Chapter 851 Instant Kill <TOC> Chapter 853 The Painted Door
Translator: SumTLMan
After Aaron had left, Shannon could no longer hold back her question. “Lord,” she asked, “what happened to the man who was controlling the Heart Eater?”
“He’s dead,” Angel replied nonchalantly.
The man was a summoner, enveloped in an aura of malice and perversion. Although he appeared youthful, his demeanor was that of a person near the end of his life. Just as Angel suspected, the summoner was a novice from the wilderness, who had barely reached the second level.
Initially, Angel had no intention of killing him. His goal was to prevent the summoner from further participating in the mortal wars. However, during their negotiation, Angel noticed the summoner’s continual avoidance of eye contact, as if he recognized him. The summoner agreed to all of Angel’s terms with a fearful demeanor.
Angel had initially planned to let him off with a warning, but the summoner’s evasive behavior aroused his suspicions. Seizing an unguarded moment, Angel used a nightmare fear spell to reveal the summoner’s identity — a member of the Rat Ant Underground Society. Two years ago, all members of the Rat Ant Underground Society received Angel’s portrait, including the summoner. Recognizing Angel, he understood that he was outmatched, so he decided to retreat temporarily, intending to report Angel’s whereabouts to the society and let others deal with him.
Because of his plans and his affiliation with a group Angel despised, Angel didn’t spare him. After extracting some information from him, Angel executed him.
“The transcendent is really dead? That’s wonderful!” Shannon was so overjoyed that she couldn’t contain herself. With no transcendent to impede them, Sea Wave had lost its strongest arm. Winning back lost ground in the terrestrial battles was no longer an impossibility.
“I’ve investigated. The wizard apprentice’s actions were individual. There are no other transcendent beings in the entire Sea Wave Royal Family. Thus, I have fulfilled my promise,” Angel paused, “and now it’s time for you to fulfill yours.”
Shannon hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, “The battle for Sea Moon City is imminent. Can I accompany you to the capital after the battle here concludes?”
“I don’t have time to waste. Either you take me, or I go myself.”
Despite both options resulting in Angel heading to the royal family, Shannon was unsure of what might happen if Angel went alone. After a considerable pause, she finally nodded, “Alright, I’ll take you.”
Shannon called her deputy into the tent, arranged for the preparation of the subsequent warfare, wrote a few orders, and prepared to leave with Angel.
Before departing, Angel paused and pointed to the unconscious child on the ground, “He can stay here for now. Keep an eye on him. When I return from the capital, I’ll take him with me.”
Shannon’s eyes lit up, “Lord, are you planning on returning here after your visit to the capital? If so, could you possibly give me a lift?”
Angel nodded indifferently.
Joy filled Shannon’s heart. She had witnessed the speed of the Gondola, and it might even be possible to make a round trip from here to the capital within a day. That wouldn’t disrupt the ongoing battle here.
With this thought, Shannon’s heart eased a bit. She didn’t want to miss such a golden opportunity. Sea Wave was crippled, a prime time for attack. If the commander was absent, the morale of the troops might crumble once again.
Having decided to go, the sooner the better. Shannon quickly discussed her reasons with General Aaron, then boarded the Gondola. Under the heavy night, she flew towards the capital with Angel.
Bathed in the soft moonlight, the aesthetic silhouette of the Gondola seemed to merge with the starry sky, like a fairytale ship filled with hope, sliding down the zipline of the stars.
As Shannon watched the stars that seemed just within reach, the weight of the worries that had been hanging in her heart was mitigated by the beautiful scene before her.
“Assuming there are no hitches, you should be back at the camp tomorrow. You could take a rest first. You need to stay energized and fit if you are to battle Sea Wave,” Angel’s voice reached Shannon’s ears.
Shannon looked at Angel, “Lord, are you also hoping for Goldfinch to win?”
“Who wins isn’t important. However, if Goldfinch wins, Grud Town will have fewer troubles,” Angel said truthfully.
“After this war, I will report to my father to elevate Grud Town to a city level and promote the rank of Viscount Pat,” Shannon stated seriously.
“I hate trouble, and I don’t want my family to have any either,” Although Angel said this, he didn’t reject the reward Shannon mentioned.
Shannon blinked, then nodded, “I understand.”
The conversation ended, and the Gondola fell silent for a while. Shannon intended to rest for a bit, as Angel suggested, but the ups and downs she had gone through that day made it hard for her to sleep.
In the end, Shannon decided to abandon the idea of rest. She lifted her head to look at Angel across from her.
She had seen many good-looking people, but she had to admit that Angel possessed an extraordinarily handsome appearance. His golden hair and sapphire eyes, along with his perfectly proportioned features, would surely drive any woman who saw him mad. His indifferent and aloof demeanor added to his allure. If she hadn’t already been married and had children, she might have fallen for him too.
“What are you looking at?” Angel’s clear voice reached Shannon’s ears.
Shannon found it hard to say ‘I was looking at you.’ She could only pretend to cough and said softly, “I wasn’t looking at anything. I was just thinking… By the way, who is that child you brought back earlier?”
“A child of Sea Wave,” Angel leaned against the side of the ship, his gaze drifting towards the unknown distance, he replied in a soft voice.
That child had always followed a summoning apprentice known as “Ghostcaller” from the Rat Ant Underworld Society. Later, after Ghostcaller was struck with a nightmare fear spell, Angel had questioned the identity of the child.
Ghostcaller’s response: He had found a successor in him.
Angel speculated that the child could possibly be a talented one. His Guide Mission lacked but one more individual. Initially, he had planned to cultivate his brother Leon into a talented one to join the Savage Grottoes, but who would have expected that upon his return, Leon already had a mentor. Therefore, if he wanted to complete the Guide Mission, he still needed to find another talented one.
Due to the urgency of Leon’s situation, he did not have time to search everywhere. Since Ghostcaller had only found the child not long ago, and he had not joined the Underworld Society, Angel decided to take him along to make up the numbers.
At four in the morning, they arrived at Sambia, the capital of the Goldfinch Empire.
Sambia in its slumber was dim and lightless. It was a world apart from the capital of the previous Anru Dynasty, the City of Lost Melodies.
Angel directly brought the Gondola to the Shannon Palace. The forced landing of the airship startled a large number of guards who almost instantly surrounded the airship in their heavy armor as soon as it stopped.
Shannon was the first to descend from the Gondola. She took off her helmet, revealing her true face.
“It’s Princess Tavel! Everyone, stand down!” Upon seeing who had arrived, the captain of the guards immediately stopped others from approaching, while he went to Shannon’s side, kneeling on one knee to show his allegiance.
“Captain Shell, take me to see my father, I have important matters to report,” Shannon’s voice carried an authoritative tone.
The guard captain, named Shell, immediately nodded. Even though the king was resting at this time, as a commander on an expedition, Princess Tavel had urgent matters to report, likely related to the war. No one could, nor dared to obstruct.
At this time, Angel also descended from the Gondola and casually stored the Gondola in his bracelet, immediately drawing astonishment from the surrounding guards.
However, in the strictly hierarchical palace, no one dared to question at this time. It was not until Angel and Shannon had both proceeded to the King’s sleeping quarters that the guards who remained at the original site gathered together, whispering and discussing in low voices.
…
It was a very grand underground palace.
However, upon closer inspection, one would find that the ceiling of this underground palace was full of stalactites, showing that before the palace was established, this place was originally an underground cave.
King Shannon, named Rosset, was a robust middle-aged man with a beard. His fluffy brown hair, which had been ruffled due to being awakened in the middle of the night, was pressed down by a dazzling golden crown. It looked somewhat absurd, like a pathetic attempt to conceal something obvious.
“Great wizard, ahead lies the treasure vault of the underground palace. The stalactites that can drop precious jewel-like fluid are inside the vault,” Rosset pointed at a palace in front and said respectfully to Angel.
Shannon also curiously looked forward. Speaking of which, this was also her first time here; usually, only Rosset and his loyal guards were allowed entry.
Angel glanced at the treasure vault, which was grandly constructed. However, it was more appropriate to say that it was a “door” rather than a vault. He had already probed it with his mental tendril, and inside, it was virtually all natural stalactites, without any traces of human excavation.
Since he knew that the so-called treasures were the liquid drippings of stalactites, he continually extended his mental tendril along the way, sensing the stalactites overhead.
To his disappointment, he did not perceive any energy fluctuations from beginning to end.
These were all ordinary stalactites.
Even now, with the treasury just a door away, he did not sense any energy fluctuations. His mental tendril had already investigated most of the stalactites inside, but he found nothing.
He was now beginning to wonder if his deal with Shannon had been somewhat shortchanged?
The entrance to the treasury was guarded by death warriors shrouded in black armor. Even when they saw Princess Tavel, they did not show respectful eyes. Only when they saw Rosset, they bowed their heads.
Rosset took out the key and unlocked the door.
The door, which weighed several thousand pounds, required the combined strength of the death warriors to push open.
As soon as the door opened, a chilling wind blew out.
Although it was a treasury, there were basically only stalactites inside, except for a uniquely shaped flail placed on a pedestal in the middle.
According to Rosset, the humidity here is relatively high, and other precious treasures are kept in a drier place. The most core of the entire treasury is the stalactite that can drip treasure liquid.
And the location of that stalactite is right above the flail.