……

After reading the mission description, Matthew's eyes lit up.

He looked at the dead as those menacing cultists, and there was an indescribable taste in his eyes.

"I'll deal with them, let me see what the hell they are."

He made a casual excuse, and under Felivan's impatient gaze, he quickly walked towards the Blighted Cultists who had gathered near the Oak Wall.

"Weeds, pests, all be destroyed!"

The blighted cultists who rushed to the front shouted in a delirious voice, their eyes glowing with a cloudy yellow light, giving people a feeling of withering and decay.

Matthew's face did not change and strode forward.

He took off the glove of his right hand and stretched out his left hand to the enemies.

The "Throwing Gloves" given by Margaret glowed green.

Whoosh.

A blighted cultist was sucked into the palm of his left hand by Matthew.

The former was still showing his teeth and claws.

But when Matthew's pale hand gripped his bare arm mercilessly.

Just for a moment.

His body quickly lost its vitality and scattered on the ground like a pile of pulp.

"Huh?"

Matthew sensed the anomaly.

But instead of stopping to think, he launched a deadly attack on the enemies around him one after another.

The pale hand swept past like a broom.

As Matthew had a hunch.

These Blighters have a pitifully low resistance to summary death, and may even be negative.

The pale hand was like an autumn wind sweeping away leaves, easily taking the lives of most of the withered cultists.

But even so.

These cultists still look like they are not afraid of death.

It was accompanied by a beast-like roar.

More cultists rushed to the battlefield.

They came from all over and flocked to Matthew.

Matthew was also very calm when he saw this.

He maintains a certain kill frequency, and when he is about to get caught in the middle of the crowd.

He quickly opened an arbitrary door and came behind the cultists.

The next second.

Facing the dense withering cultists in front of him.

Matthew opened his mouth mercilessly:

"Woo~"

A strong wind whipped up.

A shrill whistling sound caused the air currents to tremble violently.

"Ability: Death Blaster"!

In a flash.

The shockwave of negative energy inflicted an indiscriminate attack on a large fan-shaped area in front of Matthew.

This time the effect is even more exaggerated.

All of the Blighted cultists hit by the shockwave shuddered, and their limbs and torsos melted like mud.

Soon.

There was only some very sparse blood mud left on the ground.

Matthew easily used his pale hand to take out the remaining fish that slipped through the net.

Only then did he spare his energy to examine the traces left by these witherers.

"It's not a normal life form anymore, it's like some kind of puppet spell."

Matthew bent down and gently twisted a ball of meat puree, rubbing his thumb and forefinger against each other.

The elements of life in these flesh and blood are nearly depleted.

This thing is worse than a body that has been persecuted by vampires.

It's not something that can be left over after death by normal life.

This is also in line with Matthew's previous judgment.

These "creatures" have negative resistance to instant-and-death spells, suggesting that they have only a small amount of life on them, which is well below the standard level.

"These blighters are not human, they are just puppets in human form."

Matthew came to a preliminary conclusion.

"Do you still need to say it?"

Vilien sneered:

"I told you a long time ago, didn't I? Do you have to waste time? ”

However, Matthew ignored her outright.

He walked silently among the clumps of blood.

The data bar is displayed.

In this wave, he killed a total of 72 Blighters.

This means that the quest requires the killing of this humanoid golem.

Matthew certainly wanted to know more about these puppets.

It's a pity that this wave of puppets was killed.

The vicinity of the Oak Wall fell silent immediately.

Matthew wandered around for a long time but didn't meet the second wave of blighters.

During this time, Hibbert followed him step by step.

The same is true for Vilien, of course.

It's just that she keeps scolding in her mouth.

Seeing this, Matthew also plans to leave.

And yet at this very moment.

He suddenly realized that a lot of the blood and mud in the place just now had disappeared!

There are obviously only three of them in this area.

Where did all that flesh go?

Think of it.

Matthew stared at one of the lumps of flesh.

Two minutes later.

Gradually, he discovered that the flesh was broken down by an invisible force, and finally penetrated the earth!

Matthew asked with a solemn face:

"Did you find out?"

Vilien didn't say anything, but there was more shock in her eyes.

Obviously, this woman, although verbose and arrogant, is not completely brainless.

She also noticed this detail.

Only Hibbert asked, stunned:

"What did you find?"

Matthew pointed to the earth:

"The land is polluted."

The next second.

He crouched down and pressed his hands to the ground.

"Ability: Balanced Perception"!

In a flash.

His eyes turned into a rainbow of black and white.

The Elemental Field, the Aether Field, the Elemental Field, and the Material Field, the entire space is divided into four levels, which are clearly displayed in front of Matthew.

Everything is normal at the elemental level, and the earth, fire, and feng shui are still working well.

There is some slight disturbance on the aetheric plane, but this is probably related to the ritual arena or the traces of the dead that the Druid altar has placed here;

The element field closest to the material plane is the collapse of the holes.

Matthew was shocked to find out.

The elements of this place are extremely unbalanced, not only are the elements of life almost gone, but the other basic elements of life are also in chaos and restless.

He calmed down to capture the direction of the flow of the elements of life.

One of them flows to a bottomless black hole, which is supposed to be the remnants of the Dead in the Watcher's Heights;

And in the other direction, behind the Oak Wall!

Obviously.

The druids were also extracting elements from the earth in order to protect something.

This is actually contrary to the usual practice of the druids.

Matthew doesn't know what they encountered.

But it had to be a very serious accident to make the usually conservative druids take risks.

"Why does the Earth Society want to extract the vitality of this land?"

Matthew asked Feliwen directly.

Because he knew that it would be difficult to get a serious answer to ask Hibbert.

Vilien sneered:

"Didn't you investigate it yourself?"

"Don't you have a finding in mind, do you still need to ask me?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulders and looked at Hibbert.

Hibbert suddenly said to Felivan:

"Answer Martin's question."

Vilien gritted her teeth angrily.

But under Hibbert's clear gaze.

She had no choice but to reply:

"As you can see, this land has been severely deteriorated, the source of which is the disappearance of the Holy White Deer."

"Holy White Deer"?

Matthew quickly realized the transcendence and sacredness of the word she was referring to.

"Is it the Soul of Nature here?"

He asked.

Feliwen nodded:

"The Holy White Deer was originally a member of the Earth Society, and he is also a powerful druid, but according to my investigation, he disappeared many years ago, and it was from that time that the Earth Society began to continuously draw people from all over the world, saying that it was to strengthen the defense of the underground sanctuary, and the ghost knows what they were doing secretly!"

"But I suspect that the shrinking of the Earth Society's defenses must have something to do with the disappearance of the Holy White Deer, and later, they even voluntarily abandoned Cross City, leaving only some of the druids to retreat to the Holy Oak District."

"And after that attack, there is not a single druid figure outside the Oak Wall, they only want to protect their own one-third of an acre, and they have no regard for the order outside, so the Cross City will become what we see."

Vilien looked down on the Druid Order in a variety of ways.

Matthew, however, pondered:

"For the druids, this kind of behavior is a serious violation of the way of nature, and it is worse than killing them."

"The reason why they made this choice is probably that the situation is really bad to a certain extent."

Vilien said indifferently:

"None of my business, I'm a mage, I just want to finish the mission and go home, by the way, why do you always speak from the side of the druid? Aren't you a mage? ”

"And having said so much, it's clear that you can end all this by killing the Blight King, even if you want to find other clues, you can also start from the Blight King, do you have to do these things?"

She stared at Matthew questioning.

Matthew smiled and didn't continue arguing with Felivan.

He purely uses Feliwen as a tool man, and the tool man is not easy to use to find Hibbert, as for her attitude, Matthew doesn't care at all.

"Let's go ahead and have a look."

He said to Hibbert.

Hibbert responded very obediently:

"Okay."

The two men walked forward in pairs.

Feliwin stomped her foot and followed angrily.

The group walked around the wall of oak trees.

Walk towards the Holy Oak tree, which symbolizes the headquarters of the Earth Society.

This holy oak tree is more than 500 meters long, and its presence can be clearly seen in any corner of Cross City.

It's just that at this time, there is an extra layer of golden veil on top of the holy oak tree.

It's hard to see.

The trio advanced about 50 meters.

Suddenly.

Matthew stopped.

There was a slight disconnect in the space ahead, which was captured by his perception.

Matthew looked down.

It was found that there was a shallow ravine on the ground, the edge of the ravine was full of burning marks, and in the center there was an aura of slaughter.

"I thought you'd hit the ritual arena headfirst."

Feliwin scoffed.

Matthew looked at the data bar quietly.

……

"Warning: You are approaching the ritual arena of the Earth Society, "Sword and Fire".

Knife and Fire (Defensive Ritual Ground): Anyone who crosses this ravine, unless the owner allows it, will be relentlessly attacked by Knife and Fire."

……

It is a heavy barrier of sword and fire to block the enemy's continued invasion.

And there seem to be quite a few similar barriers.

Matthew found many traces closer to the Holy Oak with the naked eye alone.

At this time.

A fox emerged from the grass next to it.

He sat on the ground on his hind legs, his forelimbs together like a human, and spoke the standard lingua franca:

"Please come back, three."

"No outsiders are welcome here."

Matthew realized that this was a druid, and immediately spoke:

"I'm a mage sent by the Silver Council to aid the Druids."

The fox blinked:

"I can feel your kindness, but I'm sorry that the Earth Society doesn't welcome any outsiders to enter, including the mages of the Seven Holy Alliance."

"In fact, the community has been very disappointed with your alliance, the two mages sent last time did almost nothing but do superficial work and left, and they also told us that the matter has been resolved, which caused us to neglect to take precautions, and it caused an even greater crisis."

"Maybe this was a misunderstanding, but the alliance did not give us enough support as the regulations signed by the two sides before, and did not make any compensation afterwards, and many members of the society have become disheartened with you, especially at this juncture, no one will welcome you, so, please go back."

The fox spoke politely.

But the rejection in his eyes was firm.

Vilien snorted coldly:

"I'll just say it, these druids can't communicate at all, and they blame us for their poor support."

The fox looked at her and did not speak.

Matthew tried another way to get started:

"I'm not only a mage sent by the Alliance, but also a friend of Eli, the Elder Tiger, and the most important purpose of my coming here besides investigating those cults is to know Eli's whereabouts."

The fox looked at him cautiously.

It seems to be determining if Matthew is lying.

"Do you have Eli's token?"

He asked.

Matthew thought for a moment, and after a moment, he took a little bit of the magic bag out of his magic bag and pulled out a pair of shorts with some hesitation.

He didn't have any token of Eli, and the shorts were Matthew's own.

Later, for a while, Eli had no clothes to wear, and Matthew used to lend him them.

It stands to reason that there should be Eli's breath on it...... Right?

Matthew wasn't really sure.

The fox popped out of the ceremonial arena, grabbed the shorts and sniffed hard.

In Vilien's complex and wary gaze.

The fox said very kindly:

"This is indeed Eli's underwear, sorry, it was such a faux pas just now, I didn't expect you to be Eli's boyfriend."

Matthew hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"Not really."

The fox looked like I understood:

"It's okay, people always have some prejudice against the Earth Society, they always think we're conservative, in fact we're conservative in some things, but we're also very open-minded in other things."

"Couples like you and Eli are not uncommon within the Earth Society."

Hear this.

Feliwin couldn't help but pull Rashbert's sleeve and whispered in his ear:

"Did you hear that, this man is also hungry for you!"

Hibbert looked confused and said:

"What do you mean?"

Matthew hastened to explain:

"Eli and I are just ordinary friends, my orientation is very normal, I like women."

The fox narrowed his eyes:

"I believe it."

Hibbert was still next to him and asked:

"What do you just mean? Can a man covet a man's body? ”

Matthew immediately interrupted him, and he asked the fox:

"Can you tell me where Eli went?"

"I just want to know this."

The fox pondered:

"Eli is missing, and before he disappeared, he offered to trouble the Whale Hunter Order, but he never returned."

"Later, there was gossip that the Elder Tiger had fallen into the hands of the Whale Hunter Boss, a very terrifying woman who had one of the best ways to train men."

"We druids have also chased Eli's trails, but his destination involves a terrifying subterranean space that seems to be the Scourge Order's sphere of influence, with a building site called the Dark Sanctuary."

"It was too dangerous for us to go any further."

Matthew nodded.

He knew about the Dark Sanctuary, which the drow warrior Lyra had told him, and that it was the headquarters of the Scourge Order, where a blonde man named Father was in control.

According to Leila's description, the man's strength was bottomless, at least half a foot into the realm of legend.

He was even able to speak directly to high-level beings such as Ucluz and the Midnight God.

Probably the most powerful sorcerer in the South!

"The last time Lyra wrote to her, she said that she was seriously injured, and it seems that it had something to do with the revival of the Scourge Order, but unfortunately she didn't leave many traces in the Overlord Heights, mostly operating underground."

Matthew thought to himself.

Like the Gold Prospector Basin, Oversee Heights has entrances to the Shadows.

The underground space here isn't as intricate as it is under Rolling Stone.

But in terms of depth, it is even better.

Matthew figured that if he wanted to find the information that Leila had left behind, he would have to go to the underworld.

"Can you tell me where to enter the underworld?"

"It would be nice if you could tell us the route to the Dark Sanctuary."

Matthew asked.

The fox shook his head, his expression a little hesitant:

"The dark forces of the underworld are on the rise like never before, and I advise you not to risk your lives."

"This attack on the Blight Order, the Scourge Order, and the Whale Hunter Organization at the headquarters of the Earth Society, these three forces have only penetrated into the surface of the earth, and in the underground world, they have even more terrifying forces, don't enter their territory, otherwise your life will be in danger!"

said.

He couldn't help but admonish:

"You're not the first to want to go to the underworld to trouble them.

The first group was a group of radical druids, Eli among them, and they were never returned;

Half a month ago, a troll warrior and a barbarian human also inquired from me, and then went to the dark world, but they were also not heard from;

I don't want a third group of victims. ”

Troll warriors and barbarian humans?

Matthew's eyes lit up.

Leila also mentions a troll warrior in her letter.

Such a combination is rare in the south, and it should be the same person.

This shows that Layla and Eli are indeed trapped in the underworld of Overwatch Heights.

"Thank you for the reminder, but as a team sent by the Alliance, we're going to enter the Underworld anyway, and even if you don't tell us where the exact entrance is, we'll spend a little more time looking for it."

Matthew said.

The fox sighed and told the three of them about the entrance to the nearest underworld.

Then he gave a rough idea of how to get to the Dark Sanctuary.

Matthew and the fox exchanged a bit more information.

Only then did he turn and leave.

"I'm going to go to the Traces of the Dead first, uh, have any of you two been there? Is it convenient to open a portal? ”

Matthew asks Hibbert and Felivan.

Hibbert shook his head blankly.

Vilien sneered:

"How dare you call us?"

"Do I want to give you a cup of milk tea?"

Matthew smiled slightly:

"Thanks, let's have a drink."

Vilien glared again.

Who knows the next second.

Hibbert scratched his head:

"I want a cup of sea salt and red dates."

"Another normal drink."

Vilien took a deep breath, took out a red rag and put it on her chest, then quickly ripped it open.

A faint magic rune flashed.

"Trick: Milk Tea Technique"!

The next second.

Two cups of steaming milk tea appeared in front of the two.

Hibbert reached out and grabbed a glass in one hand, then handed it to Matthew as normal.

Rao was mentally prepared.

Viliwen was still angry.

Matthew gloated over milk tea.

Hibbert looked at her:

"Would you like a drink for yourself?"

Fei Liwen was immediately flattered and said:

"No, no...... No need. ”

"I'm fine."

Her eyes suddenly became infinitely tender.

Hibbert nodded:

"Oh, then while we're drinking milk tea, you can open the door quickly."

The smile on Viliwen's face stiffened.

She turned her head sideways and gave Matthew a vicious look, but in the end, she could only open the portal honestly.

Matthew was smiling and drinking milk tea on the surface.

His eyes wandered back and forth between Hibbert and Feliven.

He was keenly aware that Hibbert had done it on purpose—

Hibbert noticed that Feliwen was a little targeted at Matthew.

He probably realized that this was not good, too.

So I wanted to make up for Matthew in this way.

This is where Hibbert's naivety lies.

He probably thought that this would be enough to balance the three of them.

But Matthew knew it in his heart.

Hibbert's doing so only exacerbated Felivan's dislike of herself.

Once or twice is ok.

After a long time, there will be trouble.

Think of it.

Matthew then thought of breaking up.

Originally, he still wanted to cooperate well with these two mages, but this small team had no tacit understanding, so it was better to disperse as soon as possible and do their own work.

"Milk tea is good."

Matthew is telling the truth.

Viliwen's milk tea has a silky and mellow taste, full of milky aroma, sweet but not greasy, giving people a very refreshing and warm feeling.

It was one of the few drinks he still wanted to drink.

This means that Fei Liwen is very accomplished in this kind of trick, and considering the other party's background, it is almost impossible for her to put too much energy into the trick.

Then there is only one possibility:

Vilien's talent is just as ridiculously high.

This is truly enviable.

No way.

People with high magical talents, even if they make milk tea with tricks, are more fragrant than those of ordinary mages.

Viliwen is also very efficient.

It didn't take a few seconds.

A portal to the Marks of the Dead opens.

The three of them walked over one after another.

What came into view was a raised hill.

The hill is in stark contrast to its surroundings, with the mountains or plains next to it being lush and full of greenery.

Only the brown hill was bare and ugly, like a baseball bat with a bump and pits.

This is the remnant of the traces of the dead.

The backbone of the Marks of the Dead runs from Rolling Stone through the southern part of the Jade Court and the Emerald Forest to the east near Gem Bay.

The rest of the South was not affected.

Only here in the Watchmen's Heights.

Suddenly, there was such a flying mark of the dead.

Its appearance is a puzzling thing in itself.

Matthew circled the protrusion.

The remnants of the Traces of the Dead are an irregular polygonal area of about 100 acres, with the edges slowly spreading outward.

But compared to the Traces of the Dead in Rolling Stone.

The activity of this bulge is not sufficient.

Matthew took a few steps closer, and a thick sleepiness hit him, but fortunately, his will was quite strong, and he was quickly exempted from this abnormal situation.

……

"Warning: You're approaching the ritual arena of the Earth Society, "Blue Veil Dream"

Blue Veil Dream: All creatures that enter or approach this ritual site will fall into a long slumber, during which your soul may wander into another world and embark on a series of wonderful adventures."

……

I see.

"Is this how the Earth Society seals the traces of the dead?"

"So the Druid Order has realized that the Marks of the Dead are a life, or a part of life, and that its expansion can be greatly slowed down by putting it to sleep."

Matthew looked admiring.

There is still no shortage of smart people in this world, and the methods of the Earth Association are quite reasonable, and if the "Blue Veil Dream" can continue to work, this strategy is even better than his own umbrella plan.

After all, there is no need to destroy the original environment.

However.

"The power of the ritual field is being weakened......"

"Someone has dropped a lot of blood and bones around here, and they're trying to awaken the Traces of the Dead!"

The group soon spotted carts at the foot of the hill.

Most of these small carts are scattered on the ground with a large number of corpses, including humans and other creatures.

"See? The Scourge Order is stepping up its efforts, and they want to completely activate this Trace of the Dead in order to cause even greater destruction. ”

Vilien said coldly:

"I've said it all, killing the Blight King first, and then going down the vine to find other clues, this is the quickest way!"

"What kind of messy whale hunters are there in the Scourge Order, the Blight Order, they are all raccoon dogs, and if they kill one of the others, they will pop up, isn't it very simple logic?"

Matthew sighed softly when he heard this.

Maybe Feliven was right.

But he really couldn't stand the tone of this woman's speech, even if he was a tool man, he felt like he was holding it at hand.

So he said earnestly to Hibbert:

"Sorry, I may need to be away for a while for some personal reasons."

"After this, regarding the matter of the Overden Heights, I will independently investigate, and if there is a final result, I will inform you."

Hibbert was stunned for a moment:

"Are you going to leave us behind?"

Matthew choked.

What kind of question is this?

Just as he struggled to organize the language, Feliwin finally broke out:

"So the old lady has been shopping with you for a long time, and you still don't want to go with me to kill the King of Withered?"

"I really am...... I'm! ”

"Hibbert, play with him yourself, the old lady goes to the Helen Mountains alone!"

said.

She slammed open a portal and disappeared in front of the two of them.

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

The world is quiet.

However, when he came back to his senses, he found that Hibbert was looking at him with a very clear look:

"Fei Liwen actually has a good intention, but like me, she doesn't know how to interact with people."

"What to say, did you notice that she had been wishing you to join her in slaying the Blight King?"

Matthew's heart moved, and he nodded.

Hibbert explains:

"Felivan is a very proud girl, she doesn't accept anyone but me, so if she just kills the Blight King, she will never think that she needs the help of anyone else."

"And the reason why she insisted on you going with her was actually because she was afraid that you would not receive the money from the Silver Council-

Do you understand what I mean, she's afraid that she'll solve all the problems by herself, and then you'll run for nothing, after all, the Silver Council is a dime a dozen, and if they find a flaw in the completion of the mission, your reward will definitely plummet. ”

"From her point of view, she just wants to take you through this task quickly."

"Trust me, she doesn't have any bad intentions for you other than looking down on you."

Hibbert's tone was sincere.

Matthew smiled understandingly:

"I probably understand, if Vilien is really what you said, then I did misunderstand her."

"But I also hope that you will understand these days that respect for others is not a luxury."

"If we had changed the way we communicated, we might have been able to do so for a longer time."

Hibbert smiled bitterly:

"Sorry, I'm learning."

Matthew patted him on the shoulder:

"It's okay, we can do our own thing, maybe we can get the same results with our own investigations."

Hibbert nodded:

"Definitely, both of you will surely find the same end."

Matthew looked at him curiously:

"What about you?"

Hibbert sat down on the ground:

"I'm waiting for the finish line to come to me."

……

After separating from Hibbert, Matthew returned to the Cross City.

In a small alley, he and Peggy meet.

"How's it going over there?"

Matthew asked.

Peggy sighed:

"A group of homeless children, becoming pickpockets may be their best fate, and they will almost be lured into becoming cultists."

"I heard that the druids here used to take care of them, but the situation has changed and they have been displaced because of it."

Matthew nodded solemnly.

His instincts told him.

The three evil organizations that converge on the Watcher Heights are not so simple.

Vilien does things with the arrogance unique to academic mages.

There is a high probability that she will suffer as a result.

is different from her rushing to the door to kick the gym.

Matthew chose a different path.

"For a while, you two try to pretend to be vicious."

He told Peggy and Bing.

Peggy patted her chest confidently:

"No problem, we don't look like good people!"

Ah Bing also twisted his hips confidently.

The next moment.

Matthew changed into a cloak and walked out of the alley with two skeletons.

Walked along the street for a while.

He came to a spot surrounded by a large number of people.

Push away the crowd in front.

Matthew said to the member of the Scourge Order who was surrounded in the middle:

"I heard you're hiring?"

"Do you need a necromancer?"

……

(End of chapter)