Chapter 356: 131. Troll Race
“Baemon, is that the demon who visited the Phoenix? I think I heard this story in the family’s records before, but that was a long, long time ago. Can someone really live that long?”
“There are many high-ranking subhuman races that enjoy longer lives than humans, and Baemon, as a demon race, is one of them. However, that indeed was a long time ago.”
Fisher heard Valentina’s question and responded, but then he flipped the scene back to the woman’s back view, remaining silent for a long time.
The demise of the Phoenix occurred before that world-destroying mythological war, and it is quite some time since they repelled the Chaos Race. Otherwise, the three sons of the Phoenix couldn’t possibly leave so many traces in the mortal world, and Baemon’s time of presenting the painting was not long after the Phoenix race defeated the Chaos Race.
Firstly, the person depicted cannot be the Moon Princess; she is a pureblood Phoenix race. According to earlier murals and descriptions from the six races, the appearance of Phoenixes and humans is vastly different. This oil painting clearly shows the back of a human woman, and the images are worlds apart; Baemon wouldn’t make such a basic mistake.
For some reason, even though it is just a back view, Fisher can continually associate the image before him with that long-lost foolish woman. But if the black-haired woman Baemon painted is Renee, then how long has Renee really lived? What is her relationship with Baemon? Why did Baemon depict Renee in the painting and present it to the Moon Princess?
Or is it that he is mistaken? The person in the painting might not be Renee at all, but a generalized representation of humanity painted by Baemon. After all, the fragrance he sensed earlier might still be an illusion brought by the Soul Supplement Handbook; he even experienced an illusion where Renee personally spoke to him, so Fisher doubted this conclusion greatly.
The human woman in the painting has no specific features—perhaps Baemon intended this to express her attitude towards humanity, calming the Moon Princess’s anger, especially as it corresponds with her returning the ten humans that she is wagering to the Phoenix, asking for the Moon Princess’s forgiveness?
But then again, according to Emhart, Baemon is one of the most powerful even among the demon races; otherwise, all the other demons wouldn’t be locked away in the Demon Abyss while she escaped the reckoning of the mythological war and still walks the earth today.
So, why would such a powerful demon come uninvited from the Southern Continent across a distance of a hundred thousand miles to attend the Phoenix’s banquet? What is her true purpose?
Thinking this way, Fisher felt quite a headache. He gently reached out to touch the oil painting, which had long dried, his fingers landing on the black hair of the woman’s back.
“You human child, what do you understand? You know nothing of the terror of Baemon! She is simply… Fisher, we should run quickly. The issue with the Parasol Tree must be closely related to Baemon. Once something gets entangled with Baemon, it will certainly end badly for you and Valentina!”
Fisher furrowed his brows and looked at Emhart, who was cowering in the corner of the hall, trembling. Suddenly, he spoke,
“Emhart, I have had my suspicions before. You must have experienced something in the Demon Abyss that you haven’t told me. Otherwise, merely complaining about the punishment she imposed for recording the texts wouldn’t instill such terror in you. What did you see in the Abyss? What has Baemon done to you?”
Emhart cautiously glanced at Fisher, who held the painting. His lips trembled, seemingly wanting to say something, but the next moment, a wave of extreme terror made him shrink back into the corner of the room. Then he hurriedly said,
“No, I can’t say, it’s something secret she recorded, and it has no relationship with what is happening now. I certainly wouldn’t hide anything from you with ulterior motives. You know Baemon is a god of demons who enjoys bestowing knowledge upon others; the moment this knowledge becomes known, she would immediately perceive it, which is why I was discovered sneaking into her treasury, resulting in the unforgettable pain I bear. Fisher—”
Just as Emhart was about to say more, he suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing against his back, and a huge shadow covered the light beneath him. He furrowed his brow and turned to see a massive creature about four meters tall standing at the end of the steps, holding a giant spear and staring at them.
“Intruders of the Parasol, die.”
The giant figure seemed to be draped in a heavy coat, and as it faced the cold wind, strands of its coat’s hair kept blowing, making the enormous figure appear like a giant white gorilla.
“Ah, ah, wait, I haven’t…”
Just as the ancient Northern Region language exited his mouth, the enormous creature suddenly raised its spear. Fisher’s gaze turned cold; he extended his Fluid Sword and pulled back the cowering Emhart, then, amidst his panicked cries, Fisher raised the now hardening Fluid Sword in front of him.
“Clang!”
In the next moment, a deafening screech accompanied by a huge spark exploded before Fisher’s eyes. Valentina quickly closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, while Emhart scrambled into Fisher’s pocket. After confirming that both of them were safe, he suddenly forcefully swung, directly sending the shadow holding the giant spear flying.
That shadow with the giant spear lost its footing and fell to the ground. The spear, released with tremendous force, spun several times in mid-air before burying itself in the snow. Fisher gripped the Fluid Sword and pressed on, clutching the painting as he leaped up the steps. Suddenly, the bright sky and scenery crashed into his eyes.
Unlike the ruins with broken walls he came from, the scene outside the steps was a vast expanse of snowy ground, but at this moment, they had clearly climbed to the highest peak of Sema Snow Mountain, yet it felt like they suddenly arrived at the lowest point.
Because, before Fisher, the vast mountain range, covered in mist, seemed to rise like a folded scroll. Amid the obscured white clouds, it transformed into a tunnel that intersected, surged, and had no end in sight, as if some great power had bent the earth and was continuously twisting before him like a kaleidoscope.
The dizzying sensation of the world twisting momentarily halted Fisher’s movements, but he soon realized that these mountains seemed to be twisted by some invisible force, blurring the directions of east, south, west, and north, constructing an enormous landscape that was folded and irregular like a heavenly realm.
“Intruder… hey, Captain, this man is quite handsome. Why don’t we spare him and take him back for me?”
“Too small, not feasible, and the elders will blame us.”
“Seriously too handsome, I’m just greedy, whether he’s small or not…”
While Fisher was stunned by the distorted and folded space and mountains before him, two quiet voices of women around him suddenly interrupted his observation. He turned with a frown, only to find that towering figures of about four meters tall surrounded them.
Now, with the sunlight from outside, the tall figures enveloping them finally revealed their clear appearance. They were all dressed in similar heavy garments, their faces somewhat resembling humans, but their overall skin was bluish, with several natural black patterns on their faces, and they sported long tusks in their mouths. A pair of long ears bore some white fur.
Their figures were strong and robust, yet they did not lack the unique features of femininity, creating a remarkable contrast and contradiction in appearance. Their scanning gazes made Fisher raise his eyebrows.
“Troll race?”
“That’s right; they are the Troll race. However, I’ve only seen them in records, never expected to see such a large group today.”
Emhart, peeking from Fisher’s embrace, observed the surrounding trolls, his stomach glowing with golden light, seemingly recording their specific appearances.
Valentina, who was on Fisher’s back, heard their words and immediately straightened up, glaring at the surrounding trolls, stating in a deep voice,
“Dirty, clean your mouths!”
“Huh? There’s another person here. A cripple who can’t even climb the snow mountain—do you still count as a woman?”
One of the trolls, holding a giant spear, bent slightly and moved closer to Valentina. Her blue face and terrifying tusks came close, and with every breath, hot air directly hit Valentina’s face. Valentina just stared coldly at her without moving.
Though Fisher didn’t display any excess expressions on his face, the grip on the Fluid Sword’s handle grew stronger.
Under the somewhat bewildered gaze of the troll, Valentina’s pale silver eyes slightly shimmered, as if a dazzling brilliance resembling countless pristine ice burst forth from them.
“Roar!”
Looking into Valentina’s pale silver eyes, the troll’s face suddenly changed, shouting and taking several steps back, hiding behind what seemed to be the leader of this group of trolls, while she stared in shock at Valentina on Fisher’s back and whispered in the ear of the troll woman leading them,
“Captain Hazara, she seems…”
The funniest part was that when the group of female trolls saw the troll talking to the leader, they couldn’t help but crowd closer, even squeezing together to see, startling both Fisher and Valentina, momentarily lowering their guard.
“Huh? Really?”
“But the elders said…”
“Hey, that woman is that one, what about the man? Can I have him?”
“Stupid dog, don’t pay attention to her. She’s gone mad without marrying a male troll and is after humans now, plus she’s incredibly strong.”
Valentina’s face grew increasingly stiff as she watched the group of trolls clustered together whispering, and even laughing. Unable to hold back any longer, she shouted,
“Enough! Are you all grown-up gossips? Stop talking! We came from below Sema Snow Mountain for the Parasol Tree, please tell us where the decision-maker is. I want to discuss the matter regarding the last mark!”
Comparatively, Valentina was relatively petite, but at that moment, upon hearing her voice, the female trolls scratched their heads and stepped aside collectively, falling silent as they continuously signaled to the leading troll woman. The foremost troll, looking around, noticed no one was speaking and had no choice but to cough softly, stepping forward and bowing her head.
“Honored blood of the Phoenix, our clan has revered your will and has rooted and multiplied here for over five thousand eight hundred years. Today we finally see you return to the Parasol. I am, uh, the leader of the tree-foot patrol, Hazara, two hundred seventy-one years old, and I love to sleep with male trolls and have little trolls.”
A troll behind her lightly coughed, causing Hazara, who was already struggling to speak, to glare at her. After a moment of pause, she finally turned her attention to Valentina, pointing to the complex mountains behind her that were twisted and layered and quietly said,
“Sorry, honored Phoenix, these words were taught to me by the clan elders. I don’t remember them very well; if you have questions, you should ask her in the clan. However, there’s one thing I clearly remember that the elder said I must say when I meet the Phoenix, that… uh, let me think…”
She scratched her head, and despite the extremely cold weather, even their heavy clothing couldn’t withstand the biting chill, yet thinking of these few words nearly overloaded her brain, beads of sweat forming all over her head. After staring blankly at the giant spear beside her for several seconds, she finally seemed to remember something, addressing the petite Valentina on Fisher’s back,
“Oh right, I remembered! The elder said…”
“Honorable Phoenix, welcome back to your homeland, welcome back to once again take us under your wings.”
Valentina opened her mouth. Without wings, she gazed at the completely bowed trolls before her. Behind them, a winding and twisted path led into the distance, as if some power from within her bloodline had been awakened by the words of the trolls, suddenly linking her with the trolls and something far away behind them in an inexplicable manner.
Actually, both Heidi Lin and Fisher had mentioned her Phoenix bloodline, but in her heart, she always regarded herself as a human. After all, years of identity and perception cannot be changed overnight; however, just as Fisher said earlier, the connection in the bloodline is unbreakable. At least now, Valentina’s sense of self had shifted slightly.
Within her, the long-extinct Phoenix blood truly flowed.
Today, my head feels a bit heavy; I’ll just post one chapter for now, sorry, sorry.
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A million thanks for the support!
(This chapter ends)
