The two walked along the cobblestone path, venturing deeper into the estate. All around them, lush pine trees swayed in the gentle breeze. T

The two walked along the cobblestone path, venturing deeper into the estate.

All around them, lush pine trees swayed in the gentle breeze.

The rustling sound, like a poet's whispered verses, echoed through the air, softly caressing their ears.

Lia followed behind Viktor, lightly brushing her hand against the abundant greenery along the path while reporting to him:

"The batch of weapons mass-produced at our Bryston armory, after being adjusted with the help of Councilor Ryan Kent, is now ready for deployment."

As she spoke, servants on both sides widened their eyes in surprise upon seeing Viktor.

They hurriedly bowed respectfully to the master who hadn't returned home for quite some time.

"Master."

Viktor passed by them calmly, showing no reaction.

Lia casually waved her hand at them.

Then, she continued reporting to Viktor:

"The elves' training has also passed the initial stage. We're having them intern at our shops and engineering projects in Bryston."

Elves were different from demi-humans. While most humans looked down on demi-humans, their attitude toward elves was completely opposite.

After all, this mysterious race existed mostly in legends, seeming utterly magical to ordinary people.

If one was fortunate enough to meet an elf, it would be something to boast about for a lifetime.

Having these elves from the Elven Forest participate in the service industry was Lia's strategy.

This would allow them to quickly understand human society and adapt to the Empire's pace of life.

Once the elves learned human service methods and became qualified employees, they could officially work in the Bryston shops.

For ordinary customers, being served by elves would feel extremely magical.

This not only improved the service experience but also reduced incidents of trouble in the shops.

After all, many people had heard from storybooks since childhood that one should never anger an elf.

Otherwise, it would bring natural disasters.

Viktor listened to Lia's report as they walked out through a small door of the mansion.

Two servants at the door opened it for them, bowing in unison:

"Master, Miss Lia."

Viktor still showed no reaction, gazing ahead and walking on his own.

Lia followed behind him, continuing to wave at the servants.

Only then did the two servants straighten up, exchanging glances.

Then, Lia followed Viktor and continued her report:

"The diplomatic relations between the Elven Forest and the Empire, which I mentioned earlier, can now be put on the agenda."

This matter had been in preparation for a very long time, mostly handled independently by the Elven Forest.

Trade goods for the Empire had been prepared over several months, with thorough preparations.

Those free-spirited elves had to learn the Empire's etiquette.

They couldn't let the people of the Empire see at first glance that the elves they considered noble and mysterious...

Were actually a bunch of beautiful savages who didn't wear pants and had bare bottoms.

This aspect couldn't be neglected, otherwise, it would be embarrassing for the elves themselves.

However, when everything was ready and Vinia, the Elven High Priestess, was prepared to come with goods to formally establish diplomatic relations...

She realized a problem: the Elven Forest needed a queen to face Emperor Aubrey directly.

They originally had a queen, and if nothing unexpected happened...

But in the end, something unexpected did happen.

"Cocotte suddenly hid herself, she hid herself!!!"

As they reached the garden, Lia's voice suddenly rose by several octaves.

Her voice was so loud that even the birds chirping on the branches scattered in fright.

A servant who was focused on watering plants nearby instinctively put down her watering can upon hearing the sudden shout.

She turned to Lia and Viktor, bowing respectfully to both.

"Master, you've returned."

Again, Viktor showed no reaction, and neither did Lia this time.

The servant looked at them, realizing there was nothing for her to do here, and tiptoed away quietly.

After some time passed, Lia still hadn't received any response from Viktor.

Her accumulated emotions suddenly erupted as she questioned loudly behind Viktor:

"You! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!"

Viktor came back to his senses and turned to look at Lia:

"I understand."

Vega on his shoulder had been telling him that there was a terribly foul odor around.

The closer they got to the center of the garden, the more intense this smell became.

This was why Viktor had been ignoring Lia's words.

For a smell to be so foul that even Vega found it offensive, Viktor pondered briefly, there seemed to be only one possibility.

However, he needed to see for himself if his suspicion was correct.

"Let's go take a look first."

Seeing Viktor say this, Lia's anger subsided somewhat.

Viktor walked deeper into the garden, treading on fallen colorful petals.

As they ventured deeper, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie.

What should have been blooming flowers of various colors, sunlit green lawns, and fresh air filled with birdsong...

Was now buried beneath dense foliage and twisted, tangled thorns.

The surrounding vegetation was extremely lush, as if completely freed from natural constraints, growing wildly.

Thorns spread everywhere, their sharp points stretching between them, blocking the path of visitors.

The thick walls of grass even blocked out all sunlight, turning what was once a bright garden into a dark and menacing place.

Looking at the garden's condition, Viktor couldn't help but frown.

Lia glanced at Viktor's furrowed brow and explained helplessly:

"It's been like this for half a month."

"Every day, large amounts of thorns and plants grow. If we're not careful, they could fill the entire garden."

"I can only call servants to water the flowers and trim the outer areas daily."

Her gaze turned toward the dark depths, where the thorns were so dense they couldn't be cut by human effort.

Even Henie couldn't get in there.

She certainly wasn't about to call Helnersen over just to do some pruning.

Viktor frowned slightly but still spoke calmly:

"You go back, I'll go in and see what's happening."

"Huh? How will you get in...?"

Before she could finish, Viktor's coat was suddenly enveloped in a crimson glow.

Patterns like churning magma covered the back of his coat, and the hem seemed to burn with intense flames.

With fire burning around him, he slowly walked into the thorny thickets.

Wherever he went, the thorns and vines blocking the path were consumed by flames.

In the blink of an eye, they turned to scattered ashes.

After burning the vines and thorns completely, the flames would control themselves and extinguish, not harming any surrounding flowers and plants.

With each step, a crimson footprint appeared on the ground, radiating heat and light.

The interplay of red and green reflected in Lia's eyes.

She stared blankly at Viktor, who proceeded unimpeded, and then wisely closed her mouth.

Indeed, if even Viktor couldn't get in, probably no one in the household could.

As Viktor ventured deeper, the flames on the ground gradually extinguished.

The wind rose, completely dispersing the ashes.

Seeing this, Lia gathered her courage and tentatively tried to walk in.

But the residual heat hit her face, startling her and making her quickly retreat two steps.

This made Lia abandon any thought of advancing.

She could only stand in place, watching Viktor's gradually disappearing figure.

She couldn't help but mutter quietly.

"That was pretty cool..."

Looking into the dark depths, where a few flames still lingered, she became somewhat entranced.

Lia gently stretched her neck, pursed her lips, leaned forward, and peered inside.

But the residual heat still made her feel scorched.

She quickly retreated, shrugged her shoulders, cast one last reluctant glance, and left.

......

The deeper Viktor went into the garden, the denser the thorns became.

But these hardly affected Viktor at all.

Every place he walked was covered with flames.

The growing thorns had no space to survive.

Vega, standing on Viktor's shoulder, covered his nose with his wing, and a muffled voice came from his beak:

"This smell is getting more and more disgusting."

"This is definitely one of my most hated ones."

A demon.

Only a demon could cause such intense disgust in Vega.

"Demons attract other demons."

"Perhaps because of Leighton, another demon has appeared."

Viktor walked with his hands in his pockets, still calmly advancing toward the depths of the maze.

However, the garden's density was like a forest labyrinth, making it difficult to discern the path.

Sunlight couldn't penetrate, and only darkness grew freely between the heavy green leaves and thorns.

It was as if some terrifying magical beast was hiding in the deepest part.

But Viktor didn't care about the surrounding flower walls and thorns.

No path?

Just force one open.

Flames burned through the middle of the flower wall and gradually expanded.

After expanding to a ring large enough for a person to enter, the flames gradually extinguished.

Viktor easily passed through the ashes of the flower walls and vines, venturing deeper.

This time, he stopped.

After passing through the flower wall, the surroundings appeared particularly spacious.

The ground was entangled with thick brown wooden vines, which seemed to have a life of their own, twisting and occasionally swelling.

The flames illuminated the darkness ahead, revealing the scene within the deep garden.

A huge flower bud was closed, trembling slightly as if breathing.

Viktor stood in place, examining the pink bud supported by giant green vines from top to bottom.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, the bud violently opened its five huge pink petals.

Between the flower petals lay an elf.

Her limbs were tied by green branches, with a thick branch passing through her thighs and arms, wrapping around her chest.

Suddenly, countless tree vines rose from the ground, swinging wildly in the air, disorderly and full of aggression.

The ground began to tremble slightly, and thick vines and carnivorous flowers with gaping mouths emerged from the soil, turning toward Viktor.

Their sharp teeth dripped with foul-smelling saliva, and a long purple tongue slid across their enormous petals.

Countless vines and carnivorous flowers mixed together, like a huge vegetation army, anticipating their next feast.

Viktor's lips curled slightly upward as he whispered:

"After becoming a fifth-tier mage, do you release magic power involuntarily even while sleeping?"

As his words fell, the red patterns behind him suddenly froze, replaced by a surge of green.

In an instant, two thick tree vines rose beneath Viktor's feet, like two giant hands tearing apart the heavy wall above.

Bright sunlight poured through the opening, dispelling the deep darkness.

With the gusting wind, an astonishing magical ring rose from behind Viktor.

At this moment, the power of a fifth-tier mage was fully unleashed by him.

Viktor still looked at the sleeping Cocotte and chuckled lightly:

"But unfortunately."

"I'm also fifth-tier."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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