novelraw Chapter 356: Giant Troll-kin
Chapter 356: Giant Troll-kin
"Baimon, is it that demon who visited the Phoenix? I seem to have heard this story in my family's ancient texts previously, but that was a very, very, very long time ago. Can someone truly live that long?"
"There are many high-ranked demi-human species that enjoy longer lifespans than humans. Baimon, acting as a Demon-kin, is one of them. However, that was indeed a very long time ago."
Hearing Valentiina's doubt, Fisher opened his mouth to respond with a sentence, but merely flipped the picture back around, looking at the rear figure of the woman on the picture for a long time wordlessly.
The demise of the Phoenixes was prior to that apocalyptic Mythological War. Furthermore, repelling the Chaos-kin was still a considerable amount of time away from their demise. Otherwise, the three Children of the Phoenix couldn't have left so many traces in the Mortal World. As for the time Baimon gifted the painting, it was shortly after the Phoenix Race defeated the Chaos-kin.
First of all, what was painted on this definitely wasn't the Moon Princess. The Moon Princess was a pure-blooded Phoenix Race. Whether based on the previous murals or the descriptions of the Six Tribes, one could tell that the difference in appearance between Phoenixes and humans was exceedingly huge. Yet, this oil painting clearly depicted the rear view of a human woman. The images of the two were worlds apart; Baimon wouldn't commit this kind of low-level mistake.
And for some unknown reason, despite it clearly being a rear view, Fisher could always associate the image before his eyes with that foolish woman who had been missing for a long time. However, if the black-haired woman painted by Baimon was Renee, then exactly how long had Renee lived? What was her relationship with Baimon? Why did Baimon paint Renee in the painting and gift it to the Moon Princess?
Or perhaps, his train of thought was wrong, and the person on it wasn't Renee at all, but rather a general image painted by Baimon to represent humans... After all, he still didn't know if the fragrance he smelled earlier was a hallucination brought about by the Soul Completion Handbook. Previously, there was even a hallucination of Renee personally opening her mouth and conversing with him. Therefore, Fisher highly doubted this conclusion.
The human woman in the painting was a rear view lacking specific facial features. Perhaps Baimon wanted to use this to express her attitude towards humans to dispel the Moon Princess's anger, which coincidentally corresponded to the matter of her returning the ten humans serving as stakes to the Phoenix and requesting the Moon Princess's forgiveness?
But then again, according to Eimhart's words, Baimon was one of the most powerful even amongst Demon-kin. Otherwise, it wouldn't be that all other demons were locked in the Demon Abyss, yet she evaded the reckoning of the Mythological War and continued walking the world to this day.
Then, why would such a powerful Demon-kin arrive uninvited, traveling from the Southern Continent to the Northern Border, which was a hundred and eighty thousand miles away, to participate in the Phoenix's banquet? Exactly what objective did she have?Thinking up to this point, Fisher felt quite a headache. He gently reached out a finger to caress the oil painting whose pigments had long since dried. His finger coincidentally rested upon the head of black hair of the woman's rear view.
"What do you human kids understand? You basically know nothing about Baimon's terror! She's simply... F-Fisher, let's just run away quickly. The matter of the Wutong Tree must definitely be closely related to Baimon. Once anything gets involved with Baimon, there definitely won't be any good ending. You and Valentiina will be in danger!"
Fisher frowned, looking at Eimhart constantly trembling while huddled in the corner of the hall. Abruptly, he spoke up,
"Eimhart, I had some doubts previously. You definitely experienced some things in the Demon's Abyss that you haven't told me. Otherwise, merely complaining a few sentences about her recording ancient text contents and incurring punishment as a result wouldn't make you so terrified of her. What exactly did you see in the Abyss? And what did Baimon do to you?"
Eimhart carefully cast a glance at Fisher holding the painting. His lips trembled a bit, seemingly wanting to say something. Yet the next second, a certain extreme terror once again made him abruptly shrink into the corner of the room. Subsequently, he spoke in a panic,
"No, I cannot say. It is some hidden secret regarding what she recorded, and has no connection with current matters. Of course, I wouldn't hide it on purpose with ulterior motives against you... You know Baimon is a Demon God who immensely enjoys bestowing knowledge upon others. The instant this knowledge becomes known to people, she will immediately sense it. This is precisely the reason why my sneaking into her treasury was discovered, and because of this, I was left with an unforgettable agonizing pain. Fisher..."
Just as Eimhart still wanted to say something, he suddenly felt a slightly cool, stark wind blowing against his back from behind. A massive shadow covered the bright light he stood upon beneath his feet. His brows twitched slightly as he turned his head around, only to see a gigantic creature approximately four meters tall standing at the end of the staircase in front of them, holding a giant lance and looking at them.
"Those who trespass Wutong shall die."
That massive figure seemed to drape a heavy coat over its body. Facing the cold wind outside, wisps of fur on the coat fluttered continuously, making the gigantic figure before their eyes resemble a huge white gorilla.
"Ahhhhh, wait, I haven't..."
The instant that ancient Northern Border language left its mouth, the massive creature before them fiercely raised the giant lance in its hand. Fisher's eyes turned slightly cold. Extending the Fluid Sword, he pulled Eimhart, who was shrinking in the corner, back. Following this, amidst his panic-stricken yells, Fisher erected the gradually-hardening Fluid Sword in his hand to block in front of him.
"Clang!"
The next second, an extremely ear-piercing friction sound accompanied by a massive spark exploded before Fisher's eyes. Valentiina hastily closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, while Eimhart also shrank into Fisher's pocket. After confirming the person behind and the book in front were both safe, he fiercely exerted force to flick upwards, directly knocking the figure wielding the giant lance flying backwards.
That figure holding the giant lance failed to stand firmly and was knocked to the ground by Fisher. That giant lance, disarmed carrying tremendous force, spun several times midair and stabbed into the snowy ground. Clenching the Fluid Sword, Fisher pursued the victory, hugging the painting and leaping upwards along the staircase. Following this, the suddenly bright sky and scenery before him violently crashed into his eyes.
Unlike the desolate ruins with broken walls and debris at their arrival, the scenery outside the staircase was a vast expanse of white snowy ground. Yet at this precise moment, they had clearly already climbed to the highest peak of the Sema Mountains, but it was as if they had abruptly arrived at the lowest point...
Because, right before Fisher's eyes, those continuous mountain ranges covered by clouds and mist currently appeared to rise sharply from the ground like a folded picture scroll. Amidst the partially obscured, blank-leaving clouds, it transformed into a crossing, rhythmic tunnel with an indistinguishable end, almost as if some kind of mighty power was rolling up the earth in a curve, whilst simultaneously spinning continuously before you like a kaleidoscope.
That dizzying sensation of the world twisting caused Fisher's movements to pause slightly. But he quickly discovered that these mountains seemed to have their space distorted by some invisible power, entirely blurring the original north, south, east, and west, constructing a folded, irregular magnificent landscape somewhat resembling a heavenly realm...
"Trespassers... Oh, Captain, this man is pretty handsome! How about we don't kill him and just take him back for me?"
"Too small, not very good. Besides, the Elder would issue blame."
"He's simply too handsome, I'm just lustful. Small or not is..."
Just as Fisher was sizing up the distorted and folded space and mountains before him with some shock, two whispering female voices nearby suddenly interrupted his observation. With a face covered in black lines, he turned his head to look over, only to see the surroundings were filled, at some unknown point in time, with massive creatures reaching a height of four meters.
Now with the illumination of the sunlight outside, these towering figures surrounding them finally revealed their clear images. He saw the surrounding tall figures all wore more or less the same thick, heavy clothing. Their faces were generally similar to humans, but their overall skin was green in color. There were also quite a few natural black patterns on their faces. Two rather long fangs grew out from their mouths, and a pair of long ears were wrapped in some white fur.
Their figures were robust, yet they didn't lack unique female characteristics. The conflicting sensation of two extreme opposites simultaneously appearing on their bodies, alongside their gazes that continuously swept over his body, caused Fisher to raise an eyebrow,
"Giant Troll-kin?"
"That's right, they are the Giant Troll-kin, but I've also only seen them in ancient texts. I didn't expect to see such a large group today."
Eimhart only revealed one eye from Fisher's embrace. He sized up the surrounding Trolls, while golden light continuously flashed in his belly, seemingly recording down their specific appearances.
Valentiina on Fisher's back instantly straightened her body upon hearing their words. With a cold face, she looked at the surrounding Trolls and spoke in a deep voice,
"Filthy, keep your mouths clean!"
"Hmm? There's still a person here... A cripple who can't even climb a snowy mountain, do you even count as a woman?"
A Troll wielding a giant lance before them slightly bent her body and drew closer to Valentiina little by little. That terrifying appearance with a green face and fangs abruptly leaned in close. Between her breaths, that scorching hot air hit Valentiina's face directly. Valentiina merely maintained a cold face, staring motionless at the other party.
Although Fisher possessed no superfluous expression on his face, the palm gripping the hilt of the Fluid Sword tightened increasingly.
Amidst the somewhat puzzled scrutinizing gaze of that Troll, Valentiina's pair of pale silver irises flickered slightly, as if radiating dazzling light akin to tens of thousands of True Ice stones bursting forth from within.
"Roar!"
Gazing at Valentiina's pair of pale silver irises, that Troll's face abruptly changed. She roared and stepped back several paces, hiding behind a female who seemed to be the leader of this group of Trolls. While looking at Valentiina on Fisher's back in shock, she leaned her head toward the ear of that Troll female and began to whisper,
"Captain Hazzara, she seems to be..."
The most comical part was that when that group of female Trolls saw that Troll conversing with the leader, they all couldn't suppress their curiosity and crowded over. Even though their large sizes were squeezed into a clump, they still had to push their heads over there. That appearance made both Fisher and Valentiina slightly stunned, and he thereby temporarily dispelled his vigilant combat stance.
"Ah? Really?"
"But the Elder said..."
"Oh, the woman is that, what about the man? Can you give him to me?"
"Stupid dog, ignore her. She went crazy with lust failing to marry a male demon, she doesn't even spare humans now, and her strength is exceptional..."
Valentiina's face grew increasingly stiff. Watching that bunch of Trolls crowded together whispering to each other, even starting to laugh, she could no longer endure it and shouted out loudly,
"Enough, are you done yet? You've grown so large, are you all just gossips? Stop talking. We came from beneath the Sema Mountains, arriving here for the Wutong Tree. Please tell us where the person in charge who can make decisions is. I need to discuss with her regarding the matter of the final Sigil!"
Clearly in comparison to them, Valentiina's figure was quite petite. But right now, hearing Valentiina's voice, these female Trolls sequentially scratched their heads and stood apart, all of them ceasing to speak. They merely continuously shot glances at that leading Troll. That leading Troll looked east and west, and discovering that not a single person was speaking, could only lightly cough herself. She planted the giant lance in her hand into the ground, took a step forward, and lowered her head, saying,
"Respected Phoenix Bloodline, my tribe reveres your decree, having rooted and multiplied here for over five thousand eight hundred years. Today we finally behold your return to Wutong once again... I am, uh, that leader of the Tree Base patrol, Hazzara. I am two hundred and seventy-one years old this year. My favorite thing is to sleep with male demons and give birth to little Trolls..."
A Troll in the back lightly coughed, making Hazzara, who already couldn't speak clearly, glare at her. After being stunned for a couple of seconds, only then did she realize after the fact and look at Valentiina. Pointing at the complex mountain ranges in the back where the space was folded and the layers were indistinct, she said quietly,
"Sorry, Lord Phoenix, these words were all taught to me by the Elder in the tribe, I haven't memorized them very clearly. If you want to ask anything, go to the tribe to ask her... Oh, there is one sentence I remember clearly. The Elder told me I must say it if I meet a Phoenix, that... uh... let me think..."
She touched her head. Although the weather here was exceedingly cold, and the heavy clothing they wore couldn't block out the extremely low temperatures, trying to recall these one or two sentences nearly sent her brain into overload right now, causing her entire head to be covered in sweat. She stared at the giant lance next to her and paused for several seconds, subsequently recalling something as if suddenly realizing the answer. Facing the petite Valentiina on Fisher's back, she opened her mouth and spoke,
"Oh, right! I remember now. The Elder said..."
"Exalted Phoenix, we welcome your return to your homeland once again. We welcome you to take us beneath your wings once again."
Valentiina parted her lips. Without wings herself, she merely stared at the circle of Giant Troll-kin before her who had completely lowered their heads. Behind them, a winding and twisted path led perpetually into the distance. It was as if some sort of power originating from her bloodline was awakened by the words of the Troll before her, causing her to suddenly possess an indescribable connection with the Trolls before her and some distant place behind them.
Actually, both Heidelin and Fisher had mentioned the Phoenix bloodline within her body previously, but internally, she had constantly viewed herself as a human. After all, the identity and cognition of more than ten years couldn't be changed overnight. However, just as Fisher mentioned before, the connection within one's bloodline cannot be severed. At least right now, Valentiina's sense of self subsequently exhibited a tiny, slight shift.
Within her body truly flowed the bloodline of the Phoenix, which ought to have perished long ago.
Please vote, reward, and support, this is very important to me!
Thank you so much for your support!
()
(End of this chapter)