The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

Tossing aside yet another ash-covered, desiccated corpse, Maginus looked at the last man, the thief who had broken into her room, and, observing his trembling appearance, said:

"Are you organized? I'd like to gather some information. Take me there."

Upon hearing that he might survive, the terrified thief revealed joy and immediately knelt down to thank Maginus: "Respected spellcaster, please follow me."

After walking a short distance into the slums, Maginus soon met the leader of the thieves' organization.

Chapter 225 Strange Orientals

"There are indeed missing farmers whose skeletons have been found gnawed on... Tree spirits are best kept alive, but dead ones are also acceptable... It seems the problems in the Tree Spirit Forest are a bit complicated, but I wasn't here to deal with them anyway."

Maginus sat in the deserted outpost, reviewing intelligence. The outpost was unusually clean, with no blood or corpses inside.

The reason this happened is simple: after finding the database, she disposed of everyone in the thief organization's stronghold.

After reviewing the intelligence gathered by the thieves, Maginus had a general understanding of the situation. Addison knew that the farmers' deaths were not caused by the tree spirits, but he seemed to need to use the tree spirits for something, so he conveniently framed them.

After confirming that Addisoncio needed a tree spirit, the girl prepared to bring any tree spirit with her so that she could get close to the count and launch an attack.

As for how to escape after killing Addison, Maginus knew it all too well. Most of the guys would be blinded by the red mist, and then she could just run away.

Approaching and killing him is difficult, but escaping after killing him is a different story.

What's more, she also had an escape scroll in her arms. Although it was meant to be a trump card, she would still have to use it when necessary.

Having confirmed her goal, Maginus's next task was to find a few easy targets to accompany her into the ancient tree spirit forest, in case any powerful monsters actually appeared inside.

She wanted to wait until such a monster actually appeared so she could dump the scapegoat and escape herself.

As dawn broke, Maginus, who was finally able to get a good night's sleep, arrived at the quest office in the lush tree territory, full of energy. There were quite a few casual adventurers there asking who wanted to team up with them.

At first glance, Maginus saw nothing but misfits and useless individuals. They wouldn't even be able to escape if they encountered powerful monsters or tree spirits. No wonder the adventurer teams that went in never returned.

Seeing that this group of people didn't even qualify to be cannon fodder, the girl shook her head and prepared to leave. At that moment, some sounds came from the gate behind her.

"Brother! My dear brother! You gave all your money to those poor kids, what are we going to eat on the road?!"

"Qian, my dear sister~, this is both a journey and a pilgrimage. From wild vegetables to dew, everything is edible, right? Relax, we're here to take on missions and earn money."

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have needed to come here to do this difficult work! Yue Liang, you bastard!"

A man's and a woman's voices came from outside the door. The two people who were talking stopped at the same time.

Maginus's life sense told him that the two people behind him had a very strong life force, but unlike the warrior's furnace, their life flame was long and continuous.

The two people behind her seemed to have noticed her difference from the pile of trash, and at almost the same moment they became vigilant, ready to launch an attack at any time.

The girl slowly turned her head, and when she saw who it was, her indifferent face involuntarily raised her eyebrows.

The man and woman both had standard Eastern faces and were dressed in the attire of wandering knights. They did not appear to be wearing armor, and each had an exquisite yet simple longsword tied to their waist.

They must have come from the eastern continent, but they have been on the continent of Connoir for a long time. Maginus confirmed this from their behavior.

As for language, the entire planet uses a common language, with perhaps a few dialects that are difficult to understand. If any unknown human language is spoken, it would most likely have originated from other planets or other matter-of-fact universes.

The handsome boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with long black hair tied into a low ponytail at the back, and a carefree smile on his face, even now.

His left hand was wrapped in bandages, while his right hand rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment. His dark eyes, fixed on Maginus, were filled with fighting spirit, as if he wanted to engage in battle.

The beautiful girl had long, silver-white hair, and her eyes were heterochromatic, one gold and one white. The ends of her hair were tied up with a hairband, and a bird-shaped tattoo could be seen on her neck.

It's worth mentioning that her ears are slightly pointed, suggesting she has some elven blood, but the concentration of that bloodline isn't very high, not reaching the level of a half-elf.

Both sides stood still until someone shouted, "Hey, are you guys even looking for your teammates? If you're not looking for your teammates, can you at least leave already?"

Maginus's instinctive killing intent towards the two men dissipated. Without meeting their gazes, she walked right past them.

After Maginus left, the boy known as Yueliang wiped the sweat from his brow, watching her departing figure with curiosity and still a fighting spirit:

"Ha~, to be able to encounter a master in such a remote and impoverished place, I really hope to fight her."

"Yueliang, if you cause any more trouble, I'm definitely going to tell Master when we get back!!"

The girl called Akane was instantly enraged. She kicked her older brother hard, and after he dodged, she looked solemnly in the direction Maginus had left:

"Honestly, you absolutely must not fight her. You saw it yourself, right? The killing intent emanating from her is definitely the result of fighting through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Most importantly, there's that inexplicable sense of oppression."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Yue Liang said, his stomach growling. He grimaced and said, "After all, we're not even full right now. If we're going to fight, we'll have to wait until we've eaten."

"You still dare to talk! It's all because of you!"

……

Strange Easterners, but they have nothing to do with me, and I hope I will never cross paths with them.

Maginus noted the life force and appearance of the two Easterners, then left the town of Maoshu Territory and headed towards the location of the Tree Spirit Forest.

Guided by numerous carriages and adventurer teams, she arrived at a meadow outside a vast forest. Gazing at the dense forest, the girl's fingers twitched slightly as she quietly watched some adventurers venture into it.

Time passed slowly, and for three whole hours nothing came out. It seemed that all the adventurers who went in had been wiped out.

Maginus didn't go in because she sensed danger. After spreading her life force mist inside, she didn't detect any enemies for the time being. Everywhere she looked, there was the life force of plants, and she didn't detect any humanoid creatures in the mist's physical perception.

This is already very strange; so many adventurers went in and disappeared without a trace, which is enough to prove how terrifying the forest is.

Chapter 226 Yue Liang, Yue Qian

Standing outside the woods, Maginus watched as one group after another of reckless adventurers ventured in, while many older, more mature and composed adventurers also observed the movements of these impetuous individuals.

When the fifth team broke in and received no news, some adventurer teams shook their heads and chose to leave, while others sat down thoughtfully, seemingly trying to formulate a plan.

As for why they didn't set the forest on fire, Maginus already knew from the intelligence from the previous bandit group that the forest seemed to be shrouded in special magic, which could ensure that the trees did not burn completely.

There can be an open flame, but the intensity of the fire can only be suppressed to a certain extent and cannot spread.

Should I take the risk and go in, or would it be an easier option to just force my way into the castle?

Maginus disliked places with unknown dangers, and after thinking it over, he decided it would be better to just barge into Addison's castle. So he got up from the grass and prepared to leave.

However, just as she was about to leave, the Asian brother and sister from before appeared in her line of sight, seemingly also there to observe the situation.

They also spotted Maginus, who stared at them for a moment, her fingers rubbing together slightly, before she gradually moved closer to them.

"Hello, my name is Mine, and I'm here for a request."

The girl spoke to them coldly. The younger sister, who had previously seemed to be dominating her brother, took a step back. The brother stepped forward with a hearty smile and said:

“My name is Yue Liang, and her name is Yue Qian. Yue is the surname, and Liang and Qian are the given names. We are both agile warriors, and we are here for a commission. Miss Mine, what brings you here?”

A warrior? Let's just assume he's a warrior for now.

Maginus didn't refute, but turned around and gestured with his chin towards the forest: "You'll find out soon enough."

As darkness fell, during the time the brother and sister had been there, and the third group disappeared into the forest, they realized just how eerie the forest was. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads, but they also subconsciously touched their stomachs.

Once they learned of the dangers in the forest, Maginus spoke:

"I can sense that you two are very strong, so I would like to cooperate with you to capture a few tree spirits from inside. What do you think?"

Maginus genuinely cooperated with the two of them, since they seemed to be on the Order of Good side, and the girl felt somewhat more at ease cooperating with them.

"Please wait a moment, I need to discuss this with my sister."

Yue Liang responded, then pulled his younger sister away to discuss the matter quietly.

……

"How should we put it, should we cooperate with her? We can sense that she has no ill intentions towards us and genuinely wants to cooperate."

Yuexi spoke first, a white mist swirling around her fingertips as she raised her hand. This was one of her abilities, allowing her to use energy to determine whether someone harbored ill intentions, similar to using magic to detect lies and malice.

Hearing his sister say that, Yue Liang rubbed his stomach, turned around to look at the group of weak adventurers gathered around him, and said with some helplessness:

"We don't seem to have the right to refuse now; we can't really go begging for food."

She stopped attacking her brother, saying it was his fault, and that the matter was over. Yueqian nodded and reminded him, "Okay, then let's cooperate with her, but don't let your guard down. She's essentially a killer who has killed countless people."

Yue Liang glanced back at Maginus and shrugged: "Don't worry, I know that. I'm not the kind of guy who can't resist a girl. I've killed quite a few women."

Maginus watched the two walk back from a distance and asked indifferently, "What's your decision?"

“Miss Mine, we are willing to team up with you to explore inside, but what we want to do is not to capture or kill the tree spirit, but to catch the culprit. You may not understand…”

That's probably the downside of rational and kind-hearted members of the "Yiqi Ba Lin Liu Yin" camp—they want to see things through to the end.

Seeing that Yue Liang wanted to explain what he was going to do, Maginos raised her hand to stop him, glanced at the sky, and pointed to the siblings' stomachs:

"You must be hungry. Let's go to the tavern, eat and talk. It's on me."

They entered the tavern and ordered a large table of food. The three of them gathered at a corner table to talk. Maginus, watching the two wolfing down their food, first explained what he knew:

"Not long ago, I dealt with a bandit organization and obtained some information from them. I know that the killers were not tree spirits, but simply that the count here wanted to blame the tree spirits and then capture a few living tree spirits or tree spirit corpses."

Now that you know about this, I won't hide it anymore. The main reason I wanted the tree spirit's corpse is because it's easier to deal with; I don't need to spend time looking for the killer monster.

Deal with the thief organization...

The brother and sister looked at each other, listening quietly to Maginos's words. She looked at them and tapped her fingers on the table:

"It's a real shame for me that only the two of you in this town are qualified to team up with me. Since you want to find out the truth, I have no choice but to help you, but I have to make a deal out first: the reward will be split 50/50. Can you accept that?"

So, does that mean you've agreed to help us find the monster that killed the residents?

Yue Liang glanced at Yue Qian, and the white-haired girl nodded to him. He then replied, "Okay, we agree. It's a 50/50 split."

After taking a sip of hot soup, Maginus asked the two of them, "So, where do you plan to begin your investigation?"

"Uh...we hadn't thought that far ahead yet. We were just about to go to the forest to check the situation when you called us here."

Yue Liang scratched his head, and Maginus pondered for a moment before looking up at the two of them: "Then let's go into the forest tomorrow to check the situation. Don't worry, if I provoke the tree spirit, you can leave me behind at any time."

"Then it's decided." By the way, Miss Mine, are you a warrior?

The boy asked while taking big bites of beef, clearly starving. Maginus squinted and raised a hand, conjuring a psychic blade in front of the two of them.

The translucent short sword, emitting a pale blue light, drew their attention. Maginus swung the sword once:

"Let's be frank. I'm a psionicist, a Soulblade. As for you..."

With a forceful squeeze, she dissipated the mental blade. Observing the two people opposite her, whose life flames appeared leisurely and calm, yet concealed immense power beneath, she said, "If I'm not mistaken..."

"Aren't you actually sword saints?"

Chapter 227 Sword Master

Upon hearing Maginus's question, the brother and sister exchanged glances, and finally Yueqian admitted, "That's right, we are sword saints."

Upon hearing this, Maginus recalled what she knew: on this continent, there were once many professions called Sword Saints, some strong and some weak, and for a long time they coexisted.

However, with the rise of the monk class, only one class remained with the name "sword saint".

The current Sword Saint class wasn't originally called Sword Saint. In its earliest form, it was called Sword Master, which was simply a branch of the Warrior class, consisting of elite warriors who were skilled in using weapons for attacks.

However, the appearance of the monks changed their status. They learned from the monks that they had developed a move called "Qi-raising slash".

Then they gradually changed from warriors to rangers, and eventually most or even very few wore armor, becoming like assassins and spellcasters.

In exchange for abandoning defense, one gains ultimate attack power. It is said that the legendary swordsman can easily cut through space with his weapon, but it is unknown whether this is true.

"Which faction are you from... Never mind, I'm not too clear about the Sword Saint's faction either, so you don't need to tell me."

Just like the Sanshin, Shadow, Four Symbols, and Star Schools of the Monk, the Blademaster has developed many different schools as the profession has evolved, focusing on technique, willpower, and energy.

They gradually became more specialized, and although they were still sword saints, they had different ways of training.

Maginus wanted to ask them which faction they belonged to, but then she realized that her knowledge of the Sword Saint was limited to what she had read in books, so she decided not to ask, since it would be pointless anyway.

"Alright, then let's not talk about that anymore. Let's discuss what's next. Um... I wonder if Miss Mine could lend us some money?"

Yue Liang asked shyly, "Did Maginos hear them say that they gave all their money to those children?"

She glanced at the dimensional pouches on their waists, then took out some gold coins from her own pouch and placed them on the table so they would have a place to stay for the night, lest something go wrong during the battle the next day.

"Remember to pay me back when you have the money. And one more thing..."

Seeing that Yue Liang and Yue Qian stopped using their knives and forks, Maginos opened her mouth and began to devour the remaining food, stuffing everything in front of her into her mouth, leaving the brother and sister dumbfounded.

After clearing the food from her plate, Maginus poured some water from the jug to wipe her mouth and hands, then stood up and calmly looked at the two of them:

"Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's familiarize ourselves with each other's strengths."

Yue Liang stood up with a slight smile on her face and nodded in agreement: "Of course."

Leaving the large town of Maoshu Territory and arriving in the wilderness, Maginus stood on the frozen ground, Yue Liang's right hand already resting on the hilt of his longsword, eager to unleash its power.

Yuexi stayed at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the two, ready to provide assistance to Yueliang at any time. She was still a little worried about her older brother fighting against the murderous Mine.

A cold wind kept blowing against the faces of the three of them. Maginus drew his Guardian Angel from behind his back, and his psionic energy quickly covered it. He did not choose to create a psionic blade.