harleyscars Page 370
Page 370
Spike's mind went blank. The shock of this scene was comparable to discovering that twenty goblins had broken into his house, and he rushed in to save his wife only to find that the goblins wanted to rape him... It was like a nightmare.
"Yo, high mage, having a good dream?"
Suddenly, a burly man in a hood appeared in front of Spike. He crouched down slightly, a dim grin peeking out from under the hood. Without any threat, he asked calmly:
"What stage has the Floating Island family's exploration of the Herod Ruins reached?"
Chapter 368 Descendants of the Elves
"This is Qingjin Village..."
Latis and Artemis stopped in front of a village monument, glanced at the words on it, looked at each other for a moment, and nodded.
Based on the information provided by Spike, who was physically ruptured, Latis finally figured out the situation in this area.
It turned out that after the news of the Herod Ruins' appearance spread, the lower floating islands immediately reacted, sending a large number of mages to search for it. Spike said that they even temporarily suspended their activities in Dragonhorn Territory because of this.
However, the search was extremely difficult. The lower-class families not only had to be wary of each other, but also had to negotiate with the Norard mages who happened to be passing by and had come to join in the fun. There were even a dozen or so unfortunate warriors in the forest who had gotten separated from the main group of the warriors' tour. For a time, the entire Qingjin Village was in complete chaos.
They searched for a day or two in this chaotic situation, and by chance, they obtained some information from the villagers of Qingjin Village who were returning from hunting.
The villager said he had witnessed a very strange sight in the vicinity. During a rabbit hunt, the rabbit disappeared into a clump of grass. After searching for the rabbit without success, the villager had no choice but to give up and emerged from the grass.
However, once they emerged, the forest was no longer the same. Enormous tree roots seemed to have burst forth from the void, reaching across the sky and completely obscuring the gaps between the tree canopies. Before the villager, clusters of magical plants, shimmering with a crystalline green light, bloomed along the familiar forest path.
The villager instinctively wanted to go forward and take a look, but as soon as he took a step forward, countless shimmering butterflies, birds, snakes, and frogs instantly filled his vision. He fell down in terror, and when he stood up again, the scene from before was gone.
The villagers naturally didn't understand things like the Herod Ruins, but after hearing the rumor, the floating island families looked at each other blankly, and then slowly revealed a bitter expression.
Because if what the villagers said is true, then searching aimlessly like this would be completely useless. After all, the scene described by the villagers is very much in line with knowledge that mages are very familiar with: demiplane.
A demiplane is a space attached to the main plane. They attract each other but are not connected. Only when the spaces overlap can a passage be created. The scene that the villager saw perfectly illustrates the spectacle of objects merging together when demiplanes occasionally overlap.
Latis had some understanding of demiplanes, because he had seen the demiplane of Dragon Valley in his simulated memories. At that time, Thefal persuaded the old dragons of Dragon Valley to build a demiplane passage in the territory of the mage Herod. As long as one entered that demiplane passage, one could reach Dragon Valley in an instant.
As for the subsequent back-and-forth between him and the old dragons, we won't go into that. The old dragons in real life haven't crossed paths with him yet, and we don't know how they will meet in the future.
In short, after learning that the Herod Ruins appeared in the form of an unstable demiplane, the lower-level families felt that continuing the search would only be a bottomless pit. So they temporarily set aside their conflicts and held a meeting overnight to confirm a new plan.
The new plan is the so-called takeover plan, in which one family takes over and searches each day, while the other families are stationed nearby to wait for the messenger from the family in charge that day. Once the demiplane appears, they will receive the messenger and then move into the demiplane together to drag out the Herod Ruins before deciding on ownership.
This new solution immediately freed up the crowded space, and with fewer minor conflicts, the magical fluctuations of the Herod Ruins would be easier to detect should they appear.
Other families are not afraid that the family in charge that day will enter the demiplane alone. After all, the unstable demiplane has a very high risk factor. Even if the family that day survives to take it, they will not survive to bring it home.
After learning all this, Latis kindly healed Spike's injuries, who was barely breathing, and then gave him a physical memory erasure.
Although he is a minor supporting character, Ra is not a bloodthirsty person. He would only send them to meet the goddess if they were an organization that committed heinous crimes, like the Black Hats.
The others only suffered minor injuries such as fractures at most, so Latis didn't bother to waste time and left directly.
Strangely, Sin Nuri, who had been kicked in the head by Ryoma and lost his mind, started talking incoherently in fear as soon as he saw their hooded coats, as if he had some kind of PTSD attack.
Latis was completely bewildered, and the half-elf was equally clueless. She had long forgotten about the nobleman who had been startled and overturned by her accidental fright.
After each of them performed a memory erasure, the two resumed their journey and finally arrived in Qingjin Village.
"Big brother, look."
The half-elf pointed with some surprise to a stall at the village entrance. Latis looked in the direction she was pointing and was also slightly surprised.
The vendor appeared to be selling healing potions; the vendor was currently pounding the medicine, while several customers sat on tree stumps by the roadside, waiting in line.
The stall itself wasn't particularly surprising; it was just a typical stall selling supplies at the entrance of a dungeon. However, what surprised them was that the stall owner and his customers were all descendants of pointy-eared elves.
Latis had long known that there were many descendants of elves in this world, but this was the first time he had seen so many of them gathered together.
These people, though called descendants of elves, are practically human. The elven bloodline within them is at most one-thirty-second, and they feel almost no connection to nature. Their physical development isn't limited by bloodline concentration like elves; instead, it follows the natural growth trajectory of humans, and their lifespan is almost identical to that of ordinary people.
Humans with features of other races are not uncommon. In the territory of the Kingdom of Norard, there are mainly descendants of elves with elven features and descendants of dwarves with dwarven features. The former are usually pointed ears and tall bodies, while the latter have slightly dark skin and strong hands.
As for other regions, such as the Kingdom of Andora, there are many humans with demon bloodlines. It is not surprising to see beast ears and tails on them, but they are still human, only they can be considered natural-born bloodline warriors.
"I wonder what they're doing here. Let's go take a look." Latis took Atelius's wrist and slowly approached the vendors at the village entrance.
"Excuse me." He stopped in front of the stall, scratched his head, and asked:
"We just arrived in Qingjin Village today, hoping to find the legendary ruins. Does anyone here have any information to share?"
"Huh?" The stall owner turned around and glanced at Latis. Just as he was about to send him away, he suddenly felt a faint sense of familiarity with the hooded man behind Latis, as if he could tell at a glance that he was a good person. So the stall owner hesitated for a moment and then did not refuse their approach.
He pondered for a moment, then, while taking the crushed medicine from the stone mortar and soaking it in a boiler that had not yet been lit, he asked:
"Did you two just arrive in Qingjin Village today? If I remember correctly, the Nuli family should have taken over this area today. It's really not easy for you to have managed to sneak in unscathed."
"Ah, um, we didn't encounter any Nuri family members..."
Latis recalled the high-ranking mage he had nearly killed with a single blow, coughed awkwardly, and asked:
"Could it be that the injuries on these guests were inflicted by this damned Nuri family?"
The stall owner glanced at the customers resting on the tree stump, shook his head, and said:
"Not entirely. Many of them were injured by monsters while searching for ancestral ruins, so they had to return to the village to rest temporarily. The floating island families injured many adventurers a few days ago, but now that they have taken turns taking over, there haven't been any major disputes."
"Ancestor relics?" Latis asked curiously.
"Is this the Herod Ruins?"
"Hmm...yes." The stall owner opened the boiler, stirring the medicinal soup with a tool resembling a strainer, and said hesitantly:
"I told you two because you both seem kind. Our ancestors were once protected by the elves, but as we lived among humans, our bloodlines gradually faded. However, we always remembered that kindness. So, after the rumors about this ruin appeared, we decided to come here to search for the last remaining traces of the fallen city of Herod..."
Latis was filled with respect and quickly said:
"But isn't this too dangerous? After the rumors started, this area is bound to be a mixed bag. Aren't you worried about your safety?"
"Of course I'm worried," the stall owner said, scratching his head. He put down his strainer, leaned back against his stall, and sighed.
"However, we don't actually have any strong combat power, so we definitely can't participate in those kinds of fierce battles. We can only try our luck in deserted areas... Hehe, thinking about it this way, it's probably unlikely that it will be our turn to reclaim the ancestral ruins. Sigh."
"...Actually, it's good that everyone is alright." Latis shook his head, glanced at the resolute expressions on the faces of the elven descendants resting on the tree stump, thought for a moment, and swallowed back the words of persuasion he had intended to use to turn them away.
"if……"
Artemis suddenly stepped forward from behind Latis and asked:
"If a powerful force were to take the Herod Ruins, what would you do then?"
"Well..." The stall owner scratched his head, seemingly unable to think of an answer for the moment.
However, the elven descendants around him who were waiting for their medicine raised their hands and asked:
"Brothers, I reckon you're probably descendants of elves too?"
“Yes.” Artemis nodded.
The elven descendants exchanged smiles and said loudly:
"Let me put it this way: if they are a good force, we'll ask if we can join them; if they are a neutral force, we'll observe for a while and see if we can settle down nearby; if they are a bad force, we'll fight them to the death!"
"so……"
Artemis touched herself slightly, twirled her sleeve, turned her head, looked at Latis with her azure eyes, and blinked gently.
"Huh?" Latis, with perfect understanding, guessed what Arte wanted to say. He pondered for a moment, looked at the stall owner, and asked:
"Boss, we're planning to explore the area first. Is there anything we should be aware of?"
"If it's just the two of you... it's best to avoid the floating island family's group." The sound of the boiling medicine made the stall owner rush to turn off the fire, ladle out the medicine, and pour it into a container that looked like a dispensing pitcher.
He breathed a sigh of relief, took out the healing medicine bottle, and said thoughtfully:
"According to rumors, the ancestral ruins may be located about ten kilometers north of the center of Qingjin Village. Near there, we have cleared out an elven camp from decades ago, where you can rest for a while."
“Okay.” Latis nodded, then smiled and said:
"I've heard that there's a new power emerging recently, called Titania City. The city lord is a very good person and is planning to recruit residents to establish a territory."
"……Eh?"
The stall owner, holding the medicine bottle, looked bewildered. Just as he was about to ask something else, he saw the two hooded figures, one large and one small, turn and leave.
“Titania…” he muttered under his breath, frowning. Suddenly, he noticed a flower that had fallen onto the stall. Curious, he picked it up and was about to put it aside when a jolt in his blood made him shudder, and he cried out in alarm:
"This is... elven magic?!"
……
……
"According to them, it really does feel like finding a needle in a haystack..."
Latis frowned slightly. Although he had a magic radar that could detect the magic fluctuations when a demiplane appeared, he couldn't just stay there and wait for them to come to him. That would be too passive, and he might not be able to avoid the floating island families.
"It's alright, brother, I have a way."
Artemis suddenly smiled and took out a cross-shaped hourglass object from the dimensional gap, placing it flat in her hand.
"Huh? This looks... kind of familiar?" Latis stroked his chin, quite certain that he had seen this thing somewhere before.
"This is an antique that Teacher Yin wanted to give you! Ever since she moved to the Mage Territory, I've been looking after those antiques with her. I brought it with me before I came out!"
Artemis smiled gently. Even for her, Silver Hugh's existence was already very important. This teacher was almost more attentive than Artemis in life. For example, she was still wearing a sweater that Silver Hugh had knitted by hand.
She gently poured a little magic into the hourglass, and instantly the sand in the hourglass began to gather in one direction.
"This hourglass can detect the location of nearby elven camps. Its essence is the resonance of elven magic, so it can completely detect the magical fluctuations of the Herod Ruins emanating from the air!"
Artemis took Latis's hand, smiled excitedly, and said:
"Big brother, let's go!"
Chapter 369 The Ruins of Herod City Appear!
"How could the Herod Ruins create an unstable demiplane? It's truly amazing..."
"Otherwise, how could Herod City have maintained its top ranking among the floating islands for over half a century? A single ruin can spark a fierce competition across the entire lower-level floating islands—that's true strength!"
"However, there seems to be no movement on the middle and upper floating islands."
"Because they know this site is difficult to utilize, and they are all established families. It would be too beneath them to compete with the nouveau riche from the lower classes for something."
"Difficult to use? What do you mean?"