Chapter 2757 Seamus <TOC> Chapter 2759 Flame’s Will
Translator: SumTLMan
However, though Angel was willing to part with it, Daus lacked the means to trade, his pockets were simply too shy.
Daus hung his head, looking utterly dejected. Sure enough, Angel was not like Vai; trying to mooch off Angel was basically impossible.
Just as Daus was sinking into gloom, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s voice came:
「The next duel is about to begin. Both parties participating in the duel may enter the arena now.」
After the words fell, the scene grew quiet. Quite a while passed, and no one stepped onto the stage.
On their side, it should have been Vai’s turn, but Vai was currently in a state of absent-mindedness. The aura around him was so oppressively low that anyone who came near would find even their「art style」turning black-and-white like Vai’s.
The situation was different for the Gray Merchant’s group on the opposite side. Their other apprentices had already lost; this time only Mammoth could go up. Yet for some reason, Mammoth did not move, as if hesitating about something.
Meanwhile, the Gray Merchant and Shrew were whispering to each other at the side. The Gray Merchant’s expression was faintly agitated, while Shrew kept a cold face. Judging from their expressions, they seemed to be in the midst of a quarrel. Only, their conversation was in the mental connection, so it was impossible to know what exactly they were arguing about.
The arena atop the platform was empty, and it looked as though the scene was about to go cold.
At this moment, the Sovereign of Wisdom said blandly:「If no one appears in the next half minute, that will mean you both choose to forfeit; then the apprentices’ duel ends here…… with no winner.」
This speech from the Sovereign of Wisdom was tantamount to laying down the final ultimatum.
Angel cast a glance at Vai; seeing he still had no reaction, he could only glare at Daus once, and finally turned his gaze to Kael.
If Vai couldn’t go up, then it would have to continue with Kael again.
Without Angel’s reminder, Kael himself understood the situation perfectly. He had already begun taking deep breaths and rose from the ground, preparing to step onto the arena.
On the other side, Shrew’s quarrel with the Gray Merchant finally concluded. From their expressions, it seemed the Gray Merchant had lost the argument. As their dispute ended, Mammoth at last stepped onto the arena.
Kael was also about to follow, but before he could move, a shadow streaked past him at great speed and, with lightning swiftness, plunged down to the center of the arena.
Yes, plunged down.
The one who entered the arena was none other than Vai; however, Vai’s means of entry was rather special, he had been swatted into the ring by a massive stone construct like a giant mosquito-slapper.
Because of this special entry, even Vai himself had not yet recovered his wits when he hit head-first, with his rear end pointing at the sky, sprawling on the arena floor.
When Vai came to and opened his eyes, what he saw was Mammoth wearing a brown mammoth mask, with visible astonishment even through the eyeholes…… Mammoth.
One face dazed, one gaze astonished.
In the next two seconds, Vai began to realize what had happened; he quickly sprang up from his butt-in-the-air posture, looking grim, while Mammoth remained astonished.
Thinking back on his landing posture, Vai felt his face burn hot, as if something were leaving his body……
And turning back to see that astonished look in Mammoth’s eyes, he felt it unbearably piercing.
No need to think to know that the one who booted him was certainly his own ancestor. Toward his ancestor, Vai dared harbor no complaint; but this outsider, Mammoth, actually looking at him with such eyes, was he mocking him?
At this thought, Vai’s pent-up resentment was instantly ignited, and he glared viciously at Mammoth.
Mammoth’s look shifted from astonishment to puzzlement.
He couldn’t understand why Vai suddenly developed hatred toward him, and at no small level, by the looks of it.
If he knew what was in Vai’s mind, he would likely feel very wronged.
The surprise Mammoth had shown earlier was not because of Vai’s posture. He was not Daus; shooting off at the mouth was something Mammoth never did. On their side, even the most boisterous Pink Jasmine would not resort to mocking someone’s posture for self-soothing. It wasn’t about vaunting morality; it was purely that…… they didn’t care.
The ones who care about your gaffes are generally only those who know you; after all, even to tease, ridicule, or mock, you at least have to know who you are.
As for why Mammoth’s eyes betrayed astonishment: it was because he hadn’t expected the one to step onto the stage this time to be Vai.
He had thought he would be facing Kael.
Previously, after Kael’s battle with Shepherd ended, Shepherd had conducted a review. After discussion, they unanimously believed that Kael’s trump card against Shepherd was that alchemy puppet, because Shepherd had confirmed through the black-faced sheep that the alchemy puppet possessed wind energy powerful enough to be close to the level of a formal wizard.
And the robe on Kael made from Seamus’ hide had displayed near-true knowledge-level defensive power. They speculated it was specially prepared to deal with Mammoth. It was just that Kael probably hadn’t expected Shepherd to force out that hole card as well.
For precisely this reason, when Mammoth saw that the one entering was not Kael but Vai, he felt astonished.
Apart from that, there was another matter that astonished Mammoth:
Was the other side sending up Kael because Shrew’s strategy had been discovered?
Before this, Shepherd had advised Mammoth not to bother competing: as long as the other side had a robe made from Seamus’ hide, he would surely lose if he entered. Mammoth himself felt it unnecessary to go on stage just to be beaten.
The defensive power of Seamus’ hide could even withstand a strike from a True Knowledge Wizard; Mammoth did not believe he could break through such terrifying defense.
Yet now, Mammoth had still gone on stage.
Because Shrew insisted that Mammoth step up, and Mammoth had no right to refuse.
As for why Shrew was so insistent he go up? The reason was simple: Shrew wanted the Seamus’ hide.
Compared with the Chupacabra Shrew sought, Seamus’ hide was higher-grade and had even better effects. Previously Shrew had never even dreamed of materials from Seamus’ body; getting the Chupacabra’s materials would have satisfied her. But now that Seamus’ hide had appeared, and right before her eyes, how could she not be tempted?
Forcible seizure was certainly impossible. In Shrew’s view, there was only one way to obtain Seamus’ hide: after Mammoth defeated Kael, he would directly strip off the robe made from Seamus’ hide.
Earlier, Angel had taken the victor’s spoils from the Gray Merchant, and the Sovereign of Wisdom had not stopped it, which meant the rules allowed it. Thus Shrew felt they could do the same and take this trophy from Kael.
And how was Mammoth to defeat Kael? Since Shrew proposed this plan, she was naturally prepared to help Mammoth with all her strength; she even handed over one of her own trump cards to Mammoth, to ensure he would certainly win.
However, Shrew’s idea did not gain the Gray Merchant’s support.
The Gray Merchant still needed the wizard on the other side who called himself「Eremy」to help retrieve his memories from the mirror shard, and he did not wish to invite extra complications.
But Shrew felt the two matters could not be lumped together. The Gray Merchant retrieving his memories was not a free gift; he would pay an equivalent price, this was a fair trade.
Shrew’s desire for Seamus’ hide was also within the rules; the two matters did not conflict.
But did they really not conflict? Shrew likely didn’t even believe that herself.
Seamus’ hide and that mirror shard were of utterly different value. Moreover, the other side’s offer to help the Gray Merchant retrieve his memories was clearly out of「friendly goodwill」; it might not truly be for the price the Gray Merchant would pay. After all, the so-called price was still unknown; whether it would be worth it or not was another question.
Even knowing all this, sometimes greed will blind everything.
Shrew was precisely in such a state, self-deceivingly believing that her matter and the Gray Merchant’s were two separate things that could not be judged together.
Even Mammoth could see the key here, how could Shrew not? But Mammoth had no right to speak, much less to choose; under Shrew’s coercion, he could only go up.
Yet after Mammoth went on stage, the other side delivered a「fright」.
The Kael clad in Seamus’ hide did not appear; instead the one who took the field was the descendant of the Noah family!
Clearly Ghost Shadow had already, through the mycobarrier, caused this man to lose combat power for a short time; how had he recovered so quickly? Had the mushroom spores already been completely removed?
And what should he do now? If the descendant of Noah also brought a trump card and he could not defeat him, should he use or not use the trump card Shrew had entrusted to him?
If he used it, what about the aftermath? Moreover, that trump card was precious, part of Shrew’s own foundation. If he didn’t use it on Kael, how could he explain himself to Shrew?
And if, before the Black Count, he used such a trump card against the descendant of Noah, causing him injury or even death, what would they do then?
It could be said that, in a short span of time, simply because Vai entered, all sorts of thoughts drifted through Mammoth’s mind.
Each of these thoughts made Mammoth feel troubled and torn.
In such a situation, Mammoth’s astonishment lingered on his face.
Unfortunately, Vai knew nothing of these twists and turns. His mood had already been low; after being「booted」onto the stage and having his opponent witness his embarrassment, Vai’s shame and anger had maxed out.
Though he had no heart for battle, the aura around Vai climbed higher and higher.
Mammoth, by contrast, felt his desire to fight ebb due to his many inner thoughts.
Where the pressure should have favored Mammoth, such a reversal now appeared, surprising everyone.
Amid such surging thoughts on all sides and such a stark contrast, the duel finally began.
……
While Vai fought, Angel moved his gaze away from the arena.
It wasn’t that Vai’s fight had no highlights. This time, Vai’s fighting method was completely different from his bout against Ghost Shadow, far more aggressive, like a bristling wildcat, striking as if heedless of his life, going blow for blow with Mammoth. There was plenty to see; only, there was something Angel was more curious about now.
He turned his eyes to the alchemy puppet standing beside Kael.
Previously they had only discussed Seamus’ hide and hadn’t mentioned Speedling, but whether Angel, the Black Count, or Kael, all were quite curious about what had happened to Speedling at the time.
Why had Speedling been entangled by those four black-faced sheep? Why had Speedling not taken action?
And another point: after Speedling left the arena, it should have given feedback to Angel immediately; yet Angel waited a long time, and Speedling never took the initiative to report its situation to Angel.
All these strange reactions made Angel curious.
When Angel turned his gaze toward Speedling, Speedling had no reaction at all, just like a true alchemy puppet.
Only when Angel took the initiative to contact Speedling through the power of the contract did Speedling slowly, dully come back to itself.
Angel’s exchange with Speedling was conducted privately; outsiders did not know what they said. But Angel’s expression would occasionally pause for several seconds, revealing a pensive look, evidently, something fishy might really have happened.
After a while, Angel’s exchange with Speedling finally ended.
Seeing this, Daus asked curiously:「What’s the situation?」
After pondering for a moment, Angel said in the mental connection:「Speedling told me something interesting. It wasn’t that it couldn’t break through the encirclement of those four black-faced sheep, it was that it was unwilling to break through.」
Earlier, the Black Count had said Speedling seemed disinclined to break out of the siege; Angel’s words now confirmed his suspicion.
Speedling had indeed chosen not to break the siege.
「I called to Speedling at the time……」Kael said then.
Angel:「I asked it, but it didn’t answer. Most likely it heard your call but, not willing and not wanting to break through, it simply pretended not to hear.」
Daus raised a brow:「What value is there in an elemental creature that even disobeys its master’s orders?」
Though Daus’ words were harsh, they were a mainstream view; from the overall situation in the Wizarding World, he wasn’t wrong.
Angel, however, shook his head:「It doesn’t exactly count as disobedience.」
Under their puzzled gazes, Angel roughly recounted Daus’ previous experience and inner journey.
The reason Angel said Speedling didn’t count as disobeying orders was that, when he signed the contract with Speedling and the other captured wind elemental creatures, there was a stipulated clause: they would not be made to fight wind elemental sprites.
Although the Sparking Mountain Range and the White Cloud Hamlet in the Tidal Realm are hostile to each other, even when they fight fiercely, they rarely target newly born wind sprites.
They had gone through it themselves and knew well that the birth of any elemental sprite is not easy. Moreover, many elemental sprites haven’t even awakened intelligence, possessing neither ideology nor oppositional hatred, what meaning is there in attacking them?
By then Angel had traveled the Tidal Realm for some time and naturally understood their feelings, so he agreed to this clause in the contract.
And it was precisely in accordance with this clause that Speedling did not raise its hand against those four black-faced sheep.
「So those four strange sheep are wind elemental sprites?」Daus exclaimed in suspicion:「They don’t feel like it to me.」
Those sheep clearly had fleshly bodies. And although their energy circulation was odd, it didn’t fit the rules of elemental creatures.
Angel shrugged:「I think the same as you.」
Angel did not think those four black-faced sheep were elemental sprites either.
But Speedling was quite certain: even if they were not yet elemental sprites, they already had the embryo to become sprites; so long as they experienced an elemental tide, it was only a matter of time before they transformed into elemental sprites.
In other words, those four black-faced sheep, though not yet elemental sprites, had the potential to become elemental sprites.
You could compare them to buds or seeds, just one spring rain and they might poke up their heads.
Precisely because Speedling felt they were only one step from forming, it feared that if it used even a little too much strength, this group of「ungerminated seeds」would be utterly damaged and lose the qualification to advance. Therefore, when Speedling was surrounded by them, it dared not act rashly.
This was the core reason Speedling did not break the encirclement.
「Are you sure it’s telling the truth?」Daus asked.
Angel:「I can only be sure it won’t lie to me; whether it misjudged, that I cannot guarantee.」
Even with Speedling’s explanation, Angel still found it hard to believe that those four black-faced sheep could be「seeds」of elemental sprites.
Angel had seen too many elemental sprites in the Tidal Realm, and the vast majority of them were without intellect; elemental sprites like Dangros, who possessed intelligence and could speak, were exceedingly rare.
If even most elemental sprites haven’t awakened, how could a「seed」that wasn’t yet an elemental sprite possess superior intelligence, hold conversations, coordinate tactical encirclements in battle, and even have an「inter-species companion」?
It sounded absurd.
Angel truly found it hard to believe.
But since Speedling said so, it wasn’t impossible. Perhaps it was simply that his experience was limited and he was making a fuss over nothing?
If it came to experience, the one among them with the most authority to speak was surely the Black Count.
Thinking this, Angel turned his gaze to the Black Count, wanting to hear what view the Black Count would have on this.