Chapter 132: Heading to Sloka-I Killed the Mage(March the First)

In the morning, Lin Lei stepped out of his room wearing a pristine white robe, his "Save the World" cape trailing all the way to the marble floor.

"Prophet, please guide us!"

The paladins had been kneeling at the door all night; their search for truth had never ceased. However, aside from their legs falling asleep, they had felt absolutely nothing.

"I cannot teach you." Lin Lei shook his head. "Everyone’s justice is different. You should get up."

"..."

The paladins fell into deep contemplation once again; they would need a while longer for the numbness in their legs to fade before they could stand.

Lin Lei turned and left. He reached the inn's lobby, where he saw a cripple—or rather, a group of cripples. The Royal Mages were leaning on canes while eating breakfast.

"What happened to you all?" Lin Lei asked. Seeing him, the mages began to wail.

"Little Highness, the side effects of the 'Sunny Breeze Spell' are too severe!"

"That’s right! Our bodies are so sore we could barely get out of bed!"

Some mages were still lying in their rooms, groaning in pain, unable to rise.

"Impossible. My spells have no side effects." Lin Lei refused to admit fault. "It must be that your bodies are too weak."

The Royal Mages looked crestfallen. "Little Highness, could you please heal us?"

They had been far too excited yesterday, practicing for several hours until they were completely exhausted before finally returning to their rooms to sleep. They hadn't felt anything wrong while practicing, but once they slept, the pain was agonizing. Waking up, they were so sore they had to repurpose their magic staves as canes.

"Little Highness, please, just heal us!"

The mages looked at Lin Lei with pathetic expressions. Being soft-hearted, Lin Lei began to heal them one by one. However, he could only treat muscle strains, not the lingering soreness; after the healing, the mages still felt weak and achy all over.

"Thank you, Highness!"

Once they stood up, they thanked Lin Lei repeatedly before rushing back to their rooms to resume practice—though this time, they only meditated.

"Truly remarkable enthusiasm." Lady White walked into the lobby and couldn't help but offer praise upon seeing the mages so eagerly running off to train. She then walked to Lin Lei’s side. "The Queen contacted me just now. She said there is an artifact in the Dwarven capital and wants you to find a way to retrieve it."

Lin Lei’s eyes lit up. "What artifact?"

"A voice-transmitting crystal."

It was a personal artifact of the Ancient Elf Queen, capable of turning spoken words into spells with a powerful, soul-bewitching influence. It was said that the original Elf Queen rose to power precisely because she possessed that crystal.

"This artifact might suit you," Lady White told him. The crystal’s power was tied to the speaker's charisma. It had little effect in others' hands, but in Lin Lei’s, it might be even more useful than the Song of the Azure Sky.

"I’m going to Sloka," Lin Lei said, unwilling to miss out on treasure. "What about you?"

"We will go with you," Lady White replied. Her unit had originally planned to head to the front lines after completing their escort mission, so they could accompany him.

"Prophet, Sloka is extremely dangerous right now. Are you sure you want to go?" Brooks strode in from outside at that moment. "I just received word that the werewolves have launched an attack on Sloka, and our Order of Knights is heading there to provide support."

Behind Brooks were four figures: Reinhardt, Vivian, and two strangers carrying a stretcher.

"We must hurry back to Sloka!" The voice came from a ball wrapped in bandages on the stretcher.

Lin Lei looked at the ball. "This thing can talk?"

The ball sounded surprised. "Brother, it’s me! How do you not recognize me?"

Lin Lei looked the ball up and down. "Bear? How did you end up like this?"

"Sigh, it’s a long story." Bell sighed, but he was more worried about his homeland than complaining. "Brother, you must help me save Sloka; the defensive line there can’t hold out any longer!" Having overheard the conversation between Lin Lei and Lady White, he added, "I will find a way to help you get the artifact back. Besides our knights, Lady Iluvatar will also be taking her cavalry with us to Sloka."

"Wait," Lady White interrupted. "Sloka is the sturdiest city in the world; how could it be in danger?" Her common sense dictated that Sloka should be impregnable. It was an underground city built deep within the mountains, with entrances reinforced by various magical ores and countless checkpoints. Once the gates were shut, no race should be able to invade. How could werewolves threaten it so easily?

"The werewolves brought a terrifying weapon," Bell replied. "This weapon is elusive; it can enter Sloka without even needing to use the gates."

A look of confusion crossed Lady White’s brow. "What weapon could be that formidable?"

"I’ve seen it, and I drew a sketch," Brooks said. He had witnessed the weapon, and it was indeed terrifying. He handed the sketch to Lady White, who stared at it intently for a long time. "Is this weapon truly so terrifying? What is it called?"

Lin Lei took a casual glance at the sketch.

"It’s called an excavator."

Lin Lei couldn't be mistaken about that large shovel; it was definitely an excavator. The werewolves had actually invented the excavator! This was a bad situation. Lin Lei knew all too well how powerful an excavator could be—he had to get there before they dug their way into Sloka.

After breakfast, Lady Iluvatar arrived with the Dwarven cavalry, and the paladins had also risen. The force, composed of four different races, began their march toward Sloka.

Lin Lei sat in his carriage. He hadn't slept much, but under the radiance of the Holy Light, he still felt energized. He caught a whiff of danger heading to Sloka; he decided it would be best to change his mask to conceal his identity and create a new spell for self-defense. The power of the "Codex of the Ancient Elf King" was running low. Although it constantly absorbed Holy Light, it couldn't keep up with the speed at which Lin Lei used it.

After careful consideration, he decided to create a high-level spell; it would be worth it, even if he couldn't use the Codex for a while. The mages had been urging him to recreate that sword technique, and while Lin Lei wanted to, that particular strike had been circumstantial—turning it into a stable technique was unlikely. Still, he remembered some of the sensations and could start by creating those.

In a nearby forest, Sylvie received a hat that had fallen from the sky.

"Sylvie, this hat has been blessed by several demigods. If you wear it, no one will be able to discover you." A sparrow circled in the sky. "I have understood your determination." Tyson’s voice emerged from the bird's beak. "Since you are willing to spy on him, then stay there."

Sylvie nodded slightly, pulled the hat over her head, and began to follow the party from a distance.