Chapter 433 - 431: Contamination Spread
In the evening, Hilia returned to the camp outside the Golden Apple Stone Forest with Benovia and others.
As soon as she entered, she noticed something was off.
Letes City had already overcome the crisis, and Duke Pharos was leading people to assess losses and gains, repair the arrays, and dismantle hidden heretic arrays.
Overall, everyone was in a pretty good mood.
Duke Pharos made a special effort to say goodbye to Hilia before she left, as he was busy with the post-disaster work and couldn’t reward her for the moment. He would arrange it once the post-disaster issues were settled, and if she wasn’t around, Phil would provide it to her.
Hilia didn’t mind about this.
The Heart of the Magic Puppet obtained from defeating the Tier Six Mage, and the Heart from individually resolving the Tier Four heretic, could compensate for Hilia’s losses with some profit.
She even felt dismissive of her Puppet’s original Heart—if it hadn’t been strengthened by Rose before, she would have discarded it.
Maybe she could sell it for a good price... probably.
Hilia was determined to rely solely on herself until reaching Tier Four!
Seeing Hilia and her group return, Alina came over and said, "You’re back. How’s the situation in Letes City?"
Hilia replied, "It’s been resolved there. The losses should be... within acceptable limits."
Alina nodded: "That’s good, the trial has been suspended for now. You can go wherever you like for some fun."
"Suspended?" Benovia asked curiously, "Why suspended?"
Alina said, "Last night, Deep Sea Demons invaded the Golden Apple Stone Forest, causing major trouble for the heretics. Archbishop Meilina led the Law Enforcement Knight Order there, prepared to tackle them in one fell swoop, but the Deep Sea Leader suddenly informed Archbishop Meilina that if they insisted on attacking, they would release the chaos pollution within the forest, letting it spread outward."
Hilia and Benovia exchanged glances, their faces showing confusion.
Benovia asked, "The pollution inside the Golden Apple Stone Forest was constrained by arrays personally set up by the Pantheon at the end of the Era of Calamity. Can they destroy the Pantheon’s array?"
Alina shook her head: "It’s unclear for now. Archbishop Meilina originally wasn’t going to heed their words, but those of us staying at the camp discovered that the pollution within the forest was spreading outward; they seem really capable of controlling the spread. Before the spread issue is resolved, the battle plan might have to be suspended."
Hilia immediately ran outside.
Before long, she reached the edge of the cliff and looked towards the Golden Apple Stone Forest.
She saw that the pollution initially confined to the forest’s base had already spread far outward, reaching the edge of the cliff.
From the cliff, one could even reach down and touch the chaos pollution.
Hilia reached out to feel it, finding that the pollution had chaotic fluctuations but consisted only of pollution, lacking chaotic magic power and divine power.
"Thankfully, I thought they could even release divine power."
Hilia breathed a sigh of relief.
Divine power is utterly incomprehensible to ordinary Mages. If the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association could harness it, this operation would be unnecessary.
Watching the swirling gray fog, Hilia’s heart suddenly stirred.
"Since this pollution doesn’t have chaotic magic power, perhaps it’s possible to..."
The girl extended her hand, where the glow of the Purification Skill appeared, slowly reaching into the swirling pollution.
Like encountering a nemesis, the pollution quickly retreated, forming a small ’vacuum zone’ around her hand.
Alina’s voice came from nearby: "Hilia, you..."
She walked over and said helplessly: "Hilia, don’t test casually when there’s nothing wrong, if it causes a magic power outbreak, it’s dangerous."
Hilia smiled: "Don’t worry, Ms. Alina, I can draw scrolls to isolate pollution, I’m aware of the situation."
She paused and asked, "Speaking of which, has the Law Enforcement Knight Order tested this spread-out pollution?"
Alina said, "This morning, Mr. Shuoen collected some samples and took them for research. I’m not sure how it’s progressing."
Hilia nodded: "Regarding this overflowing pollution, without chaotic magic power, it’s indeed manageable."
"So, can we ignore the threat from the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association and directly attack?" Meilina’s voice sounded nearby.
Hilia looked up and saw Meilina had appeared beside them.
She slowly walked over and said, "If Hilia had been there last night, we might have made a decision."
Hilia said, "I didn’t know this situation would occur."
Meilina asked, "So is the method I mentioned feasible?"
Hilia thought for a moment and shook her head: "It shouldn’t be feasible."
"Why?"
"Although this pollution is not like the kind within the Golden Apple Stone Forest that can’t be purified using Purification Skill, the quantity is too large. There’s not enough manpower to purify it. Pollution lasting 500 years can completely regenerate within the forest, endlessly."
Meilina nodded.
Many people said the same thing last night.
Otherwise, she would’ve ignored the advice and confronted the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association directly.
Allowing heretics to run rampant within the nation’s borders, knowing their base and not removing them, would greatly damage the Holy Court’s prestige.
And last night was a perfect opportunity.
While the Deep Sea Demon severely damaged the Deep Sea Fortress, they could have taken advantage.
Yet...
Even now, Meilina still felt regret.
"If it weren’t for Mr. Shuoen stopping me, I would’ve solved it last night." Meilina shook her head: "Mr. Shuoen said if the pollution within the Golden Apple Stone Forest is released, Letes City would immediately fall into chaos, then the pollution would spread outwards, eventually engulfing the entire Starfall Continent, ushering in a new calamity. I thought he was exaggerating, Hilia, do you think he was right?"
"Uh..." Hilia blinked and shook her head: "I don’t know."
Meilina said disappointedly: "I thought you knew."
Hilia rolled her eyes: "Ms. Meilina, you’re overestimating me. I’m just an ordinary Tier Three Mage and have only researched the Golden Apple Stone Forest for half a month. Grandpa Shuoen has studied here for most of his life. He might exaggerate a bit, but there’s certainly truth in what he said."
Meilina scoffed: "Studied for most of his life, yet seeing you take a glance seems more useful."
Hilia didn’t dare to respond to this.
Alina didn’t dare either; she even sensed danger and promptly found an excuse to leave.
Meilina wasn’t bothered. She looked at the endless Golden Apple Stone Forest and sighed: "Missing last night’s opportunity, who knows when another chance as good might come."
Hilia laughed: "The Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association has existed for years; they surely won’t be so easy to wipe out. That Deep Sea Fortress looks like a stronghold; what if it’s just a disguise?"
Meilina laughed: "Where’s there so much disguise? Even if it’s disguise, knocking down one is worth it."
She paused and looked at Hilia with hope in her eyes: "Hilia, I remember you have profound knowledge of arrays, can you help us think of ways to deal with the pollution spread?"
"Me?"
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