Chapter Sixty-Four: Withered Forest Under
After all, they had been staying on his turf for quite some time, and he was a Great Knight to boot — it would have been hard for the other Apprentices to refuse.
But there were exceptions. The pockmarked apprentice Leilin had seen last time rejected the City Lord's invitation without a moment's hesitation.
In the end, Jackson turned his gaze to Leilin. "And you, Mr. Leilin?"
Jackson had his doubts about Leilin. The timing was a bit too convenient, which led him to speculate that this apprentice might be an envoy sent by the royal family.
Unfortunately, Leilin had spent nearly all his time cooped up in the manor ever since arriving. He rarely went out, no Wizards came seeking revenge, and he behaved as though he had come here to live in seclusion.
If Leilin hadn't previously put out a quest to scout the Withered Forest, Viscount Jackson would have been thoroughly disappointed.
"Well, it has to be dealt with eventually. Forming a team to head in isn't a bad idea!"
Leilin thought to himself, though on the surface he put on a troubled expression. "I've been deep in Potionology recently, terribly busy — several experiments have reached a critical stage…"
"I really must insist that you make time!" Viscount Jackson said suddenly. "I know Mr. Leilin has been purchasing large quantities of Hofu Purple Leaf lately. That material is rather rare, and other cities won't have much in stock. The City Lord's estate, however, still has an entire warehouse of it. If Mr. Leilin agrees to join us, I'm willing to add those to the reward!"
"Hofu Purple Leaf?" Leilin's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall — this was likely Jackson's bottom line. Leilin "struggled" with the decision for a long while before finally agreeing.
After that, the apprentices set a specific time and each hurried off, presumably to make their own preparations.
Leilin had absolutely no expectations about how much combat power this group of retired, pampered apprentices could actually bring to a fight.
"But they're still Apprentices — they can at least cast basic spells, right!" Leilin consoled himself inwardly.
Just then, Meierfeile caught up to Leilin with hurried steps, wearing a woebegone expression. "Young man, once we're in the Withered Forest, you absolutely must protect me!"
"My Lord! You're a Third-Rank — a Third-Rank Apprentice! And I'm only Second-Rank!" Leilin's eyes went wide.
"Sigh… I'm getting old. I've forgotten almost all the Spell Models I once knew. You know, constructing a Spell Model is delicate work. If there's even a minor structural error, the magical explosion it causes could leave nothing but ash — not even bones!" Meierfeile said with a look of helpless resignation.
"You! How long has it been since you last cast a spell?" Leilin suddenly felt a nagging sense of dread.
"Probably been thirty or forty years by now! You know, I've always considered myself a scholar!" Meierfeile said with a look of pure innocence.
"Damn!" Leilin suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
Two days later at dawn, the gates of Polar Night City swung wide open. A squad of iron-clad guards marched out, escorting several figures in their midst as they quickly moved beyond the city walls.
"I never expected the Viscount to come along with us!" Meierfeile looked quite pleased. Having a Great Knight nearby would be no small guarantee for his safety.
At his side, Jackson was clad in black steel armor, his helmet lowered so it could cover his face entirely at any moment.
"How are your preparations coming along?" Leilin found an opportunity and quietly whispered in Meierfeile's ear.
"I crammed on the Spell Models these past two days — I can barely cast two now!" Meierfeile replied in a low voice.
"That's good enough!" Their earlier exchanges had mostly been in jest. Either way, Leilin absolutely refused to believe that this old fox didn't have some kind of life-saving trump card up his sleeve.
The wizard world was no peaceful place. If Meierfeile didn't have a few tricks, he'd have been dead long ago — not a single bone left — so how could he still be alive and kicking as a great scholar?
"But even the Black Iron Guard has been deployed? Looks like two squads — twenty men!"
"Of course — these are the elite forces of the City Lord's mansion!" Meierfeile answered offhandedly. In truth, both he and Leilin knew that inside the Withered Forest, these two squads of the Black Iron Guard had only one purpose: cannon fodder!
Dark Night Forest was not far from Polar Night City. After marching for just over half an hour, the main party reached the forest's outer perimeter.
"The dangers in here are much less than in the forests near Black Bone Forest. At least, ordinary people can come and go freely as long as they're careful — gathering herbs and other materials!"
Leilin walked in the middle of the procession, watching the two guards at the front clearing the path, his mind wandering.
Along the way, Leilin noticed that the vitality in the Dark Night Forest had diminished considerably. Though it was spring, the woods seemed to lack energy and vigor.
Moreover, everyone felt a certain heaviness upon them, as if a layer of shadow had settled over their hearts. The mood felt deeply oppressive.
Leilin looked around. The tree branches showed signs of withering, and at the base of some tender new shoots, a faint yellowish tinge had appeared.
"Though the withered zone hasn't spread here yet, the signs are already showing," Leilin sighed.
"It's really different now! My family used to be hunters. At this time of year, the forest would always be teeming with all sorts of animals, and there were plenty of fresh wild vegetables and medicinal herbs..."
From nearby, the whispered conversations of several guards drifted into Leilin's ears.
"Chip! Are there any changes in the surrounding air?"
"Scanning… comparing against the database! Conclusion: oxygen concentration has dropped by 3.7%, nitrogen content has risen, and an unidentified inert gas has appeared, accounting for approximately 1.2% of the total and still increasing!"
The Chip provided its feedback.
"Could this inert gas be the culprit behind the withering?" Leilin rubbed his chin and instructed the Chip to begin analyzing the composition of the unknown gas.
"Stay sharp! We've entered the withered zone!" Viscount Jackson's shout came from the front of the party.
Leilin patted the leather armor on his body. Beneath it was the grey robe with the Black Bone Forest Academy emblem deliberately removed — effectively two layers of defense.
For Wizard Apprentices, they lacked the effective and lasting defensive methods that full Wizards possessed. In many cases, the key to victory or defeat came down to whether your spells hit their target.
"Instant-cast spells, potion elixirs, Magical Items, and so on — all of these provided enormous boosts to an apprentice's combat strength!"
Leilin reached into the leather pouch at his waist and pulled out a test tube, gripping it in his hand.
Back in the Bray Canyon, he had replenished his materials several times and prepared a great many Explosive Potions, planning to expend them during this operation.
As the party pressed forward, the surrounding environment changed noticeably.
The ground was parched, the vegetation withered, and the entire forest exuded an aura of death.
Leilin casually grabbed a withered branch and held it in his hand, his eyes flashing slightly. "It's completely lost its moisture, and even…"
His palm applied a slight force, and the branch instantly crumbled into white powder that drifted down through the gaps between his fingers.
"Even the internal structure has been completely destroyed!" Leilin's heart grew somewhat heavy. This power had already exceeded his expectations.
"Where do we need to go?" Jackson asked Meierfeile.
"The center! Only when we reach the center of the withered zone can my magic take effect!" Meierfeile's expression was grim as he took out a pair of spectacles-like lenses and hung them on his nose.
Thick layers of withered leaves blanketed the ground, incredibly soft underfoot.
"Warning! Warning! Dangerous creature detected ahead!" The Chip's alert suddenly blared, just as Leilin was thinking of some excuse to give a heads-up.
WHOOSH!! Without warning, yellow leaves flew into the air, and a black shadow lunged forward.
The black shadow moved at terrifying speed. Its mouth, bristling with snow-white fangs, gaped open, and a red tongue shot out in an instant.
Whoosh! The tongue whipped around the waist of a guard at the front of the formation, coiled once, and snapped back — clatter! The guard's spear hit the ground.
"Watch out!" Only now did Viscount Jackson's warning finally leave his lips.
"Ahhhh!!!" A scream followed immediately. The guard who had just been snatched by the tongue was already snapped in two inside the shadow's maw, bright red blood and entrails splattering across the ground.
"Damn it!" Viscount Jackson bellowed, drawing the broadsword at his waist, and engaged the black shadow in close combat.
"Slow!" With the incantation spoken, the Wizard Apprentice on the other side finally acted. The red-haired shopkeeper waved his hand, and a yellow-green beam of light shot forth, forming a ring that settled onto the black shadow.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! As the monster flicked its tongue, the shadow's speed finally dropped, its full form exposed before everyone's eyes.
An earth-yellow body, four legs, a snake-like tongue lolling from its mouth, and a small horn on its forehead.
"Didn't they say they already killed one? Why is there another?" Leilin frowned in confusion, but immediately activated the Chip.
"Beep! Unknown creature — Strength: 5.5, Agility: 4 (6–7), Constitution: 5, Spirit: 3. Similarity to Blue Lizard: 67.4%. Similarity to Mans Ground Serpent: 45.8%."
"A formidable creature. Apart from a slightly low Spirit score, it has almost no other obvious weaknesses. And the count is unknown — no wonder Jackson couldn't handle this alone!"
But with the Slow hex holding it back, the bizarre lizard's speed had dropped significantly. After a brief exchange, Viscount Jackson let out a thunderous shout: "Arc Slash!"
A brilliant burst of light exploded from the longsword, forming the shape of a blade, and sliced across the lizard's neck.
"A Knight's secret killing technique! The same nature as my Cross Slash. Looks like Jackson's taking it easy — he hasn't even activated his Knight's secret arts!"
Bang! The two forces crossed paths. The enormous lizard stumbled forward a few more steps before its body finally crashed to a halt.
Rip! Chunk after chunk of earth-yellow scales fell away, and along the lizard's neck, a seam had appeared, dark red blood gushing out in great sheets.
"Look!" one of the apprentices suddenly cried.
As the lizard died, its body continued to cave inward. Scales kept sloughing off, and its blood rapidly evaporated. In just a few minutes, all that remained in that spot was a white skeleton and a scattering of scales.