Chapter 948: Dark Demon, Blood, Keys, and Disappearances (19k)
In its enraged state, the [Birgion] prioritizes attacking targets it deems “evil.”
Moreover, it can gather sacred grass-type energy to form a glowing, green-haloed long horn above its head, known as the Birgion’s Holy Sword!
Fury of Justice combined with the Holy Sword.
The maximum attack power of the Birgion can suddenly increase from 4000 points to 10700 points.
Immediately after it appeared, Dark attached the Rock Sword to his back. Then, he stretched out his hand, and silver-white light flowed from the Moon Goddess Mirror, forming a Moon Goddess Bow in his palm!
This Moon Goddess Bow was purely condensed magic power, fully connected to his body, avoiding unnecessary mana consumption but not enhancing the Moon Goddess Arrow’s attack.
Dark held the bow with his left hand, and placed his right hand on the string. The mana surged, and the Moonlight transformed into a Moon Goddess Arrow in his right hand.
The arrow was already set, pulled back abruptly.
That [Green Angel] charged forward like a madman, and he shot an arrow at extremely close range!
This arrow directly hit the Green Angel’s forehead, causing an instant mental shock that made it fall into a dazed state!
The Moon Goddess Arrow’s mental shock could stun the target for 0.5-5 seconds, with the duration depending on the strength of their mental powers.
Dark observed and found that these Green Angels had very limited mental strength.
With this one arrow, it truly stunned it for three whole seconds!
During these three seconds, the Birgion could raise its Holy Sword and dismember it.
The entire battle process wasn’t much suspenseful.
It was just about attracting hate, tanking damage, stunning control, and bursting down the enemy in an instant.
Dark took on the first three tasks, while the last task was completed by the Birgion.
Thanks to the Green Angels’ defenses not being too high, they were easily slain by the Birgion alone.
However, the enraged Birgion was not easy to handle. After slaying the Green Angel, it smelled something new it deemed “evil” and rushed towards the flower core direction.
Though Dark felt helpless, he still took out a Truth Ball and sealed the Green Angel’s head inside, summoning a golem to carry both the Truth Ball and the Green Angel’s body back.
After handling it properly, Dark looked toward the flower core. While he was battling the sixth Green Angel, three more Green Angels within the flower core had completed their transformations.
Of these three Green Angels, one was immediately led away by Gwen. The other two fell into the hands of the Bride of Stormwind City! Professor Shylph continuously guided them through telepathy, allowing the Bride to handle the two Green Angels skillfully.
On the other side, the Twin Sacred Knights had already dealt with one Green Angel.
Together, they accomplished their task in minimal time.
But when they finished and looked towards Dark Demon’s direction, they were shocked to find Dark had also taken care of one Green Angel.
Thus, only six Green Angels remained.
Albert and Emily exchanged glances and then split up, one flying towards Gwen and the other towards the Bride of Stormwind City.
This competition didn’t allow mutual attacks, but there was no rule against snatching each other’s prey – in fact, snatching prey was the core of this contest.
The Twin Sacred Knights split up to take advantage of their numbers.
Emily Grantham flew towards Gwen, still accompanied by the Dull Angel.
But before she arrived, the Birgion had already attacked, smelling the “evil” scent.
Dark had lost control over it and didn’t want to force it to stop.
“I hope the Birgion can delay a bit longer,” Dark thought, returning to the flower core.
The green jade liquid in the flower core was problematic; the human-shaped figures could no longer transform.
Dark quickly identified the issue, swinging the Rock Sword to swiftly kill part of the human-shaped figures.
He had Fossil Skin and the passive effect of Divine Rank Armed, fearless against human-shaped attacks, making him adept at eliminating them.
Killing those human-shaped figures and returning them to the green jade liquid gave the remaining ones a chance to transform.
Thus, the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Green Angels transformed successfully.
Facing three Green Angels, Dark showed no intention of retreating.
He saw Emily Grantham entangled with Gwen, while the Birgion attacked the Green Angels fiercely.
Albert Grantham was entangled by the Bride of Stormwind City, unable to escape.
As before, while mutual attacks were prohibited, actions outside of attacking weren’t.
Under Professor Shylph’s manipulation, the Bride of Stormwind City perfectly restrained Albert Grantham and the two Green Angels.
At this moment, the Twin Sacred Knights and Gwen couldn’t break free, leaving Dark to face three Green Angels alone.
Next, solving these three Green Angels would secure at least fifty percent of the Divine Blood.
And for each additional Green Angel defeated, he would gain an extra drop of Divine Blood.
Could he defeat the three Green Angels? Of course!
“Fossil Pterodactyl – Ancient Power!”
Dark single-handedly blocked three Green Angels, occasionally switching to the Moon Goddess Bow to shoot at them.
The Moon Goddess Arrow had a guaranteed hit feature, ensuring accurate hits as long as aimed at the target.
The three Green Angels had low mental strength, becoming stunned for at least three seconds after being hit.
If not for the constant interference from other Green Angels, Dark would have achieved victory long ago.
During the lull in combat, the airborne Fossil Pterodactyl finally unleashed its ultimate move – Ancient Power!
The Ancient Power of the Fossil Pterodactyl was already at 56%, giving it over a 50% chance to activate its potential during this move.
The three Green Angels instinctively turned towards the Fossil Pterodactyl after taking the Ancient Power attack.
Dark instantly brought Shenmi past them again, using Shenmi’s taunt skill to firmly hold onto their hatred.
Suddenly, a strong primordial aura burst forth from the Fossil Pterodactyl.
Its size increased dramatically, its flight speed became faster, and its mana, attack, and defense skyrocketed by 50%, from 4000/5000/6000 to 6000/7500/9000.
Nine thousand points of defense!
“Prepare!”
Dark shouted suddenly.
The Fossil Pterodactyl, still basking in the joy of growth, was suddenly awakened.
Dark took a step back, floating backward, and then his hand appeared with the Moon Goddess Bow and three Moon Goddess Arrows, which he fired simultaneously!
Three Moon Goddess Arrows instantly shot out, hitting the three Green Angels with perfect accuracy.
In the next moment, the ground shook.
The Fossil Pterodactyl summoned several sharp stone pillars from underground, slamming them with tremendous force into the three Green Angels.
In their dazed state, the Green Angels couldn’t react and were pierced by the stone pillars.
Dark swung his Rock Sword, stepping through the air, and swiftly beheaded the three Green Angels!
Immediately after, he took out three Truth Balls, sealing the heads of the three Green Angels inside, and summoned more golems to carry the Truth Balls and the bodies of the Green Angels back.
Then, he rushed towards the Bride of Stormwind City! The situation changed rapidly.
When Dark looked earlier, the Bride was performing impressively, tightly restraining Albert Grantham and the two Green Angels.
Now, the Bride had escaped.
Albert Grantham was fighting a Green Angel alone, while the Bride floated in the air, overseeing the battle.
Dark wasn’t surprised, knowing the Bride was controlled by Professor Shylph.
He swung his Rock Sword behind him and quickly flew towards Albert Grantham.
Seeing Dark Demon appear, Albert was startled instead of pleased.
But before Dark approached, he called out from afar, “I’ll help, one each.”
Albert Grantham suddenly looked up and said, “This is my prey.”
Dark shook his head and said, “No, this is our prey! You have two choices: one each, or I get two and you get none.”
As he spoke, he drew the bowstring, aiming at one of the Green Angels. “Bang!”
Without waiting for Albert’s reply, the first arrow was already released!
The Green Angel was instantly immobilized upon being hit. Albert reacted quickly, twisting his body and swinging his Great Light Sword in a half-circle, decapitating the dazed Green Angel!
Then, Dark once again formed a Moon Goddess Arrow and shot it at another Green Angel.
The Green Angel tried to deflect the arrow, but was immediately entangled by Albert.
One shot through the heart!
The Green Angel was instantly stunned under the mental shock.
Albert, having experience, immediately rushed in for the finishing blow.
The Green Angel’s head flew high into the air…
Grantham was not without means of strong control.
However, the rank of the Green Angel was too high; most forms of strong control were ineffective against it.
Only Dak Demon’s ‘Moon Goddess Arrow’ could daze it. After the two sides split one each, they dealt with the Green Angel’s corpses separately.
Dak similarly sealed the head with the ‘Ball of Truth’, then dragged the rest back to their base, leaving the neck and below for Professor Kazel to continue refining.
Up until now, only one Green Angel remained alive.
That Green Angel had become nothing more than a tool for the two women to fight over, accompanied by the Dull Angel holding a wooden staff.
Biljion had already awakened from its rage.
But during its frenzied attack, it was hit by a green beam, turning one of its front claws into wood, greatly affecting its wind-like speed.
When Dak and Biljion’s gazes met, he raised his chin in a slight gesture.
Biljion immediately summoned the ‘Holy Sword’ and, despite the risk of being affected by Emily Grantham and Gwen, charged back into the battlefield, its Holy Sword stabbing recklessly towards the Green Angel.
“Bang—”
The bowstring snapped.
The ‘Moon Goddess Arrow’ shot out abruptly, hitting the Green Angel’s forehead with perfect accuracy.
Then, the dazed Green Angel was decapitated on the spot by Biljion!
Emily and Gwen did not fight over the kill, having been entangled with the Green Angel for a long time.
In this contest, Dak Demon won overwhelmingly.
But looking at the entire match, it wasn’t due to overwhelming strength or divine luck, but simply “one arrow”!
If put differently, it could also be said that he had seen through the Green Angel’s weakness, leading to this great victory.
However, even if he had noticed the lower mental strength of the Green Angel, without the ‘Moon Goddess Arrow’, he wouldn’t have been able to win.
Strong insight and the ‘Moon Goddess Arrow’ were both necessary.
After Dak had the Golem deliver the last Green Angel to Professor Kazel, he didn’t return immediately. Instead, he leaned down to examine the flower’s pistil.
There was still some green liquid left in the pistil, but it couldn’t even form a human shape, let alone transform into a Green Angel.
Feeling the faint divinity mixed in it, Dak tried to bottle the green liquid.
Perhaps because there was so little of the remaining green liquid, he managed to bottle it without any resistance.
This portion of green liquid, after refinement, might yield a trace of divine blood.
Returning to the base, Dak clapped hands with Professor Kazel and grinned. “It seems we’ve won,” Kazel said to Bishop Sabrina Melville.
Bishop Sabrina Melville snorted, saying, “I didn’t expect you to start using divine power.”
Kazel was startled, then realized Sabrina was referring to Dak’s ‘Moon Goddess’.
He couldn’t help but laugh, “What you’re talking about is probably just the personal ability of Dak’s armed transformation.”
Sabrina Melville’s eyes turned cold as she glanced at Dak, then said no more.
She clearly didn’t believe him.
Dak had long exited the armed evolution phase, and was now examining the green liquid bottle.
As he looked, he suddenly realized that the mist advancing inward hadn’t stopped. The green threads within the mist formed a dense network.
Professor Shylph seemed to sense what he was thinking and leaned in, “We only took the liquid stored in the pistil of the ‘Demeter’s Flower’. We didn’t completely destroy it. After this refinement is complete, we’ll consider how to handle the ‘Demeter’s Flower’.”
Dak nodded slightly and stood beside Professor Kazel to observe his refinement technique.
In this battle over the Green Angels, the Mana Academy side got six, while the Church of the Saints side only got two.
However, Professor Kazel’s refinement skills were superior to those of Bishop Sabrina Melville.
So when Bishop Sabrina Melville finally started refining the divine blood from the two Green Angels, Professor Kazel had already finished refining the divine blood from all six.
He handed all six drops of divine blood to Professor Shylph. After absorbing four more drops, ‘Demeter’s Skirt’ showed some changes, albeit minor.
Professor Shylph frowned after sensing for a long time, “Seems like there isn’t much change?”
“Is it because not enough ‘Demeter’s Blood’ was absorbed?” Dak asked.
Professor Shylph shook her head, “Including this absorption, a total of six drops of ‘Demeter’s Blood’. After absorbing all six, the skirt showed no reaction, whether waiting for an internal reaction or missing some other key condition.”
Dak said, “Things will naturally fall into place. This ‘Demeter’s Skirt’ that has absorbed divine blood will surely be useful someday.”
Professor Shylph confirmed, “I feel the same. But it’s still somewhat anxious.”
Dak sighed, “It can’t be helped. But a bit of anxiety can be stimulating. What do you think, Professor?”
Professor Shylph glared at him, not speaking further.
Dak smiled, picked up the remaining two drops of ‘Demeter’s Blood’, set aside one for temporary storage, and kept the other for trade.
Since there was indeed extra ‘Demeter’s Blood’, trading it for other divine bloods would certainly not be a loss.
“Have you made your decision? Our trade.” Count Stanley Longfellow appeared at the right moment.
Dak smiled, “Let me discuss it with the professor first.” He turned to discuss with Professor Kazel. In the end, he agreed to trade with Stanley Longfellow.
Before the trade, however, Stanley Longfellow had to take out the divine blood he possessed and let Professor Kazel inspect it.
This condition seemed reasonable but was actually quite domineering.
Stanley Longfellow, however, readily agreed without hesitation. This made people suspect whether the divine blood he provided was problematic.
But after careful inspection, Professor Kazel concluded it was fine.
Since there were no issues, Dak had no reason not to trade.
Professor Kazel placed one drop of ‘Demeter’s Blood’ in a small bottle and exchanged it with Stanley Longfellow’s ‘Fire God’s Blood’.
Both parties swore they would not deceive each other.
Thus, Stanley Longfellow obtained a new divine blood.
Similarly, Dak and others also acquired a new divine blood. This bottle of ‘Fire God’s Blood’, along with the last remaining drop of ‘Demeter’s Blood’ and the activated ‘Hermes Blood’, meant the Mana Academy now had three different types of divine blood.
Dak pondered for a moment.
But he was soon interrupted.
All members of the three factions gathered around the massive ‘Demeter’s Flower’, confirming it wouldn’t suddenly attack, then began checking it.
First, they needed to check if there was any trace of ‘Agricultural God’ Demeter’s divine blood left in its body.
If there was, they would extract it; if not, they would leave it.
The result was slightly unexpected. The entire ‘Demeter’s Flower’, including its petals and roots, contained no trace of divine blood or a mixture thereof.
It seemed all the divine blood had been transferred to the pistil. Next, they needed to check if its stem would still reflexively shoot out green beams.
The answer was… yes!
This result was also unexpected.
Dak thought the ‘Demeter’s Flower’ had lost its offensive capabilities, but it still harbored danger.
Fortunately, they were prepared and didn’t face real danger.
Finally, they needed to find out what caused the pollution of the ‘Demeter’s Flower’!
However, upon investigation, they found only signs of rot on the roots.
Professor Kazel extracted the rotten root, sealed it in a bag for preservation, and planned to study it back at camp.
Although they had been in the mountains for a long time, returning sooner would allow those left behind to feel more secure.
But before that, they must completely destroy the ‘Demeter’s Flower’! Bishop Sabrina Melville suggested burning it to ashes.
Professor Kazel proposed collecting useful materials from the ‘Demeter’s Flower’ before burning it.
In any case, they all agreed on burning the ‘Demeter’s Flower’!
Bishop Sabrina Melville agreed with Professor Kazel’s idea and started collecting materials on the spot.
Under Professor Kazel’s guidance, Dak cut off parts of the petals, leaves, and root blocks from the ‘Demeter’s Flower’, except for the ‘stem’ which had gone mad.
But the core seemed to be in the ‘stem’!
Professor Kazel took out a small knife, told everyone to stay away, and dissected the stem from top to bottom!
In the end, what appeared before everyone was a very ordinary structure. Clearly, the stem’s reactive emission of green beams had little to do with its construction.
However, after further dissection, Professor Kazel found some white particles in the stem.
These particles were scattered throughout the stem and possessed the ability to absorb and release energy.
Professor Kazel shook his head, “Just a bunch of emitters.” Such “emitters” were quite common in plants; they might be responsible for releasing green beams, but they were definitely not the core.
Ultimately, they searched the entire ‘Demeter’s Flower’ but failed to find the so-called “core”.
Professor Kazel had no choice but to conclude that the core of the [Demeter’s Flower] was probably that pool of green liquid.
Not only did it serve the function of “gestation,” but it also served as the “brain.”
The human forms and [Green Angels] gained their sentience because they had taken part of its “brain cells.”
But as a result, the [Green Angel]’s mental strength was relatively low, and was perfectly countered by Dark’s [Moon Goddess Arrow].
The substance that held the green liquid naturally was the [flower pistil] of the [Demeter’s Flower].
In the end, Professor Kazel simply cut out the entire [flower pistil], then prepared to burn the [Demeter’s Flower] completely according to his initial plan.
The regeneration ability of the [Demeter’s Flower] also came from that pool of green liquid.
Now that the last bit of green liquid had been bottled by Dark, it naturally lost its super-fast regenerative ability.
The final torch-bearer was Bishop Sabrina Melville.
She ignited the pure white sacred fire, starting from the roots buried underground, burning the entire [Demeter’s Flower].
Under the influence of the flames, the thick mist surrounding them finally dissipated, and the green threads in the mist gradually faded, losing their “home.”
They stopped glowing, with some re-concealing themselves in the mist, and others directly dissipating into the air.
Emily Grantham watched the increasingly high sacred flame and began singing hymns.
The atmosphere around became somewhat solemn.
The burning flames were like departing souls, drifting towards the smoke above the sky.
After half an hour of burning, the hundred-meter-tall [Demeter’s Flower] was finally completely consumed, leaving only a puddle of black ashes on the ground.
“What is that?”
Stanley Longfellow, who had been boredly looking around, suddenly noticed a flicker of gold in the ashes of the burnt [Demeter’s Flower].
He didn’t dare to pick it up himself and exclaimed.
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to that barely noticeable golden light.
The [Black Steel Puppet] walked over under Professor Kazel’s instruction, picking up the golden light from the pitch-black ashes.
Everyone looked from afar, and a strange expression gradually appeared on their faces. Because the source of the golden light was actually a golden key!
No one could have imagined that after the [Demeter’s Flower] was burned, a key would really appear!
Was this the key from the prophecy to open the door, or just a coincidence?
Even Stanley Longfellow himself stared wide-eyed at the key.
No one knew what the significance of the key was, but in any case…
“Who should we give it to?” said Count Stanley Longfellow suddenly. Bishop Sabrina Melville couldn’t help but look at Professor Kazel. She clearly excluded Stanley Longfellow as an option.
Professor Kazel said solemnly, “Let me keep it for now. How about that?”
Bishop Sabrina Melville said, “I would naturally prefer to keep it myself. But there’s no need to argue over it. After all, no one knows what this key can do. It might just be an ordinary key dropped accidentally by someone.”
Professor Kazel nodded slightly and said, “Regardless of where this key comes from, I can promise to share any information obtained after opening the door or unlocking it, and provide convenience.”
“Hey! I found it!” Stanley Longfellow suddenly said. Professor Kazel replied, “Indeed you did, but you might not be able to hold onto it.”
Stanley Longfellow was momentarily stunned, then quickly burst into exaggerated laughter: “Just joking, just joking. For now, let’s leave it with you guys, but when we open the door, we must take us along.”
Professor Kazel said, “If everyone is present, we will naturally go together.”
After saying this, he took out a [Ball of Truth] and placed the key inside, keeping it close.
This unexpected discovery left them somewhat dazed. “Anyway, let’s head back.”
Professor Kazel made the decision.
To leave this area, they only needed to pass through five hundred meters of fog to reach the hill where the team was located.
When they entered through the fog earlier, it took quite some time, but this time they left much faster and soon returned smoothly along the same path.
They encountered no magical creatures along the way.
Although the [Demeter’s Flower] had been burned, its residual power seemed still present.
The [Magical Beast: Goddess of Heartful Eyes] sat on the shoulder of the [Black Steel Puppet], leading the way and first spotting the hill where the team was located.
It raised its head, and its third eye’s gaze pierced through the layers of fog, seeing the scene on the hill—it was empty!
Unspeakable astonishment appeared on its face.
The [Black Steel Puppet] seemed to sense its mood and gradually stopped moving forward.
“What happened?”
Dark Demon, sitting atop the steel construct of the [Gnome Alchemical Demon], couldn’t help but ask.
Through his connection with the [Golem], he could feel that the [Magical Beast: Goddess of Heartful Eyes] was very unstable emotionally.
Finally, the [Magical Beast: Goddess of Heartful Eyes] spoke: “It’s gone! The team stationed there is gone!”
Dark initially thought he had misheard, but half a second later, he instantly reacted, standing up in shock.
Professors Shylph and Kazel were equally surprised, standing up immediately. Professor Shylph turned into a fierce wind, blowing away the fog and charging toward the top of the hill!
Dark hurriedly covered his ears, but the only thing he heard from the [Wind Elemental’s Blessing] was Professor Shylph’s anxious voice.
His expression gradually darkened.
Professor Shylph’s reaction undoubtedly confirmed what the [Magical Beast: Goddess of Heartful Eyes] had said.
The team originally stationed on the hill had vanished without a trace!
Yet, that place was only a kilometer away from where the [Demeter’s Flower] was, and their position in the area was only five hundred meters away.
Given such a short distance, if something major happened, why did they not notice anything at all?
“It’s the fog! Damn fog!”
Dark’s mood instantly sank to its lowest point.
The joy from the recent gains disappeared in an instant.
“Don’t rush!” Professor Kazel pressed his shoulder firmly, speaking sternly. Despite the professor’s voice, Dark still struggled to calm down.
Before his eyes, the words “[Wrath +1]” began to appear. Professor Kazel said again, “Don’t rush! With Lily here, nothing bad will happen!”
“Lily! Lily! Right, Lily is here!” Dark took a deep breath, finally calming down.
He realized his psychological resilience wasn’t as strong as he thought. Just the disappearance of the team shook him so much.
But in that team, not only was there Professor Lily, but also Professor Metia and Olivia, and even Eralganie, the [Intelligence Deity].
The strength of that team was no weaker than the trio here. They disappearing from the hill must have had a special reason.
Just as Dark managed to calm down, a figure flashed beside him—a bit late in receiving the news—Gavin North, carrying his little tiger, rushed out frantically.
Among the nine-person investigation team, Gavin North was certainly one of those most concerned about the missing team.
Though still speculative, Dark was almost certain that one of Gavin North’s children was in that team.
“Hold steady.”
Professor Kazel suddenly said.
The steel construct beneath their feet suddenly sped up, racing out of the fog and charging toward the hill.
The three from the Church of the Saints also accelerated, quickly reaching the hilltop.
Remnants of the campsite were still there; some items were left behind, indicating the team had left in great haste.
But the good news was that no bodies were found, nor any signs of battle, and no one was left behind.
No one being left behind meant they withdrew in relative order. But it also meant no intelligence source remained.
Dark couldn’t help but touch his ear again.
Professor Shylph had given each member of the team a thread of the [Wind Elemental’s Blessing] upon arrival. Without the fog, they could have maintained communication.
But the fog blocked everything, making it possible for them to miss each other even if they were only a hundred meters apart.
Dark lightly leaped off the steel construct and headed toward the original parking spot of the pumpkin carriage.
The barrier left behind was intact and showed no signs of violent destruction. Most footprints pointed in one direction, not appearing particularly chaotic.
All these signs suggested their withdrawal was a thoughtful decision—though perhaps somewhat hasty.
In any case, since they left, they must have left a message. Either a scene or a note.
“Hmm…”
Dark saw Professor Shylph’s back, standing near the original parking spot of the pumpkin carriage, seemingly examining something.
Bishop Sabrina Melville, the twin holy knights, and Gavin North all rushed to their respective campsites, carefully searching for any remaining messages.
Dark circled around to the front of Professor Shylph and finally saw what she was examining—an orb!
An orb!
A carrier capable of recording images and sounds, the best means of transmitting information. Seeing the orb, Dark finally felt a slight relief.
Finding an orb indicated they had enough time to record before evacuating.
The orb might contain information about what they encountered or the direction they evacuated.
In any case, it was definitely something good.
