning and ruthless. If we don’t find them now, they might become desperate and cause heavy casualties.”

“Don’t worry. If they escape again under these circumstances, we might as well go kill ourselves.” Idria cracked her knuckles fiercely, a hint of murderous intent on her pretty face.

…

“Firal, I never knew you had such high magical skill!” Lorlin looked up in surprise at the now-unrecognizable Banquet Hall. The surrounding guests and servants gradually regained their composure after the earlier chaos and cooperated with the arriving Silver Guards.

The Banquet Hall, which should have been filled with festive atmosphere, had turned into something resembling a greenhouse botanical garden from the Earth Federation. This made many guests and servants tread carefully.

After all, no matter how beautiful the decorative potted vines were before, once magnified dozens of times, anyone would feel a bit frightened.

“I wonder how these giant fruits taste… Oh, so sour!”

Curious, Lorlin plucked a grape the size of a fist from a vine. But after just one bite, his face changed dramatically, and he grimaced. Although these things had grown larger, they had lost their original sweet deliciousness.

“Well… Lady Elastor, I shall go assist my other companions now.” Qin Lun bowed to the Silverymoon City Lord, who was still aiding the Centaur chieftain.

“Oh, alright, be careful!” Elastor smiled and nodded, summoning the Female Knight. “Annasilia, take a squad of guards and accompany Prince Firal.”

“My lady, this…” The Elf Female Knight stared doubtfully at Qin Lun. She hadn’t expected the Silverymoon City Lord to allow Qin Lun to join the fight.

“Go, and find a few more knights with high Agility!” Elastor didn’t explain to her that Qin Lun needed this opportunity to mitigate the side effects of the Lucky Gold Coin. After all, the fewer people who knew about the Lucky Gold Coin, the fewer future troubles the Elf Prince would face.

“I’ll go too!” Lorlin, however, seemed to grasp something and rubbed his hands enthusiastically, following Qin Lun.

…

The night gradually faded. When the first light of dawn appeared in the east of Silverymoon, the city’s noise finally subsided. The crowd that had stayed up all night went home to catch up on sleep.

The once tidy and beautiful streets were now a mess, littered with all kinds of trash, bottles, and food scraps. For the residents of Silverymoon, even though a small fire had broken out somewhere in the city at the start of the festival, overall, the night had been a joyful and exhilarating carnival celebration.

Although some citizens saw the tall green vine wall around the Palace of the High, most assumed it was a performance magic by Lady Hope and didn’t pay it much mind.

However, for the various alliance lords participating in the celebration at the Palace of the High and their guards, it was a thrilling and sleepless night.

Under Elastor’s leadership, the Silver Marches hadn’t faced such a dangerous situation in a long time. After a long night of tension, they seemed to finally wake up from the illusion of peace, as if returning to the era of independent city-states surrounded by enemies.

Elastor’s judgment was correct. The Zhentarim’s sudden attack greatly shocked the lords of the alliance council, forcing them to face the perilous external environment the alliance was in.

The battles in various corners of the palace finally concluded before dawn.

There were seven Zhentarim Assassins who invaded the Palace of the High. First was the impersonator “Crow” who poisoned the Centaur chieftain. Then came two High Rank Assassins and a Legendary-level Necromancer, followed by the Necromancer’s two followers. The last one was a High Rank Mage who had been deliberately imprisoned in the palace dungeons earlier.

Of these seven, one Assassin was captured alive by the lords’ guards after failing to assassinate Elastor. Another Assassin was killed outside the hall by the envoy sent by the Dwarf King, before he could escape via the Teleportation Array.

The impersonator “Crow” was severely injured by Storm Queen Elasylin and ultimately took poison to end his life. As for the black-robed Mage in the dungeon, he was very alert and Teleported away early, escaping capture by the Storm Queen.

The Necromancer’s two followers were unquestionably captured and killed by Laini and the others. The two Golden Skeletons were also torn to pieces by the group.

As for the Necromancer himself, his body died. But according to Great Sage Laini, the Necromancer’s Soul might have escaped in some form. He probably had a phylactery or a cloned body hidden somewhere.

Thus, this Necromancer would likely only be able to transform into a demi-Lich. This unnatural transformation would surely greatly reduce his power, preventing him from retaliating against the Silver Marches for some time.

“Waaah…” Sorrowful weeping came from a room in the Palace of the High.

Emily, who had been confined during the banquet, finally learned about Mage Angelo’s death. She cried inconsolably, and Iristin and Idria were clumsily trying to comfort her.

“Is Lady Elastor still in the meeting room?” Qin Lun turned and asked the Female Knight.

“Yes. Last night, while we were hunting the Assassins, the lords in the Banquet Hall demanded an emergency council meeting. The lords are still deliberating now.” Annasilia said with some concern.

Qin Lun, Hill, and Rand exchanged glances, each showing a faint smile. It seemed the lords of the Silver Marches were indeed provoked by the Zhentarim’s action this time.

“Qin Lun, it seems the trend of the Silver Marches becoming the Silver Marches is now irreversible.” Hill said via the Team Channel, laughing. “And since we helped Elastor so much, as long as King Thanequalas of the Anke Elf Court assesses the situation correctly, the possibility of an alliance between the two sides is very high.”

“Yes, we can withdraw after success and proceed to the next plan.” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed as he looked toward the Dwarf Prince Lorlin beside Emily.