Chapter 229 Second Chapter 226 Follow-up
The city walls protect humanity, but are hated by the beastmen.
After being carried by George back to the city walls, Jima saw the towering walls, closed her eyes, relaxed her body and mind, and her consciousness became fuzzy and chaotic. The power of the Mother of All Beasts’ curse surged within her. She dreamed of a three-eyed crow perched on the eaves looking at her, and then she dreamed of rain falling from the sky, with raindrops hitting the ground, sounding like the clash of swords.
“Treat her! Heal her!”
Was that George arguing?
Before she could contemplate it for long, Jima was placed on a soft bed. She lay sideways on the pillow, adjusted her position until she found a comfortable stance, and fell asleep.
Just before Jima entered the dream world, she heard the sound of the three-eyed crow flapping its wings as it flew away, vaguely hearing a phrase: “I admire you, future Demon King.”
Then it began to rain heavily, with each raindrop containing the roars of battling warriors.
As Jima slept comfortably.
On the city walls, dazzling white flames ignited on the corpses of the beastmen, illuminating the way for the scattered knights through the gray mist.
The city gates were wide open to guard against a sudden beastman attack.
George, still capable of fighting, changed into a spare Milan full plate armor and stood at the city gate. Although he was wounded, he had fully healed within minutes after exiting combat and felt physically robust.
With one hand resting on the aristocratic knight’s sword at his waist, George approached Gregory, who stood behind the city wall with a stern expression.
Cardinal Gregory placed his red helmet on the parapet, revealing his pale hair as he gazed downwards.
George looked at him closely and noticed that even after a short time apart, Gregory appeared even more aged. His face was thinner, his unkempt goat beard was messier, and the wrinkles on his face had deepened, yet the two murky eyes in their sockets seemed brighter than before, as if they were burning with fire.
George felt that the flames in Gregory’s eyes were fueled by Gregory’s life, and he asked:
“Who is the Mother of All Beasts?”
“The source of evil, the root of the misfortune of the Bartow people.”
“I’m asking how she is related to me?”
“It’s a secret. You will know when the time is ripe,” Cardinal Gregory said. “I told you that all your questions are written down. When the time is right, or when I die, someone will come to you with those secrets.”
George suppressed his anger and asked, “When will the time be ripe?”
“When I die, or when the Mother of All Beasts dies.”
“Tell me now.”
“George, you are too arrogant. You should not attempt to kill the Mother of All Beasts.”
“Don’t change the subject. Tell me now.”
Gregory turned his head and spoke slowly, “No, you are not ready to accept this secret.”
“Shut up! Gregory.” George exploded with anger, “Don’t think I’m a clueless kid. What oath did the Mother of All Beasts Veqina vow? Speaking in front of me gets burned by heavenly fire?”
As a young leader of the Holy Temple, George instantly recognized that the flames burning the Mother of All Beasts were not produced by Gregory, but were a punishment for Veqina violating her vow.
There are no eternal oaths; as long as one is willing to withstand the penalties for breaching a vow, one can act in violation of it.
What kind of oath could make the Mother of All Beasts willing to endure heavenly fire, risking releasing George, rather than adhering to it?
What exactly was she going to say?
But Gregory tightly closed his thin lips and only said, “You shouldn’t, really shouldn’t, know.”
“Why can’t I know?” George replied coldly. “My wife Jima has lost two wings and now lies in bed, suffering from the Mother of All Beasts’ curse. The other one, I saw her injured in the abdomen, bleeding all over the place, yet I was powerless. My comrade Frostleaf has three broken bones, and I can’t know anything now?”
Gregory looked at the soldiers not far away and said, “George, you are too agitated.”
George commanded the nearby soldiers, “Please step back.”
The soldiers nodded, shouldering their swords and carrying their shields away.
“Are you going to marry that succubus?” Gregory lowered his voice, enraged. “Have you signed a contract with her?”
“Yes, she is my fiancée, officially.”
“You are insane.”
“Gregory, no one’s madness surpasses yours.” George said, “What time is it now? The army of the Mother of All Beasts is at the gates; you have no power to reclaim extraordinary materials, yet you insist on keeping dark secrets and trying to exclude me? Without our power, no one can sanction the Mother of All Beasts.”
“What if this secret could make you lose control? Have you thought about it, child? Would I harm you?”
“Then tell me ahead of time, now. Otherwise, if things progress to combat and the secret leaks, everything will go terribly wrong.” George said, “I do not doubt you; I only doubt your ability.”
“You arrogant little brat, have your wings grown hard, showing no respect for your elders?”
“That depends on the occasion,” George said. “I will report everything to the Holy Temple and accuse you of negligence.”
Gregory sighed lightly, appearing even more frail.
“How about this? Killing the Mother of All Beasts will require my fire; haven’t you discovered that even if you cut off her head, you might not kill her?”
“I’ve already cut off her head.”
“She can continually be reborn; even if she dies, she can emerge from some unknown place, like an unshakeable shadow.” Gregory said: “Only by burning her soul can you defeat her, but the premise is that you must gravely injure her. Unfortunately, I was not there when you sanctioned her.”
“You should have been prepared when Jima came to report.”
“You little brat, you want to lecture me?” Gregory said. “I just returned to Quinas City this afternoon.”
After discussing for a while, the two reached a preliminary agreement.
Gregory accepted Jima’s participation in this mission. According to him, “Even if the succubus’s plot succeeds, the situation won’t be worse than it is now.”
George reproached him without courtesy: “If you had accepted Jima and me to join the mission earlier, we might have already turned the Mother of All Beasts to ashes.”
Gregory couldn’t be bothered to argue and merely shook his head, saying: “You better pray to our god in gratitude. Because just now, the Mother of All Beasts did not strike you down.”
“What death blow?”
Gregory remained silent.
George felt anger rising in him and grumbled, “Could it be that the Mother of All Beasts is my mother?”
Gregory gazed at the rolling gray mist below. Occasionally, some knights and soldiers passed through the mist, returning to Quinas City.
He said:
“I know her. If you acknowledge her as your mother, she would be very happy. Because she has always wanted to bear the most excellent offspring, she loves her children, yet can also watch them slaughter each other to determine the strongest offspring.”
“So the Demon King’s extraordinary material?” George suddenly realized. “Is she planning to give birth to another Demon King?”
“Who knows?”
Gregory looked at the mist. In a hazy moment, he seemed to see the familiar figure of a woman, far too familiar, regretting not killing her back then.
In the distance, Veqina, the Mother of All Beasts, stood hundreds of meters away from Quinas City, looking up at the white flames burning behind the mist.
She knew that the aging man, the only one who could threaten her, must be standing next to the white flames.
The scarred giant-horned bull’s head stood beside her, lowering its head, as if it had disappointed its mother by returning from school with a zero on a test.
Veqina, the Mother of All Beasts, reached out to stroke the giant bull’s huge head and said, “Child, don’t feel ashamed. You are remarkable too.”
“But Mother,” the bull with the scarred giant horns protested, looking into Veqina’s eyes. “Your eyes have been watching the fire on the two-legged sheep’s stone wall; he must be there.”
Veqina, the Mother of All Beasts, paused, covered her mouth with a laugh, “Alright, alright. Take care of your wounds. Don’t feel guilty; it’s not your fault, my child.”
Having said that, she revealed a palm-sized scar on her burnt back, showcasing her tender white skin.
Elsewhere.
Dark elves, the assassin Cain was being punished, hanging with his white back exposed.
Because he admitted to getting lost in the mist and not teaming up with Balthasar to attack the cursed succubus, missing a great opportunity.
The execution was performed by Balthasar himself.
“Whack!”
Balthasar swung a whip covered in barbs, striking his back and leaving a ragged wound.
Balthasar lowered the dripping bloodied whip and said, “Twenty lashes; given that you are still useful, untie him.”
The assassin Cain weakly said, “Thank you.”
Among the dark elves watching from the side, a sorceress scratched her pale neck and said bitterly, “Should have had his heart ripped out.”
Under the disdainful gazes of the dark elves, Cain kept his head down as he left.
The wound on his back throbbed painfully, and there was no medicine to treat it. Because with his constitution, he had to endure the suffering to avoid committing an unforgivable mistake again.
In the middle of the night, Balthasar quietly found the assassin Cain and left with him to a secluded spot.
It was an abandoned tent, where the knights had camped outside the city, leaving many tents that had not been taken down in time.
“Sit down.”
Cain obediently complied as Balthasar poured medicine onto his wound, saying, “You are very sensible, knowing how to cover for my mistakes.”
The biggest mistake Balthasar made was hitting Jima’s false form in a choice between two.
“My honor.”
“Of course, you can only act like this.” After finishing pouring the green potion, Cain felt a cooling sensation on his wound and comfortably closed his eyes.
The wound closed at a visibly rapid rate, and although Balthasar had seemingly hit hard, the wound was shallow.
She stood up, kicking Cain’s chest with her plump leg, commanding, “Lie down and spread your legs.”
Cain obediently complied.
Balthasar leaned down, dedicating herself to rewarding his loyalty.
The next day.
In the morning, Jima got out of bed, supporting her somewhat dizzy head.
Recalling her fuzzy consciousness from the previous day, she remembered the rain and the crow.
She hurriedly got up, pushed open the window, and saw the ground outside dry, with no rain.
Her brow furrowed seriously as she sat back on the bed.
She first moved her wings behind her, stretching out a pair of newly grown wings that could fly.
Jima touched her wings, resting her chin on one hand, striking a thoughtful pose.
The raindrops carrying the sound of clashing swords probably represented the war and the god of slaughter.
As for the three-eyed crow that could still speak, there is no need to think about it; it must be one of the four dark gods—the Lord of Many Transformations.
But it might also be overthinking, after all, no one specified that a three-eyed crow must be the Lord of Many Transformations.
But it’s better to be cautious.
While thinking, Jima wrote a line in her personal system: “I may be targeted by two of the four dark gods.”
After finishing, Jima sniffed her collar and realized she really did smell awful and felt that something was missing.
Jima thought for a moment and slapped her thigh: “Oh, I almost forgot Little Li.”
I hope she hasn’t become the breakfast of some beastman.
