Chapter 568 - 566: And Then Something Happened

Lana’s sudden flag made Hilia feel something was amiss.

She realized this was the area Rose had pointed out, and the pollution here was definitely not simple.

However, if this was the Dusk Sect’s base, according to their usual style, they would likely not be so low-key.

The recent encounters had given Hilia the impression that the Dusk Sect was both brave and cowardly.

Brave because they wouldn’t casually set up bases; their bases were blatantly placed near cities, even creating a region filled with pollution and deathly aura.

Cowardly, as they would immediately flee when outmatched, without a second thought about abandoning hard-earned grounds.

That such a style has persisted to this day, Hilia felt it’s practically a miracle.

"This area is just the edge of the sensing region; there’s nothing around, doesn’t really look like a heretical base. According to Lana, the Elf Forest has been like this lately, periodically erupting with pollution, intricately connected to the life elements of the Elf Forest..."

Hilia paused.

"Why does it feel like this pollution area is a bursting pimple of the Elf Forest, with pus flowing out from it... Eww!"

Hilia hugged herself and shivered.

"So gross."

Nearby, Rose looked at Hilia talking to herself for a long time, like she was fighting with herself.

He knew Hilia was actually speaking for him to hear, but he was too lazy to respond.

As Hilia precisely placed the Magic Crystal to its designated spot, this node successfully formed.

Hilia hid an intermediate-level Magic Crystal underneath the Array node, constructing a secret mini-array.

The purpose of this mini-array is to prevent excessively strong pollution eruptions. If it occurs, this node can affect other nodes and hold out a bit longer.

Of course, it can only hold out a bit longer because this Array is not the sole effort of Lana’s team; other teams summoned from different areas are placing nodes in other peripheral regions.

Hilia couldn’t do anything for the distant nodes, but she had a good impression of Lana, so if pollution erupts causing the Array to break, her hidden mini-array could protect Lana—the node’s power bank—from pollution backlash.

After finishing the setup, Hilia dusted her hands off and walked over to tell Lana, "Alright, it’s done."

Lana exclaimed, "So quickly?"

Hilia tilted her head, "Such a simple Array, taking more than ten minutes would be considered slow."

This ten minutes also included the extra time to construct the mini-array.

Otherwise, Hilia would have finished in five minutes.

"Ten minutes..." Lana looked at the other teammates, "They have been struggling for an hour already."

"They haven’t learned Array drawing techniques, it’s normal."

Hilia casually explained and then waved goodbye.

"Well then, Lana, I’m off now~"

"Yeah, once I manage to control this pollution, I’ll return to the Royal City, and I’ll treat you to juice."

"Alright ヽ(￣▽￣)و"

Hilia felt Lana’s words carried a bit of a flag feeling.

But she didn’t think much about it, bid farewell, and detoured towards the sensing region.

"Hopefully, I won’t encounter them again."

Hilia muttered.

While setting up the Array node, she sensed the placement of other nodes through the nodes, grasping the general range of the Array.

It’s large, but not exceedingly so.

At most, it’s the size of a small town.

Since it’s an artificially operated Array, although large, its effectiveness doesn’t increase with size.

Other large Arrays are intricately carved at each node, refining the details of the pattern.

The Array they are now setting up is simply enlarging the pattern.

If other large Arrays are like drawing a large city, then this Array is like enlarging the word "large city."

"With such a regional scale, it’s generally unlikely to be a lasting base; it might really be just the Elf Forest being sick and leaking pus."

Hilia muttered, then set it aside, slowed her pace, and slowly savored the Elf Forest experience.

...

"Alright, this node is finished! Thank you all for your hard work."

Lana stood at the center of the node, acting as the node’s artificial Magic Crystal.

The other teammates, being relatively weaker, were assigned by Lana to inspect the node’s patterns.

The female elf who suspected Hilia came to Hilia’s drawn area, scrutinized it, then suddenly froze, exclaiming in surprise, "Captain, come quickly and look at what that elf drew..."

Lana frowned, stepped away from the node center, and walked over quickly.

"What’s wrong, was it improperly laid out?"

As she spoke, Lana recalled that Hilia took only ten minutes to set it up and immediately thought she might have just done a shoddy job.

Other teammates also came over. The male elf who had previously harmonized with the female elf hadn’t even looked before saying, "That elf must have deliberately caused trouble, making this the weakest node."

"No." The female elf hesitated to speak.

Lana stepped forward, and her eyes widened in shock.

"This..."

The male elf also ran over, looking at the glow of the Array on the ground, and stood stunned.

"So beautiful."

He subconsciously glanced at his drawn area.

Crooked and messy, even a chicken scattering rice would look better.

The other two teammates also came over, and upon seeing the neatly beautiful Array pattern, exclaimed in amazement.

"That elf is so skilled; this is already the work of a professional Array Master, right?"

"More than that, ordinary Array Masters aren’t as steady as her."

Lana went up and examined it thoroughly, discovering some parts within the node were streamlined, and there were patterns she completely couldn’t understand.

"These patterns..."

Lana carefully sensed them; although she didn’t understand them, it didn’t hinder usage.

When she came over, she had a Magic Puppet standing in for her, and through the Magic Power input into the Array from the puppet’s feedback, Lana noticed as the Magic Power flowed to Hilia’s drawn area, it instantly became smooth like diarrhea.

Meanwhile, flowing to other areas, it quickly faltered, seeming constipated, leaving Lana somewhat uncomfortable.

"Amazing, it seems these patterns have significantly enhanced the node’s control effect."

Lana exclaimed, deciding in her heart to become good friends with her once back in the Royal City.

"Wait... I seem to have forgotten to add her star number..."

Lana regretfully patted her forehead.

Just then, the entire Array was activated.

Lana’s expression changed as she looked at the pollution area under the Array’s control.

She saw the originally thin layer of fog-like pollution suddenly surge up, layer upon layer crashing wildly from the inside out, wave after wave.

Under such an onslaught, Lana let out a muffled groan.

"What a powerful surge... at this rate, it might not hold."