Volume 5: The Great Plains Chapter 149: Waiting Moment

  Make up for yesterday's debt, as promised, here is the update

  The forest was just ten kilometers outside the city, and the rebel Tartar chieftain's army was encamped just beyond the forest. When we slipped into this forest under cover of night, after walking for about a quarter of an hour, we could already see the lights of the enemy camp in the distance. As we drew closer, we even faintly heard the sound of soldiers talking in the camp.

  "Alright, this is it, close enough. We'll start from here. You guys meet us back here." Evan waved his hand in a stopping motion.

  I gently patted Xilu's shoulder beside me, and in the dark of night, I saw her two eyes shining with light: "Xilu... stick close to your brother, you must be careful, especially you... if you see anything wrong, run, do your best, nothing is more important than being alive."

  In the darkness, I seemed to see Xi Lu smile lightly and then say in a relaxed tone: "If you're worried about me, just say it straight out. Hehe, don't worry, with my brother here, I'll definitely return unscathed. Wait for our good news... You should also get ready."

  I nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm really worried about you. We've been through a lot together. If anything happens to you, it would break my heart."

  Xī lòu seems to be in high spirits, and with a strong grasp of my head, says: "Stupid Yalik, as long as you say that, I'm happy. This period of time, you rarely talk to me, I thought you saw Furei and no longer care about me."

  I turned to look at Freya, who was not far away, shook my head and smiled: "Silly girl, I care about both of you... never mind that, your brother is going to urge us on."

  As expected, Evan said in a low and impatient tone: "You two, don't pretend I'm not here, okay? We're not done yet! Save the chatter for when we get back! Ciel, let's go!"

  "Wait a minute, Evan." I called out to Evan who was about to leave.

  "What's going on now? Honorable magician, can you stop being so nagging like a woman?" Evan asked impatiently.

  I said with embarrassment: "That lighter fluid of yours, is there any left? If so, give it all to me, I might need it."

  Evan unfastened a leather pouch from his waist and tossed it over: "Here, take half of it, be frugal with it. By the way... you're not thinking of setting fire to this place, are you? That would burn us all to death!"

  I stretched out my hand and pressed down slightly, making a reassuring gesture: "Don't worry, I'm just keeping this as a spare, I won't use it unless absolutely necessary!"

  Evan, dressed as a priest, gave me the middle finger, showing strong distrust, then flipped over and rode his horse with Siluo, rushing towards the Beastman's camp.

  In the dark of night, only Furei and I were left. She, who had been silent all along, leaned in close to me and whispered: "I don't know if they're being too reckless by going like this."

  I fell silent for a moment, then smiled and said softly, "Don't worry, Aiven and his sister are top assassins on the mainland, they'll be fine. Let's focus on our own tasks, I'll go set up some magic traps at the edge of the forest to slow down the pursuers, you get some rest too, we can talk more when I get back."

  I didn't wait for Freya to respond, and I moved forward alone towards the edge of the forest. First, I set up several earth trap spells at the edge of the forest. This magical trap is similar to a swamp, and once triggered, it will cause anyone within a 10-meter wide and 5-meter range to sink directly into the ground, making it impossible to defend against. Such traps are most effective against enemies who line up in a row and try to search the forest using a net-like method. Then, I retreated a short distance and set up some fire wall trap spells. This magic will form a wall of flames within a certain range, effectively blocking the pursuit of enemy soldiers.

  After finishing all this, I stopped and thought carefully. This was still not enough. Our goal was to kill the enemy, eliminate the pursuing priests, not just block their way. After Aven and Cielrula opened up some distance with the enemy, we would also need to use the cover of night to eliminate the enemy one by one. So I needed to set up a few more destructive magic traps. I quickly set up several area-of-effect magic traps in the center of the forest, using up almost all my magic power. The Flame Explosion Trap could burn enemies to ashes in a short time, while the Ice Spike Trap would trigger from above and shoot out countless ice cones towards the ground. The Earth Spike Trap would thrust out many sharp rocks from the ground, forming spikes that were quite deadly.

  After doing all that, I returned to Freya's side, sat down cross-legged and recovered my magic. Freya quietly sat beside me without speaking, silently waiting for me.

  It took about two hours for my magic to barely recover to normal levels. I opened my eyes and happened to see Freya silently staring at me. Freya saw me looking at her, and somewhat flustered, looked away, making the atmosphere a bit awkward for a while.

  "Frey, is there any way to lift the curse that's been placed on your family?" I asked, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

  As expected, as soon as the curse was mentioned, Freya immediately shifted her attention. She shook her head in distress and said: "Grandfather said it's true, but he doesn't know how to lift it either. The only thing he knows is the consequence - that anyone who falls in love with our family will die a tragic death, while we'll spend our lives trapped in longing and pain, dying alone."

  "If the curse is lifted, will you know?"

  Frey stretched out her left arm, and I saw a strange black pattern on her smooth arm.

  "This is the cursed crest. If this crest were to disappear one day, it would mean that the nightmare-like curse that has been hanging over our family's head would also disappear. However, I think that's impossible."

  I gently pulled Fure's hand, and Fure was startled and tried to struggle free, but failed.

  "Actually, Freya, what was supposed to happen between us has already happened. Even if there are consequences, I think that even if you leave me, it won't change the final outcome. Do you think there's any point in doing this?"

  Frey once again wanted to break free, this time I didn't stop her. Frey gently stroked the hand that I had grabbed before, and said to me with a hint of sadness: "Alyric, the Moon Goddess has given me a revelation, telling me that as long as I become the Holy Maiden of the Moon Temple, I will definitely have the opportunity to break the evil curse in the future. When the time comes, I will know what to do, and for now, I need to become her Holy Maiden and work hard to improve my strength."

  "Did the moon goddess really tell you that? If she has this ability, why didn't she just lift your curse directly?" I asked with some skepticism.

  Frey shook her head and said: "I don't know either, but the Moon Goddess is never wrong. Every revelation she gives has come true, I have to believe in her."

  A sudden huge fire breaking out in the distant camp interrupted our conversation, and a great commotion suddenly appeared in the enemy's camp, with flames shooting into the sky and people boiling like a cauldron.

  "Get ready, let's respond to Evan and his team, they've already taken action!" I said softly.