Wastelands weren't worth a trip for the Southern Army unless Frieren had a way to solve the Scarlet Rot problem. Otherwise, it would be better to just build a wall of fire and leave it be for the time being.
At that point, they'd have to ponder whether rot creatures, being creatures after all, could be allowed to coexist.
Whether they could exist in the world or not—such philosophical questions of morality and ethics were not her concern. The key was to eliminate the pollution; a vast territory of a nation couldn't be allowed to emanate rot day in and day out.
"Healing the soil is feasible."
Flamme concluded without hesitation, though she immediately added:
"I've found that the Scarlet Rot's contamination of matter isn't as active as its contamination of life; it's a fixed state. Purification has some slight effect."
"But the effect is too poor. I can't even produce a finished sample. Currently, I can only confirm that it's theoretically reversible."
She hadn't expected to finally hit a wall in her research. She had wanted to give her master a surprise, but unfortunately, she had been unable to produce healed soil for a long time. Or perhaps use barriers for separation and screening? Thorough dispelling and purification... There were many directions, but they always lacked that decisive, final touch.
What to do?
She looked at the silver-haired girl, who was holding a container filled with scarlet soil.
"Since I can curb the spread by promptly retracting the Aeonian Bloom, it proves that reversing the rot at the soil level isn't difficult... Or, to think about it differently, use absorption!"
"Blooming is a release. Retracting, at the same time, absorbs. It manifests as a reversal but isn't essentially a cycle."
All along, it had been too deceptive, misleading the research.
Plus, in the Lands Between, Frieren hadn't dared to use it casually, fearing that the God of Rot might secretly cause trouble. Now, it was much easier; her thinking had opened up.
In reality, apart from lacking this variable, the rest was down to imagination. Researcher Flamme couldn't have imagined that Scarlet Rot could cause such a huge commotion, which, in a way, suppressed its power.
The question was, how to replicate it?
A unique research result was meaningless, so she began to try adjusting:
First, she used barrier arts to isolate the spread. Then, following the targeted spell formation compiled by her disciple, she dispelled and purified. Indeed, there was a slight effect, but it was too slow. Healing Caelid might take a thousand years; even an elf would find that a bit long.
If it were genuinely feasible, the people of the Lands Between probably wouldn't mind too much. But Frieren was counting on an additional productive land to continuously supply logistics for the Altus Plateau battlefield.
Suddenly, she noticed the scarlet soil actively pulling at the ornament on her ponytail.
"Master, what on earth is happening?"
"This isn't good. It's causing a magical resonance. Powers under the same law of Scarlet Rot are gradually linking up. They must be isolated." Frieren made a decisive move. "I will try to release and channel some of the energy."
She absolutely couldn't suppress it desperately like the Valkyrie did; that had already proven to be a failure. Instead, she should slowly guide and disperse it.
If it explodes, it explodes. I'm not afraid even if it does. I'll be fine, and my disciple, who is skilled in barriers, is capable enough of self-preservation. So, a bold idea came to her: why not control the Aeonian Bloom to open slightly and see if there's a wondrous reaction with the slightly purified scarlet soil?
"Flamme, seal the laboratory. Add more barriers. You have one minute. I'm going to bloom."
"Understood."
Anyone who hadn't witnessed the full bloom of the Aeonian Flower wouldn't be as nervous as the red-haired girl. At this moment, she was deploying barriers with one hundred and twenty percent concentration.
Honestly, she felt this scene was too damn crazy.
Although the laboratory was quite far from the village, with Frieren's magical destructive power, it was practically a stone's throw away. If any accident occurred, it would be troublesome. However, Flamme had more faith in her master's power.
In the next moment, the silver-haired girl removed the restless red flower and placed it into the container.
As expected, the two forces of rot resonated, continuously unfurling more and more petals, rapidly expanding.
With every fraction it grew, Flamme's heartbeat slowed a beat.
Crack!
The surface of the container was covered in cracks, on the verge of breaking. Was it really going to be released—
However, Frieren then halted the Aeonian Flower's growth. The good news was that she could still control the Scarlet Rot's progress. The bad news was that the activated magical power would absolutely not cease and desist willingly.
"If, according to research theory, blooming absorbs related energy, then Flower Field Magic also absorbs soil fertility. Let's use the same principle to retract the rot."
Before her voice fell, the petals retracted.
More importantly, the Scarlet Rot energy in the soil also converged, all gathering towards the flower, eventually flowing into the petals and stabilizing, motionless under Frieren's control, as if the danger just now had never existed.
The moment she relaxed, the container shattered, startling Flamme so much her neck recoiled. But she immediately noticed it was normal soil.
"Success. At least small areas of contamination can be cleared."
"Master, is it alright for you to keep wearing that?"
"This is the safest way to handle it. I have a power within me that will gradually digest the destructiveness of the Scarlet Rot," she said, patting her headdress.
The experiment went smoothly. At least it proved that actively absorbing the destructiveness with the Aeonian Flower wasn't difficult.
Although there would certainly be some interfering factors in the Lands Between, the direction was correct.
After confirming everything was normal, Flamme leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief, then said eagerly, "Master, since it's proven that the magic of the Aeonian Bloom is controllable, can you teach it to me?"
"No."
"There's no stronger anti-legion magic than it."
"There are plenty. It's just that you've seen too little. It's too dangerous. The reason I use it is for purification research. Besides, the magic you have now is enough for you to digest."
Frieren would also reduce its use in the future, even shelving it, as its essence was to find a solution.
Hearing this, Flamme's expression darkened. In her view, the Aeonian Bloom was simply cool, the most powerful deterrent against demons she had witnessed, becoming a psychological scar for all onlookers, both enemy and ally. What a pity. She would have to find another way.
"I feel that soul magic isn't destructive enough; it's easy to be caught short on the battlefield."
"The so-called large-scale destructive magic everyone talks about is a false proposition. As long as the output is sufficient, anything can clear a large area with one shot. What you're essentially asking for is something more effortless. To leverage special attributes for the greatest combat results."
"Correct."
As expected of an experienced mage from the divine era, she hit the nail on the head with a single sentence. Before this, Flamme hadn't even been sure what specific direction to choose.
"It just so happens that I acquired magic with army-level combat potential this time. We can do it now. To the training ground."
Frieren tidied up the laboratory a bit and then left.
Even before leaving, she didn't forget to absorb the Scarlet Rot once more while maintaining isolation, highlighting her caution, never letting any hidden danger slip by.
Too troublesome. If only the laboratory could have a powerful helper permanently stationed, responsible for running various work processes when Flamme is growing or away on a long trip. But that's just wishful thinking.
Training Ground.
Compared to the formerly dilapidated wasteland, a space blasted out entirely by magic, this place was much neater, even paved with a rock foundation.
Ordinary power couldn't even dream of damaging the training ground's platform.
Usually, many elves trained here. In their view, the continuous wars with the demons genuinely threatened the village's safety. They had to find ways to protect themselves, so they actively sweated it out.
Once people began to persevere, they no longer felt bored, and thus cultivated habits to continue.
Frieren, who hadn't been here for a long time, was surprised to find it somewhat lively:
"Good afternoon."
"You've finally awakened to take a look."
"Our magic has reached the level of mages."
However, when Flamme proudly announced, "You are either my defeated opponents, or you are about to become my defeated opponents," the elves quieted down. It was the truth.
Now, apart from Frieren, even the exceptionally talented Mirialdele would find it hard to say she could definitely win against this little girl.
Who could blame her for getting stronger by the day? Whether it was physical fitness, reaction speed, judgment, or magical power, she was impeccable—another monster who was well-rounded and outstanding in all aspects, a perfect inheritor of her master's mantle. Sparring with her felt like facing Frieren herself.
Heard she was just an apprentice Frieren picked up randomly. Are you too good at teaching, or is Flamme too talented? Her luck is too good!
"You don't need to compare yourselves to Flamme. Just build a solid foundation first. It's not too late to take it slow."
"Let's move further away first."
Everyone certainly understood that the speed at which short-lived and long-lived species grew stronger was completely different. Moreover, seeing the aggressive posture of the master and disciple, they estimated that a long-awaited training battle was about to begin, along with the teaching of new magic. It would definitely be lively.
One could imagine the commotion would be quite large; it was better to keep their distance beforehand.
In their minds, even without leaving the village, Frieren, with her strength as a mage from the divine era, had already shown everyone the pinnacle of the world's colors. Her disciple, Flamme, was at the threshold of becoming an Archmage.
After a long and frequent period of slumber, the strongest elf in the village finally intended to stretch her muscles and bring forth new magic.
Hum!
The silver-haired girl's first step was to isolate the area with a barrier.
There would definitely be aftershocks later. This wasn't a real battlefield where one hoped the aftershocks would conveniently take out a few enemies. During training, the impact had to be suppressed as much as possible.
Opposite her, Flamme deftly applied various buffing spells to herself. In the blink of an eye, she emanated multicolored lights. This standard procedure immediately showed they were from the same school.
Even though she had made the utmost preparations, her heart was tight, pounding wildly.
That's right, the maximum suppressed magical power Master can maintain in her normal state has increased. It means she's gotten stronger again after her slumber. Magical power can be deceiving, but the pressure it exudes doesn't change because of it.
A mountain to look up to.
Before the red-haired girl, it was like a rapidly receding beach, soon to be overwhelmed by a sky-high tsunami.
However, she still took a deep breath and said, "Master, I'm ready."
"There's no better teaching method than personal experience. So, you might get a little tired later. Use your body to remember it. But don't worry, I'll still provide the necessary explanations. What I'm going to teach you now is Ancient Death Rancor—"
With a light wave of Frieren's staff, countless skeletons surged forth. Some of them even incorporated the forms of monsters from the gathering places of the soul world.
She had, of course, made safety modifications.
After all, the Death Ritual Bird's original magic was too dangerous and overly sinister. She simply reduced its cursing power and amplified its area of effect. Even so, it looked horrifying enough to make one's scalp tingle. Its control was accompanied by waves of ghostly wails and wolfish howls, full of deterrence.
Even demons would likely turn cold if they saw it. To defeat inhuman monsters, one had to use thoroughly terrifying methods.
At the same time, Frieren explained the general spell formation and activation effect.
"Experience it well."
After the explanation, the tide-like skeletons roared and charged. Seeing this, Flamme immediately used defensive magic to block, but, unsurprisingly, it was pierced through, completely ignoring the barrier.
The red-haired girl's mouth twitched, and she scrambled to dodge a few skeletons, starting to move away.
Currently, mainstream large-scale attacks were mostly elemental, but they were easily blocked by barriers, so the master and disciple didn't advocate such methods. Even if they had learned basic attributes like lightning and fire, they defaulted to not using them.
The penetrating nature and true damage mechanism of soul magic meant strong killing power. Now, Flamme was facing it directly.
"How come it's still tracking!"
"The crystal barrage I taught you before also tracks, right? But this has been improved by me to be faster."
As she spoke, she was hit. A nauseating feeling spread through her organs, and she almost threw up. The damage was clearly suppressed; otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.
If this were a battlefield, this level of impact would be enough to be fatal.
More than the pain, Flamme focused on the strong surge of soul energy after the hit. Something was being drawn out. Grab that feeling!
Swish!
In the next moment, she waved her staff and also released Ancient Death Rancor. They collided in mid-air and annihilated each other. A head-on interception. The only drawback was that hers were smaller, slower, and fewer in number, still showing signs of being overwhelmed.
Suddenly, with a series of whooshing sounds, a Glintblade Phalanx destroyed the remaining spirits, which vanished with angry roars.
The soul-magic-infused swords briefly interrupted the target's attack path. Truly talented, she had immediately found such an approach. It was indeed praiseworthy.
"Not bad. Also, this is the battlefield-level scale you wanted."
The appetizer was good. Since that was the case, Frieren further catalyzed her magical power. The skeletons rapidly swelled as if becoming giants, reaching five meters in diameter, a dense, endless mass floating in the air.
Even an army of thousands wouldn't compare.
The barrier deployed earlier was surprisingly insufficient. Even the caster hadn't expected it could become so large. Every wisp of energy at its edge was enough to cause a soul attack, guaranteed to make enemies tremble with fear upon hearing of it.
The great spirits, looking down from the sky, showed expressive smiles, as if responding to Frieren's joy in creating a new form.
However, the elves almost fainted from fright. No way, what kind of scale is this, covering the sky in broad daylight?
Outrageous.
"Because the construction essence of soul magic isn't as costly as elemental or mass-based attacks, the damage area can be expanded at a low cost. That's why I recommend it to you. How does it feel, Flamme? Want to continue?"
"Of course. I've also understood one thing. I should be more proactive and bold in adjusting my soul form, right? Then this is just the beginning."
Immediately after, the red-haired girl's magical power signature became even stronger than before.
She directly fused the magical power attached to her soul into her body, reaching a new level. Moreover, her body, as a container, could withstand it, further enhanced by the life-creating sorcery.
At this very moment, she would use everything she had learned to respond to her master's test.
"Very good."
Frieren, far from feeling it was dangerous, was full of anticipation, because this was a method she herself couldn't use, as her own internal state was too unstable.
_____
Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!
🔥 AN INCREDIBLE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE! 🔥
We're only 13 members away from our 65-member goal! 🎯
The second we hit it, 10 BONUS CHAPTERS for ALL STORIES will be released to everyone. No exceptions!
🪦 Your membership is the key. Let's make it happen!
100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
Secure your early access before it's too late!
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan