Chapter 426

Moreover, Maria was more concerned about the other party's words than his actions.

"North?"

"Yes, the North."

Shu spoke softly, her voice tinged with weakness.

Fortunately, today's operation was over. She let out a breath, silently withdrew her foot, and lowered her eyes slightly.

In the north of Yan, besides Ursus, there is something else...

"Daemon?"

Maria blinked.

She already knew back in Kazdel that the so-called Daemon were merely problems arising from the restless awakening of a part of her Umbilical Cord.

Maria had long wanted to solve these problems, but she hadn't been able to take action due to time constraints and scheduling issues.

And when Shu mentioned this...

Maria looked up at the other person.

"Yes, she's infected."

Her words were soft and her gaze was somber.

"But at the time, no one noticed the problem. Everyone was just happy that Shennong had brought back better seeds, and that everyone could finally live a good life without worrying about food and clothing..."

"That's what I thought back then too."

"But I didn't notice the teacher's pain at that time."

"Looking back now, perhaps my teacher's crying when she was sleepwalking was already a reminder to me..."

"However, I didn't discover anything at that time..."

Shu spoke slowly, his eyes growing increasingly forlorn and uneasy.

Maria didn't know what to say at that moment.

All I could do was sit quietly across from her and listen to her past.

"Later, the power of Daemon, following the seed, began to take root and sprout in this land..."

"By the time I discovered it, this land had already been eroded..."

As he spoke, Shu looked up and sighed deeply.

"This land shouldn't be suitable for growing food..."

"So, you used your power to temporarily suppress the power of the Daemon?"

Maria spoke, thus gaining an understanding of the background and context the other party had described.

"Yes."

Shu took a deep breath and silently got up.

"This was my mistake back then... Others might not have noticed, but as the person closest to the teacher, I should have, and had to, see her problem... But at the time, I didn't think about any of that; I was simply immersed in my beautiful expectations for the future."

"That's what led to the current situation."

"As the most important grain-producing area of Yan, the Great Wilderness absolutely cannot have any problems... But by now, the power of Daemon has already eroded the entire land..."

"What I'm doing now is simply trying to fix things after the fact."

As he spoke, Shu clenched his fist.

Maria gradually fell silent during this process.

Do you consider this your problem?

"... Um."

Perhaps because he rarely speaks so frankly to others, Shu nodded slightly after a moment of silence, his raised eyes showing a hint of dejection.

"So... you've been staying here all this time? Suppressing the power of the Daemon?"

"This is the only way I can make amends."

The girl's words were so soft and so powerless.

Maria didn't say anything more, she just looked at the girl calmly.

Watching the other person sitting in the chair, curled up in their own body...

Outside, the moonlight swayed...

Maria ended up staying at the millet's house for the time being.

The main issue was that Maria really had nowhere else to go.

She should have chosen to return to Hundred Stoves at this time to see if those people had found the solution they were looking for against the Skyborne Great Beast.

But the matter of millet forced her to stop.

Whether it's a matter of Daemon or the millet being the embodiment of the year, Maria could not simply watch it slowly consume its own life to nourish the land.

Can...

"Has it already integrated into the whole land?"

Maria frowned and gradually fell silent.

The power of the Daemon was not a problem for Maria. What truly troubled her was that the power of the Daemon was surging beneath every inch of farmland in the entire Great Wilderness City.

Although the millet blocked it, it was only a temporary fix.

There is no way to fundamentally solve the problem.

In this situation, how will she deal with the Daemon in this land?

Maria remained silent.

After thinking for a long time, she sighed in distress.

It was already noon, but the weather didn't seem very good.

Thick clouds obscured the sun's shape; only the bright light told everyone that it was still daytime.

Meanwhile, in the distance, many other people were dealing with something.

The atmosphere was harmonious.

But this harmony didn't last long; suddenly, a scream shattered the tranquility.

"Something evil is here! Everyone run!"

Upon hearing this, the farmers, who had been diligently working in the fields, quickly put down their tools and began to evacuate.

Although she was nervous, Maria could tell that these people were moving in a very orderly manner.

It was as if they had been preparing for this all along.

Clearly, this is not the first time something like this has happened.

Maria also frowned.

After thinking for a moment, Maria darted to a farmer's side and temporarily grabbed him.

"What happened?"

Maria asked a question.

The other party, however, was clearly flustered, and their breathing was uneven.

"Hey girl, what are you still doing here?! The evil thing has appeared again! You'd better come with us to avoid the disaster!"

The dark-skinned old man didn't have time to explain; he grabbed Maria's hand and intended to take her with him to safety.

To his astonishment, Maria's body was like a nail, firmly embedded in the ground, impossible to move an inch!

"This?!"

The old man was taken aback.

But Maria shook her head slightly.

"Don't worry about me... What was that evil thing you just mentioned?"

"An evil thing is an evil thing, what else could it be?"

Perhaps due to his panic, the old man had no idea that Maria was a complete stranger, and he nervously began to speak.

"These things have suddenly appeared in recent years... Nobody knows where they came from, they just know that they suddenly come out of the ground and kill anyone they see, they're very dangerous!"

"We don't have the ability to solve this problem. Every time it appears, it's the Celestial Master who handles it... Sigh, why am I telling you all this, little girl, hurry up and go!"

As the old man spoke, he tried to pull on Maria's arm again.

But Maria shook her head slightly and let go of the other person's hand.

Don't worry about me.

As she spoke, she turned and disappeared from the spot.

The old man, witnessing this scene, turned pale with fright!

Is it the power of Daemon?

Sensing the familiar scent in the air, Maria quickly realized that the so-called evil thing was Daemon!

Can...

"Didn't Shu use his own power to suppress these Daemon forces?"

"How could it reappear?"

Maria was somewhat puzzled.

But with these doubts in mind, she quickly slipped to the scene where the evil entity had appeared.

Here, Shu arrived at the scene early.

Her eyes were sharp; she held a strange staff in her hand, her gaze fixed on the monster before her, which seemed to be swirling with black mist.

She clenched her teeth as she took a deep breath.

"Waaah--"

The monster growled and made threatening gestures.

"Millet?"

Maria stepped forward, looked at the situation, and frowned.

"What... what's going on?"

"... It's my problem."

Shu was silent for a few moments, then let out a soft sigh.

She stared intently at the Daemon, lowered her body, and assumed a fighting stance.

"I neglected the intertwined forces underground and failed to restrain all the Daemon aura. Before I knew it, it had escaped."

How vast is the entire Great Wilderness City?

Even if Shu had done her best, it was impossible for her to protect every inch of the Great Wilderness City perfectly.

There are always some places she unconsciously overlooks or forgets to check.

Once a loophole appears in the suppression network, these Daemons will rush out without hesitation, wantonly destroying everything around them.

Even more terrifying is that if the delay goes on too long, these Daemon forces will keep escaping through this loophole... At that point, her ability to unleash her power to block off other areas will be meaningless.

Therefore, they must eliminate the enemy as soon as possible!

"Maria, you can..."

Millet gritted his teeth and tried to beg Maria for help.

But before she could finish speaking, the Daemon in front of her suddenly seemed to have seen something terrifying and began to retreat.