I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 719 - 719 718. The sun is fierce_1

Chapter 719: 718. The sun is fierce_1 Chapter 719: 718. The sun is fierce_1 The insects were torn apart by some invisible force, their black, white, yellow, and green fluids scattering everywhere, coalescing into a vile curtain of rain that descended chaotically and splashed all over Brown.

Before he could turn around to check, he saw the insect swarm erupting in explosions as it emerged from the forest. Their rudimentary intelligence couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and in an instant, the crops on the fields, where golden wheat stalks swayed, were drenched in insect fluids, turning a pure black.

This assault by the swarm thus came to a halt.

Brown hurriedly turned around and saw Shia, clad in heavy armor and cloaked, raising her right hand. With a snap of her fingers, the insects in the back were crushed as if by a giant hand.

The storm abruptly receded, and sunlight pierced through the clouds to illuminate the earth. The remaining insects, as if fearful of Shia or perhaps the sunlight, burrowed into the forest and remained silent.

It could hardly be called a battle, just a one-sided crush.

At that moment, Old Eggplant, who had just climbed out of the mud, ran smack into the insects.

“Fuck, they’re guarding corpses now?”

He cursed, and with no weapons at hand, Old Eggplant could only prepare to fight the insects with his bare hands.

But the insects didn’t even glance at Old Eggplant and the others; they burrowed directly deeper into the forest.

“Huh?”

Old Eggplant remained vigilant for a moment, but once he was sure that the swarm hadn’t returned, he quickly made his way back to the town.

At first, he thought that the people of the town were all killed, which was why the insects had left.

However, when he saw Brown and the villagers unharmed, Old Eggplant was stunned.

Of course, the crops he’d planted were ruined, which caused Old Eggplant heartache, and his hatred for the Demonic Beasts grew stronger.

He later discovered that the crops in the field, after being contaminated with the fluid of the Demonic Beasts, did not wither but actually grew better.

Only, those plump stalks of wheat, wriggling slightly like insect eggs, were nauseating and incredibly disturbing.

“These have been contaminated; to eliminate the pollution, we’ll need powerful purification methods,”

Shia said after examining the wheat stalks.

“My God, that was at least a level seven Magic you used earlier, and you managed to do so without any chanting or preparation rituals. Is this what the future Mage looks like?”

Joester exclaimed in amazement at Shia’s Magic while also looking worriedly at the contaminated farmland. Even though those lands were originally developed from the Black Forest, it was a pity to see them polluted again.

“This is one of the reasons why the Black Forest continues to spread. The corpses of Demonic Beasts contaminate the land, leading to decay and chaos. Even if we can defeat those monsters, in the aftermath of a great war, land will still be lost. Rivers and water sources originating from within the forest will quickly become murky, and madness will flow with the water.”

Those stalks of wheat, fed by the pollution, grew rapidly with the wind and started spreading to the surrounding area. Even though the insect swarm had passed and left, the mess left behind was not something Mortals could simply clean up.

“…In my time, there were special methods to purify this pollution, which were also important means of resisting the Demonic Tide invasion,”

“It’s called the Spirit Torch, a method that creates a pure flame by burning the soul of a Burning Mage. Under the light of that torch, Demonic Beasts have nowhere to hide. As long as the fire doesn’t extinguish, the Demonic Tide will struggle to advance.”

“Burning the soul of a Mage?”

Upon hearing this, Joester’s expression first showed surprise, but soon it seemed like he understood something, and he nodded to himself.

“Who created this magic?”

“I don’t know. Since I became aware, the Spirit Torch has existed within the Magic Network. Every mage who has signed a contract with the Magic Network gains knowledge of the Spirit Torch, so in times of crisis, every mage can ignite themselves to drive away Demonic Beasts.”

Shia shook her head.

Magic is the mage’s reprocessing of knowledge. Exactly what someone who could create this magic went through or how they arrived at such a decision, Shia was unclear.

Perhaps, only in the most desperate of situations could someone spark such an idea.

That was also why, in Shia’s time, mages had not assumed the lofty and unassailable status of the royalty and nobles of today but were truly of the people, for the people. They walked upon the desolate lands, ever vigilant against the threats from the Black Forest, and always prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

A mage was not some exalted, inviolable profession, but just a candle that civilization of this world had to light in order to survive.

“Could you teach me this magic?”

Joester asked seriously.

“This…”

Shia hesitated.

Because it was hard for her to say whether it was because she had shared the knowledge of the Spirit Torch with Joester that the Spirit Torch then appeared in the contract with the Magic Network. If it really was like this, then it was yet another closed loop of fate.

However, she quickly came to terms with it.

The Spirit Torch was one of the key measures against the Demonic Tide in the Night Country for thousands of years. Such a spell, even if not developed by Joester, would definitely have been researched by other mages. Standing here meant that the emergence of the Spirit Torch was inevitable.

The one who researched this magic was both the greatest hero and the greatest sinner of the Night Country.

He had saved the world yet also led countless mages to commit themselves to this cause.

In that case, it would be better to tell Joester directly; it might even be possible to improve it so that mages need not be mere fuel for the burning of the Spirit Torch.

Shia made her decision. She raised her left hand, and a pale fire ignited above the armor on that hand.

The light of the burning fire illuminated the corrupted farmland, causing the contaminated crops to wither away. The land looked as if it had been plowed by something, presenting a scene of utter disarray.

As the flame died out, Shia turned to look at Joester.

“I just slightly burned my soul to produce the flames of the Spirit Torch, but if it burns too long, the fire will completely consume the soul, making it impossible to control or extinguish. In fact, very few mages can actually control the flames of the Spirit Torch.”

A feather pen and a scroll of parchment materialized next to her right hand. She quickly wrote down the details concerning the Spirit Torch spell. This wasn’t a temporary grant through the Magic Network but something instilled into the soul of the mage from the beginning of the contract, so it was easy for Shia to write it out.

The spell was actually quite simple, requiring only an initial ignition; the rest is letting it spread.

As Joester took the parchment, his expression grew more somber as he read.

At that moment, Lu Ban, who had been protecting the Baron just before, approached. He looked at Shia, and then at the parchment in Joester’s hands.

“The flames of the Spirit Torch, they resemble something I know of that purifies pollution.”

Lu Ban spoke.

“That’s called Pure Fire.”