322: Shadow Erosion Death Escape

"No Elves?" Elder Grimson sneered, a verdant light spear coalescing in his palm.

"We can smell Princess Leah's aura; she is right behind this wall."

"The flesh carpet of the Gray Mist Territory covers thousands of miles of land; is it really so strange to have a hint of vegetation?" Shang Wan Ning raised a withered hand, looking at the writhing dark red flesh carpet below the city.

"If you cannot produce concrete evidence, Your Excellency, then this is nothing but provocation."

"Evidence?"

Chen Yu poked her head out from behind Shang Wan Ning, her little fist swinging with a fierce whoosh.

"If you're so capable, come into the city and find her yourselves! If you can't find her, then get lost. Don't be an eyesore here, delaying us from building the temple for the Mother Goddess."

"Insolent, you are courting death."

Elder Sylvia was completely enraged.

In the perception of the Elf Race, being pointed at and insulted by a lowly apprentice, hearing their Goddess mocked, and being ridiculed as 'incompetent' was a humiliation far worse than defeat.

Her staff struck the ground as she shrieked, "Nature's Wrath!"

A verdant beam of light tore through the gray mist, striking directly at the city wall.

"Fool," Shang Wan Ning cursed softly.

A giant shield instantly coalesced from her withered hand, and at the same time, she yanked Chen Yu behind her.

The yank was quick and forceful, making it look as if she were truly implicated by the apprentice's mad words and could only hastily block the attack.

Boom!

The light shield shattered, the turbulent mana causing Shang Wan Ning's black robe to dance wildly. Her withered body swayed, and a 'muffled groan' escaped from under her hood.

"Master Shadow Erosion." In the distance, Mordecai's Soul Fire jumped in panic.

"It is nothing," Shang Wan Ning said hoarsely.

Her withered hand pointed outside the city. "Wormrock City, engage."

This order was given extremely quickly, as if she had been angered by the previous attack.

On the city wall, bone arrows fell like a torrential downpour.

The eyeless guards roared and leaped off the city wall, and even hundreds of thorny blood vines emerged from the flesh carpet, curling toward the Elf Race's tents.

The Elves were already burning with rage from Chen Yu's words.

Seeing Wormrock City strike first, the silver-armored Elves drew their longbows, and verdant light arrows collided with the bone arrows, forming a rain of light amidst the gray mist.

"Teacher, they really started fighting."

Chen Yu hid behind Shang Wan Ning, screaming as she grabbed a nearby broken bone to use as a weapon.

"Stand still!"

Shang Wan Ning cast a few dark magic spells, repelling the stray arrows nearing the city wall.

"If you move around again, get back to the main hall."

[Act, keep acting.]

Chen Yu rolled her eyes inwardly, but shouted louder, "I won't! The student wants to help the teacher fight the long-ears."

Her 'feeble yet crazy' appearance added even more fuel to the Elves' anger.

An apprentice who couldn't even use mana dared to clamor to their faces; it was simply trampling the dignity of the Elf Race underfoot.

In the chaos, Elder Sylvia spotted an opening and condensed a verdant arrow tempered with the power of nature.

It shot at a tricky angle toward Shang Wan Ning's flank.

She wanted to kill the black-robed person who indulged the apprentice first, then tear the foul-mouthed little maniac to shreds.

"Teacher, watch out!" Chen Yu, with sharp eyes, screamed and lunged to block it, but was impatiently waved away by Shang Wan Ning.

[A-Yu, you're overacting.]

In that very instant of blocking and waving, Shang Wan Ning's movements were half a beat slow.

Pfft!

The arrow pierced through her arm, bringing up a spray of black blood, and continued on to stab into her chest without losing momentum.

"Ugh, ah~"

Shadow Erosion let out a miserable howl, and her black robe was quickly soaked in blood.

Her withered body went limp and retreated, falling straight down from the top of the city wall.

"Master Shadow Erosion!" Mordecai's Soul Fire nearly extinguished, his bone claws reaching futilely into the void.

"No, Teacher!" Chen Yu lunged to the battlements, her little face deathly pale, and grabbed the bone powder nearby to scatter downward.

"Long-ears, I'll kill you! You dare to ambush the Shadow Eater Candidate Priest; the Mother Goddess will not let you go."

Her crazed appearance, coupled with that shout of "The Mother Goddess will not let you go," was like a match thrown into a powder keg.

The eyeless guards below the city were already agitated by the Elves' attacks. Now, seeing "Master Shadow Erosion" killed, they instantly turned bloodshot and roared as they charged toward the Elf Race's defensive line.

"Tear the long-ears to shreds! Avenge the Shadow Eater Candidate Priest!"

"Avenge, avenge."

The roars above and below the city wall made the gray mist churn.

The flesh-and-blood monsters of Wormrock City charged forward like madmen; even the insectoid overseers jumped into the Elf Race's camp with bone blades raised.

Elder Elora's expression changed drastically.

She hadn't expected Sylvia's arrow to actually kill Shadow Erosion, and even less did she expect the death of this black-robed person to cause Wormrock City to go berserk.

"Retreat! Fall back to a safe distance first!" He ordered urgently, but it was already too late.

On the edge of the chaotic battlefield, deep within the flesh carpet.

Shang Wan Ning's true form emerged from the flesh, the 'bloodstains' on her black robe having long since vanished.

She looked up and glanced at the White-Haired Loli on the city wall, who was still scattering bone powder, a curve forming at the corner of her lips.

[Death escape, complete. The stage is yours, you fools.]

A faint blue glimmer flashed by, and her figure merged into deeper shadows, sneaking toward the core area of Wormrock City.

On the city wall, Chen Yu finished scattering the last handful of bone powder and secretly wiped her face.

[Tsk, that arrow looked really painful. It's a pity Her Majesty isn't a top-tier celebrity with acting skills like that.]

She turned her head to look at the chaotic battlefield, her pretty face suddenly revealing a cunning smile.

[Since we're already acting, let's get even crazier. Anyway, Mordecai's Beast-Eared Girl is there to take the heat.]

"Brothers, avenge the teacher!"

She grabbed a thicker broken bone, howling as she rushed to the side of the arrow tower and threw it toward the direction of the Elf Race's camp.

"Tear down their tents! Pull out the long-ears' hair and use it as a broom!"

When the silver-armored Elves heard this, they were so angry they nearly snapped their bowstrings.

An apprentice, blaspheming the Elves over and over again!

Today, they would make the Gray Mist Territory pay in blood.

The flames of war were already out of control.

"Quick, have the Royal Court send reinforcements."

"Activate the teleportation array."

...

The sky above Wormrock City was stained red.

The death of the Shadow Eater Candidate Priest became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Brothers, hold the line! I'm going to get reinforcements!" Chen Yu hollered at the top of her lungs, not caring if anyone heard, and turned to sneak down the city wall.

Wrapping her black robe around herself, she darted into the bone-filled passage leading to the spire in the blink of an eye.

Deep in the passage, the smell of blood was thick and inseparable.

Shang Wan Ning's true form appeared, her black robe spotless.

She twirled a wisp of verdant light shavings she had swiped from the city wall—the residual aura of Elder Sylvia's arrow.

"A-Yu, have you had enough fun?"

A playful voice rang out in Chen Yu's Sea of Consciousness.

The White-Haired Loli slammed on the brakes, nearly crashing into the wall.

"Your Majesty is wise and mighty; the effect was outstanding. Look at how lively the fighting is outside."

She gestured as if presenting a treasure. "It definitely drew all the fire."

Shang Wan Ning ignored her flattery and spread out her withered palm, a wisp of verdant light hovering above it.

A blue Soul Fire 'whooshed' up, wrapping around the light shavings, frantically refining, simulating, and shaping them...

After a few breaths, a verdant light arrow of pure natural power condensed out of thin air.

The fluctuations of the arrow were exactly the same as the one Elder Sylvia had used to shoot 'Shadow Erosion'.

[Holy cow, Her Majesty's forgery skills are incredible.]