Search, Strike, Retreat

“How is the extraction progress?”

“The speed is picking up.”

This was the area directly in front of the Great Forest, a region the elves had referred to as the buffer zone since ancient times.

Even the Kingdom of Bartonia, which bordered the Great Forest to the northwest, had never dared to develop or cultivate this area.

Yet now, the elves had transformed it into a massive experimental ground.

“These evil elves...”

The sight before them was utterly gruesome. A goblin spoke with great difficulty, tightly bound by tree roots rising from a magic circle, his strength being drained alive.

And he was not the only one.

Across the entire clearing, hundreds of tree roots protruded, binding countless goblins and continuously absorbing something from deep within their bodies.

“It seems chief-grade individuals still have the strength to speak. Why is the mercy we show to others not applicable to you? Go ask the evil god you worship.”

The elf standing before the dying goblin was Moren, the person in charge of this experiment. He spoke without a shred of emotion.

In truth, even the elves themselves did not fully understand why they were doing this.

They had simply received orders from their deity to extract a certain substance from the goblins' bodies.

They did not know that the substance was actually a holy relic containing a deity's Divine Status. If it could be restored, the elves would acquire a powerful weapon.

Not even the god of the elves had shared this detail with them.

“Since we can extract so much magic power, maybe we don't have to execute future prisoners directly. Can we use them to extract power instead?”

“It's a nice thought, but it takes too much time, and the efficiency might not be very high.”

Of course, vassals would always try to take things a step further than their deity's commands. This was a common issue faced by all gods.

Some elves had discovered great results while extracting power from the goblins, and they were already plotting to expand this method to other races.

But as the person in charge, Moren cared more about the immediate work.

Without the present, there could be no future. If they failed to complete this task, all future plans would be nothing but empty talk.

He knew very well how much resource and effort the higher-ups had poured into this project. This was a mission that absolutely could not fail.

Furthermore, he did not possess any grand ambitions.

Compared to the “construction of a great elven civilization” that his colleagues constantly shouted about, he simply wanted to finish his workday safely and go home to reunite with his wife and children.

“Everyone, return to your posts and continue today's work...”

Just as Moren was about to tell everyone to resume their duties,

a figure tore through the gloomy sky, plunging directly toward his head in an instant.

“Hmm?”

“Lord Moren!”

Everyone in the vicinity was frozen in shock.

A precise bolt of lightning struck down from above Moren's head, incinerating him from head to toe and leaving only a small charred fragment of his leg behind.

At the same time, a massive figure crashed down from the heavens, slamming heavily into the ground and kicking up a violent storm of dust and shockwaves.

“Cough, cough...”

The sudden attack threw the elves into a state of panic.

As the dust cleared and they got a clear look at the intruder, they were left utterly dumbfounded.

The massive silhouette had merely been an illusion. She only appeared exceptionally large because of the pair of wings on her back, which were almost as large as her entire body.

Her actual body, however, possessed the elegant curves of a woman.

Before the elves could even react,

Celia, who had launched the surprise attack on the experimental ground, raised the staff in her hand.

To execute Lin Miao's command and wash away the colony's humiliation,

several massive magic circles expanded simultaneously around Celia's body.

Devastating grand magic erupted from within them, transforming into a violent tempest that instantly swept across the entire area.

Having fused with the Gene Stealer and the symbiotic carapace ant, Celia had long since transcended human limits. Her magical prowess had already reached the level of a grand mage, a rarity in this world.

And now, having fused with the further enhanced Tyrant-grade symbiotic carapace ant, her power had broken past even that boundary.

If anyone well-versed in human magic were present, they would surely tremble in absolute terror.

For she had reached the realm of Ninth-Ring magic, a boundary that existed only in myths and legends.

Lin Miao had already read through all of Venerable Night Moon's complaining posts on the Divine Net.

He also understood why the elves were keeping these goblins alive and subjecting them to such torture.

“It would be a pity to simply destroy it. Can we steal it for ourselves?”

He planned to claim the holy relic the elves desired for himself.

From his perspective, the Great Devourer did not need to conduct complex experiments like the elves. As long as they consumed the target, they could absorb the power within them.

【Elise has detected a special power contained within the enemies】

As it turned out, Lin Miao's hypothesis was entirely correct.

While the wretched corpses of the elves lay scattered beneath the shattered earth and collapsed buildings,

the ant-flies that had infiltrated alongside Celia flew toward the immobilized goblins, plunging their razor-sharp mouthparts deep into their bodies.

“Argh...”

The goblins, struggling in agony, were quickly drained of all their bodily fluids, turning into withered mummies.

Unlike the elves, who used the power of the World Tree to meticulously extract power and essence, the Great Devourer's method was simple, violent, and absolute.

After all, from the moment they became Lin Miao's vassals, the Great Devourer was naturally endowed with the ability to devour opponents and absorb their power.

There was no need for any complicated processes; they could simply eat them.

“Prioritize absorbing the bodily fluids of all goblins.”

Celia handed down the command to the ant-flies, then looked toward the elven knight order that was rushing over from the direction of the Great Forest.

The knight order, composed of pure-blooded elves clad in magnificent armor, was vast in number, but Celia had no intention of lingering to fight them.

All the ant-flies had gorged themselves on the goblins' fluids, their abdomens swollen to the limit. They took to the skies in unison, and Celia spread her wings as well.

Just then, Lin Miao noticed a group of elves imprisoned in a corner.

They were clearly of the same race as the other elves, yet they were tightly bound by tree roots growing from the ground, just like the goblins.