Chapter 44: From the Abyss

Vilyric wasn’t playing any games of feigned capture; after leaving that little village, the four of them quickly returned to the envoy carriage team.

After all, it was originally just a planned experiment, but the unexpected encounter with that bug had already wasted quite some time.

Worrying is never a good thing.

The amount of money she gave Tilysha wasn’t much—just a few dozen gold coins, roughly the average annual income of an average family in the United Kingdom. It was enough to hire two or three mithril-level adventurers but wouldn’t attract the attention of any unsavory characters.

As for the seed, it wasn’t any kind of item from a game.

This was something that Xi Fu Lin had condensed using part of the Earth Mother Goddess’s essence after a new merger; utilizing the power of life, it resembled the “Disaster” that sprang from the split of death.

It was said that in the days when Xi Fu still existed, it was called the Seed of Life. If the conditions were right and it was carefully nurtured, it could grow into a tree that contained a spark of the Earth Mother Goddess’s divine power, nourishing the land and possessing many magical effects.

This was a treasure sought after by many races, especially those who worshipped the Earth Mother Goddess and revered nature. Only those who had enough devout faith or had accomplished great deeds could obtain such a reward.

However, due to her spirit being shattered and with Xi Fu Lin still sealed, this was all that she could barely manage to produce, whereas Xi Fu once waved her hand to create hundreds of Seeds of Life.

This thing was something that Xi Fu Lin had asked the Priestess to pass on to Tilysha, and Vilyric didn’t quite understand the intention behind it.

But to help out with such a small matter was no big deal; after all, she quite admired this little village girl who could suppress such desires for the sake of her family.

The rest was none of Vilyric’s concern.

Having descended from above into the moving envoy carriage team, Vilyric and the others looked down and saw that the line was still orderly, showing no signs of an attack. It seemed that that bug truly was just a one-off occurrence.

Finding a nearby spot to land, they soon passed through the guard unit and returned to where Edwina was driving the carriage.

For some reason, envoy Group Leader Miss Philena was also nearby, riding her horse and anxiously patrolling back and forth. Upon seeing the White Robed Girl and her group appear, she hurriedly approached and seemed to visibly relax.

“Miss Vilyric, where have you been? You didn’t even inform me!”

“Uh?”

Come to think of it, Vilyric hadn’t specifically told her she was leaving.

But it wasn’t that the Priestess had any objections to Philena or was intentionally hiding something; it was just that Vilyric’s style was to go with the flow and leave whenever something came up, not considering much, especially since she had left Edwina here.

Similar situations had happened before; why was Philena reacting so strongly this time?

“What happened?”

“Um…”

Miss Knight looked around, dismounted, and led her horse alongside Vilyric as they walked with the group, speaking quietly in a volume only they could hear.

“The king once instructed me to tell you everything I know, so I won’t hold back. There’s word that a creature from the Abyss has crossed the blockade of the Kingdom of Azure and escaped into the Wasteland. The Winged people pursuing it just found me and explained this situation, stating that the thing is likely in the nearby area, so…”

Hearing this, the Black-haired Girl raised an eyebrow.

“Abyss Beast? What does it look like? Where are the Winged people chasing it?”

“They’ve already left. They seemed quite anxious, but before they left, those Winged people gave me a picture and warned us to be cautious if we encounter it. They said to definitely not let regular soldiers face it… or something.”

As she spoke, Philena pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to the Priestess.

Vilyric opened it to take a look.

Whoa.

Just as expected.

It depicted a menacing creature with six arms, resembling an insect, though it had slightly fewer spikes than what Vilyric had seen.

So that bug from the Outlands really crawled out of the Abyss.

Could it be that beneath the Abyss, there’s actually another world?

Thinking it over, Vilyric decided to tell the truth.

“I encountered that thing.”

“What?!”

The sudden increase in the Knight’s volume startled everyone around, and the surrounding soldiers immediately cast curious glances. Vilyric helplessly shook her head and then pointed at the Priestess’s staff in her hand.

“I mean, we’ve dealt with the Southern Disaster; we surely can handle one bug, right? Why the big fuss? I did take care of it, but by the time I found it, quite a few local villagers had already fallen victim. As for those Winged people, I didn’t see them.”

Then, Vilyric recounted the sequence of events regarding the bug she encountered, the information she heard from Tilysha, and the Priestess’s assessment of this creature’s characteristics to Philena.

The United Kingdom had sent the envoy to the Kingdom of Azure specifically to investigate the movements of the Abyss and the related monsters; thus, telling Philena, the envoy Group Leader, this information was indirectly informing Liliya.

After hearing everything, Philena appeared somewhat moved.

“To think such a terrifying creature exists, with its insatiable consumption and ever-growing strength… No wonder the Winged people are so desperate to stop it from continuing its rampage.”

“If what Miss Vilyric says is true, that it has only consumed a hundred or so people, yet can reach up into the skies and even contend with two legendary strong ones for some time, then if it were in a more densely populated country…”

Unlike the serious expression of envoy Group Leader Miss Philena, Vilyric seemed much more composed. The intel provided by Philena had, to some extent, refined her judgment.

“Alright, don’t panic. If what those Winged people said is accurate, that this Abyss Beast has fled all the way from the Kingdom of Azure to here, then the number of lives it has consumed is definitely more than what we’ve seen.”

“Considering the Winged people were hot on its tail, that bug couldn’t possibly relax and consume indiscriminately. Saying it could have devoured thousands might be a stretch, but given its efficiency, I think several hundred is quite plausible. So, doesn’t that make it sound much more reasonable?”

“Several hundred people, one sky…”

Philena nodded contemplatively.

“Understood. Regarding this matter, I will inform the king through a message later. Thanks for the information, Miss Vilyric. Also, please let someone know next time you go out. Is that alright?”

“Haha… I’ll do my best.”

After this exchange, Philena remounted her horse and went back to do what she needed to do, while Vilyric returned to the carriage with Xiao Guang and the others for a short rest.

To keep information flowing, there was a dedicated Mage accompanying the envoy responsible for establishing communication magic. Liliya would likely learn about the situation here soon.

As for the United Kingdom and the neighboring countries near the Abyss, how they would respond next was another matter for the big shots to handle.

   

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