Elemental Magnetic Star

Chapter 77 Survival Conspiracy

Raina Grace gently caressed the eggshell pendant at the center of the necklace: "So this poison, it's lethal, right? Like the one you mixed with the core powder of the Elemental Magnetic Fruit and gave to Arlinwood?"

"Ah? You've figured that out?" The chief seemed surprised. "Quite clever."

"Was Arlinwood a threat to you? Did you want her dead?" Raina Grace asked. "Oh, right, she opposed the Terra Grove tribe's possession."

The chief was genuinely astonished and applauded, "Impressive, you managed to connect these dots in such a short time. For someone your age, it's remarkable."

"So you're the one who gave Arlinwood the Elemental Magnetic Fruit core to escape the Terra Grove's possession, but also the one who pushed her into their territory to be controlled by them? Those two actions contradict each other; what was your purpose?"

"Ha, that's precisely where I take pride. You're good to have noticed it. I'm glad I didn't waste my efforts performing for the blind. I'm in a good mood now, care to guess more?"

"I guess, although these two actions you forced her into are contradictory, you didn't need her to accomplish both. Just one would suffice to achieve one of your goals."

"Not bad, not bad. Now, what do you think were my respective goals?"

"If she got possessed, due to the poison, she'd be completely controlled by the Terra Grove, no longer a threat to you. If she fled, she'd also cease to be a threat. But why did you tell her about the Elemental Magnetic Fruit core's ability to escape possession?"

"Why indeed? Why would I do something superfluous?"

"Unless you weren't sure about the Elemental Magnetic Fruit core. Were you conducting an experiment? To verify if it truly worked?"

"Brilliant, I must commend your deductive skills." The chief looked at Raina Grace with amazement, not expecting her to unravel nearly the entire truth, except for one thing.

"Do you know why I played so many tricks, let the Saintess go, abdicated, and then reclaimed my position, coming full circle?" The chief was quite pleased with himself. "You won't understand this, will you?"

Raina Grace couldn't comprehend the chief's roundabout tactics with her limited experience. But she knew it must relate to the Terra Grove.

Indeed, the chief eagerly revealed the truth, "Because of the Terra Grove." But his reason still shocked Raina Grace, "I want to eradicate the Terra Grove."

"Eradicate? Why? How?"

"I knew it; you, an outsider, can't understand the meaning of freemen. And looking at you, you've even abandoned the basic bottom line of humanity, like those from the Star Domain."

Flicker Shadow had mentioned something similar about the Terra Grove bringing shame to freemen. Being an outsider, Raina Grace indeed didn't fully grasp it. But what human baseline had she abandoned?

Seeing her naive and ignorant look, the chief scornfully said: "Humans should be the most powerful rulers on the planet, the symbol of civilization, the makers of rules. We never submit; we conquer. The only thing we revere is nature. So when I learned that the Terra Grove tribe only wanted to control humans as vessels, I was determined to eliminate them."

"So you've been planning this for a long time?" Raina Grace admired his determination to plan and act.

"Correct. They might be powerful, but human intelligence and perseverance are unmatched by any species. So, I played along with them, gathered information, observed their weaknesses. Finally, I discovered that although they can possess humans, the process is very lengthy. Humans need to be slowly transformed by the Elemental Magnetic Fruit, and only in old age and debilitation can they invade a human body. As humans approach death, the Terra Grove will end with them."

"So your idea was a war of attrition?" Raina Grace finally understood, "A war of numbers?"

"Since we can't beat them in strength, we outnumber them." The chief sighed, a mix of self-deprecation and pride, "For every human that dies, they lose one too. They can't reproduce, so eventually, only humans will remain. They will be exhausted to extinction by humans."

However, the chief's focus shifted sharply to Raina Grace: "I had a good plan, even discovering that the Elemental Magnetic Fruit core can keep humans conscious even after possession, allowing them to exist as humans. But then you appeared, claiming you could help them reproduce. Didn't you make all my efforts in vain?"

Pausing, the chief demanded, "So tell me, shouldn't you have never appeared in the first place?"

Raina Grace finally understood the chief's intentions, but he was mistaken about one thing — the Terra Grove tribe, after possessing humans, wouldn't disappear with their death. They would return to their dormant pool for another cycle of life.

However, she didn't intend to share these details with the chief. Even knowing the truth, this man would find new justifications for his actions. Raina Grace didn't want to waste time on him: "I might have disrupted your plan, but my methods don't threaten humanity. Letting humans no longer be possessed by the Terra Grove, without a long process or their extinction. Am I wrong?"

"Of course, you're wrong." The chief's stance was unyielding, "How can I let others interfere with my long-laid plans? And most importantly, if any species can't be controlled by humans, it should die, or it's a threat to human existence."

"I think you kept me here alone because not everyone agrees with your approach, right? You defined all of humanity by yourself, deciding for everyone?" Raina Grace couldn't understand his obsession.

But his manipulation of Coiled Stone and Wind Voice revealed he was a very arrogant and unyielding person. Now, she needed to consider how the chief would deal with her. He certainly wouldn't leave any evidence, so how would he remove her?

But he claimed to be working for human welfare, and she was human, could he really harm her? Would it be like poisoning Granny Rain, too slow? How would he act?

Raina Grace thought to buy some time and understand his intentions: "If you say I shouldn't have appeared, but I was invited by the freemen. If you don't want to see me anymore, I can leave."

"Leave?" The chief laughed, "Do you think you can come and go as you please? Do you know why I'm dealing with you?"

Raina Grace shook her head.

"Not because you ruined my plan or made me lose face," the chief spoke disdainfully, "I gave you a chance to be the Saintess, but you refused. Then I knew, you're an utter outsider."

"Just because I refused to be the Saintess?" Raina Grace asked softly.

"Do you think anyone can be a Saintess?" the chief said, "It's because of your abnormal abilities. Tell me, where did you hide the Saintess's cloak?"

"I didn't hide it." She had absorbed it.

"I knew you wouldn't hand it over easily," the chief said, not pressing her, as if he had anticipated this. "You truly are a witch, able to live alone in Verdant Thistle Forest for so long, claiming the Saintess's cloak for yourself, and even attracting Star Domain's spacecraft. So, you're an outsider, and I must eliminate you."

Finishing, he suddenly pulled out a dagger, his face changing from smiling to fierce in a second. He stabbed himself in the arm while shouting loudly, "Help! Come quickly, she's trying to kill me!"