...
One month later.
Near Rhein Castle.
Lin Suo retracted the flas, examining the rmaid cursed form in front of him.
Considering waking the Demon Spirit Shark to work.
It had been dormant for a long ti.
The origin energy within the Curse Scythe seed particularly important to it and shouldn’t be disturbed.
And as a symbiont, even if the Demon Spirit Shark was dormant,
theoretically, it should still be able to utilize so of its power, just not too much, lest it affect the creature.
"Let think, how does the Demon Spirit race store food?"
"This imprint here, this one... no, that’s not right, it should already know how to do it."
Trying over and over, Lin Suo suddenly slapped his forehead and took out an ordinary-looking piece of marble.
He often used this material for making Artificial Magic Stones, so he always carried so in his Space Belt.
Borrowing the Demon Spirit’s innate ability to devour curses, he absorbed the curse power from the charred corpses,
then using the Power of Synthesis, fused it into the stone.
"Curse Magic Stone!"
"A magic stone of pure Curse Power!"
For him, this was the highest quality resource for cultivation; once the Demon Spirit Shark woke up,
it could use the stored curse power to quickly increase its Wizard Rank.
Better to save it, there might be other uses that he hadn’t discovered yet.
A month passed by.
Lin Suo had just arrived at Rhein Castle and cleared out all of the low-level cursed objects here.
As expected, the castle was empty, likely plundered by bandits.
The Slave Knights and maidservants were almost all dead.
Only the butler and the Chief Maid’s bodies were not found.
Fortunately, he was the only one who knew the entrance to the hidden basent, which was unaffected;
otherwise, so of his outdated possessions might have been lost.
was doing just fine.
Perhaps because of the Demon Spirit aura on it, the creature was treated as kindred by the monsters and wasn’t attacked.
"Let take a look."
Delving a kiloter underground.
Lin Suo reopened the musty underground door that had been sealed for ages.
In the corner, a series of Frog Machines were neatly aligned, utterly still, totaling over twenty.
With a thought, Lin Suo’s spiritual power took control of the Frog Machines,
reestablishing the underground network tunnels between Rhein Castle and Koster.
He had blocked the old ones earlier, but now, reopening them was still feasible.
After all, the old tunnels coated with Earth Crystal Liquid were still intact and undamaged.
In another corner, Synthetic Materials piled up like a mountain, various experintal tools, dissection tables, specin rooms, and training grounds.
One by one, the facilities and materials stirred familiar mories in Lin Suo.
"It’s more comfortable at ho; the residence at Golden Academy ultimately lacks a sense of intimacy."
"No, it’s more of a lack of freedom."
"Living under another’s roof, even though it’s safe, it always feels like there are c shackles on , uncomfortable..."
Despite saying this, Lin Suo was afraid he might foolishly give up a great future.
He swiftly began packing up.
All valuable materials and equipnt got packed away.
He was a person with three storage rings now, and there was still plenty of space in his Space Belt;
what he couldn’t take before, he now had enough room for.
He destroyed any obsolete materials directly.
Sa with the flawed Synthesis.
Only after completely erasing his traces did he proceed along the tunnel just dug out by the Frog Machines.
"If she’s hiding underground at Rhein Bookstore, the most likely place would be the supply room."
"The refugee shelter prepared for unexpected disasters in the past, I didn’t expect the Elves to use it."
It was a fortunate turn of fate.
To enter his underground kingdom.
The drop from the castle to the bookstore underground was as much as nine hundred ters, generally only about a hundred ters underground within the city. At the ti, he was weak, with no significant powers in the city.
Now he had to be cautious, trying to cause as little noise as possible.
A hundred ters was too short of a range.
The Crow-n stationed in Koster were generally around the Second Rank, with the leader being Sixth Rank.
Whether he could beat them was another question, but it was good to avoid trouble if possible.
Valia might be waiting for his rescue, Lin Suo didn’t want to delay and moved quickly.
In just one day, he swept through all the city’s refuge sites.
"Could she have gone outside the city?"
"If not in the underground system of the castle, then the only places left are the sea escape routes and the Monster Salt Swamp; I’ll head to the Salt Swamp first."
He had put much effort into stealing soil in the past.
The monikers Earth Mole, Lin Earth Mouse were by no ans for show.
...
Elsewhere.
After a worriso month with no improvent in the situation,
Even the level-headed Tina was getting anxious.
It was October now.
The celestial convergence next January was drawing ever closer, and the ancient pathways in the Monster Salt Swamp would inevitably expand further, putting them, right next to the swamp, in a vulnerable position.
If the wait continued fruitlessly, they would have to take a risk.
She hadn’t just been idly waiting for rescue during this ti; she had already discovered a tunnel leading to the sea, blocked by a Stone Wall. It could be used, but it posed a great risk, mainly due to the many burdens they would have to bear.
"Sister Tina, Sister Tina!"
Just then, a crisp and delightful child’s voice rang out, as an Elf girl ran over.
"Sister, soone’s here!"
"What?!"
"It’s a big brother, he’s brought a lot of big toads!"
"Quick, take there. Have you inford Sister Valia and the others?"
"Sister Lea has already gone there."
"Thank you, little Bella, let’s go."
"Mmm~"
The little girl seed to have moved past the pain of losing family, bouncing ahead cheerfully.
In the refuge’s living room.
Little Thea was placed on a coffee table, Valia’s arms clung tightly around Lin Suo’s neck, not letting go.
It had been six years since that glance.
She felt as if she now understood what love was.
"Mr. Rhein."
Lin Suo was entranced, as if returned to that day.
A golden-haired Elf girl, cutely admonishing him to eat more vegetables, hoping to share his al.
And he would often prepare bitter gourd mixed with chili when the girl was expected, in hopes that she would back off.
The result... Lea had approached him with open arms.
It left a deep impression on his young and tender psyche.
"Lea..."
"Mmm-hmm~ I know."
Valia lifted her head and leaned in, pressing close to Lin Suo.
For a long ti, she did not wish to let go.
"Cough cough!"
Tina’s cough startled Valia, causing her to separate in a panic, as a shimring crystal silk thread stretched out between them.
It had spun a thread!
The situation had beco even more awkward.
Although Tina’s opinion of Lin Suo had greatly improved, faced with this scenario, she naturally sided with her own sister.
She gave Lin Suo an annoyed glare.
"Why did you co here!"
Lin Suo smiled, the unfamiliarity from long separation fading quite a bit.
"To save you two and get you out."
"Just you alone?"
"Just alone."
"What’s the plan? Any strategy?"
"Haven’t decided yet, I’ll co up with it after I understand your situation."
Tina was taken aback, and with a jerk of her head that tossed her platinum fishbone braid, she strode away, hauling the unwilling children with her.
A woman who’s tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
It was then Valia ca back to her senses.
She noticed little Thea on the coffee table, her eyes showing a hint of astonishnt.
"Rhein, she is..."
Lin Suo picked up Thea and placed her in the pouch on his back, hesitated for a mont but still said,
"My daughter, Thea Rhein."
The likelihood of a future with Valia was slim, or rather, it was unlikely with any woman at all.
Indulging once in a while was one thing,
But to truly be together, his lifestyle was not sothing people could accept.
He had secrets...
Ti spent on cultivation and research was never enough, let alone on love and romance.
And soon, he would be facing the journey to the new world.
In the High Elf Empire, there were beings above the Ninth Ring; these longevity species standing atop the world need not worry about a lack of spots for escape.
Elf, giant dragon, human – these were the three dominions of Padolon; other species were low-level ones that hadn’t even grasped the starry sky.
And while the Blood Clan had their Ancestor and the Crow-n originated from one hundred thousand years ago, it was unclear if they knew the truth.
"Your daughter..."
Valia’s face turned much paler, looking sowhat unsteady.
"Did you get married?"
"No, but I won’t get married either."
Lin Suo didn’t want to lie to her, nor did he want to hurt her. It was better to have a short pain than a long one; the more attachnts one has, the more vulnerabilities one exposes.
Until he truly stood at the pinnacle, he would not consider a romantic life.
"Wizards pursue the truth, and the rest of my life will be ceaselessly dedicated to that path."
"..."
"I understand now."
Valia smiled resignedly and led Lin Suo towards where they were staying, showing him the situation of the Elf children.
Tina was there waiting for them.
She seed surprised to see them return so quickly.
"That was fast?"
Lin Suo’s expression darkened, his fledgling good impression having once again plumted.
"They are all Elf children?"
When it ca to serious matters, both won beca focused.
"When it happened, we were attending a small competition at the Nature Association, nearly all of Koster’s Elf children were with us."
"But the situation then... it was too horrifying."
"Cursed rotted corpses, Crow-n, and Blood Slaves slaughtering among the flas, their malice towards the living drove them to ferocity, under the pale ashes, evil fog surged forth like a tide..."
"Like the sky had fallen..."
"Grandpa with antlers, Granny Jones, and everyone from the Nature Association all died, only we escaped through the secret passage."
"And afterward, we discovered the tunnel left beneath the bookstore."
Tina and Valia recounted in turns, although they seed rather relaxed now, Lin Suo could imagine the despair they must have felt in that situation.
"I understand now, let’s plan the retreat starting tomorrow."
"We will move underground, follow first to Rhein Castle."
"Underground?"
Tina interjected a reminder.
"Rhein, without these materials, we would be discovered by the cursed rotted corpses as soon as we leave."
"I know."
"Don’t tell you guys thought my preparations were only limited to the tunnels beneath Koster?"
Tina’s eyes sparkled.
"Could it be you’re saying..."
"Just follow and you’ll see."
The two said nothing more, quickly packing their luggage and dressing up, taking the children into the belly of the Frog Machine.
Curiously observing everything outside.
The belly of the Frog Machine had the capability of spatial expansion, fitting in more than a dozen kids with no issues.
And there were over twenty of them in total.
Sitting inside and looking out, the belly was transparent.
So they could see that as ti went on, they were getting deeper and deeper underground.
"Rhein, you really are part of the rat clan, aren’t you? Worthy of a Wild Wizard’s origins, you’re well-prepared."
"You don’t know anything, this is called being prepared for any eventuality; I suggest you learn from this."
"How did you do it?"
"With this."
Lin Suo materialized the Power of Earth witchcraft into a scroll and handed it over to them.
Anyway, it was just a First Rank witchcraft; without the combination of Earth Crystal Liquid, it wasn’t as overpowered as one might think.
"This bottle is for you, coat the tunnel with it and activate it with magic power to take effect. You can also apply it to your body, but be mindful of the ti - too long could pose a risk of petrification."
"Thank you."
Following the small incident, the three didn’t talk much, occasionally revolving around little Thea with one or two questions.
Thus, Tina understood the matter of her sister having no chance with him.
She beca more at ease about it.
Her attitude towards Rhein was extrely friendly.
One day later.
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