Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1173 The Story of the Unicorn Girl

Merrill struggled hard against the leather rope that was tied tightly around her hands, but apart from leaving a scratch on her snow-white wrist, it did not change her current situation.

She looked up at the place, and as far as her sight could see, the gray woodlands were dotted with elven-style ruins - this was originally a village, but since the plague began to spread, there were too many abandoned settlements like this in the forest.

The land they depended on for survival lost its vitality, and people had to leave their homes and go to Sanshak, Silverwind Harbor, or the farther Roweston to struggle for survival. She had seen with her own eyes those people who had lost hope in life. People either lost their property or land in the disaster, or their health and loved ones, or everything. The withered forest border spread all the way to the outskirts of Silverwind Harbor, and people set up a barrier to barely stop the spread of the ubiquitous plague.

Later, Ninimere rose from the ground, and the situation around Linorel and Sanshak further deteriorated. The disaster spread, and criticism arose. People saw no hope in despair. She had only been able to pray to the goddess day after day - praying that the disaster would subside and everything could return to the past.

But the holy white woodland was silent and did not respond - outside the Silver Wind Harbor, outside the sky barrier, a gray and decayed world seemed to be the footnote to the end of this giant tree.

But she is different.

The elf girl was slender and delicate, with long silver-gray hair that was braided into several thin braids behind her ears. She was said to be a half-blood of Mistville's moon elves. Her eyes were also unique, a pair of beautiful light purple pupils, like a deep pool, always so calm, and full of confidence in the world.

"Don't lose heart, I heard the council has a plan for this."

"Have you heard that we have recovered several gray areas outside the city today?"

"It is said that another dragon rider has arrived in Sanshak, and they have planned a counterattack on Ninimer."

"Everything is developing in a good direction. The goddess will protect us. The sacred tree is far from being irreversible. We just need to make a little more effort."

"Although our strength is insignificant, we can still fulfill our responsibilities. As long as everyone fulfills their obligations, those who are truly capable can devote themselves to the counterattack against Ninimer without distraction."

She is always so patient, as if she is never defeated by the despair in life:

"Meryl, don't take the criticism so seriously."

"Rumors are only temporary and cannot become facts. Don't worry, time will always prove everything."

"Have you seen Her Majesty the Saint? I have met her once before, and I believe that such a gentle person cannot be a bad person."

"Think about it, even Her Royal Highness the Princess is on our side. Didn't we join the Saint's Society in response to her call?"

"One day in the future, when the disaster is over, we will become as important as the bishop. By then, we can use our own way to mend people's views on the Holy Whitewood."

"Because the Holy Forest is not really arrogant and indifferent, and Lady Aimaya has never abandoned any of her people. You and I both know, Meryl, that the Temple has been away from the secular world for too long and too far."

Merrill looked down at the crumpled letter lying flat on her knees. On the letter was written only one sentence in crooked handwriting:

"...Merrill, don't...believe them..."

Her handwriting was always beautiful, but I wonder how much torture she went through to write this short sentence. She must have been very weak to write like this. One can only vaguely recognize that it belongs to her notes.

Meryl's tears welled up in her eyes and fell on the letter paper. She cried weakly for a while, as if she had become her old self again, until someone walked back from outside the ruins.

It was the man named 'Youming'. She had only heard this nickname once and wrote it down.

At other times, the others call each other 'Captain', and he is the leader of the group.

The man walked up to her, his face not looking very good: "Miss Merrill, you have had enough time to think about it. You should be able to recognize that this letter was given to you by Miss Linthia Starlight - she is still alive."

"Now we just need you to help us remove the Holy White Tree Heart. Then she can survive and even return to you. As long as you nod, we will immediately send you back to Silver Wind Harbor."

Merrill wiped away her tears with the back of her hand without saying a word. There was a faint connection between the unicorn girls, and when she came to this place, she already understood everything in her heart.

She asked softly, "You have brought her here before, right?"

"That's right. I might as well tell you that this is just a temporary place for us to stay," Youming nodded and replied coldly, "You don't have to count on those people outside. They have been under our surveillance since the moment they left Silver Wind Harbor. They can't save you, and they can't even save themselves."

But Meryl never cared about her own safety.

Just a piercing pain arose in her heart.

It was as if she was hallucinating, as if she was seeing the past scene with her own eyes—

The strange man walked towards Linseya and stabbed a bunch of crystal-like ash branches into her forehead. Bright red blood gushed out and turned into silent tears.

The intense pain seemed to split the girl's soul. Hatred was planted in silence, took root, sprouted, grew gray branches all over the sky, condensed into a network, and entangled everyone.

Seeing the elf girl's changing expression, Youming suddenly realized something, "Damn, the unicorn girl's sensing ability is really annoying. So you noticed it?"

Meryl looked up at him, "Why? Why are you doing this...?"

The girl's voice was a little hoarse. "Aren't you one of us? What good can this disaster bring to you?"

You, why...

Want to kill her?

She is so kind and loves all of this.

Meryl had tears in her eyes. They had clearly agreed to save the port together, to enter the upper echelons of the temple together, to survive the disaster together, and to change people's perception of the Sacred Grove together.

Although the power is insignificant, I believe that as long as we work hard a little bit, we will reach that level one day, just like Her Majesty the Saint. One day, they will also be able to change the land under the shade of the Holy Tree.

But all that is now in the past.

The girl disappeared, leaving only a mystery.

After the Port Ash Branch disaster, someone from the investigation department came to tell him that the missing Holy White Tree Heart had been found. It came from the temple in the Silverwyn District, and her suspicion was cleared.

But her heart sank, she knew the temple.

When the unicorn girl was being selected, there was a gray-haired elf girl living in the same dormitory with her.

She comes from Ravenriel and is of half-moon elf blood. She is smart and calm, yet still enthusiastic and always full of optimism about the world.

Later, she became an apprentice unicorn girl at the Weston District Temple and the guardian of the Holy White Wood.

And that elf girl became the tree keeper of the temple in the Silverwin district.

That was the beginning of the whole story.

But Merrill didn't expect it to have such an ending. She thought that the tragic story would not happen to an ordinary person like her.

Until she received that letter.

"This letter was given to you by Miss Linseya. You should recognize her handwriting," Youming told her in an arrogant tone when he handed her the letter:

"I heard that there is some special connection between unicorn girls. You should be able to sense the aura of your companion from the letter."

"Of course, she didn't want you to go with us. If we hadn't allowed her to write these words, she probably wouldn't have written this letter to you."

"But if you want to see her again, Miss Merrill, this is your only choice."

"You have to think about it carefully. You only have one chance to refuse. Once you turn around and leave, you will never see us or her again."

Meryl stammered, "Who...are you?"

"us?"

Youming smiled and said, "We are just a group of insignificant pawns hired by others. You can't get any useful information from us. Have you considered it?"

Meryl held the letter in silence.

Just as the man said, there is a special connection between unicorn girls, especially those who are close to them. She can feel the faint scent on the letter.

But the information in the letter was far more than he had imagined. A mystery lingered in the girl's mind. She gradually made up her mind and was eager to find out what happened when the investigation team disappeared.

The Council knew that the stolen Holy White Tree Heart came from the temple in Silverwyn District, and that the temple had long lost its owner, but they still did not stop the spread of rumors.

They clearly knew that all this had nothing to do with the Holy Maiden Society or Linseya, but they still wanted to throw dirty water on them regardless of the consequences and let a missing person bear all the consequences.

Merrill no longer believed that the Port Council would care about the life or death of a mere unicorn girl. Perhaps this was exactly what those people wanted to see.

She was extremely disappointed and afraid that everything about her would be covered up.

Afraid... that I would lose the truth forever.

She hesitated for a while, but gritted her teeth and didn't want to give up this only chance -

"I will go with you..."

The man looked at her and nodded.

……

The voice from the underworld was gradually pulling her back to reality:

"To be with disasters? No, on the contrary, we are not those empty-headed cultists who are easily deceived—"

He shook his head:

"Rather, we are the ones who are resisting this disaster, but resisting the disaster itself is not as black and white as you think, little girl."

But Merrill turned a deaf ear to those words, because she already knew the answer in her heart, but that answer was far from what she wanted.

Silent sorrow is flowing in the girl's heart like a long black river.

The river swallowed up everything, leaving only a seed of hatred, which was taking root, sprouting, and growing branches.

A wisp of silver dust fell silently to the ground, but the man seemed unaware of it.

Meryl finally asked one last question in a somewhat tired voice: "…What did she do wrong?"

Nether sighed.

"Because the Holy White Forest holds the most power, but the Saint cannot bear the corresponding responsibility. This is nothing in normal times, but it is the original sin in a disaster. This is not a self-rescue, but a pile of weights on the scale. The bigwigs naturally have to consider more. Do you understand——"

"It's not about right or wrong. What will people think when they see that these stubborn remnants of the old times in the sacred woods have become the only obstacle to resisting this disaster?"

"If you don't disappear, how can more capable people replace you?"

"If we allow those who are just sitting there doing nothing to gain power, this disaster will never end. The Saint's Society did not do anything wrong. You just chose the wrong side and happened to block the progress of history."

He walked to Meirui and lifted her chin with his hand. "Go blame the princess. She dragged you into this for her own selfish desires, and you are just some victims."

He let go of his hand and looked at Meryl looking at him coldly, and he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

He originally thought that the other party would be more desperate.

Despair is a good nutrient, which is conducive to his next steps. But he immediately shook his head, "Forget it, why am I telling you this? Since you are unwilling to cooperate, I will have to use other means."

"It's not my fault, it was your own choice." Youming took out a bunch of gray crystals from his arms. The sharp branches of the crystals were exactly the same as the ones the girl saw in her memory.

He raised his hand and was about to insert the crystal, but at this moment - Youming's movements froze. He looked in shock at the gray branch behind the girl growing taller and taller -

The withered branch seemed lifeless, but it grew like a snake, getting bigger and thicker, until it supported the roof and grew into countless branches.

"Holy White Tree Heart!"

Youming finally realized what was happening. "You have been carrying the Holy White Tree Heart with you all this time!? You——"

The plague and the sacred tree are like two sides of the same coin, like light and shadow, one side symbolizes prosperity and growth, the other side symbolizes withering and death.

When the white heart of the tree falls on the gray soil, the gray branches take root and sprout.

It rapidly absorbs all the vitality of the surrounding land, extinguishes the starlight into ashes, and grows branches that symbolize death from the dead silence.

It was growing stronger, and the girl sat motionless in front of it. The branches growing from it swallowed the girl up bit by bit. The gray branches penetrated under the girl's skin, sucking her life and nutrients bit by bit.

Youming's face changed drastically. He knew very well that a gray branch born from a holy white tree heart was at least elite level. Its horror during the active stage of growth was unimaginable for ordinary people.

What's more, a unicorn girl is using her own life to give birth to it.

He drew his sword, but a branch shot out from the ash branches and knocked the sword out of his hand.

The man himself was a level 21 swordsman and a level 5 guard knight, but he didn't react when the ash tree sprouted branches.

Then another branch rose from under his feet and pierced his left shoulder. Youming screamed.

His face turned pale, he was also an elf, once the followers of the sacred tree were injured by the gray branches, there would be only one outcome.

He immediately raised his sword and wanted to cut off his left arm, but at that moment - he saw a monster sprouting from the towering ash tree.

It had a slender body, long and thin claws, no head, and where the face should have been there was only a pair of pupils, one black and one white, looking at him coldly.

"Tree shadow..." Youming's heart went cold. The tree shadow sprouted so quickly. It was at least a disaster-level gray branch. Although it was still in its juvenile stage, it could already decide their fate.

"You are crazy!"

He looked at the girl and yelled at her hysterically.

But Meryl had lost consciousness, and the girl hung her head, almost becoming part of the gray branch.

The big guys almost never listen to them, they just use rumors and misunderstandings as sharp blades to hurt what the weak ones are guarding.

Then, they don't have to speak.

This was her revenge.

From the moment Meryl received the letter, she actually understood everything in her heart -

As for those who used to practice violence and inflict violence on others, they finally felt afraid at this moment.

Youming subconsciously took a step back - he didn't want to die here, no, there must be some chance.

But the next moment, a cold stinging pain pierced his chest. The tall tree shadow took a step forward and lifted him high with one claw. Youming opened his mouth wide, looking at the scene in almost disbelief.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the communication crystal slipped from his collar to the ground.

And from inside came intermittent voices asking for help:

"Captain, we were ambushed..."

"Those people have invaded the village!"

Before the voice had faded, the broken wall on one side of the ruins suddenly exploded, and a giant sword split the wall in two.

Amid the smoke and dust, Miss Catman was rushing into the hall carrying a huge sword.

  She saw Merrill at a glance and shouted:

"We found Miss Merrill. She's here—"

But Daryl's face changed and his voice stopped abruptly.

Only then did she notice the gray branch that was almost integrated with Merrill. The huge trunk was still climbing upwards and growing countless branches and crowns.

A strong wind blew from the right, and Miss Catman raised her sword to block it without thinking. With a sound of sparks flying, the claws of the gray-white tree shadow flashed in the air.

"Be careful, there are shadows from the trees."

The voice of the Elf Princess came from outside.

"Miss Daryl, you go deal with that thing," she said as she walked in from the smoke and dust, "I'll find a way to rescue Miss Meryl."

"Are you okay?" Daryl looked at her with some concern, then looked at Meryl who had completely lost consciousness.

The elf girl nodded to her.

At this moment, Youming, who was lying in a pool of blood, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.

He looked at the two of them with somewhat crazy eyes. He knew that he would not live long and would soon be transformed into a monster by the gray branches.

But, these people also arrived late.

"You are a step too late," Youming said with a sad smile, "You can neither save her nor yourselves. I warned you not to leave Silver Wind Harbor. This is your own choice—"

As his death was approaching, he became particularly hysterical, as if he was not afraid of letting something slip. He just wanted to see a hint of regret on these people's faces.

But he was disappointed.

He saw that the elf girl didn't even look at him, and was walking straight towards the gray branches. She drew her sword and held it in her hand, as if she was not afraid of the gray branches extending towards her.

"You can't save her like this..."

Youming groaned. He wanted to sneer, but only made a meaningless noise.

It was as if something was about to break free from his restraints and replace his consciousness.

In the sight, the elf girl took out a silver unicorn holy emblem from her arms. She held the emblem high, and the emblem emanated an endless soft light.

But when the light approached the gray branches, the branches that were wrapped around Merrill pulled away frantically as if they were scalded by boiling water.

But they still wanted to fight for the final control of the girl, but Lian Kuiya Arsana swung the sword in her hand and cut off the branches behind the girl one by one. Her movements were a little clumsy, but very decisive.

The elf princess pulled Meryl over and carefully held her in her arms. She covered the girl's bloody shoulders and back that were pierced by branches with her hands, and then looked at the spreading gray branches.

Then a miracle happened.

The towering gray branch actually began to retract little by little as she watched. It retracted its branches, becoming thinner and shorter little by little, turning from a giant tree back into a branch, and then back into a sapling.

Finally it turns into a seed.

A grayish-white tree heart.

Youming was stunned.

The burning flames in his body seemed to be extinguished at once, consciousness returned to him, and the spreading gray matter disappeared.

But his eyes almost popped out as he stared at the scene in amazement.

  Youming couldn't believe his eyes. If the Ash Branch Disaster could be solved so easily, would it have spread to the entire Giant Tree Hill?

But suddenly he saw the sword in Lian Kuiya Arsana's hand, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed - the hilt was wrapped with silver wire and inlaid with a star-shaped peridot.

Its guard opened like a lily leaf, and the blade was surrounded by a ball of moonlight, with a line of tiny elven words engraved under the light.

"Lead the light to fight the enemy, walk with the light—"

'The light shines forever, and darkness goes away.'

Holy Sword of the Elf.

"You, you are..."

Nether opened his mouth.

Merrill also regained consciousness from her drowsiness, as if she had woken up from a long dream.

In that dream, the elf girl with long silver-gray hair was still by her side.

  She looked at her with her purple eyes and smiled at her:

"You can't stop here, Meryl."

The one-horned apprentice girl slowly opened her eyes and met Lian Kuiya Alsana's light silver eyes.

She remembered that it was the elf girl who traveled with Fang He, and that she always had a unique temperament.

And she already knew who it was——

Only girls favored by the unicorn can make the heart of the white tree grow tall. The mistress of the forest makes a contract with them to make them the real masters of the white tree.

Tears welled up in her eyes. The death and resurrection of her best friend finally caused Meryl to break down emotionally and turn back into the weak girl she was before.

She sobbed:

"your Highness……"

"Okay, I'm here."

Lian Kuiya Alsana gently hugged her people, the girls she called upon, and said softly, "This will never happen again. I promise. I promise to protect each and every one of you."

At this time, the man lying on the ground who had just saved his life finally came to his senses. He sneered: "I see, that's how it is."

“So there is such an interesting part…”

Daryl looked at the man unhappily.

The gray branches were traced back to become the heart of the tree, and the power of the dead shadow was naturally suppressed. At the same time, the shadow of the tree in the air turned into dust and disappeared.

It's like that thing never existed.

If Fang He hadn't asked her to leave him alive, she would have killed the scum with her sword long ago.

Youming couldn't help but applaud, "Princess Lian Kuiya Alsana, Her Majesty the Saint's most proud student, and only you can bring back the Holy White Tree's heart. I was wondering how someone could deal with Gray Branch so easily."

"I see. So it's you who are here, the trump card of the Sacred Woods."

"It's a pity that the Elf King may not agree with you. Can you really protect them? You can't even protect yourself, Princess."

He sneered at Merrill and said, "You are lucky, little girl, but I am not unlucky either. If it weren't for you, I would have died here today."

"It's a pity that you are still one step behind. Besides, what can you do even if you kill me? Naive Princess."

"Don't let him go..." Merrill couldn't help but shouted weakly after seeing this scene, "There are other people behind him."

But a faint white light had risen from Youming's body, and his figure gradually faded, and finally turned into a starlight.

Daryl did not try to stop him, and if the other party wanted to commit suicide, she really had no way to stop him.

Miss Catman knew that Fang He had a silver box in his hand, but it was too late to use it here -

But after a moment, a voice suddenly came from the communication crystal in her chest.

  Miss Naturalist described calmly:

"The starlight reaction comes from the east of here, Captain."

"Where is the nearest resurrection point there?" the Paparar's voice immediately asked.

Then came Traci's voice, "Wait, Ed, there is no resurrection point there."

She paused.

"It's a wilderness, and there's no temple of Aimeya or Lady of the Avenue nearby."

"No, that's not the case."

Finally, Fang He's voice came through the communication crystal: "There is a temporary resurrection point there."

"Temporary resurrection point?"

On the other side of the crystal, everyone was looking at him.

  A moment later, Marian Titmouse and Kailan on the side finally reacted - it was the airship!

"It's the vanguard of the Linoril-Sanshak Council!"

"The Silver Wind Port Fleet has three airships at that location!"

The two looked at each other and their faces changed at the same time. If all this was true, then there must be a powerful mastermind behind these people.

They kidnapped the unicorn girl with such confidence, and chose to resurrect where the advance team was. It must be more than just walking into a trap.

Fang He looked at the other members of the organization who were knocked unconscious and lying on the ground.

The common feature of these people is that they all wore gray battle robes with the three-headed dog of hell, but I had asked Marian and Kailan carefully before that.

Neither of them knew the origins of this organization.

As for Tianlan, he had never heard of such a guild, although among these people there were both indigenous people and chosen ones.

Just at this moment, the voice of the Elf Princess came from the other end of the communication crystal:

"Ed, be careful of the advance team from the parliament. Miss Merrill said that these people have known about your existence for a long time, but they are fearless and there may be other tricks behind them."

  Fang He finally learned everything from the Elf Princess. A rage burned silently between his dark pupils, but he became extremely calm instead. He turned around and asked Marian and Kailan:

"Which organization did the main force of that advance team come from?"

"Is it the port guard, or the private army of a noble in the Linoril Council, the Silver Wind Watcher, or a certain guild?"

Kailan thought for a moment before answering, "It's a guild called the Unyielding Alliance."

Fang He nodded, "Take these people with you, and let's go deeper into the gray matter area to avoid the advance team first."

He decided to give those people a surprise.

If anyone likes to play this game, then the Seven Seas Brigade will be there to play to the end.

……