320: Elven envoy

"Currently, they lack energy; they are like hungry wolf cubs that can't stir up any trouble."

She flipped her withered hand, and several strange ores the size of pigeon eggs appeared in her palm.

These were exactly the chaos crystals she had extorted from Mordecai.

"Feed them."

Chen Yu understood instantly, her small face twisting slightly from the excitement. "Got it, I'll give them their fill."

She took the chaos crystals and manipulated her Yin energy to wrap around the ores. Following the energy pathways on the furnace wall, she moved them bit by bit toward the seven Shadow Erosion nodes.

The heat waves made her black robe scorching hot, and sweat broke out on her forehead.

She was highly focused, fearing that a single slip of the hand would drop the ores into the furnace fire or crash into the energy turbulence.

That wouldn't be fleecing them anymore; it would be a self-detonation.

"Stay steady, Chen Yu, the bonus is waving at you," Chen Yu encouraged herself in her heart.

The first chaos crystal finally approached the first Shadow Erosion node... and at the moment of contact.

The pores on the surface of the crystal rapidly opened, greedily devouring the spatial energy dissipating around the node!

The originally dim node acted as if it had been injected with a stimulant; a ghostly light flared up, and its internal structure became several times more solid and stable.

It worked!

Chen Yu's spirits lifted, and she followed the same procedure.

The second crystal, the third... all seven chaos crystals were fed.

Deep within the furnace core, the seven Shadow Erosion nodes glowed brightly, pulsing steadily.

They were full and could explode at any moment.

"Done, Your Majesty, hurry and praise me," Chen Yu said proudly via voice transmission, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Shang Wan Ning raised her hand, and a bone talisman fell into Chen Yu's palm. "Take this; it's the detonator. Crush it when needed, and all seven nodes will explode together."

"The energy can level the Gray Mist Territory, leaving it barren for ten thousand years. Even against a Rank 7 deity, it could cause heavy injuries."

Chen Yu quickly hid the bone talisman in her innermost pocket, patting it like a precious treasure.

[This is a nuclear button!]

"Finished fleecing them?" She still felt unsatisfied, her small eyes glancing at the pile of materials nearby.

Shang Wan Ning pointed to the Bone-Corroding Vine sap next to the furnace.

"Take some of that with you."

"Huh?" Chen Yu was stunned, holding her nose as she leaned closer.

"Your Majesty, this stuff stinks to high heaven. What do we want it for? It's too toxic even to water flowers."

"Mordecai's 'kindness' shouldn't be wasted."

"Ling Xi's pharmacological research has been lacking a strong corrosive agent lately."

[Ah, Your Majesty, you really are a model of making the best use of everything and plucking feathers from a passing goose.]

Chen Yu's eye corner twitched, and she resignedly began to work.

She pulled out several specially made beast-skin bags, endured the nausea, and manipulated Nether Qi to wrap around the viscous sap, stuffing it into the bags like filling sausages.

Just as she filled two bags, a sudden change occurred.

Noisy footsteps came from the direction of the furnace area entrance.

"Quick, block all exits. Don't let a single rat in."

"Where is the Shadow Eater Candidate Priest? Go notify him immediately."

Chen Yu's hand shook, nearly knocking over a bucket of sap. "Crap, why is that old pervert here?"

Shang Wan Ning placed her hand on Chen Yu's shoulder. "Stealth, don't move."

Chen Yu's presence completely vanished as she pressed herself into the furnace's shadow.

Mordecai was seen rushing in with a squad of murderous, armored Bone Eaters.

The soul fire in his eye sockets flickered frantically; he didn't even look at the busy flesh-and-blood craftsmen. He rushed straight toward the Space Anchor furnace, his skeletal claws anxiously tapping against the furnace wall.

"Shadow Erosion, is Master Shadow Erosion here?" he roared.

Shang Wan Ning said displeasurably, "Priest Mordecai, why such a commotion?"

"Lord City Lord has tasked me with refining the Space Anchor."

"Master Shadow Erosion, it's wonderful that you're here!" Mordecai lunged toward the furnace's shadow, his skeletal claws nearly grabbing Shang Wan Ning's black robe.

"Something big has happened; the Elf Race is about to attack our gates."

Shang Wan Ning's hood shifted slightly, and her gravelly voice spoke slowly: "Elves? I've only just arrived in Wormrock City. Although I am somewhat favored by Lord City Lord, still..."

She trailed off, her meaning clear—what does that have to do with me?

Mordecai's soul fire flickered wildly, his skeletal jaw clicking in anxiety. The Elf Elders of the Emerald Royal Court were blocking the city gates, demanding the 'disgraced princess' Leah by name, wanting her alive or her corpse.

But he had 'lost' the elf, so how could he hand her over?

If he took the fall for this, Lord Angmar would dismantle him and use him to fill the furnace.

"Master, help your introducer. Please plead with Lord Angmar for me." Mordecai threw his dignity away, his skeletal knuckles rubbing together until sparks flew.

"In my private storehouse, I still have a group of Beast-Eared Girls; they are very fresh. Master Shadow Erosion, why not pick a few to amuse yourself?"

He said, feeling the sting of the loss.

[Holy crap, the old pervert is really paying a high price. Your Majesty, hurry and agree.]

Shang Wan Ning's withered hand emerged from her sleeve, signaling the number 'seven'.

Mordecai's soul fire suddenly shrank, nearly falling apart on the spot. "S-seven? Seven of them?"

"Master, this... this is too many... the storehouse doesn't..."

Shang Wan Ning's fingers remained as steady as a rock.

Mordecai's skeletal claws shook like a sieve: "Four, four at most! Any more and before the Elf Race even breaks in, the storehouse will be demolished by Lord City Lord first."

Shang Wan Ning's fingers moved, changing to 'six'.

"No, five, just five!" Mordecai wailed, his heart bleeding.

His private storehouse only had eight high-quality Beast-Eared Girls in total!

"Oh."

Shang Wan Ning withdrew her fingers, her gravelly voice carrying a hint of being 'barely accepting'.

"Five it is, then. Sigh, for the sake of being colleagues..."

Mordecai: "..."

[Getting a bargain and still acting like you're doing him a favor.]

The corners of Shang Wan Ning's mouth curled up slightly.

[It has only been eight hours since the city-wide search for the elf began. For the news to leak so quickly and for the Elf Race to have already arrived via teleportation array...]

[It's clear that many factions within the city are quite dissatisfied with Mordecai's conduct.]

...Wormrock City, City Lord's Mansion, Main Hall.

Angmar sat high upon a throne of bones, his compound eyes crimson, tentacles irritably slapping against the fleshy carpet.

Below stood several figures with withered auras—armored insect-men, leaders of eyeless behemoths... none of their expressions were good.

The hall doors slid open, and Shang Wan Ning walked in with her 'apprentice' Chen Yu. Mordecai followed with his back hunched, kneeling obediently to the side.

"Shadow Eater Candidate Priest."

Angmar's compound eyes locked onto him. "Mordecai was bold enough to imprison the disgraced princess of the Elf Race."

"The emissaries of the Emerald Royal Court are now blocking the city, demanding the person. What do you think?"

Mordecai's skeletal body trembled.

Shang Wan Ning kept her withered hands tucked in her sleeves and spoke hoarsely: "Lord City Lord, Priest Mordecai's leakage of the news regarding the imprisoned elf was a momentary oversight."

Angmar's tentacles paused.

[She can even defend him like that???]

"Various races across the continent have the habit of privately trafficking and imprisoning elves."

Shang Wan Ning's tone shifted. "Why should they fixate on Wormrock City? What kind of thing is the Emerald Royal Court supposed to be?"

The hall fell silent.

All eyes snapped toward Shadow Erosion.

"Mere vassals of the Nature Pantheon dare to run wild in the Gray Mist Territory?" Shang Wan Ning's gravelly voice rose, carrying a hint of deliberate incitement.

"We serve the supreme existence birthed from the source of chaos—the great mother of flesh and blood, Sabrina."