The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

Before he knew it, he felt a slightly salty and bitter liquid flow into his mouth. He raised his hand to wipe his cheek and realized that tears were streaming down his face.

Watching the servants rushing about, Benedict suddenly spoke again, his emotions seemingly calming down, but he couldn't hide the sob in his voice: "Stop, there's no need to prepare a car to the capital."

He stumbled up the stairs and locked himself inside. No one knew what was happening inside. His closest coal mine soldiers waited anxiously outside, fearing he would never recover.

……

Three full days passed, and the news of Royalty's death spread like wildfire. All the nobles who heard the news breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that at least for now, their headache Benedict would soon be returning to the capital to carry out the ceremony of inheriting the earldom.

During these three days, they did not see Benedict, mainly because the young man had locked himself in his room and did not respond to his men's calls.

However, the soldiers of the Coal Corps were able to confirm that he was not dead, as there were still faint breathing sounds coming from inside. But this could not go on, as their leader had not drunk water or eaten for three days.

As a soldier, he could naturally live longer under such circumstances, but the young man would still die.

The coal miners were ready to storm in, but before they could break down the door, news brought by the waiter relieved the two miners outside.

Count Shelvey has come to see the leader with important matters to discuss, and it seems that this count should be able to persuade the commander to cheer up.

The two soldiers immediately signaled to the servants to take Elliott upstairs, where he saw his savior. The soldiers then began to explain Benedict's situation to him.

Elliott, the culprit, simply nodded, then waved for everyone to leave before knocking on the door:

“Sir Benedict, if you continue to be so despondent, the mastermind behind your father’s death will achieve his goal, the assassin will go unpunished, and my daughter may also meet with eternal misfortune.”

Father, Lenya...

The door finally opened, and Benedict, his face grim, listlessly looked up at Elliott, a flicker of wariness and distrust in his eyes. Elliott simply looked at him calmly and then said:

"Have something to eat, Sir Benedict, I'll go get it for you."

"...Thank you, Your Excellency."

The distrust in Benedict's eyes gradually dissipated, and Elliott turned back and walked down the stairs, his expression unchanged, as if Royalty's death had nothing to do with him.

……

Benedict ate small bites of the mushy food and drank water little by little to stay hydrated. Elliott, sitting opposite him, said:

“I feel very sorry about your father’s death. After speaking with Lenia, I roughly know the situation Liu E has reported to the private Lingmeng. You can have your brother bring the information he has collected for comparison.”

Benedict nodded silently as he listened to the count recount the information. When the count finished speaking, the young man, his eyes burning with rage, asked, "Is it possible that the assassin who killed my father was sent by Ronald?"

"I don't know. He has no reason to do that. Killing Royati would only allow you, Benedict, to inherit the Earl's title sooner, giving you even more power."

After all, you were originally just a knight handling affairs within the territory, but you will inherit his earldom after Royalty's death. As for the Ted family, you should know more about their situation than I do, and I imagine the armies within the territory will obey you.”

"Yes, as soon as I become a count, they will follow my lead."

Elio nodded and then shook his head, as if he had thought of something, before making a pointed conjecture: "Unless Ronald just wants you to go back to the capital."

Shall we settle this in the capital?

There were many possibilities. Having recovered from his great tragedy, Benedict didn't reply. Seeing this, Elliott said nothing, put down what he was holding, and took his leave. He heard the young man behind him ask:

"If I were to fight Ronald, Count Elliott, would you help me?"

“I will remain neutral. The Silvace family is not going to survive, and whichever of you wins, my daughter will at least survive.”

Elliott spoke with utter ruthlessness, as if he weren't the one who had previously used his own daughter to persuade the young man. Hearing the Earl say this, Benedict's last bit of wariness vanished.

Chapter 165 Searching for the Cave

Two hours after Maginus spoke with Lenia in the forest outside the capital of the Crystal Salt Kingdom.

The red-haired girl left the capital early, as mentioned before, she planned to use the time when Lenya couldn't go out to explore the laboratory.

As she continued her journey through the forest, spreading her life force mist along the way, she kept a watchful eye on whether anyone was following her. As she expected, someone did indeed follow her out, trailing far behind Maginos without making any move.

Maginos had no idea what they were there for or which faction they belonged to. All she knew was that if any of them dared to make a move, she would kill them all. In any case, there was no one in this group who posed a significant threat to her.

The only thing that surprised her was that there seemed to be too many forces eyeing her.

The enhanced life force perception allowed the girl to discern more or less how many different forces were tracking her. Currently, it seemed there were about ten teams, each with a different objective.

Among these squads, some had already discovered each other, some had been discovered, and some had not yet been discovered. In short, the situation was chaotic. If it weren't for tracking Maginus, they would have already started fighting.

I wonder if the people behind this can withstand a nearly day-long journey.

As Maginus continued to traverse the mountains and forests, time passed little by little. She showed no signs of fatigue, while most of the pursuers behind her had disappeared.

Those who lacked stamina and endurance were left far behind. These trackers were, after all, scouts, and their physical abilities were definitely not as good as the girl's. However, some of them managed to keep going by relying on drugs or secret techniques so that they could keep up with the pace and not lose sight of Maginus.

……

Nearly six hours have passed.

Damn it, doesn't she get tired?

The last scout finally stopped, panting as he looked up at the receding figure of the girl, displaying unusual resentment and helplessness.

If they just walked slowly, these scouts could grit their teeth and walk for a whole day and night, stopping only briefly to rest along the way.

The biggest problem is that Maginot didn't walk; she jogged. That's right, she ran, and at a pretty fast pace, maintaining a certain level of speed. Moreover, she seemed to be in complete ease after running for six hours.

This isn't flat ground, not even dirt; it's mountainous terrain!

Those straggling scouts just wanted to ask Maginus, "Are your legs made of iron? Don't your feet get tired?"

If Maginus's battle in the Gold and Silver City hadn't revealed that her strength was only low-level, many people would have thought she was a mid-level warrior. After all, only those with thick skin and tough flesh could withstand such a long run.

The last scout was left behind. Maginos channeled her life force into her tired muscles, which lost their fatigue and the wear and tear disappeared. She continued running until sunset.

Nearly a day and a night later.

Maginus finally saw a river flowing through the forest. Recalling what the psionic ranger had said, she went upstream and soon found a lake surrounded by trees.

Looking at the animals drinking water by the lake, the girl made sure there was no danger before approaching the lakeside. The presence of humans made the animals a little nervous; a monkey protected its cub and bared its teeth at her.

Why don't we kill them all and replenish our life force?

Thinking somewhat indifferently, she lightly patted her cheek to stop herself from continuing to think. Up to now, she still had something called a bottom line, and she couldn't just throw it away.

Taking off her shoes, Maginos stepped directly into the lake, then slumped into the water, splashing herself onto the surface before swimming towards the center.

The life force slowly dissipated, mixing with the water and bringing her a sense of awareness. The underwater world was somewhat quiet, with only a few small fish and shrimp swimming in the lake.

The girl, who had swum to the center of the lake, took a deep breath, pressed her body underwater, and opened her eyes to gaze at the somewhat dim lake bottom.

Due to her physical condition, she could not see clearly and quickly floated back to the surface. Maginus took the dimensional bag to the water and took out the polymorph scroll that Lenia had given her, tearing it open.

Six cracks immediately appeared on the girl's face, resembling gills on a fish. Protective membranes grew in her eyes, and thin films grew between her fingers and toes, forming webs that facilitated swimming.

After putting the dimensional bag back in place, Maginos, now an amphibian, dived back into the water. After a short while, she reached for the bottom of the lake and soon discovered an underwater cave.

She immediately swam towards that direction, venturing deeper into a narrow ridge. After swimming for about a minute, she saw the exit above and immediately swam up.

Wow!

"call……"

Maginot's gills twitched slightly. She leaped out of the water, grabbed a corner of the ground, and flipped herself up. Her life force mist immediately spread out, helping her to observe the extremely dark cave.

Taking out a tinderbox and torch from her dimensional bag and lighting them, Maginus saw the damp cave and then walked deeper into it. Soon she passed a rock wall with a clearly man-made door-like opening.

Through the gap, the girl saw the messy laboratory that the ranger had mentioned, which he had raided again.

Broken glassware, unknown incantations, moss, broken metal tables and chairs, rotten wooden tables and chairs, smooth rock walls...

A spellcaster's laboratory.

Seeing everything inside, Maginus confirmed it. She raised her right hand, and pale blue energy trembled forward as if something was drawing it in.

“Good, most of what the Ranger said is true, and I should have shaken off everyone who was following me. No one should interfere unless one of the followers knows about this lab.”

With no one around, Maginus muttered to herself in the cave, gripping her protector's hands and carefully moving forward in a "Z" pattern, trying to let the life force mist explore every corner to prevent any monsters from ambushing her.

The journey was smooth for the first part, but Maginos went deeper and deeper into the woods. Just as she was about to pass through a doorway without a door, she suddenly stopped and stared straight ahead.

There was a living creature in front of her, a living creature she could not see.

Before the girl's legs even crossed the door, her life force sensed something staring at her from ahead; judging from its shape, it seemed to be some kind of reptile.

Something like a chameleon? An experimental creation?

After thinking for a long time, the girl finally picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it at the reptile's feet, but it remained motionless, as if it were not there at all.

Chapter 166 The Mind Flayer's Laboratory

Unable to discern whether the creature was hostile or simply ignoring her, Maginos picked up a few stones and gently tossed them onto the elusive reptile, signaling that she had seen it.

After being hit about five times, the elusive lizard finally made a move. Its head, which had been facing the door, tilted slightly, and its nearly two-meter-long body slowly crawled to the door. Heavy breaths came out of its nostrils, as if it were sniffing something.

Has it lost its sight? Why doesn't it come over from the other side of the stone wall?

Maginus noticed that the lizard hadn't stepped over the wall behind the door; its pointed end remained inside. She tried holding a torch in front of the lizard, but the light didn't elicit much of a reaction. Instead, the heat and airflow generated when she got close made it take a few steps back.

"Uh uh uh……"

A deep roar sounded. This monster didn't seem to have much light perception. The girl didn't hesitate for long. She grabbed the torch with one hand, tightened her muscles in the other hand to grip the longsword, and stepped over the wall with only one entrance.

The moment she stepped over it, she suddenly felt her psionic energy fluctuations become intense, as if there was a force field behind the stone wall that could influence psionic energy.

The moment Maginus stepped forward, the lizard erupted with intense killing intent, as if it had only just become aware of her presence.

The main senses aren't airflow and heat, and I wonder if I have hearing. Could it be related to the spiritual energy field here?

Using her life force field to watch the giant monster rushing towards her, the girl didn't panic much. She threw a flaming torch at the transparent lizard and followed closely behind, sword in hand.

Instead of dodging the spinning torch, the lizard opened its mouth and swallowed the torch whole, then ran towards Maginus again.

Before she could raise her sword, the lizard froze in place, then opened its mouth and howled. Maginus could see through its open mouth that the torch was swaying in the air and burning as air entered.

After all, it was made of tarpaulin and other heat-resistant materials. If this monster could endure the pain and close its mouth, the pain would only be temporary. Without air to fuel the flame, the torch would easily go out.

However, it opened its mouth, but the torch wasn't completely swallowed, resulting in the current situation.

Maginus naturally chose to attack the invisible monster that was intent on killing her. As it painfully raised its head, the girl swung her longsword and plunged it into its jaw, the blade passing through the jawbone and piercing through its head at an angle.

To the girl's surprise, the monster's blood was not transparent; pale green blood gushed from its body and turned into mist before it even hit the ground.

To feast on the soul and the life!

Its soul energy and life force were frantically drained, and it, which could still react for a while by muscle twitching, immediately lost its ability to resist, and could only be used as nourishment.

As she extracted energy from the lizard, Maginus gradually frowned. She discovered that the monster's soul energy was much stronger than that of ordinary animals, and as she killed it, her own spiritual abilities became increasingly active.

At this moment, the invisible monster whose energy had been drained finally began to manifest, revealing its true appearance. Upon seeing this, Maginus immediately stopped the draining action, took a torch from its foul-smelling mouth, and carefully examined the monster.

This is a white lizard-like creature with no eyes or ears. Apart from its mouth, the most noticeable thing on its head is the crystal-like object between its eyebrows.

Maginus reached out and took the crystal. He could feel a clear and specific psionic energy fluctuation on it, and there was quite a lot of soul energy inside.

Wielding the guardian spirit, he slashed open the monster's head, revealing a pierced brain. Some thicker blood vessels extended from the brain, connecting to the area between the eyebrows, seemingly linked to the crystal.

She reached out and pressed her hand against her brain, sensing the residual spiritual energy there. The spiritual energy formed regular and orderly fluctuations through the crystal and her brain, and then it was dispersed throughout her body. This was the source of her invisibility ability.

"The question is, how did such a large lizard survive in the laboratory?"

Muttering to herself, the girl kicked the lizard over, raised her sword, cut open its belly, found its stomach, and opened it to find some bones that had not yet been fully digested.

Mollusk shells, moss, arthropod legs...

Maginus searched through the filth without regard for the dirt, and finally focused his gaze on a bone. It seemed to be the leg bone of some kind of humanoid creature, except that, judging from the skeleton, this humanoid creature was a little short.

After examining the lizard, the girl stood up with a torch and looked around. This was a room in what was considered a laboratory, filled with broken glassware and incomprehensible metal devices.

Trying to find any traces left by predecessors, Maginus soon saw something that resembled characters—no, it couldn't even be called characters, because it was entirely composed of parallel lines.

A group of four parallel lines forms what appears to be a sentence, and this thing is engraved on small stone slabs, like some kind of religious symbol or decorative relief.

Maginus only noticed it because the language was mentioned in the manual Oren had given him.

Reaching out to touch these "words," the girl took out a manual from her dimensional bag and opened it. By comparing the manual with the stone tablet, she was basically able to determine that this was the language of the Mind Flayer.

"Is this really the Mind Flayer's laboratory? I wonder how long ago it was. So the lizard was probably one of its test subjects, and this short-legged bone was also one of them?"

Maginus muttered to himself, confirming that there was nothing else in the room that could help him understand the situation, and then stepped toward the next location.

Along the way, the girl saw moss and snails, confirming that the lizard's food came from there. It probably rarely moved under normal circumstances, and the experiment seemed to have increased its lifespan. After all, judging from the state of disrepair in the laboratory, it was left behind nearly a hundred years ago.

Through the narrow and damp path, Maginot came to the next place, where there were no enemies, but she saw some bones lying on the ground.

After confirming there were no enemies, the girl approached the damp bones, most of which had been completely eroded away. Fortunately, Maginus still managed to find the skull submerged in the mud.

Nearly a century has passed; the bones should have disappeared in this damp place by now. However, the special spiritual energy field of this laboratory protected them, preventing them from being completely erased by time.

Maginos picked up the skull and examined it closely, imagining what the creature looked like in her mind.