The Dryads' Plan

"If I were burdened by a severe bloodline curse like these dryad hybrids, I'd likely be just as desperate for any hope of breaking it," Lucian thought, studying the detailed appraisal results displayed by the system. This revelation heightened his caution—whatever was on Cossay Island held the potential to lift their curse, a matter of life and death for them. When the final confrontation arrived, these hybrids would stop at nothing, no matter the cost.

"Lucian, I think we should get out of this mist zone as soon as possible," Lilia approached, her expression tense. "I'm worried those two dryads who escaped might alert others. If any third-tier dryads ambush us here, we'll be at a severe disadvantage."

"No problem," Lucian replied, casting Insect Guide once more to summon a swarm of enchanted insects that dispersed ahead, providing visibility in the dense fog. Although this crude detection method was limited, it was enough to prevent them from getting lost in the blanketing mist.

But occasional troubles persisted.

"Agh!" a scream echoed as one of the servants stumbled into a hidden trap. His right leg sank into a pit, and a long sharpened wooden spike protruded through his foot, piercing it completely. Poison had already seeped into his bloodstream from the spike, turning his face a ghastly purple as he gasped for breath.

"Damn it," Lilia cursed, scolding the rest of the servants and students. "Stay alert. Pair up, use your detection spells, and stop getting hurt by these minor traps."

"Yes…" the students murmured as they resumed their cautious advance.

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Meanwhile, in a dark underground chamber, Amu, the hybrid dryad, knelt before a figure on a stone throne, tears filling his eyes.

"Amu, my child," a low, sorrowful voice emanated from the throne.

"Mother!" Amu's voice trembled, his body lowered submissively as he sobbed.

"Lin," the dryad leader addressed a dignified elder dryad standing nearby.

"My lady," Lin replied respectfully, bowing deeply. Although he was Amu's uncle and had familial ties with the leader, he displayed the utmost humility.

"Tell me about the sorcerers' strength," she ordered, her voice calm but authoritative.

"My lady, as you instructed, I led two younger hybrids to gauge their power. They were as formidable as we expected," Lin reported. "The group was led by a strong third-tier sorcerer, a woman."

"We managed to kill two of their weaker members. However, when Tao was wounded in retaliation, we retreated with her. Under normal circumstances, she would have survived."

"But the sorcerers used some cursed technique to kill Tao from afar, and they were even able to track her. I had no choice but to leave her behind…" Lin's voice trailed off.

The dryad leader nodded and turned to another figure kneeling nearby. This dryad, also ragged and exhausted, bore fewer fey-like traits, resembling a human except for two small secondary ears behind his primary ones.

"What about your side, Mist?" she asked the third-tier dryad.

"Similar to Lin's report, my lady. The sorcerers' group was also led by a third-tier apprentice on par with me," Mist replied. "But when I exerted my strength, he suddenly pulled out a unique sorcery tool capable of attacks near a full sorcerer's level…"

The leader tapped her long, pale fingers rhythmically on the arm of the throne, deep in thought as she absorbed the reports.

"Qi," she finally called, turning to a decrepit dryad. The elder's skin was mottled and rotting in places, his beauty marred by what looked like a severe skin ailment. His voice was faint, his body ravaged by the bloodline curse, making him seem prematurely aged despite technically being in his prime.

"My lady, I've nearly deciphered the ruins' secrets," he said with a grim smile, speaking slowly.

"Does that mean we can enter?" The dryads in the chamber, including Amu, looked up with glimmers of hope in their eyes. Breaking their curse was the dearest wish of their people ever since they were marked by it after coming into contact with forbidden artifacts.

"I'm afraid not," Qi replied, his smile fading.

"What?" The leader's voice turned cold, her aura flaring with an intensity beyond that of most third-tier apprentices. Her gaze held an icy rage.

She was the unparalleled genius of her people. If not for the curse, she would have already ascended to the rank of a full sorcerer. Yet the curse shackled her, keeping her one step from that goal, and it gnawed at her constantly. The Fey Baptism Pool long whispered to reside on Cossay Island, was her only hope of freeing herself and her people from their torment.

And now she was being told it might be inaccessible.