Brain bloom

Mori could imagine the Silvermoon City soldiers, fighting valiantly, finding the skeletons motionless, then falling apart and dying. Though the process was unbelievable, the dandelion had easily resolved the crisis.

"It's delicious." She said cheerfully, drinking almost half a bottle of blue medicine. "Senshi, I'll leave the rest to you."

She nodded, raising the Pope's skull high, and all the wisps of ominous mist that surged from all directions, hoping to find refuge in the dandelion, were unfortunately purified...

Dandelion instinctively wanted to wipe her mouth with her sleeve, but then remembered that it was a robe made by Mori, so she licked her lips instead.

Having inadvertently witnessed this scene, Mori felt a chill run down his spine… It was so good that the misunderstanding with his princess had been cleared up; she really was terrifying. After annihilating numerous enemies in one fell swoop, she seemed unsatisfied and licked her lips…

"Well done~ And there's more good news."

"Can we go back now? Let's have dinner together... It's not too late."

“No, no, no.” She shook her index finger. “There are three Evil Mist that do not obey my commands, which means that the skeletons controlled by these Evil Mist were very powerful people in life.”

Senshi's eyes lit up.

Then, the dandelion pointed in the direction: "It's not far from us."

……

From afar, Sen Shi knew that she had a good chance of reaching level 50. Her hand instinctively reached into her bag, towards the ledger and the debt collection bow.

They were still quite stiff, remaining indifferent even after being handled by their creator, Morishita, and verbally refusing Morishita's request to use them. This was because their level was too low to equip them.

Faced with this cold attitude, Mori Toki was filled with anticipation.

Once we deal with the three monsters in front of us, they'll be out of our control.

[Level 96 - The Devoured Messenger from the Far North]

The skeleton still had half of its flesh remaining, as if it had been slashed diagonally. The flesh below the abdomen was still intact, and the mutilated internal organs could be seen, but the skeleton above was cleaned.

[Level 94 - The Devoured - Argolis, the Hurricane Summoner]

This skeleton is interesting because it is still wearing a cloak and a ring on its index finger, both of which look like high-level magical items.

[Level 97 - The Devoured Nightfall]

This one is even more terrifying, its body completely preserved. In life, it was a young girl with a decent appearance, possibly a demon or a subhuman of the beastman race. It had curved horns on its head, its body was covered in scales, and it had a thick, long, scaly tail that swayed.

If you look closely, you can also see quite a few teeth marks on her body, which may be because the Evil Mist tried to swallow her but failed.

"...How could such a powerful group be killed by the Evil Mist?" Sen Shi was completely baffled.

"Perhaps I was asleep, and the mist quietly crept into my ear? This kind of thing happens quite often." Dandelion seemed very experienced.

"Oh... he probably drank too much before he died and fell asleep... we should really be more vigilant."

If that were the case, the warriors fighting those three puppets wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties...

The leader was very strong, forcibly maintaining the balance with his level 99. Sen recognized him through the name box as one of the three heroes of Silvermoon City, named Bayer.

Although he looked weak, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, and was also old, he was still able to hold off three powerful enemies with a slender flower sword in his hand.

The foil techniques were dazzling; each flick and thrust was both graceful and powerful. Sparks flew from time to time as the moves clashed, illuminating the night but also revealing Bayer's exhaustion and the wounds on his body.

Behind him were many wounded who couldn't help; they were all guards of Silvermoon City, but unfortunately, they had been badly beaten.

"Senji".

"Ok?"

"I think that guy, one of the three heroes, is a bit stronger? Maybe he'll be more helpful for your training."

Although the sound of dandelions is like a gentle breeze blowing through the forest, it cannot calm the heart of a troubled soul. She quickly turned around and kindly advised the dandelion, whose nature could erupt at any moment.

“My dear princess, I understand your hatred for these ignorant humans very well, but now is not the time to make enemies.”

"Alright, I'll listen to you... I understand these principles too. Let's help out and then go ask for our reward, shall we? The Demon Queen and those devils all operate in this way, we should learn from them."

Sen Shi remained silent, simply settling Dandelion in. Since these monsters were so powerful and wouldn't obey her commands, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go into battle herself.

Bayer realized that someone had entered the battlefield.

He immediately unleashed the fierce sword he had been holding back for a long time, barely suppressing three enemies, just so he could have a moment to take a look and see if the newcomers to the battlefield were friend or foe.

The night was still too dark, and he couldn't see much.

I only saw several glowing leaves floating in the air, swaying and drifting over.

"...What the hell?!"

Volume 1 #257 - Generous Reward

Bayer, who was working hard, was startled by the floating, glowing leaves.

With a "clang," the sword in his hand was chipped again by the enemy's scales. Like the man, the sword was also badly wounded in this long battle.

He had originally aimed at the gaps in the beast girl's scales, but his hand trembled and he lost his aim...

This is all because of the dandelion's glowing leaves.

Bayer's expression was blank, his already pale face turning even whiter. If this scene were frozen in time and shown to children who still harbor fantasies about heroic legends, their impression of the three heroes of Silvermoon City would likely be shattered.

It wasn't that the hero was unworthy of his name, cowardly, or short-sighted; it was simply because it was nighttime.

He didn't know what kind of dangers might appear at night... Although Bayer didn't belong to the younger generation who had never seen the moon, the night had been occupied for far too long, and anyone who had seen the true form of a ghost was already dead.

Therefore, he didn't know whether these leaves were terrifying ghosts.

"...Hmm, it seems I was wrong?" As the leaves drifted closer, and he could vaguely make out a face and body, he muttered to himself in annoyance about his identity, "The One Who Lives Through the Seasons..."

In some ways, this might be even more troublesome than ghosts.

Ghosts might attack monsters along with the ghosts, but the Seasonal Ones are different. Their conflict with Silvermoon City remains unresolved; their appearance now can only be an attempt to take advantage of their misfortune.

"I can't handle so many... What a ridiculous day, haven't the reinforcements arrived yet? This is clearly the key part of the battlefield... The number of wounded is increasing, and the situation elsewhere is probably not good either..."

The situation was urgent, leaving him no time to complain.

When his several combos, fueled by gritted teeth, were interrupted, the three powerful monsters gradually began to retaliate.

He had no other choice but to call upon the soldiers behind him who were still capable of fighting. These men, dressed in the uniform of Silvermoon City but accustomed to laziness, probably wouldn't last long either.

His commands were given intermittently due to the fighting—

“I…can’t spare the time right now. You…go…stop the Four Seasons.”

"it is good."

"And... Els, go... find Lord Balzac. Now... we need his help."

"Your request..." the soldier muttered, because more or less, the soldiers had become out of shape due to the overly comfortable life in Silvermoon City, "However, I guarantee to complete the mission, even if my leg is broken."

He fled the battlefield.

The rest of the group picked up their weapons and headed toward the menacing Four Seasons.

"This road is blocked."

"We will stop you until that hero has cleared out the monsters, and then we will deal with you."

"I'll risk my life to defend the peace of Silvermoon City."

"How much money are you willing to give me? If I help you fight the monsters and protect Silvermoon City." Sen Shi walked forward with a smile. "I'm not kidding. Also, I only accept gold coins."

Mori's words shook the battlefield for a moment, but they quickly came to their senses and didn't believe him at all.

"...This is a scam!"

"Damn you, Four Seasons Master."

"How much do you want?" Bayer suddenly asked, seemingly willing to take the gamble.

"Give me whatever you have." Sen Shi was too embarrassed to ask for too much, because even dozens of gold coins were probably beyond what the guards could come up with, so he decided to just let things take their course.

Enduring the combined attack of three monsters, Bayer lowered his voice and spoke anxiously—

“Three hundred gold coins, that’s exactly how much I have on me! My life savings. I originally planned to buy the best plot of land for Man’s burial…”

"That's a really good deal." Mori was secretly delighted, but pretended to be disappointed. "Fine, deal... By the way, where did you keep all this money?"

"A small pouch for spatial magic. If you want, I can give you this too; it's worth just as much as these gold coins."

“Hmm, not so cheap anymore.” Mori couldn’t hold back his smile any longer. He strode forward with Dandelion and shouted to the stunned soldiers, “Make way!”

Although nothing good happened all day, by now, all the elements that make people feel good—experience-rich monsters and generous rewards—are complete.

What followed was a magnificent victory.

"Mori, do you need my help?"

"These guys are strong, be careful."

“I am also a very strong nature mage, and with the staff and robes you gave me, I am not afraid.”

"Then help me depending on the situation."

Bayer snapped, "I can't hold on much longer! If you want me to live and give you the money, stop dawdling!"

Just as Mori finished checking the ropes on the Pope's hand bones, she found them to be tightly bound. Not only that, she took out both hand bones, and with the help of the ropes and her agile skill, these bones would become extensions of her own hands.

"Finally, I can feel like I'm showing off my skills..."

She was delighted, her five fingers moved swiftly, and her right arm immediately flew towards the strongest puppet, Night Ling.

But it was just a nuisance. The divine aura swirling around Ye Ling angered her. She immediately grabbed her strong, elongating tail with both hands and swung it wildly at the sky, but missed.

Mori followed with his left arm, his two arms constantly harassing her, preparing to purify her at any moment. However, it felt a bit like teasing a cat with a toy…

With the strongest enemy diverted, Bayer became much more relaxed. He no longer had to endure the powerful and brutal attacks of that tail, so he immediately switched from defense to offense. His once sharp foil seemed to have been given a second life.

"I'm sorry, old friend. Although we've faced dangers together, and I was the one who invited you to Silvermoon City... now... I can only say sorry."

As the sigh subsided, a flurry of swift thrusts pierced the enemy on the left.

Each strike was incredibly precise, like nails hammered into the arm of the messenger from the far north. Next came the skull, but unfortunately, the spine was too small a target and not so easy to dissect.

Dandelion also joined in the fun, having already prepared an interesting natural magic trick.

A flower bloomed in her palm, looking quite simple. But the flower quickly withered, leaving behind a single seed. The dandelion summoned a gentle breeze, which carried the seed to another enemy.

His body was mutilated, with his internal organs and flesh exposed.

After the seed drifted into his flesh and blood, it became violent, frantically absorbing the vitality of that flesh and blood.