Chapter 238 – Valentina
The roar of the lion race resounded, infuriating Paz to the point of nearly exploding with rage. She shouted angrily,
“To hell with you! We’re pirates, not beggars! I’ll tell you this: we’re keeping this item. Even if your father comes to beg me, it won’t work!”
“Hey, why speak like that? It’s really impolite,”
the blonde lioness said while stroking her chin, shaking her head. Some strands of her fluffy golden hair were braided into long braids, with small circular metal rings hanging from them, clinking as she moved her head.
She supported her chin with her clawed fingers, regretfully addressing Fisher and his group.
At that moment, the Black Robe Man standing next to Captain Alagina suddenly clutched his head in pain for some unknown reason. Alagina turned to look and saw that the white feathers on his body were rapidly growing. As the feathers wildly expanded, he let out a tortured scream,
“You are not phoenixes! You are thieves! You stole the phoenixes’ swords! You damned traitors! Who are you?! Cangniao Tribe? Or those damned stinky cats?!”
While everyone was focused on the man’s bizarre state, Fisher keenly noticed that the red-clad man standing next to the lioness had secretly reached into the icy block, attempting to retrieve the scroll made of extreme ice. A small piece of translucent black tattoo was attached to his hand, as it pierced through the ice that sealed the scroll.
Fisher’s expression changed, and the Fluid Sword in his hand unfurled like a whip. He charged towards the lioness while shouting to Alagina and the others,
“That guy is trying to take the scroll!”
The lioness wore a sly smile, looking at the incoming Fisher and slightly chuckling as she grasped the straight sword behind her back.
“Little bro is quite clever, but those guardians have already been cursed and are drained of their life. Regardless of whether they hand it over to the true phoenix, once the scroll leaves here, they will instantly turn into insane monsters. You should worry about your companions instead of the scroll.”
She raised her straight sword, fiercely meeting Fisher’s attack. Her strength was considerable; although not on par with Fisher’s, neither side was in any hurry to engage; they were merely testing each other.
After hearing this, Fisher turned around, only to see countless crouching figures in the cave and the man who had led them in begin to tremble. The feathers were no longer just covering their bodies but were crazily expanding outwards, growing grotesque and squeezing their flesh.
In Fisher’s soul vision, enhanced by the Soul Supplement Handbook, their souls appeared as if tainted by something bizarre. Next to their souls, he vaguely saw small eyeballs distributed like a galaxy, watching them.
Was that the Spirit Realm?
The Black Robe Man gripped his head in agony. With pain and the departure of the scroll, his consciousness seemed to clear quite a bit, pulling him back from the muddled sense of duty to his former self.
There was a significant change in his expression, which was constantly being covered by feathers. In a darkened view, he persistently pointed towards the direction of the scroll, shouting,
“No! I remember now! You cannot take it! The scroll must be handed over to the true phoenix, ah!”
He desperately tried to maintain his sanity, but as the lioness had said, the curse of the scroll had completely enveloped him, just like the horrors manifesting behind him, the monsters made of feathers.
As his consciousness faded away, he seemed to finally see Captain Alagina in front of him, along with the aura of the Ice Prince surrounding her.
“If the scroll cannot be delivered to the true phoenix, it must be destroyed! Otherwise, the sky will…”
By the end of this sentence, his Northern Region language became muffled chirping as feathers in his throat pressed down heavily. In the final moment, the Black Robe Man suddenly exploded, transforming into a monstrous entity of feathers mixed with flesh.
“Quack!”
The crouching figures in the cave all stood up, letting out a roar at those attempting to take the scroll. The bird cry carried an icy chill, causing everyone’s magical circuits to brighten in response, clearly indicating a certain degree of soul disturbance.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Alagina’s expression turned cold. The phantom of the Ice Prince appeared in her hand, but just as it manifested, she recoiled in pain.
The reason was simple; she had just been injured by the Ice Prince’s true form, and using it now would undoubtedly worsen her condition.
But beside her, Aoxi had already fluttered her wings beneath her and, upon reopening them, her feathers were now armed with sharp blades.
Seeing the red-clad man retrieve the scroll from the ice block next to the lioness, she smiled slightly and stepped back.
“Since we have what we came for, then I guess it’s time to take our leave.”
“Stop the chatter, let’s go, Felis.”
The red-clad man produced a strangely shaped golden box from behind and quickly placed the extreme ice scroll within it, retreating rapidly.
“Fisher, don’t worry about us! That scroll is suspicious; we can’t let it leave easily!”
“Damn their fathers, they want to toy with us like sirens, don’t they?”
Paz, though plump, moved quickly. Seeing the lioness and red-clad man about to leave, she swung her firearm and shot at them but missed.
After assessing the situation behind him, Fisher silently turned his head and whispered to Emhart on his shoulder,
“Shrink back.”
“Okay.”
As Emhart shrank in that instant, Fisher lifted his Fluid Sword, aiming it at the departing lioness, Felis.
“Buzz.”
Felis smiled while walking further away with the red-clad man, but just then, her instincts as a hunter suddenly alerted her, causing her to quickly raise her straight sword to block.
“Clang!”
Sure enough, after a loud metallic clash, she felt a tremendous force coming from behind. The sheer power of an adult dragon race pushed her down, but she didn’t take the hit completely; instead, she used the momentum to dodge back.
“Hah, you really came!”
But Fisher’s Fluid Sword transformed into liquid form, curling around her straight sword like a whip, firmly entangling her weapon. Just as she was about to leave, it yanked her back.
“Bang!”
Felis, startled, glanced back just in time to have a fist with the force of a gale slam into her face, sending her weapon flying backward.
The red-clad man did not turn back, crazily running ahead while laughing,
“Good hits, good hits! Keep hitting to buy some time for the boss!”
“Damn you, Balzak!”
Ignoring the lioness who had just rolled twice on the ground after being hit, Fisher shot a cold glance at the fleeing man. He swung his Fluid Sword like a flexible whip towards his retreating figure, launching the dislodged large straight sword like an arrow.
Feeling the rush of wind coming from behind him, the red-clad man paled further and yelled in a panicked tone,
“Boss! Help! Help, I’m going to die! Save me!”
Balzak’s shout echoed forward, reaching another beach on the other side of the island, where a smaller ironclad ship than the Iceberg Queen was anchored.
On that beach, a tall figure entirely covered in mechanical devices suddenly lifted its head upon hearing the man’s voice, a hint of steam escaping its mouth,
“Fizz.”
Before him stood completely mechanical hands pushing a steam-powered wheelchair, where a girl in all black sat.
The girl was stunningly beautiful, with a little hat from an unknown country that couldn’t completely cover her soft, naturally long white hair. She had no hair accessories, allowing her white hair to cascade down to her shoulders.
Her black outfit was elegant but distinctly different from Cardu’s saintess attire, completely concealing her beautiful form. Her expression was calm, but upon hearing the screams from the woods, she sighed and said to the person behind her,
“Help them, Haldor.”
Her voice was as lovely as a nightingale soaring under the moon, delivering her words with an earnest tone, combining complex feelings that added to her charm.
“Fizz. Yes, Valentina.”
The towering voice behind her released steam and responded to her words, extending a hand towards the distant woods. Circles of deep purple magic runes brightened on the mechanical arm.
“Fizz. Gravity magic, [Suppress].”
Meanwhile, in the distant woods, the straight sword thrown by Fisher plummeted to the ground, crashing heavily, while the magic from the mechanical hand mirrored the spell above, restraining Fisher’s movements.
“Haha, thank you, thank you.”
Seeing this scene, the pale-faced man finally smiled and quickly lifted the box to leave.
Having just taken a heavy punch from Fisher, Felis wiped the corners of her mouth. Originally wanting to retaliate, she refrained upon seeing Fisher’s icy expression, wisely picking up the straight sword that had fallen to the ground, tauntingly saying,
“Such strength! But it would be better if you could show some tenderness.”
Then, Felis left with Balzak ahead. The weight of gravity on Fisher intensified, but his expression remained calm as he controlled his Fluid Sword, pointing it at the flickering magic runes in the sky.
He was skilled in magic and was well aware of the weaknesses of various spells. This type of long-range synchrony magic does not execute continuously from one point; there is a linking point between the casting location and the target area.
He just needed to destroy that connection point for the magic to collapse.
Meanwhile, in the distance, upon seeing the two return, Haldor, the tall mechanical figure behind the wheelchair girl, let out a puff of steam and spoke to the girl.
“Fizz. He understands magic well; my gravity magic won’t hold much longer.”
The white-haired girl referred to as “Valentina” nodded, placing her hands on a small wooden box resting on her lap, saying to him,
“I’ll stop him, Moon Princess.”
As her words flowed, the wooden box she embraced was opened, revealing a small dagger-like weapon lying at the bottom.
Though the weapon was small, it was exquisitely crafted, with a dark blade that seemed to flow like a galaxy within it. As Valentina spoke, a piece of the black feather-shaped item on the blade became increasingly visible, until a gentle moonlight burst forth from it, radiating into the distance.
As Fisher was in the process of destroying the magic runes, he suddenly sensed something amiss. He sharply looked up and felt as if the sky above had suddenly darkened. His expression changed as he noticed a small moon in the sky absorbing surrounding light, darting towards him.
“Crack!”
From a distance, Valentina watched as the moon in the thicket erupted in a chilling glow that engulfed Fisher. Then she gently closed the wooden box on her lap and said to Haldor behind her,
“With this, he won’t be able to move for a while. Let’s go.”
Next to her, Felis, who was rubbing her cheeks, grimaced and said to the cold girl,
“He should have been frozen to death; he hit me so hard.”
Haldor pushed the girl’s wheelchair gradually toward the ocean, while Valentina did not look back, only stating,
“This treasure was taken through cunning. They may hold a grudge, but it doesn’t matter. Those cursed and tainted should suffer no casualties. As for you, I will offer you more rewards as compensation when we return.”
Upon hearing this, Felis’s eyes sparkled with the gleam of gold coins, and in an instant, her pain and anger dissipated. She knew this girl was generous and wouldn’t treat her poorly.
“Well said! I can’t bear any grudges. It’s all for the boss, nothing major! As long as the payment is sufficient, I’m good with anything!”
“She harbors no grudges, but I certainly do.”
Just as they were about to leave, a male voice suddenly rang out behind them. As Valentina momentarily froze, a mercury-like blade shot forth, swiftly snatching the box from the red-clad man’s hands.
“Fizz. That man is no trouble.”
Haldor’s steam voice hissed, and Valentina turned coldly to look at the frost-covered but not significantly harmed Fisher.
His handsome face was solemn, and he waved the box that had already fallen into his hands at the people in his vicinity, speaking in Nali language,
“You are generous; I’ll take this box as my reward for cooling my anger.”
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(End of Chapter)
