Chapter 121: Withered Fingers

Sophia’s words caused the atmosphere on the spot to freeze instantly.

The man wielding the blade hadn’t expected this either.

At a moment like this, how could anyone refuse to reconcile?

Before he could make sense of it, Sophia summoned her staff.

A fierce battle?

Of course not.

Almost the moment she gripped the staff, a fierce wind surged up.

The torches were extinguished, and the world returned to darkness.

This sudden change startled the horses, and the crowd began to break apart.

The leading man’s eye twitched.

He had never imagined fighting three fifth-rank mages.

His purpose in coming was only to say what he had just said, and the reason he brought so many was just to show strength and maintain an imposing presence.

But he hadn’t expected Sophia to be so decisive.

Enya glanced at Sophia’s figure.

A golden elf—no matter if raised by forest elves, deep down they still had that impulsive streak, or else they wouldn’t have come into the human world in the first place.

Enya drew a standard longsword from the void.

She knew these people had no intention to fight, but since they were paid, they had to at least pretend to act.

Sophia could wield five types of elemental Magic, and any one of them was a powerful physical attack.

At that moment, she controlled the wind.

The wind condensed into blades and slashed at the mounted man with the blade.

The man’s eyes sharpened, cursing inwardly, Where did this madwoman come from?!

He hastily drew his greatsword, blocking several gusts of wind blades.

By now, several people had been injured and fallen from their mounts under the wind’s aftermath.

The man no longer hesitated and quickly fled.

As he ran, the soldiers around him followed suit.

Nina, seeing them flee, had already half-drawn a pair of short swords, intending to chase after them and kill them all to prevent more trouble later.

“Enough, Nina.”

A voice stopped her—Sophia spoke, and Nina reluctantly sheathed half of one short sword.

She didn’t quite understand why.

Sophia didn’t explain.

She recognized the man as the one dragging the corpse on horseback when they first arrived in this town, and his aura reeked of malice.

But their goal was not to seek revenge for humans or liberate oppressed humans—they were elves, and their sole purpose in coming to this land was to seek traces of the Lord of Mist Church.

Only to find them, not to destroy.

“Let’s keep going; that cursed source of pollution is not far ahead.”

“Oh…”

Nina jogged up beside Sophia.

Enya sheathed her sword, sighing that the enemy was too cowardly—she didn’t even get a chance to make a move.

But there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

A smile appeared beneath the faceplate of her beautiful face.

The three continued forward, moving much faster this time.

They had no intention of returning to the town.

After what had happened, it was inappropriate to go back.

Soon, they reached the source of the pollution—a lake.

Sophia glanced at Enya, who stepped forward and stood by the water’s edge.

Nina looked on curiously and said, “Dragon Princess Enya, is this the source you spoke of?”

Nina liked to tease Enya occasionally; she found it amusing.

Enya ignored her and, in front of the two elf girls, leapt into the water.

The lake water wasn’t clear, and being night, the riverbed was pitch black.

Yet Enya could see clearly.

On the shore, Nina stared carefully at the water surface, and after just five or six seconds, she began to ask if Enya was okay, why she hadn’t come back up yet.

“Sophia, do you think the Dragon Princess drowned?”

“Nina, do you want her to drown?”

“Of course I do!”

“Uh… why?”

“Because then we could pull her out and take off her helmet to see what she looks like.”

“…”

Sophia was speechless.

Just to see what someone looks like beneath their mask, you’d curse someone to drown?

Is that really okay?

But Nina was honestly looking forward to it.

“Sophia, don’t you want to see? If not, I’ll see it myself.”

“I…”

Sophia was curious too.

The more someone hides something, the more it piques curiosity.

What could be the face beneath that mask?

She was well-read, unlike Nina, who was empty-headed.

Books recorded that female dragons were naturally beautiful, possessing traits similar to elves, such as especially long lifespans.

Lost in thought, Sophia watched as Enya burst out of the water.

A pair of dragon wings unfolded and landed steadily on the ground.

The water on her armor quickly evaporated into steam.

Enya raised her hand before Sophia and Nina, opening her palm to reveal a pale finger.

The finger was unlike a human’s—long and thin.

Only a dried corpse over two meters tall could have such a finger.

It radiated a chilling aura.

Even Sophia, a fifth-rank mage, felt a shiver run down her spine just looking at it.

The finger was brimming with malevolence.

Enya swung it carelessly.

Sophia instinctively stepped back.

“This thing is spreading the curse?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a magic array on the riverbed?”

Enya shook her head—no.

She actually knew what this was.

This wasn’t her first time dealing with such a thing.

Her mind recalled Tulius in his strange white robes.

Through this finger, Enya had learned some information about the Mist Lord High Priest.

Seeing Sophia and Nina’s gazes fixed on the finger, Enya explained,

“This thing is the curse itself—like a demonic pollutant.

It can affect the mind, and anything it touches can spread it.

Even the air itself can be infected.

But don’t worry—I’ve already sealed it, so it can’t pollute us.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this finger belongs to the Plague Archbishop of the Cult of Calamity.”

The Cult of Calamity? Plague Archbishop?

Sophia had little knowledge of the human kingdoms’ heretical sects on the Southern Continent, only occasionally hearing rumors about such cults.

Usually, it was about some cult’s sacrifices causing the deaths of many humans.

There were heretics in the Northern Lands as well, but none as widespread as among humans.

Elves worship the Nature God,

Orcs worship the Giant King,

and other races each have their own faiths.

For the most part, these beliefs coexisted peacefully, so long as no one forced others to convert.

Nina, acting as Sophia’s mouthpiece, asked Enya,

“So what exactly is the Cult of Calamity? And what is a Plague Archbishop?”

Well done, Nina!

Sophia’s heart brightened, her eyes locked on Enya, hoping she would speak about the Southern Continent.

But Enya did not answer immediately.

Instead, she took out a length of string and walked aside, breaking off a stick.

What was she doing?

Sophia and Nina looked on, confused.

Then they saw Enya suspend the finger from the top of the stick using the string.

Only then did Enya begin to answer their earlier question.

“The Cult of Calamity…”