This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 139

The Empress’s Thread

The situation in the kingdom was becoming increasingly chaotic. In just 2 months, the Setter family announced that they had managed to seize another city on the 4th floor. This news shocked many, as rumors had indicated that the Setter family aimed to conquer cities on the 6th floor. However, the consecutive conquests had elevated the Setter family to a position unreachable by other families.

Even though it’s a 4th-floor city, it didn’t mean that seizing these cities was easy. The remaining cities were in the lower floors, where competition was fierce. If it were otherwise, these cities would have been taken long ago.

The 4th-floor city in question was said to be under the control of Harpy demons. Many speculated that the Harpy demons sent from the 4th floor to the arena previously, even if not directly aimed at the members of the Setter family, posed a significant threat to their second young lord. Not to mention, the girl with botanic power was also nearly killed if not for her quick thinking. This fueled the Setter family’s anger, leading to their decisive action of conquering the city and driving out the Harpy demons entirely.

The battle against the Harpy demons showcased their strength. Previously, the kingdom had mobilized many people and requested the Hunter’s Association to send their best to help, but they were still utterly defeated. Rumors circulated that the failed hunt had a high cost, leaving the palace unable to reclaim any city for many years.

In the end, even strong demons fell before the Setter family. Especially against humanoid-like demons, the Setter family profited greatly.

They used slave contracts to bind the demons to their service. These slave contracts only worked on intelligent beings; if used on beast-like creatures, they wouldn’t understand commands, resulting in random acts and often their explosive death. Such losses were undesirable since slave contracts were expensive, requiring high-level magical runes to create.

However, when they used it on intelligent demons or beasts, the fear of death made them obedient, or if any chose death over obedience, it was a risk they took.

Now, it seemed the Setter family had a small army of demons at their command, making them the first family to achieve such a feat. The 4th floor was home to low-level demons, meaning it was challenging for those who hadn’t reached the 4th floor to seize a city there. Only large, powerful families had the chance. However...the stronger the demon, the harder it was to conquer their city!

The rumors about taking over the 6th floor were false, but acquiring a city from the demons with considerable resources made people continue to pursue the Setter family as they had planned. Yet, no family had successfully won their favor when suddenly, another major event occurred.

The Setter family had indeed seized another city on the 6th floor. This time, however...it wasn’t led by the family head like before, but by a name that had never faded from public conversation, even though he hadn’t appeared in a long time.

“Owen Setter,” the eldest young lord of the Setter family, had spearheaded the conquest of a 6th-floor city, successfully driving out level 2 and level 3 beasts with just a few dozen members, all was the members of the Setter family handpicked by him!!

This event was globally significant! It wasn’t just the people in the kingdom who had to acknowledge his prowess; it also stunned other kingdoms.

Who didn’t know the identity of the eldest young lord of the Setter family? Everyone knew him as the "God of War." If he were in full health, he would have already led the Setter family to the 7th floor, known among humans as the Demi-God’s floor! Reaching it meant nearing godhood itself.

According to ancient legends found in documents from old cities, this belief had been passed down for generations. Those residing on the 7th floor were said to be of high-level that beyond imagination, whether gods or demons. This floor represented a pivotal point for any race; reaching the 7th floor revealed that the tower from the 1st to the 6th floors were merely playgrounds for children.

Some kingdoms, even if they didn’t want the Ares Kingdom to surpass them, still wished to support this eldest young lord. That’s because they wanted to discover what the 7th floor was truly like, whether it matched the legends or was merely a fantastical tale.

It was a great pity that the eldest young lord’s rise was cut short by an illness that nearly took his life. At that time, everyone thought he wouldn’t survive. Some pressured the Ares Kingdom to give the only flower of Tezetrons to the eldest young lord, but it was futile. Who would give away such a precious item to another family, right?

Time passed, and everyone assumed the eldest young lord’s fate was sealed. Yet, out of nowhere, he reappeared, leading the charge to conquer a city on the 6th floor!!

It almost seemed easier to believe they were dreaming!!

Ever since the news broke, many people had been contacting Ellie, to the point of annoyance. Fortunately, Professor Medik and Professor Lucien were there to help. The children from the Setter family had already completed their first year, and Aman wanted to do the same for Ellie. However, she still had her harvest to tend to, so she didn’t want to leave it behind, relying solely on the two professors instead.

Professor Lucien took care of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her. He didn’t mind, as he was already responsible for preparing food for the beautiful professor who was used to not eating for days. Since Professor Lucien started looking after him, the previously gaunt professor seemed to have gained a bit of weight.

With Lucien handling meals, Ellie devoted all her time to training. In just a few days, she would have to return to the village, where chaos surely awaited.

After her final harvest, Ellie had 6,700 points left from her first-year graduation requirement. So, she needed to visit the central building to exchange these points for interesting items.

Around 4-5 students in her year didn’t graduate because they didn’t accumulate enough points, and they had to withdraw, much to their regret. These students were all from ordinary families. On her way to exchange points, Ellie noticed many students staring at her, eager to ask about the Setter family. She could only hurry to complete her tasks.

Ellie chose a time when fewer people were around, using spores to survey the institute, so she could avoid the troublesome individuals. The supervising professor looked at Ellie as if wanting to say something but refrained due to her duties, allowing Ellie to enter the room and use her points freely.

The main hall of the central building felt somewhat like a treasure vault. Each item was inscribed with magical runes, and underneath each was a point value. To take an item out, students had to transfer points from their student cards.

Ellie’s 6,700 points were significant but not extraordinary. The most valuable items cost hundreds of thousands of points, a target Ellie believed no student could reach. Even the heroine never mentioned such points. Being the heroine of the story, it was probably more thrilling for readers if she barely scraped by each year, adding to the suspense.

Ellie had a clear goal in mind when she decided to exchange her points, most of which she had learned the information from Professor Lucien, so it didn’t take much time.

After Professor Lucien taught her to use threads in combat, his advice led her to select equipment that would enhance her fighting capabilities. With 5,000 points, she could exchange them for the "Empress’s Thread," a thread more special than ordinary ones. Its unique properties included sharpness and decent tensile strength despite being thinner than other types of threads.

As its name suggested, the Empress’s Thread was once the weapon of the Queen of Ares Kingdom, used to eliminate dozens of assassins. Unfortunately, the combat technique involving this thread didn’t garner much interest, and thus, it ended up in the institute’s possession. Yet...no student had ever chosen to spend 5,000 points on it.

With this thread, Ellie’s attacks would become more enigmatic. This time, even if enemies were observant and vigilant, they would still fall into her traps. Her attacks would be even more effective. If it was night assault, using the moonlight and darkness to disguise them could make Ellie to become a night hunter. During the day, when threads were easily visible, the thread’s property to reduce reflections would still be advantageous.

After spending 5,000 points on the undesired thread, Ellie had 1,700 points remaining. If her identity as Luke wasn’t a secret, she might have used the points on a bow. The institute really had many intriguing pieces of equipment.

She decided against the weapons and turned to other treasures, opting for level 2 herbs. In the future, she could at least use them to concoct various potions.

Since Ellie’s exchange didn’t take long, those outside hadn’t gone anywhere, and those who recently heard the news hadn’t arrived yet. People were spreading the word, and many wanted to meet Ellie here, either to curry favor or to gather information. Unfortunately for them, they missed their chance.

Ellie returned to her room once more. After finishing her tasks this time, it was time to face reality. The Setter family’s party was scheduled for 10 days later, and she couldn’t avoid attending.

"Sigh..." The girl collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. She would have to endure this stress and headache for 3 more years until she graduated...On that day, she would quickly retreat to the Tower of Eternity and disappear.

While Ellie spent time in silence, people from various families couldn’t remain quiet. The palace was in turmoil, as even the news of successful negotiations hadn’t arrived yet. If the Setter family allied with others and ignored the royal family, what power would they have left? Shouldn’t they pass the kingship to the Setters then?

Bang!

"Why haven’t they sent any news yet!? What are they doing?" The loud shout startled many, and those sitting almost jumped up. The King’s anger was too intense for anyone to remain calm.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Prince Joseph is still negotiating. At the very least, regarding resources from the 4th floor, we must..."

"Shut up!! Shut your mouths!! Are you still making excuses for them? The Setter family took a 4th-floor city from the Harpies, and there was never any doubt about their seizing. There!! They focused on the 6th-floor city instead. And what happened? They failed completely!!"

"B-But...no one expected the Setter family to fight against the Harpy demons. How strong are they? Even if we knew the Setters were that audacious, we wouldn’t have believed they could win, Your Majesty."

"So what? Are you saying the Setter family couldn’t do it when they’ve already succeeded? Why can’t you think for yourselves!! Can’t you see what kind of people the Setters are? They hold real grudges and act on them. Even I could predict that since the Harpy demons dared to harm the second son of the family head, they would certainly seek revenge."

"............" The followers and advisors remained silent, exchanging glances as if understanding each other’s thoughts.

The King could say whatever he wanted now that it had happened, but before, he hadn’t given any orders regarding the matter. He probably never imagined the Setter family would do something so reckless either!

"Sigh. And do you know about the condition of their eldest son? So it’s true, not just a rumor. Then...how did...that boy recover from his illness? What have you found out?"

The King realized he was rambling and calmed himself, changing the subject. This issue was as significant as the conquer of the 6th-florr city.

There was a glint of malice in the King’s eyes as he spoke. Who would have thought that the boy he deemed hopeless would be secretly cured like this...?

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