novelraw Chapter 363: The Truth of the Banquet
Chapter 363: The Truth of the Banquet
The morning of the second day of the holy matrimony. Having completed the holy matrimony ceremony, Fisher and Valentiina returned anew to the palace hall where they met Darivuvu previously. However, at this time, this female Troll who always shot her mouth off wasn't here. Only her husband Kokolia was here to entertain them.
"You two, please wait here a moment and eat a little something. The Elder and the other tribesmen went to set up the teleportation ritual you guys will use later. I estimate you guys should be able to leave sometime in the afternoon..."
Kokolia had placed some food within the hall. Fisher put Valentiina down from his back, leaning her against the recliner she had used previously. Since last night she hadn't eaten much, so she probably felt somewhat hungry now. However, what the Troll-kin ate were all extremely greasy meat foods. They occasionally left the Phoenix Bridge to hunt outside, and also raised some animals in their own tribe. This was the reason why humans occasionally witnessed Trolls in the past.
Valentiina couldn't eat too much of these extremely greasy foods. After Fisher fed her a mouthful or two, she only wanted to drink water. Sitting across the table looking at the two people before his eyes, Kokolia suddenly sighed and said,
"Although I don't know exactly why Her Highness the Moon Princess left behind this last will, if it's solely for this moment, I'm afraid it could also make your journey heading towards the Wutong Tree smoother... Let's not talk about this anymore. This is the Sigil the Elder entrusted me to hand over to you. You guys completed the Moon Princess's last will, and similarly, so did we. We have waited here for more than five thousand years solely to be able to give the Phoenix bloodline arriving here anew the key to return home."
Kokolia took out a tiny box from under the table and pushed it before Fisher. Within the box quietly lay a small Sigil identical to those of the other five tribes. In the center of the Sigil, a Troll-kin wearing heavy armor knelt on one knee, facing the Wutong Tree symbol above the Sigil.
And this also meant, Fisher and Valentiina had already gathered all the Sigils of the Six Tribes of the Snowy Mountains, possessing the qualification to enter the Wutong Tree.
Just as Fisher and Valentiina were sizing up the Sigil within the box, Kokolia before their eyes suddenly smiled a bit, raising a tiny question,
"Aren't you guys curious, for existences like the Phoenixes, why the key to enter the doors of Wutong would be gifts they gave to their Familiars?"
"Why?"Fisher raised his eyes to look at Kokolia, yet the latter merely stared at the Sigil in the box,
"...I am six hundred years older than Darivuvu. Although I am the husband she married, strictly speaking in terms of seniority, I belong to her mother's generation. Therefore, I have personally seen elders that you cannot see now, and know more secrets regarding the past. Do you think Phoenixes returning to the hometown they resided in needed any keys? Do you think these spatial distortions that act as natural moats to us can be considered hindrances to the Phoenixes?"
"In reality, if the Phoenixes wanted to return to the Wutong Tree, they basically didn't need these six Sigils to enter Wutong; they had their own passage to enter Wutong... The Wutong entrance opened by the Six Races Seal was never designed for the Phoenixes from the very beginning. It was paved for the living beings at the bottom of the mountain."
Fisher raised an eyebrow, pondering the words in Kokolia's mouth,
"For the living beings at the bottom of the mountain... you're saying, the passage for the Six Tribes to open the doors of Wutong was designed to guarantee that the various tribes at the bottom of the mountain could maintain contact with the Phoenixes at all times."
"Mhm... You guys only know the Moon Princess married a non-Phoenix race and birthed offspring, and are moved by her compassion. But in reality, not only her, but the Phoenix King, the two Princes, including the majority of the Phoenixes were very friendly towards the races at the bottom of the mountain, treating them as compatriots. In that war facing the Stars, the Phoenixes led us to victory, and we remember them; conversely, the bloodshed, dedication, and sacrifices of the various tribes are also remembered by them. So from that time onwards, although the entire Northern Border wasn't unified in name, they were faintly linked together because of the belief in the Phoenixes."
Kokolia pointed at the Sigil in the box, continuing,
"Even Phoenixes capable of seeing through the future to a certain extent ultimately have omissions. Therefore, if the various tribes down the mountain faced any difficulties, they could all request aid from the Phoenixes through the entrance to Wutong opened by the Six Tribes. This was exactly the reason why the Phoenixes bestowed the seals to the Six Tribes..."
Hearing Kokolia bring up the friendly relationship of mutual care between the Phoenixes and the various tribes of the Northern Border, Valentiina, who had constantly been listening, suddenly had a doubt,
"Wait, if that is so, then humans should logically also have been a race sheltered under the Phoenixes' wings at that time. Then the Phoenixes should logically have also treated them in a friendly manner. Yet at the time when that demon came to participate in the celebratory banquet, the Phoenixes casually gifted humans to that demon as bargaining chips. This seems to be inconsistent with your words."
Kokolia shook his head. Just as he was about to open his mouth to explain, Fisher seemed to have already obtained the answer. He turned his head away, explaining to Valentiina,
"I know now, Valentiina. It wasn't that the Phoenixes didn't treat humans as compatriots among the living beings of the Northern Border, slighting and despising them due to their weakness. In the war, humans likewise put in effort. The Phoenixes completely recorded all the perished tribes on the scroll. Looking from this point, they definitely wouldn't neglect humans even if they were so weak... The true reason is, the Phoenixes had no choice but to hand over those ten humans. Because the demon who came wasn't an ordinary demon, she was Baimon."
"Baimon, right, that's the name. Isn't she..."
Fisher nodded his head, and the expression in his eyes was also quite serious. He seemed to be able to roughly infer the situation at that celebratory banquet,
"From what we previously read in the Troll-kin's ancient texts, there were five Stars that invaded the Northern Border in total: two in the Northern Sky, two in the Northern Circumpolar, and one in the Southern Sky. Sorted according to the rough human Tiers, they were merely five mythical living beings at the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Tier. Even so, they still battered the sufficiently prepared Northern Border to the point of heaven and earth splitting... And that Baimon, she is a Nineteenth-Tier Demon God. Looking at the gap in the Mythical Ranks, she is many times stronger than that bunch of Stars tied together."
"Therefore, the Phoenixes basically didn't use them as gambling chips because they despised humans, but rather because they had no choice but to gamble against Baimon. The slightest carelessness would result in the complete annihilation of the entire tribe. Baimon's visit wasn't relaxing for the Phoenixes. She cast a shadow of fear over that originally joyful celebratory banquet. That was naked humiliation towards all living beings of the Northern Border, the Phoenixes included."
Kokolia looked approvingly at the intelligent Fisher before his eyes. Subsequently, he turned his head and spoke to the shocked Valentiina,
"At the time, the Moon Princess angrily left the venue due to Baimon's humiliation. This action frightened the Phoenixes, worrying that demon would consequently cast her anger upon the devastated Northern Border. But contrary to expectations, that terrifying demon didn't do so. Not only did she respectfully return the humans used as gambling chips, but she also specially drew a painting as an apology for the Moon Princess. Afterwards, she repeatedly apologized to the Phoenix King for her presumption, and only then departed the Northern Border..."
Fisher sighed, picking up the words he hadn't finished speaking,
"Although Baimon left, the atmosphere of the celebratory banquet that had dropped below freezing point didn't dissolve because of it, right...? However, these are all past events. Elder Kokolia, if you have anything you want to say, please speak frankly. Why beat around the bush like this?"
Kokolia was slightly stunned. Subsequently, he covered his mouth and laughed at Fisher. The delicate beauty of male Trolls was vividly revealed at this moment, who knows how many times more absurd than that bunch of effeminate males of the Sardin Woman's Country whose bloodline had been heavily diluted countless times yet still remained dainty.
"As expected, I can't hide it from you. No wonder the Phoenix bloodline would fall for you..."
"Eh?"
Catching strays while sitting nearby, Valentiina's face turned ruddy. She gently pulled her clothing tighter around herself, seemingly somewhat embarrassed. But thinking carefully, she had already partaken in holy matrimony with Fisher, so she was his sole wife—there was nothing to be shy about. Therefore, she slowly lowered the clothing concealing her facial features a bit again.
Kokolia didn't beat around the bush either. He lowered his head slightly, bowing to Fisher and Valentiina before his eyes, and spoke,
"Then I will speak frankly, Mr. Fisher, Miss Valentiina. I constantly firmly believed that your ability to obtain the Sigils of the other five tribes wasn't by chance. The other five tribes definitely must be just like us, devoutly yearning to know the changes that occurred within Wutong, yearning for the return of our kings of the past once again. Yet amidst year after year of waiting, we only saw unknown curses and increasingly heavy frost and snow, until today, when you returned here carrying the bloodline of the Phoenix..."
"Therefore, regardless of what your purpose for entering Wutong is, please make sure to absolutely resolve the curse within, and expose the truth of the Phoenixes' perishing inside to the world. This is the sole wish of our Six Tribes upon handing the Sigils to you. If there is anything you need help with, please definitely speak up. We Troll-kin will definitely exert all efforts to satisfy it."
Valentiina parted her lips, looking at the bowing Kokolia before her eyes. An indescribable feeling suddenly surged into her heart. The Phoenixes had already perished for almost six thousand years, and Kokolia was at most only around two thousand five hundred years old. This proved that his elders passed down that kind of loyalty towards the Phoenixes, and the other tribes were more or less the same...
Exactly what kind of washing by the passage of time would be required to cleanse the Phoenixes off the continent of the Northern Border? And as a Phoenix bloodline herself, could she respond to this kind of expectation?
Somewhat at a loss, she turned her head to cast a glance at Fisher, only to find him continuously staring at Kokolia before his eyes. Only after a second or two did he nod his head, saying,
"I understand, we will try our best... But before that, I need some Magic Material, the more the better."
"Magic Material? What is that?"
However, upon hearing Fisher's words, Kokolia raised his head slightly, looking at Fisher before his eyes quite puzzledly, leaving him completely speechless.
He forgot, this group of Trolls moved up to the Sema Mountains long before that Mythological War, and humans also learned magic from the Mother Goddess prior to the Mythological War. It was normal they wouldn't understand. However, Magic Materials weren't a product only available after the Mythological War; there must definitely be quite a lot of these weird and peculiar things on the snowy mountains. Fisher sensed that the medicine the Trolls fed Valentiina last night contained this sort of thing.
He decided to modify the [Dream] Valentiina gave him before heading to the Wutong Tree, at least making it capable of bringing his and the opponent's souls to the Crevice.
"It doesn't matter, then just take me to your pharmacy to take a look, I'll fetch some medicines to use."
"...No problem, this way please."
Fisher stood up and put away the Sigil on the table, speaking like this to Kokolia. He was going off alone to engrave magic for a period of time, which was inconvenient to bring Valentiina along, so he let her rest here for a bit.
Fisher followed Kokolia to the storehouse where the Troll-kin stored medicines. Fortunately, there were indeed many Magic Materials here. Moreover, due to the Troll-kin's comparatively long lifespans, the frequency with which they needed medicine was far lower than the time these Magic Materials took to grow. Therefore, a large quantity of unprocessed materials was piled up here.
Fisher prepared to improve Valentiina's Dream Circle Head magic here. In his previous size-up, he discovered that the Sub Ring and Ring Tail for pulling souls into the Crevice consumed a massive amount of magic power. This meant that just this one magic meant to pull an existence with an excessively high life tier like the Lord of Life into the Crevice could consume the majority of magic power within his body.
Fisher sized up the parts of this magic again. Based on his level of magic, the Main Ring of this magic was extremely complex. Valentiina's mother was perhaps truly a magic genius. He didn't know how she conceptualized this kind of magic constructing a dreamscape. What he could alter now was only the rough structure of the Sub Ring.
Therefore, in terms of tactics for entering the Wutong Tree afterwards, this magic being able to be used to deal with Erwind was already the limit. As for that curse in Wutong, he had to rely on other methods—for example, Erwind.
Erwind's priority for wanting that curse was definitely higher than his own. He needed to borrow the nature of that curse to communicate with the Spirit World and enter the Mythical Rank before having a hundred percent certainty of killing the him who held the Death Rune. So he would definitely prioritize dealing with the Wutong curse. He could borrow his power, pulling him into the Crevice in the instant he defeated the curse. Erwind didn't know he possessed such a magic, which could be used as a trump card.
But to hide it from Erwind, he still needed to construct other magics to cover it up, and also needed to consider other variables, such as Valentiina. If her entry made the curse detect her location, then the curse would definitely come looking for him, drawing Erwind over in passing.
Fisher sat alone in the center of the pharmacy, continuously pondering. Exquisite Magic Crests were also engraved and birthed in his hands one by one. First was the most headache-inducing dream magic, which consumed the most of his time. Next was a Magic taking [Soul] as its Circle Head capable of shielding Spirit World perception. Fisher hadn't tested the effects of this one yet; it was designed on the spot. After opening it, it would suffice to see if Valentiina getting injured could draw the curse over.
From morning to night, Fisher's movements and thoughts didn't cease for a moment, until the main door behind him abruptly opened, revealing Darivuvu's gigantic figure. At this time, she had just entered and saw Magic Materials all over the ground, as well as Fisher who sat before the chair packing pieces of magic into his embrace. His magic circuit was lit up, and his head was somewhat groggy due to the hallucinations from the Completion Manual.
"Wow, looking at your condition, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave tonight. I was just about to say the teleportation ritual is already set up... How about leaving tomorrow instead, your wife is still lying down in the main hall waiting for you, it's been an entire day."
But Fisher merely rubbed his temples, waving a hand at her. Sensing the magic power within his body beginning to recover again, he then said,
"It doesn't matter, I'll be fine if I rest for a while, but we must set off tonight. Oh right, when we leave we still have to take a bit of medicinal ingredients and food with us, I don't know what kind of situation is over at Wutong's side..."
Darivuvu rubbed her head, but didn't advise against it. She merely nodded and said,
"Alright then, come out after you rest for a while. I'll take you and the Phoenix bloodline to the place of the teleportation ritual, and also prepare some luggage for you to bring over in passing. Oh, over there is some medicine prepared by Kokolia. It seems your soul power has suffered losses, that stuff is super nourishing, you should eat a little."
While walking outwards, Darivuvu pointed at the medicine on the shelf beside him. Fisher raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look, only to see written there [Progeny Agent]. Sounding like it, it didn't seem like any good stuff.
Fisher shook his head, not prepared to use this medicine, lest he couldn't hold back doing bad things again. His engraving of magic just now was already quite restrained, without excessively wasting magic power. Moreover, due to the [Post-Reproduction Enhancement] granted by the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual, his magic power recovery speed was frighteningly fast. Naturally it wasn't as severe as that time in Mya, so he was ready to set off right now.
While packing up the Magic Materials laying all over the ground, he simultaneously prepared to go up and take Valentiina to leave. Walking and walking, he abruptly halted in his original spot, slapping his head with a bit of a headache.
He seemed to have forgotten a little something important. For example, that fellow Eimhart.
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(End of this chapter)