Crimson Servant.

Chapter 223 Comparison of hearts
"Frost troll fat is the essence of troll regeneration and is a top-grade ingredient for making healing potions." John threw a large piece of the fat he had plundered onto the snow. His disgusted expression made Dalia question the scarcity of this alchemical material. This stuff smelled really bad, like moldy cheese with a strong fishy smell.

"This is just a raw material. If you want to bring out stronger performance, you need to refine it and remove the impurities inside."

John was still continuing his task, and Lucien was in charge of the introduction. He took out a bottle, scooped up a ball of snowy oil from the ground, sealed it, and shook the bottle in front of the young priest.

"After stirring at low temperature and letting it stand, it will separate into layers. Drinking the beige floating liquid on the top can also have a therapeutic effect. This is a traditional way to deal with troll fat, but the taste is also a concentrated essence."

Because Lucian threw the troll potion to Dalia, as a pragmatic member of the Snow family, Dalia did not have any aversion to the smell of the life-saving potion. She carefully stuffed the bottle into her potion bag and consciously used the extra empty bottles to deal with the remaining fat blocks on the snow.

John's trophy collection had penetrated deep into the troll's flesh, breaking two hard ribs. The sorcerer then picked the last of the material out of the troll's chest.

"The heart of a frost troll is as hard as cowhide. The solution made from it can be used to make cold resistance potions. It is said that some wizards can use this material to make secret medicine that can permanently improve physical fitness. It can also be used as a frost bomb by filling alchemical flames."

John held up the heart and looked towards Francis' position. The dark elf had long stopped paying attention to this side, and his eyes were fixed on the half-open entrance of the mine.

The sorcerer cut off a piece of the frost troll's fur and wrapped it around the heart, then turned around and handed it to Dalia. He clapped his hands and let the Sin Binding Chain of Veltis absorb the blood on his fingers while no one was paying attention.

Since killing the frost trolls caused almost no damage, the adventurers took a short rest and then entered the mine.

This abandoned mine had long been empty, and the tunnel was dark, with torches burning quietly. They went down the tunnel, led by the dark elf Francis. When they came across a fork in the road, he walked straight into one of them without hesitation.

The journey was smooth. Dalia would occasionally pick up the mine map suspiciously because of a familiar scene, but Francis's determined actions made her keep her doubts in her heart.

It doesn’t matter. This mine is not big. Even if she gets lost, she can easily find the route with the help of the map, Dalia thought.

Then the young priest realized the huge gap between reality and ideal. The mine tunnel they were currently in showed on the map that the four of them had reached the end of the road. Dalia carefully compared the current terrain with the hand-drawn drawings and had to conclude that the long road in front of him that stretched into the deep darkness was part of the mine tunnel.

They took a road that was not marked on the map.

"Because of Lucien?"

Perhaps it was because the illusionist's descriptions of the illusions along the way were too profound, and when Dalia encountered a situation that deviated from her ideas, she always suspected that this was another joke of the illusionist.

The illusionist's eyes widened, and his exaggerated expression seemed to show that Dalia's suspicion hurt him. After a few seconds, seeing that the priest did not show the apology he imagined, Lucien realized that he was too exaggerated.

He shrugged, poked his staff into the ground, and spread his hands.

"I didn't. My illusions couldn't fool Francis."

The dark elf walking in front of the team had already entered the unrecorded mine tunnel instead of bumping into the solid wall.

This road is real.

Dalia put the map back into her backpack and never used it again.

"This doesn't make sense. This is a mine dug by the Snow family. There's no reason why it shouldn't be marked."

"Maybe it's to cover up something, some secret that can't be exposed." John Kemp always assumes the most despicable personalities of others, especially those nobles who are well-reputed and loved by others. He always feels that their bright and beautiful appearance is to hide a darker inner self.

"There is no such secret in the Snow family." Dalia looked at the strange smile on the sorcerer's face and held back her fists.

"We are approaching the secret. Don't jump to conclusions before the truth is revealed." Lucien passed by the two of them. "It is also possible that this road did not exist when the map was drawn. If it connects to the Underdark, there will not be too many races digging there." Francis concluded.

"Don't forget Hong Bing. The Snow family, at least the missing eldest son is in big trouble."

When they reached the depths of the mine tunnel, Francis reached out to stop them.

The darkness in front of their eyes was no longer blurry. A purple-red light was emitting from below. The cluster of glowing crystals embedded in the rock wall outlined a circular pit in front of the adventurers, sloping downward.

Francis' meaning was obvious. They had arrived at one of the entrances to the Underdark, a downward pit that led to the caves of the Underdark.

Francis Blade looked into the depths of the pit filled with purple light. He was back, back to his hometown. This dark place was full of conspiracy and betrayal. Many memories of the past reappeared in the dark elf's mind, including the mistress, the family, and those self-righteous opponents. Francis' muscles slowly tensed, and the hostility towards the dark place engraved in this body was reviving in his muscles.

Compared with his decisiveness in escaping from here, the emotions in the dark elf's heart are undoubtedly much more complicated.

When he emerged from the Underdark, he was a lonely warrior. The dark elves' pursuit of fame and fortune had cast apathy and numbness into his body. This influence still exists today, like a thorn in the flesh. But Francis believes that he is not only that warrior now, and his travels over the years have brought many changes to his body.

In the eyes of those tribesmen, Francis might be classified as "weak".

But the dark elves do not think this is a weakening. Looking back on their past with their current mentality, resistance and disgust towards the Underdark always arise from their hearts before any other emotions.

Francis Blade was on the right path, the dark elf confirmed it once again.

"Francis."

The silence of the dark elves attracted the sorcerer. John thought that the dark elves' fear of home was just like his own, a major psychological trauma that needed support to get through.

John took a breath and thought about what he could do.

He thought of the past. John Kemp, who was once a Crimson Servant, was afraid of the Crimson Servant who was transformed by his ritual. After meeting Nora and others, the Crimson Servant's following of John did not change.

It was the dark elf Francis who stood up and knocked down any Crimson Servant that approached John. The Crimson Servant in the red mist was immortal, but the dark elves could always keep them in the process of resurrection.

Now it's John's turn to return the favor! He will have to do what Francis doesn't want to face!

John turned his head to look at Dalia and Inlucian who were talking, and leaned close to the dark elf and whispered, "If you need, I will kill all the dark elves that appear around the team."

The dark elf, who had just recovered from his sadness, was stunned for a moment. He looked at the sorcerer with a serious look, wondering why he made such a shocking statement.

Francis thought he had the answer.

In the past, the dark elves had been a little cold towards John, and often assigned him training that he didn't like, causing the sorcerer to accumulate a lot of resentment. Now, he wanted to vent it on his fellow dark elves.

Francis sighed and patted John's shoulder.

"No."

"You have to leave some for me."

(End of this chapter)