Chapter 364 - 332: Spiritual Weapon

Chapter 364: Chapter 332: Spiritual Weapon

The Green Highlands, border region.

Dawn peeked over the eastern ridge, dyeing the slope in pale gold.

Una sat cross-legged on a flat gray rock at the edge of the slope. Propping her chin on one hand, she stared in utter boredom at the Water Curtain floating in the air before her. The projection stood half a person tall, its edges shimmering with a faint cyan luster. The image shifted smoothly, following the flight perspective of a Mirror Shadow Sparrow, capturing the entire landscape where the hills met the plains.

From this altitude, every detail of the main road was crystal clear. An occasional wild hare darted through the grass, quickly vanishing into the depths of the withered vegetation. At Una’s feet, a Radiant Feathered Falcon crouched on a patch of dry grass between the rocks. Half-asleep, it occasionally tilted its head to preen the feathers at the base of its wings with its hooked beak, looking lazy and content.

Una stared at the Water Curtain for a while longer before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"If I knew this mission was gonna be this boring, I wouldn’t have taken it. I should’ve gone to the Dark Nether Realm. At least there I’d get to fight subterranean creatures every now and then."

Hearing this, the squad members behind her exchanged helpless glances. Captain Una truly lived up to her status as Lord Roman’s disciple; her bellicose nature was practically carved from the same mold. Of course, they only dared to think this. No one had the guts to say it to her face.

Morrek scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Nothing we can do about it, Captain. Ever since our Clan wiped out the Steel Mane Tribe, most of the Slave Hunting Teams haven’t dared to show their faces around here. We used to get into a scrap every few days, but now we’re lucky if we run into one or two a month."

Ever since news of the Steel Mane Tribe’s annihilation spread, the most overjoyed group—aside from the Half-Elves—was probably the Golden-backed Ape-man tribe. Their previous Clan Leader had died in battle while being hunted by the Steel Mane Tribe. Following that battle, the Golden-backed Ape-men suffered devastating losses. Forced to abandon their ancestral territory, they fled south, only to fall into a Slave Hunting Team’s trap on the Tide Sound Plain.

The memories of that time remained vivid in Morrek’s mind. The Ape-man youth harbored a deep-seated hatred for both the slavers and the Steel Mane Tribe. Fortunately, those dark clouds had finally dispersed. The crushing weight that once pressed down on them had been uprooted by the Silver Moon Race with devastating ease, and the Slave Hunting Teams that used to hound them relentlessly had long since vanished without a trace.

Whenever he thought about this, an indescribable sense of security swelled in Morrek’s heart, deepening his sense of belonging to the Clan.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the rolling silhouettes of the hills to land on a faintly visible checkpoint in the distance. Outside the checkpoint, figures could occasionally be seen walking along the main road in twos and threes. They were families carrying assorted bundles and luggage—Half-Elves flocking here to seek refuge.

Morrek’s squad, along with several other small temporary camps scattered among the hills, were reception points set up by the Clan to receive these Half-Elves. According to standard procedure, the refugees would undergo verification at the checkpoint before being guided to the camps for temporary settlement, where they would wait for subsequent Flying Ships to transport them.

Morrek withdrew his gaze, letting it rest on Una’s back. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion. Unlike him, Una was already a formal disciple of Taichu City—and a personal disciple of Lord Roman, no less. Among her batch of initiates, Una’s talent and strength ranked in the top ten, and she easily secured a spot in the top three among disciples from the Vassal Races. As for first place, that naturally belonged to Ivy, who possessed the Taiyin Body.

The thought of Ivy stirred a complex, inexplicable emotion in Morrek’s heart. Ever since her Spirit Body was discovered, she had moved into the Inner City of Taichu City, and they had barely seen each other since. He could only occasionally hear her name mentioned in passing conversations.

Rumor had it that Ivy had refined Spiritual Qi early on and was already at the Late Stage of Qi Refining. Her rate of improvement was unmatched among the younger generation of the Clan. Even Captain Una fell short in comparison.

Meanwhile, he still hadn’t become a Taichu City disciple. Even though his Spirit Root had been detected before participating in the aptitude test, he hadn’t accumulated enough Contribution Points yet. Compared to Ivy, the level he was currently at was undoubtedly lagging far, far behind.

Morrek took a deep breath, suppressing that subtle trace of bitterness deep down. He looked up and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a low gasp of surprise from Una.

"What’s wrong?" Morrek stood up instinctively and looked at the Water Curtain.

Una didn’t turn around. She simply reached out and tapped a corner of the projection. The Water Curtain immediately zoomed in, clearly displaying a shadowed area cast by a patch of low shrubs on the eastern side of the hills. Over a dozen figures were moving stealthily along the shadows of the rock wall.

Their movements were extremely cautious. They deliberately lightened every footstep and kept their bodies low, using the rocks and withered shrubs along the way to conceal their silhouettes. They would occasionally pause to listen to their surroundings, only continuing forward once they confirmed it was safe.

What was even more noteworthy was the extremely faint blur around the edges of their figures, as if they were being viewed through a damp veil. From a slightly farther distance, their presence would have been completely overlooked. It was obvious that they were using some sort of Magic to conceal their figures.

Unfortunately for them, the Mirror Shadow Sparrows currently used by the Clan were all Spirit Beast breeds cultivated and improved by the Beast Garden. Their average capabilities far exceeded those of ordinary Mirror Shadow Sparrows, even granting them a certain ability to see through illusions.