240: Chapter 241 The Gratitude of the Geniuses of the Bear Country

Tashalin, the talented Summoner from the Ice Bird Country, was standing in the center of the camp, staring up at the incredible scene in the sky, feeling as though her worldview was experiencing an unprecedented, violent earthquake.

Resurrecting the dead? In her eighteen years of knowledge, this was a term that only existed in the oldest legends, the most forbidden texts, or some super-forbidden arts with unimaginable costs.

That represented the power to reverse life and death and touch the realm of the gods!

And now, right before her eyes, that black-skirted girl with the cold and mysterious Aura had actually done it!

Although not everyone could be saved, at least seven or eight young geniuses she knew or didn't know, who had clearly been breathless and cold just moments ago, were now opening their eyes before her, gasping for air, with fear and confusion from the brink of death lingering on their faces.

Of course, the tragic situation in the camp remained shocking.

Dozens of people still lay quietly on the snow or by the tents, their skin dark blue, silent and motionless.

Tashalin noticed that those who could not be saved were mostly ordinary staff members responsible for logistics, security, or communications in the camp.

Their levels were relatively low, and their equipment and life-saving means were far inferior to the geniuses carefully cultivated by various countries.

Faced with that bizarre poisonous mist capable of instantly eroding the shields of top experts, they had almost no time to resist before dying from the poison, exceeding the reach of the skills cast by that mysterious black-skirted girl.

As for those young geniuses with extraordinary talent and numerous life-saving items, although they ultimately failed to resist the poisonous mist, they had managed to buy at least some time, and it was this precious time difference that allowed them to be forcibly pulled back from the edge of the underworld by that miraculous soul-returning power.

"Dying too fast... was it too late to even save them?" Tashalin felt a complex emotion rise in her heart—a relief at surviving a disaster, grief for the deceased, and even more anger toward the mastermind behind the scenes.

She looked up at the Elf Maiden still floating in mid-air, exuding a soft holy light, and the black-skirted girl who had drifted away, seemingly to meet up with other companions, and the awe in her heart for Lin Muyang and the forces under his command reached a new height.

This was not only because they possessed terrifying strength, but also because they had displayed this power that was akin to a "miracle."

"Everyone! Listen to me!" Tashalin took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, raised her voice, and shouted in the international common language to the surrounding geniuses who had just been resurrected and were still shaken, as well as the few survivors who, like her, had managed to hold on until now: "It is Lin Muyang! It is Mr. Lin Muyang and the young ladies he summoned who saved us!"

"Those poisonous mists just now... we were all dead, or at least near death! It was that sister in black who used an incredible power to temporarily summon our souls back, and then this Elf sister used a powerful healing spell to dispel the toxins and repair our bodies! It was them, it was Lin Muyang, who gave us a second life!"

Her voice echoed in the deathly silent camp, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

Those young geniuses who had just struggled back from the line of death were stunned upon hearing this, and then expressions of extreme shock, disbelief, and subsequently, wild joy and lingering fear appeared on their faces.

They subconsciously checked their bodies; although they were still weak and had lingering pain from the toxin erosion, their hearts were beating powerfully, and blood was flowing warmly—they were really still alive! It wasn't an illusion!

"Lin Muyang saved us? Resurrection?"

"My god... I clearly felt my soul about to drift away just now..."

"It's true! I remember that coldness and darkness... then I was pulled back by a force, followed by warm light..."

"Lin Muyang... just how strong is he? He can even perform resurrection?"

"From today on, Lin Muyang is my idol! No, he is my benefactor! He is a god!"

"Who was it that said Lin Muyang was unworthy of his reputation and was just putting on an act? Stand up! I, for one, refuse to accept that!"

"Forget about that, who was it? Who was so insane that they wanted to kill us all?"

The relief of surviving and the gratitude toward their savior intertwined, quickly diluting some of the fear and replacing it with a thirst for the truth and anger toward the murderer.

The crowd discussed heatedly, their gazes involuntarily turning to the sky, searching for the figures of Lin Muyang and his mysterious young ladies.

Just then, the Elf Princess Lilia in the sky raised her scepter again.

She did not speak, her stunning face solemn, and the gem at the top of the scepter erupted with a holy radiance even more brilliant and pure than before!

This time, the light did not fall over a large area, but split into a dozen condensed beams of light, precisely shining on the dozen or so experts from various countries who were still unconscious in the center of the camp.

The holy light entered their bodies like the most potent purification potion, fiercely confronting the stubborn neurotoxins and corrosive energy within them.

These experts' bodies began to tremble violently, as if dark green shadows were squirming and struggling under their skin, finally emitting silent wails under the burning of the holy light, turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated from their mouths, noses, and pores.

"Urgh... Ah!"

"Pfft—!"

Several muffled groans and sounds of spitting blood rang out almost simultaneously.

Those dozen or so experts who were over level 200, or even reached the Nation-Guarding Level, finally opened their eyes abruptly under Lilia's highly targeted and powerful purification!

Their eyes were dazed at first, then quickly regained clarity, and the sharpness and vigilance belonging to experts instantly returned.

But immediately after, the feeling of weakness, the stinging pain of residual toxins, and the shock after seeing the tragic state of their surroundings made their faces turn extremely ugly.

"What happened?!"

"The camp... poison? We were ambushed?!"

"It was the food... the water..." A mage with keen perception immediately sensed the source of the foreign energy in his body, his face turning ashen.

No explanation was needed; the corpses lying in disarray, the lingering Aura of poisonous mist, and their own terrible condition said it all.

They had been poisoned without knowing it, and it was a top-tier mixed neurotoxin capable of taking down experts of their level!

If not for someone having dispelled the poisonous mist and performed powerful purification in time, they would have likely been slowly eroded to death by the toxins while unconscious!

Soon, the surviving geniuses and the newly awakened experts quickly exchanged information.

Upon learning that it was the young ladies under Lin Muyang who had dispelled the poisonous mist, resurrected the dead, and purified them, these experts who were usually arrogant looked at the Elf figure gradually moving away in the sky, and their eyes became extremely complex—shock, gratitude, wariness, and lingering fear... various emotions intertwined.

Especially when they heard the word "resurrection," even they, who were well-informed, could not help but be deeply shaken.

"This Lin Muyang is beyond reason." An old Nation-Guarding Level ice mage from the Bear Country muttered to himself, watching the direction where Lilia and Gui Wanwan disappeared, shock still lingering in his eyes.

Just as everyone in the camp was unsettled, Lilia and Gui Wanwan had already flown back to Lin Muyang's side like an elf and a ghost who had completed their mission.

"Master, the camp is temporarily stable. Everyone who could be saved has been saved, and those who were unconscious have been woken up; they're just a bit weak, but they won't die."

Gui Wanwan sat sideways on her huge Yama scythe, dangling her fair calves, her tone as relaxed as if she had just taken a walk in the countryside.

For her, using the soul-returning skill consumed quite a bit of energy, but the materials she gained made her quite satisfied.

"Big Brother Muyang, the toxins have basically been dispelled, and the toxins in those experts have also been forced out; they should be able to recover after a few days of rest." Lilia reported gently, a faint smile of mission accomplishment on her beautiful face.

Lin Muyang nodded, his gaze still fixed on the distant iceberg, as if he could penetrate the thick ice and see what was happening inside. "You've worked hard. Over at Elabess's side, it should be about the same."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of not-so-violent but unusually dull energy fluctuations came from the direction of the distant iceberg, along with a few short, choked-off shouts of surprise and anger, which soon fell silent.

A moment later, several streams of light sped from the direction of the iceberg and landed in front of Lin Muyang.

It was Elabess, Su Daji, Mo Mingxue, and Mo Yingmei.

Elabess smiled charmingly, playing with a dark green rhombic crystal in her hand that kept trying to struggle but was tightly bound by rich shadow magic; the crystal exuded a heart-stopping poisonous energy fluctuation, which was the core of that mythic grade poison-type equipment. "Master, it's done~ Six little mice, not one missing, all here." She casually put the crystal away.

Behind her, Su Daji waved her jade hand, and six figures completely wrapped in pink heart-shaped light, like marionettes, stumbled over; they were the six men in black robes.

The black robes on their bodies were mostly damaged, revealing the same standard black tights underneath, and their masks were torn off, exposing four faces of middle-aged or elderly men, and two female faces with mean and terrified expressions.

At this moment, their eyes were hollow, their facial muscles stiff, obviously completely under the control of Su Daji's "Innate Charm," having lost their self-awareness.

Mo Mingxue shook the non-existent ice chips off the twin blades in her hands and pouted: "I thought they were something special, but it turns out not one of them could fight. The guy using the poison wanted to detonate that crystal to take us down with him, but he couldn't even move after one glare from Daji."

Her tone carried a hint of unsatisfied regret. Mo Yingmei also put away her longbow and stood quietly beside her sister, but there was also a hint of unfinished business in her eyes because the battle ended too quickly.

Su Daji's mental control ability was indeed terrifying now.

After absorbing the massive mental bonuses from equipment like the "Ice Phoenix Feather" and the amplification from Lin Muyang's various Auras, her mental attribute was already approaching the million mark!

Combined with her talent's terrifying bonus to mental control skills and the newly acquired mythic grade accessory that could significantly enhance control effects, her "Innate Charm" was no longer what it used to be.

Controlling these assassins and poisoners, who were at most level 240+ and whose mental strength was not their strong suit, was a piece of cake, and she could even maintain it for a long time, preventing them from committing suicide or destroying evidence.

Lin Muyang glanced at the six walking corpses, his eyes indifferent. "Let's go, take them back, let the victims in the camp see them, and by the way... ask some questions."

He led the women, like escorting prisoners, and brought the six completely controlled assassins as they slowly flew toward the Bear Country camp, which was gradually recovering its vitality.

When they landed in the relatively open area in the center of the camp, which was now gathered with all the survivors, it immediately caused a huge commotion.

"Mr. Lin Muyang!"

"Benefactor!"

"It's them! These people in black robes!"

Exclamations, gratitude, and eyes filled with bone-deep hatred instantly focused on Lin Muyang and his party, as well as the six black-robed assassins.

The burly 220-level Berserker official from the Bear Country, named "Vasily," although his face was still a bit pale and his breathing was shallow, still forced himself to walk forward, gave a solemn Bear Country military salute to Lin Muyang, and said in somewhat stiff Xia language: "Mr. Lin Muyang, words cannot express our gratitude! On behalf of the Bear Country, and on behalf of all the survivors in the camp, thank you for saving our lives! If it weren't for you and the ladies under your command acting in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Behind him, the resurrected geniuses and the rescued experts also cast grateful glances at Lin Muyang, and many bowed to thank him.

Tashalin stood in front of the crowd, her golden eyes fixed on Lin Muyang, the worship and gratitude in her eyes almost overflowing.

Lin Muyang waved his hand, signaling that no formalities were needed.

He pointed to the six black-robed assassins who were standing blankly on the side under Su Daji's control, his voice calm and waveless: "I have caught them. They are the ones who did it, used the poison, and their goal was to kill you all and then frame me."

Whoosh—!

The crowd instantly erupted in an uproar! Although they had guessed it, when Lin Muyang personally confirmed it and the murderers were right in front of them, everyone's anger was completely ignited!

"Beasts!"

"Kill them!"

"Speak! Who sent you?!"

"Why did you do this?!"

Angry curses and questions arose one after another; if Lin Muyang hadn't been there, someone would likely have rushed up to tear these people apart.

Vasily suppressed his anger and looked at Lin Muyang: "Mr. Lin Muyang, can you make them talk? We need to know the mastermind behind the scenes!"

Lin Muyang said to Vasily: "I have someone named Marianne under my command who is good at some special interrogation techniques. I will have her come over; perhaps she can help you dig more things out of these guys' heads."