Chapter 363 138. The Truth of the Banquet
On the morning after the holy marriage, Fisher and Valentina returned to the hall where they had previously met Daliwu. However, the female troll who had been babbling was not there at the moment; only her husband, Kokoliah, was there to attend to them.
“Please wait here for a moment and have something to eat. The elders and the other tribesmen have gone to prepare the teleportation ritual you will need afterward. You should be able to leave by this afternoon.”
Kokoliah laid out some food in the hall. Fisher gently set Valentina down on the recliner she had used before. She hadn’t eaten much since the night before and was probably feeling a bit hungry now, but the trolls primarily fed on very greasy meat. Occasionally, they would leave the Phoenix Bridge to hunt or keep some animals in their tribe, which was the reason humans had occasionally witnessed trolls in the past.
Valentina couldn’t eat much of this greasy food; after Fisher fed her a few bites, she only wanted water. Kokoliah watched the two from across the table and suddenly sighed, saying,
“Although I don’t know why Her Highness the Moon Princess left behind this decree, it can surely make your journey to the Parasol Tree smoother if nothing else. Let’s not talk about that. This is the mark entrusted to me by the elder to deliver to you. You have fulfilled the wishes of the Moon Princess, and so have we. We have waited here for over five thousand years just to give the Phoenix bloodline a key to return home.”
Kokoliah took out a small box from under the table and pushed it in front of Fisher. Inside the box lay a small mark identical to those of the other five tribes. In the center of the mark, a heavily armored troll knelt on one knee, facing the Parasol Tree emblem above the mark.
This meant that Fisher and Valentina had collected all the marks of the six tribes of the Snow Mountain and were therefore qualified to enter the Parasol Tree.
As Fisher and Valentina examined the mark in the box, Kokoliah suddenly smiled and brought up a small question.
“Don’t you find it curious why, for beings like the Phoenix, the key to entering the Parasol would be a gift they gave to their own kin?”
“Why?”
Fisher looked up at Kokoliah, who was still staring at the mark in the box.
“I am six hundred years older than Daliwu. Although I am the husband she took in, by generational relation, I belong to her mother’s age group. Thus, I have witnessed elders that you cannot see now and know more secrets about the past. Do you think a Phoenix needs any keys to return to their homeland? Do you think the spatial distortions that seem like chasms to us present any obstacle to the Phoenix?”
“In reality, if the Phoenixes wanted to return to the Parasol Tree, they would not need these six marks to enter; they have their own passages to enter there, whereas the entrance to the Parasol opened by the marks of the six tribes was not designed for the Phoenix but for the beings below the mountain.”
Fisher raised an eyebrow, contemplating Kokoliah’s words.
“So you mean to say that the passage opened by the six tribes to the Parasol was designed to ensure the tribes below could always keep in contact with the Phoenix?”
“Yeah, you only know that the Moon Princess married a non-Phoenix race and bore offspring, moved by her love. In fact, it’s not just her; the Phoenix King, the two princes, and most of the Phoenixes are very friendly towards the tribes below, treating them as kin. In the war against the stars, the Phoenixes led us to victory, and we remember them; conversely, the blood, sacrifices, and contributions of the tribes are also remembered by them. So since then, although the Northern Region was nominally not unified, it has been subtly linked together because of the faith in the Phoenixes.”
Kokoliah pointed to the mark in the box and continued,
“Even the Phoenixes, who can see through the future to some extent, ultimately have their oversights. So, if the tribes below face any difficulties, they can seek assistance from the Phoenixes through the entrance to the Parasol opened by the six tribes’ marks. That’s the reason the Phoenixes bestowed these marks upon the six tribes.”
Hearing Kokoliah talk about the friendly relationship between the Phoenixes and the tribes of the Northern Region, Valentina, who had been listening attentively, suddenly had a question.
“Wait, if that’s the case, then humans should have been sheltered under the wings of the Phoenix at that time, so the Phoenix should have treated them kindly too. However, when that demon attended the celebration banquet, the Phoenix casually gave humans as chips to that demon; this seems to contradict your statement.”
Kokoliah shook his head, about to explain, but Fisher seemed to have already figured it out. He turned to Valentina and said,
“I get it, Valentina. The Phoenixes do not see humans as kin of the Northern Region, nor do they look down on them for their weakness. Humans contributed in the war as well, and the Phoenixes have recorded the deaths of all races on scrolls. From this perspective, they certainly wouldn’t overlook humans. The real reason for this is that the Phoenixes had no choice but to hand over those ten humans because that demon who came was not just any demon; she is Baemon.”
“Baemon, right. That’s her name, she is not…”
Fisher nodded, his expression grave, as he seemed to be able to roughly guess the situation at that celebration banquet.
“Previously, we read in the trolls’ records that there were five beings from the stars that invaded the Northern Region—two from the North Sky, two from the North Sky’s Pole, and one from the South Sky. In terms of estimated ranks, they are just five mythical beings at ranks fifteen to seventeen. Even so, they caused great havoc to the Northern Region, which was well-prepared. And Baemon, she is a Demon God of rank nineteen. When it comes to the gap in mythical ranks, she is many times stronger than that group of stars tied together.”
“Therefore, the Phoenixes did not disdain humans to use them as stakes; it’s just that they had no choice, betting against Baemon, where a small misstep could lead to the destruction of their entire race. Baemon’s visit was not a light matter for the Phoenixes; she cast a shadow of fear over what was originally a joyful celebration banquet. It was a blatant humiliation towards all beings in the Northern Region, including the Phoenixes.”
Kokoliah looked at the intelligent Fisher admiringly. He then turned to the shocked Valentina and spoke.
“At that time, the Moon Princess, angered by Baemon’s humiliation, left the scene abruptly. This action scared the Phoenixes, fearing that the demon would unleash her wrath upon the ravaged Northern Region. But unexpectedly, that terrifying demon did not do so. Not only did she respectfully return the humans who were used as stakes, but she also painted a picture to apologize to the Moon Princess and repeatedly apologized to the Phoenix King for her boldness before she left the Northern Region.”
Fisher sighed, adding to what he had not finished saying,
“Even though Baemon left, the atmosphere that had dropped to freezing point at the celebration banquet did not dissolve, right? But, these are all past matters now, Elder Kokoliah. If there is anything you wish to say, please say it directly. Why go around in circles?”
Kokoliah was taken aback for a moment, then covered her mouth and smiled at Fisher. The beauty of the male troll was vividly highlighted at that moment, surpassing the diluted bloodlines of those from the Sardinia Kingdom by an enormous margin.
“You really can’t hide anything from you, no wonder the Phoenix bloodline would be so fond of you.”
“Eh?”
Seated beside him, Valentina’s face turned slightly red, and she wrapped her clothes around herself a bit tighter, appearing somewhat shy. However, upon reflection, she had already participated in a holy marriage with Fisher and was now his only wife, so there was nothing to be shy about. Thus, she slowly let down the garment that had covered her face a little.
Kokoliah no longer went in circles; she slightly lowered her head and bowed to Fisher and Valentina, saying,
“Then I’ll speak plainly. Mr. Fisher, Miss Valentina. I firmly believe that your ability to obtain the marks of the other five tribes was not a coincidence. The other five tribes, just like us, are sincerely hoping to learn about the changes happening within the Parasol tree and wish for our past rulers to return. Yet, year after year of waiting, we’ve only seen the unknown curse and the increasingly heavy frost and snow until today, when you returned here with the blood of the Phoenix.”
“So regardless of your purpose in entering the Parasol, please make sure to resolve the curse within and reveal the truth of the Phoenix’s extinction to the world. This is the only wish we have in entrusting the marks to you. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to speak; we trolls will do our utmost to help.”
Valentina opened her mouth, looking at Kokoliah, who had bowed his head. An indescribable feeling suddenly surged in her heart. The Phoenixes had been extinct for nearly six thousand years, and Kokoliah, at best, was only about two thousand five hundred years old, which showed that his elders had passed down that loyalty to the Phoenixes. The other tribes probably had variations of the same sentiment.
How much time must pass to wash away the Phoenixes from the land of the Northern Region? Could she, as the bloodline of the Phoenix, respond to that expectation?
She turned her head somewhat helplessly to glance at Fisher but found that he was focused on Kokoliah. After a second or two, he nodded and said,
“I understand. We will do our best, but before that, I need some magical materials, as many as possible.”
“Magical materials? What’s that?”
When Kokoliah heard Fisher’s words, she raised her head slightly, looking at him in confusion as if she could not grasp it.
She had completely forgotten that these trolls had moved up to Sema Snow Mountain long before the Mythical War, and humans learned magic from the Mother Goddess before that. It’s normal for them not to understand; however, magical materials aren’t products that emerged only after the Mythical War. There must be plenty of such strange things up in the snow mountain. Fisher had noticed that the medicine the trolls had given Valentina last night contained such materials.
He decided to modify Valentina’s Dream Magic before heading to the Parasol Tree; at the very least, he needed to make it capable of taking both their souls to the crevice.
“It’s alright; just take me to your pharmacy to take a look. I need to get some medicine.”
“Sure, this way please.”
Fisher stood up, putting away the mark from the table. He told Kokoliah so because he wanted to inscribe some magic for a while and it was not convenient for Valentina to accompany him; hence, he let her rest here for a bit.
Fisher followed Kokoliah to the storage where the trolls kept their medicines. Fortunately, there were indeed many magical materials here. Because of the long lifespan of trolls, the frequency of needing medicines is far less than the time it takes for these magical materials to grow, so there was quite an accumulation of unprocessed materials.
Fisher planned to improve the Dream Magic of Valentina’s Dream Ring here. From his previous observation, he discovered that the energy consumed to pull the soul into the crevice during this magic was quite substantial. This indicated that if they were to pull in a being of a high life rank like a phoenix, this one magic could exhaust most of his magical power.
Fisher further examined this aspect of magic. From his level of magic, the main ring of this magic was very complex. Valentina’s mother must have truly been a magical genius; he wondered how she conceived such magic that creates dreams. Now, he could only modify the general structure of the sub-ring.
Thus, in terms of tactics for entering the Parasol Tree later, this magic could only be used against Erwind at best. As for the curse of the Parasol, he would have to rely on other methods, like Erwind.
Erwind would certainly prioritize the curse over himself; he must utilize the nature of that curse to communicate with the spirit realm and reach the mythical rank to have a 100% chance of killing himself who held the Death Rune. Therefore, he would definitely tackle the curse of the Parasol first, and Fisher could borrow his strength. The moment he defeated the curse, he could pull him into the crevice, and Erwind wouldn’t know that he had such magic to use as a trump card.
However, to fool Erwind, he needed to devise other magic to cover it up. He also had to consider other variables, such as Valentina. If her presence alerted the curse to her location, the curse would undoubtedly come looking for him, which would inadvertently attract Erwind.
Fisher sat in the center of the pharmacy, lost in thought. One exquisite magic rune after another was inscribed in his hands, starting with the most troublesome Dream Magic, which took up most of his time. Next came a soul ring magic designed to block the perception of the spirit realm. He had not yet tested its effectiveness; it was designed on site, and he would need to check later if Valentina’s injury could attract the curse.
From morning till night, Fisher continuously thought and worked, until the massive door behind him suddenly opened, revealing Daliwu’s huge figure. As she stepped in, she immediately saw the floor filled with magical materials and Fisher, who was seated in front of the chair, stuffing the runes into his robes. His magical circuit lit up, and his head felt slightly heavy due to the illusion from the Supplement Handbook.
“Wow, at this rate, you probably won’t leave tonight. I said I had already set up the teleportation ritual, so how about leaving tomorrow instead? Your wife is still lying in the hall waiting for you; it’s been a whole day.”
Fisher merely rubbed his temples and waved her off, sensing that his magical power was beginning to restore. He said,
“It’s fine; I’ll just rest for a bit. But we must set off tonight. By the way, we need to take some medicinal materials and food with us; I’m not sure what the situation is like over at the Parasol.”
Daliwu scratched her head but made no counterarguments. She just nodded and said,
“Well then, take a break, and we’ll head out. I’ll take you and the Phoenix bloodline to the teleportation ritual area. I’ll also prepare some supplies. There are some medicines that Kokoliah prepared over there. It seems your soul power has some losses; those can help you recover. You should take some.”
Daliwu pointed to the medicines on a nearby shelf as she walked out. Fisher raised an eyebrow and turned to look, only to see it labeled “Rejuvenation Potion,” which didn’t sound like a good thing.
Fisher shook his head and refused to use it, lest he be unable to resist doing something bad again. He had already exercised considerable restraint in inscribing magic earlier, without excessively wasting magical power. Moreover, because of the effect of the Supplement Handbook, his magical power recovery speed was terrifyingly fast; of course, it was not as severe as when he was in Miya, so he was ready to set off now.
He quickly gathered the magical materials that were all over the floor and was about to go bring Valentina to leave when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, patting his head in frustration.
He seemed to have forgotten something important, such as that guy Emhart.
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(End of Chapter)
