Under the suppression of her Intermediate Rank mana, a single Wood Spike could easily dispatch an earth spider, and if she lined up the angle just right, she could even achieve a double-kill!
“This is so satisfying! This feeling of going full Musou and mowing down mobs is truly addictive!”
Yinzhi, who was following closely behind, was completely dumbfounded. Just yesterday, they were being chased all over by the earth spiders, but today, Qimeng had initiated a one-sided slaughter mode?!
Her mouth was slightly agape, and she didn't clap until the battle was over, as if waking from a dream, letting out one gasp of admiration after another.
“S-So amazing...! As expected of Lady Qimeng!”
“Hmph, it's just a basic maneuver. Don't worship me too much, okay?”
Qimeng proudly put her hands on her hips and entered her territory with a profound sense of accomplishment.
The moment she stepped into the outer Firefly Garden, her mood became even more cheerful.
To her pleasant surprise, she discovered that the Blood-Sucking Vines she had casually planted earlier had actually done some work. Hanging from the vines were several invading earth spiders that had been sucked completely dry.
Qimeng snapped her fingers, and roots from her main body immediately surged from the ground, dragging the dried spider corpses underground to be used as fertilizer while cleaning up the area.
However, this good mood took a slight hit when she passed by the Nightglow Mushroom patch.
Despite only being gone for a single night, the number of glowing Nightglow Mushrooms had plummeted by a third.
“Eh? Have so many gone missing...?”
Qimeng frowned. She recalled Xiaomi reporting that the numbers were decreasing, but she hadn't expected it to be this severe.
Since they were nocturnal magical plants, the issue most likely occurred at night. It seemed she would have to wait until nightfall to investigate closely.
“Yinzhi, go rest in the Tree Court first. I'm going to check the state of the territory nearby.”
As Qimeng spoke, she casually tossed the ridiculously large beast-hide bundle onto the open ground of the Tree Court.
“Understood, Lady Qimeng.”
Yinzhi curved her eyes meekly and limped into the Tree Court ahead of her.
However, the moment she stepped into the Tree Court, the meekness on the Wood Elf girl's face vanished without a trace.
Her beautiful, clear eyes gazed at the Demon Tree main body before her, which radiated vibrant vitality and mana.
She stood beneath the tree, lost in thought.
After a moment, Yinzhi stole a glance at the distant Qimeng. Confirming that Qimeng's back was turned, she took the initiative to press her fair, delicate palm against the Demon Tree's bark.
This was the unique Wood Elf trait of a Spirit Maiden—the power of nature.
Hum.
A stream of pure power of nature flowed from her palm into the Demon Tree. The wood-attribute mana, which shared the same origin, achieved a perfect resonance.
Without Qimeng noticing at all, a fateful connection was quietly forged at the massive main tree.
Meanwhile, after bustling around, Qimeng finally finished checking the entire territory.
Doing the math, her stored mana had suffered a severe loss, depleted by more than half, which made her heart ache terribly.
However, at the thought of the pile of treasures she had gotten for free in the bundle, her cloudy mood turned bright again.
“Whew... I'm exhausted. Anyway, time to relax first!”
Stepping over the extra-large bundle, Qimeng arrived at her Earth Amber throne.
Then, completely off-guard, she plopped right down onto it.
Plop.
The girl's round, plump bottom pressed against the amber in a perfect curve, her skirt spreading out like flower petals, blooming into a magnificent visual feast beneath the tree.
“Ah... as expected, my own throne is the best.”
Qimeng let out a blissful sigh of comfort and slumped back.
Right after, she narrowed her beautiful eyes and directly activated her fixed daily ritual.
Sun Devour, initiate!!
Enveloped in the warm sunlight, Qimeng closed her eyes, enjoying the sheer ecstasy of her stored mana slowly replenishing.
“Lady Qimeng...”
At this moment, a weak call sounded by her ear.
Qimeng opened her eyes and was instantly startled. She saw Yinzhi, pale-faced and looking so miserable she might breathe her last at any second, limping and shuffling toward her.
“Whoa! What happened to you? Why do you look like you've been drained dry a hundred and eight thousand times?”
“I... I think I'm not going to make it.”
Yinzhi closed her eyes, her delicate body going limp, and collapsed straight toward the ground.
“Hey!”
Qimeng quickly leapt up and rushed over to catch her in her arms.
“Are your injuries really that severe?! Could it be internal bleeding?! I ran back at full speed just now... did I run so fast that I shook you to pieces?!”
Qimeng hurriedly laid her flat on the grass.
“Hang in there! I'll go rummage through the treasure bundle right now and find some pills for you!”
“No, there's no need... I'm beyond medical help. I just want to sleep for a bit...”
Yinzhi grabbed Qimeng's hand, looking tragically beautiful as if she were giving her final words.
“Don't sleep! In so many stories, if you close your eyes and sleep at a time like this, you really end up biting the dust! Hey, pull yourself together! What's actually wrong with you?!”
“Lady Qimeng... I really seem to be... on my last legs...”
Yinzhi tentatively opened one eyelid, then weakly let her hand drop, speaking with the last of her strength.
“Um... Lady Qimeng, how about... we try the Natural Spirit Mark contract spell? Maybe... it can keep me hanging on to my last breath?”
“Huh? Natural Spirit Mark?”
Hearing those words, Qimeng rolled her eyes.
“Wait a minute, isn't your attempt to scam me a bit too obvious?! Your dying wish is actually to force a registration... ah, no, to force yourself to become my legal vassal?! Is this some kind of new scam to secure a lifetime of free meals?!”
“Pfft!”
Yinzhi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, her fake dying expression almost crumbling completely.
She glared at Qimeng with deep resentment.
“What do you mean 'legal vassal'?! This is a mutual-aid agreement! We Wood Elves have a very special constitution. That Demon Tree radiating supreme mana is your main body, right? Actually, as long as I bind the Natural Spirit Mark to your magical body, I can directly draw nutrients to heal my injuries. It's basically... parasitizing you...”
“Wait! I can't just pretend I didn't hear the word 'parasitizing'!”
Qimeng protested loudly.
“The main tree I worked so hard to grow isn't meant to be a host for some monster girl parasite!”
“Ugh... cough!”
Yinzhi felt as if another dagger had been stabbed into her chest, and her tears could no longer be held back.
“Th-Then put it in a nicer way! It's codependency! Subordination! Besides, once I become your official vassal, I can also feed back into your Demon Tree main body! Ugh, stop being so picky, Lady Qimeng. Yinzhi is really going to die...”
Qimeng looked at the wailing Wood Elf girl before her and scratched her head helplessly.
“Fine, fine. I give up!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Yinzhi, who had been half-dead on the ground, had a flash of joy in her beautiful eyes and sat up with a quick kip-up.
“Then please don't resist, my lord. Next, I'll do the moving myself.”
“Yeah, yeah, I'll cooperate. I say, did you really go through all this trouble just to become my legal vassal?”
“But I really am heavily injured!”
Yinzhi's pretty face flushed slightly as she mumbled guiltily.
“Th-Then I'm going to start.”
“Well then, please begin your performance.”
Qimeng switched back to her slacker mode, sinking into her Earth Amber throne, not wanting to lift even a single finger.
However, the Wood Elf girl before her displayed an unnecessary sense of ceremony.
Yinzhi knelt on both knees in front of the throne, and then...
...she actually began to form hand seals!
Her small hands blurred into afterimages as emerald-green light flared to the maximum, gorgeously condensing into an advanced magic circle that looked like it had consumed a massive portion of the animation budget.
The guiding ritual of the Natural Spirit Mark officially commenced.
Qimeng suddenly felt a strand of her mental wavelength being forcibly drawn out from the ether.
Before she could even react to where that green mark was floating, the eyes of the previously gentle Yinzhi suddenly turned sharp.
Like a pouncing leopard, the silver-haired girl leaped forward, thrusting her forehead straight into the magic circle.
“A... a physical seal-reception?!”
Qimeng blinked blankly, her brain's train of thought completely crashing.
Rate on N.U.
