Chapter 692 Dulmatin <TOC> Chapter 694 Baruba's Choice
Translator: SumTLMan
“Fertilizer” awkwardly smiled and bowed to Dulmatin, saying, “Lord Dulmatin, my name is An…”
Dulmatin waved his hand, “It doesn’t matter what your name is, do you have a say here?”
As Dulmatin waved his hand, a cold blade suddenly appeared in midair, aimed at Angel, with its powerful aura causing a physiological stress response.
Dulmatin merely pointed the blade at Angel without actually taking action.
Like this, the stalemate lasted for nearly two minutes. Angel’s calves had started to tremble slightly. If it continued, not only would he fall to his knees, but his confidence might also begin to crumble.
Iron Armor Granny frowned and reached out to touch Angel’s clothes gently. A gentle energy filled his entire body, and the powerful aura that had been shaking him vanished in an instant.
However, the sudden disappearance of the aura caused Angel’s tense body to spasm for a moment. He leaned on the cultivation chamber behind him to barely prevent himself from losing his composure.
“Dulmatin, are you satisfied with this show of power?” Granny said indifferently, “He has paid the price for disturbing you, so it’s time for you to put away your pride.”
“Granny, you must be joking. I am not annoyed by your presence. I am just giving a small punishment to an apprentice who does not know the rules.” Dulmatin closed his hand, and the cold blade dissipated from Angel’s body.
Angel was still gasping for breath when he heard Iron Armor Granny’s voice transmission: “This guy is actually just venting his anger at us for disturbing his experiment. He doesn’t dare to mess with me, so he can only vent on you. However, he doesn’t dare to do anything to you, so just bear with it. After all, we did indeed disturb his experiment.”
Angel imperceptibly nodded.
Their conversation naturally fell on Dulmatin. Iron Armor Granny even used a low-level sound transmission spell, openly letting Dulmatin hear it.
Dulmatin indeed eavesdropped, but after listening, his expression remained unchanged, still smiling politely. However, a glint flashed in his slightly narrowed eyes.
After Iron Armor Granny finished her transmission, Dulmatin smiled and said, “Granny, I don’t know why you came to see me today?”
Iron Armor Granny: “I have nothing to do with you. He has something to ask you.”
Iron Armor Granny pointed at Angel and then sat down at the round table in the center, looking like she was ready to watch a show, as if what happened next had nothing to do with her.
But Dulmatin understood Iron Armor Granny’s intentions.
She came here specifically for the apprentice. Naturally, she wanted to support the apprentice, just like before when his goal was to crush the apprentice’s confidence, but Iron Armor Granny still blocked him at the critical moment.
It was clear that Iron Armor Granny was here to be the apprentice’s support.
This made Dulmatin somewhat curious. Iron Armor Granny held a very special position in the Savage Grottoes, and she had always remained neutral, hiding in the Flowing Source and staying out of worldly affairs. When did she start backing an apprentice?
Although Dulmatin was puzzled, he didn’t show it. Instead, he looked at the apprentice who was gradually standing up, waiting for his explanation.
After calming his breath, Angel respectfully said to Dulmatin, “Lord Dulmatin, I came here because Miss Flora asked me to come and take Baruba away.”
“Miss Flora?” Dulmatin pondered the name, a trace of doubt flashing through his narrowed eyes. “So, you are her disciple?”
“My name is Angel Pat, and I am an apprentice of Phantom Master.” Angel bowed his head, his expression calm, but he couldn’t help but inwardly criticize: just now, he wasn’t allowed to introduce himself, and now he’s being asked who he is.
Dulmatin exclaimed, “Ah, so you’re Angel.”
When Dulmatin said this, he paused for a while, as if considering something. He naturally knew who Angel was. Although he spent most of his time on experiments throughout the year, he was not a completely secluded wizard. From time to time, apprentices would deliver supplies and materials to him, and he had his own sources of information. Of course, he wouldn’t be unaware of the recent hot topic.
Moreover, Angel was a recent sensation in —Mirror—.
A future alchemy master, and a young one at that. Dulmatin didn’t want to offend such a person, even if he was just an apprentice now.
Because he knew that he might have to deal with him in the future, or even ask for his alchemical services.
Thinking of this, Dulmatin somewhat regretted interrupting Angel’s self-introduction earlier.
“Lord Dulmatin, may I ask if I can take Baruba away?” Angel asked again.
Dulmatin looked deeply at Angel. He really wanted to inquire about the purpose of taking Baruba away. This person, after being brainwashed, would be handed over to Flora’s subordinates by his apprentice in a couple of days. Now, Baruba had only been injected with the bloodline and had not been brainwashed yet. Taking him away seemed out of the ordinary.
However, after thinking for a moment, he didn’t ask the question. After all, Baruba was just a minor figure. Even if something happened to him here, it probably wouldn’t cause much of a stir for Flora.
“Of course, you can.” Dulmatin waved his sleeve, and the lid of the incubation chamber behind Angel opened. At the same time, Baruba’s eyes also opened.
“Come out, someone is here to take you away,” Dulmatin’s voice reached Baruba’s ears.
Baruba’s eyes were still somewhat dazed and confused, but he followed his instincts, swam out of the dim water, and crawled out through the top of the chamber.
With a body covered in water vapor and a strong energy aura, Baruba stood by Angel’s side.
“Angel…” Baruba looked at Angel, somewhat puzzled as to why he would be here.
Angel said nothing, took out a wizard’s robe from his bracelet, and handed it over to the naked Baruba, who was really unsightly.
“Save your questions for later, once we’ve left,” Angel whispered to Baruba.
Then, he walked over to Dulmatin, bowed, and thanked him.
Dulmatin said, “If you don’t take him away, he might die here. After all, the death rate of guilty people sent to me is as high as 50%, and injecting a one-time bloodline is not always successful.”
After finishing this sentence, Dulmatin chatted with Iron Armor Granny for a while, and finally nodded at Angel, giving his personal imprint on the communicator to Angel, “If you need to find me in the future, just contact me directly with the communicator. There’s no need to trouble Granny.”
“I have experiments to do, so I won’t see you off.” After saying that, Dulmatin bade them farewell. Judging from his anxious look, his experiment was probably at a critical moment.
It wasn’t until they left the scope of Dulmatin’s otherworldly laboratory that Iron Armor Granny said, “That kid Dulmatin is doing you a favor.”
“Huh?” Angel didn’t understand the meaning of Iron Armor Granny’s words.
“What he just said means… even if you publicly claim that Baruba died in his lab, he’s willing to take the blame.” Iron Armor Granny said indifferently, “He’s not stupid, he knows that you must have something fishy going on when you took Baruba away without following the proper procedures. But he didn’t question you, and instead handed it directly to you, mentioning the death rate of injecting the one-time bloodline. The meaning couldn’t be clearer.”
Angel had a sudden realization, but he didn’t quite understand the significance of Dulmatin’s words. Was it because of his mentor?
“Dulmatin doesn’t care about your mentor’s face; he cares about yours,” Iron Armor Granny said, “Ordinary wizards wouldn’t go out of their way to offend alchemists because they often need their help.”
“Dulmatin may have a bad reputation and questionable character, but he’s a smart man.”
Iron Armor Granny took them up to the Iron Armor Fortress, which immediately began traversing the mountains. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the Source of Flow.
Before leaving, Iron Armor Granny asked him, “What are you planning to do now? Actually, according to Dulmatin’s intentions, you can save on the deal.”
As long as he said Baruba died in Dulmatin’s lab, the rest wouldn’t matter. He could let Baruba leave the Savage Grottoes. He wouldn’t need to trade with Flora for this, as Iron Armor Granny said, saving a sum.
But at the same time, he would owe Dulmatin a favor. Angel didn’t think this was a good deal.
“Granny’s advice has made me understand a lot. I plan to tell my mentor and Miss Flora directly. As for the rest, let Baruba decide for himself. After all, he once helped me.”
Iron Armor Granny nodded with a smile, not saying anything further.
After leaving the Flowing Source, Angel looked at the silent Baruba along the way, sighing slightly in his heart.
“Do you know what happened?” Angel asked.
Baruba stopped, his eyes clear but filled with a sorrow that couldn’t be dispelled: “Thank you for taking me away from there.”
Baruba lowered his head: “When I entered the Savage Grottoes in the first year, I saw the Extreme Sect’s rule manual in the Cloud Library, and I knew my destiny. However, I thought I could change it, but in the end, I couldn’t do anything.”
“Since you know everything, what do you plan to do now?” Angel asked.
“Rescuing me will cause trouble for you, right? Hand me over to mentor Flora. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble,” Baruba said.
“It’s not troublesome at all, don’t worry. Besides, you once saved me too.”
Strength limited one’s vision, and vision restricted freedom.
If it had been him a year ago, without the ability to handle Baruba’s affairs, he naturally wouldn’t have intervened. But now that he had the power to help Baruba and not put himself at risk, he didn’t mind spending some time.
“The gratitude for saving me has long been repaid, and I also know that the guidance method was actually written for me by you. So, it’s me who owes you a favor, not you,” Baruba suddenly looked up at the sky, where a cloud island floated at the edge of the horizon, which was where Flora’s Rogue Flower Society was: “Let me go to the Rogue Flower Society.”
“Many times, people have no choice in what they do. But when you give up on yourself, fate will help push things along,” Angel said softly, “You now have the chance to live. Will you give it up?”
Baruba lowered his head in silence, and after a while, his body trembled slightly.
“I don’t want to give up. I want to live more than anyone,” the voice resonating in his nasal cavity reached Angel’s ears.
“Then follow me. At least while you’re alive, you’ll have a chance to repay the favor,” Angel said, releasing the Gondola and gesturing for Baruba to come up.
Baruba wanted to live, but could he really survive?
His eyes reddened slightly, looking at the hazy and dreamy airship in the distance, clenching his fists tightly, he finally stepped forward.