The voice in his head went silent. Rebuked, Lance didn’t dare make a sound.
He could only apologize to Falia in his mind while dealing with the Takin Elders’ questions.
By now, all the juniors in the Clan House had been dismissed, and even Maji was no exception.
The Elf sat calmly on the high seat, while Lance and the Takin Elders sat on either side.
“May we ask, Holy Messenger, where do you think we should migrate?”
“Currently, we have three alternative routes…”
After some conversation, Lance felt relieved.
At the very least, the Takin Elders hadn’t made any unreasonable demands, like asking them to drive away the two Element Lords.
After all, Astrid was only a late-stage High Rank, and Lance was only an early-stage High Rank.
The two of them stood absolutely no chance against an Element Lord.
Still… was choosing a migration route such a small matter that it truly required a ‘Holy Messenger’ to decide? In Lance’s view, none of those three migration routes seemed problematic.
Furthermore, according to Maji, the village had already decided on these three routes one month ago. Why hadn’t they left yet?
Astrid analyzed the pros and cons of the three routes with professional poise.
The Takin Elders nodded repeatedly, appearing to be deeply convinced by the Elf’s insights.
Then, Lance noticed a few of the Takin Elders exchanging glances.
One even nudged the Elder beside him with an elbow.
The Elder who was nudged winced, his face twisting, yet he remained seated and did not stand up.
Seeing this, Lance’s suspicions grew.
He immediately signaled the Elf to ask a question through their mental link:
“So, why have you not set out yet?”
“There seems to be little difference between these routes…”
Upon hearing this, the Elders all lowered their heads at once.
Not a single person responded.
Hiss—
What was going on?
Lance immediately adjusted the application of his [Omnipotent Persuader] and told the Elf what to do next.
Astrid nodded slightly and immediately put on a look of slight anger.
She stood up, looking as if she were about to walk out of the Clan House.
The Takin Elders were startled and scrambled to follow her, though they didn’t dare block her way.
“Holy Messenger… Holy Messenger! Where are you going?”
The Elf stopped and turned back with a dissatisfied expression.
Following Lance’s instructions, she said coldly, “Since you are hiding something, I will go find out for myself.”
Lance followed closely, translating the Elf’s words almost in sync.
“No… it’s just…”
The Grand Elder hurriedly tried to explain, but the Elf interrupted him.
“How can the unfaithful receive the Holy Lord’s guidance!”
With that, she turned to leave.
Seeing this, the Takins’ eyes fell on Lance.
He also pretended to be anxious as he translated the Elf’s words.
The Takins’ expressions immediately slumped.
The Grand Elder fell to his knees in repentance.
“Holy Messenger, please forgive us!”
The Elf stopped again, her gaze falling on Lance.
“So, what is the true crisis facing the village?”
Filled with shame, the Elders began to speak of the true situation, one after another.
“When our tribe was declining, the Holy Lord bestowed a blessing upon us, giving us a way to survive…”
“To thank the Holy Lord for his grace, we also took on the mission of [Dream Eater] Logalint… but hundreds of years ago, we were suddenly moved into the Great Labyrinth…”
“It was our failure to keep watch! We let that Undead escape! Please, Holy Messenger, hand down our punishment!”
After revealing everything, the Takin Elders knelt together and bowed deeply.
Now that he understood the real reason for the Takin Elders’ secrecy, Lance was internally horrified.
He felt the Takins were beyond unlucky.
Two Element Lords occupied the north and east, while the west and south were the activity ranges of that legendary Specter.
No wonder they had hesitated to leave.
They were stuck between a rock and a hard place!
“What level of strength does that legendary Specter possess?”
Lance didn’t rush to tell the Elf what the Elders had said. Instead, he asked the most critical question.
Seeing that the two did not seem intent on running away, the Grand Elder spoke quickly.
“We have had him sealed for hundreds of years! During this time, his strength has been declining!”
“When he escaped the seal 100 years ago, he only had the strength of a Weak Element Level! He shouldn’t be much stronger now!”
The Soulfire in Lance’s eyes flickered as he considered this carefully.
Just listening to the Takins, Lance felt that the Specter might not be that difficult to deal with.
It was simply that none of the Takins could use Holy Power.
Once Lance finished his conversation with the Takins, the Elf looked at him curiously. Lance translated the Elders’ explanation to Astrid exactly as it was.
However, the moment the Elf heard the name [Dream Eater] Logalint, her eyelids twitched, followed by a look of fear.
Lance quickly noticed the change in her expression.
He immediately switched the application of [Omnipotent Persuader], establishing a private soul communication channel between them.
‘Lance! We have to get out of here right now! This place is too dangerous!’
‘Huh?’
‘That Specter is [Dream Eater] Logalint!’
Seeing Lance’s confused expression, the Elf explained:
‘[Dream Eater] Logalint was a true nightmare of the entire North Continent during his lifetime! He was the founder of the Sin Soul Cult!’
‘In terms of pure strength, not even the three Great Popes of this era were his match!’
‘He was a genuine Demigod!’
Hearing this, although Lance didn’t know what the Sin Soul Cult was, he realized the severity of the problem.
‘A Demigod?!’
Lance was shocked. ‘How did this problem just get even more serious?!’
Wasn’t he a Weak Element Level? How did he suddenly become a Demigod?
After the Elements came the Saint Rank… after the Saint Rank was the God Level… and at the end of the God Level was a Demigod…
‘What?! Am I supposed to fight a Demigod?’
The Soulfire in his eyes wavered.
Lance was so horrified that for a moment, he didn’t know how to react.
This Takin Village wasn’t some hospitable place; it was a dragon’s den!
“Is it completely impossible for us to defeat him?”
Lance tentatively asked the question. Surprisingly, this question helped the Elf calm down and analyze the situation seriously.
“A Specter has no memories of its past life; it acts entirely on instinct…”
“And the Takins said that 100 years ago, he had already weakened to a Weak Element Level. It is impossible for a Specter to grow stronger again. They only continue to weaken.”
At this point, Astrid hesitated.
“If he has weakened to the High Rank… with your Holy Power… it might be possible?”
“Ask the Takins for more details! What is his Element ability!”
Hearing the Elf’s words, Lance immediately questioned the Takins. The Elders answered honestly.
“He only retains one ability now, which is to pull people into dreams.”
“We call that ability the Tender Land… He creates a nearly perfect world based on what is in a person’s heart.”
“If one doesn’t realize the dream is false, or if they realize it’s false but refuse to break free, their soul power will be absorbed by him, eventually leading to death.”
“However, as long as one can break free once, there won’t be much of a problem. After that, his ability will find it very difficult to take effect again…”