Forest Queen

"You fools! Look at what you've done!"

The voice contained such powerful magical fluctuations that even the rampant shadow energy in the air paused. Jialan felt as if his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand, his breath catching in his throat. The magic within him became chaotic and uncontrollable, making even the most basic spells impossible to maintain.

Argyle's face instantly turned ashen, his lips trembling as he stammered out a few words: "She... she's here..."

Before Jialan could even ask who "she" was, a blinding green light suddenly illuminated the distant sky. The light was so pure, without a trace of impurity, as transparent as the finest jade. Wherever the light passed, the rampant shadow energy melted away like snow under a scorching sun. At the center of the green light, a slender female figure could be vaguely seen standing in mid-air, her long hair flowing behind her like a waterfall.

"Who... who is that?" Jialan asked with difficulty, his voice hoarse with shock.

Argyle stared fixedly at the figure, his voice filled with unprecedented awe: "The being that has been slumbering in the deepest part of the Misty Forest... a Treant that has achieved complete transformation."

Jialan was greatly alarmed. As a Mage, he naturally knew what "complete transformation" meant. For Magic Beasts or magical plants to take human form, they needed to at least reach the Archmage level, and they usually retained some characteristics of their original form. But "complete transformation," meaning to fully resemble a human, required at least the strength of a Magus!

Across the entire continent, Magus-level existences were few and far between. Some small kingdoms couldn't even support a single Magus with their entire national resources. Experts of this caliber were already at the pinnacle of magic, second only to the legendary Archmages.

The green figure drew closer, and Jialan finally saw her clearly. She appeared to be a woman no older than twenty, dressed in a flowing emerald green gown, her skin as fair as to be almost transparent. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, unlike any mortal's, but her eyes were as deep as an abyss, seemingly containing the ancient vicissitudes of the entire forest. Most striking was the emerald diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, emitting a heart-pounding magical fluctuation.

"It's... the Forest Queen..." the black-robed Archmage's voice trembled noticeably. This previously arrogant powerhouse now appeared so insignificant. Although only one level separated an Archmage from a Magus, that level was like an unfathomable chasm, a gap he had almost no chance of crossing even in a lifetime.

The woman hovered in mid-air, looking down at the devastation below. Her gaze swept over the enlarged spatial rift, the rampaging Sun Fruit trees, and the mutating creatures. With each sweep, the anger in her eyes intensified.

"Foolish humans," her voice was no longer high-pitched, but carried a more terrifying calmness, "To dare disrupt the balance maintained for millennia for mere Sun Fruits."

She slowly raised her right hand, her slender fingers making a gentle point. A beam of emerald light descended from the sky, precisely striking the rampaging Sun Fruit trees. Shockingly, those mutated trees, which even Raymond's Battle Qi could hardly destroy, withered rapidly under the light beam, disintegrated, and finally turned into a pile of black ash.

Immediately after, she waved her left hand, and countless emerald light spots fell like snowflakes. These spots landed on the creatures infected by the shadow energy, and their mutations began to reverse. Their black skin regained its rosy hue, and their twisted limbs gradually returned to normal.

The Forest Queen's gaze finally fell upon the four high-level professionals. Just being under her gaze caused even a powerhouse like Raymond to involuntarily take half a step back. Calvin and the Dark Council's Wind Element Mage fared even worse, their knees buckling, nearly falling to the ground.

"You," her voice was as cold as ice, "will pay the price for what you have done today."

With that, the Forest Queen's gaze turned to the spatial rift, her brow furrowing slightly. She formed a complex hand seal in front of her chest, and the emerald mark on her forehead flared with intense light. A beam of light even more dazzling than before shot from her hands, piercing the spatial rift like a sharp sword.

A terrifying scream echoed from within the rift, and the black tentacles that had been extending rapidly retracted. The rift began to shrink at a visible rate, and the dark red patterns on its surface gradually faded.

At this critical moment, an unexpected event occurred. A pitch-black energy suddenly shot out from the depths of the rift, shattering four or five protective shields in rapid succession and striking the Forest Queen precisely in the chest. The Queen grunted, her figure swaying, and the green light maintaining the seal weakened.

"Hahaha..." a hoarse voice, like sand rubbing against sandpaper, echoed from the depths of the rift, its laughter filled with chilling malice. The sound seemed to spread not through the air but directly into everyone's minds, making Jialan's temples throb.

"How do you like the strike I so carefully prepared for you..."

The Forest Queen's exquisite face showed a look of solemnity for the first time, her emerald eyes narrowing slightly: "It's you..."

The spatial rift distorted violently, like a canvas being torn by an invisible hand. A blurry black figure slowly emerged from the rift, its outline constantly shifting, sometimes humanoid, sometimes monstrous. The only constant was its pair of blood-red eyes, burning with pure hatred and a desire for destruction.

Before the black shadow had fully appeared, its terrifying pressure made everyone present feel suffocated. Jialan felt as if a giant rock was pressing on his chest, making every breath incredibly difficult. Even more terrifying was the feeling of his magic becoming chaotic and uncontrollable, his mental power feeling like it was being pierced by countless fine needles. Argyle, beside him, was slightly better off but still pale, large beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Three hundred years..." the black shadow's voice was filled with bone-chilling hatred, each word striking everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer, "You banished me to the Shadow Realm for a full three hundred years..."

The Forest Queen hovered in mid-air, her emerald green gown fluttering as if in a wind. She rapidly formed hand seals, and the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead erupted with dazzling light: "You shouldn't have returned..."

"Shouldn't have?" the black shadow let out a piercing laugh, mixed with countless painful wails, "When the three of you ganged up to ambush me back then, why didn't you say 'shouldn't have'?"

As the black shadow spoke, Jialan was shocked to discover that the spatial rift, which the Queen had been suppressing, was expanding again. Pitch-black energy surged out of the rift like tentacles, fiercely clashing with the Queen's emerald light. The shockwaves generated by the collision of the two powers tore deep chasms into the ground.

"Not good!" the Queen gritted her teeth, the light of the mark on her forehead flickering