Chapter 233: Destroying the Black Serpent.

At the mention of the power of darkness, the young Fairies and the little dragon immediately remembered the rats in Kesheng Town.

"Is there a statue of the Dark God somewhere around here too?" Dixio asked in surprise.

The rats in Kesheng Town had mutated after absorbing the power contained in a statue of the Dark God.

"I don't know whether there's a statue, but there must be a source of corruption nearby," Shu Li said gravely. "Everyone, stay alert. Something may be controlling these snakes."

Black Nagin Snakes were ordinary animals. Even if they naturally traveled in groups, they would never empty their entire nest and attack so recklessly under normal circumstances.

"Who cares what's controlling them? If it shows up, we'll kill it!" Dixio declared, pumping his fist.

"What a shame. We can't eat them," Budno lamented.

"Exactly!" Amanda agreed, staring at a section of snake that had been burned to charcoal.

"The power of darkness..." Seriu frowned. "Could that be why Woba Grand Canyon has become so dangerous recently?"

Woba Grand Canyon was a favorite destination for adventurers and mercenary companies because of the numerous treasures hidden in its depths. Among them were sunstones, which mages particularly prized.

Furthermore, the high-ranking magical beasts inhabiting the canyon floor were valuable from head to toe. Killing just one could bring in a considerable sum. Their hides, claws, bones, horns, and other body parts were excellent materials for crafting armor and weapons.

But if Woba Grand Canyon had been contaminated by the power of darkness, why hadn't the Magic Tower taken any action?

He had spent so much time in the Central Court without receiving any information about it.

Or perhaps the matter was so serious that the Magic Tower had chosen to investigate secretly to avoid causing unnecessary panic?

"Five thousand gold coins aren't easy to earn," Angel remarked with a rueful sigh.

If even the snakes on the canyon's outskirts had been corrupted by the power of darkness, he hardly dared imagine how terrifying the high-ranking magical beasts in its depths might have become.

"Let's kill these snakes first," Kumandi said sternly.

There was no point dwelling on the possibilities now. Unless they eliminated the snakes, they wouldn't be able to go anywhere, much less gather medicinal herbs.

"Kumandi's right," Shu Li said. "We'll deal with the snakes, finish gathering the herbs, and then return to Igya City."

Once they returned, he would visit Danlov at the Magic Tower, report the situation in the canyon, and leave the problem in his hands.

After all, Woba Grand Canyon bordered the Central Court. If dark forces had invaded the canyon, the Central Court itself could be in grave danger.

No one objected. They continued casting spells without pause, destroying the black snakes besieging them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Magic of every element crisscrossed the battlefield, killing the snakes in great swathes. As the battle continued, their numbers steadily dwindled.

Victory was finally in sight. The Light Squad's spirits rose, and they redoubled their efforts.

An hour later, every black snake had been eliminated.

They had found no trace of whoever might have been controlling them.

The group remained on guard for another fifteen minutes or so, carefully watching their surroundings. Only when nothing unusual happened did they finally lower their magic staffs.

Shu Li looked at the mangled snake corpses littering the ground and felt a pang of pity.

"Phew! I'm exhausted." Hector leaned on his magic staff and let out a long breath.

Thanks to Magic Instructor Ilio, a week of training had improved his stamina and his ability to sustain spellcasting.

In the past, half an hour of fighting would have drained him completely, leaving him sprawled on the ground without the strength to move.

Xidi and Nasha were equally exhausted. With her injured ankle, Nasha had only managed to last through the battle by sheer determination.

"Good work, everyone."

Shu Li dismissed the defensive barrier.

Instantly, the stench of charred flesh and blood assaulted his nostrils. He hastily covered his nose and mouth.

The others did the same, their faces twisting in disgust.

Falm darted outside, flew around once, then returned to Shu Li and waved his short, chubby claws accusingly.

"Why didn't you save even one for me?"

Shu Li poked his round little belly.

"I was afraid you'd get diarrhea if you ate one."

"Tch!"

Falm stuck out his forked tongue, transformed into a streak of light, and disappeared into the Fire God's mark on the back of Shu Li's right hand.

If there was nothing delicious to eat, he might as well go back to sleep!

Carefully avoiding the snake corpses, Xidi pinched her nose and asked, "The ground is covered in dead snakes. How are we supposed to gather herbs?"

She certainly didn't want to search for Starba Grass among piles of snake corpses.

Besides, the surrounding area had been thoroughly devastated by their spells. Whatever Starba Grass had been growing there was probably destroyed.

Ace raised a hand and pointed ahead.

"There might be more Starba Grass over there."

Shu Li followed his gaze.

The area was just as barren, with no vegetation in sight. Even more enormous boulders were piled across the ground.

Most importantly, there were no snake corpses.

"Let's go."

Shu Li led the way, and the others followed. Even with Xidi supporting her, Nasha managed to keep up without much difficulty.

The group made their way through the dead snakes and traveled more than three hundred meters before reaching the spot Ace had indicated.

"Wow! There's so much Starba Grass here!" Budno exclaimed delightedly.

Compared to their previous gathering spot, the grass here grew remarkably densely. Nearly every crevice contained a few stalks, making them easy to collect without having to search.

Kumandi opened his map and examined it carefully.

There was no marking for this location.

He glanced thoughtfully at Ace.

After spending more than a month with this human classmate, Kumandi had discovered that he was someone who kept his abilities carefully concealed.

Despite his striking appearance, Ace was remarkably unobtrusive. Most of the time, he stood quietly beside Sperien without saying a word.

Yet whenever he offered an opinion, he invariably got straight to the heart of the matter.

More strangely still, following his advice often made difficult problems resolve themselves almost effortlessly.

Just now, for example, a casual gesture from him had led them straight to such a large patch of Starba Grass.

Was it coincidence, or was he simply lucky?

Ace appeared completely unaware of Kumandi's scrutiny.

He took out his shovel, crouched near Shu Li, and began gathering herbs with complete concentration.

Kumandi put away his map and temporarily suppressed his doubts.

Whatever the explanation, gathering the herbs and earning those five thousand gold coins came first.

"Dixio, what's this about a statue of the Dark God?" Hector asked curiously.

"Oh, we passed through Kesheng Town on our way to the Central Court, and there was this huge rat problem..."

As he gathered herbs, Dixio launched into a lively account of the rat infestation that had plagued the town.

Hector listened in astonishment.

He hadn't realized their journey had been so eventful. They had accepted what seemed like an ordinary assignment, only to encounter a thoroughly bizarre employer and discover a follower of the Dark God while exterminating rats.

"Wasn't the Dark God sealed away by the Elven King ten thousand years ago?" Xidi asked, puzzled. "Why does he still have followers?"

"Although the Dark God was sealed away, the dark forces that worship him have never disappeared," Shu Li explained.

"They've simply gone into hiding. Like rats in the sewers, they lurk in the shadows, carrying out their filthy schemes."

He dug up another stalk of Starba Grass, slipped it into his pouch, and turned toward Xidi.

"Have you heard of the Hemon Knights?"

"The Hemon Knights?" Xidi exclaimed. "Of course! They're an incredibly powerful order of knights that operates all across the continent!"

The Hemon Knights proclaimed themselves agents of justice. They accepted wanted notices issued by various kingdoms, and once they targeted someone, escape was nearly impossible.

Seriu paused in the middle of gathering herbs.

A cold glint entered his eyes.

"The Hemon Knights used to serve the Hodehe Temple," Shu Li said. "And the Hodehe Temple is an illegal organization that worships the Dark God."

"Light God above! They actually worship the Dark God?" Hector exclaimed.

He had never even heard of the Hodehe Temple, but the revelation that it worshipped the Dark God was shocking enough on its own.

Nasha bit her lip.

The Hemon Knights had once pursued her relentlessly. She hadn't been safe until she fled to Adilan, the royal capital of the Dalia Empire, where the queen took her in as her adopted daughter.

So the Hemon Knights were followers of the Dark God.

No wonder their methods of killing were so extraordinarily cruel.

Remembering the personal guards who had died protecting her from the Hemon Knights, Nasha was overcome with hatred.

One day, she would avenge them.

"They're affiliated with the Kingdom of Cecilia," Angel said. "Which means the king of Cecilia is a terrible person!"

Seriu tightened his grip on his shovel.

"The current king of Cecilia, Danton Trik, is a usurper who murdered his own elder brother to seize the throne," he said in a low voice.

"Huh? You know about that too?" Dixio asked.

He had assumed Seriu had never left the Central Court and knew little about affairs elsewhere.

Seriu closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the hatred stirring inside him.

"Danton Trik's usurpation is common knowledge."

"He's not just a usurper," Nasha said coldly. "He's a shameless invader!"

Hector nodded.

"He's extremely ambitious. He's constantly waging wars and has already annexed four or five smaller kingdoms. If he continues expanding, I'm afraid all the southern kingdoms will eventually disappear."

As the former heir to the Snowo family, Hector had been expected to keep himself informed about political developments across the continent.

Ever since the Mage Sovereign had taken control of the Central Court and developed the Mages' Guild, there had been constant minor disputes between kingdoms, but no large-scale wars had broken out for a long time.

That peace had ended eight years ago, when the Kingdom of Cecilia suddenly invaded Pedam Kingdom.

Since then, southern Austin Continent had known no peace.

Every kingdom feared becoming the next Pedam Kingdom, conquered and wiped from the map.

But the fall of one kingdom endangered all the others.

When Pedam Kingdom was invaded, the neighboring countries had stood aside, convinced that it was none of their business.

Now they were suffering the consequences of that indifference as war spread to their own borders.

Angel clicked his tongue.

"It's obvious Danton Trik has sold his soul to the Dark God."

Why else would he maintain an arrogant, lawless force like the Hemon Knights and start wars without provocation, invading other countries?

"Doesn't the Magic Tower do anything about it?" Amanda asked.

In principle, the Magic Tower had the authority to intervene in any matter involving dark forces.

"There's no evidence," Seriu replied coldly. "Wars between kingdoms fall outside the Central Court's jurisdiction."

If he had evidence, he could use the Magic Tower's authority to bring Danton Trik to judgment.

The Hemon Knights might once have served the Hodehe Temple, but rumors were still only rumors. The temple had vanished from public view, leaving no one to substantiate the accusations.

Shu Li said, "Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished. Justice may be delayed, but it won't be denied. One day, Danton Trik will receive the punishment he deserves."

"Will that day really come?" Seriu murmured.

"Don't worry. It will!" Shu Li declared firmly.

Seriu gazed at the black-haired boy, whose figure seemed to glow beneath the sunlight.

Gradually, the hatred simmering inside him subsided.

By two in the afternoon, the Light Squad had successfully gathered five hundred stalks of Starba Grass.

They counted the herbs twice to be certain. If anything, they had collected a few extra.

Satisfied, they happily packed their harvest into their storage pouches.

Afterward, they settled leisurely onto some rocks, eating dry rations and drinking water to fill their stomachs.

Having completed their assignment ahead of schedule, everyone was in high spirits.

They decided that after lunch, they would return to Pute Town and rent a carriage. Even if it meant traveling through the night, they intended to make it back to Igya City.

Meanwhile, five hundred meters away, two small boys were running for their lives.

They wore gray hooded cloaks that concealed their silver hair and bluish-gray skin.

One carried a high-ranking magic staff, while the other gripped a curved blade.

Both were sprinting desperately, trying to shake off the monsters pursuing them.

"Lanno, are we running the wrong way?" the boy in front asked breathlessly.

"I don't know!" the boy called Lanno gasped. "Staying alive is more important! Who cares which direction we're going?"

"Why won't these monsters stop chasing us?" the boy in front demanded angrily.

"Probably because we picked that plant."

Lanno pulled a magic scroll from his storage pouch, tore it open, and hurled it behind them.

The scroll struck one of the monsters and exploded instantly, buying them a little more time to escape.

"Luka, over there!"

Lanno pointed ahead.

A cluster of enormous boulders lay in their path. The rocks could both obstruct the monsters' pursuit and conceal the boys from sight.

"Okay!"

Luka sprang onto a massive boulder.

Lanno leaped after him.

The two young Dark Elves, both only eleven or twelve years old, desperately raced toward the pile of rocks.

"ROOOAR!"

The dozen or so hideous monsters had been left mangled and bloody by the exploding magic scroll.

Now they let out furious roars.

Crack! Crack!

Their bones began to mutate, rapidly extending as their bodies swelled to even more monstrous proportions.

Dropping onto all fours, the creatures opened their enormous, blood-soaked jaws.

Their long, scarlet tongues, covered in backward-pointing barbs, whipped through the air as they charged madly after the two boys.

Lanno glanced over his shoulder and cried out in horror.

"They've gotten bigger again!"

"Don't look back!" Luka said nervously. "Just keep running!"

When the boys had first encountered these creatures, the monsters had barely reached their knees.

Yet after pursuing them for so long, they had somehow grown to two meters tall.

The boys were overwhelmed with regret.

They couldn't defeat the monsters in a fight, and they couldn't shake them off either.

If only they had kept their hands to themselves instead of picking that herb surrounded by black energy!

They had merely wanted to gather it as a gift for Efit.

As they raced toward the enormous boulders, the monsters' roars grew louder and louder.

Naturally, the Light Squad, who were sitting on the rocks enjoying their dry rations, heard the earthshaking howls.