Walking alongside the murmuring stream, the Hero touched his throat, tentatively uttering sounds.
[Hero's tone (soft – sweet – clear♛)]
The clear voice pierced through the marsh's cold fog, powerfully echoing in the wind.
The sound, long absent and thus somewhat unfamiliar, nevertheless sparked joy in the young girl's steps.
However, realizing it was not a time for joy, she quickly tightened her expression and continued to forge onward.
After blocking the blood spattered from the Sect Follower's self-destruction with a Water Barrier, the evil aura stimulated the Magic Power inside her.
By the time she realized it, the curse of voice loss had naturally lifted, and her legs became nimble.
Yet, due to dealing with the captive and sorting out intelligence to report to the officers, she hadn't had the chance to reacquaint herself with her own voice, choosing instead to communicate with paper and pen for clarity.
In the Underground Black Lake on the Border, she once received help from the memories of the Siren Princess, obtaining powerful Purification powers which allowed her to successfully defeat the remnants of the Witch's Ghost.
However, after defeating the Rotten Mermaid Shark, the Princess's memories also dissolved along with their power.
So, that battle, though fruitful for the Hero, merely propelled her to continue her journey to the Border to methodically lift the curses on her.
Unexpectedly, though the memories dissipated, the Magic Power information from the Siren Princess's awakening got recorded inside her. When stimulated by evil, it triggered an Alchemy-like reaction, causing a sudden mutation in her Transformation.
Her Transformation, obtained from the Lake Holy Sword, was the posture of the Siren Princess while still cursed. The mutated posture, however, represented the moment the Princess was freed from the curse.
From late autumn to deep winter, several months had passed since Lake Town's fishing festival.
Though not as agonizing as torture, being voiceless and forced to communicate through writing was genuinely cumbersome, making it a grueling period.
When she discovered she could finally speak, the Hero joyfully dragged the Cultist all the way back to camp.
But in the process of reporting to the officers, she also realized the severity of the situation.
Though always serious, it was now increasingly so.
She now had a rough understanding of the whole situation.
Beneath the volcanic, a Great Demon long sealed by the Hero was about to break free, prompting Sister White Snake to leave the Highland to seek materials to reinforce the seal.
Yet, the Black Gate seized this moment, stealthily arriving at the Highland, accelerating the seal's breakdown, leading to the area around the volcano being polluted by the Great Demon's power.
Thus, the Water Mirror Cranes had no choice but to migrate, disturbing the perimeter outposts on the Highland and drawing army investigation.
Unanticipated was the accelerated seal breakdown. Sister White Snake, while reinforcing it, encountered the Great Demon's Counterattack and had to escape from the Apprentice's pursuit, hiding somewhere unknown.
Those Cultists collecting her scales aimed to otherwise harm her, be it tracking or cursing; Sister White Snake was indeed in peril.
They needed to find her quickly.
And Snow Woman Sister needed to be warned.
Then, on the way to find traces of Sister White Snake and Snow Woman, whether by fortune or misfortune, the Hero encountered the Goblin she'd been pondering over.
[Goblin count (max value then D10 multiples)]
[Goblin contamination level (Dark +30, over 50 manifests Archdemon's Entourage)]
D100+30=d100(67)+30=97
[Mutant Goblin's Average Level (Pollution +9, Highland +6, ≤20 as Dark Goblin, ＞20 as Demonic Goblin)]
[Demonic Goblin Rank3]
With a cockroach-like Life Force, it survived the dark pollution, thus mutating into a part of the Archdemon's Entourage.
Its appearance shifted closer to the legendary little demons, but its essence was still that of a Goblin — after all, the evil of a Goblin naturally rivals that of a demon.
[Demonic Goblin LV22]
Venturing deep into the Highland, the Hero sensed something off in the distance and stealthily halted.
Being petite has its advantages; although the lush Green Grass of the marsh did not conceal tall people, the Hero could be virtually unseen by merely ducking.
'Goblins again, huh?'
She squatted in the bushes, spying on the enemy nearby.
More confusion than bloodlust surfaced in her mind.
Because these Goblins vastly differed from those encountered before.
Their originally filthy green skins were now completely stained black, exhibiting an unusual layering reminiscent of ancient dirt accumulated into Scale Armor, with a revolting odour emanating all over,
Just the slight breeze carrying it forced the Hero to want to pinch her nose.
While Goblin's stench was naturally pungent, the smell she now detected had reached a different realm, akin to a dangerous Alchemical compound, sharply alerting her instincts.
This smell was somewhat familiar to the Hero, reminiscent of the odor emanating from the Goblins that previously died near the river, but the Goblins before her were still alive, appearing even more ferocious.
The uneven teeth protruded beyond their lips, nails as sharp as beast claws, and even their entire skeleton had morphed to some degree, forming barbs at the joints of elbows and knees.
This presence, contrary to normal lifeforms, made their figures stark against the plains.
Rather than calling them Goblins, they resembled the small demons from fairy tales that conside with tigers.