On the evening of the third day after the communication with Milin, Lian and Iyue passed the last outpost and reached the western border of Yilansiya.
The border stone stood at the end of an ancient forest path. There was no towering mountain pass here, only a stone slab with edges rounded by time and moss.
Ancient Elven Script was engraved upon its surface.
“Hmm… I remember when I came here last time, I was very curious about what was written on this boundary stone. At that time, Vera seemed to say—”
Lian stopped beside the boundary stone, leading her horse. She could not quite remember how Vera had introduced this stone to her when they passed by all those years ago.
“This is Ancient Elven Script. It means… ‘May our friendship and the covenant between our two races endure forever.'”
Iyue, who was also standing beside her while leading her horse, explained it to her.
“Oh, right, that sounds like what she said. This was established by the first kings of both countries, right?”
“Is that how the history of Yilansiya tells it?” Iyue smiled. “Actually, no. The one who set the stone was only the Queen of our Fairy Race… That is why there is only Ancient Elven Script on it.”
“That makes sense…”
“It is getting late. After we step past this boundary stone, we will officially enter the territory of the Darkwood Sea. The nearest village is at least half a day’s journey away… Let us find a place nearby to camp for the night.”
While Lian was still trying to recall the history related to the boundary stone, Iyue had already taken the lead and walked toward the woods. Lian had no choice but to put the matter aside and quickly follow.
Long before the two approached the border, the surrounding temperature had already changed.
The wind blowing no longer carried the chill of winter; instead, it had become moist and mild, as if spring had arrived early.
The two found a forest clearing to serve as their campsite. By the campfire, they had wild game they had hunted for dinner, just as they had before, and then looked up at the stars while chatting about everything under the sun.
Lian first spoke about what Iyue had been doing during the years she was away—this was an unavoidable topic.
She had been mentally prepared to be severely scolded by Iyue, but Iyue’s reaction was not as large as she had imagined.
She simply summarized her experiences over the past dozen or so years in a calm tone.
“So you have been wandering the Empire for over ten years… all for the purpose of finding Relics?”
“That is correct. After you disappeared, some of the Demon King’s Remnants attempted to use the few Relics stored in the Demon King’s castle to seek revenge on the Humans… but fortunately, they were stopped by Laide and Kui Yin, who are Magi. This incident, combined with the illness Vera suffered because of that Demon Sword, made everyone in the Brigade realize that collecting and properly storing these things was a matter of extreme urgency.”
As Iyue explained, she cast her gaze toward the dark and deep woods in the distance. By the orange light of the campfire, Lian saw that her expression was exceptionally serious.
“You are right.” Lian nodded in agreement. She also recalled that Demon Sword that had manipulated Vera and stabbed into her own abdomen.
Furthermore, she thought of Feiyin—how on earth did she steal that sword, which should have been kept in the Imperial Capital’s treasury, and deliver it to Vera?
Her goal might have been just to lure the tiger away from the mountain… but Vera had nearly died because of that thing. Lian could not imagine what Feiyin could do if she possessed even more Relics.
“These things are far too dangerous; they must never fall into the hands of the Demon Race… So, how many have you collected?”
“Three. One can manipulate the weather, one can control the thoughts of others… and the last one can cross space to achieve long-distance teleportation.”
“This…” The terrifying effects of the first two Relics sent a chill down Lian’s spine, but the third one raised a question in her mind. “A Relic that can achieve long-distance teleportation… Wouldn’t that make it very convenient for you to travel?”
“I thought so at first too.” Iyue’s expression seemed somewhat helpless. “I used it once… but after moving only a few miles, it drained all the Magic Power in my entire body. I almost died that time.”
As expected, the Magic Power required for teleportation still needed to be provided by the user.
Lian thought it was reasonable. Including the Holy Sword of Blazing Flames she had used, all Relics required their users to possess extremely powerful Magic Power.
Moreover, the existence of the Relic Iyue mentioned could already serve as a substitute for Spatial Teleportation—a Spell so complex and tedious that only the Sage in the entire Empire could master it freely.
If there were no restrictions on energy consumption, Sephy would probably be hopping mad with rage, wouldn’t she?
Lian thought to herself.
“Then those Relics you collected… where are they now?”
“They have all been handed over to the Sage. She is the only one in the world with the knowledge and ability to analyze those things.”
“I see. Over these years, have you been the only one searching for them?”
“Naturally not. Aside from Vera, everyone else should be collecting them, right? After all, it was a unanimous decision. However… it is not just the people from the Brigade who are collecting them.”
“You mean…”
Lian’s expression changed.
“The Demon King’s Remnants. Your Northland seems to call them the Demon dregs,” Iyue said. “You remember, right? Although the Beast Demon Duke and the Spirit Demon Duke who survived the war agreed to the Peace Agreement, the positions of the remaining Heavenly Demon Duke and Necro Lord will always be filled by someone from their kin. And unfortunately… it seems the two newly ascended Magi were both subordinates who were once loyal to the Demon King.”
“So… they are also competing with us for the Relics?”
“I am not clear on that. When I went to visit the Demon Realm last time, Laide and Kui Yin happened to be away from their territories… naturally, I had no way of knowing the movements of those Magi and territories that refused to accept the Peace Agreement.”
“But in recent years, I have indeed seen some adventurers or mercenaries pursuing the whereabouts of Relics just like me… and there were members of the Demon Race among them. I even had several conflicts with these people.”
At this point, Iyue opened her waterskin and took a sip.
“Those fellows are actually stirring again… and the girl who attacked the Grand Festival with Feiyin was actually the Demon King’s daughter!”
The information exchanged with Iyue made Lian’s face turn grave. In her heart, the credibility of the ‘truths’ Feiyin had told her dropped even further.
“So the Sage’s judgment was correct. That child… what Feiyin told you cannot be trusted. She, who tried her best to incite hatred and stir up opposition at the Festival Venue, is likely one of the Demon King’s Remnants… it is just that if that is the case, it is difficult to explain why she never appeared during the previous War…”
Iyue analyzed various pieces of information and possibilities. While she was lost in thought, the Communication Pearl in Lian’s pocket began to ring.
“It is Meliya and Sephy.”
Lian took out the bead and said so.
After communicating with Milin, she had figured out the bead’s notification mechanism, which was similar to a phone number.
The light emitted when the bead rang was the same as the caller’s Mana Soul Hue… for example, Vera’s was an icy azure, and Sephy’s was a spotless white.
Furthermore, the person’s name would be displayed in tiny letters on the surface of the bead.
However, the characters were truly too small, and since Lian previously thought the beads only came in pairs, she had never paid much attention to them.
“Answer it. If they are calling of their own accord, it should be official business.”
With a nod of approval from Iyue, Lian answered the call. Meliya’s figure soon appeared within the bead.
She seemed to be indoors, with warm firelight illuminating her face.
“Where have you two reached?” Her voice was exceptionally gentle.
“We just crossed the border.” Hearing her wife’s voice once again, Lian felt a sweetness in her heart like she had eaten honey. “Further ahead is the Sea of Trees. Is everything all right on your end?”
“I am fine too. Sephy and I are about to catch up with their army, and we are resting now.” Meliya smiled at her, but then a hint of disappointment appeared on her face.
“I know Sephy can use Spatial Teleportation, but she didn’t. Is it because I, a normal person, am holding her back?”
“How could such a thing be possible!” Hearing that her wife sounded a bit depressed, Lian hurriedly tried to comfort her.
“That Spell consumes a lot of Magic Power. She’s probably saving her Magic Power to deal with any emergencies, right? Even the large teleportation arrays on the leylines in various places were built based on her Spells… That is magic that was applied to people with no magic aptitude hundreds of years ago—”
“Pfft…”
Hearing Lian start to rack her brain and use every possible word to comfort her, Meliya could not help but burst out laughing.
“All right, I know. Look at how nervous you are, talking non-stop… Hehehe.”
“You… you knew?”
The mischievous look in Meliya’s eyes immediately let Lian know she had been tricked. She turned her face away in a huff and puffed out her cheeks.
“Eh? Why are you turning away? It was my fault. I just wanted to hear you comfort me, so I said that.”
“…Hmph!”
“Oh my, do I have to give you a kiss for you to stop being angry? But I can’t reach you through the bead. Sephy, can you use your amazing spatial magic to think of a way?”
“Meliya.”
Meliya in the bead turned to the side, and Sephy’s extremely exasperated sigh came from there.
“Ugh… What a nauseating couple. This big sister didn’t hear a thing.”
Iyue, sitting next to Lian, also used her hat to cover her ears and exaggeratedly moved away from Lian, who was holding the bead.
“Al-Alright! I forgive you! I was just pretending too! This is too embarrassing…” Seeing her companions’ reactions, Lian’s face instantly flushed red. “If there is something, say it quickly!”
“Okay, okay, let’s talk about official business first.” Meliya chuckled, and then her expression became more serious.
“I wanted to tell you that Sephy and I have assets in the Sea of Trees… That company is called the ‘Clausure Company.’ When you get there, you can seek their help.”
“Clausure Company?” The name she mentioned immediately reminded Lian of the engravings she had seen on the standard weapons of the Northland soldiers and on the Silver Moon in Iyue’s hand.
“I saw it on the weapons of those soldiers before. It really is your business… But doesn’t it manufacture guns?”
“Arms are just a part of its business. The company’s main business is the supply of fuel and materials—primarily lumber and minerals.”
Meliya paused, as if weighing her words.
“The Royal City of Fenglin City in the Sea of Trees, as well as most towns and villages, should have branches. If you encounter any situation where you need assistance, you can go directly to those branches.” At this point, her gaze fell on Iyue’s face.
“Iyue, you are there, right?”
“I am.”
Iyue had sat back down beside Lian at some point and was listening to Meliya’s communication with her.
“When the time comes, just show the Silver Moon I gave you to the heads of those branches. They will understand.”
“I understand,” Iyue responded. “Thank you.”
“There is nothing to thank me for.” Meliya smiled slightly. “If it can help you, that would be for the best. Well then, I’ll stop here for now. If Lian still wants to act like a spoiled child, she can call back later… pri~vate~ly~?”
“I—I won’t act like a spoiled child! Just shut up!”
Hearing Meliya start to tease her again, Lian hurriedly closed the communication.
“Whew… Honestly, I still miss the days when I wrote letters to her more…”
“Iyue, what is wrong? Why do you look so distracted?”
Seeing that Iyue’s expression was somewhat bewildered, Lian could not help but ask.
“It is nothing… I just realized that it seems I haven’t returned to the Sea of Trees for a very long time. I have heard of this company of Meliya’s… but I didn’t expect its business to have expanded here already.”
Iyue rested her chin on her hand and looked at her holster thoughtfully…
Her expression gradually became quite complex, and Lian found it difficult to perceive exactly how many emotions were mixed within it.
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