Chapter 2750 Nightmare Illusion Mark <TOC> Chapter 2752 Black-Faced Sheep’s Tap Dance
Translator: SumTLMan
「Yo-you, have the mushroom spores on your body been cleared away?」Kael hesitated a moment, then still walked over to Vai’s side. Among a gathering of formal wizards, he instinctively preferred to stay near fellow apprentice Vai.
Vai gave no reply, only nodded silently.
Though Kael found Vai’s reaction a little odd, he did not think too much of it, and casually asked:「Didn’t they say before it was hard to remove? How did it suddenly get cleaned up so quickly?」
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kael sensed something off in the atmosphere, for he inadvertently glanced at Daus across the way.
Daus was pressing a fist against his mouth, face turned aside, shoulders trembling, looking very much like he was…… secretly stifling laughter?
Kael looked blankly to the other side. Angel, though expressionless, regarded him with eyes full of subtle meaning.
The mood was so strange that Kael suddenly felt at a loss. He turned his head, intending to ask Vai, only to discover then that the previously silent Vai was tilting his head up forty-five degrees toward the pitch-dark void. By the arena’s overhead light, Kael faintly saw Vai’s eye sockets glisten, as though misted with water.
Was Vai…… crying?
As Kael doubted whether his eyes deceived him, the Black Count’s voice suddenly sounded.
「Next round is still you, but the one after that we change.」
The Black Count’s tone brooked no discussion, and naturally Kael dared not refuse. As for who would be swapped in, he needn’t even think, of course it was Vai.
Could it be that Vai’s tears were due to refusing the duel?
If so, then really there was no need to worry. Earlier, Lord Super Dimensional had already discussed with him the combat approach for each battle, for example, the duel with Pink Jasmine had been wholly planned by Angel.
Therefore, simply relaying the strategy to Vai should prevent resistance, right?
Kael tentatively voiced his guess in a roundabout way.
To this, the Black Count said nothing, only gave a derisive chuckle. Vai, meanwhile, seemed not to hear at all, like a lost soul, eyes vacant, staring into the distance.
At this moment, Angel’s answer came through the mental connection:「No need to share strategy. Same as before, Vai will arrange his own setup.」
Kael:「No need to share strategy? But……」
Kael very much wanted to say, doesn’t Vai seem extremely resistant? But the words stalled at his lips. Instead he said:「But, the two apprentices left on the other side both look hard to handle……」
Whether it was the massive, indistinct-featured Mammoth, or Shepherd leaning against the black-faced sheep, both looked far stronger than Pink Jasmine. Especially Mammoth: even from afar, Kael could sense the threat from that surging blood energy. As for Shepherd, though his strength was unclear, the Black Count had already explicitly identified him as a「Rhythm Apprentice.」
Any Rhythm Apprentice, even if not of the strongest Water Rhythm, must never be underestimated.
Angel reassured:「Don’t worry. Ghost Shadow’s abilities earlier actually strongly countered Vai, and didn’t Vai still turn the tables on his own? Trust Vai, he’ll have his own strategy. Besides, compared with the duel against Ghost Shadow, in his next duel Vai at least knows who his opponent will be, giving him more time to think and prepare.」
Since only two apprentices remained on the opposing side, whoever Kael fought next, the other would certainly face Vai.
Of course, that premise required Kael to win his next duel. Otherwise, Vai would face both in succession.
Yet Angel’s words clearly assumed Kael’s victory. After all, of the trump cards he had given Kael, only one Nightmare Illusion Mark had been revealed. If the remaining cards could not even deal with one opponent, how could Angel with a straight face call them trump cards?
Kael thought about this and felt reassured. If he took on Mammoth, Vai would only need to consider Shepherd; and vice versa.
In this way, Vai would know his opponent in advance and have ample time to prepare. Just as Lord Super Dimensional said: trust Vai, he will surely have his own strategy.
With this in mind, Kael nodded:「I understand.」
Angel smiled:「Good, as long as you understand.」
Then, after a pause, Angel suddenly added:「Besides, even if Vai loses, won’t you still be able to go up again?」
This duel was different from the Sky Tower’s rules. Victors could freely let teammates substitute in and rest, then return once recovered. Losers, however, were directly eliminated with no return.
Therefore, as long as Kael won next, even if Vai lost afterward, Kael could still reenter and seize back victory.
Angel winked at Kael with a look that said,「I’m counting on you.」
Kael froze a moment. Though what Lord Super Dimensional said was true…… only just now he’d said『trust Vai』, and in the next breath he said this. Was he optimistic about Vai, or not?
Kael kept the question unspoken, but Angel read it in his eyes.
Was he confident in Vai, or not? Angel himself found it hard to answer. He did not know whether the Black Count had prepared any trump cards for Vai, nor whether Vai’s arrangements truly guaranteed victory.
In terms of win rate, he favored Kael more, since Kael had the trump cards he had provided. So rather than saying he favored Vai or Kael, Angel might as well say he favored himself.
Without further explanation, Angel only smiled and said:「Your last duel was well fought. Keep it up.」
After that, Angel prepared to end this brief exchange.
But at the final moment, Kael still asked the deepest doubt in his heart:「My lord, Vai just now seemed to cry…… it’s strange. What’s wrong with him?」
Angel paused a second before replying:「That, best not to ask right now. When we leave here and return to the Sandworm Market, you can ask Daus alone. Hmm…… if you’re still curious then.」
Angel’s words carried deeper meaning, a deliberately ambiguous answer.
Though Kael remained baffled, he was never one to care about things other than ruin exploration. Since Lord Super Dimensional spoke so, perhaps there was some unspeakable twist within? If so, then better not to pursue it.
With the conversation done, Kael’s excitement from victory gradually cooled. Moreover, since he now had only one more opponent to face, his psychological burden lessened.
Before long, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s voice resounded, announcing the duel would begin anew.
Kael once again took the stage. Soon after he ascended, a lilting pastoral melody drifted into his ears.
He looked up toward the opposite side. Against the backlight, a green-haired man wearing a ram-mask walked leisurely onto the arena, whistling as he went.
His gait was light and relaxed, like strolling his own backyard. Loose robes, casually tied green hair, all added to his air of ease.
Without the mask, he would appear even more languid.
As Kael mused thus, the opponent stopped some ten meters away. He ceased humming, then removed his ram-mask.
Ghost Shadow had also removed his mask before, but only halfway, to create suspense, then replaced it, atmosphere heavy, but no real effect.
This man, however, truly took it off, revealing his full face. Not particularly handsome, but giving an impression of gentleness and elegance, matching his overall bearing.
After removing the mask, it shrank and he fastened it to his waist.
Only then did he raise his eyes to Kael. With a twirl of the flute in hand, he bowed gracefully:「Shepherd. Please guide me.」
Kael pondered a moment, then softly replied:「Traveler.」
Shepherd blinked, then smiled:「Your name is Traveler? How fated with mine.」
Kael frowned. Traveler and Shepherd, how could those names be connected? He thought such inwardly but outwardly stayed silent.
Shepherd, undisturbed, still spoke gently:「Our hearts are both not in place.」
Before Kael could grasp his meaning, Shepherd explained of his own accord:「The Traveler’s heart lies in the distance. And Shepherd’s heart also lies afar: in windblown woods, on surf-washed white sands, in lush pasture, and…… in starfields shining endless light.」
Kael was stunned by this series of exclamations and paeans. After a while he recovered:「You don’t seem like a shepherd, more like a bard.」
Shepherd laughed:「In truth, they’re the same. Shepherds herd the sheep they lead in hand; poets herd the sheep galloping in their hearts.」
From another’s lips, such words would sound embarrassing. Yet somehow, from Shepherd they came clothed in elegant rhythm, as though they naturally belonged to him, lofty and pleasing, never awkward.
On a moonlit night, harp in arms, strolling the courtyard, should a maiden hear his chant, she would likely fall on the spot.
Facing such an eloquent foe, Kael grew flustered, unsure how to respond.
To remain silent seemed lower; to speak and blunder seemed worse.
This sudden quandary of the heart made Kael uneasy.
Sensing his turmoil, Shepherd smiled gently to relieve him:「The Traveler’s steps never cease, surely you’ve seen many sights?」
Kael instinctively answered:「I like exploring ruins.」
Shepherd:「As expected, each Traveler has their own passion and goal, for which they ever advance. Enviable! My heart lies afar, but my body remains here.」
Kael:「Why?」
Shepherd paused a moment, then smiled:「Because, I must tend the sheep.」
As his words fell, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s voice timely rang:「Enough chatter, the duel begins.」
Though the duel had begun, neither moved immediately.
Shepherd twirled his flute, then grasped it:「I don’t much like battle, I prefer flute-playing. Any tune you wish to hear?」
Kael made no reply, only drew a spatial rift beside him.
The rift grew until one could pass through. From within emerged a tall figure.
Its body gleamed with metallic luster, every inch a beauty of machinery.
「Alchemy Puppet.」Shepherd raised a brow.
Kael said nothing, nor did he let the puppet advance, only watched Shepherd warily.
Shepherd shrugged:「Since you gave no answer, I’ll just play whatever…… Do you like the sound of the wind?」
At his last word, the flute rose to his lips and a flowing melody rang out.
Along with it came a gentle wind, wrapping him.
Shepherd rode the wind aloft, suspended midair.
Then he lowered his flute and looked at Kael:「The Rhythm of Wind, a Traveler’s Hymn.」
As Kael puzzled, the melody sounded again. This time, the wind was no longer gentle but heavy.
Veils of mist and shifting rainclouds seemed to gather. Under the pressing wind, dark clouds swirled.
Before Kael, a road stretched, laden with lightning, storms, and gloom.
Now Kael began to grasp what Shepherd meant by 『a hymn for the Traveler.』
This was the epic of a traveler’s journey, a song for him.
For every traveler, the road ahead will never be smooth, there will be rises and falls. It is a road of hardship, of thorns, shrouded by storm and rain.
Shepherd now played the role of the storm and gale blocking the Traveler. If one passes through, it becomes hymn; if one falls here, it becomes knell!
It must be said, Shepherd’s「momentum」far surpassed Ghost Shadow’s.
If「momentum」can be inner and outer, Ghost Shadow had only shallow outward show, while Shepherd possessed both.
Under this aura, even Kael nearly「succumbed.」
To be treated with such gravity, Kael felt the impulse to abandon extraneous means, to forego the alchemy puppet. He wanted, like Vai, to fight on his own power, to win by himself.
But that was only a fleeting thought.
Kael knew the situation. If he truly discarded external means, his chance of victory would be slim. At such a crucial moment, losing through whim would leave him guilty.
Moreover, more than any「true battle」, Kael longed, after victory, to explore the ruins.
Ruin-hunting was above all else.
So Kael put away the errant thought and focused wholly on this battle that must not be lost.
Chapter 2750 Nightmare Illusion Mark <TOC> Chapter 2752 Black-Faced Sheep’s Tap Dance