Chapter 22: Silver Fairies
The fierce wind blew, causing his dust-laden robes to rustle. A man wearing a hooded desert robe walked through the evening wasteland. The wind and sand, slightly cooler than at noon, struck his body, causing fine dust to gather in the folds of his clothing before trickling down like water.
This was the Monadra Desert in the Carlis World.
Legend said that this place was once a mountain range, but due to a terrifying battle and a massive world-shifting event, the mountains had shattered and even crumbled into the desert that existed today.
However, precisely because of this, numerous minerals and various rare materials that had been hidden within the mountains were now scattered randomly across the desert, making them easy to excavate. As long as someone was willing to bring the appropriate magical equipment and brave the risk of getting lost in the desert to search, they would surely reap a bountiful harvest.
This man, trudging through the dust, had been searching for over ten days. Unfortunately, his luck was poor. Not only had he failed to find the rare minerals that the major city-states were offering high rewards for, but he had also become lost in the wind and sand.
As the night grew colder and the wind surged, the accumulated sand even forced the man to stop. He shook out the sand that had gathered in his clothes—at least two or three kilograms of it. While this action made him feel much lighter, it also caused him to lose his footing. He accidentally fell into the sand, swallowing a large mouthful of dry grit.
At this moment, one could see a serpent-shaped emblem made of silver metal hanging from the man's waist. On it were engraved a few small characters.
[Ca...r...lis...A...v...a...t...a...r]
Probably worn down too severely by the desert weather, only these few characters were visible. The rest were too damaged to be distinguished.
"Pah... Looks like today is my death day..."
He forcefully spat out the sand in his mouth, but the man only felt his mouth and throat parched, and a dizzy, heavy sensation surged into his mind, as if he had been struck. He knew that his spirit and physical strength had reached their limits, which was why he had suddenly lost his footing while shaking off the sand... But this outcome was not unexpected. As a 'Carlis Avatar,' his mission was to make life better for all his compatriots living in this world.
There was likely a batch of high-quality thorium silver in the Monadra Desert, which was of inestimable value to the city's magical energy recycling system. The man knew he was not the only one who had entered the desert, but he should be the only one who had found that thorium silver vein.
But what use was finding it? A sudden sandstorm had caused him to lose all his luggage, leaving him to wander aimlessly in the wind and sand until he completely became a dried-up mummy.
Thinking this, the man realized he no longer had the strength to stand up from the wind and sand. He felt countless grains of sand piling up on his body, seemingly about to bury him quickly... And the man did not resist. His mind had almost stopped functioning. He simply closed his eyes, preparing to wait for the moment when he could no longer breathe.
However, after a long while.
"I... am not dead?"
The man did not wait for the sand to cover his face and block his breathing... A brief rest allowed him to regain a bit of energy, and he opened his eyes in confusion.
Then, he saw two or three points of silver light spinning beside his body. The flying dust in the air obeyed the command of these light points, blocked outside a faint, semicircular silver barrier.
"Another lost traveler. Should we save him?"
"These outside travelers are very bad. Last time, one lured away Sister Xingya, and she still hasn't returned. Brother Geni is about to go out and find her."
"Let's save him anyway. He is a life after all, and they are still somewhat useful to the Mother of All Things."
After hearing these voices, the man suddenly recalled countless legends circulating around the desert's edge... They were about lights wandering among the dust, beings representing life and hope. If one ventured deep into the Monadra Desert and met with an accident, they would see these lights, receive their hospitality, and then safely return to the world outside the desert.
The man had not believed these rumors at all. Although their city had only recently migrated to this world, they had long confirmed that this was a world that had revived after destruction, with no original life forms thriving within. What lights in the desert? It was definitely a lie.
But now, the firm belief deep in his heart began to waver... And at that moment, the few dancing light points seemed to have reached a decision. Suddenly, the man felt his body being lifted by an inexplicable, cold force, and then he began to move rapidly, following the flight of these light points!
The speed of flight was too fast. The man had no time to memorize the path—there were no landmarks in the desert that could serve as reference points anyway. In short, amidst a dazed and confused state, the man felt as if he had arrived in an ocean of light. He smelled familiar plant scents, felt the vitality of life... Most importantly, he smelled the scent of water!
Exerting all his remaining strength, the man opened his eyes a crack and looked at the ocean of light before him.
But what he saw was a vast expanse of silver flower fields blooming in the desert, and countless glowing, winged little figures dancing above the flowers.
...
"These immigrants from the Grandia World are developing quickly. In just a few short years, they have formally taken root and established a firm foothold here."
High above the Carlis World, a black-haired man stood on a cloud, flying freely at high altitude with the direction of the wind. Beside him, an invisible spiritual entity seemed to be communicating with him.
"This is normal. After all, the Grandia World was in its final days. They are all survivors of the apocalypse, with a complete post-apocalyptic social structure. Coming to your place, which is in much better condition, they can naturally establish a foothold quickly and even rebuild their civilization."
The black-haired man replied to the spiritual entity's musings. He looked down at the desert beneath him, his expression somewhat peculiar as he said, "But, Carlis, you never told me about these... hmm, flower fairies."
"No?"
The Steel Serpent, Carlis, feigned surprise and said, "I probably forgot... And you didn't tell me that the steel fragment I gave you had been turned into a steel elemental by you."
Joshua couldn't be bothered to waste words with Carlis on trivial matters. He looked down at a calm expanse of silver flower fields in the center of the desert, his expression slightly unnatural: "I can feel the aura of my power from these flower fairies... Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"
"What you said is indeed correct."
To this, Carlis nodded and readily admitted, "These little fairies were indeed born from the residual power you left behind. I personally awakened their intelligence, giving them the most basic social structure and culture."
Then, following Carlis's narration and Joshua's own deductions, the warrior soon learned how these glowing little figures, resembling fairies, had come into being.
After Joshua first used the power of the Soulflame King to rekindle the flame of the Carlis World, he quickly left the Carlis World and did not know about the subsequent changes. Later, when he returned a few times, he basically just wandered around the periphery of the Grandia World immigrants and didn't have the energy to look around, so he truly didn't know about these beings.
And the flower fairies... or rather, Silver Fairies, were beings born during the warrior's first departure.
At that time, after the flame was rekindled, the world briefly revived, but then, because there was no life and the cycle of souls could not be re-established, it slowly began to extinguish again. The Carlis World had only halted its destruction, not returned to normal. The Steel Serpent was not overly concerned about this, as its foundation was still intact. As long as there was no chaotic power, it could naturally cultivate new life from the world's wreckage over hundreds of thousands or millions of years, and then rebuild the ecosystem.
Of course, with an Ancient Dragon, it wouldn't take that long. Perhaps a few thousand years would be enough to complete the task.
However, after Joshua left, it discovered an unexpected harvest... a small silver flower in the center of what was once the Monadra Mountains, now the Monadra Desert.
This flower, with petals that seemed like metal, was exceptionally resilient. It was the only life that had awakened from the revival but had not withered afterward. Seeing this flower, the Steel Serpent Carlis immediately understood that this was likely the key to rapidly restoring its ecosystem. If it could develop numerous plant lives from this flower as the source, then one day, the barren Carlis World would be revived and slowly become fertile.
"But a few years later, probably around the day you brought the survivors of the Grandia World in and achieved Legendary status."
Carlis's spirit was with Joshua, standing together on the cloud, watching the silver flower fields in the desert. It shook its head somewhat helplessly: "All the silver flowers seemed to resonate. A trace of Steel Force appeared within them, and thus these lives were born."
That is, the Silver Fairies.
They were called fairies because they were indeed the same type of life as the fairies of the Mycroft World. They were pure energy life forms, condensed from pure natural energy, giving birth to self-awareness. But unlike fairies, who relied on elements or even Aetheric power to reproduce, Silver Fairies could only rely on Steel Force—that is, the protection of the World Will—or the nurturing of a Steel Force holder like Joshua to reproduce.
Silver Fairies were a pure form of orderly life. From the moment of their birth, they knew how to cooperate, almost never engaged in internal conflict, and were exceptionally united. They lived in the flower fields, personally taught by Carlis. If not for the immigrants from the Grandia World, these Silver Fairies would have been the only way for them to save their own world.
"These little ones have a high adaptability to their environment."
Gazing from afar at the light points dancing among the silver flowers, Joshua nodded seriously: "They have almost no requirements. They only need 'matter' to survive... This is better than the delicate fairies. Sending them into a low-magic world would truly be the death of them."
"Survival is simple, but reproduction is a big problem." To this, Carlis sighed slightly: "If I don't stimulate their growth, it takes several hundred years for a generation of Silver Fairies to reproduce. Moreover, their reproductive carrier, the silver flowers, is too fragile. It can easily be destroyed by other beings."
Joshua could see this too, and he knew the problem didn't stop there.
Silver Fairies were pure orderly life forms. They were naturally inclined to help each other and were willing to assist other races. Any traveler who strayed deep into the Monadra Desert and got lost would be actively escorted out of the desert by them, or guided on their way when confused. In just a few short years, they had saved over seventy travelers, becoming a legend among desert travelers.
But precisely because of this, the Silver Fairies were being coveted by other beings.
For example, just like the fairy that some traveler had lured away, as mentioned by another fairy. Some travelers, seeing the various peculiar abilities of the Silver Fairies—such as creating barriers to block wind and sand, or their instinct to easily find metal veins—would use all sorts of sweet talk to lure the rather naive Silver Fairies into working for them.
Joshua raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire Carlis World. Activating his Steel Vision, he immediately found eleven Silver Fairies living in various places with the Grandia people. They were the ones who had left the flower fields in recent years to go to the outside world.
The warrior frowned slightly.
Although the vast majority of Silver Fairies were honored guests in Grandia teams, cherished and treated like mascots, there were still a few teams that used lies and deceit to trick Silver Fairies into working for them. These teams didn't even pay the fairies, only occasionally giving them some metal as food. Unfortunately, the naive Silver Fairies didn't think this was wrong, as their life in the flower fields had been similar.
"This won't do."
The warrior shook his head.
Although not explicitly stated, Joshua knew that the birth of the silver flowers was clearly caused by the life force and Order Force he had left behind. And the birth of the Silver Fairies was undoubtedly due to his advancement to Legendary, which caused a small-scale Steel Force resonance phenomenon. Just like the many worlds born in succession in the Void Great Maelstrom, countless lives originating from him were born in the Carlis World because of his entry into the Legendary realm.
In a sense, if Syndicate (along with Lisa), who had accidentally gained a Steel Force link, could be considered his first saint, then these Silver Fairies flying around everywhere were probably... the warrior's first 'Minions.'
Although he was reluctant to admit that his first batch of minions were a bunch of little fairies, the fact was the fact. Joshua didn't think it was a bad thing. After all, he wasn't an Evil God, so he didn't need minions to cross world barriers for him, fight, and conquer worlds. Glowing silver orbs were much more pleasing to the eye than those messy, grotesque flesh combinations. Having something nice to look at was a good attribute in itself.
However, since he had confirmed that the Silver Fairies were his minions, Joshua would not allow them to continue developing in such a carefree—or rather, muddled—manner. Carlis itself didn't know how to cultivate these Steel Force life forms, but coincidentally, some of the new little things the warrior had recently invented were perfect for them.
Above the clouds, high in the sky, Joshua extended his hand, pointing towards the silver flower fields. Intense Steel Force surged at his fingertips, even affecting the movement of the weather.
In that instant, within a radius of a thousand miles, all the drifting clouds ceased to follow the direction of the wind. They slowly stopped, reversed, and then converged towards someone's fingertip. The fierce wind surged, and one could see a huge black vortex of storm clouds forming over the Monadra Desert.
Sand rose, light twisted, and lightning darted within the vortex. As a large amount of dispersed material particles gathered, a silver star flickered in the center of the dark clouds, then transformed into a pillar of light that descended, landing right in the center of the silver flower fields!
Instantly, countless Silver Fairies flew up in panic. Light surged, turning the sky above the flower fields into a hazy, misty silver nebula. But soon, this nebula discovered that the pillar of light had not destroyed anything. It had even solidified in place, turning into a tangible, cylindrical entity of light, emitting a... peculiar aura of affinity.
"Oh? What are you trying to do?"
Regarding Joshua's action, Carlis was quite puzzled. It asked with some confusion: "I understand you want to help these Silver Fairies, but this pillar of light... isn't this the Restorative Pillar you mentioned to me before? Silver Fairies don't need restoration. Given their size, if they get injured, they either die outright or can slowly assimilate dust to regenerate."
"Of course, it's to solve the Silver Fairies' biggest problem."
Withdrawing his hand, Joshua let the huge vortex of storm clouds slowly dissipate. The moisture and windblown sand within it were all extracted by him as raw materials for creating the Restorative Pillar. To the Steel Serpent's question, the warrior replied in a matter-of-fact tone: "This is the most suitable gift for them."
The Restorative Pillar was essentially a cluster of Steel Force loaded with an automated restoration program. Because Joshua himself was entirely composed of Steel Force and used Steel Force as the carrier of his will, the Restorative Pillar, as a part of his power, also possessed a portion of his will. Coupled with the fact that it was pure Steel Force itself, the combination naturally made the Silver Fairies feel a sense of closeness.
Furthermore, the Restorative Pillar had powerful defensive capabilities, able to create various protective barriers by controlling electromagnetic and gravitational forces. This large Restorative Pillar could serve as the Silver Fairies' main base, protecting their homeland, the flower fields, from being breached by any being below the Legendary rank... And it was also the most suitable place for them to store their offspring, far better than the silver flowers.
"They will figure out the uses of the Restorative Pillar on their own. I don't need to say more."
Joshua didn't want to interfere too much with the normal development of the Silver Fairies. The fairy race of the Mycroft World had four Legendary Empress, and could even create worlds. The warrior didn't want his intervention to hinder this highly promising race. But since they were his minions, he provided basic protection and reproductive assistance.
As for those Silver Fairies who had already been deceived, or rather, invited out of the flower fields, the warrior didn't plan to help them. This was their own choice. At most, Joshua would transmit some information about Steel Force, obtained from the secret manuals of the Earth Mother Temple, to all Silver Fairies, allowing them to learn some basic training and strengthening abilities.
"Weakness leads to exploitation, even with the protection of the strong, it doesn't change the essence. But I can make them strong—under my protection."
Joshua slowly strolled through the air, speaking softly: "But if they are willing to remain weak, or rather, don't desire to become strong, then I have no way to help them."
"Don't you place too much importance on so-called 'free will'?"
When Joshua had almost reached the edge of the world, the Steel Serpent Carlis, who had been silent for a long time, asked in a very puzzled tone: "Joshua, these are your minions. I knew this, which is why I supported them but didn't intervene... If you wanted, you could elevate all the Silver Fairies into powerful combatants belonging to you, and they would be willing to fight for you, their creator!"
The predecessor of the Famine Evil God, the crystal insect Yormandis, was not a powerful combat race. But when the world degenerated into an Evil God, the prototype of the crystal insect was elevated into its powerful minions, becoming chaotic life forms capable of traversing the void and even single-handedly crippling a civilization.
With Joshua's power, he might not be able to elevate his core minions to the level of Legendary like an Evil God could, but elevating them to Gold Peak was truly no problem. Given the life essence of the Silver Fairies, Joshua could allow them to easily cause material decay and learn attacks at the molecular disintegration level. This was considered a very high-intensity attack method for any race.
"The foundation of freedom is not interfering with the freedom of others."
But to this opinion, Joshua shook his head seriously and said: "If I don't want to become a monster that runs rampant across the multiverse, then I must adhere to this principle."
"What meaning does a group of Silver Fairies, even if elevated by me, have for the realm I am currently in? If I wanted, I could create more attack platforms in thirty minutes than their entire population. Each platform could fire Legendary-rank energy blasts, induce material decay, absorb free energy from the void to act autonomously... Is it necessary to stifle a race's future for an insignificant amount of combat power?"
Of course not. Carlis understood this as well.
For Joshua and the Steel Serpent in their current state, time was meaningless. If not for the invasion of the Evil Gods, they could wait thousands of years for a group of primitive people to develop a civilization capable of entering and exiting the void. If they personally taught them, the speed would be even faster. The Silver Fairies had a good foundation and could fully develop a civilization no less than that of the Mycroft World fairies, a civilization with multiple Legendary experts and even the potential to go further.
There was no need to force growth. This was good enough. Let them develop freely and make their own choices. Whether they became strong or maintained the status quo, it would be fine.
Furthermore, just as Joshua said.
Thinking this, the Steel Serpent Carlis couldn't help but sigh in its spirit.
Indeed, if one didn't want the warrior, through repeated strong interventions, to become accustomed to such coercive methods and slowly turn into an unbridled existence, then it was better not to start this habit from the beginning... Even if the possibility was minuscule, it wasn't worth trying with such insignificant and unnecessary force.
"Alright, there's no need to be so down about such a small matter. After all, with the Silver Fairies' size, sending them to the battlefield would make me feel like a disgusting scumbag."
Joshua didn't know what Carlis was thinking. He clapped his hands and sat down in the high air of the Carlis World. He materialized a chair out of thin air, then took out a brilliant gem and said with a smile: "Come on, the transmission should be about done. Let's watch together and see what kind of worlds these lads from the External Exploration Department have gone to now."
Saying this, the brilliant gem—the Psychic Terminal—released a screen of light under the influence of the warrior's power. This screen was pitch black and flickered continuously.
However, not long after, the screen gradually calmed down, and the signal began to connect. One could faintly see some light and shadow, within which several humanoid figures were busily moving.
That was the image of the External Exploration Team members.