Wizards pursue the truth

Chapter 158 [158] Wilderness Ruins: Laying Lines and Black Dead Vines (Bonus Chapter for the Alliance Leader)

The king of the Black Earth Kingdom was an old man in his sixties. His favorite and most favored son was the eldest prince, who was destined to inherit the throne.

Having poured his heart and soul into his work, the King Quidditch was struck by such a terrible calamity.

Wang Ya didn't care about the life or death of an ordinary human being; as long as the situation was investigated, cleared up, and the problem was solved, that was enough.

Inside the magnificent palace, a variety of food was laid out on a long wooden table.

Quidditch recounted the situation to the wizard who had traveled from afar.

Deep within the Black Forest where the problem occurred, many citizens of the capital city had gone missing a year ago, but this had not attracted much attention.

The Black Forest covers an extremely vast area, not just the vicinity of the capital. The entire Black Earth Kingdom is named after the abundance of trees in the Black Forest.

Unexpectedly, as a year went by, the number of missing people increased from one or two a day to more than a dozen or twenty. Moreover, the number of missing people was no longer limited to the thorny areas of the Black Forest, but spread to more distant areas, which terrified the civilians who wanted to cut down blackwood to make a living.

Some even claimed to have seen large amounts of dark hair emerging from inside, dragging humans inside one by one.

I also saw the black figure of a woman. She was using evil witchcraft, using her hair to wreak havoc, grabbing humans and sucking their life force.

This story has been widely circulated, but it cannot be verified, and many people do not believe it.

"Later, in order to celebrate my sixtieth birthday and to boost the morale of the common people, Dawa led a group of knights into the Black Forest, and then no more news came out."

Quidditch's eyes welled up with tears as he wiped them away. "If I had known it would end like this, I shouldn't have held this birthday banquet. My poor son."

"Father, the wizard has arrived. Why didn't you tell me? My brother's disappearance is entirely his own fault. If he hadn't been so stubborn, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

A young man walked in, dressed in fine clothes, seemingly Quidditch's late-life son.

Quidditch's face darkened with anger, and he snapped, "How dare you talk like that? That's your brother!"

"Also, the esteemed wizard is still here. Who allowed you to barge in?"

"It is precisely because the Wizard has arrived that I have come to pay my respects." The young man named 'White Steel' bowed deeply to Wang Ya with utmost respect, at an angle of nearly ninety degrees.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Wang Ya stood up from his chair and said, "I need some people to take me into the Black Forest, to the Thorn Region you mentioned."

He had absolutely no interest in the power and money struggles between mortal kingdoms, and it was best not to waste his time on them.

He didn't care at all about even the missing mortals.

"My esteemed wizard, I am willing to take you there," White Steel offered, causing Quidditch's expression to change once again.

Quidditch quickly scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting again? Is the Black Forest a place for you to go? Don't cause trouble in front of the wizard."

Wang Ya looked thoughtfully at Bai Gang's young face, noticing the determination in his eyes and the ambition in them.

A smirk played on his lips. "Since you have the guts, why not have you lead the way? If you die, don't blame me for not explaining beforehand."

A smile of excitement appeared on Bai Gang's face. "Being by the Wizard's side and being able to do something for the Wizard, what does it matter if I die?"

Opportunities always have to be seized.

He never had a chance before, because he had an older brother who was always there for him, and his father had too many children.

Now that he has finally seen hope, he must seize this opportunity.

Therefore, what's the point of taking risks? If you don't risk your life, how can you get what you want?

Quidditch also saw the ambition in White Steel's eyes, but because Wang Ya was present, he remained silent.

His feelings toward Bai Gang were complicated.

In the end, he resigned himself to it. The kingdom could not be ruled by an old man forever, and he even began to accept the death of his eldest son.

Wang Ya walked in the middle, with the knight guards clearing the way behind and in front to protect against any potential dangers.

Large carnivores often roam these deep forests, and incidents of cannibalism are common.

Bai Gang glanced curiously at Harak on Wang Ya's shoulder. The latter stared at him with his black pupils, and a sense of imminent, death-like crisis gripped his heart.

Bai Gang felt a chill run down his spine. Was this the mysterious power of a wizard? Even a seemingly insignificant black raven could pose a deadly threat.

He quickly turned his attention to the opening of the road ahead.

Only by truly walking alongside this wizard can one discover the invisible pressure that exists within him.

After entering the Black Forest, Bai Gang didn't even dare to initiate a conversation with Wang Ya.

The mountain path was not easy to walk. After walking for about one or two hours, wisps of mist suddenly appeared from the forest. Everyone became alert, fearing that there might be some danger in the mist.

The legends are true; there exists a black-haired witch who turns doors to dig out people's hearts and eats their life force.

Bai Gang said, "Respected Wizard, this is the Thorn Region. It is inhabited by the people of the Black Earth Kingdom and is an undeveloped and untouched area. It is quite primitive and filled with all kinds of tangled thorns that can secrete a certain toxin. If you come into contact with it, it will cause your body to stiffen and your breathing to stop."

Wang Ya's eyes changed slightly as he noticed something unusual.

The extraordinary spiritual power sensed the same particle energy fluctuations within the mist, which were similar to the spread of a witch array.

The source of this fog is not simple; in fact, one could say there's something fishy going on.

This piqued Wang Ya's interest. Could it be that, as the mission objective stated, there really was a so-called witch?

From the moment he entered the Black Earth Kingdom to the depths of the Black Forest, he showed absolutely no reaction. He was completely open and made no attempt to hide himself.

Quidditch also said that there have been no outsiders recently.

His pupils shimmered with a faint blue light.

[Hint: A fluctuation in the magic array has been detected, suspected to be a wizard's ruin. The mist is caused by the destruction of the magic array, which has led to its spread.]

Wang Ya was somewhat surprised, not expecting this outcome.

If it truly is a wizard's relic, and it has been exposed, then it makes sense that some things inside could have an impact on the Black Forest.

Information related to the target tasks is usually relevant, so the chances of errors are not high.

Therefore, the existence of witches must also be taken into account.

Recalling the incident with the evil god that the Mayan Kingdom had come into contact with, as well as the situation in the Skywing Wizard City, Wang Ya felt that his luck shouldn't be bad forever. Perhaps some extraordinary creations that were still alive inside the ruins had escaped.

Or perhaps some defensive measures, no longer restrained by the witch array, have spread into the Black Forest.

After all, encountering wizard relics during a wizarding mission is extremely rare and can be considered an opportunity.

In some traditional novels, the protagonist probably inherits the legacy of an ancient wizard, and an old man appears to accompany him as he progresses to the pinnacle of power.

If Wang Ya were to create a wizard's ruins or a temporary laboratory on the ground, he would certainly employ various methods for wizard array defense.

At the very least, the vampire vines will be planted around the laboratory to prevent outsiders from breaking in and to eliminate any potential dangers.

To find out how it is, we still need to venture into the fog and take a look.

"Your Highness, we have found something belonging to the First Prince."

Members of the knight guard approached, carrying some damaged items—the eldest prince's armor, covered in various filth, the most obvious being congealed blood.

The amount of bleeding was enough to kill an adult.

The solidification marks are very thick.

A complex emotion flashed in Bai Gang's eyes, but his face remained calm and composed. "Take these. The King needs these things to confirm the death of the eldest prince."

"My esteemed wizard, what should we do next?"

Bai Gang asked Wang Ya for instructions.

Wang Ya did not answer, but raised an eyebrow slightly and looked into the depths of the light mist.

"There's a monster! It's that black-haired monster! The witch is attacking!"

Among the knight guard, some sharp-eyed individuals spotted some dark silhouettes within the thorny area. They were individual, pitch-black streaks, truly resembling a large mass of hair, climbing towards them at an extremely fast speed.

This immediately caused unrest. After a year of notoriety, the people of the Black Earth Kingdom were already filled with fear of this mysterious black-haired witch.

"What's all this noise about? The wizard is still here. What kind of behavior is this?"

Bai Gang immediately rebuked him, his lips trembling slightly, clearly indicating that he was not at peace either, but he forcibly suppressed his fear and looked at Wang Ya.

We await Wang Ya's further arrangements.

Wang Ya's lips moved slightly. "You all retreat fifty meters to the rear."

Before the group of mortals had even run ten meters, the temperature instantly rose, and powerful particle energy fluctuations erupted behind them.

Some people even had their hair ignited by the remaining sparks.

This was followed by a violent explosion and a shockwave.

The dazzling crimson light and the immense power of the attack instilled even greater fear in them, and they fled for their lives.

The sense of impending death gripped their hearts faster than ever before.

Many people even lay down on the ground.

Some who couldn't dodge in time were hit directly by the high-temperature debris from the explosion, suffering head injuries and bleeding profusely.

Fortunately, they were protected by armor and helmets, so their injuries were not serious, although there were quite a few soft tissue contusions.

Bai Gang was filled with horror. This was the terrifying power of the wizard. He hid behind a large tree, his eyes fixed on the black wizard's robe figure standing motionless in the crimson light. The figure was tall and straight, and every move he made could release a temperature that could turn the earth into charcoal and make trees burn away. This was a temperature that could melt everything.

A layer of crimson ripples emanated from his body, supporting the wizard's imposing aura and face, making him appear extremely majestic.

No, there is another kind of flame, invisible and intangible, which he observed through the blurring of the medium existing in the air.

Even the black hairs that existed within the mist spontaneously combusted and turned to ashes when they came into contact with the wizard within a certain range.

That is

He saw it again, the true form of the black-haired figure in the mist, the witch emerging from the depths of the mist.

He was perhaps the first human to see the witch's true form.

A large amount of black hair was wrapped around its body, giving it a roughly human shape, but it had no face, and its arms and feet were completely rooted to the ground.

This was too bizarre. The blurry face, devoid of any features, filled Bai Gang with genuine fear and panic.

It was as if he could feel its gaze fixed upon him.

[Hint: Analysis successful. The creature is either a Thousand-Herb Flower (30% probability), a Black-Lined Magic Plant (45% probability), or a Black-Lined Death Vines (73% probability)]

The Eye of Truth has recorded information about related magical plants. These characteristics and extraordinary abilities should indeed be the Black Death Vines.

More specific information immediately came to mind.

Although they are called vines, each vine is as thin as a strand of hair, and these thin strands can combine with each other to form thicker, radiating black vines.

It corresponds to the level of extraordinary creatures, far exceeding the Vampire King's vines, reaching the category of mid-level extraordinary creatures.

Even some advanced supernatural beings are no match for the Black Death Vines.

Its extraordinary properties include everything that the Vampire King's vines possess, and it can take root in the soil and vegetation like fine threads. When any fleshy creature comes into contact with it, it will be silently pierced.

This causes them to disintegrate and devour from within; two or three black vines spreading through the flesh will bring extreme pain to the corresponding individuals.

No living being with nerve conduction could endure this kind of pain.

Absorbing bioenergy, the flesh and blood reach a certain stage and then reproduce. It will select a suitable living vegetative plant to implant in a corresponding flesh and blood organism, thereby absorbing nutrients and growing individual hair-like vines.

A single birth can involve tens of thousands of babies.

Although it lacks intelligence, its mere instincts still make it an incredibly terrifying killing plant. Compared to it, the Vampire King Vines are nothing but weaklings.

When the two come into contact, the latter will be completely devoured.

Wang Ya even thought that this was no longer a magical plant in the conventional sense, but rather had a microscopic feel to it.

His eyes shone with light; he was indeed an excellent subject of study.

The fusion and mutation of the Vampire King's vines will also need to be considered for potential advancement.

Harak has never absorbed any extraordinary creatures related to magical plants so far, and the Black Death Vines have special properties that somewhat match Harak's deep-touch infection characteristics.

If consuming it can bring some benefits, that would be even better.

At the very least, it could become a rare experimental material in Wang Ya's laboratory.

For many years, no such magical plant has been found.

These are rare finds even in the darkest places.

Perhaps due to climate or environmental factors, or perhaps due to human actions, Wang Ya had the idea of ​​packing this thing up and taking it with him.

The fact that the black vines could be used as guards made Wang Ya even more interested in this wizard's ruins.

He wanted to see what else was inside.

P.S.: I'm Xigou, and I'm making up for yesterday's extra chapter this morning, cough cough!

(End of this chapter)