Chapter 289: Who is the Attacker?

Chapter 289: Who is the Attacker?

Lu Heng surveyed the group, making his assessment. First, he ruled out the human mystics present, as none of them, aside from Lu Heng himself, possessed the ability to severely injure Xie Shi En alone.

If it was a group effort, the target would be too large, and it would be easily noticed if so many people had left last night.

Moreover, none of the human mystics present were aware of the Soul Vault on Xie Shi En's body.

After a moment's thought, Lu Heng spoke, "Elder Serene and General Fiona, could the two of you sit down and have a chat?"

"Sure," Fiona readily agreed, as she too wanted to know who dared to attack in the forest.

After all, this was the forest of the elves, and whoever dared to attack humans here could also attack the elves.

The three of them entered the treehouse and sat down, observing each other.

Lu Heng spoke first, "Elder Serene, do you think the attacker is among us, or did they come from outside the forest?"

Serene remained silent for a long time before answering, "The trees did not detect any living beings entering the forest other than you, but since the attacker could act within the forest without my knowledge, they must also have the ability to enter the forest silently and unnoticed."

Lu Heng turned to Fiona and said, "If the attacker is among us, then the person capable of severely injuring Xie Shi En is here."

As he said this, Lu Heng drew a circle in front of him with his finger, indicating the three of them in the room.

Fiona frowned and replied, "I don't believe Elder Serene would do such a thing, and I'm not the attack. If you're sure you're not the attacker, then it must be an outsider."

Lu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "General Fiona, do you think Captain Eric has this ability?"

Fiona shook her head and answered, "Eric's combat strength is not weak, but he hasn't mastered advanced natural magic."

Previously, Serene had mentioned that to act within the forest and avoid his detection, the attacker would need to master advanced natural magic.

Lu Heng continued, "In this world, there aren't many people who have mastered advanced natural magic, are there?"

Fiona nodded in agreement, "Indeed, not many."

"Those who master advanced natural magic are usually elves, right?"

"Yes, demons typically cannot master natural magic."

"In other words, there's a high probability that the attacker is an elf, right?" Lu Heng asked again.

"The possibility is high," Fiona admitted reluctantly, as she also believed the attacker was likely an elf.

She frowned in thought for a moment, then said, "There's one question you don't seem to have considered. We should first find out the attacker's purpose. It can't be that they attacked someone without any motive."

Lu Heng stared at the eyes of the two elves in front of him, considering whether he could trust them.

Given Elder Serene's identity, it seemed unlikely that he would need to steal the Soul Vault.

Moreover, he should not have known about the Soul Vault on Xie Shi En's body.

The only one who truly knew about it was Fiona.

After much deliberation, Lu Heng decided to reveal this information, "Regarding the attacker's purpose, I already know what it is."

Upon hearing this, Fiona raised her eyebrows and asked, "What is it?"

"The Soul Vault," Lu Heng answered. "The attacker took the Soul Vault from Xie Shi En's body."

Elder Serene was slightly surprised and confirmed, "The Lich's Soul Vault?"

Lu Heng nodded, "To be precise, it's an unused Soul Vault. Among the elves, only General Fiona and Queen Aureana have seen this Soul Vault."

Fiona frowned and asked, "So, you suspect me?"

Lu Heng spread his hands and said, "For now, I can't rule out your suspicion. The attacker's target is the Soul Vault. Based on Elder Serene's information, the attacker is believed to be an elf who has mastered advanced natural magic, and among the elves, only you and Queen Aureana knew about the Soul Vault on Xie Shi En's body."

"The Queen would never do such a thing," Fiona immediately denied.

"What about you?"

"I didn't do it."

"Then how do you explain how the attacker knew about the Soul Vault on Xie Shi En's body? Did you leak this secret?" Lu Heng asked again.

Fiona furrowed her brows and fell silent, carefully recalling, then shook her head, "I didn't leak it."

"What about Queen Aureana?"

"It couldn't be the Queen," Fiona said firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"What if she accidentally leaked the information about the Soul Vault?" Lu Heng questioned again.

Fiona fell silent, then replied after a moment, "I will answer this question. When we return to Kolos, I will ask the Queen."

The investigation had reached a stalemate.

Lu Heng also felt that Serene and Fiona were unlikely to be the attackers.

The possibility of Queen Aureana being involved was even lower. If the Queen wanted the Soul Vault, she could have kept it in the Elven Capital City and didn't need to send someone to retrieve it in the Moonshadow Forest.

...

The task of escorting the Moonwell Spring Water was completed, but due to Xie Shi En's severe injuries, the team had to stay in the Moonshadow Forest for half a day.

Fiona stood up and said, "We must return to Kolos. We have to get back before the crisis strikes."

She was still concerned about the crisis in Kolos City, which was the real issue the elves needed to address.

Lu Heng couldn't keep her here to continue the investigation, and even if he did, it would be difficult to uncover the truth about the attackers.

Moreover, resolving the crisis in Kolos City was the most important task of this summoning.

After careful consideration, Lu Heng agreed, "You go ahead, and I'll wait for Xie Shi En to wake up before returning to the Elven Capital."

"Alright, after we return, I'll report what happened here to the Queen. If the attackers are indeed elves, I'll find out," Fiona assured him.

Lu Heng didn't hold much hope for this, but at least her attitude was positive.

...

In the afternoon, Fiona led the Elven Guard out of the Moonshadow Forest and returned to Kolos City.

The human mystic, Chen Zi Hang, stayed behind.

Lu Heng looked at those who remained and said, "If you're in a hurry to return to the Elven Capital, you can leave with them."

"We'll wait with you," Chen Zi Hang preferred to stick together.

Lu Heng entered the treehouse where Xie Shi En was recovering and saw Serene inside. He asked, "When will he wake up?"

"Uncertain, but if he recovers quickly, he should wake up tonight," Serene replied, using Natural Magic to aid Xie Shi En's healing before turning to leave the treehouse.

As she reached the door, Lu Heng suddenly asked, "Elder Serene, you really don't know who the attackers are?"

Lu Heng sat on a stool in front of the bed, not turning to look at Serene.

Serene paused for a moment, then replied, "I truly don't know."

Lu Heng stared at the unconscious Xie Shi En on the bed, his mind repeatedly going over the key pieces of information: "Soul Vault, Natural Magic, Moonwell Spring Water, Unknown Force, Elven Attackers..."

What did all these clues lead to when connected? The information was too chaotic, and many pieces couldn't be confirmed with absolute certainty.

For instance, the attackers were elves skilled in Natural Magic, a deduction based on their ability to evade Serene's senses.

If there were other skills or magic that could bypass Serene's senses, this clue wouldn't be entirely accurate.

Lu Heng spent the entire day pondering these questions.

As night fell, Xie Shi En's fingers finally twitched.

Lu Heng noticed and quickly spoke up, "Are you awake?"

Xie Shi En, being a high-level mystic, was slowly recovering thanks to the Natural Magic that saved him.

Although his wounds couldn't heal that quickly, he had regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Lu Heng, saying, "The Soul Vault... it's gone..."

"I already know that. Don't speak for now; I have some critical questions to ask," Lu Heng decided to go straight to the most crucial question, noticing Xie Shi En's voice was still weak.

Xie Shi En closed his eyes in agreement.

Lu Heng began his interrogation, "Do you know the attackers' identity? Any clue, like their race, will help."

Xie Shi En replied, "The attackers are the mysterious assassins that appeared before, the Unknown Force from the main quest."

Lu Heng raised an eyebrow at this response and pressed, "Are the attackers the same mysterious assassins who pursued you in the wild before? Are you sure?"

Xie Shi En closed his eyes again, confirming, "Yes, I'm certain. When facing the same target, this is something I can be sure of."

Lu Heng asked further, "Are they elves?"

Xie Shi En shook his head, "Unsure. The attackers are still hiding their identity, just like before."

Lu Heng continued, "I've investigated this matter and gathered some clues. Based on Elder Serene's information, I believe the attacker is an elf skilled in advanced Natural Magic. What do you think of this information?"

Xie Shi En quickly shook his head, "No... that's not right..."

Lu Heng frowned, "What's wrong? Are they not elves?"

Xie Shi En sighed, "The attackers used Binding Magic, which isolates space. That's probably why Elder Serene didn't sense them."

Lu Heng raised an eyebrow, "You're saying the attacker used a Spatial Binding Spell?"

Xie Shi En shook his head again, "Not exactly. The attacker used a confinement orb to cast the spell, a high-level one that I couldn't escape from."

Lu Heng's temples throbbed as Xie Shi En's clue overturned many of his previous assumptions.

"In other words, the attacker doesn't use Natural Magic. They used an orb to cast a high-level Spatial Binding Spell. Since they relied on an external object, it suggests they aren't proficient in such powerful magic. If that's the case, the attacker only needs sufficient combat strength."

Xie Shi En nodded in agreement, "Yes, the attacker is a Melee Physical Magic user. All the high-level magic they used was cast through external objects."

Lu Heng's mind raced with this new information.

If this was the case, he could rule out Serene and Fiona as suspects.

Although he initially doubted them, he couldn't completely dismiss their involvement. Now, he could.

With Serene and Fiona out of the picture, the list of potential suspects narrowed considerably.

Lu Heng continued, "Do you think the attacker is among the Elf Guard?"

Xie Shi En paused for a moment before answering, "I think so, because..."

He coughed lightly, "Because it seemed like they didn't want to kill me."

Lu Heng's eyebrows shot up as he realized he had overlooked this detail.

Xie Shi En had been attacked and severely injured, but he wasn't dead.

Initially, he had seen him impaled through the chest by a branch, pinned to the ground, blood pooling around him—a grievous injury.

Without Serene's treatment, he might not have survived.

This was why Lu Heng initially believed the attacker intended to kill Xie Shi En. But now, hearing his words, he finally understood.

If the attacker truly wanted him dead, they could have simply decapitated him.

The reason Xie Shi En's severe injuries didn't equate to a desire to kill was simple: they were in the Moonshadow Forest, where Elder Serene resided.

With Serene's presence, a chest wound could be treated.

Xie Shi En coughed, "When he pierced my chest, I saw his eyes, and I could tell he didn't want to kill me. So, the attacker definitely isn't a demon."

Demons wouldn't show mercy to humans.

This meant the attacker was likely an elf or a human.

Among the Mystics in the Moonshadow Forest, none could defeat Xie Shi En, let alone possess an orb capable of releasing a high-level Spatial Binding Spell.

The possibility of a human attacker was also eliminated.

After this analysis, the attacker could only be an elf, and this elf didn't want to kill Xie Shi En. They must be friendly and had attacked for other reasons.

Lu Heng took a deep breath. Among the Elf Guard, with Fiona excluded, the list of suspects was extremely short.

"I might know who it is, but your injury..."

Xie Shi En coughed, "You all should leave. Go back to Colossus City. I'll stay here. Elder Serene won't harm me; it's the safest for me."

Lu Heng didn't waste time. He stood up and said, "Things are urgent. I won't delay. You stay here to recover, and I'll return to Colossus City to see if I can intercept the attacker."

"Go. I'm tired and need some rest." Xie Shi En closed his eyes, ready for a brief respite.

Lu Heng left the treehouse and gathered the Mystics, announcing, "I must return to Colossus City immediately, and at the fastest speed possible. Those who can't keep up should find their way."

Chen Zi Hang, sensing the urgency, nodded in agreement, "Alright, you all go ahead. I'll follow with Wu Weibing and his team."

After making this decision, Lu Heng mounted the mechanical tiger with Su Muyu and Lin Zeyu, and they soared into the sky, heading north towards Colossus City.

Lin Zeyu, still unclear about the situation, asked, "Why the hurry? Are we abandoning Xie Shi En? Leaving him here?"

Su Muyu, quick-witted, had already guessed the situation, "Xie Shi En staying here is the safest. The Moonshadow Forest will protect him."

Lin Zeyu blinked, "But he was attacked in the forest."

"That's because he had the Soul Vault on him. Now that it's been taken, he's safe," Lu Heng explained as the mechanical tiger burst through the clouds, disappearing into the horizon.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end