In the dark and gloomy underground cavern, there were intricate and complicated cave passages. Nearly two thousand animated fairies were hiding here.
These animated fairies crowded together. Most of them looked pale, and their eyes were filled with indifference and numbness.
"Daddy, I'm hungry." A small animated lime fairy, less than half a meter tall, shook a larger animated lime fairy beside him and said.
"Child, bear with it a little longer," Green Lime's father said helplessly as he stroked his child's head.
"Alright." Little Green Lime pouted and squatted on the ground to count the stones.
Green Lime's father looked at his child and the animated fairies around him who were in the same predicament as his family. He sighed.
The surrounding area was karst terrain. There were many rocks and little vegetation. The ground was made up of weathered rocks, and there was pitifully little soil.
This caused the animated fairies who fed on soil to be at their wits' end.
In this underground cavern, they could endure the lack of sunlight. However, without soil to replenish the energy their bodies consumed, they would soon collapse.
When it was time for dinner, the animated fairies who had stored food carefully ate their precious food. The animated fairies who did not have food could only look enviously at their companions who had food around them.
Green Lime's father took out a palm-sized piece of soil from somewhere on his body and handed it to his child.
"Eat it." Big Green Lime touched his child's head lovingly.
"Daddy, aren't you going to eat?" Little Green Lime sucked on his finger. Although he longed for the food in front of him, he still asked his father sensibly.
"I've eaten. Son, you eat it." Big Green Lime smiled. However, from his pale and weak face, one could tell that he was not telling the truth.
"Yes!" Little Green Lime nodded his head vigorously. He could not wait to eat the small piece of soil. As he was inexperienced, he could not tell that his father was forcing himself to eat.
After two bites, Little Green Lime licked his lips as if he had not had enough. In the past, such a small piece of soil would not even be enough for a meal. However, it was now his daily rations.
At night, Green Lime and his father squeezed into a corner of the cavern.
There was no light coming in from the deep underground cave. These sprites could only judge whether it was day or night based on the time in the past.
"Daddy, where did Mommy and Big Sister go?" Little Green Lime lay in her father's arms and changed into a more comfortable position.
"They? They're in Greenleaf City now." Green Leaf City was the closest animated fairy city to their former home. Little Green Lime had been clamoring to go there many times.
"Daddy, let's go find mommy and big sister, okay?" Little Lime wasn't completely clueless. Even though he knew that the truth wasn't as his father had said, he still suggested.
Big Lime paused. She seemed to recall something sad, and tears glistened in her eyes.
His wife and daughter were taken away by the vicious invaders a week ago. Only he and his son were lucky enough to escape with the large group of animated fairies. Now, he didn't know how they were now. Could it be that they … …
Big Green Lime knew that some of the invaders would eat them right away.
Squeezing the stones on the ground hard, Big Lime's hands turned red. In the end, he said in a disappointed tone, "Okay, we'll go find them tomorrow."
In this karst mountainous area, there was too little soil. Even if they hid here, they would only be waiting for death, unless they sought refuge in a larger animated fairy city.
However, there were no animated fairy cities nearby.
After starving for two days, between starving to death and being killed by the invaders, Big Lime chose the latter.
At least, before he was killed by the invaders, he might still be able to find out the whereabouts of his wife and daughter.
Gently kissing his sleeping son's forehead, Big Lime felt very guilty. He felt that he was a failure and didn't deserve to be a father. He couldn't even protect his own family.
In the dream, perhaps Little Lime was dreaming of her family, or perhaps she was dreaming of delicious soil and the warm sun, for a faint dimple appeared on one side of her thin face.
"Are you sure there are animated fairies here?" Locke was holding an iron rope in his hand. The other end of the iron rope was tied to a brownish-red devilhound that was three times the size of a normal hound's nose.
"Woof ~" The mid-rank devilhound understood Locke's words. It kept nodding and wagging its brown tail.
This was a mountainous area, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that it was barren. At least, the only plants that Locke saw after walking for so long were weeds that were no taller than his knees.
There were only gravel and sand here. There wasn't any nourishment or energy that animated fairies needed to inhabit.
Holding the devilhound's neck suspiciously, Locke continued to walk forward, intending to search the vicinity carefully.
Not far behind him, there were nearly a thousand different kinds of slave creatures scattered in various positions, searching for the possible existence of animated fairies. Casters in long robes were strictly protected in the centre.
"Locke! Mentor is calling you! "After a while, Angelina's voice came from behind.
Locke turned around and saw a large green scorpion that was at least four metres in size not far away from him. Its ferocious fangs and barbs gleamed coldly, and there was a faint glow on its sharp greenish-brown stinger.
Two figures, one white and one blue, were lying on the head of the large scorpion.
They were undoubtedly Angelina and Daenie.
"Angie is going to collapse under your weight!" Locke said to Angelina, who was lying on the scorpion's head, as he led the devilhound over.
Angelina rolled her eyes at him in rebuke.
"Angie is very strong. It won't collapse under my weight. Besides, I'm so light!" Angelina raised her head and argued, not noticing the resentful look in the scorpion dragon's eyes.
Daenie was a little embarrassed by Locke's words. She held the carapace on the head of the scorpion dragon and prepared to jump down. They had been in the animated world for almost a month and had long adapted to the realm's suppression. Their initial dizziness and nausea were rarely seen.
"It's fine. Just stay here. My little darling won't collapse under the weight." Angelina grabbed Daenie's sleeve and stopped her. She also kicked the scorpion dragon's face with her boot, as if asking for its opinion.
As Angelina's familiar and a major monster that had signed a master-servant contract, the scorpion dragon didn't dare to complain. It could only grit its teeth and bear with the pain and exhaustion.
Locke gave the scorpiondrake a helpless look and slowly walked to the back while the scorpiondrake stared at him in despair.
The scorpion dragon and Angelina used to have the best relationship. Because Locke often trained with it in the past, the scorpion dragon was a little afraid of him since it was young. It could be said that Locke had beaten it up since it was young.
Now that it had seen the true colors of its master, Angie missed the carefree days in the courtyard in Princeton. It didn't have to endure the hard work of being a mount, nor did it have to stay in this strange place full of discomfort and oppression. All it needed to do was to be beaten up by Locke every day.
Locke walked past the slaves and headed towards a certain area at the back. Although he didn't have a crystal ball, Ashar had given him a translucent crystal that could be used for communication. He could roughly sense Ashar's location through the crystal.
Ashar and Kayla were sisters, so they were most likely together now. Angelina told him to look for her mentor, Kayla. He would most likely meet Kayla there if he went straight to Ashar's place.
As expected, when Locke approached a hovering carriage, two familiar voices could be heard arguing from inside.
He opened the curtains and saw Ashar in a black robe and Kayla in a white robe. They were holding each other's arms and looking at each other.
Parlina, who had a bitter smile on her face, was trying to persuade them.
Just like how the two of them were opposites of light and dark magic, Kayla and Ashar were also at odds with each other in daily life. They would always quarrel over trivial matters.
At times like this, someone needed to play the role of peacemaker. Locke obviously didn't have the right to do so, and neither did Angelina. However, Grandmeisterin Parlina, who had a good relationship with both of them, often came to mediate.
Seeing that the two level-one casters were in a fit of anger, Locke didn't say anything. He stood quietly in the corner of the carriage and waited.
The reason why the carriage was floating in the air was because it was a carriage without wheels, and there were no animals pulling the carriage. There was only a lever in the center of the carriage that looked like a joystick, and there were three energy crystals of different colors embedded there.
The corner of Locke's mouth twitched. The three energy crystals were high-grade energy crystals, but they were only used to power the tools of this generation. Locke couldn't help but sigh. Casters were filthy rich.
Looking at the pebbles flying across the ground, Locke calmly rested his spirit. He had been travelling non-stop for a month, and it was a little too much for him. He didn't have a mount or a floating carriage to use as a means of transport.
The noises in the carriage grew softer and softer. Locke quickly composed himself. He knew that the argument between Ashar and Kayla was over for now.
"Is there anything unusual around here?" The first to ask was Ashar. Among the three Magisters, the dark caster was the closest to Locke.
"Not yet, but the demon hounds and the slaves who are good at tracking seem to have found some traces of animated fairies," answered Locke honestly.
"They should be small fries. Don't pay too much attention to them." Ashar waved her hand nonchalantly. She had no interest in animated sprites that were below mid-rank Knechts. Even if she could extract animated essence from a hundred of them, it would be better for her to kill a level-one animated sprite that was close to level-1.
Unless there were more than a thousand of them, she wouldn't waste her time on low-rank animated fairies.
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