Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest - Chapter 1710: Aftermath
Chapter 1710: Aftermath
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While looking around at the many soldiers sighing in relief or being brought to other areas to be healed and recover from their many injuries, Elayne regrouped with her family and friends.
Using her powers, she quickly healed any injuries they still had, and everyone decided to relax for a while if possible.
“Whew, that was pretty damn tough,” sighed Rita. “That cyclops was really tough too! What the hell?”
“It was hard,” Elena nodded. “I didn’t realize until now, but we have to keep growing stronger. I can’t really just get content with what I have.”
“Me neither…” Anna agreed. “But at the same time, I’m exhausted…”
“We’ve fought too much today…” Jenny said. “Ouch, my back hurts…”
“I want to rest on a comfortable and warm bed… it’s so cold up here,” Elisa said in her human form.
“Alright, I know everyone is tired, and we all did a good job, so let’s go have a meal and rest comfortably until tomorrow,” Elayne said. “Hm, maybe we could take a day off tomorrow too and depart the day after tomorrow so we can all fully recover.”
“That sounds good~” Lily agreed. “I really need a rest.”
“So what was inside that thing?” Mark asked, as everyone started making their way back to the city.
“A Demon…” Elayne said, recalling what she saw. “It wasn’t particularly big or intimidating, but what made me upset is that it was a full-fledged demon in their flesh and all… Well, it’s not like it’s impossible for them to do that, but they usually come as souls, right? Can you guys tell me?” Elayne asked her two Demonic Weapons.
“Yeah, Demons require a lot of power and energy to fully materialize themselves…” The Demonic Scythe, Querlax, said. “If that demon could materialize and work as a core for the Aberration, then he was fairly strong.”
“Makes sense why I almost lost…” Elayne sighed. “I could’ve mustered more strength if I wasn’t so tired from all previous battles and overexerting myself… Maybe Gardenia wasn’t wrong… But at the same time, he was really small and scrawny, and I didn’t feel the same aura from him as from the other demons, like the Demon Prince we faced before.”
“Hmmm,” the Demonic Staff, Berbelianna, spoke. “Perhaps that means he wasn’t that strong by himself, but his master was, right?”
“His master…” Elayne said. “He told me that because we defeated Merlinus, all the contracts that old man had with them passed to the Demon King of Death… why, though? I have no idea. He somehow absorbed his powers? But we made sure to kill him… Not even his crown should’ve remained.”
“Perhaps it wasn’t as you thought,” Querlax said. “The Demon King of Death is a powerful contractor, even more so now… His control over souls and the concept of death is immense too. There’s a possibility that something truly heinous is being planned.”
“And you guys really don’t know anything? Really?!” Rita asked the two floating demonic weapons with suspicious eyes.
“We merely know what we were told. We were brought here by our master, offered souls as compensation, and that’s about it! We swear!” Berbelianna said, growing nervous under Rita’s gaze.
“However, we can speculate!” Querlax said. “The Demon King of Death has gained a significant amount of power after Merlinus’s death, unlike what you thought after defeating this magician, right? This means that he most likely had planned his downfall from the beginning and used you all to get rid of him, obtaining the powers the old wizard, I assume, had managed to forge after many years.”
“Yes, that’s… that could be it,” Elayne nodded, sighing as she grew more nervous. “Hmmm… And Oberon’s fate… We don’t know what’s going on over there, right?”
“No, we don’t,” Katherine said, floating next to Elayne. “But it seems that the area… I can look from afar and feel a strong aura of darkness everywhere, but this is not from a foreign origin… it’s from the King?”
“So what Queen Khione said earlier…?” Elisa asked. “Could it be that he was attacked or something? Maybe… brainwashed?”
“Brainwashed?! King Oberon?! He’s so strong… he could never fall for such things!” said Katherine.
“Nyeh, maybe you think that, but who knows,” Kajithe said. “What if he willingly let them control him, for example?”
“…?!” Katherine was shocked, glaring at the cat with an angry face. “I appreciate your help, Sir Kajithe, but please stop slandering Lord Oberon. We will make our assumptions once we finally see what’s happening with our own eyes.”
“Why are you so mad? I was just saying…” Kajithe rolled his eyes.
“Hmmm…” Maria kept thinking, deep in thought. “This feels odd… But even if it might be a trap, what else can we do than walk there and try to do the best we can? We can’t escape or anything, and we don’t have the time to gather forces either…”
“Queen Khione could help, but asking for the other villages we visited would be too much,” said Mark. “Better go extra prepared anyway. Let’s recover and gather our resources, materials, and see what else we can do. Maybe upgrading our equipment one last time?”
“I don’t know if it’s possible. The more cubes we use on items, the more unstable they become. Using more than two cubes on equipment in real life could destroy them. It’s a gamble,” Elayne explained.
“Huh…” Mark looked slightly worried but then smiled brightly anyway. “Well, we’ll find other ways to grow. You showed some amazing strength there, Elayne, so don’t be disheartened…”
“I know…” Elayne said, as she rested her head on Mark’s shoulder, holding his hand.
“Is the baby alright?” he asked.
“The baby’s fine, don’t worry,” Elayne said with a confident smirk. “I think I’ve figured out various new ways to use our power. As we fight beings capable of just outright canceling our spells and taking no damage from our techniques, perhaps these methods could help us, but they won’t be easy to learn… and I’m not even sure if I’ve ever mastered them or if I can teach them.”
“What are these new ways you’re talking about, mom?” Elena asked.
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