[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 300: Invader

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It was a very brief scene.

Showing a group of people who are fighting fiercely, against a figure who is not worthy of being called a human.

His form was humanoid, like an adult man, but his entire body was made of blackish purple crystal with a yellow complexion in several parts. A truly inhumane appearance.

The crystal moved nimbly, creating crystal towers around it, which then fired hundreds of crystal bullets at the group of people who attacked it.

Despite being faced with the relentless barrage of attacks from the crystal figure, the group of people in black-red military uniforms remained unrivalled. They moved with speed and agility that exceeded the crystal figure, cooperated with each other to cover up weaknesses, and continued to shower the crystal figure with various attacks.

One of the figures threw a single spear, and at the same time also advanced while slashing horizontally with his long sword, while the other launched an attack in their own way.

The body of the crystal figure was split apart due to the various attacks that hit it. Even so, 'he' seemed to have no problems whatsoever. Any pieces that escape from the main body will turn into black liquid, and return to the main body to regenerate the missing parts.

The crystal figure then raised an arm, and a long sword that was also made of crystal slowly came out from his palm.

The sword was swung in a full circle horizontally, which then created a shockwave that instantly blew away everyone around it.

Not stopping there, the crystal figure jumped up, then created a crystal spear which he immediately threw on the ground where he stood before.

The result of plunging that spear into the ground was chaos. A blackish purple crystal emerged from within the ground, instantly spreading all over the place within a radius of 50 meters.

In just a short moment, the entire area within that radius had turned completely into a 'crystal garden'. And of course, it's not beautiful at all.

Although the ground had turned into a terrifying place, the group fighting against the crystal figure was not injured. One of their members had first jumped high into the air, and pulled everyone away using a thread that looked extremely thin.

That was why, after the crystal deployment stopped, they immediately returned to the mainland, and attempted to land a deadly attack on the crystal figure.

That's all Noelle saw.

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As soon as Noelle opened her eyes, what she first saw was a bald head, blue in color with a white tattoo.

The figure's face was still blurry, but Noelle instinctively pushed her hand forward. However, he was wrong in regulating his strength.

Dolum's figure immediately disappeared from Noelle's view, and crashed far away to hit the wall.

Noelle then realized what she had just done.

"Ahh, sorry .. I thought you …."

Still in a delirious state, Noelle stopped her words. He almost called the chief of the Artof a goblin.

Rise up and look to the side, there was Tania who was also newly awakened.

They were still in the same cave where Dolum had taken them, but they had been laid to rest in a place that Noelle felt rather comfortable compared beside the ice chest.

"What exactly was that …." Tania muttered, looking confused by the situation that was going on.

And so did Noelle. What he saw in the dream still bothered him.

"Tania, are you dreaming? " ask Noelle.

Dreams cannot come on suddenly. Especially, just after he fainted. For this reason, Noelle believes that the dream she has just experienced does not appear naturally, but rather the response of her brain to certain stimuli.

Getting a question from Noelle, Tania looked surprised. "Grei ... too? Are you dreaming too? "

Tania tried to crawl closer to her, and Noelle only gently patted Tania's head a few times before finally sighing.

That reaction alone is enough to be a confirmation.

"Tania .. What happened in your dream? "

The question made Tania look down weakly. He then fixed his sitting position and looked at Noelle.

"I. .. don't remember very much. But, it might be a war. There was a great fight between a group of people, and .. right, that crystal creature! "

Tania instantly got up, staggered for a moment before finally running up to the ice chest that was still in place in exactly the same condition as she remembered.

"Please don't be too hasty, Miss Tania. You still have plenty of time."

Dolum's voice stops Tania's steps. The small-bodied old man emerged from behind the chest, as if he had no problems in the slightest even though Noelle had just pushed him to the wall.

"First, let me explain."

Dolum then climbed up a wooden box to look inside the ice chest. On the other hand, Noelle had walked over, and helped calm Tania down.

While staring at the figure inside the ice chest with a mixture of emotions in his eyes, Dolum finally sighed.

"I'm not sure what happened in the past. But, for all of us, this is what has made us suffer all this time."

With her small fingers, Dolum traced the transparent surface of the ice chest, then turned to look at Noelle and Tania.

"This bucket, and the crystal that was inside, had been in this place for a very long time. His age might be equivalent to the age of our tribe. In any case, we ourselves do not know for sure how long this chest has been here."

The coffin cannot be destroyed, moved, or even opened. The crystal figure lying inside the coffin was completely sealed, with no way to free it.

Of course, there was a strong reason why the crystal figure was already there. Noelle assumed that the coffin was a seal used to hold the crystal figure.

After all, from his dream he knew, that the crystal figure was not a joke at all. His strength was real, and it was not known how great the potential danger was.

Ignoring Noelle and Tania who were immersed in their respective thoughts, Dolum continued his explanation.

"Although so, we know for sure. It's our job to keep this crate from being destroyed. It was mentioned in the prophecy that the Queen of Bengal passed down on our ancestors."

The prophecy that Dolum mentions, alludes to the existence of two travelers who will come to provide salvation.

(Safety ... of what? )

Noelle's suspicions turned to confidence. The predictions about the two travelers must have been directly related to this ice chest.

Could it be, that crystal figure was a great danger that the two wanderers had to contend with? That way, salvation will be given to the tribe of Artof.

After all, everything is still just speculation. Noelle could not casually conclude because it could be fatal.

Although of course, the answer to this question may already be very clear.

"In that case, allow me to escort you to the next room."

Dolum got down from the wooden box, and walked deeper and deeper into the cave through the dark passageway that was on the north side of the entrance.

The deeper it goes, the thinner the oxygen level. Even so, Noelle and Tania's consciousness was still crystal clear. They had no problems with breathing, and their vision was also very smooth even though it was quite dark here.

The further she entered the cave, the more Noelle realized it. This place is so full of life. It is not a biological life, but a spiritual life of a spirit being.

After walking down the hall for a short period of time, they finally arrived at a spacious room containing dozens of strange statues. And again, they are made of crystal.

However, it was different from the figure lying on the ice chest. All of these statues only had a blackish purple color without a yellow hue. They also did not give the impression of strong intimidation like the figure in the ice chest had.

Noelle immediately realized what all the statues really were.

(They ... were exposed to the virus? )

Orphiment Virus, Apocalypse Virus, or more familiarly known as Crystal Plague. All of the crests were similar to the crystal Noelle had seen on Gild's body.

Back when Noelle was still traveling as Noah Ashrain, she had met an old man named Gild. The old man had a blackish-purple crystal covering the area of his neck, which then spread to the hands at their second meeting.

(It looks like Tania hasn't realized this yet.)

Beside her, Tania still looked astonished as she stared at all the statues one by one. And by capitalizing on the knowledge of it, Noelle dared to make a conclusion.

"Hey, are they this–"

However, before she could finish her words, Dolum who had walked into the middle of the room looked at her, with cold eyes that Noelle had not expected to emerge from her figure.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm sure it's true. All that looks like this crystal statue, are the wandering couples who once came, but failed to qualify to be 'Destined'."

Tania frowned, having a bad feeling about this. Beside her, Noelle was also doing the same.

"Whatchu mean? "

Feeling anxiety peaking in her chest, Tania finally couldn't bear it and retreated to take cover behind Noelle. He was also prepared to take out his scythe at any time.

At this moment, Tania was completely unaware of the situation. She did not know the conclusion Noelle had made, nor would she be able to make the same conclusion.

All because Tania lacks knowledge. He knew about the Crystal Plague, but it was only limited to basic knowledge. He still did not know the shape of the crystal. Therefore, Tania never thought that all the statues might be caused by the Crystal Plague.

"That means the same as I said, Miss. All of these crystal statues were once just like you, they were all travelers who met us, who we assumed to be 'The Destined', but were actually the wrong people, and not meeting the criteria."

Dolum then walked up to one of the statues, and touched the statue with his hand.

"There have been so many wandering couples, but none of them have been 'Destined'. We've resigned ourselves to a fate that continues to disappoint the Queen's prophecy, but at last, you're coming."

His words were filled with pure happiness. He looked at all the statues with concern, before finally turning to look happily at Noelle and Tania.

"You are 'Destined'. You are the one the Queen mentioned in her prophecy."

" … Why are you so sure? "

There's no reason to ask. If everything was really as Noelle thought, then the answer was obvious. Although .... he himself did not have an understanding of why it could be like that.

It is basic knowledge that the Apocalypse Virus, or Crystal Plague, is highly contagious. It could spread through the air, even though there was only a small part of its crystal in an open room.

"It's all clear, sir. The reason I, and everyone is convinced that you are the 'Destined', is because of the fact that you are still alive today."

(Gh ..).

Everything was as Noelle thought. Throw's right. In that case, this just gave him more new questions.

"Can you explain further? "

Tania still doesn't understand. Therefore he asked Dolum to explain it in more detail. However, seeing from the expression Noelle made, Tania was convinced that this was not a good thing.

"Of course, Miss. I'll explain until you understand."

Dolum smiled faintly and walked over to Noelle and Tania who were standing in the middle of the room.

"There have been dozens of couples who have come to meet our tribe. But, they all turned into crystals as they approached the ice chest I showed you earlier. I'm not sure of the reason, but it's probably because of the curse that they, the Crystal Invaders dropped."

Tania recalled the crystal figure that was inside the ice chest.

(So that's what they call Crystal Invaders.)

Perhaps it was the corpse of one of the Crystal Invaders, as Dolum referred to it as 'them'. Even so, even Dolum himself did not know how many of these 'them' he mentioned.

To be sure, Dolum and all the members of the Artof tribe believed that the Crystal Colonizer carried a curse; anyone who approached the corpse of the Crystal Colonizer, other than the Artof tribe would instantly turn into crystal.

That is the basis for the belief of Dolum and all the predecessors of the tribe of Artof, that 'The Destined' should be immune to the curse of the Crystal Invaders.

Because if they are not immune, how can they provide safety? They will only be an ornamental statue in the museum room of the Artof tribe later.

Dolum and all the members of the Artof tribe thought of it as a curse, but what actually happened was in accordance with what Noelle thought.

Tania already understood it a little, but there were many things that confused her. Seeing that, Noelle immediately helped Tania to understand him further.

"In short .. the requirement to be 'Destined' is to survive after approaching the icebox. If we turn into crystals, it means we don't meet the qualifications."

"Isn't that .. very risky? " Hearing it alone made Tania shudder in horror.

If only she and Noelle, did not meet the qualifications, and instantly became a crystal. If that happens, then both of them can be sure to die immediately. Even the immortality they possessed might not be of any help in that situation.

Noelle nodded. "It's very risky, but it's just for us."

After saying so, Noelle immediately narrowed her eyes at Dolum, instantly giving off a strong aura of intimidation until it felt like the cold temperature of this room was defeated by him.

"Bitch, you made us come here, not knowing what's coming next. If I become a crystal, I will instantly take you to the deepest hell."

Several swords appeared around Noelle, hovering by themselves without anyone touching. Seeing that certainly made Dolum panic. Even so, he tried his hardest to remain calm.

"It's weird. I think you are the one who understands it. In a situation where we are often let down by hope, isn't it natural to be cold? In order to survive, you will also do everything, right? Even if it has to deceive and harm others."

What he said was not wrong. The Artof tribe had been stuck in this strange situation for a long time, and they had also been often let down by hope. Not a single wandering couple had actually become 'Destined'. Everything was nothing more than an ordinary human who would turn into a crystal just after approaching the ice chest.

In such a situation, which had lasted for many years, it was no wonder that the Artof tribe was able to act coldly. They would instantly take the wandering pair to the ice chest, and see if they would turn into crystals or not. All for the sake of ensuring the prophecy handed down by the Queen of Bengal.

Noelle understood that too. Although she hated being played with, Noelle understood that this was life; full of deceit and cold feelings.

All the bloodthirsty swords slowly disappeared, and the intensity of Noelle's bullying also gradually decreased, making Dolum naturally calm down.

"After I remember .. there was a rumor that said that many adventurers and mercenaries came to the Cold Forest, but they never returned, and were never seen again. They completely vanished without a trace …. Now all that makes sense, maybe they're wanderers turned into crystals."

The sudden explanation from Tania was like a lightning strike to Noelle.

"Why ... didn't you tell me earlier? "

Tania felt bad, and tried to hide her face by leaning her forehead against Noelle's back.

"I don't think they ever came back because they were killed by monsters or something …."

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