vncnus Page 417
Page 417
"We'll see, we'll see... Oh, by the way, you still haven't told me whether you have any clues about 'Supreme Radiance'!"
"You are such a calm, reliable, and mature man."
Lady Rosette, seeing Latis's embarrassed expression, smiled slightly, then obediently placed her hands on the spider in front of her, calming her expression, and said:
"When the former clan mother died, I personally went to bring her body back to the tribe. Perhaps because she had been under the influence of the mental weakness spell for a long time before her death, her body was already parasitized by a large amount of light when she passed away."
"Light?" Latis instantly recalled the insectoid monsters with molten light inside their bodies that he had seen on the way here, and frowned. "So this kind of parasitic infestation already existed back then..."
"It seems that you have already seen the parasitized monsters outside the territory, my lord."
Ms. Rosette nodded and continued:
"As mentioned before, my clanswoman died in the territory of another monster. I was prepared for a tough battle and went there myself. Fortunately, when I found her body, I discovered that the location belonged to the territory of the Moth Tribe."
Latis stroked his chin and asked:
"The Moth Tribe? They don't seem to be very good at fighting."
"Yes, the Moth Tribe has never liked fighting."
A look of reminiscence slowly spread across Ms. Rosette's face as she continued:
"They told me that the reason their clan mother died on their territory was probably due to a certain phototaxis in their racial abilities, which attracted the clan mother, who was parasitized by a large amount of light, to their territory."
"Wait a minute." Latis seemed to understand something and quickly asked, "So, if it's something related to the power of light, the Moth Tribe might know something about it?"
"That's what I think, but unfortunately I've been too busy protecting my people to go there in person ever since."
Ms. Rosette sighed, then looked at Latis and said earnestly:
"My lord, it is said that the Moth Tribe possesses a divine artifact that can use some kind of magical power to explore things deep within the will. Perhaps you can use that artifact to find the ultimate destination of the Will of Light, which may be the location of the 'Supreme Radiance.'"
She paused, took a deep breath, and said:
"That divine artifact is called the 'Dream Nail'."
Chapter 410 The Journey to the Underground
Latis walked slowly out of the Night Elf's Great Hall, lost in thought. He stopped on the heavy white rock steps, glanced at the faint shadows of spiderwebs in the air, and fell into deep thought.
Lady Rosette, as the matriarch of the night elves, was indeed very dutiful. After learning that he wanted to explore the truth about the Will of Light, she patiently and in detail pointed out the route to the Moth Tribe for him.
It turns out that back then, Ms. Rosette had only stumbled and struggled her way to the Moth Tribe, guided by her bloodline. Although the return journey was much smoother, her experience of exploring on the way there had made her remember those roads vividly. Since there were no maps in the underground world, her memories were the most precious road signs.
However, after decades of changes, she was unsure whether the landmarks along the route had changed, so Latis could only try to remember the more recognizable ones.
Fortunately, Lady Rosette pointed out a shortcut: leaving the night elf tribe, one could follow an ancient ruin to reach a Naga village, and then proceed along the riverbank of that village until a cave with a bell at its entrance appeared.
When she passed by years ago, she found the Naga clearing a buried cave. Upon asking, she learned that it seemed to be a network of tunnels called "Deer Antler Beetle Station," which led to many places.
Since the stag beetle station had not been completely cleared at the time, Ms. Rosette set off on her own. However, when she was returning with her mother's body, she found another stag beetle station near the moth tribe. Unfortunately, her mother's body was too large to enter, so she had no choice but to pass by.
"Decades have passed, that station should be usable by now... But then again, the stag beetle station... could it be for riding insects?"
Latis couldn't help but scratch his head and mutter to himself. He had never tried riding a bug before... No, it didn't seem like something that ordinary people could try.
“However…” He shook his head, dispelling the bizarre image of insect mating that had appeared in his mind. Then, he took out a small ball of crystalline light from his pocket, examined it for a moment, and whispered:
"Lady Rosetie still gave me the Pure Light... Did she see that Jennifer possessed the Pure Light and thought it would be useful to us?"
Latis pondered for a moment, then put the Pure Light back into his pocket. As for why he didn't put it in the interdimensional rift, it was because Lady Rosette had kindly reminded him before he left that it was impossible to open the interdimensional rift in those underground environments that resembled spatial turbulence.
Come to think of it, he really hadn't considered whether it was possible to open a dimensional gap within the spatial turbulence of teleportation... It was a blind spot in his knowledge.
"Let's leave it at that for now..."
He tidied up the essentials he needed, then glanced at the common men and women standing on either side of him. After a moment of contemplation, he said to Kiriko:
"Mr. Kirito, you should stay in the Night Elf tribe for now. I've already asked them to send you back when they have time. The investigation mission in Tree Peak Village is now complete. Once you get back, just take care of the village and don't worry about the rest."
“Yes, Lady Titania.” Kiriko bowed gratefully and said, “After learning a little of the truth, I realized how complicated it was… Please allow me to thank you on behalf of the entire Tree Peak Village, Lady Titania.”
"Hey, you're welcome."
Latis scratched his head, patted Kiriko on the shoulder, and nodded encouragingly. Then he looked at Snyder on the other side, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked in confusion:
“Miss Snyder, what are you doing here?...No, not just you…”
He glanced even more puzzled at the ray sitting upright next to Snyder, subconsciously rubbed his eyes, and couldn't help but mutter:
"And you, no... buddy, where did you come from?"
“Wee!” The ray waved its pectoral fins confidently.
“…will we rock you?” Latis blurted out instinctively, then snapped back to reality when he saw the bewildered look on the ray’s face.
Upon hearing that voice, he was absolutely certain—it wasn't a hallucination—that this creature was definitely the Void Ray, the monster cyber policeman he had previously robbed of gold coins from in the simulation! He had even obtained his underground cyber network access from it!
What's going on? How did the Void Ray become a teammate? Jennifer, what's wrong with you? Don't pick up random things!
"Hmm... Master."
Snyder instinctively tightened her cuffs, feeling inexplicably guilty. She lowered her head slightly and explained in a low voice:
“I want to contribute to your investigation, sir… but I always feel ashamed to just wait in the village…”
"Hiss...you little brat."
Latis couldn't help but sigh in distress. It wasn't that he couldn't understand the girl's thoughts; she simply wanted to give something in return before she would feel comfortable accepting his help. He had already experienced these delicate emotions with the little bird, so they weren't hard for him to understand.
But the problem is... this underground journey will definitely be very difficult for a frail common girl.
Latis hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to refuse Snyder's offer. He paused, about to speak, when he suddenly heard a loud thud behind him. Immediately, a pair of soft hands skillfully took his arm, and the person rested their head on his shoulder, saying in a coquettish tone:
"Lazi, Snyder is now a priest of the Holy City!"
"Eh?"
Latis turned to look at Jennifer, who was smiling, and paused for a moment. Then, feeling the warmth from Jennifer's palm, he instantly understood the meaning behind her words.
For Snyder, who was already a priest of the Holy City, these adventures were no longer an extra burden, but a part of his faith. Just as Holnet could wander underground for so many years for the sake of finding the will of light, he could not stop Snyder from participating in the journey of his own free will.
"Alright... if you all insist."
Latis sighed helplessly. Fortunately, apart from monster lords like Lady Roseti, he could protect these girls, so he wasn't too worried.
"Great!" Snyder clenched his fists with joy and quickly gave a priest's salute, saying, "Sir, I will definitely do my best!"
"I already told you not to address me like that..."
Latis shook his head, his gaze sweeping past Snyder, then landing on the Void Ray staring at him with its beady eyes. He frowned slightly and asked:
"But... what's up with this guy?"
"Uh……"
Jennifer looked at the ray, which had spread its pectoral fins in a gesture resembling an outstretched hand, and after a moment of silence, said with a headache:
"This matter... is a long story..."
……
When Lady Rosette finished tidying up the items in the Night Elf Palace and walked out the door, she was surprised to find Latis kneading and shaping a Void Ray in front of a group of girls.
"Um... Lady Titania?"
She spoke instinctively, and under Latis's gaze, asked with a hint of confusion:
"Excuse me, what are you doing?"
“Ah, Ms. Rosette.” Latis released the ray’s head, letting it collapse weakly to the ground with a “weep,” scratched his head, and laughed heartily:
“I heard from my teammates that the Void Ray was intentionally traveling with them. I was worried that the Ray might have some malicious intent, so I tested it to see if it would resist.”
"……puff."
Ms. Rosette's usually calm face finally broke into a rare smile. She shook her head helplessly, walked to the group, looked down at the manta ray lying on the ground, crumpled like a rag, and said:
“Void Ray, since you believe they are the people you are looking for, then just do your best to help them along the way, and stop running around everywhere.”
“wee…”
The Void Ray weakly raised its pectoral fins in a salute, then collapsed again like the Chinese character "本".
"Huh?" Latis glanced at the ray, then at Ms. Rosette, and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Madam, do you recognize this ray?"
“Of course, Lady Titania,” Lady Rosette smiled slightly and explained.
"This Void Ray comes from the deep underground void. It is not good at fighting, but it often helps some weak monsters. No one knows what its purpose is. All that is known is that it is looking for something to accompany it to the void. It seems to be looking for something... Hmm, the piece of pure light that I gave you was its reward to me."
"So that's how it is? Deep underground...?"
Latis looked at the Void Ray on the ground with suspicion. Although he admitted that the ray looked a bit silly, it was still a monster after all. In the simulation, it had even forcibly captured him... Wait a minute, according to Ms. Rosette, the reason he was captured in the simulation was because the ray wanted to take him as a companion to the Void.
No, there's nothing special about him pulling that guy, so how did he end up being spotted by this ray right away?
He stroked his chin, squatted down, and lifted the Void Ray. He stared at its unfocused, beady eyes for a moment, then pondered:
"You want to eat meat-eating stingrays? You want us to go to the void with you?"
"wee?!"
The Void Ray stared in shock, its entire body tensing instantly. It raised its pectoral fin, pointed to itself, and asked, seemingly puzzled:
"weewee?"
"Tell me, isn't that right?" Latis looked at the ray's rather human-like face and couldn't help but make the same face as an old man looking at his phone on the subway.
“…wee!” The ray nodded quickly.
"But we've only gone to the Moth Tribe so far, and we don't plan to go deep underground to search for the Void."
Latis shook his head and said:
"Although I don't know what you're going to do in the void, we have more important things to do now."
"wee~wee!"
Upon hearing this, the Void Ray showed no concern, patted its chest, and said:
“wee!”
"No problem at all...?"