Cistelin used her sword to swat away the softening black matter in front of her, then she quickly moved to Mu Xuan’s side to check her condition.
‘Heart blood…’
Looking at the hole pierced by the scepter in the center of Mu Xuan’s chest, Cistelin’s expression was filled with worry and gravity.
“Don’t… don’t speak…”
Seeing that Mu Xuan still wanted to say something, Cistelin hurriedly stopped her.
Mu Xuan’s current situation was worse than ever!
“Yes, Your Highness won.”
Mu Xuan’s state pained Cistelin deeply. Gently stroking Mu Xuan’s face, Cistelin pursed her lips. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again.
She didn’t know what she could say at this moment.
“We won… but Sage Luthege…”
Mu Xuan couldn’t open her eyes; she could only part her lips slightly, revealing a tragic smile.
It was true, they had won… but someone had still died.
Mu Xuan felt not only physical pain in her heart but also a psychological sense of powerlessness.
“Cough, cough… This old man isn’t dead yet…”
As if disturbed by Mu Xuan’s words, the withered corpse that had been lying on the ground stood up again. At the same time, his entire body filled out once more, radiating a new sense of vitality.
Seeing Luthege standing up again, Cistelin silently stepped in front of Mu Xuan, watching him warily.
“Do not worry, this old man’s power has already been given to you.” Seeing Cistelin’s wary gaze, Luthege couldn’t help but sigh.
‘I nearly died contributing my power, yet she still doesn’t trust me.’
However, Luthege wasn’t in a position to criticize… after all, who didn’t know that the Church’s Silver Moon Knight was lovesick for the Saintess?
Thinking this, Luthege tapped his shepherd’s crook. From a compartment at the top of the staff, he took out a lush green seed.
“This is…” For a moment, Cistelin was unsure of Luthege’s intentions.
“You know her situation better than this old man… Now that her heart blood has been shed, you know how difficult it will be to heal her.”
“Furthermore, those guys will eventually track her down following the scent of the Highness’s heart blood.”
“So you mean…” Looking at the green seed in Luthege’s hand, Cistelin immediately had a guess, and her gaze became somewhat intense.
Faintly hearing Luthege’s voice, a dizzy Mu Xuan managed to let out a weak sound.
“Sage Luthege isn’t dead… That’s good…”
Then, after coughing up a splash of golden blood, she went still.
This made Cistelin panic. She hurriedly used her finger to check Mu Xuan’s breath. Only after feeling a faint respiration did Cistelin breathe a sigh of relief.
Looking seriously at Luthege, Cistelin said coldly, “What are your conditions?”
Luthege shook his head and tossed the green seed to Cistelin.
“You…”
“Cistelin, this old man doesn’t have a heart as narrow as yours.”
Luthege chuckled. Meeting Cistelin’s somewhat puzzled gaze, he continued, “My request is simple.”
“This old man has now lost all his power, and I only wish to find a stable place to lead my foolish disciple and reopen a Mage Tower.”
Carefully cupping the green seed, Cistelin looked at Luthege with hesitation.
She understood exactly what he meant.
According to Luthege’s prophecy, the most stable place right now was the Church. He wanted to rebuild the influence of the Mage Association within the Church’s territory!
But…
Gritting her teeth, Cistelin agreed. Her Highness was more important right now!
After seeing Luthege nod with a smile, Cistelin immediately leaned down. Using two fingers, she gently pried open Mu Xuan’s soft, pink lips.
The green seed quickly slid into Mu Xuan’s mouth with the help of Cistelin’s fingers.
There was no need to swallow; as soon as the seed entered her mouth, it rapidly transformed into a warm liquid and flowed into Mu Xuan’s body.
A green halo filled with the breath of life gradually surrounded her, and the wound on Mu Xuan’s chest began to heal at a rapid pace.
Seeing that it was working, a flicker of surprise and joy appeared in Cistelin’s eyes.
She truly hadn’t expected that this seed, produced by the Holy Tree of the Elven race, would have such an incredible healing effect. This caused her to relax her guard slightly as she looked at Luthege.
At that moment, the anomaly in the sky finally ended.
When the black mist returned to tranquility, those twisted and mad whispers no longer echoed.
“Is ‘He’ dead?”
“No… He has only fallen back into a slumber…”
Hearing this, Luthege merely sighed softly. They had already done their best.
‘His’ strength had already exceeded their imagination. Even though he and Cistelin were individuals at the peak of the continent’s power, and even though Cistelin had a divine artifact in hand, they had only managed to delay ‘His’ awakening for hundreds of years.
‘His’ very existence was something beyond comprehension. Immortal, indestructible… impossible to gaze upon… indescribable.
“How long will ‘He’ likely sleep?” Luthege asked.
“At least 100 years.”
Perhaps because Mu Xuan’s condition had improved, Cistelin’s mood had also lightened. She was even willing to patiently answer Luthege’s question.
‘100 years, huh…’
Luthege didn’t dwell on it too much. 100 years was 100 years; it was better than an awakening right now.
“Master!”
A voice filled with surprise came from a distance.
Luthege was stunned for a moment, then turned around. Morson was running toward them.
Seeing this, Luthege also broke into a smile.
It had to be said that Morson had done very well this time. Although no one had expected such a bizarre corruption to occur, Morson hadn’t shamed the Mage Association by utilizing the Tears of Alrus he had applied for.
Though he belonged to the Central Mage Tower, the Mage Association was his own power base. He had also been the one to approve the use of the quasi-artifact, the Tears of Alrus.
“Master… *huff*… the Tears of Alrus have been destroyed…”
Running to Luthege’s side, Morson spoke while panting, his voice laced with shame.
“It’s fine, those are just worldly possessions.” While comforting Morson, Luthege silently blocked Morson’s line of sight, preventing him from seeing Mu Xuan.
Without needing to communicate, he and Cistelin had reached a tacit agreement: the identity of Mu Xuan as the Saintess must never be exposed!
The Church had never established a Saintess, and there had only ever been a Pope!
Seeing that Morson’s attention was about to shift toward Cistelin, Luthege naturally changed the subject.
“What about the people from those towns?”
“They’re still there. Do you need me to lead the way, Master?”
After the Tears of Alrus was destroyed, the commoners had also begun to slowly wake up.
Fortunately, Mu Xuan had already cleared the pollution from their bodies; otherwise, a riot would have already broken out.
‘But… where is His Eminence Mu Xuan?’
Subconsciously, Morson wanted to turn his head to look at Cistelin, but he was blocked by Luthege at the right moment.
“Let’s go. This old man is quite concerned about their current condition.”
‘Huh? Concerned about the commoners?’
Although he was a bit confused, Morson didn’t defy Luthege’s intention and hurriedly led the way for him.
Watching Luthege and Morson walk further away, Cistelin breathed a secret sigh of relief in her heart.
‘Since you’re so tactful, I’ll reluctantly agree to let you rebuild your Mage Tower.’
“Your Highness… it’s time to wake up.”
“You are already a beautiful girl now.”