Chapter 179: Eliminating the Rats.

Having spent years purifying the Mother Tree’s branches, Shu Li knew the power of darkness well.

The Rat King had lost all reason. Filled with malice and unwilling to communicate, it had plainly been corrupted by darkness. If they failed to stop it, the consequences could be disastrous.

For now, the rats were wreaking havoc only on the wealthy merchant’s estate. If they spread, the whole town of Kosheng would suffer.

“We have to contain the darkness!”

Shu Li raised his magic staff and swiftly chanted a wind spell.

A small tornado appeared overhead. It circled the merchant’s entire estate, forming a sealed barrier of air in an instant.

The barrier would keep the darkness from spreading and the rats from escaping.

His companions, encountering the power of darkness for the first time, were astonished.

Dicio frowned. “Do we have to kill all these rats?”

There were more than ten thousand of them. Most had gathered in the back courtyard, but a few were scattered in other corners. Finding and eliminating every last one might keep them busy until midnight.

“Can we purify them?” Angel asked.

Light magic was the bane of darkness. It could purify ninety percent of creatures corrupted by it.

“We’ll try that first. If it doesn’t work...” Shu Li fixed his gaze on the snarling giant Rat King and its generals. “We’ll have to destroy them.”

He saw no other choice. He could not let rats carrying the power of darkness scatter into ordinary people’s homes and cause something terrible.

At least their journey through Kosheng had led them to accept the merchant’s commission and uncover the danger by chance. Otherwise, as the rats’ power grew, their ambitions would eventually grow with it. Sooner or later, they would turn on humans.

No wonder the Mother Tree had been so troubled. Back when he was still a tiny cub, it had urgently lured him into the courtyard, drawn him to its trunk, pricked his finger, and formed a contract with him.

The forces of darkness had never disappeared. Nor were they confined to Vanaku. They had taken many forms and hidden themselves throughout the continent.

The Temple of Hodhe was only one small faction among them.

“Angel, Amanda, and I will cast purification spells first. Everyone else, stay on guard.” As captain, Shu Li gave his orders quickly.

“Right!”

Angel and Amanda took their places on either side of him. They raised their staffs toward the statue inside the little building and began their purification incantations.

“Great Light God Leiente Fres, I am Sperien”—“Angel”—“Amanda”—“your faithful believer. I ask you to command the elements of light to gather around me and grant me the light to purify darkness—”

They cast their spells together. Two pure white orbs of light gathered outside the air wall. Their staffs moved in unison, sending the orbs through the black mist and into the statue.

The orbs burst into dazzling light. The black mist vanished at once, and the power of darkness was contained.

“We did it!” Amanda cried.

Shu Li furrowed his brow. “Don’t stop. Keep purifying it.”

So much black mist had poured out that the darkness concealed within the statue could not be underestimated.

The Rat King threw itself against the air wall, biting and battering it in a frenzy. Yet the wall did not budge. Its strength seemed far beyond anything a magic apprentice could produce.

With a roar, the Rat King summoned countless rats to the wall. They climbed over one another, piling up until the mound stood more than ten meters high.

Dicio stared. “Ace, how tall did you make that wall?”

“Don’t worry,” Ace replied calmly. “They can’t climb over it.”

The air wall would rise as high as the attack against it required. No matter how far the rats climbed, they would never reach the top.

“Oh, good!” Budno patted his chest. Being surrounded by so many rats was revolting enough.

Little Fairies liked beautiful, cute, clever animals, such as Falm. They had no fondness for drab, vicious animals that committed every sort of mischief, such as the rats before them.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Kumandi said gravely. “Be ready to fight at any moment.”

Dicio and Budno tightened their grips on their staffs and watched the climbing rats.

Ace’s green eyes shifted toward the Rat King and its followers, raging helplessly beyond the wall. His expression remained cool.

The rats kept up a deafening commotion in the back courtyard. Inside the house, Ram and his family heard them and huddled together in terror, praying to the Light God without pause.

Nearby neighbors pressed themselves against their windows, frightened but excited to see the magicians display their power.

Shu Li cast five purification orbs in succession, each more powerful than the last. The final orb reached the level of an advanced magician.

They were all purifying the statue together and covering for one another. Ace probably wouldn’t notice.

Angel and Amanda had much the same thought. After casting a couple of orbs each, they quietly increased the magic they put into their spells.

The rats had absorbed half the darkness inside the statue, leaving little behind. Under the relentless barrage of purification spells, even that was soon gone.

When the black mist disappeared, Shu Li lowered his staff and grinned. “That’s done.”

Angel and Amanda exchanged a glance and raised their eyebrows. Neither needed to say a word.

Beside itself with fury, the Rat King raced around the Team of Light, trampling many ordinary little rats to death.

Shu Li frowned. “Rat King, will you accept purification, or fight us to the end?”

The Rat King bared its teeth. “I’ll tear every one of you to pieces!”

It would sooner die than be purified. Without the power of darkness, it would immediately return to what it had been: a lowly rat bullied by the others. It had struggled to gain this strength. How could it give it up?

Shu Li set his pity aside.

He had offered it a chance. If it refused, it could hardly blame him for rooting out this force of darkness.

“Attack!”

At his command, the teammates who had been waiting raised their staffs and chanted spells of different elements in flowing Elven.

Crackling magic filled the courtyard.

Wind blades swept through the rats, leaving bodies behind. Orbs of light exploded and lit up the night. A dragon of fire surged across the courtyard, burning the bodies, and a rush of water washed the ashes into the soil, where they would nourish the spring growth.

The seven magic apprentices conducted their grand rat-clearing operation with due regard for safety and the environment.

The Rat King was covered in wounds. Watching its subjects die in droves drove it into a rage, and it attacked more frantically than ever.

To its despair, the air wall was immovable. Every trick it tried was useless.

If only Ram’s family had not taken the Dark Moon Stone, its evolution would never have stalled!

Hatred surged through it. It threw back its head and roared several times, ordering its generals to take a group of rats into the house and kill Ram’s family.

If it was going to die, it would take others with it. Ram, the one responsible for all this, had to die!

“Stop them!” Kumandi had been watching the whole courtyard. The moment he saw four or five large rats leading a pack of smaller ones toward the house, he guessed what they intended to do.

As he shouted, Ace began chanting a wind spell. Countless wind blades appeared from nowhere and sliced the rats to pieces in an instant.

The rats following behind turned and fled in terror.

The wind blades gave them no chance. They swept after the rats and wiped them out.

Trapped in the back courtyard, the thousands upon thousands of rats were struck by wave after wave of magic. Great numbers crumbled to ash and returned to the earth.

The Rat King and its generals had only evolved into low-rank magical beasts. After holding out for a little over twenty minutes, they collapsed, their eyes still open in death.

The air wall vanished. The apprentices spread out to deal with the stragglers that had escaped into other parts of the estate.

It took some effort, but at last they cleared the front courtyard, the back courtyard, and the house.

Finally, Shu Li stood at the entrance to the little building, looking at the mother rats and their young trembling in a corner.

Dicio came over for a closer look. “What do we do with them?”

Shu Li addressed the mother rats in the language of beasts. “If you’re willing to move into the forest and never enter human territory again, I’ll let you go.”

The largest mother rat stepped forward. “Squeak, squeak.” Her plea followed: “My lord, we’re willing to leave and live in the forest.”

Shu Li studied her. “You don’t hate us?”

After all, they had killed so many rats. Did she feel no desire for revenge?

Another mother rat spoke up first. “My lord, we don’t hate you. We’re grateful! That wretched Didon was the first to evolve into a magical beast. He bit the former Rat King to death and took his place. When Ram sold that miraculous crystal ore, Didon bore a grudge. He forced us to keep bearing young, then sent them to attack Ram’s family as soon as they grew up. Hearing the family scream every day made him delighted.”

The large mother rat lowered her head, her voice choking. “We stayed inside this building all along. We never frightened Ram’s family. Please believe us, my lord.”

The other mothers joined in. “That’s right! We had no choice but to bear his young.”

“Squeak, squeak...”

The little building filled with their pleading cries. Shu Li turned to his companions.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think they’re lying,” Angel said.

“Rats breed quickly,” Kumandi cautioned.

There might be few left now, but their numbers could double by the following year. If they returned, the infestation would begin again.

Amanda was a dragon and felt no pity for rats. “Why don’t we just finish them all off?”

At his words, the mothers and their young pressed together in terror and squeaked their pleas even louder.

Shu Li looked at their only human classmate. “Ace, what do you think?”

Ace considered it. “If they truly intend to leave, I can take them to the forest.”

“You?” the others exclaimed.

It was the middle of the night. The town gates were closed, and the forest was far away. How would he take them there?

“I can fly using wind magic,” Ace added. “I ate my fill tonight, so I have the strength to cast spells.”

In other words, the reason he had fainted by the roadside that morning was that he had gone hungry for too long.

Shu Li held back a laugh. “Should Kumandi go with you?”

Kumandi was steady and dependable. The two of them could get it done faster together.

“There’s no need. I can manage on my own.” Ace declined gently, then pointed toward the courtyard. “Once you’ve finished here, you should report the statue to the Magic Association. They’ll send someone to investigate.”

Shu Li looked around at the back courtyard, battered by their spells, and blinked.

Knowing Mr. Ram’s miserly nature, he would seize on the damage as an excuse to reduce their payment.

No, no. They had worked too hard and contributed too much to lose any part of those hundred gold coins.

“Quick, everyone! Let’s clean this up and restore as much as we can.” Shu Li hurriedly directed his companions. “Kumandi, go to the Magic Association and ask Henry to come here.”

Kumandi nodded. With a short flying spell, he rose into the air and headed out of the estate.

Ace found a large cloth sack in a corner of the courtyard. Wearing a warm smile, he invited the mother rats and their young inside.

After a moment’s hesitation, they climbed in. Soon, dozens of rats had filled the sack until it bulged.

Ace cast a wind flight spell. The sack rose with him, and, like Kumandi, he flew straight out of the back courtyard.

Shu Li watched him go, rolled up his sleeves, and joined the work of repairing the damage.

From their windows, the neighbors had witnessed an enormous battle between magicians and ten thousand rats. They were stunned.

So magicians were that powerful!

They had wielded wind, fire, light, water, and other elements with such mastery that even those giant rats, as big as cattle, had been reduced to ash. Ram’s family had certainly kept an astonishing number of rats. Fortunately, none had escaped the estate during the past two years. As their closest neighbors, they would have suffered first.

They could not help cursing Ram’s stinginess. If he had spent the money to hire magicians sooner, the rats would never have run wild for two years.

Tonight’s events would give them something to talk about for a long time.

If they ran into trouble themselves, they ought to go straight to the Magic Association. Hiring magicians was expensive, but it was safe, effective, and solved a problem for good.

Shu Li had no idea the nearby residents had watched their battle. He was busy using wood magic to regrow the plants damaged by the flames.

Budno sent a water dragon around the courtyard to wash it clean, while Dicio used fire to dispose of the rat bodies left in its corners.

Angel went inside to give Ram’s family the good news.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Once Ace was beyond the estate, he sped up. He shot high into the sky like a small whirlwind and left Kosheng behind in moments, flying west toward the Cesis Mountains.

Within minutes, he reached the woods at their foot.

He lowered the sack gently onto the grass but did not open it yet. First, he drew a circle around it with his staff, forming an air wall.

At a slight movement of his finger, the sack opened. The large mother rat caught a breath of fresh air and darted out.

“Squeak!” She slammed headfirst into the wall.

The other rats climbed out, discovered they were trapped in a small space, and ran around in panic.

“My lord... why won’t you let us out?” The large mother rat raised her head and looked pitifully at the blond, green-eyed magic apprentice.

Ace regarded her without a trace of emotion. “Because you have a small piece of Dark Moon Stone hidden in your stomach,” he said in the language of beasts.

Her eyes darted about. She crouched low and protested, “My lord, there must be some mistake. How could I have a Dark Moon Stone in my stomach?”

Ace ignored her. He looked up at the night sky, where the clear moonlight laid a cold silver sheen over his golden hair.

“Years from now, you would lead tens of thousands of evolved magical rats against a human city to avenge what happened today.”

The mother rat’s eyes suddenly turned red. She bared her sharp teeth.

She was only a low-rank magical beast, and her intelligence was ordinary. A little provocation had been enough to expose her true nature.

The rest of the rats poured out of the sack, every face vicious now, utterly unlike the pitiful creatures they had appeared to be.

“Human, you’d better kill us now. Otherwise, I swear I’ll have my revenge!”

Didon had been her exceptional child, born with magic. He had absorbed the energy of the Dark Moon Stone and grown quickly, defeating the previous Rat King through sheer fighting strength.

He might have advanced into a high-rank magical beast if greedy Ram had not ruined everything.

Didon had wanted to kill Ram and his family, but she had stopped him. She had lived a long time and knew Kosheng well. If rats injured humans, the Magic Association would send people to investigate.

Ram was too stingy to hire a magician. All the rats had to do was keep causing trouble, and eventually he would be unable to bear it and move away.

But they had miscalculated.

Despite his greed, Ram had actually paid to hire magicians.

Those magicians had cruelly killed her poor Didon and wiped out nearly all her kind.

To survive and take revenge, she and the others had concealed their hatred and pleaded for their lives.

She had fooled the other magicians. Never had she imagined she would fail to fool this blond human.

Ace tilted his head. Magical beasts were approaching in the distance. The corner of his mouth lifted.

“I have always respected the forest’s rule of survival.”

He raised a hand. Wind gathered beneath his feet and lifted him into the air. Glancing toward a nearby tree, he said evenly, “When your natural enemy gets close, the air wall will disappear. Whether you survive will depend on your luck.”

His golden hair streamed behind him as the Elven King, disguised as a human magic apprentice, rode the wind into the night sky.

The rats he had left behind squeaked frantically. The large mother rat let out a despairing howl.

After a while, a hulking creature padded toward them, drawn by the scent of food. The mid-rank magical beast caught sight of the dozens of rats and began to drool.

When the air wall vanished, the rats’ screams rang through the woods.

High on a branch, Ilio crouched with his presence concealed, watching the hunt below with interest.

The King’s choice was entertaining, though Ilio found it puzzling.

Did these rats have any idea whom they had tried to deceive? They had thought they could fool the Elven King, favored by the Light God.

How naive.

Come to think of it, the King had glanced at this tree earlier. Had he spotted Ilio?

Ilio shrugged. It hardly mattered. His job at present was to follow along from the shadows.

He waited patiently until the mid-rank magical beast finished eating the rats and turned to leave. Then he dropped soundlessly from the branch, landed in front of it, and pointed at its stomach. The tiny Dark Moon Stone was forced back out.

The beast opened its mouth and spat up the stone.

Ilio caught it, smiled at the dazed creature, and vanished.

A moment later, an angry roar echoed through the woods.

It took Shu Li more than half an hour to restore Ram’s back courtyard. He even found a way to repair the collapsed wall of the little building.

When Ram and his family heard that every rat had been cleared away, they stared in disbelief. It took a while for the news to sink in. Then, gathering their courage, they stepped outside.

The stench of rot was gone from the courtyard, replaced by the charred smell of things burned.

Shu Li told them that they had dealt with the rat bodies buried beneath the courtyard too. The rats had returned to the earth and would now serve as fertilizer for the flowers and plants.

Ram looked around at the flourishing trees and greenery and burst into tears of joy.

Though normally miserly, he took out seven gold coins as a tip for the Team of Light. He also checked the “Satisfied” box on the commission card and signed his name with an elaborate flourish.

The fee itself had been paid to the Magic Association when the commission was posted. Shu Li would need to present the card to collect it.

Kumandi reported the statue of the Dark God in Ram’s back courtyard to Henry. Henry immediately brought several intermediate magicians to investigate.

Followers of the Temple of Hodhe appearing in the town under his care was an extremely serious matter. He had to investigate thoroughly and prevent the cult from carrying out illegal activities in secret.

When Ram learned that the statue in his back courtyard depicted the Dark God, he nearly fainted. He desperately insisted to Henry that he had known nothing about it.

“My lord, I bought this plot from Kerr! I demolished the old house and dug the statue out of the ground. I thought Kerr’s family had kept it to protect their home, so I put it in the little building out back. You must believe me! My family has done nothing wrong. We don’t even know what the Temple of Hodhe is! If you want to take the statue away, please do it as soon as possible. I won’t ask you or the Magic Association for a single coin! Truly! I may like a bargain, but I’d never try to profit from this!”

He defended himself so fervently that he was on the verge of sobbing.

Heavens above, if his family was branded as cult followers, their lives would be ruined. They would never be able to remain in Kosheng, and no one would do business with him again.

“Please don’t worry, Mr. Ram,” Henry said patiently. “Once the Magic Association has completed its investigation, we’ll inform the whole town.”

Ram let out a quiet breath of relief and slumped onto the sofa, exhausted.

The magicians took the statue away. Shu Li and his companions returned to the Magic Association as well.

They really had been busy until the early hours of the morning. Everyone’s back and legs ached.

They happily exchanged the commission card for a large sack of gold coins. The Little Fairies and the young dragon then headed eagerly for Shu Li’s room.

“When will Ace be back?” Dicio asked.

They still had to divide the payment.

“The forest is far away, so probably not yet,” Shu Li said. “Let’s wash up first. Once he returns, we’ll divide the money.”

“Sounds good!” His companions bounced off to their rooms.

They had spent all of yesterday climbing a mountain and working up a sweat, then slept outdoors with nowhere to bathe. This morning they had helped a coachman dig out a carriage wheel and gotten covered in mud. Tonight they had fought rats and worked for hours afterward. By now, they all smelled awful.

The fastidious Little Fairies could bear it no longer. They badly needed a bath.

Amanda, with a dragon’s tough hide, did not particularly mind. But since all the Little Fairies were washing, he went back to his room to wash too.

Shu Li set the sack of coins on his bed, found a clean change of clothes in his pack, and went into the bathroom.

The Magic Association’s facilities were quite good. The bathroom was clean and attractive, with patterned tiles across the floor. There was no running water, but someone had left a large barrel of fresh water inside.

Shu Li knew water magic, so he had no need for it.

He would leave it for Ace.

After undressing, he recited a simple spell. A large ball of water and a small fireball appeared above his head. He used them to make warm water and enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying hot bath.

While Ace was away, he let the wings on his back show. They got wet, and when he fluttered them gently, droplets scattered everywhere.

Humming a tune, he finished washing, dried his hair, and changed into clean clothes. He gave his dirty clothes a quick wash as well. With magic, it was easy.

He dried them, hung them in the wardrobe, and left them ready to wear tomorrow.

With his hair loose and comfortable clothes on, he sat cross-legged on the soft carpet and poured the gold coins out of the sack.

Clink, clatter!

They formed a glittering heap beneath the magical stone lamp.

The back of his right hand suddenly grew hot. The Fire God’s mark appeared, and as a thought crossed Shu Li’s mind, a streak of red light shot out. It landed on the carpet and became a round little magical beast.

“Ah, I thought I’d never get out of there!”

Falm stretched his short, plump limbs and rolled across the carpet. Then he eyed the heap of coins and brushed it with his tail.

“You worked all night for this little money?”

Hearing the disdain in his voice, Shu Li poked his soft belly. “You think human money is easy to earn?”

“How would I know? I’ve never earned any!” Falm flicked out his forked tongue. “Do you have anything good to eat?”

“Kumandi said you swallowed a magical beast last night,” Shu Li replied.

A fire dragon lizard could go two days on a single meal.

“Can’t I want a snack?” Falm blinked his bright eyes up at him.

Shu Li sighed. He took a small Kuku fruit from his storage ring and tucked it into Falm’s forelegs. “Here. Eat.”

Falm hugged the fruit delightedly and opened his mouth wide to bite into it.

Knock, knock.

Someone was at the door.

Assuming his companions had finished bathing, Shu Li got up to answer it.

“Come on in—oh, Ace! You’re back!” he said in surprise.

Ace lowered his hood, revealing his shining golden hair, and gave Shu Li a gentle smile.

“Yes. I took the rats to the forest and came straight back.”

“Thanks for going to all that trouble!” Shu Li stepped aside to let him in. “I’ve already bathed, so you go ahead. Once everyone else gets here, we can divide the payment.”

“All right.” Ace looked at his freshly washed roommate. He took off his shoes by the entrance and walked onto the carpet in his socks.

Shu Li closed the door. Then he suddenly remembered Falm, sitting on the carpet eating his fruit. He jumped and rushed into the room.

“Um... Ace...”

The rest of his words died in his throat.

Ace and an innocent-looking Falm were staring at each other. Falm still held half a fruit in his forelegs.