Chapter 230 - 210: Blue Forest

Chapter 230: Chapter 210: Blue Forest

"You might still be able to use the energy inside this."

Vili placed the Fruit Core Crystal in Benduin’s palm.

By Vili’s estimate, if Benduin received the support of that pure energy, there was a high chance he would break through to become a Middle Level Mage.

Even though less than a tenth of its energy remained, it should be enough for Benduin.

"This..."

Benduin looked completely surprised.

Feeling the gentle warmth in his palm, he was at a loss for words.

’I’m just a Junior Mage. Isn’t it a waste to give something like this to me? Perhaps giving it to Colson would yield a better result.’

Benduin had just clearly seen Baron Vili use it to break through to the awe-inspiring rank of Junior Grand Knight.

"Just take it. Are you going to refuse a gift from the Lord Baron?"

It was Colson who spoke.

Seeing Vili bestow the Fruit Core Crystal upon Benduin, Colson felt no displeasure whatsoever.

Everything he had now was largely due to Vili’s help. Colson was no ingrate, nor was he a greedy man, so he naturally wouldn’t covet the reward Vili gave to Benduin.

He could also sense that while the Fruit Core Crystal still had some residual energy, it was almost impossible for it to help his Two-Engraving Silent abilities advance any further. On the other hand, Benduin, who was a Junior Mage, would benefit from it in a much more tangible and effective way.

Budar stood to the side without a word, but his eyes were filled with unconcealable envy.

’Of course, there’s nothing for me.’ Though he was strong and had done some things for Vili, his background as a pirate and his status as a semi-captive meant he had no right to covet the Baron’s rewards.

"Thank you, Lord Baron."

Hearing Colson’s persuasion, Benduin closed his hand around the Fruit Core Crystal. He turned to Vili and solemnly vowed, "Lord Baron, you can rest assured, I will uphold the power of Justice with my life!"

Vili smiled faintly and patted Benduin’s shoulder.

In truth, he’d lost count of how many times he’d heard that phrase. But not wanting to dampen Benduin’s spirits, Vili still offered a word of encouragement. "Try to become a Middle Level Mage as soon as you can. Only with greater power can you better fight the evils of this world."

"Yes, sir!"

Benduin tucked the Fruit Core Crystal into his breast pocket.

"Let’s go. We’ll check out that Extraordinary Tree."

Seeing this, Vili wasted no more time and walked toward the Extraordinary Tree, which had already self-destructed into a pile of fragments.

This was an enclosed space. If there was a way forward, the next passage had to be near the Extraordinary Tree.

When Vili got close to the Extraordinary Tree, he found that only a thick stump remained. It was about four to five meters in diameter, which was reasonable compared to its original twenty-meter height.

SWISH!

Vili swung a hand, and a blade of Fighting Spirit shot from his palm, instantly shearing the jagged, splintered surface of the stump, making it perfectly level with the ground.

Now, even without his Cross Sword, Vili could unleash sharp, wide blades of Fighting Spirit.

With a light push, Vili shoved the sliced-off block of wood aside.

Then, Vili gently knocked on the surface of the stump, producing a dull thud.

"Benduin, can you get all its roots out?"

Vili asked, looking at Benduin behind him.

He could, in fact, dig out the Extraordinary Tree’s roots himself, but it would be more troublesome.

"No problem."

At this moment, Benduin felt that nearly half of his Mage’s Power had already recovered.

Although he hadn’t used the Fruit Core Crystal yet, just by having it in the lining of his clothes, he could feel the Mage’s Power inside him circulating at a rapid pace.

"Hah!"

Benduin walked to the stump, clasped his hands together, and the veins on his face suddenly bulged.

BOOM!

The next moment, the ground around the stump began to crack. Aided by the power of the Earth Element, Benduin ripped the entire root system out of the ground, soil and all.

"As expected of an Earth Mage..."

Colson muttered to himself.

’It suddenly occurred to him that it might be a good idea to put Benduin’s abilities to use in farming.’

’After all, he himself used to be a big-shot chicken farmer.’

"The roots are only five meters long..."

Vili was slightly surprised as he looked at the root system Benduin had pulled out with Earth Magic.

He had assumed that for a miraculous Extraordinary Plant like this, the roots should have been over ten or even twenty meters long.

However, Vili didn’t dwell on it. He was more concerned with what lay beneath the Extraordinary Tree.

"Lord Baron!"

Vili was about to probe the soil when he heard Benduin say, "It seems to be hollow beneath the dirt where this strange tree was!"

"Hollow?"

Vili’s eyes lit up.

’Perhaps this is the passage to the treasure.’

"Get rid of this dirt."

Vili ordered Benduin.

Benduin nodded heavily, and the Elemental Power of the Earth Element floated around him.

CRUMBLE!

Suddenly, the pit of dirt in front of Vili and the others caved in, as if the ground itself had collapsed.

A tunnel, a full twenty meters deep, appeared before them.

At the same time, a dreamlike blue light shone up from the bottom of the passage.

’This must be the path forward.’

Vili nodded to himself.

According to his speculation, if someone with the true bloodline of the Cold Lion King Royal Family came to this area, they would probably be sent directly to this passage after a bloodline verification.

’But we had to fight our way through to find it.’

"Senya, go down."

Seeing this, Colson knew it was his turn to act.

Senya responded mechanically and leaped down into the passage.

A fluorescent green light flashed in Colson’s eyes as he once again activated his shared vision with Senya.

"This... This place is..."

A few breaths later, a look of shock suddenly appeared on Colson’s face.

"What did you see?"

Benduin urged him from the side.

"A forest... an underground... Blue Dream Forest!"

...

「On the sea.」

Near the three islands of the treasure site, six large ships were anchored by the coast.

Ten days ago, their leaders, Lord Baron Vili and their chief Budar, had both disappeared, leaving behind orders for them to stand by.

The remaining five Junior Knight Pirates took over management of the crew. They had all been forced by Vili—through a mix of persuasion and threats—to take a special drug, so they didn’t dare use this opportunity to escape his control.

"This is so boring..."

On the third large ship, a bald man with a scar on his face complained to a one-eyed man, "The Lord Baron and the Chief must have gone to the treasure entrance, while we’re stuck here on lookout duty."

In fact, they weren’t even really on lookout, because they had no idea where Vili and the others had gone.

On the day the stars twinkled and the whirlpool appeared on the sea, only Vili’s group and a few on-duty pirate crewmen were on deck. The rest of the search party, exhausted from the day’s work, were all resting in their cabins.

"Stop talking behind their backs. If the Lord Baron and the Chief come back and hear about this, you’ll probably die a horrible death."

The one-eyed man seemed to have long since accepted his fate, showing none of the ferocity and prestige he had in his old days of plundering as a pirate.

It was hard to act tough when someone else held your life in their hands.

The bald, scarred man pursed his lips but didn’t say anything more.

"What’s that? There’s a ship heading this way!"

The one-eyed man had just been polishing his sword. He glanced up and suddenly saw a fast ship cutting through the waves, advancing rapidly toward them.

"What’s going on? Who else would come to a godforsaken place like this? This is a remote corner of the distant seas!"

The bald, scarred man spat on the deck, his eyes full of confusion.

"Could it be..."

The one-eyed man’s mind was quicker. A possibility occurred to him. "Could they be explorers, also looking for the treasure?"

A jolt went through him, and he yelled, "Quick, prepare for battle!"

The one-eyed man knew very well that when two groups of treasure hunters met, it almost always ended with a battle to the death where only one side survived.

Watching the menacing approach of the fast ship, the one-eyed man sensed that a battle was inevitable.

Seeing the one-eyed man’s reaction, the bald, scarred man also quickly realized the situation.

"To arms! To arms!"

The bald, scarred man roared, his weapon already in hand.

At the bald, scarred man’s command, several Pirates simultaneously fired colorful Signal Arrows.

The Pirates docked at the other islands saw the signal from the arrows and began to sail over.

Aboard the distant fast ship.

A slender girl and an old man with a white beard and hair stood at the prow.

"Miss, it seems something we didn’t want to happen has happened..."

The speaker was the Sivall Family’s most loyal old servant, Midton.

After ten days of sailing at top speed, following the records in their family’s notes, they had finally arrived at the location of the treasure.

But it seemed someone had already occupied the area.

Midton didn’t believe these people had stopped here by chance. How could such a fleet be anchored in such a remote and deserted part of the sea?

"Could it be another branch of the Sivall Family bloodline?"

Philina furrowed her brow, a complicated look flashing in her eyes.

She had to obtain the treasure here. It was a resource that Fidala absolutely needed for the early stages of their restoration.

With the support of these supplies, Fidala’s path to restoration would be much easier, and they would have a greater advantage in their dealings with Duke Northland.

Therefore, she had to get her hands on this treasure.

Philina was just a little worried. If it was another branch of the Sivall Family, would she be able to persuade them to give it up? After all, so many years had passed, and she couldn’t be sure if they would still take pride in the main family bloodline.