vncnus Page 442
Page 442
"Even back then, I couldn't have traveled to so many places based on such unfounded expectations."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Zha Zha couldn't help but ask:
"However, I am still far less powerful than my elder brother, let alone compared to you, King."
“You won’t even call me father.”
The king shook his head, then smiled and said:
"There is no absolute power in this world. Some people are good at skills, some are good at strength, and some value wisdom. No matter who it is, if they take responsibility, they can be a good king. It's just that everyone's path is different."
It took a few steps forward, glanced back at the bewildered Zha Zha, and suddenly said:
"Those moves I just made were your older brother's favorite techniques."
"...What?" The scoundrel and the king stared at each other for a long time, then suddenly seemed to understand something, and lowered their heads slightly to say:
"I see."
"Go and defeat your demon king. I also need to pull myself together and take charge of the entire tribe." The king looked up at the gradually brightening cave ceiling, then looked down and patted the scratches on his chest shell. Without trying to cover them up, he walked calmly away towards the tribe.
Watching the king's retreating figure, Zha Zha slung the woven straight sword back over his shoulder, then turned to Latis and said:
"let's go."
Latis nodded and was about to move forward when he suddenly felt the Dream Nail at his waist vibrate.
He raised an eyebrow and, under everyone's gaze, looked toward the narrow hillside in the farthest distance.
From among the swarming ball-shaped monsters, a burly red lobster slowly emerged.
No, upon closer inspection, the lobster's shell wasn't actually red; rather, a large amount of molten light flowed within it. The lobster's original black eyes had also taken on an orange-red, swollen appearance. Yet, it exuded a menacing aura, clad in a shimmering silver-scaled breastplate. Though it wasn't the Moth Warrior's flaming straight sword, it wielded a sturdy sword branch from the Ancient Tree Monster. It stood atop the hill like an invincible warrior, a formidable fortress against all.
"I'll fight it. You guys hurry up and deal with the ancient tree monster at the very back," Zha Zha said resolutely, raising his straight sword.
"I wish you victory."
Latis wasted no time speaking. He could already sense a vast divine power awakening deep within the spring forest behind the hillside. It seemed that the arrival of the Dream Nail had finally alerted the long-dormant Demon King, who was now preparing to fight again after a long absence.
The grimoire at his waist moved automatically without wind, casting a flight spell on everyone. They instantly took off, passing all the monsters and the prince under Zha Zha's watchful gaze, and sped towards the depths of the forest.
I wish you victory as well.
Zha Zha withdrew his gaze, glanced at the ball monsters that were starting to roll towards him one by one, and finally fixed his gaze on the prince.
Amidst the slight air currents generated by the Void Rays surrounding him, Zha Zha took a step forward and swung his straight sword at the first ball-shaped monster that rolled down in front of him.
Chapter 429 I'm here to help you!
The winding tree roots extend throughout the mountains and forests like the limbs of an octopus. All the springs, large and small, are entangled, blocked, and absorbed by the tree roots, leaving only a few scattered streams of water flowing down from the iron-skin-like tree roots, dripping onto the fallen, withered grass, like a clump of damp hair, long since devoid of its former vitality.
The group was blocked by vines crisscrossing in the air. Since they might get entangled if they flew any further, they had no choice but to land on the scattered tree roots and begin to trek deeper into the forest.
Latis glanced at the molten light flowing like veins on each tree root and couldn't help but show a solemn expression.
"Judging from the direction of the flow, it seems to be being transported outwards?"
He observed the tree roots on the ground for a moment, then whispered:
"It is probably in this way of imparting light to different plants that so many ball monsters have appeared."
“Very likely.” Jennifer glanced back at the distant scene, noticing many more Ball Monsters piled up on the outskirts of the Spring Forest. She frowned and said:
"I really don't know what this ancient tree monster is trying to do... It hasn't expanded its territory for many years, yet it continues to do this kind of thing."
Snyder seemed to sense something, squatted down and stroked the tree roots, closed his eyes to perceive for a moment, and then hesitated before saying:
"Master, I feel... the intention of this tree root and the ball-shaped monster at the end, connecting and transmitting light... seems to be to allow them to share the burden?"
"Share the burden?" Latis scratched his head in confusion.
“Yes…” Snyder organized his thoughts and said, “It did not endlessly pour light into the Ball Monster’s body, but maintained the connected Ball Monsters at a similar level of light concentration until a high concentration of light surged into the main body of the Ancient Tree Monster, and then they began to balance again.”
"It's weird..."
Latis pondered for a moment, about to ask another question, when he suddenly noticed the tree roots beside them beginning to twitch silently. His expression hardened, and he shouted:
"Attention everyone!"
After saying that, he immediately flipped over, stomped his foot, and pushed the girls away from where they were. Then he turned around, raised his hand, and grabbed the thick tree root that was falling down like a steel pipe.
"What a powerful force!"
Latis took a deep breath. He had sunk almost half a calf's depth into the ground by the impact. If his teammates had been hit, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Lazi!" "Master!" "Master!"
The anxious shouts of his teammates came from both sides. Latis raised an eyebrow, looked up at the surging lava on the tree roots that resembled bulging veins, and began to slowly increase the power in his hands. He snorted coldly and muttered:
"You look so much like Brother Niu, why don't you bow down and submit before my God Brother Niu?!"
His blood surged like a drumbeat, and his hand, which was holding the tree root, pushed upwards slightly, then pulled downwards sharply. His legs, which were embedded in the soil, created a large hole in the ground. His waist and back twisted instantly, and his other hand, like a rising dragon punch, struck the falling tree root hard.
呲!
With the sound of lava splashing, the tree root instantly emitted a dull cracking sound. Caught off guard by the powerful blow, it broke in two and fell to the ground, writhing wildly like a severed octopus tentacle.
"Even a tiny ox, capable of producing only a grain of rice, can shine with brilliance?"
Latis, seeing the broken root gushing lava, decisively jumped out of the pit, looked at his teammates who had surrounded him in battle stance, and said:
"It seems this ancient tree monster isn't a stationary tree. We need to speed up and rush into its core area, otherwise..."
He glanced at the dense, creeping tree roots around him, took a deep breath, and murmured:
"Otherwise, we'd probably be wrapped up like dumplings by these roots."
……
……
The vibrations of the walls and the knocking of the hinges instantly woke Astin up. He glanced at the grass basket beside him, subtly tucked two grass swords into his sleeve, and sat up straight to look at the food delivery hatch that was slowly opening.
A dim ray of light shone into the cell from outside. Astin peered through the food delivery window, estimated the time of day, and then exchanged a glance with the veteran infiltrator who was peeking out from the other side.
"Wow, young man, you're up pretty early."
The senior scratched his head, greeted Astin, and smiled:
"Once you get used to prison life, you'll gradually notice that their meal times are very regular: six in the morning, two in the afternoon, ten at night... What's with that puzzled look on your face? Oh, sorry, I forgot, you young people probably haven't been exposed to the astronomical calendar clocks of the elven race back then..."
Astin sighed helplessly, listening to his senior's rambling words that started early in the morning, and for a moment even his ears started to ring.
From the cells next door, one could vaguely hear yawns and the sounds of turning over, and some people were chatting. However, Astin couldn't see them; he could only look at his old comrade "opposite the window" and silently wait for breakfast to arrive.
"...Actually, based on my observations over the years, the Will of Light is much calmer now than before. Before there were so many white-robed disciples, there were howling sounds of light every night, but now I can finally get a good night's sleep. My daily life is regular, and I feel like I'm getting younger and younger..."
Astin couldn't help but rub his temples. Yesterday he was thinking it was nice to have such a chatty senior in the cell across from him, but today he was already starting to get a headache.
“…Sometimes I wonder if these white-robed disciples are just tools to share the burden of the Light's will. Think about it, they absorb the Light's will, and then the restless light in the entire holy city gradually diminishes. Doesn't that make sense? If you ask me…”
Just as Astin was about to ask the older man to continue the conversation on this topic and not go off-topic, a piece of black bread suddenly appeared at the food delivery window.
despair.
The plain white robe blocked Astin's view. He slowly raised his head, glanced at the expressionless disciple who was once a holy knight, lowered his eyes slightly, and picked up the grass basket beside him.
The disciple placed the black bread between the bars at the food delivery point, and then took out an ipe and a ladle of water and placed them between the adjacent bars.
"Thank you."
Astin said something in a low voice, and then, under the disciples' watchful eyes, began to take his breakfast inside.
First, he picked up the water ladle carefully, and like someone who had been thirsty for a long time, he quickly brought it to his lips and took a big gulp.
He must have drunk too quickly, because a few streams of water ran down his chin. He quickly put down the ladle, and as if somewhat embarrassed, he wiped his mouth with his hand. Then he put the remaining half ladle of water into the basket for the time being.
He then glanced sheepishly at the white-robed disciple, hastily raised his hand, and picked up the Epper Fruit.
However, perhaps because he was moving too fast, Astin accidentally knocked the black bread to the ground. Seeing this, he quickly put the Epper fruit back into the basket and said somewhat awkwardly in a low voice:
"Excuse me, Disciple, could you please pick up the black bread for me? Thank you..."
The white-robed disciple glanced down at the black bread on the ground, silently squatted down, and picked it up.
But right now!
A sleeve of a white robe suddenly burst out from between the railings, hooked around his neck without warning, and with a forceful tug, slammed his head against the railing at the food delivery window.
boom!
Amidst the pain from the impact, a sharp sensation immediately came from his neck, as if the white-robed disciple would pierce his neck in an instant if he moved even slightly.
"Don't move."
Astin, panting heavily, stared fiercely into the white-robed disciple's unwavering eyes. He pressed his legs firmly against the ground as if trying to squeeze through a narrow window, letting the water splashing from the kicked basket soak his trousers. He spoke in a hoarse, heavy voice:
"Tell me, why have you become like this? You were clearly a knight of the Holy City of Promia, so why have you become a white-robed disciple here?"
The white-robed disciple turned his silent eyes and stared at Astin for a few seconds, letting bright red blood flow from the wound on his neck inflicted by the sharp grass sword, without uttering a word, as if he didn't care at all.
"..."
"...Those companions who became true disciples, I feel they probably had their own reasons, but I don't really care about it. After all, I occasionally see their silent faces, and I feel like I'm not as happy as I am in the prison cell..."
The old man's words still echoed as if unaffected, but Astin couldn't care less for a moment. He gritted his teeth, a silent anger welling up inside him, but he could only suppress it, slightly reducing the strength of his grass sword. Seeing that the white-robed disciple didn't seem to intend to say anything, he had no choice but to change his words:
"Open our cell doors and let us go."
The white-robed disciple's eyes flickered slightly, then he turned his head as if utterly unafraid of Astin's attack, letting the grass sword draw a bloody gash across his neck. He looked directly at Astin and calmly said:
"I'll explain to you tonight."
"Varied……"
Astin paused slightly, and unconsciously loosened his grip. The white-robed disciple broke free of his restraints, calmly stood up, and placed the black bread in his hand at Astin's window.
He took a deep breath, put the grass sword back into his sleeve, glanced up at the white-robed disciple who calmly raised his mask, a hint of doubt flashed through his mind, and frowned as he put the black bread back into the basket.
"...That's why I say young people should value harmony, uphold martial ethics, and avoid infighting. Traditional martial arts emphasize stopping short of a fight. Like those armed knights of yesteryear, they didn't abuse their strength recklessly. That's a very good virtue..."
The senior across from him was still talking non-stop. Astin looked up and glanced at the senior's position through the food delivery slot, only to find to his surprise that the senior had been staring at him the whole time. When he saw him looking over, the senior even greeted him cheerfully.
"what……?"