Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Wait," Beiyue reached out to stop them. "He doesn't mean any harm. According to the League's regulations, we cannot initiate an attack on him. Even if he is causing damage to Antarctica, we can only intervene."
Cui Ming immediately put away his cards. "What Beiyue said is true; no one is allowed to strike."
Beiyue glared at Cui Ming, gritting his teeth. "Call me Beiyue again, and don't blame me for losing my temper." The implication was that because Beiyue was a hunter, he had developed certain quirks.
Feng felt that Beiyue's fierceness and indifference towards him were two completely different versions of the same person. There was a hint of petulance in Beiyue's ferocity... Wait, Beiyue being petulant? Feng recalled the scene from the Competition Match where Beiyue had decapitated the Lion Dog; nearly everyone present had never witnessed such a bloody spectacle. As a result, Beiyue had earned a nickname: Bloody Beiyue, reminiscent of a cocktail called Bloody Mary.
Three minutes later, Feng asked, "What should we do? He's still crying." The sorrowful cries were oddly amusing.
Beiyue had no good solutions either. They could fight, but as a hunter, such an action would cross a line. The crying individual was merely expressing grief and wasn't disturbing anyone. Beiyue looked at the circling phoenix and thought it highly likely that this Zombie had caused the phoenix's nest to collapse. "Cui Ming, think of something."
Wow, Cui Ming was being asked to come up with a solution. Feng was thoroughly impressed.
To his surprise, Cui Ming didn't hesitate. Whenever Beiyue made a request, he would comply, even if it meant deceiving a corpse. Although he had never tricked a corpse before, this would be a new chapter in his history. Cui Ming called out, "Hey, little ghost, stop crying. We'll take you home."
The Zombie immediately fell silent and asked in confusion, "Do you know who I am?"
"Of course I do. You're called Wood, and your home is in Dawn Desert." What a great piece of information! Zombie—don't eat or drink anything. You can't defeat Zhir or escape the desert. A millennium of companionship means life and death are intertwined. Cui Ming continued, "You are one of the members of the ancient civilization from Dawn Desert over two thousand years ago. An evil Mage killed your king, which led to punishment from the Sun God, burying your civilization in the sands. First, be quiet; I know you're going to ask why you're here. It's because you died before the incident occurred when that Mage used Void Power to hasten your struggle before being sealed in the Royal Tomb. This caused the mummies buried in the Royal Tomb to shift due to the magic circle—from the hottest part of the Eternal Sphere to its coldest part. You can go home and take a look; although your homeland no longer exists, your emperor is still there. He guards Dawn Desert by order of the Sun God. He should know about your background since there were thousands of people in that ancient civilization at that time. The fact that you can still line up to enter the Royal Tomb indicates you have some status."
The Zombie nodded slowly. "My name is Wood... How do you know I'm called Wood?"
See? This is how a fabricated lie works. Feng and Beiyue watched Cui Ming closely, eager to see how he would continue his story. Facing their skepticism without flinching, Cui Ming drew a card and placed it before him, slightly bowing his head as he said, "Everything is in the card." If I can't bluff my way through this, I'll just force my way through.
To Beiyue and Feng's surprise, the Zombie accepted this explanation and nodded eagerly. "Can you really take me home?"
"Alright, but we are here to handle business in Antarctica. We must take care of that first," Cui Ming said. "There is a very wicked witch nearby that we need to visit. If you wish, you can come along, but you must follow my orders. Otherwise, you can stay here and continue to wait and cry."
The Zombie nodded repeatedly. "I will go with you."
Poor child. The wind sighed; once trouble arises, you will surely be the first to step up, and the glory of being the last one standing will definitely be left for you. However... you don't seem like a child; you're older than my ancestors. Better you die than me; I'll just quietly make my fortune. The biggest advantage is that the Zombie is a corpse, with no blood, only flesh, making him completely immune to the cold—he can be considered a formidable opponent against both the witch and the chill.
Cui Ming looked up and called out, "Phoenix, find another nest. We'll take him away so he won't continue to damage the glaciers."
The Phoenix chirped a few times, circling twice before flying southwest. The Zombie watched as the Phoenix flew away and said, "When I woke up, I saw it and followed it all the way..."
You're impressive; you dismantled the Phoenix's nest and forced it to the seaside. It seems the records were not wrong; the Phoenix is indeed a benevolent Force Creature. Unfortunately, it seems that the Phoenix does not enjoy communication. If only I could persuade it to join us in fighting the witch; then we wouldn't even need to talk—just dive right into battle. That said, since the Phoenix sees itself as benevolent, it naturally views the witch in the same light. These animals have such simple thoughts; even the Zombie has chosen to endure.
How does a Zombie cultivate Force? The Zombie itself doesn't know; upon awakening, it felt its body’s strength and instinctively began using that power. Beiyue believes that the Zombie was once a practitioner in its early years. As for why it didn’t die, why it awakened—those questions would likely remain unanswered even if an entire research team from the Three Continents came to investigate. But the Zombie needs answers; otherwise, it will cry. What can be done? What else but to persuade? First, convince it to be a Henchman; when it's time to leave Antarctica, trick it into wearing a Force Restraint—after all, as Beiyue the Hunter knows, a Force Restraint is standard equipment.
...
Witch Island is a beautiful island surrounded mostly by sea, with two ice fields nearby forming an arch at its edges that rests upon Witch Island like two arched bridges. As for why Witch Island isn’t connected to the ice fields, according to what I've learned, there are hot springs beneath Witch Island, indicating that there is a volcano below—presumably a dormant one.
The witch chose Witch Island for its unique characteristics. At the center of Witch Island lies a glacier fissure five hundred meters long, twenty meters wide, and reaching depths of up to one thousand meters. Hot springs flow beneath this fissure, and several resilient green plants thrive near them. This information was gathered during Wandering's only visit to the island; it was also heard that Mundo uses this temperature difference to store collected items here. Why not use a freezer? Firstly, there’s no electricity—Mundo is after all a Class One wanted criminal. Secondly, Mundo also conducts experiments on Witch Island.
Another notable feature of Witch Island is that in this two-square-kilometer area lies six long and slender icebergs arranged in a hexagonal magic circle formation. This was constructed later on; the master of this magic circle can use these six icebergs to attack enemies invading Witch Island. The activation of this magic circle relies entirely on Force Stones.
How did witches come to be? Generally speaking, males who master Void Power are referred to as wizards while females are called witches. However, unlike males, witches have a tradition of taking apprentices; typically, each witch has one female apprentice who handles her remains. Whether or not this apprentice can comprehend Void Power remains uncertain.
Over a thousand years ago, being a witch was considered a profession generally referring to women herbalists with magical abilities. However, due to the evil nature of the herbs and potions used by witches and advancements in modern medicine, witchcraft was deemed an illegal profession. In this regard, it bears some resemblance to Mundo's disregard for material sources in his practices.
As they approached Witch Island, gazing at the six glaciers, a crow flew from the island. Crows were commonly used tools by witches. The crow spoke in a human voice, asking, "Who are you?" The voice was feminine and melodious. Estimating her age, the witch appeared to be around forty, likely not unattractive.
Cui Ming replied, "Greetings, Witch. We are here on official business to inspect Witch Island."
"What are you inspecting?" the witch inquired.
Cui Ming explained, "Recently, there have been rumors that the Alliance's first-class wanted criminal, Mundo, has been spotted on Witch Island. According to the contract between you and our leader, Alliance Hunters have the right to search the island for wanted criminals. We have not disturbed your life all these years, and we hope you can make this process easier for us." Cui Ming felt uneasy; it was too cold here. Even without fighting, just running faster made his body acutely aware of the chill. Among the four of them, Zombie was out of the question; Beiyue was a support class focused on enhancement. Only he and Feng were truly capable. However, Cui Ming was confident that as long as the witch was willing to talk, he could negotiate. It would be a piece of cake; who in the world could resist his persuasion?
After a moment of silence, the crow said, "Come closer."
The witch wore a black outfit that accentuated her figure beautifully; it was no different for her. She had been waiting outside the Ice House, standing tall at about five feet seven inches with long, lean legs and a graceful waist. Her firm bosom and face resembling ice and snow made it hard to believe she was over forty. The reason Cui Ming could observe her so closely was that she wore very little; her black clothing was made of sheer fabric—single-layered in most places but double-layered in private areas. From this detail, Cui Ming deduced that the witch cared greatly about her appearance and beauty, even on Witch Island.
The Ice House was constructed from blocks of ice and measured approximately one hundred fifty square meters. It featured a large hall and three rooms. The floors were covered with animal fur carpets, indicating that the witch valued comfort and taste in her living environment. Alongside the Ice House was a row of shelves adorned with various sea fish, presumably her source of food.
Contrary to what Cui Ming and his companions had expected, the witch did not appear fierce or strange; instead, she resembled a serene woman with an air of kindness and gentleness. Upon meeting, Cui Ming introduced himself: "I am Cui Ming; this is Feng, Wooden Boy, and Ye Shi." He refrained from mentioning Beiyue since that surname was rather uncommon; regardless of whether there was any connection between the witch and Master Bei's disappearance, it would inevitably lead to thoughts of Master Bei.
The witch nodded slightly and said warmly, "Thank you for your hard work on your journey; please have a cup of hot tea."
Hot tea?
The four entered the living room, which was spacious but sparsely furnished—only a small wooden table with a metal kettle resting on it. The witch invited everyone to sit down. The floor was covered with thick Antarctic bear fur. (To be continued.)
Comment 0 Comment Count