Chapter 94: The Journey of Two Parties

“Eh? Is that so? Maybe she just forgot to mention it, after all… It’s not a big deal.”

The young man shook his head helplessly and counted on his fingers for a while before letting out a wry smile.

“I haven’t seen that smelly butterfly in person for decades. She’s inside the door, and I’m outside; it’s just a wall apart, yet it’s a distance of two worlds. The gate to the illusionary realm isn’t that easy to open, and chatting with her always makes me recall those unbearable past times, those old friends I can no longer see. It’s quite painful; over time, it just fades away.”

“I see…”

Barta nodded as if he had learned some secret but still maintained a respectful posture on one knee.

“Master, you haven’t left the sacred gate for over a hundred years. Did something drastic happen in the world that requires your personal intervention?”

“Haha, little Barta, stop being so suspicious and serious; you won’t find a partner that way, you know.”

After teasing his charming disciple for a moment, the man smiled again, but a hint of weariness and resignation flickered in his seemingly clear eyes.

“I’ve been cooped up in one place for nearly three hundred years; it’s time for this old body to get some fresh air. I’ve heard quite a few interesting things happening lately, especially from Tiyelu, who mentioned some intriguing characters, so I wanted to come take a look.”

The commoner stepped forward casually; although it seemed like he just took a few steps, he instantly crossed the kneeling treant magic general lady, covering over a hundred meters, and stood at the edge of the mountaintop platform, gazing at the distant misty mountains.

“Time really flies; in a blink, three hundred years have passed. A mistake, a promise, a secret—though the world is vast, it’s not my home, ha, sigh, sigh…”

…

The day after the negotiations ended.

The sudden stir of magical beasts was properly handled by both parties, not affecting the final outcome. The discussions between the United Kingdom and the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons lasted three hours, successfully reaching a consensus.

The representatives from both sides drafted a formally authoritative agreement on the spot, containing over a hundred clauses concerning future cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons.

For instance, the United Kingdom would unconditionally return tens of thousands of magical beasts rescued from poacher strongholds, including Noviya Moonshadow. In return, the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons would need to assist in the resettlement and transfer of these beasts and provide temporary shelter for other non-Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons victimized races until their families could take them home.

This was particularly crucial, as the United Kingdom would subsequently embark on a nationwide campaign to combat human trafficking and assist victims, and the victim population would undoubtedly be tenfold or even a hundred times more than the currently rescued ones. The Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, as a place of racial integration, was undoubtedly more suitable for housing these foreign races than back home.

Of course, there were also clauses regarding the dismantling of roadblocks by the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons and reopening trade with the United Kingdom, as well as a stipulation that they could not send their people or magical beasts into the United Kingdom’s borders for any reason in the future. In return, the Kingdom would fully restrain itself and join forces with the magic beings to crack down on any remaining poaching activities.

Such agreements were plenty, but mostly they were reasonable, win-win arrangements beneficial for both sides. Vilyric didn’t read much since she found it troublesome.

With this, the intense clashes and conflicts that had persisted at the borders for months could be considered fundamentally resolved. If things continued to develop smoothly, perhaps this opportunity could allow the United Kingdom and the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons to establish their first diplomatic relations in history—a piece of news that would surely allow a certain queen far away in the City of Courage to finally sleep peacefully.

Morning, before the north gate of Demon Town.

“Miss Vilyric, won’t you stay a few more days? Why are you in such a hurry to leave Demon Town? Is there something important you must rush to handle?”

The princess, dressed in casual clothes, grasped the delicate white hand of the priestess, who was not much older than her, and tried desperately to persuade her to stay.

In front of them, a long convoy protected by the military was continuously rolling out of the city gate, transporting those magical beasts stolen by poachers—the first batch returned to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons according to the agreement. The human army would escort them to the border, where the magical beings would take over.

Included were those vital girls from the batch the priestess treated using the disguise of “Xī,” along with the critical Noviya Moonshadow, all being returned this time.

Vilyric also saw an opportunity to bring along a few other travel companions into the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons on this trip.

With Walter and the others helping out, there would naturally be no issues. To be fair, from the beginning, it had been agreed that as a reward for helping her find Noviya, the Holy Ancestor had promised the priestess and her party would be allowed to come and go freely in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons in the future.

“No, I can’t stay! Besides, I’ve explored Demon Town enough; it’s time for me to check out a new place! Little Mona, don’t worry; I’m not leaving for good. I’ll definitely return, at least for that tree-planting thing I mentioned earlier.”

Planting the Divine Tree of the Life Goddess wasn’t a small matter—it’s not just a matter of tossing a seed, adding some fertilizer, and watering it. It requires a significant amount of observation and cultivation time. Vilyric didn’t have the leisure to slowly deal with such matters in the city.

Moreover, Tilysha lacked experience in planting divine trees, and given it was her first attempt, the priestess considered it best to proceed in a calmer situation.

Once they figured out the secrets of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, especially the intelligence regarding those traversers, returning to deal with this matter in Demon Town would be more than sufficient.

Also…

Vilyric turned her gaze to the acting city lord standing next to the blue-haired girl, feeling a bit shy as she scratched her face.

“Well, mastering refined swordsmanship is not a task that can be accomplished overnight. I have some pressing matters to investigate first, so temporarily…”

“Ahem! Don’t worry! I absolutely will keep my promise! I won’t take back ‘Qinglan.’ As compensation for the delay, from today, it’s yours; when you return from the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, I’ll make sure to give you a proper answer.”

Miss Lan, who had been let down by someone, smiled helplessly, lightly stroking the hilt of her long knife, showing no signs of being angry.

“It’s fine; when we initially decided to cooperate, we never set a specific timeline, and I never thought I could easily grasp the mysteries in that book. Being compensated with such a precious sword, I’m actually making out big time.”

“Vilyric, you don’t need to feel burdened; go do what you want. In the short term, I probably won’t have the leisure to practice my skills anyway.”

“Ah haha, it’s great that you think like that…”

In truth, the priestess wasn’t without means to immediately teach Miss Lan those sword techniques; if she wanted, she could just turn “martial arts” into “skills,” just like Liliya did back then.

However, Vilyric hoped to avoid any unnecessary exposure of gaming elements unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, part of her reason for heading to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons to seek information regarding the traversers was to fulfill that agreement.

After all, from “True Solutions of Famous Swords” to the log found in Aileen’s family basement, and all the various clues appearing during this time, they all pointed to an increasingly clear fact.

The author of “True Solutions of Famous Swords” also came from the players of “Illusory Worlds,” and is likely one of the members of that traverser exploration team recorded in the log.

There must be more clues left by them in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, even… their very traces.

   

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