The Linde worm, which had already been forced by the roots to maneuver, seized this opportunity very well. It flicked its tail and threw Ace in the nearest place where the roots were most densely covered.

Like a kitten seeing a butterfly, the silver tendrils paused for a moment, then pounced on As. And the roots, which were farther away, also turned around as if they had been commanded, and wriggled towards As.

As's first instinct was to jump up and run away, but the tendrils around him, like a poisonous snake raising its head, stood upright and stabbed at him fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, Ace's whole body was inserted with hundreds of tiny "needles". The needles swayed and slowly turned bright red.

Poor Ass lost all his strength, and he opened his mouth weakly to speak, but immediately four or five tendrils pierced his tongue.

Ever since Catherine took over just now, the old professor hadn't stopped taking notes. But then he put down his pen and said to Catherine, "You're not going to kill him, are you?"

"Lindworm, get him up. Catherine held her chin and watched for a moment, "If he dies, I'll tear your soul apart and put his soul into your body." ”

"Dear master, you're not kidding, are you, why didn't you say it earlier!" said the Lind worm in an anxious tone, shaking its tail and spinning above As, "these roots are not something to be messed with. ”

The Linde worm seemed to be worried, and its tail turned and turned, but it never fell. Below he was a little shriveled, and his whole body was almost completely covered with roots, and even seven or eight of his fingernails had been drilled into them.

"I feel his breath of life weakening rapidly, what are you waiting for?" Catherine frowned.

The tail of the Linde worm changed several directions one after another, but always hesitated to move forward.

"Master, can't touch. If you touch the small one, you will provoke the big one. They will keep an eye on my breath, and the Lord of War is unlucky. Linde said in a crying voice.

"You're useless, I'm disappointed. Catherine's face was a little gloomy. She looked at As, who was wrapped in roots, and bit her lip inadvertently.

Suddenly, Catherine raised her right hand, palm facing up, her fingers naturally flexed. The female mage squirmed her lips slightly, as if she was silently chanting something. A few seconds later, black flames began to condense from her five fingertips.

But the five black flames were very small, not even as big as a grain of wheat. They throbbed restlessly, as if trying to escape from Catherine's fingertips.

The female mage's pupils gradually glowed golden. As if sensing some kind of threat, the Black Flames struggled desperately, instantly swelling to the size of their fingernails. It's just that the next moment, they quickly converge again, like bed bugs that have been pinched and flattened by someone, and under the irresistible force, they have been crushed into a thin piece.

Catherine's breathing slowly grew heavier, and the thin flakes of black flame that hovered on her fingertips began to grow black threads on either side.

The threads seemed to have been carefully pulled out of the cocoons, floating in the air, gradually elongating, and soon the two joined together. So on Catherine's fingertips, an inconspicuous ring of black fireworks appeared. The faint flame was thin and weak, and it seemed to dissipate with a casual breath.

Catherine's face had turned very pale at some point, and her forehead was covered with fine sweat. She gasped for breath and flicked her wrist to flick the black flame ring into the air. The ring of fire fluttered like a feather and slowly expanded. The originally faint flames became fainter and fainter, and gradually disappeared into the air and became invisible.

However, the Linde worm nervously retracted its tail and did not dare to move. On the contrary, the old professor seemed to be able to see invisible objects, and he subconsciously couldn't help but praise "amazing, amazing".

At this time, Catherine's eyes seemed to lose focus and appeared dull. And the fingers of her right hand were dancing rhythmically, as if manipulating the invisible threads.

"Lindworm, quick!" Catherine clenched her fists, "lift him up." ”

Around As's body on the ground, a circle of black flames suddenly appeared. The flames didn't know what they touched, but they burned violently. Not only did they burn violently, but they also contracted inward at a rapid pace, disappearing beneath As.

With a speed that was almost indiscernible to the naked eye, the Linde worm quickly swept Ace off the ground. The roots, which should have been densely packed, did not leave a trace under As's body, and some were just a bare red surface.

Ace was gently placed by the Linde worm beside Catherine. This originally sturdy warrior was noticeably smaller, and his exposed skin was covered with the ends of his roots that had turned red.

The fractured surfaces of these roots are charred black, and crystallization occurs that can only be produced by high-temperature combustion.

However, the roots have not lost their vitality, and the remaining parts of As's body are still writhing and trembling. The goblin walked over to Ace with interest and took a closer look.

"I didn't expect that even the Demon Flame couldn't burn them clean, and the vitality was really tenacious. The old professor exclaimed.

Catherine's eyes were half-squinted, and she looked very tired. She pulled herself together and reached out to pluck a whisker from As's tongue.

This action made Ace's face delighted, and he gave two more hard glances, motioning for Catherine to dispose of the other little things on his tongue as well.

It's a pity that Catherine didn't mean to help him at all. The female mage pinched the small piece of whisker in her hand and lazily raised it in front of her to look at it.

"It's not as fragile as you think, but it's extremely resilient. And that's just the tiniest part of the roots. Catherine thought to herself.

The little tendrils writhed desperately between her fingers, like a thin worm pinched by its tail. Feeling unable to break free of Catherine's grasp, it stabbed the female mage's finger hard.

Catherine immediately felt a tingling sensation in her fingertips, and her whole finger became numb. Little Root Beard took the opportunity to break out of her grasp and fell on Catherine's palm. It continued to roll and writhe for a few moments before it gradually lost its vitality and stood still.

Catherine stretched out her other hand and pressed it against the small tendril. "Click", a very small crisp sound suddenly sounded, and the small roots were broken into two. A small amount of blood spilled from the fracture, and the two tendrils returned to their original silvery-white color.

"Hardening. The old professor was already standing beside Catherine at some point.

He stroked his beard and said, "This is a sign of dehydration, which means that these roots will dehydrate quickly and naturally when they break away from their body." Interestingly, I always thought that this property was unique to some marine plants. For example, after the magic sea coral algae leaves the seawater, it will dehydrate and harden within a few minutes. Is there any connection between these two plants?"

"Professor, it seems that you don't know the root cause of plant dehydration and hardening. Catherine stuck out the tip of her tongue and licked the blood that had spilled from her palm and her whiskers.

"Why, do you know why?" asked the goblin in surprise as he pulled the encyclopedia from his body and prepared to record it.

"These are some of the basics of alchemy. Catherine pursed her lips, as if savoring the taste of the blood.

The goblin immediately wrote, "Alchemical knowledge, this one is definitely worth writing down." ”

Catherine propped up one leg and rested her head on her knee in a somewhat indecent posture, her eyes narrowing almost into a line.

"Dehydration is related to solubility. If we can get back to the surface, I can find some books for you to see. The reason why these roots are dehydrated is because the blood solubility of the ace is too high. There is a proverb in the underworld. 'There is lava flowing in the demon's body'. Ace devoured the golden shaman's eyeballs, and his blood contained the breath of demonic energy. Although these breaths are very weak, for these roots, without the support of the ontology, dehydration is inevitable. ”

"There's still this kind of knowledge in alchemy? Why haven't I noticed it. "Could it be that mankind has made a new breakthrough in alchemy?" As far as I can remember, alchemy was only a branch developed based on metallurgy, and there were no outstanding achievements in the academic field. However, the achievements of the dwarves in metallurgy are very high. It's a pity that they don't like to write books, so there is no theoretical system for dwarven metallurgy. ”

"Hmm, the dwarven metallurgy you mentioned has been dying out along with the dwarven civilization for tens of thousands of years. Their so-called alchemy, which is limited to the study of the properties of metals, and modern human alchemy are two different concepts. Catherine yawned.

"Remember that Busso in Mos, who was a real human alchemist who could refine puppets for war, or the artificial mist spirit I cast, a mimic magical lifeform created through alchemy. These are all incomparable to dwarven alchemy. Of course, I'm not belittling the four ancient civilizations. But a large number of their achievements, except for some preserved by the elves, almost nothing remained. Including you, a goblin university scholar, I'm afraid it's the last one. ”。

"How so?" the old professor looked up at Catherine, but the mage was too tired to close her eyes.

He muttered to himself, "How could I be the last, I remember the others." What's the problem? There are other people, who else?"

The old professor was very confused, and he paced back and forth beside Ace with his head in his hand, and he muttered words in his mouth. Ace's eyes flickered, but the goblin was completely immersed in his own thoughts. On Catherine's side, there was a slight snoring.

"Hehehe, useless guy. The tail of the Linde worm moved to Ace's ear and made a small sound, "The master actually spent so much energy for you. You should be ashamed of your incompetence. But fortunately, you have a big life, so you won't let me bury you. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine what it would be like for the soul of an incompetent creature like you to enter my body. This would be an indelible shame for the great Linde Bug clan. ”

Ass was paralyzed, unable to answer or react. But Lindebug's words were so harsh that he felt that he was indeed acting too weak. Just the roots of some plants almost cost him his life.

Ace had sworn to protect Catherine. But at the moment, he can't do anything, and even self-preservation has become a problem. And this Linde worm, who somehow became Catherine's servant, was much more useful than himself. Ace felt a sense of crisis like never before, as if Lind Worm was gradually taking his place in Catherine's mind.

"Lindeworm, what's going on there?" As if to confirm As's thoughts, Catherine woke up again, and she first asked Linde Worm about it.

"Ah, dear master, the Great Being seems to have finished eating. ”