Chapter 644: The Palace
The golden slime of value faded like a tidal wave, gradually changing the scene before Valentina. The originally bright sky and grass of the morning in Nali transformed into a vast cave.
Before the steel-cast Parasol Tree statue, Valentina, propelled by the inertia from her previous escape, kept moving forward, but soon fell heavily to the ground as her body grew heavier.
“Thud!”
“Miss Valentina!”
“Valentina!”
Around her, several anxious voices called out at once. The agile leader of the Snow Fox Tribe, Dar, rushed over first and began to carefully examine Valentina’s condition.
At that moment, many of the feathers on Valentina had strangely turned into inorganic stone, and it was these petrified feathers that significantly increased her weight and caused her to crash into the ground.
Seeing her strange condition, Dar looked somewhat at a loss, and hurriedly turned to call the medicine-expert elder of the Troll Race, Daliwu, to check on her. He also asked Valentina,
“Are you alright, Miss Valentina?”
Valentina felt a bit dizzy, not just from anger but due to the petrified feathers on her body. She slammed her fist into the ground and gritted her teeth, saying,
“That damned Elizabeth!”
Dar and the arriving Daliwu exchanged glances. Daliwu sighed and spoke seriously to Valentina,
“You’ve gone to Nali, Miss Valentina. You’re already aware of the ambiguous relationship that Nali has with Sardinia and the Turan Family, and you should also know their stance. Moreover, you previously corresponded with their queen. Given this situation, you still chose to hide this from us and went to Nali privately. To speak bluntly, you are not only putting your own safety at risk but also endangering the safety of the entire Parasol Tree.”
Daliwu’s hand gently brushed over Valentina’s petrified feathers, and under the influence of the herbaceous scent enveloping her, those petrified feathers began to detach one by one from her skin.
The pain, akin to pulling out feathers directly, made Valentina gasp, but it confirmed that the petrification had not penetrated deeply into her skin, and she was not in serious danger.
Seeing that her injuries were not severe, Dar sighed and, unlike Daliwu’s tone, spoke to Valentina in a gentler manner,
“Yes, Miss Valentina, you are the only phoenix in the world now, and your safety is the safety of the Parasol Tree. If it weren’t for Chief Baleyen discovering this in time and informing us, we might have been left in the dark. Even for your husband’s sake, you should think carefully before acting.”
Feeling the petrified feathers being removed little by little, Valentina’s inner turmoil and anger did not disappear; on the contrary, it was fueled further by the seemingly caring yet reproachful words of the two leaders.
She defiantly raised her gaze, and just before the divine light of Zhenbing grew denser, from behind the two leaders, Baleyen’s youthful and ethereal voice rose,
“Both of you, don’t forget that Valentina is only eighteen this year. When you were her age, you both did far worse things than she did, in my eyes. Daliwu, when you were eighty, you secretly ran out of the tribe to meet Kokoliah, only to end up waiting in the wrong spot and almost freezing to death at night without even seeing Kokoliah. Dar, when you were young, you set your parents’ house on fire and got hung up and beaten by the former chief all night. You were twenty-five at the time, right?”
The two leaders froze slightly, and then their faces flushed simultaneously.
When they assumed the role of elders, they forget that behind them was a super slime who had lived much longer than they had.
Valentina couldn’t help but look up at Baleyen, who sat in the shadow, sucking on a pacifier.
After saying this, Baleyen patted his own round belly with a chubby hand, removed the wooden pacifier, and started sucking on his fingers while saying to them,
“She is still young, be it from a human or a phoenix perspective. She has grown under the control of the Turan Family for the first eighteen years, and after breaking free, she has only experienced four and a half years of slumber before waking up to become the leader of our Parasol Tree. In the past few months, she has done remarkably well on her own. To be honest, if she had resisted meeting her husband today, I would have suspected she had been possessed by some old geezer.
“Don’t forget, he is her husband, her closest person. In a certain sense, while we are loyal to Valentina, none of us here can truly be called her ‘family’ in terms of closeness. You are all happily married; how can you expect her to give up the chance to see her long-absent husband? Of course, we are all thinking of her and the safety of the Parasol Tree, but we must not go too far.”
With this, the remaining warnings the two leaders had not spoken became redundant. They exchanged glances, then apologized to Valentina, expressing their intentions were not malicious.
Valentina merely cast a glance at Baleyen, who resembled a small mountain not far away, and the anger she felt from Elizabeth’s insult finally receded little by little.
“No, I should be the one to apologize. I acted impulsively without fully grasping the situation in Nali. I thought that entering secretly, with Elizabeth being just a human, wouldn’t lead to problems.”
Before long, Valentina recounted the whole process to the leaders present. This included her reason for going, using some “Phoenix secret techniques” to disguise her appearance (though it was actually the chaotic life force of the Duke of Peach, which Valentina did not specify), and everything that happened along the way.
“In the end, I decided not to return with you. Hmm, then besides that, it seems that the Empress Elizabeth must hold some secrets. Even the Phoenix Sword-bearer couldn’t stand against her.”
Baleyen stroked his chin, wisely sidestepping the personal issues between the couple and instead focusing on the key content for analysis.
Well, although Valentina did not mention the specifics of the incident with Elizabeth, the leaders present could vaguely sense something green above the head of their phoenix guide, which explained why she looked so angry when she returned.
Hearing Baleyen’s words, Valentina frowned and carefully recalled the scene from that time.
Aside from the lingering, repeatedly replayed scene of Elizabeth kissing Fisher, she quickly realized that each time Elizabeth’s strange power activated, her eyes changed.
She blinked and said thoughtfully,
“It’s Elizabeth’s eyes that are off. The strange feeling emanating from her mostly comes from her eyes, as well as her golden sword. The power in those eyes is very strong, but her physical body should be inferior to mine; she is simply stronger than an average person, otherwise, Fisher, whose physical quality is only that of an average person, could never have pushed her away, and she couldn’t have failed to catch up to us when I took Fisher away.”
“Could it be that just a pair of eyes? Just one relic could stand against the phoenix bloodline? This is hard to believe…”
Dar murmured incredulously, disbelief radiating from his words, while Baleyen chuckled and said,
“It seems that Valentina’s trip wasn’t entirely fruitless. My clan has been unable to infiltrate Nali for intelligence for years, and your visit directly yielded vital information regarding the Empress in the Golden Palace. It seems our clan’s intelligence-gathering capability can’t compare to yours; the price, however, was a bit steep—your husband was left behind in Nali.”
At the mention of this, Valentina was filled with anger, especially since Fisher had actively chosen to stay in Nali!
What does this mean?
Why, at that moment, after she had done that with you, did he choose that old woman instead of his wife?
Did he really think that old woman was better than her?
No, no, no, that’s impossible. It must be as he said; he was doing it to save his teacher’s granddaughter and Emhart, so…
In short, Fisher absolutely wouldn’t stay in Nali because of that Elizabeth—no way!
“…”
Finally, Valentina took a deep breath, striving to calm herself down. She slowly stood up and solemnly said to the leaders,
“Everyone, this time it’s my fault. I acted impulsively. I do miss my husband too much, which is why I did this, because I know you wouldn’t agree to conflict with Nali now, directly jumping over Sardinia and the Turan Family’s interference in Nali. But afterward, I will immediately start addressing the issues with Sardinia and the Turan Family.”
“Hmm, it’s good that Miss Valentina can understand. But I must correct something for the two leaders; you may still hold fantasies about Nali. Even though they have already intervened in our northern affairs, you still dream of maintaining polite relations with them and the Western Continent. Now, they are not only increasingly interfering in the Northern issues but have also left the husband of the Phoenix there. This is truly an insult to the Parasol Tree. I hope you both will reconsider your future relations with Nali, especially since you shouldn’t forget that we still have a true bloodline from their Golden Palace.”
Baleyen’s words were already quite clear. As the strongest leader among the six tribes, he had consistently aligned himself with Valentina, which gave a starkly different feeling compared to the descendants of the other six tribes.
Valentina appreciated this and knew she had to remain patient and rational in her subsequent actions.
She had already failed in her confrontation with Elizabeth due to carelessness and impulsiveness; now she had to avoid making the same mistake again.
From the perspective of the Parasol Tree, Nali had already become the biggest stumbling block on their path to restoring their position in the north; on a personal level, Valentina must retrieve Fisher from Elizabeth’s hands.
“. Have you calmed down, my little fish?”
Just as the two leaders and Baleyen were discussing the future direction of the Parasol Tree, Valentina, momentarily calm, heard the voice of the Duke of Peach once again resonate in her mind.
Valentina immediately recognized the hidden reproach in the Duke’s nonchalant tone and preemptively apologized in her heart,
“Sorry, Duke of Peach, I acted impulsively earlier.”
“. To know your mistakes and correct them is a virtue. However, I still cannot understand the reasoning of you little fish. You were so furious that you nearly lost your senses; that human with the power of Pandora hesitated because of your husband; otherwise, I think we might have really fallen then.”
“. I’m sorry.”
“Well, forget it. Love always brings me misfortune, as it does for you and your husband. Besides that, I seem to have a hint regarding that human empress and the power of Pandora.”
“Really?”
“Hmm, Pandora died in the chaos that erupted in the Ideal Nation many years ago, but now, the power of Pandora is manifesting itself again in that human empress. Moreover, I sensed a very familiar aura there before; at the time, I couldn’t pinpoint it, but reflecting now, I think it resembles a relic from my mother—the Tear of the World Tree. However, that relic should have eventually fallen into the Holy Realm to be forged into an intelligent book by Gabriel.”
“An intelligent book? You mean Sir Book Emhart?”
“. The same name as that dead kid of Gabriel’s; it must be him. But there should have only been one Tear of the World Tree; I don’t know why two artifacts of tears would appear. However, that’s not important now. You just need to know that an angelic artifact forged from the Tear will have its own consciousness. And unlike that ugly piece of trash forged by Gabriel, that human empress’s artifact is extremely powerful.”
“So, you mean…”
“Ha ha, it means that the current human empress might be hosting a top-tier artifact that potentially possesses all the powers of Pandora, has its own consciousness, and does not yet understand why it needs to assist her. Moreover, it seems that the human empress is not deeply aware of this. Hmm, simultaneously, it’s also helping that human snatch your dead husband.”
“…”
Valentina was silent for a moment, her expression growing cold. She gritted her teeth in her heart and said,
“I will not let her succeed.”
“Hmm, and Pandora and Remiel should have died in the chaos of the Ideal Nation many millennia ago, yet they have appeared strangely again. I can’t help but suspect it’s related to the chaos. So, while I do not care whether she takes your man or not, I will still help you fight against that little fish artifact.”
However, after hearing the Duke’s words, Valentina blinked innocently and replied,
“. I thought even if that artifact had nothing to do with chaos, you would still help me.”
“Wake up. If that were the case, why would I help you tug hair with that human empress? If it had nothing to do with chaos, yet you can’t even handle it yourself, wouldn’t that just be you being too weak? If you’re weak, practice more, got it, little fish?”
“.”
The Duke of Peach spoke ominously to the phoenix.
At this moment, Fisher remained completely unaware of the discussions and the brewing storm of a new round of conflict.
When he regained consciousness, he opened his eyes only to find everything was dark—not because it was nighttime or that he was confined in some shadowy place, but simply because his view was obstructed by something resembling an eye mask.
He struggled slightly and quickly realized that his limbs seemed to be bound, and he was lying on a soft bed that was steeped in a very pleasant fragrance.
“.”
In the darkness, the sensation of the bedclothes, the ropes, and the contact with muscles all reminded him that he was probably wearing nothing at this moment.
At this point, Fisher felt a sense of regret wash over him.
Of course, he wasn’t regretting being caught by Elizabeth, or rather, he had known from the moment he let go of Valentina’s hand that being captured by Elizabeth and brought back to the Golden Palace was inevitable.
And he wasn’t regretting having opened the blessing, which rendered him unable to use his extraordinary powers and resist in front of Elizabeth.
Alicia was under the watch of the god of chaotic life, and upon contacting her, if he didn’t use the method of eating her, once her life chaos detected his presence, it could become a base and deepen its encroachment on Alicia. He clearly couldn’t regret not having eaten Alicia.
He simply hadn’t anticipated that Valentina would suddenly appear here; or rather, he should have thought through it: he arrived here because of Keken, who had ties with the slimes. Valentina from the Parasol Tree couldn’t possibly be unaware of his whereabouts.
He just hadn’t expected that silly girl would actually come all the way to Nali to see him and take him away, which made him regret not preparing a ring for her earlier and giving up the chance to leave with her at the last moment.
It was a dilemma, wasn’t it?
If he had chosen to leave with Valentina at that time, then in the Parasol Tree, he would definitely regret not stopping Elizabeth’s heart-wrenching cries.
And now, by choosing to solve Elizabeth’s problem, he regretted not having prepared a ring for Valentina in advance.
However, now that he was here, he could only make do with it. Alicia and Emhart were still here on one hand, and he needed to solve the artifact’s problem, otherwise, going to the north would mean losing this opportunity.
On another hand, he truly didn’t want to disappoint Elizabeth again or continue to evade facing her issues.
Initially, he had avoided her bullying a junior; later, he had evaded the issue of her massacre of her kin to seize power.
Now, this problem had gradually escalated to the point where the power of Pandora was starting to emerge within her. If he continued to avoid it, how much worse would it have to become before he could find peace?
With these thoughts, even bound, Fisher’s heart gradually settled.
He calmly assessed the strength of the knots binding him, attempting to struggle while considering where he was.
Was he still in the Kitel urban area?
Or…
“Thud! Thud! Thud!”
At that moment, several consecutive ringing sounds suddenly echoed outside.
The bells awakened Fisher’s memory, reminding him that this was likely the morning bell of the Saint Nali Golden Palace, used to announce the time in the Golden Palace, serving as a symbol to inform the outside world of the daily schedule.
Generally speaking, this bell rang four times a day. The first was at seven in the morning, marking the beginning of a new day in the Golden Palace. The empress should have already awakened and begun her breakfast, preparing to handle government affairs and various matters.
The second time was at ten, when the morning’s work was about done, following the meetings with ministers, and after a brief pause, it could enter into lunch and rest time.
The third was at two in the afternoon, signaling the beginning of other matters and work in the afternoon.
The fourth was at five in the afternoon, when the afternoon’s work concluded, indicating it was time for dinner and evening rest.
So, what time should it be now?
As Fisher pondered this, he suddenly keenly heard hurried footsteps outside the room, followed by the door suddenly swinging open, a gentle breeze flowing from outside.
He swallowed hard, and before he could react, a soft body lunged at him, tightly embracing him.
On him, Elizabeth’s hot breath and sweet kisses fell repeatedly, sending shivers throughout his body.
“Are you awake, Fisher? I went to work this morning; you must have missed me, right? Don’t worry, I’m back now, hmm…”
It seemed Elizabeth had just finished processing her morning duties and rushed back from the front yard without even waiting for the bell that signaled the end of her morning affairs. She dashed back to her residence and threw herself onto Fisher, kissing him without restraint as if drawing energy from him.
At this moment, how Fisher wished to be an insensate corpse so he could pretend he hadn’t woken up.
However, it was likely that before he regained consciousness, Elizabeth had already treated him this way countless times.
“Elizabeth, are we already in the Golden Palace?”
But after holding back for a moment, he couldn’t help but speak up, indicating he was awake and asking her to restrain herself.
Who would have thought that upon hearing Fisher’s voice, she not only didn’t hold back but excitedly nestled her face against his heart, her voice filled with excitement and urgency.
“Ah, you really didn’t lie! Aside from me, no one else can find you. Fantastic! This means you belong to me forever, and you can’t escape anymore. Just stay here in the Golden Palace, okay?”
“…”
Fisher opened his mouth, but just as he did, an eager Elizabeth leaned in, kissing him and seeking more without any gap for interruption.
Perhaps the four and a half years passed so quickly that he overlooked certain things, and now, at this moment, the neglected facts finally reminded him.
He was now captured by the exceedingly thirsty Elizabeth and locked away in her Golden Palace.
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(End of Chapter)
