Chapter 614 - 612: Elina Is Rejected

As Elina cursed in exasperation, Watch City appeared before them.

Like the previous city, the City Lord personally led the people out of the city to greet them outside.

Along with them, many people with decent resistance or some affinity to the pollution joined the reception.

When Hilia rode the Flying Broom, descending from the distant sky with Elina and Candia, countless people, including those from other empires, erupted into cheers.

"Welcome, Lady Hilia, I am Mornis, the City Lord of Watch City, and on behalf of Watch City, I welcome your arrival!"

Mornis was a mixed-blood Elf; his hair was golden, and his body was quite sturdy and rugged, not as slender as pure-blooded Elves. Without his pointed ears, one wouldn’t know he was an Elf.

— He was the mixed-blood offspring of a Bearman mother and an Elf Race father.

Hilia performed a Holy Court ceremony and exchanged brief pleasantries with Mornis.

After that, she looked towards the other people greeting them, finding that most were humans and Beastmen, with only a few Elves among them.

This situation was naturally because the pollution with life element barriers specifically targeted the Elf Race, only slightly affecting other races.

However, by now, in many places, some simple coping mechanisms had been devised.

The Elf Royal Family did not strictly prohibit inviting Holy Priests from other empires to assist in treatment and purification. Watch City, being an outward-facing metropolis, had invited many Holy Priests before the pollution struck, including Holy Priests from the Ista Empire, specifically ones skilled in special purification skills.

Only, before the pollution was separated, all Priests were powerless against it; only after it entered a person’s body could they cautiously use purification skills to dispel the contamination within patients.

But just a few Holy Priests couldn’t possibly treat the entire city.

Thus, the disaster situation in Watch City was not much better than other places.

Now, with Hilia’s arrival, Mornis seemed relieved, like he was putting down a heavy burden.

He warmly invited Hilia and Elina to the City Lord’s Mansion to rest, treating Hilia with ten times the warmth compared to Elina.

After entering the reception area of the mansion, Hilia said, "Lord Mornis, there’s no time to waste. I’ve already delayed many days. We’ll discuss dinner and resting after resolving the issue. First, tell me about the situation in Watch City."

Mornis nodded: "Watch City currently hosts a thousand Holy Priests from around the world, mainly responsible for treating critically ill patients. However, Watch City has millions of people, and before this number, a thousand Holy Priests are nothing but a drop in the bucket..."

Mornis quickly informed Hilia about the situation in Watch City.

The situation here was indeed worse than at other locations due to the large population.

So far, tens of thousands have died, and if not for the continual efforts of the thousand Holy Priests, this number might have surpassed a hundred thousand.

Besides, the entire city has hundreds of thousands of critically ill patients, with over a million having milder symptoms who urgently need treatment. If untreated, they could escalate to critical conditions at any moment.

"A million..."

Hilia felt the pressure grow.

Rose chuckled lightly: "What, are you afraid?"

Hilia took a deep breath: "I chose to do this without considering the word ’fear.’ Just a million, give me ten more cities like this!"

Rose amusingly shook his head, not dampening Hilia’s spirit.

This number made Hilia anxious but also fired up her determination.

After hearing the report, Hilia directly instructed the City Lord to prepare, each session accommodating two to five thousand people, telling him to arrange it quickly.

City Lord Mornis said, "With so many people, it might not be possible to arrange them in one place, Miss Hilia. Should we distribute them across different areas to facilitate further treatment after you finish in one area?"

"Hey, are you trying to exhaust Hilia?" Before Hilia could speak, Elina couldn’t hold back.

Mornis also awkwardly chuckled, "Then let’s keep them in one place, just so Miss Hilia can rest more. Currently, we can somewhat relieve the critical patients’ conditions. Simply bring the critical patients first; dealing with them first makes solving the rest later manageable."

"No, let’s do as you said." Hilia calmly stated: "It’s merely consecutive treatments, no big deal, I can handle it."

Elina gasped, "Hilia, you..."

"Alright, stop talking. Since I said it, I’m proving I can do it." Hilia raised her hand to stop Elina from continuing.

Elina hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hilia, I originally planned to use Watch City as a pilot site. I hoped you could help me purify Watch City’s pollution situation..."

"That’s no issue, but without resolving the source of the pollution, this is merely a stopgap measure. Once you and I leave, the pollution here will re-accumulate."

Candia interjected: "We want to know how Lady Hilia purifies, if possible, can you assist us, Lady Hilia?"

Hilia glanced at her, shaking her head: "I might not have that much time. After my treatment, it can sustain about a month. I need to travel across the entire Elf Race territory within this timeframe."

Facing Candia, Hilia’s attitude was relatively cold, though still composed.

"Alright." Elina shrugged, not pressing further.

Hilia’s refusal seemed to reject doing stopgap tasks, but in reality, she declined Elina’s invitation.

Elina intended to invite Hilia to resolve the pollution at its source, purifying from the beginning.

Hilia knew her intent, hence directly declining.

Rose had said she couldn’t purify the pollution at its source.

She wouldn’t engage in pointless, life-risking endeavors.

The room fell silent.

It stayed that way for half an hour until Mornis entered from outside.

"Lady Hilia, we’ve brought the most critically ill patients here, please..."

Hilia stood up: "Let’s go, I’ve rested enough, let’s begin the purification."

"Alright." Mornis rejoiced, quickly leading the way.

Following Mornis, Hilia arrived at a park square, looking at rows of stretchers below, her mouth twitching.

It seemed Mornis was prepared, ready for her arrival.

Hilia secretly grumbled but still flew into the air, starting to release purification skills.

Nearby, Holy Priests from around the world observed.

They wanted to see how Hilia managed to purify thousands at once.