Chapter 48: A Glimpse of Wonder

Lulu was utterly desperate now.

She was just an ordinary butterfly in the Spirit Butterfly Clan, lacking any talent or strength, the kind of butterfly that would get lost in a pile of butterflies. If one had to say anything, she looked relatively pretty, at least in her own opinion.

The Spirit Butterfly Clan was a very peculiar type of magical beast; their most significant characteristic was their reverse growth process.

Spirit Butterflies didn’t age in the traditional sense and didn’t have actual genders. Although they looked very similar to female humans, Spirit Butterflies reproduced independently in a unique manner.

When they emerged from their cocoons, the form of a Spirit Butterfly was already fixed, usually appearing as a humanoid female ranging from 15 to 30 years old. They would live in this form for an incredibly long time—at least over a thousand years.

Eventually, the physical body of a Spirit Butterfly would slowly weaken, shrink, and become unable to move. At that point, they would wrap themselves in all their energy and transform back into a cocoon.

After a long period of nurturing and transformation, a new Spirit Butterfly would emerge from the cocoon, a completely different individual, equivalent to the offspring of the previous Spirit Butterfly.

However, the previous Spirit Butterfly didn’t truly die; after shedding their shell, they would transform into a spiritual form and ascend to a different dimension, continuing their life in the shape of a real butterfly, which is the origin of the name Spirit Butterfly.

So, though Lulu was not small in stature, in the Spirit Butterfly Clan, she was still just a newborn hatchling, having only mastered the most basic ability of [Spirit Perception]. Otherwise, how could she have been captured by human poachers with the mysterious and hidden powers of the Spirit Butterfly?

Due to her greed for delicious sweet nectar, Lulu fell into a human trap and was knocked unconscious by drugs. When she awoke, she found herself in that cave, alongside many other magical beasts from different races, all imprisoned.

After spending several anxious days in the cage, she was rescued by the higher-ups who appeared for unknown reasons and even encountered two mysterious girls seemingly known by the great Spirit Butterfly Ancestor. Lulu felt that her recent experiences had been incredible.

However, what the little butterfly didn’t expect was that not long after they escaped the cave, preparing to hide as ordered by Lord Nan Dao, to wait for them to rescue the Moonshadow Clan’s young prince and go back home together, they suddenly heard a thunderous noise behind them, as if the very mountains were shaking.

Lulu was unclear about what had happened in the cave, but the exit they came from was completely buried by falling rocks after a violent tremor. Before she could even worry about the magical higher-ups still inside…

Despicable humans had appeared.

They were once again captives.

Sitting on the bare stone ground with her dispirited companions, Lulu cautiously scanned her surroundings.

This group of fully armed humans that had suddenly emerged from the area numbered at least over a thousand, dressed very differently from the guards that had held them before. Most were wearing identical uniforms of armor and wielding weapons like guns, shields, and bows, while a few were rare professions among humans—mages.

In addition, there were some dressed very casually, but felt extremely dangerous and annoying to Lulu’s Spirit Perception—about several dozen of them. From the intelligence she gathered from her companions, they were likely the infamous demon hunters among humans.

“What do we do, Xiao Lan? This time we’re really done for, aren’t we?”

Turning her head discreetly, Lulu sought assistance from the light blue Miss Slime sitting beside her, whose hands were also tied with rough hemp ropes.

They were the most opinionated individuals among this group of magical beasts. Although Lulu was just a hatchling, the Spirit Butterfly Clan was a special race with inherited memories. The slime, previously called Mu Mu by the little butterfly but now given the name “Xiao Lan” by what seemed to be a magical higher-up, was said to have lived independently for over a hundred years.

By the way, things like iron cages or ropes were completely meaningless to Xiao Lan, who was a slime. She could change her shape through morphing at any time; however, Xiao Lan had no combat power, and breaking free would be pointless, which is why she was deliberately letting them keep her tied up.

“I can’t do anything. Based on the previous situation, this is probably a trap specifically targeting the higher-ups. Humans are so despicable, using the young prince as bait…”

“I understand, but the problem is, are we just going to sit here and wait to die?”

The jelly-like Miss Slime looked at the anxious Lulu and seemed somewhat helpless in her morphed expression.

“Just sitting here won’t necessarily lead to death, but if you want to do something, it’s hard to predict. Don’t you understand the human motives for hunting us humanoid magical beasts?”

“Eww… I don’t want that! If it comes to that, I’d rather die!”

“Okay, okay, don’t get all worked up… You see, even though these humans have captured us, they haven’t taken us away immediately. Moreover, they don’t seem like the same kind of poachers as before.”

“Also, their attention is clearly focused on the cave’s direction. This means they don’t think the recent explosion was enough to kill the higher-ups. They might be leaving us as leverage and hostages, so things aren’t entirely hopeless…”

“Really? But the whole mountain just collapsed! Even if…”

“You lot! No whispering amongst yourselves!!”

Several spears suddenly pointed toward Lulu, making her tremble and interrupting her conversation with Xiao Lan.

Though she didn’t understand the human language, she certainly recognized weapons.

The slime, who had learned some of the royal language in a special way, merely kept her mouth shut. Though her strength was lacking, over a hundred years of struggle for survival made Xiao Lan far more mature in intellect than Lulu, who only had inherited memories.

As a special [Adaptive Mimetic Slime], Xiao Lan’s perception of energy was particularly keen.

Whether it was the deep pure light aura felt during their brief encounter with the two girls or the terrifying energy contained in what Miss Vilyric casually conjured, or even the Light Element Crystal that Xiao Lan had hidden in her body, all instilled her with confidence in the mysterious girl with whom she had made a pact.

Putting aside Lord Nan Dao and his group, those two should never be so easily defeated.

Surrounding humans were still on high alert, with bows, spells, and even dozens of heavy magic cannons aimed firmly at the cave’s entrance, which was buried beneath rocks.

At that moment.

Just as Xiao Lan planned to quietly await the developments, her expression suddenly changed drastically!

“???!!!!”

Her slime body froze unexpectedly, and an overwhelming sense of fear and reverence surged uncontrollably within her.

She felt a gaze.

It was a presence far beyond her, beyond any being present, as if it came from another dimension—a glimpse of wonder cast down from the heavens by a god.

She was being watched.

   

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