Chapter 198: Traditional Skills Black Key
The death of the Envoy not only deprived Spider City of its last trump card but also completely shattered the morale of the Dark Elf army.
With a single charge, the Dark Elf army crumbled, quickly devolving into a one-sided slaughter.
The battle was decided!
Regaining their senses, the Dark Elf Matriarch immediately ordered a retreat; however, under the relentless pursuit of the Golem Legion and the Magic Knight Order, the retreat quickly turned into a rout.
In the end, only a small number of remnants escaped back to Spider City.
After this battle, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Spider City suffered heavy losses.
Having lost the favor of the God Queen, Spider City held no further value. Su Nan had no intention of preserving it and directly ordered an attack on Spider City.
That same day, the Golem army set off for Spider City, and in less than an hour, they breached the city gates and stormed into the city.
With that, Spider City fell.
The Underworld Southeast Region officially welcomed its sole ruler.
Dragon Bone Tower, Laboratory
After retrieving the corpse of the Demispider Godspawn, Su Nan immediately extracted its Divine Energy.
As he had expected, the Divine Energy contained within the Demispider Godspawn far exceeded that of the Spiderfied Elf, reaching a full 213 standard units.
To Su Nan’s surprise, the Magic Cube indicated that this Divine Energy not only had faith-based contamination but also contained a type of Soul Toxin.
This Soul Toxin would inflict curse damage on the souls of Wizards. Once afflicted, even if one could withstand it, their soul would suffer irreversible damage, requiring a great deal of time to recover.
"That cunning spider still had this trick up its sleeve," Su Nan sneered.
Clearly, the Spider God Queen had anticipated his purpose in collecting Divine Energy, concealing something within it, intending to deliver a surprise backstab.
If it weren't for the Magic Cube, he might not have uncovered this trap.
"Worthy of the notorious title of the cunning God, it even considered a counterattack after its defeat."
Another Wizard might have genuinely fallen for the Spider God Queen's scheme.
It was a pity, but that kind of move was useless against Su Nan.
As for the veiled threat from the Spider God Queen earlier, Su Nan didn't take it to heart either.
Although it wasn't yet clear how the Spider God Queen managed to extend her influence into the Starlight Continent, her previous actions indicated that she was still limited in her reach, unable to infiltrate much power.
Especially after losing the faith of the Dark Elf Clan and lacking both sacrifices and a medium, it would be even more difficult for her to penetrate the Starlight Continent.
When the Plane Barrier of the Starlight Continent recovered, the Wizards would begin to return.
At that point, even if the Spider Goddess had ten times the courage, she wouldn’t dare to openly infiltrate the Starlight Continent, let alone descend upon it.
That last sentence was merely the ravings of a mad dog; Su Nan considered it nothing more than empty noise.
Perhaps all her energy was focused on creating Spiderfied Elves, for within Spider City, not a single Holy Artifact could be found. Only a few statues of the Spider God Queen contained a trace of Divine Energy.
Su Nan extracted it all and combined it into a Magic Cube for synthesis.
This synthesis could eliminate faith pollution and naturally purify Soul Toxin.
After using the Magic Cube to purify the Divine Energy, Su Nan immediately absorbed it. Once he digested the Divine Energy, the purity of his Spirit increased by 17.57%.
【Vaporization: 40.19%】
Looking at the data on the panel, Su Nan let out a satisfied sigh of relief.
This wave of energy was a feast, saving him decades of cultivation time.
Even if there was no more Divine Energy to absorb, with steady cultivation, it would only take about two hundred years to break through to the first level of Liquefaction.
Moreover, even without Divine Energy, there were still other ways to accelerate his cultivation speed.
Su Nan hadn’t forgotten the original purpose of attacking Spider City.
The Felier Family, one of the Twelve Families of Spider City, likely held clues to the Black Forest, one of the Three Great Wizard Heritages.
As long as the Black Forest was found, perhaps he could discover the artifact within it to increase the purity of his Spirit.
Therefore, Su Nan specifically instructed Xie Man to interrogate the members of the Felier Family immediately after capturing Spider City.
The results should be available in a few days.
However, the results came even faster than Su Nan had anticipated.
The day after capturing Spider City, Xie Man delivered the information that Su Nan wanted.
"So, you're saying it was that Dark Elf who volunteered the information?"
In his study, Su Nan raised a surprised eyebrow as he asked Xie Man.
"Yes, teacher."
Xie Man's expression was also a bit strange.
"On the day we captured Spider City, I arrested all the members of the Felier Family, including the Matriarch and the Martial Arts Chief. I then handed them over to Sphinx for interrogation. All the female Dark Elves stubbornly refused to talk. The male Dark Elves were willing to cooperate, but unfortunately, they had little valuable information to provide."
The Dark Elves were a society that revered women, a tradition stemming from the influence of the Spider God Queen. This goddess favored the female Dark Elves, often granting them more blessings than their male counterparts, which led to the lowly status of males within the clan.
Thus, it was not surprising that the male Dark Elves had no access to high-level matters and were unaware of clues related to the Black Forest. What was unexpected was how tight-lipped the female Dark Elves were. It seemed that the Spider God Queen must have tampered with something, causing the Faith Erosion among the female Dark Elves to deepen. Only this could explain why they would rather die than speak.
This made the female Dark Elf who volunteered the information all the more unusual.
"What was her position in the Felier Family?" Su Nan asked.
"Her name is Ta Jiana. She was an ordinary soldier in the Felier Family, but she is the daughter of the Philia Matriarch."
Su Nan's expression turned odd at this revelation. A daughter betraying her mother?
Hmm... upon reflection, it wasn't so strange. In the Dark Elf clan, known for its internal strife, many family Matriarchs were often overthrown by their own daughters. For the Dark Elves, this could be considered a traditional skill. And if she was the daughter of a Matriarch, it made sense that she would have had a chance to learn about the Black Forest matters.
What surprised Su Nan was that while the other female Dark Elves had succumbed to Faith Erosion, why was Ta Jiana the sole exception?
Suddenly, a spark of curiosity flickered within him.
"Bring that Dark Elf over here."
"Yes, teacher."
After Xie Man left, Su Nan finally turned his attention to the pitch-black branch lying on the table.
This was the object that Xie Man and the others had discovered in the Felier Family's Temple, following Ta Jiana's instructions.
The branch measured about ten centimeters long and was as thick as an index finger, its surface wrinkled like tree bark and covered with fine lines.
Upon closer inspection, one might notice that these fine lines seemed to form a certain pattern, vaguely resembling an Enchantment Rune.
In fact, this was no ordinary branch, but a Magic Item.
It was also the key to unlocking the Black Forest.
After placing it in the Magic Cube, Su Nan obtained all the information about this Root Branch.
Unfortunately, the Magic Cube did not provide specific instructions on how to use it, so he would need to study it further to understand how to utilize this object to locate the Black Forest.
The thought of soon discovering the second Wizard Inheritance filled Su Nan with excitement.
"Next, all that remains is Falling Star City."
He was determined to acquire the resources of the Three Great Wizard Heritages.
Otherwise, relying solely on the resources available in the Starlight Continent, it would take a long time before he could advance to a Tier Two Wizard.
Not long after, Xie Man entered with a young Dark Elf woman.
With her tall, slender figure and exquisite features, this young woman, like most Dark Elves, was strikingly beautiful.
Although her skin resembled black jade and did not conform to typical human aesthetics, some might even consider it an asset.
As Su Nan assessed Ta Jiana, she was also secretly observing him.
The realization that the person before her was the Controller of the Star Alliance and a formidable Wizard who had defeated an Envoy made Ta Jiana involuntarily tense up.
This reaction was instinctual, a physiological response when faced with a being of a higher life level that one could not hope to compete with.
Noticing Ta Jiana's nervousness, Su Nan cast a hypnosis spell, causing the Dark Elf girl's eyes to become blank and unfocused.
With his current Spiritual Power, the hypnosis spell he cast was so powerful that even those below the Legendary Knight tier could not resist it for even a moment.
He stepped out from behind the desk, approached Ta Jiana, and placed his palm on the top of her head.
Xie Man observed this scene with puzzlement but remained silent, not wanting to interrupt.
A moment later, Su Nan finished his probing of Spiritual Power and returned to his desk.
He could now confirm that Ta Jiana was unaffected by the Faith Erosion. The likely reason was that her Spiritual Power far exceeded that of her clan.
After all, the Faith Erosion affecting the Dark Elf Clan was extensive. For individuals, as long as their Spiritual Power reached a certain threshold, they could resist or even be immune.
And Ta Jiana happened to be one of the immune ones.
"I didn't expect to find someone with such high Spiritual Power in the Dark Elf Clan."
"She would make a great candidate for a Wizard," Su Nan mused quietly.
While he reflected on this, Ta Jiana gradually regained her composure.
Her above-average Spiritual Power allowed the young girl to sense that something was off; it felt as if an incident had just occurred, but she couldn’t quite remember the details.
“Why did you offer clues so readily?” Su Nan's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts, startling her awake.
She hesitated for a moment, then, gritting her teeth, replied, “Everyone's gone crazy. They’re all controlled by the God Queen... by that person. She even killed my best friend! I refuse to follow her orders. If she wants others to hide the Black Key, then I will do the opposite and speak up!”
Xie Man glanced at Ta Jiana in surprise. He could hear the genuine hatred in her voice directed at the Spider God Queen, which didn't seem to be an act.
Su Nan replied calmly, "That's because they have been subjected to Faith Erosion."
“Faith Erosion?” Ta Jiana asked, her confusion evident.
Xie Man observed Su Nan's expression and began to explain in a low voice to her. As a Wizard Apprentice, he certainly understood the concept of Faith Erosion caused by the Divine.
After listening to Xie Man's explanation, Ta Jiana's face displayed shock and bewilderment.
She never imagined that the so-called "God" was actually a being that controlled its followers through Faith Erosion.
It was utterly... detestable!
Ta Jiana did not suspect that Su Nan and Xie Man were deceiving her; there was simply no reason for them to do so.
In that moment, her hatred for the Spider God Queen intensified.
After a brief silence, she suddenly asked, "Wizard Lord, is there any way to save my clan?"
Su Nan shook his head slightly.
"The Faith Erosion wasn't irreversible, but it would come at a considerable cost, and he wasn't willing to pay such a high price just to deal with a group of Dark Elves."
Ta Jiana's expression fell, and she lowered her head in dismay.
"Great Lord Wizard, how do you plan to handle this situation?"
"For your sake, I can spare your people. As long as they obediently work in the mines, I won't execute them."
This response truly took Ta Jiana by surprise, and she looked up at Su Nan in astonishment.
Even Xie Man was taken aback.
In his opinion, leaving the male Dark Elf wasn't a significant issue, since the Faith Erosion they had suffered wasn't too deep. However, preserving the female Dark Elf could do more harm than good. Based on the teacher's usual methods, he would have undoubtedly purged the female Dark Elf without hesitation.
Now, he was making an exception for this Dark Elf girl?
Xie Man couldn't help but glance at Ta Jiana several times, and his mind unexpectedly began to wander.
Could it be that the teacher had developed a fondness for this Dark Elf girl?
But soon, Su Nan's next words dispelled his wild thoughts.
"You have the potential to become a Wizard. Would you like to give it a try?"
Both Xie Man and Ta Jiana were stunned upon hearing this.
Xie Man was filled with shock.
A Dark Elf... a Wizard Apprentice?
Was the teacher joking?
But then he realized that, to his knowledge, no ancient texts had ever claimed a Dark Elf couldn't become a Wizard. He simply had never seen a non-human Wizard Apprentice, so he had subconsciously assumed it was exclusive to humans.
Ta Jiana shared his astonishment, but after regaining her composure, she felt a wave of excitement.
How powerful was a Wizard? The man before her had already demonstrated his strength through his actions!
Even an Envoy was no match for him!
Even if she could possess only half—no, even a fraction of this Wizard Lord's strength, it would likely be enough for her to dominate the Underworld.
Ta Jiana wasn't foolish. She recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and immediately agreed without hesitation.
Su Nan nodded in satisfaction. "From today onward, you are an official student of Starlight Academy. Work hard. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come and ask me when I'm at the Academy."
"Yes, thank you, Great Lord Wizard," Ta Jiana replied, suppressing her joy.
Xie Man glanced at her with envy. He had never seen a student receive such attention from a teacher.
Xie Man then left with Ta Jiana, while Su Nan leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
Wizards were not exclusive to humans; other races had produced wizards as well, though in very limited numbers. These beings were almost always demi-humans, closely resembling humans.
After all, nearly all existing wizard knowledge was developed based on human understanding. Other races attempting to learn and cultivate this knowledge would inevitably face challenges, resulting in efforts that yielded half the results for twice the work.
It was rare to encounter a Dark Elf with wizard aptitude, and with such outstanding talent, this was the perfect opportunity to apply it and explore the differences between demi-human wizards and human wizards.
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