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In reality, it was merely a concoction produced using the offspring created after the White Witch of the Spring absorbed filth. Through the White Witch's residual power, it allowed the drinker to temporarily retain self-awareness after being corrupted.
But how long can this last?
饮下灵8药的骑士5与守护7者的本6质已然与尸骸6无异。不过3是意识尚存4，并不再惧4怕死2亡……而白巫女血肉中残留的力量终归会彻底消退。
At that time, only those who drink the elixir of immortality to protect this country will truly fall into hell.
Lost in thought, Fran entered the palace of the capital's royal court. Following some connection between the White Witches, she arrived at a room at the very end of the corridor and pushed open the door.
The room was simply and plainly furnished. A small white witch, holding a delicate feather broom, was quietly curled up in a corner. Her eyelashes were closed, as if she were in a deep sleep... With a glimmer of hope, Lily hurried forward to check if she was still alive.
As expected, the result was disappointing. Her prayers transformed into spiritual light that flowed into Lily's body, along with her longing for her mother and sisters.
Fran also found the little white witch's notebook on the writing table nearby. Perhaps because she was a bit older, her handwriting was slightly neater, but it was still full of loneliness and confusion.
Why did the king choose me? Is it because I was the first white witch to be born?
Are the younger sisters still in that underground place?
All I can do now is clean the room my mother used to live in spotless detail...
Until the very end, she was still waiting for her mother to return, longing for a long-awaited reunion.
Setting down her notebook, Fran collected the soul of the sixth little white witch. She had witnessed, and even personally experienced, far too many tragic scenes of life and death. All she could do was suppress her emotions and fulfill her duties as a doctor.
Soon, the group ventured deeper into the royal court's corridors. Besides some relics and research notes, they also learned some additional secrets about the Knight Commander "Julius."
As an illegitimate son disliked by the king, he endured countless battles on the battlefield before forcing everyone to acknowledge him. But his father, the king who only cared about legitimacy, never gave him a second glance.
From Julius's sharply engraved characters, one can vaguely glimpse the determination of these nine cavalry captains. They were likely already prepared to reclaim everything that belonged to them from that arrogant and incompetent king.
"tread."
After traveling for some time, Fran and Lily finally entered the main hall of the royal court.
That is where the current ruler of the borderland resides.
He was an arrogant, conceited, and haughty king, and the source of all this tragedy.
The soldiers who died on the front lines, the white witches who endured the filth and underwent various human experiments, and even the people under his command... all of these held no weight in his mind; they were merely insignificant expendable objects.
He only cared about the continuation of the monarchy and his own rule.
Perhaps a pure political machine needs no conscience or emotion, but it is hardly shrewd either. The people within its borders suffer from filth, while it yearns for and covets the immortality that works on corpses... and relentlessly pursues this forbidden power.
The monarch enjoys supreme power, while death takes away all life equally. In order to prolong all this as much as possible, or out of fear of aging and death, those in high positions have never stopped searching for the elixir of immortality when they become senile.
With the miracle of filth giving new life to corpses right before his eyes, how could he resist this tempting allure?
……
On the walls and pillars, one can see reliefs of swords and lotus flowers, totems symbolizing a frontier kingdom. A majestic and magnificent throne stands in the center of the palace, but seated upon it is a knight, not a crowned king.
Beneath the throne lay a decaying skeleton with its chest pierced. The expensive silk robes, stained with blood, had faded and become tattered, revealing the rotting bones beneath.
Clearly, the heavily armored knight on the throne is the kingslayer.
Julius, the Knight Commander of the Undead Knights.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Julius, seated on his throne, slowly rose and descended the steps. The steel armor clanged heavily with each step, and dried, dark bloodstains were still visible on his broadsword, which resembled a lance.
His skills have been honed through countless trials, and his will is as strong as steel.
If it had been any earlier, Lily would undoubtedly have been in a fierce battle, perhaps even outmatched. But now… she had grown accustomed to the brutality and danger of battle. Numerous spirits materialized and surrounded her, while the black knight, sword in hand, charged forward without fear.
Swords clashed, figures jumbled, and magic pebbles and sharp blades rained down.
As the blade pierced through the gaps in the armor and plunged into the knight commander's neck, the long and fierce battle came to an end.
This time, Fran and Haida did not intervene, but simply remained quiet observers. All the trials and tribulations she had endured along the way had transformed into Lily's strength, and now, even without the assistance of others, this young white-haired witch was already capable of standing on her own.
As Julius lay dying, he looked at Lily in front of him, and a hint of apology appeared in his eyes.
"...I'm sorry."
"And now you're burdened with..."
He didn't finish his last words, but his thoughts had already entered Lily's mind as her soul was purified.
His actions—patricide, regicide, and murder of his lord—were hardly honorable, whether for a knight or a son of a king. But the king of the nation was obsessed with immortality, and his folly would inevitably drag everything into the mire.
The rain of death poured down, and everything was beyond repair. Julius had to use his last moments of lucidity to finish this unfinished task... to bring the thing the king had been trying to escape as a "gift" to him.
death.
Of course… this was merely a high-sounding excuse, a fact that Julius himself knew and acknowledged. Although he shared the same blood as that foolish king, he never shied away from his own selfish desires, much less embellished or glorified them.
Defending the homeland and protecting the people—this is what he and his comrades have always been doing.
But deep down... all Julius wanted was to force his "father" to admit that he had abandoned him, and to reclaim everything that was rightfully his.
In a fleeting memory, the knight commander raised his sword, forcing the mad king to look him in the eye, and pierced his chest amidst the king's terrified gaze and venomous curses.
Soon, Lily completed the purification of Julius's soul. The protective necklace on her chest, modified by Fran, began to show signs of instability, seemingly nearing its limit in withstanding the defilement.
But this is not a big problem. Fran is almost finished collecting all the ancient stone tablets, and then he can start iterating on the final product.
Although the doctor was quite patient, the constant presence of the lifeless, rainy atmosphere of this remote borderland made even her feel somewhat oppressed. Moreover, this desolate place was devoid of any living beings, let alone patients…
By this time, Franna's longing to treat people had become increasingly unbearable.
Even Sigrid was somewhat listless due to not seeing the sun for a long time. Although her spirituality had not weakened, her mental state was visibly poor.
"call……"
Fran exhaled softly, and as his distracting thoughts dissipated, his amber eyes seemed to burn with an indescribable heat.
The next place to go is the "Border Spring" mentioned by the phantom of the White Witch of the Spring in the catacombs. According to my impressions and perceptions, the soul of the seventh White Witch is there.
Besides Lily, there are eight other little white witches in total. Once they are all collected, the treatment process can officially begin... Don't be impatient, Fran, be patient.
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Hey! Will you have perfect attendance in June? Yes, I will!
Chapter 163 Guardian of the Abyss [Frontier Kingdom]
After collecting all the notes and lost items, Fran took Lily away from the capital's royal court and headed towards the southeastern border in a carriage.
The borderland was not large, so there was no need to spend too much time on the journey. Haida couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved about this... because she noticed that the doctor beside her had been inexplicably silent lately, and the way he looked at her carried a certain inexplicable scrutinizing quality.
Those amber eyes were like scalpels piercing through skin and flesh, reaching deep into the organs and bones.
In fact, similar situations have occurred before.
That was during the two weeks that Dr. Fran spent on the ship "Leviathan"... Because she did not encounter any patients worthy of treatment throughout the entire process, she was in a rather unstable and restless state, as if the people around her were all hiding undiscovered illnesses.
However, at present, this will not cause any unpredictable consequences; it is merely a manifestation of the doctor's depressed state.
Previously, in the royal court of the borderland, Fran had collected a large amount of paper materials. These included archives on the forbidden zone and detailed geographical maps. This saved them a lot of trouble during their journey... at least they didn't have to worry about getting lost.
In addition, the bottle of holy water from the Border Spring left behind by the White Priestess of the Spring, "Fridia," in the underground tomb occasionally emits a soft glow, which can guide the way to the eastern border on a spiritual level, like the morning star illuminating the path.
Inside the carriage, Lily was already asleep, while Sigrid sat quietly in her seat, maintaining the warmth of the surrounding environment with her own unique properties.
Looking at the craftswoman who seemed to be deep in thought, Fran raised her hand to her cheek and slowly began to speak with interest.
"Sigrid, you don't seem to be feeling well."
"Ah."
Upon hearing this, Sigrid nodded slightly, not denying it.
"It's probably because I haven't seen the sun in so long... Don't worry about me, Miss Fran. While basking in the daylight helps my spiritual recovery, it's not indispensable."
As a life form that can be described as "perfect," the alchemical furnace core within her body possesses an efficiency that is difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. Its principle is similar to that of a miniature cold fusion device... Therefore, an environment lacking sunlight will not have a significant direct impact on her.
After all, celestial bodies that emit light and heat are inherently lonely.
Like a candle flame, its purpose is simply to illuminate a patch of darkness, nothing more.
It's likely that the Sunforge Order's "Final Program" was designed based on this concept. If one day the worst-case scenario comes true, and the sun in the sky truly dims and falls forever... then those who ascend through this alchemical process will become the new, sole light.
"That's it."
Fran, of course, knew Sigrid's physical condition better than Sigrid herself. For the artisan, bathing in daylight was merely an extra supplement and a form of relaxation, not a necessary need like eating.
However, upholding the spirit of humanitarianism, Fran currently has other ways to cheer her up a little.
“Please extend your hand, Sigrid. I previously used [Blazing Cone] to replenish your spirituality... Now I need to test the specific conversion efficiency.”
"Ok."
Although she wasn't quite sure what the doctor intended to do, she still obediently handed her hand to Fran.
Fran took Sigrid's warm hand, then parted her lips slightly and bit her index finger with her fang. A surge of intense spiritual energy flowed through her skin into her body. An ordinary creature would likely have been burned and carbonized the instant it came into contact with this energy.
Of course, for Sigrid, it was merely a slightly warm stream of water.
Although the artisan didn't have a particular need for extra spiritual energy, receiving some supplementation did bring her a pleasant sense of comfort. She unconsciously narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression relaxing accordingly.
"Hmm... The conversion rate of spirituality is very high, around 70%. It seems that the forger of this conical tooth is indeed exceptionally skilled, not only having research in the field of casting, but also possessing considerable expertise in biomimicry."
After devoting about a third of his spiritual energy, Franson spoke and slowly gave his evaluation.
Her body is now no different from that of an ordinary novice priestess. Losing too much spirit would weaken her, so this experiment was only a trial run. However, this action did visibly improve Sigrid's mental state considerably.
However, biting one's fingers is a somewhat embarrassing act. Even though Sigrid often undergoes various experiments and physical examinations by Fran, she still felt a little ashamed at this moment.
Feeling the doctor's spiritual energy permeating her limbs, Sigrid pursed her lips and took a deep breath, letting the heat rising in her chest gradually dissipate.
……
Before reaching the border, one must pass through the "dungeon" of the borderland, which in some ways is like a strategic pass. The depths of the dungeon lead directly to the underground forbidden zone, which is the experimental ground for forbidden magicians to study the filth, and also the command center of the country's dark forces.
"Finally, we've reached the ninth level."
Looking at the dungeon entrance made of dark gray bricks, Fran sighed, clutching his back.
After entering the complex terrain, the prospect of continuing to travel comfortably by carriage became a pipe dream. Both she and Lily had no choice but to walk, using at most some relics to slightly speed up their progress.
Before the dungeon entrance, there is a sculpture of a masked figure wearing a cloak and hood. He holds a sword, and his demeanor is cold and resolute, naturally exuding a sense of fortitude.
Beneath the sculpture, there is a row of neat inscriptions, which seem to carry some kind of commemorative significance, or simply a code of conduct.
[A shadow guarding the borderlands in the darkness, an underground executor who judges sinners.]
Glory, land, wife and children—all are forever lost.
[He dedicated his life to the country, working tirelessly until his dying breath.]
"This is……"
Looking at the words carved on the stone tablet, Lily murmured to herself, slightly confused.
"A secret organization used to handle disreputable incidents, which also has multiple functions such as intelligence gathering, covert arrests, searches, and executions. There are always some things that those in power are unwilling to directly intervene in or make public, so they need the 'black gloves' to do the work."
Fran was very familiar with this type of institution, and his answers were coherent and natural.
Where there is demand, there will naturally be a need for someone to provide services in this area.
The same principle applies to institutions like the Inquisition and the Assassin's Court within the Imperial administration... After all, there's always a need for people to do the dirty work.
The dungeon was dark and deep, with only a dark gray stone wall visible, carrying a sense of despair and heaviness. The only light sources in the passage were oil candles and braziers placed on both sides, their light dim and murky.
Upon entering, Haida couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
The stench of decaying blood and flesh, the cold dampness of the underground structure, and the smell of rust... even though the external environment of this borderland was already harsh enough, the dungeon was even more unsettling. Moreover, Sister Haida possessed an exceptionally keen sense of smell.
With her psychic and empathic profiling talent, she could even vividly reconstruct in her mind the cries and struggles of the criminals who had been imprisoned there, as well as their deep resentment filled with pain and despair.
The concentration of filth here is significantly higher than outside, and most of the corrupted beings suffered greatly in their lives, thus their malice and ferocity far exceed that of their ordinary counterparts. But Lily is no longer the naive white witch she once was... and Fran no longer intends to waste time.
2. Haida and the Black Knight efficiently granted all the undead along their path a final rest, a feat that could be described as utterly devastating. Or perhaps... ravaging.
While passing through a archive, Fran found a missing ancient stone tablet. Meanwhile, an incomplete fragment of a notebook caught Lily's attention.
The research described therein has nothing to do with filth, nor is it closely related to the sorcery of ancient peoples. However, the contents recorded therein are far more horrifying... it is a magic trick for creating "artificial life forms."
Although she wasn't entirely sure, a certain idea had quietly taken root in Lily's mind.
Of course, she had similar suspicions before. But only now is this young white witch beginning to truly touch the "truth" buried in the shadows by the state. Perhaps more compelling evidence is needed to prove all this, or perhaps...
Well, you can get the answer by simply asking the woman next to you.
After a moment, Lily suppressed her growing doubts and focused more on purifying the filth. Even with Heda and Sigrid's help, the dungeon remained fraught with danger, and she couldn't afford to be distracted.