Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 283 - 259: Two Naive Ghosts

When the Guardian Legion returned to Lokarot unscathed, the cheers of the citizens resounded throughout the entire city. The distant black pillar of light was dissipating, everything was like a tense drama, and they were all excited spectators. Ladies stood behind their own windowsills, scattering the pure white petals they had prepared in advance over the heads of the Guardians as if it had been rehearsed.

Everything was so harmonious.

Frey was tallying the number of casualties from the battle with the commander of the Fire Bath Legion.

"Three recruits..."

"What happened! What were the veterans who were supposed to protect the recruits doing!"

"At that moment, the group consciousness was temporarily severed, and those three recruits charged to the very front..."

Frey took a deep breath, "Bring them here, I will beg His Highness Raphael to personally bless them."

The commander scratched the back of his head, "That would merit a blessing from His Highness Raphael? Alright, when they wake up, I’ll have them report."

"Hmm? Wait until they wake up? Weren’t they sacrificed?"

"Commander Frey, what are you thinking about? They charged to the front and sustained fatal injuries, but our Fire Bath’s flames saved them, they just couldn’t bear the pain and fainted on the spot."

"You! I’ll be damned! Why didn’t you finish your sentence?"

"I was planning on finishing, but you interrupted me after hearing about the three recruits!"

"Who counts unconsciousness as a casualty! Are you an idiot? How did you become a commander!"

"You son of a... Have we, the Guardian Legion, ever encountered instances of people fainting from pain on the battlefield? This is the first time it’s happened in my legion, you asked about abnormal cases, and I answered truthfully!"

Seeing that the two men on the verge of anger were about to fight, the surrounding commanders hurriedly intervened to break it up. After Frey regained his calm, Commander Osnack came over, and Frey glanced at him, "Did your recruits also faint?"

Osnack chuckled embarrassingly.

"Big brother Frey, I’ve lost someone."

"Another recruit?"

"She would count as a recruit, I guess."

"Her?" Frey thought of something, and his Pitaya helmet seemed to reignite.

"At that time, I was in a hurry to reconnect with the members of the legion. After the flame burst, I forgot to keep an eye on little Karen."

Frey’s head blazed with flames, and it looked like the Fire Bath form was about to descend once again.

"Brother, calm down, calm down, it’s bad for the skin."

"I’ll skin you! Osnack, Karen was entrusted to you by me personally! I trusted your character to hand her over to you! And you forgot? To hell with ’bad for the skin,’ we are the Fire Bath! Find me one whose skin is fine!"

"I’m sorry, boss."

"As if apologies were useful. What’s the point of military discipline then! What is our discipline!"

"Offenders are to face the flames, boss, I am a Fire Bath."

"Then why aren’t you rolling back to find Karen! If you can’t find her, I’ll hand you over to Dolanko as compensation!"

"I’m on it."

Osnack immediately turned around, left the formation, and sprinted towards the city gate.

Before he had even left the main troop, a streak of light shot past above the Guardians.

It was Raphael. He flew anxiously to the side of the Holy Cross in the chapel at the top of the church, and threw the four Holy Swords at the four corners of the city of Lokarot.

"Light’s Blessing Barrier!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The four Holy Swords served as pivot points, enveloping Lokarot in a dome of light.

Raphael yelled in the sky, a voice loud enough for the entire city to hear.

"Guardian Legion, all members! Carry out my command, drop whatever you are doing! Conduct a carpet search of every corner of Lokarot! We mustn’t overlook any trace of evil presence! Immediately! Right now!"

"As you will!" All the Guardians immediately began a house-to-house search for suspicious auras in the holy city of Lokarot, leaving no stone unturned. Even if it meant intruding into private homes, the citizens of Lokarot did not resent the Guardians’ intrusion into their homes, but instead welcomed them quite warmly.

As for the search for Karen, that was naturally put off.

At the top of the mountain where the dark stone pillar was located, Lyle was moving the stone pillar around. This would have been an easy task, provided Nia was involved. It was supposed to be a beautiful plan: Lyle would go to the top of the mountain, Lyle would call Nia, Nia would move the stone pillar, and Lyle would pack up and finish the job.

The reality was, Lyle went to the top of the mountain, Lyle called for Nia, Nia dove headfirst into the Shadow Pool, Nia consumed shadow energy, and Lyle couldn’t call her away no matter what, leaving Lyle to move the stone pillar himself, nearly exhausting himself to death.

After about an hour of constant effort, amid Medusa’s schadenfreude cheers, Lyle finally squeezed the stone pillar into his bag, bit by bit. He collapsed on the ground like a dead fish, gasping for breath.

Raising this girl has truly been for naught.

Lyle rolled over to look at Nia’s side; she was planted upside down completely in the shadows, her upper limbs out of sight, her tentacle-like tendrils leisurely waving in the air, like a horror version of a sea anemone.

"Nia, we’re leaving now, okay?"

Nia gave an enthusiastic response, accompanied by gulping sounds. "Almost ready, just a little longer."

Ten minutes later.

"Nia?"

"Just a moment!"

Twenty minutes later.

"Glutton?"

"Just a little more, I’ll take two... three... ten more bites."

Thirty minutes later.

"You little brat!"

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle..."

"I’m not waiting for you anymore, I’m leaving on my own!" Just as Lyle was about to activate his ring, Nia’s tentacles wrapped around him and dragged him over.

"I won’t let you! Lyle should stay and wait for Nia, wait until Nia’s done, then we can leave together!"

"You insatiable creature, how could you possibly finish all that! Besides, what do you want with shadow energy? We don’t need that stuff. Eating whatever you want based on taste alone, you’re going to end up with a bad stomach!"

"Nia won’t get a bad stomach! Nia is the Evil God! The lord who devours everything! Nia will keep eating! Lyle, you have to stay with me."

"Then tell me, how much longer do you want to eat? Give me an exact time, and no more changes this time, okay!"

Nia’s head emerged from the shadow, counting on her fingers, and finally she came up with the answer she wanted.

"Nia will eat for a year!"

"No way! You wish! I’m getting angry now! The consequences will be severe!" Lyle made a very serious face and tried to break free from Nia’s tentacles.

"Lyle, don’t be angry. Nia wants a hug, please don’t be angry. Wait one year for me, okay? Nia is begging you." More tentacles wrapped around Lyle.

"No way! No use pleading with me, your request is too preposterous!"

While the two were arguing, a third voice chimed in.

"Fiend! Release Lord Purifier!" It was Karen, resolved to rescue the Purifier, and as she had expected, she saw her own princess with the evil dragon who had abducted her.

"Ah, this." Karen saw Nia and, in her view, a tentacle monster was dragging Lyle into the shadows.

Nia had a clever idea.

"Roar roar roar! The Evil God wants to devour the tender-skinned Purifier! Goodbye, stupid Karen!"

Lyle didn’t resist as Nia pulled him down into the shadows with her.

"Aaaaaah! Lord Lyle! Paladin Karen is here to save you!"

Karen also fell into the shadows.