Chapter 268: Light Tribe and Holy Spirit

【Invisibility Potion】

This is a magical potion quite popular among thieves and certain special industries. Although its grade is not high, it is favored for its cost-effectiveness, making it usable by essentially anyone without any harm to the body, as it can be easily washed away with water.

Of course, Ella wouldn’t show up unprepared at a dangerous place like the Holy Spirit Path. Thanks to the ample funding provided by a certain Miss White Fox, the potion she’s using is exceptionally expensive, even among various invisibility potions—with just that one bottle worth at least a thousand Holy Light coins of the highest quality.

To earn research funds, Miss Ella has long mingled in the mercenary industry, witnessing various groups and mastering many connections. As long as there’s money, such things are naturally not difficult to obtain.

Pushing aside the bushes, Ella left the path and stepped into the depths of the forest.

One advantage of this premium potion is that it combines a special slime’s adhesive. Once applied, it automatically and evenly adheres to every corner of the body, forming a shell akin to an “invisibility membrane,” so there’s no worry about it simply falling off from slight contact.

Having spent most of her funds on research, the Light Tribe Girl, used to lower-grade invisibility potions, couldn’t help but feel how nice it is to be wealthy while carefully determining her direction in the forest.

According to Miss Xī’s description, one of their companions had opened an entrance directly on the ground using a rather loud spell. Although it was just a passing mention from the former, Ella could somewhat imagine the “loud” described by that Miss White Fox… to what extent, exactly.

It surely left a mark that couldn’t be repaired in a short time; it would definitely be conspicuous.

Fortunately, the forest where the Holy Spirit Path is located isn’t too large. Although no one was there to guide her, after about ten minutes of searching, Ella still found her target.

It was a clearing in the woods that seemed out of place.

Many peripheral trees had been brutally crushed and lay tragically on the ground, while the central area showed a semicircular depression with a diameter of over a hundred meters.

Numerous terrifying cracks twisted and spread out from the center of the depression, with splits nearly a meter wide. It wouldn’t be a problem for anyone, not even a burly adult Beastman, to jump into it.

“Some kind of… massive spherical object smashed down from the sky, like a meteor… sky magic?”

With her scholar’s vast knowledge and insight, Miss Ella quickly guessed the cause of the marks. However, it seemed the meteor itself had already been dealt with by the cleaning personnel.

At the edge of that deep pit, Ella finally saw the Mechanical Sphere that Miss White Fox had described.

It was approximately thirty centimeters in diameter, entirely composed of a kind of silver-gray translucent metal, with strange… life forms inside emitting colored lights that flickered on and off.

If this can indeed be considered a life form.

At this moment, they were flapping two metal-like thin wings, flying back and forth in orderly groups near the cracks, causing the scholar lady observing them secretly from afar to inadvertently think of patrolling soldiers.

Though the Holy Empire mainly focuses on magic, there are specialized studies in mechanical engineering, especially at the Holy Empire First Comprehensive Research and Education Academy. Ella, having been in the Theological Hall for decades as a seasoned scholar, naturally has some knowledge in this area.

Very advanced technology, almost pushing “practicality” to its limits.

To be precise, these machines weren’t perfect spheres but were more streamlined to facilitate easier and smoother floating flight, reducing air resistance.

Those flickering colored lights weren’t just for show; they likely served as a means of signaling—these spheres probably don’t possess high intelligence, at least not enough to communicate through language or body movements.

That central gem, resembling a single eye, should be their only means of observing the outside world. A mechanical structure like this typically struggles to react flexibly, and it’s nine times out of ten under the unified command of some higher-level individuals.

In other words, this is probably a kind of renewable expendable.

Ella made the above judgment in a short period.

…Relying solely on the invisibility potion might not be enough.

She isn’t an expert in mechanical engineering, and the craftsmanship of these spheres has far exceeded the average level in the current academia of the Holy Nation. Ella can gauge some information roughly but knows that it’s unrealistic to completely see through it at a glance.

Mechanics are different from ordinary life forms; that gem looks like an eye but might not rely on sight to identify and locate other beings—magic fluctuations, sound waves, or even blood vitality fluctuations could all be possible.

This is a bit troublesome.

Just as Ella was secretly contemplating whether to retreat for now or take a gamble on the possibility that they couldn’t detect the invisibility potion…

A somewhat unfamiliar yet clear and distinct thought suddenly entered her mind, causing the invisible girl to pause slightly and unconsciously repeat it softly.

“You said… you could help me?”

She naturally knew the source of this thought.

On the night before leaving the Holy Capital for the battlefield, Miss Xī had sent a light sphere into her body, along with a peculiar gem said to be used for “supplying energy,” which resembled the core of the Light Tribe’s origin.

Ella still keeps this gem, as per the White Fox Girl’s instructions, hung close to her chest under a specially made pouch that isolates her aura, and that light sphere, which merged into her skin and disappeared, over time, she had gradually understood its true nature.

It was a light element spirit.

To be precise, it was a holy spirit formed by the condensation of pure light elements, having evolved its own consciousness.

Elemental bodies often emerge in places where the corresponding element’s density is exceptionally high, but most of them have less intelligence than beasts and only know how to act on instinct.

Moreover, the various elemental bodies naturally formed rarely possess strong power unless born in extreme locations. Due to their lack of intelligence, they generally exist as the food chain’s lowest tier, serving as prey for certain small magical beasts.

However, this light element spirit was entirely different; it was clearly a very simple elemental body yet possessed the ability and intelligence to communicate simply with the outside world. In fact,

It was even more powerful than her as a Light Tribe member.

Such a sacred and miraculous being, almost flawless as if created by the hand of the Goddess of Light herself; if a so-called holy spirit truly exists in this world, Ella felt there could be no one more suitable to bear that title than the former.

   

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