415 The Sand
Selma Payne’s POV:
They were both relics of the Goddess of Nature and symbols of life and vitality, so how could ordinary wild fruits like the nitraria fruit be inferior to the garland of the Goddess of Nature?
I suddenly realized that from the very beginning, we had fallen into a blind spot in our thinking; only the precious ones were worthy of being offered as tributes to Azazel.
However, after thinking about it carefully, wasn’t this idea a complete fallacy?
Could it be that the cultists who could not find any precious relics in the corners would not carry out the evil sacrifice? Didn’t Ryan summon Leviathan’s projection with such a simple ritual and sacrifice?
Moreover, in terms of life force, the leaves and branches of the mother tree were more than enough. More sacrifices provided a reasonable excuse for Azazel’s arrival, a medium that the rules could accept. In that case, the garland of the Goddess of Nature was not as attractive as before. In the territory of the Goddess of Nature, there were plants that represented the blessing of life everywhere!
“It seems that you already know.” Locke smiled and shook his head. “Unfortunately, it’s too late.”
I immediately flew up to Locke and pinned him down on the rough ground before anyone could react. At the same time, New Flow surged out and tied up the rest of the gang tightly.
“You’ll pay for what you’ve done,” I swore through gritted teeth. “I swear in the name of the goddess, in my name, I’ll make all those who played me pay the price!”
Locke laughed hysterically, and my comrades immediately came forward to take these people into custody.
“What happened?” The mayor and the others surrounded me, clearly very worried about my loss of self-control.
I tousled my messy hair and sighed silently. “We’ve been tricked. These people have no intention of stealing the garland. I don’t know what their accomplices have taken as a substitute, but they’ve already broken through the weak southwest border and escaped.”
“What?” Everyone was shocked. “But the mark of nature is still restricting them. They shouldn’t be able to leave the Elf Forest!”
“That’s where the problem lies.” I looked at the wanderers tied up like Christmas gift boxes and became increasingly confused. “Now it seems they have mastered ways to shield themselves from nature. They can freely control whether they want to be exposed to Nature’s vision. I even suspect that they intentionally revealed their whereabouts to us initially to delay more time and attract more attention.”
This was almost a 100% sure thing. The mark of nature had been blocked or deceived, so all the restrictions on the wanderers had lost their effect.
This battle had destroyed more than half of Garland City, and countless elves had lost their homes. The only thing to be happy about was that there were no civilian casualties.
Some elven soldiers were sacrificed in the face of the mutated werewolves. Compared to the contamination of evil power, the pure physical damage took away their lives instantly, and they did not even have time to heal.
𝒇𝚛𝙚𝙚𝘸𝙚𝗯𝓃𝗼ѵ𝚎𝘭. c𝑜𝘮
Standing on a broken wall, the mayor of Garland City was in deep silence. He silently looked at the sky in the distance. I saw tears quietly filling his eyes.
“My condolences.” It would be useless to say anything, so I could only comfort him like this. “They are all heroes who have protected their home and country. May the Goddess of Nature bless them to enjoy eternal happiness in the Holy Garden.”
The mayor did not say anything but sighed heavily. After a long while, he said, “Garland City is not a big city that attracts attention. For nearly a thousand years, time seems to have stopped here. Everything is happening in an orderly manner. It seems that a peaceful life will stop here forever.
“But the comfortable life also made us degenerate. Our ancestors’ brave determination and alert vigilance were worn down by prosperity day after day. So much so that when fate made a disaster befall this place, we panicked and watched as our home was destroyed.
“These children… I know every single one of them. I personally selected these young warriors and gave them agile skills and fearless wisdom. I also gave them soft expectations. However, I had forgotten how cruel war could be. I also forgot that training a soldier was not like training a warrior from a myth. There were only two outcomes for a soldier: either they survived or died. Other than that, the so-called determination and honor are not worth mentioning. Nothing can be compared to life.
“I’m responsible for the deaths of these children. I’ve been immersed in a peaceful life for so long that I’ve forgotten the responsibilities of a mayor.”
At this moment, the elf who was born into a family famous for his longevity seemed to have aged a hundred years in an instant, and his serious regret almost crushed his shoulders.
The mayor of Garland City waved his hand and sprinkled a handful of blood-stained sand. The sand flew in the gentle wind, nimbly drawing a spiral trajectory, and quietly disappeared into the distant horizon in the company of dead leaves and smoke.
