Chapter 307 ·Return

Return ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍

In the distance, a small black dot flew toward them, moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, its outline became distinguishable.

"Serea!"

Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar silhouette.

"Lilith!?"

Indeed, it was Lilith who had returned. She dove down while riding her griffin and, after landing, dismounted and immediately threw herself at Serea, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm back!"

"Mm, welcome back."

After the two separated, they both glanced at the tall, imposing griffin behind Lilith, and then noted Lilith's high-level Holy Knight light armor. Serea felt a bit puzzled.

"Weren't you supposed to have resigned from the post of Holy Maiden? This is..."

"I had no choice. No matter what, teacher wouldn't allow it, but teacher is a really good person. She agreed to let me venture out for experience. Now, I'm free. I can do whatever I want."

Lilith seemed to really enjoy this kind of free lifestyle, and Serea also felt genuinely happy for her.

"That's great, then."

"Yeah, but Serea, you really opened my eyes! I was only gone for a few days, but the camp has completely changed. Shouldn't we start calling it 'Darkmoon City' now?"

"Heh, it's still got a long way to go. If you'd come back any later, you'd be even more shocked by what we've done."

"Then I'll watch and wait with anticipation."

The two chatted as they strolled through the camp. After several days apart, a subtle change had occurred in their relationship—even though their bond of blood as biological sisters was now gone, it didn't matter; they were still as inseparable as ever.

While talking, the two walked to the side of the Plague Graveyard: Undead. After constructing several more graveyards, Serea stretched out her hand and revived 300 Skeletons. With their creation, Serea's Death Crystal balance dipped into the red.

However, with 300 more Skeletons joining the camp's construction efforts, the camp's workforce instantly doubled again.

Of course, it wasn't that Serea was in a rush; rather, given the Death Crystal reserves accumulated from hunting external undead, she had no problem controlling undead above capacity. Furthermore, with the situation still unclear, rapidly developing the settlement had become the top priority.

So, accelerate development! As for Darkmoon City...it wasn't far off now!

"By the way, Serea, I received some information on the way back."

"What kind of information?"

"There's been a huge outbreak of undead in the Eastern Jungle. The situation is so severe that even the Ailera Empire's eastern jungle garrison has started to retreat. Tens of thousands of undead have left the jungle and are heading for the Ailera Empire's border—and their numbers are still climbing, showing no sign of stopping."

"When did this happen?"

"Just last night. I heard it from the 'church army' stationed in Sedis City. At the same time, the church's army has begun moving east to prepare to fend off the wave of undead coming from the west."

"I really didn't expect things to get this serious."

Serea stroked her chin in thought, then added:

"But it's rare to see the Holy See act so responsibly."

"Hey, do you realize you're mocking the church while the church's Holy Maiden is standing right next to you?"

Lilith pretended to be angry.

"Huh? Oh, right, you are the church's Holy Maiden. But as a Holy Maiden, you're leaking church intel to a 'heretic' like me? That feels rather strange."

Serea teased, while Lilith shook her head helplessly.

"Can't help it. You're just such a worrying little sister, and anyway, you'd find out for yourself soon enough. So I thought I'd just tell you first and gain your trust as a 'heretic,' then get close to you and slowly 'deal with' you."

Lilith emphasized the word "deal with" especially, causing Serea to blush.

"Alright, enough joking—down to business. The Ailera Empire is being invaded by undead. That means they won't have time to deal with their war against the Otto Kingdom, right?"

"That should be the case. Their front-line troops have already started pulling back. If war were to break out now, ailera wouldn't gain anything at all. At least until this undead eruption subsides, there is no chance of fighting."

As Lilith spoke, her expression relaxed.

It was clear that, although she once harbored resentment toward the Otto Kingdom, that was still her homeland. She was its princess, and possibly its future ruler.

While they talked, Serea had already walked up to the Necromancy Tower.

Because of previous heavy Death Crystal expenditure, the Necromancy Tower had been operating at its lowest mana output. But now things were different.

She fused Death Crystals and Soul Crystals to create Nether Crystals and then funneled large quantities of Nether Crystals into the Necromancy Tower, transforming them into power of the netherworld and pushing the 'mana output' to its maximum.

Immediately, everyone around Serea clearly noticed the difference.

"The mana density has increased. In that case..."

Lilith spoke and entered a meditative state, absorbing mana into her body to increase her affinity with it. By circulating her mental power and manipulating mana, she also trained her own mental strength. This was the common way for magic classes to level up in this world.

For physical classes, they needed to infuse their bodies with mana, then increase their physical fitness through combat and practice.

With increased mana density, both methods resulted in faster growth—the so-called 'experience multiplier.'

Right now, all the town's residents marveled at and celebrated the higher mana density.

"Alright, all done!"

Serea declared. It was still morning—surely, today she could finally take a break? But then Lola said:

"Queen, you still need to handle the issue of the Crimson Moon fox tribe migration site. Also, today envoys from the Eriwin dwarf tribe will arrive to discuss subsequent trading of the Spring of Life, and the naga tribe..."

Seeing the long list Lola produced, Serea shouted,

"Ahhh, please spare me..."

And so, rest was off the table again. Serea was dragged off by Lola for work...

... Three days later...

Three 'fulfilling' days passed.

In that time, news that the Darkmoon clan was building a town had spread throughout the jungle. All the tribes were astonished and began making their own plans.

Over those three days, Serea's speculation was confirmed: the Ailera Empire had withdrawn tens of thousands of troops from the front. Although they still clung to the idea of 'settling internal affairs before combating external threats' and hadn't formally submitted a peace proposal, this 'internal peace' would be challenging—at least in the short term, it wouldn't be easy.

Now the story shifts to the western territory of the Darkmoon clan, once one of Maregof's outposts, but now...

"Unlock! Crimson Bastion!"

She unlocked the building at the former outpost site, and the walls instantly became black. Though it was only a five-meter-tall wall, once upgraded to 'Crimson Bastion,' it was awe-inspiring.

So, the last outpost transformation was complete, and the residents could move in.

Looking at the not-large but safe outpost, the Crimson Moon fox tribe elder, ganf, quickly offered thanks.

"Thank you, queen Serea! My tribe shall remember such kindness forever!"

Ganf spoke and bowed deeply to express his gratitude.

"I'll accept your thanks, but don't forget—there's still payment due for the transformation."

"Yes, our tribe will immediately resume the herb gardens' operation. The various materials in our inventory will be delivered to the Queen first."

"Elder Ganf, you're forthright! I enjoy doing business with someone like you."

Serea smiled. Helping them restore the outpost only cost a few hundred Death Crystals, but she earned 200kg of rare herb ingredients in return. With monthly rent from the territory, that totaled 400kg of rare herbs, which, converted into potions, could be sold for plenty of Eastern Continent gold coins.

So satisfying!

Ganf was equally delighted.

Before long, escorted by the Skeleton Guard, the Crimson Moon fox tribe, who had been temporarily staying at the Darkmoon clan camp, arrived. Carrying large packs, they gazed at the tiny walled town ahead, eyes sparkling.

"Is that our new home?"

"Walls, with safe walls! Praise be to the Dragon Holy Maiden!"

The Crimson Moon fox tribe thanked her, falling to one knee before Serea.

"Thank you, dragon Holy Maiden! May the Dragon God be with you!"

To Serea, it was just a transaction, but to the Crimson Moon fox tribe, she was more than a savior—she was a messenger from the Dragon God, and, as the Dragon Holy Maiden, one of their faith's deities.

System: Gained Faith Crystal*82.

For the tribe's worship, elders like Ganf also bowed to express gratitude.

To Serea, however, such respect was a bit overwhelming.

"Let them rise, and make settling the tribe your priority."

"Yes, queen Serea."

Ganf relayed the order, and everyone got up and entered the outpost. Though 300 people made for cramped quarters, at least it was safe, impervious to zombie attack. In the future, they'd grow around this center, expand the walls, and establish a brand-new Crimson Moon fox tribe, starting today!

Just then, raven arrived carrying a letter from Tethys, saying the Trading Post urgently needed her.

Seeing this, Serea put away the letter and said,

"Now that you are settled, I'll take my leave. If you encounter any problems, come to the Darkmoon clan camp."

After a brief farewell, to ease communication, the Crimson Moon fox tribe's Holy Maiden Sahi was sent as an envoy to the Darkmoon clan camp. Yet Serea felt that this arrangement would not be so simple.

Thus, the Crimson Moon fox tribe settled down—but the impact was far-reaching...

......

Outside the Darkmoon clan camp, as of today, naoli and her companions had already been camped there for five days.

Although Queen Serea hadn't said anything during this time, if this continued...

"Commander Naoli, we're back."

Several elves rushed over. Seeing this, naoli quickly approached and asked,

"How much supplies did you find?"

At her words, the elves' expressions turned grim. After some shuffling, a male elf spoke up.

"We found the site of the undead wave from a few days ago, but the vehicles were destroyed. There's only this much uncontaminated grain..."

As he spoke, several dwarf and beastman companions set down bags of grain—at most a few hundred pounds.

"We can't even last a day. What about hunting results?"

"We have Queen Serea's permission to hunt, but with so many undead around, we only got about 50 pounds of meat over several days."

"That's nowhere near enough. If only our Queen were here..."

At the mention of their Queen, the usually proud elves bowed their heads and a look of grief spread across their faces.

As Naoli struggled, a distant voice rang out:

"Miss Naoli, so this is where you've been."

It was Doluka, who walked out the city gate, followed by several carts. Seeing the grain piled on the carts...

"You're..."

"Oh, the Queen instructed that, if possible, we should help you out. I heard you lacked food, so I brought some."

Hearing this, naoli opened her mouth, but the words "thank you, but no need" never came. She really couldn't refuse, so at last all she could do was...

"Thank you. We will never forget your kindness..."

The usual phrase "and will repay you double in the future" didn't come, since Naoli wasn't sure they even had a future left.

"I'll be heading back. If you need anything, come find us."

With these words, Doluka bid farewell and returned to the city.

"That's great, Captain Naoli—it's food!"

"We should thank the generous Queen Serea."

The elves chatted, and the dwarves eagerly moved the grain away. Today, at last, they could eat their fill—except...

"Yes, we should thank Queen Serea,"

Naoli said, raising her head to gaze at the nearby city wall.

The Elves were proud, but now the Darkmoon clan stood upon the high wall, while the Ailwen clan was cast outside, living on relief. Queen Serea may have treated all outsiders equally, but the vast psychological gap left Naoli unusually self-conscious.

At that moment, a bone dragon flew overhead. The Ailwen elves stood and respectfully watched it descend into the city. That was surely their benefactor, Serea.

Meanwhile, sahi and the fox tribe envoy, along with the Skeleton troops, had returned to the city. Recently, relations between the fox people and the refugee Ailwen elves had become friendly. When one elf went to greet them, he happened to learn the fox people's purpose for going out.

In that instant, the elf realized something. His expression changed slightly, and after excusing himself, he hurried back to find Naoli.

"Commander Naoli, I have important information!"

"What is it?"

"Generous Queen Serea helped the Crimson Moon fox tribe build a camp and gave them territory. Maybe she could help us too..."

"Put away those greedy thoughts that shame our race!"

Naoli snapped. "As elves, when we're given kindness, we should think of repaying it, not continually asking for more!"

"Oh come on, big Sis Naoli! I don't mean let Queen Serea do everything for nothing. Like you said, we should find ways to repay her. But if we just sit here, how will we ever repay her?"

"What do you mean, then?"

"Do you know why Queen Serea gave land and homes to the Crimson Moon fox tribe? Because they're producing alchemical herbs for her."

With that, naoli's eyes widened.

"Big Sis Naoli, think about it. Our people are skilled in cultivation; our grain and spice-breeding skills used to be the best in the alliance. Even though now... well, never mind, we still have the seeds in our packs, and the knowledge in our minds. So why not..."

He trailed off, and Naoli interrupted him.

"But you forget, without our Queen helping us channel a steady flow of natural energy, our knowledge and skills are useless."

"Big Sis Naoli, you've got it wrong! Queen Serea is an elf queen too!"

Upon hearing this, naoli first understood, then fell silent and deep in thought.

(To be continued...)

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