Chapter 528: A Pleasant Surprise
Elizabeth handed the Soul Box to Li Wei.
Li Wei was reluctant to take it. He didn’t want Elizabeth to pay such a heavy price for Monice.
He was only saving Monice for Gu Sewei’s sake.
Otherwise, for a woman who had tried to usurp power and kill Gu Sewei, Li Wei wasn’t about to save her out of the goodness of his heart.
Elizabeth was different. She had been on Li Wei’s side from the very beginning, supporting him unconditionally.
While the matter with the Legendary Witch Lich was a factor, to Li Wei, Elizabeth was undoubtedly more important than Monice.
Gu Sewei glanced at Li Wei but said nothing.
She knew his attitude toward Monice.
If Monice had undergone complete Demonization yesterday, Li Wei would have absolutely been the first to act against her.
He felt no affection for Monice whatsoever.
Elizabeth turned and handed the Gem Soul Box to Gu Sewei.
Gu Sewei accepted the Gem Soul Box with a deeply conflicted heart. "Thank you," she said sincerely.
’To think I suspected such a kind Ghost yesterday,’ she thought, feeling a pang of guilt.
Elizabeth offered a faint smile and remained silent.
Gu Sewei said, "I will definitely get you an even better Soul Box in return."
She looked at Li Wei and asked, "What’s the next step?"
At this point, Li Wei could only accept the outcome.
Elizabeth had willingly given up her Gem Soul Box, Gu Sewei had accepted it, and a promise had been made to repay her.
Anything more from Li Wei would be redundant.
Besides, he wasn’t the overly sentimental type.
Everyone makes their own choices, and he wouldn’t interfere too much.
Li Wei said, "Leave the rest to me."
He took the Soul Bottle and the Gem Soul Box from Gu Sewei’s hands.
The Gem Soul Box itself had the function of protecting a soul and linking it to an external body.
This was the most basic function of a Witch Lich’s Soul Box.
Although Elizabeth wasn’t a Witch Lich, the Soul Box she had prepared for herself hadn’t had its functions stripped away.
This saved Li Wei a lot of trouble.
He just needed to transfer Monice’s soul directly into the Soul Box.
Then, the three of them went to the cell.
Li Wei cut open Monice’s body and placed the Soul Box inside her.
He injected a stream of Mana to activate the Soul Box, then guided Monice’s Power of the Soul to establish a link with her body through the Array inscribed on the box.
With the Soul Box as a buffer, Li Wei no longer had to worry about Monice’s soul being corroded by the Demon Seed’s power.
From this perspective, it seemed Witch Liches were naturally immune to the Demon Seed’s Parasite.
However, the Demon God didn’t seem to have any interest in the Undead either.
The Demon Seeds’ Parasites only targeted living things, whether human, animal, or even plant.
Possessing life was the primary criterion for a Demon Seed’s Parasite.
The Undead clearly did not fit the Demon God’s developmental philosophy.
After he finished, Monice’s body twitched slightly. Her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened.
She looked at the three people standing by her bed: Li Wei, Gu Sewei, and Elizabeth.
Clarity shone in her red eyes.
The Demonization Power had turned Monice’s pupils red.
With her corrupted soul removed, she could at least remain lucid, even if the physical corrosion and mutations couldn’t be reversed.
Li Wei took a step back and said, "It’s done. But you’ll need to remember to replenish the Magic Energy to keep the Soul Box functioning properly."
Monice wasn’t a Mage; her power was Fighting Spirit.
She couldn’t use her own power to maintain the Soul Box, so she would have to rely on external sources to replenish its Magic Energy.
Gu Sewei stepped forward and applied an ointment to Monice’s wound to accelerate its healing.
In truth, the ointment wasn’t even necessary.
After being Demonized, Monice’s body already possessed an extremely strong self-healing ability.
Enhanced self-healing seemed to be a common ability among all the Demonized.
Monice sat up and looked at Li Wei, saying coldly, "Thank you."
Li Wei chuckled. "Heh, if you want to thank someone, thank Gu Sewei."
Monice said nothing, just watched him quietly.
Gu Sewei hugged Monice and said, "I’m so glad you’re okay."
Monice gently pushed her away. "City Lord, you shouldn’t get too close to me. Even though I can stay lucid, my body has already been Demonized. It might affect you."
Gu Sewei laughed. "I’m not afraid."
But Monice was unwilling to have too much contact with Gu Sewei.
She glanced at her own hands. Her nails, once kept rounded and smooth for gripping a sword, were now long and sharp, like the black claws of a monster.
Monice’s degree of Demonization was still considered minor.
Those in the Demonization Late Stage were so transformed that their original species was unrecognizable.
Suddenly, Monice’s expression changed, and she snapped her head up to look forward.
"They’re here! Many more of the Demonized are coming!"
At her words, both Li Wei and Gu Sewei were startled.
Li Wei frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Monice said, "I can feel them. A lot of Demonized are approaching."
"Here? You mean Fred City?" Li Wei asked.
Monice shook her head. "No, the Demonized within the city are approaching the Ice Jade Palace."
BOOM!
Suddenly, a loud noise came from outside.
Li Wei immediately released his Spiritual Perception.
He saw many of the Demonized appearing inside the Ice Jade Palace.
Most of them had already reached the Demonization Middle Stage, or even the Demonization Late Stage.
Under the attack of the Demonized, the guards of the Ice Jade Palace and the Valkyries were steadily being pushed back.
They were no match for the Demonized Professionals.
’Where did so many Demonized humans suddenly come from?’ Li Wei wondered.
’Could it be the human Rebel Army members who were implanted with Demon Seeds by Aguru?’ a thought struck him.
Even the rebels themselves didn’t know exactly how many people were in the Rebel Army.
And Aguru had been killed by Li Wei in a single move.
Besides Aguru himself, probably no one knew just how many Demon Seeds he had sown.
Li Wei turned and walked outside, preparing to deal with the Demonized who had appeared in the Ice Jade Palace.
He was also a bit curious. ’Why did these Demonized suddenly attack the Ice Jade Palace? Is there something here that’s attracting them?’
Elizabeth followed Li Wei.
Gu Sewei also prepared to go out and face the Demonized.
Monice suddenly called out to Gu Sewei as she was turning, "I’m going to fight too."
Gu Sewei stopped and looked back at Monice, seemingly hesitant.
After a moment’s hesitation, she chose to trust Monice.
"Okay."
Gu Sewei cast a spell, releasing the Sealing Skill on Monice.
Monice felt the Power Return to her body, and the red glow in her eyes deepened.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A guard brought over Monice’s Battle Armor. She put it on and picked up her weapon.
Following behind Gu Sewei, she walked out of the cell.
She glanced at her hands; she could no longer fit them into her old Metal Gloves.
She couldn’t even grip her sword properly.
So she slung the sword across her back and decided to fight bare-handed.
She could feel that her ten fingers were as sharp and sturdy as any metal weapon.
These were the weapons of the Demonized.
BOOM! CRACKLE!
One of the Demonized was hit by Li Wei’s Fireball and instantly ignited, burning to ashes within a dozen seconds.
Li Wei sensed a presence behind him and glanced back.
He was a little surprised to see Monice.
The moment she appeared, Monice intercepted one of the Demonized charging toward Gu Sewei.
RRRIP!
In a single encounter, the Demonized was torn in half by Monice.
Blood and entrails scattered across the ground.
It was an incredibly gory sight.
The Magic Patterns on Monice’s face seemed to grow deeper.
Li Wei noticed that after Monice killed one of the Demonized, the Demonic Qi around her seemed to grow stronger.
He noted that she remained lucid and calm, but her fighting style had become brutal and unrestrained, tearing apart her enemies’ bodies and ripping off their limbs without hesitation.
After her Demonization, Monice’s power was already at Tier Six Peak.
These ordinary Demonized Professionals were no match for her at all.
Before long, all the Demonized who had attacked the Ice Jade Palace were slaughtered.
Li Wei had wanted to leave one alive for questioning, but all the Demonized had lost their sanity, making interrogation impossible.
So he simply killed them all.
After finishing them off, Li Wei deliberately incinerated all the corpses.
This was to prevent any residual Demon Seed power from lingering.
The injured Valkyries and guards were also isolated for treatment.
Monice stood motionless at the main gate of the Ice Jade Palace, like a statue standing in a land of ice and snow.
At her feet was a pool of blood, all of it from the enemies she had killed.
Gu Sewei approached her with some concern. "Monice, are you alright?"
Monice said coolly, "I’m fine. I feel great."
Li Wei walked over and glanced at her.
’So, it wasn’t my imagination after all.’
After killing the Demonized, Monice had absorbed the Demonic Qi from their bodies.
Her degree of Demonization had deepened.
Monice’s face was now almost completely covered in black Magic Patterns, and her eyes were blood-red.
Her forearms were almost fully Demonized, as were the parts of her legs below the knees.
Yet she still seemed perfectly lucid.
Monice turned to Li Wei and said with a blank expression, "I felt a call."
"A call?"
Li Wei asked with a frown.
Monice said, "The Demonized came to the Ice Jade Palace because they were called."
"Who is calling you?" Li Wei asked.
Monice shook her head. "I don’t know."
She looked up at the sky and said uncertainly, "It seems to come from the sky, but also from all directions."
Li Wei pondered for a moment, guessing that the "call" Monice mentioned was likely the culprit driving the Demonized to kill.
In that case, the source of the call was very likely the Demon God.
Monice said the call came from the sky.
That made perfect sense, since the Demon God was beyond the Star Realm.
Li Wei looked at Monice. ’If she can remain lucid, there might be a chance to unravel the mystery of the Demon Seeds.’
Monice looked down at the scattered lights of Fred City below the mountain.
She said, "I can feel them... there are many Demon Seeds down there..."
Hearing this, Li Wei’s eyes widened.
"What? You can sense the location of the Demon Seeds?"
Monice nodded.
Li Wei turned his head and saw that Gu Sewei was also looking at him.
Their eyes met, and they both realized the significance of this revelation.
Li Wei had been vexed by the problem of how to find the Demon Seed carriers hidden within the city.
Because before a Demon Seed sprouted, it was completely undetectable.
He never expected that Monice could actually sense unsprouted Demon Seeds.
A pleasant surprise.