Chapter 313 - Soul Prison

"No," Gaven sneered coldly, "Your proposal is touching, but the more touching it is, the less I dare keep you. A follower who can betray their own Goddess, what else can she not betray? If you voluntarily become a soul imprisoned within the black nanmu, should I need you one day, I will resurrect you."Trusting a Dwarves Elf is as foolish as trusting a devil or demon; both die just as quickly and just as miserably.

The Dwarves Elf Sacrificer fell silent at once.

Trust is a big issue.

Gaining the trust of other races for a Dwarves Elf is an even more monumental problem.

Giving trust to a Dwarves Elf who has just tried to betray their deity and faith becomes an impossibility.

The Dwarves Elf Sacrificer took a deep breath and said, "Very well, for my own sake, I must convey one last message to you. High Priestess Dilila is not a priest, but a God’s Chosen, a powerful Undead Necromancer. She never likes to do the dirty work of assassination herself; instead, she lurks in the shadows, amassing an Undead Army to overwhelm her enemies, especially after our failure, she will act even more cautiously."

"Understood," Gaven nodded knowingly, "I will be vigilant of every rustle of the wind and bend of the grass. Any emergence of an undead calamity could be this High Priestess’s doing. Is there anything else you’d like to add?"

"It’s not just the Material Plane, the Shadow Plane makes recruiting an Undead Army even easier," the Dwarves Elf Sacrificer betrayed her kin without any moral burden, all for survival.

Today she had no chance to escape dire straits, so she could only place her hopes on the Blasphemer before her.

As long as he wasn’t destroyed, there was still a day she might be resurrected.

As for whether she could be resurrected by the High Priestess?

The moment she heard the name ’soul imprisonment,’ she knew it was impossible.

Once a soul is imprisoned, without eliminating the imprisoner, not even the gods themselves could resurrect the prisoner.

Having said all this, the Dwarves Elf Sacrificer no longer lingered. She walked straight towards the black nanmu, fearing that if she delayed any longer, she would regret it.

As the Dwarves Elf Sacrificer walked, she took out a vial of Kiss of Revenge from her combat belt, "I won’t bother you to do it. I’m quite afraid of pain; let me handle this myself."

After downing the vial in one gulp, she collapsed to the ground with a thunderous fall after a mere three steps, breathing her last.

The black nanmu did not dare to be careless, fearing deceit.

It lashed out with its Touch of Agony, coiling the body towards itself, growing roots from its hand that pierced into the corpse of the Dwarves Elf Sacrificer.

Daphne accepted her fate of soul imprisonment without any tricks, sincerely feeling cornered with no way out.

Soon a bloody shadow was ripped from the body of the Dwarves Elf Sacrificer.

Dwarves Soulsnare

Professional Level: 10th Level Dark Priest

Life Force: 56 (Life Dice: 13D8)

Attributes: Strength 8, Dexterity 16, Constitution -, Intelligence 13, Perception 18, Charisma 18

Sunlight Sensitivity (Special Ability) — Weakened when in sunlight, with great impairments to attacks and perception.

Incorporeal State (Special Ability) — Comparable to a ghost, freely passing through living beings and objects, possesses the traits of an Undead Creature.

Soul Prison (Special Ability) — Your soul essence is imprisoned within the black nanmu, unable to leave within a hundred meters of the black nanmu. When the soul is imprisoned, it cannot be resurrected.

Innate Spellcasting (Special Ability) — Dwarves innate spellcasting key attribute is Charisma, able to innately cast the following spells without any related spell components.

At will: Dancing Lights

Once per day: Dark Arts, Faerie Fire Art, Levitation Skill (self only)

The Earthbound Wraiths created by Estelle and her daughter were unique enough, but the soulsnare imprisoned by the black nanmu was even more so.

It retained the professional level of the prisoner, meaning this Dwarves Elf Sacrificer named Daphne, could still cast Divine Arts as she did in life, just transformed into a specter state.

The other three Dwarves soulsnares were in the same situation, except they were warriors.

Thereby, the first act of revenge launched by the followers of the Goddess of Revenge against Gaven ended in utter failure.

Ten Avengers, completely annihilated, and Gaven turned them into undead servants using the very methods they were most skilled in.

Especially the four imprisoned by the black nanmu, who were now beyond the possibility of resurrection.

Their downfall surely served as a warning to other followers of the Goddess of Undead Vengeance, who at least would not recklessly charge into Weizemay Manor again.

It also meant that the next time they showed up, they would undoubtedly be fully prepared.

With the addition of a 10th Level Priest, capable of casting the Perfect Restoration Technique a dozen times a day without any cost, the restoration progress of Weizemay Manor reached a new level.

In less than ten days, Weizemay Manor would be restored to its original grandeur upon construction.

Yet, it didn’t exude the vivacity one would expect from a restoration, but rather a more chilling and ghostly air.

Now with ten spiritual bodies moving in and out, assuming the primary servant roles.

The reputation of Ghost Manor was something Weizemay Manor would likely never shake off, and the atmosphere would only grow more intense over time.

If it were summer, Weizemay Manor would undoubtedly be a haven for beating the heat.

But now, even Gaven, the master of the house, was loath to linger.

The negative energy was too dense.

A common person staying too long would surely have problems.

Weizemay Manor was no longer suitable for ordinary people to live in; there was a need to build a new residential area from scratch.

This plan was for the future, but the most pressing task at hand was to manage that ten-square-kilometer vineyard, striving to improve both the quantity and quality of the grapes it produced in the last twenty days.

Gaven had not changed his plan to hire the Fae Race from the Spring Bud Forest due to the arrival of Anbao Boat Village.

To be more precise, Gaven made a more accurate division according to their specialties.

The Demi-Humans were mainly tasked with the tedious and meticulous work of pruning excess tendrils and removing spoiled grapes.

The Fae Race, meanwhile, mainly used their innate Druid Spells to clear weeds from the vineyard, gauge the growth of the grapevines, and water and fertilize them as needed.

Some with Druid Professional Levels could even shape the growth of the grapevines without needing to tie them into trellises as was done in Grape Village.

They simply needed to make full use of the terrain, maximizing every inch of space and sunlight available.

Before the Fae Race arrived, ten Gnoll Trap Makers from the Pitfall Tribe had already taken their positions.

There were two reasons to have them over. One was naturally for them to set up traps, their specialty; the other was to catch rabbits and eradicate rats.

Field mice and rabbits were two major biological disasters in the vineyard, their numbers beyond imagination.

Even the pack of wild wolves led by the Dog Demon, which numbered over a hundred, could not completely eradicate them.

These two creatures both burrowed holes and would dive underground when frightened.

Then it was time for the Gnoll Trap Makers to step in; using their ability to manipulate soil and stone, they could either scare them out of their holes or simply collapse them, burying the creatures alive underground.

The wolf pack’s hunting of rabbits and rats was entirely lethal, and even with the help of the Demi-Humans from Anbao Boat Village to consume them, many field mice and rabbits were sent back to Dragon Oak Territory to supplement the Gnolls’ meals. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt

With the arrival of the Gnoll Trap Makers, they had new tactical options.

Using traps, they tried to capture the wild rabbits alive as much as possible—whether it was pitfall traps or sticky glue traps, both were naturally designed for this purpose, and with wolves surrounding them, the effect was even better.

The water shoots trimmed from the vineyard by the Demi-Humans were not wasted at all; they were all used to feed the rabbits.

After ten days of hard work,

the Weizemay vineyard was completely transformed.

Not to mention that the issues of rabbit and rat infestations were utterly eradicated, Weizemay Manor now boasted a large rabbit farm, housing as many as two thousand fat wild rabbits.

The first round of water shoot tidying, top-dressing, and small-scale reshaping was also completed.

From a distance, rows and columns were too much to claim,

but at the very least, at first glance, it was a managed vineyard, not an abandoned one.

However, the Fae Race’s reclusive nature was even more severe than Gaven had imagined.

Even ten days of working together in a vineyard did not lead to much interaction between them.

One reason was the difference in their responsibilities.

Another was that the Fae Race worked while invisible, seemingly not quite used to exposing themselves in front of the Demi-Humans. However, their inquisitive nature often led them to stealthily follow the Demi-Humans, eavesdrop on their conversations, and observe their work. At times, they could not resist playing pranks, like tangling their shoelaces in the grapevines, or adding peculiar herbs to their tea just to see their awkward reactions.

Most of the mischief was harmless, but a few acts were malicious.

Gaven couldn’t help but educate and admonish them afterward. Those who were repeat offenders were sent back to the Spring Bud Forest, never to be employed again.

The Demi-Humans had clearly become aware of the presence of a large number of Fae Race members. They weren’t fools; the obvious changes in the vineyard were noticeable.

But they pretended to be oblivious, acting as if they were completely unaware of what was happening.

"Where are you planning to go?" Gaven suddenly asked.

The sneaky Pikespirit girl Nicole, who was trying to slip away unnoticed, was startled and instinctively replied, "Nowhere, I wasn’t planning to go anywhere. The night sky is so beautiful today, I made plans with my sisters to enjoy the scenery by the river."

"Enjoy the scenery? With nightly visits? I think it’s more about joining in on the songs and dances, and mooching food and drinks, right?" Gaven saw right through the little Pikespirit girl’s intentions.

At night, not only would Nicole head to the river, but other members of the Fae Race also gathered there.

Pretending to admire the night view of the pond was just a ruse; their real intention was to secretly join the Demi-Human’s boat-top singing and dancing parties.

By nature, the Demi-Humans were optimistic, finding joy even in tough times.

Not to mention that this year’s situation was unprecedentedly favorable, leading to one party after another.

Being naturally curious and adept in such activities, the Fae Race could not resist such temptation.

Every night, uninvited, they’d sneak in invisibly.

Now that her ruse was uncovered, Nicole no longer pretended and said confidently, "What do you mean mooching? Every time we’ve brought gifts, see, we brought more than what we consumed."

With a flick of her hand, Nicole produced two large apples, each larger than an adult’s fist, succulent and radiant red.

It was not the season for apples in the Material Plane to be ripe, so these were surely brought over from the Spring Bud Forest.

"If you’ve brought gifts, then go openly. Why always sneak around?" Gaven sometimes found it hard to understand the Fae Race’s reasoning.

"This..." The question stumped the young Pikespirit girl. She had never considered this before, and after her big eyes roamed around for a while, she gave a non-answer, "They all do this, so I just follow suit. It’s customary and traditional for the Fae Race to attend other races’ banquets invisibly!"

"No worries about customs and traditions today. I’ll take you all to attend a banquet properly. Thornspike, bring out the gifts," Gaven called out to Nicole, not on a whim but as part of a long-planned idea.

The uprooted Thornspike dragged out a heavy cart, loaded with four large barrels, nearly a thousand kilograms of Weizemay Black Wine.