The Cornflower Witch Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Golden Glow and Fluorescent Green

At night, Hylial cautiously climbed the cliff step by step, then bent down to touch the blooming ‘Blood Odd Flower’.

[Blood Odd Flower] (Second-Order Blood Discipline): A mutated special flower that, to bloom, must be watered with fresh blood possessing a ‘Blood Discipline’ affinity. Its petals can be used to extract special potions or to make high-grade ‘Blood Wine’. It is said that this type of exotic flower originated in the ‘Blood Dynasty’ of the Eighth Epoch and was cultivated for the nobles of that dynasty.

Just inhaling the faint sweet scent, Hylial felt her blood surge, and her breathing method, originally at three stages, showed signs of loosening and advancing again.

Slightly calming her breath, Hylial carefully dug away the soil beneath the Blood Odd Flower, then slowly unearthed its roots.

Ten minutes later, she carefully placed the blood odd flower into her personal candle lamp glass jar. The ‘Fire Cloud Orchid Flower’ that was originally inside had been consumed in the previous battle.

This candle lamp could not only be used to cast the Bloom-Flowering Method but also effectively protected the plants inside. The glass was specially made, stronger than ordinary steel.

After tidying up, Hylial closed the lid, locked it, and hung it on her waist, then cautiously jumped down the slope and slowly walked back into the woods.

Iona was already awake. After recovering with excellent healing potions and a nap, her condition had improved significantly, and the wounds on her body had scabbed over.

The recovery ability of the Blazing Sun affinity was truly astonishing, Hylial thought to herself.

The campfire by the tree quietly burned, making faint crackling sounds. A wisp of smoke rose, adding a touch of warmth to the damp mountain.

Iona’s face was illuminated by the orange-red firelight. She looked at Hylial approaching, noticing the candle lamp at the girl’s waist, in which a demonic blood flower bloomed.

Has she already gotten it…? Iona’s heart sank little by little, and her originally bright eyes slowly lowered.

After a long time, she reluctantly looked up and forced a stiff smile at the girl in front of her.

“Lia… congratulations.” Her voice had never been so dry, even a little painful.

Seeing Iona so vulnerable, Hylial shook her head slightly, feeling a pang of sorrow.

Iona must have really wanted this spot, but there was only one.

Attending the Hidden Grove to study was her easiest way to access profound extraordinary knowledge. Although she could learn a lot from Madame Faran, Madame Faran also said that what she could teach was limited to gardening and not comprehensive.

If she lost the opportunity to go there, whether she could find other ways to learn was unknown.

She sympathized with Iona, but sympathy was no reason to yield, for that would be disrespectful to herself and dismissive of others.

At this moment, Iona struggled internally, her fingers digging into her flesh, trying to keep herself clear-headed and rational. But at the thought of never being able to leave this remote mountain area again, only to struggle hopelessly to catch up with the geniuses of the Royal Capital, an invisible despair began to gnaw at her heart.

She was afraid.

Afraid that one day she would be assimilated by the mediocre noblewomen of Burntstone City, becoming an ordinary noblewoman who only knew how to indulge in pleasure and live a vulgar life.

Her youth, her pursuits, were all in the prosperous Royal Capital, Whitecliff City, in the glorious family lineage; she could not fall and give up now.

This fear of a mediocre future gradually caused her reason to falter, and her fingers trembled slightly.

Finally, as if making a huge decision, Iona slowly raised her struggling eyes to look at the black-haired girl in front of her.

“Lia, can you give me the flower?”

Failure had to be admitted. If it had been Iona’s proud character in the past, if she hadn’t gotten the blood odd flower and missed the opportunity, she would probably have admitted it gracefully. But today was different; she couldn’t let go of all this.

Whether for her family or out of fear and loathing of a mediocre life, she found it hard to calmly accept this outcome.

After speaking, Iona regretted it somewhat, feeling it was too shameless, but she wasn’t about to give up.

“I mean, I hope we can compete again.” Saying this, Iona slowly drew the sword from her waist.

Regardless of Hylial’s answer, she would fight. This sentence was merely a final polite greeting.

“Iona…” Seeing the longing and persistence in the other person’s eyes, Hylial knew that anything she said would be useless.

It seemed that a competition was necessary for the other person to be convinced, but Hylial doubted that even if Iona lost, she wouldn’t give up. How would she deal with it then?

However, there was clearly no time for such thoughts, as Iona had already taken action.

She launched the first attack, soaring like a wasp, her sharp sword cutting through the branches of the forest like a bee’s sting, lunging towards the black-haired figure not far away.

A golden glow flashed across the sword’s spine. Even though Hylial parried the blade, the needle-like golden glow still pierced past her ear, taking with it strands of broken hair.

Danger!

Hylial’s alarm bells rang. When faced with Iona’s second attack, she quickly twisted her body, avoiding the direction of the sword’s glow.

Brilliant golden needles pierced through the dim forest in an instant, impaling the withered tree behind the girl.

The dry branches slowly fell, crushing the adjacent trees.

Facing Iona’s ‘Gold Needle Blade’, Hylial had to be extra vigilant and respond with all her might.

The golden blade and the green longsword clashed in the forest, sparks flying, and the two once again parried each other’s blades.

“Hiss—”

The blades scraped against each other, producing a violent, fiery hum.

Feeling the strong force from the sword, Hylial took a deep breath, circulating her breathing method to accelerate blood flow and circulation. The invisible ‘Blood Discipline’ affinity manifested and boiled in her blood, allowing her to fend off the opponent’s fierce attacks again and again.

On the other side, Iona’s crimson eyes gleamed with a golden light. The power of the ‘Blazing Sun’ affinity integrated into her blood, leaving marks as if a branding iron had been pressed into her body. At first, it was just a burning pain, followed by an intense searing sensation.

She had to defeat Hylial within minutes, otherwise the ‘Blazing Sun’s’ side effects would burn her herself.

“Clang—”

Golden arcs and fluorescent green jade swords intersected in the forest, striking out shattering sparks.

Facing Iona’s increasingly strong suppression, Hylial activated the ‘Blue Water Pearl’ hidden in her sleeve. An invisible chill erupted, instantly freezing the incoming golden blade longsword, and the wrist holding the sword became stiff and slow.

Taking advantage of this precious opening, Hylial dodged the sword blade that had just pierced through her and, at the same time, rotated the Jade Tree Spirit Sword, hitting Iona’s black steel stiletto with powerful force, sending it flying.

Facing this sudden turn of events, Iona’s eyes flashed cold. She leaped up quickly, moving like a bee dance to dodge the girl’s pursuit in mid-air and ran towards the fallen stiletto.

Hylial, seizing this sole opportunity, followed closely. Although her swordsmanship leaned towards defense and lacked Iona’s powerful suppression and offensive capabilities, her excellent talent and observational skills always allowed her to find subtle flaws in Iona’s swordsmanship, leaving some wounds.

Being unable to suppress Hylial caused immense pressure on Iona. She took a deep breath, and the brilliant Blazing Sun affinity seemed to overflow from her body, showing slight patterns and marks on her skin.

This was the effect of the [Sun-Glow Breathing Method] pushed to its extreme. Unfortunately, her talent and time were limited, and she had not elevated this ability to a point without side effects. She could only do her best to defeat her opponent before she collapsed.

“Lia, you can’t beat me.” Iona believed that as the ‘Blazing Sun,’ she would inevitably defeat the ‘Emerald Honey’ who was not skilled in fighting.

Her eyes were bright, and two black steel longswords slowly became gilded with gold. When she swung her sword, it left a long, thin trail of light in the night sky, and countless sparks scattered from it. These sparks touched the fallen leaves and trees, leaving small holes and wisps of smoke.

In the dark forest, brilliant golden blades and fluorescent green jade swords clashed repeatedly, neither side gaining an advantage for a time.

(End of this chapter)