Chapter 199 Chapter 198 Wings of Light Unfold
“Now it’s still too early, let’s just have dinner in the Dream Palace. I just happen to have some leftover ingredients from lunch.”
“Okay.”
“It’s been a while since we gathered together; how about inviting Jenna as well?”
“No, she doesn’t have time,” George said. “She told me the Emperor is going to war again.”
“I didn’t even know…” Such a plastic friendship among sisters.
“She also complained to me that you’ve been distancing yourself from her, saying it’s been a long time since you’ve chatted, and that every time you say you don’t have time.”
The bait is taken; do I still need to feed the fish? At least this isn’t Ji Ma’s style.
“Oh, I am indeed very busy,” Ji Ma said. “I can’t achieve today’s accomplishments without my talent and hard work.” And 99% credit to the system.
George sincerely complimented, “You are the fastest person I have ever seen to level up.”
“Well then, see you in the dream,” Ji Ma skillfully diverted the sensitive topic.
She stood up and waved goodbye to George.
“When will we meet?”
“In an hour and a half,” Ji Ma said. “You can take your time to get sleepy.”
“Okay.”
Ji Ma opened the tent door and walked out.
George called for a horned child, asking him to help undo the straps of his plate armor and take off his armor.
The horned child knelt on the ground, helping him remove his thigh guards, and asked, “Sir, are you going to sleep so early to be with Sister Ji Ma?”
George looked down at the horned child, a little puzzled as he was focused on helping George undo the straps.
“Why do you ask that?”
“I was just guessing,” he said, his tone somewhat anxious.
“Mm.”
After removing the heavy armor, George brushed his teeth and washed his face; as he lay on his bed feeling restless, he decided to take a stroll to clear his mind.
The large camp was shrouded in a festive atmosphere.
A cast-iron pot sat atop the bonfire, simmering a brown soup. Several soldiers wearing helmets were gathered around the fire, eating boiled potatoes and beans, laughing and chatting, the flickering firelight dancing on their dark faces.
As George walked by, he spotted a familiar face—a deserter from the right wing, who had saluted him on that day, if he remembered correctly.
George changed his route and approached them.
“Have you heard? Dragon-slaying George was scared that day and only picked on soft targets from the back.”
“I heard. If he had been braver and fought the cyclops with the knights, would we have faced so many stones?”
“You know what? He even fought the black knight who killed the cyclops that day. Just recently, the black knight said he was scared and didn’t dare to fight the giant.”
The soldier who had saluted George said, “Then he might really be scared, feeling ashamed and angry.”
George stopped, the darkness cloaking most of his tall body, a bit of bonfire light illuminating one half of his face, the other half covered in shadow.
Someone noticed him, and George turned his head, disappearing into the darkness as he walked toward his tent.
Two hours passed.
In the Dream Palace, after the two had eaten their fill.
Ji Ma noticed George’s appetite was even smaller than hers.
She stared at George’s face, seeing the corners of his eyes drooping slightly, his once dazzling ocean-blue eyes now dull, and a thin layer of melancholy clouding his face.
Truly fond of boasting. Just earlier, he claimed he didn’t care about the provocations from the black knight and wasn’t concerned about how others viewed him; now he realizes the bitterness of working hard for nothing, too young indeed.
Ji Ma stood next to George and asked, “Are you feeling down?”
“A bit.”
Ji Ma sat down and nudged him with her hip. “Leave me some room.”
George glanced at the large expanse of empty space beside Ji Ma and said nothing, but scooted over to make some room for her.
The two of them sat like that on the marble terrace on the second floor, their calves hanging in the air.
“If I guess correctly, everyone thinks you’re jealous of the black knight because he got to take center stage, so you fought him, right?”
George said, “Ji Ma, you’re really perceptive about people’s hearts. Everyone just sees the glory of slaying the cyclops but downplays our achievements. Don’t laugh at me. I do feel a bit disheartened, but I won’t regret it.”
“Hey, am I really that malicious? Okay, I admit I wanted to say something sarcastic, but…” Ji Ma playfully hooked her finger around George’s neck and smiled at him, “I think you looked the best that day, especially when you blew the unicorns apart.”
George felt warm inside, and much of the grievance and annoyance of the past few days dissipated.
Ji Ma recalled the moment George sprouted wings behind him and turned the tide, feeling a tingle in her heart, and said softly, “Today, let’s relax and not think too much, okay?”
Just then, she felt a tightness around her waist as George’s arm wrapped around her, while something sharp tugged at the tip of her tail. A jolt of electricity raced up her spine.
Ji Ma relaxed against George’s shoulder, noticing his strong arm wrapping around her leg, attempting to lift her off the terrace.
Ji Ma protested, “No, the view is great here.”
But with the sun setting in the distance, the atmosphere felt off.
She extended her hand, lightly lifting her fingers towards the sun, and the sunset transformed into the rising sun, the dawn light falling upon the two of them.
As a devout follower of the God of Dawn, George uttered, “A false dawn.”
“But beautiful, isn’t it?”
George lowered his head to look at Ji Ma’s face. “Yes, it’s very beautiful.”
“By the way, George, I have a small request. Could you recreate that handsome look from that day?”
“What, you want me to conjure up a few unicorns?”
“No, just the way you sprouted wings.”
“That consumes a lot of magical energy.”
“Just do it for me.” Ji Ma’s cheeks flushed, “That day when I saw you unfold your wings in mid-air, you truly looked like a savior. In comparison, the black knight posing with the giant’s corpse looks like a piece of trash.”
Then, the wings unfolded once, twice, three times…
…
…
Pride precedes a fall.
Ji Ma sighed, gripping a pen and awkwardly scrawling those four characters on paper.
Even though it had been a full twenty-four hours since the last time her wings had unfolded, the burning sensation left by the holy light still lingered within her.
The eruption of unfolding wings was too strong; the sensation reminded Ji Ma of the moment the Demon King Gima died from the holy sword… a piercing blow that burned everything in holy light.
This compelled Ji Ma to rest an extra day. Fortunately, the entire army was relaxed, and aside from the self-reproachful George, no one cared that Ji Ma was absent for a day.
After writing those four characters, Ji Ma stood up.
Another wave of hidden pain shot up her abdomen.
“I shouldn’t have jumped so much back then,” Ji Ma gritted her teeth, bracing herself against the table. “I overestimated myself.”
Fortunately, she had spent the entire day resting in bed yesterday. And fortunately, she had the Dream Palace to live comfortably.
“Master, what’s wrong with you?”
Nearby, Lian Xi approached and held Ji Ma’s hand. “Is it that time of the month?”
Lian Xi had experienced menstruation once and remembered it vividly.
“It’s all George’s fault.”
“Again him.” Lian Xi’s eyes glistened with tears. “Master, let’s leave. We shouldn’t suffer along with George.”
“What do you know?” Ji Ma countered. “Let’s not even talk about the contract. One of George’s abilities is ensuring the contract is binding. Not to mention, I need him.”
“Master.” Lian Xi became anxious. “Next time, let me suffer along as well.”
Ji Ma felt the hidden pain lighten a bit and turned to look at Lian Xi. This red-haired girl with cat ears, just starting to mature, seemed to be about the equivalent of a fifteen-year-old human, with thin arms and legs, completely opposite to Ji Ma’s aesthetic preferences.
“With a body almost like a loli, better not.”
Ji Ma self-reflected, clearly having fed her so much; how could she not gain some weight? It seemed all her growth went into her cat form.
“Master, what’s a loli?”
“A little girl who hasn’t grown up, with a stick-thin body and limbs, so frail that I just want to sweep her legs out from under her.”
Ji Ma’s taste had always been very specific; lolis were a no-go.
Lian Xi begged, “Master, I eat well, exercise, and actually, I’m very plump, just skinny-boned! I can endure hardships well.”
“You forgot to stop saying ‘meow.'”
“Sorry, Master. I’ve been a cat for too long recently.”
“It’s fine.” Ji Ma showed a “loving” gaze, reaching out to pat Lian Xi’s head, looking at her who was half a head shorter than herself, saying, “Little Li, the battles between extraordinary beings are not something mere mortals can endure.”
Lian Xi recalled that battle day, the exceptional performances of the extraordinary beings, and nodded, as if understanding.
“So, you need to work hard, exercise well, eat more meat, and ensure good sleep to grow taller.”
Lian Xi’s eyes gleamed with determination, thumping her flat chest and saying, “Okay, Master. I will develop well.”
Ji Ma nodded in satisfaction. “That’s good, that’s good.”
With that, she felt the pain subside a bit and decided she could continue with the army. She picked up the paper that read “Pride Precedes a Fall.”
Lian Xi pointed at the crooked characters on the paper and asked, “Master, is this a rune?”
“It’s a curse.”
Lian Xi nodded, “No wonder it looks so malicious.”
I don’t think my writing is ugly; at least it’s legible—truly lacking in culture.
Ji Ma forgave Lian Xi for her cultural ignorance and said, “You should wake up.”
“Understood, Master.”
Ji Ma had already finished washing up. Before she left, she looked at her newly grown nails, which had been scratched and broken from clawing at the marble terrace too hard.
In the sage’s time, Ji Ma felt increasingly foolish and overconfident, practically asking for trouble.
She murmured to herself, “I’ll never do this again.”
After saying that, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and stepped into the wind-eye-shaped entrance of the Dream Palace.
It still felt familiar, like waking from a dream, her mind slightly heavy.
“Master, good morning.”
Lian Xi, dressed neatly nearby, greeted her.
“Oh, good morning.”
Ji Ma pulled out a straight branch, using the power of lies to transform it into a “branch axe spear,” featuring an axe head at the front, a spear tip in the middle, and a hammer at the back, crafted in the style of nobility, distinctly different from the axe spear used by Bartos the farmer.
Outside, a horn sounded, gathering the troops.
“Pack up the tent.”
“Yes, Master.”
Ji Ma stepped out of the tent.
The infantry were gathering outside. After a day of celebration and an extra day of rest, the soldiers were energetic and confident, assembling under various flags.
Ji Ma took hold of her horse’s reins and sought out George.
Along the way, she saw Knight Sam tearing up a book under a tree, cursing, “What the hell did that damned author write!”
His eyes were bloodshot, and he stomped on the torn book. Like a bear, white streaks of pain emanated from him, merging into Ji Ma’s heart.
Instantly, her mood lightened quite a bit, completely disregarding the lingering pain.
On the other hand, George was already fully armored, and Eve Frostleaf was already mounted nearby, separated by an unfriendly-looking elven maid.
Seeing Ji Ma, George asked, “Are you feeling okay?”
Ji Ma cast a sideways glance at Eve Frostleaf and smiled, “George, wait until I’m better, and then I’ll try a few more times.”
George replied, “We’re preparing for battle.”
“Oh? Is there information on the enemy?”
“It’s said there’s a beast horde of around ten thousand retreating. Duke Kasong has decided to capture them.”
Ji Ma felt an itch in her palms, sensing ominous premonitions.
