Chapter 269: Stealth

Although I was surprised that Miss Xī had such a spirit companion, I soon connected it to the rumors circulating among the people of the Holy Kingdom—that the so-called “White Fox Saintess” was sent to the mortal world by the Goddess to save believers on the brink of disaster. This gave me some relief about the situation.

Regardless of the true circumstances, the information indicated that Miss Xī had indeed summoned the noble and beautiful Holy White Dragon, and they displayed a close relationship.

Since this was already a fantastical creature that should have vanished from this world, having a Light Element Spirit accompany her didn’t seem unusual at all.

This spirit seemed to be sleeping inside Ella, apparently conserving its energy by going into a semi-dormant state, waking up only when Ella actively called for it or sensed that she was in crisis.

Probably due to their common Light attribute, Ella got along exceedingly well with this Saint Spirit, even able to engage in a form of mental communication to some degree while relying on each other.

While they occasionally chatted casually, this was the first time the spirit had spontaneously offered to do something.

It was clear that the Saint Spirit had recognized the uniqueness of Ella’s current situation and was fully awake and serious now.

Ella, not one to hesitate, gladly accepted the offer of assistance. This was a perfect chance to witness the miraculous capabilities of the Light Element Spirit, which had been entrusted to her by Miss Xī, who assured her that “as long as you’re not too reckless, it can keep you safe.”

【Then, I’ll ask for your help.】

As soon as this thought reached the spirit, a gentle warmth spread from the area near the core of Ella, where the Light Element Spirit resided, flowing through her limbs like a renewing energy. In an instant, a glowing film coated her skin, a shimmering layer beneath the invisibility potion.

The traces of light were concealed by the effects of the invisibility magical potion, yet it acted as a secondary defense line, blocking Ella’s natural emanation of various essences from reaching the outside world. It was meticulous and well-structured, not wasting a hint of excess energy.

“This is truly…”

Realizing that the light film completely blocked the transmission of sound as well, Ella couldn’t help but gasp, amazed.

It was not merely due to its extensive effects, but the efficient application of limited energy—this exquisite fine control could hardly be managed by ordinary beings.

At that moment, Ella was completely convinced that this was undoubtedly a superordinate spiritual entity composed purely of Light Elements. There was no way it could control the elements with such finesse otherwise.

As she gradually suppressed her astonishment and felt the light essence near her core still subtly pulsing, attentively monitoring her and the outside situation, Ella took a deep breath and stepped out from her hiding bush, moving forward slowly.

Five steps, ten steps—getting closer.

No disturbances.

Finally, she arrived at the edge of a massive depression, examining a crack without rushing to look down. Instead, she continued to cautiously observe the mechanical spheres that were floating and rotating rhythmically just a few meters away.

However, the peculiar mechanical spheres only stared at her with their flickering single eyes, continuing to move back and forth along what seemed to be a predetermined path, reminding her a bit of Golems or stone puppets—rather clumsy creatures.

Indeed, these things didn’t possess much intelligence; as long as there was no “anomaly,” they wouldn’t take any unnecessary actions.

Having confirmed that they truly couldn’t observe or sense her presence, Ella ceased hesitating and leaped into the dark opening of the crack.

“Whoosh!”

With the rush of wind and air during her rapid descent, only a trace of sound managed to reach her ears, stopped by the film created by the Light Element Spirit.

Finding herself without a foothold didn’t panic Ella, who had plenty of combat experience. She focused keenly on the dim ground below, which she could vaguely see through the eyes of the Light Tribe, calculating the timing in her mind.

“Swish!”

Just before landing, she swiftly removed her hood, her shoulder-length hair shining like light transformed into a pair of cute little wings, greatly lessening her impact from the fall. Then, those wings vanished, and she quickly put her hood back on.

Like a nimble cat, she touched down lightly, erasing the last bit of her descending force without hesitation and turned to retreat.

“Whoosh, whoosh!”

Two undefined red beams nearly grazed her body, sweeping past where she had just stood. Immediately afterward, two mechanically crafted spheres with different forms yet appearing more sophisticated than those above swooped in from the shadows.

The spheres hovered in the air, spinning to search for something like curious little creatures. After a time without finding anything, the red glow in their singular eyes gradually faded, and they flew off into the distance.

Ella, pressed against the wall, quietly celebrated her fortune.

Indeed, there were monitoring and defense forces present below as well, and they seemed even more rigorous than above. What she didn’t quite understand about the red light was that if she had been hit directly, she might have exposed herself.

The girl looked up at the vacant hall’s ceiling, its faint light filtering in through countless gaps, then shifted her gaze around.

There was only one exit in this area, but the floating spheres inside were less than one-tenth of what Miss Xī had described. They had likely not been fully replenished since the last battle.

Moreover, after such a situation, this underground passageway’s internal structure would undoubtedly be redesigned and refurbished. If she waited any longer and the outer crack was sealed, she probably wouldn’t even be able to find a way to enter.

“…”

Anyway, she had no choice but to keep moving forward, taking it step by step.

Carefully avoiding the flying spheres that seemed to act without logic but were, in fact, much smarter than their counterparts above ground, Ella proceeded towards the exit.

As expected, after leaving the hall, she was greeted by an extensive network of underground tunnels, over half of which had been buried and blocked by sand and stone. Only about a third and what seemed to be the main road ahead remained traversable.

Suddenly, Ella realized her luck was pretty good.

These blocked entrances were likely connected to the large cracks in the ground outside, clearly abandoned. She had coincidentally picked one that hadn’t been dealt with yet.

Within these underground tunnels, also, many mechanical spheres buzzed by, scurrying around like diligent worker bees, transporting various materials and debris strapped to their bodies.

What amazed Ella even more was that there were entirely more creatures present working here than just those spheres.

   

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