bookbashuk Page 143
Page 143
"The former saves time and effort, and it would be unreasonable not to build something big on the roof of the world. Extreme climate also needs to be taken into account."
What about the latter?
"The latter is time-consuming and laborious. The underground world is not a familiar one to us, and no one can say for sure what it may contain. Moreover, whether there is a passage or not is still just a hypothesis."
"Then fly there. We must get to the Sares ruins as soon as possible."
"As you wish, Your Highness."
……
Chapter 212 Now at the bottom of the ancient border prison (Part Two)
"Hearn, what is the meaning of life?"
"..."
What is the purpose of living?
"..."
"That's a bit too far-fetched. So, let's change it to something more immediate and what we most want to achieve right now. What is it?"
"I'll hire a maid to take care of my courtyard."
"..."
"..."
"No, you misunderstand, Hern. I mean, the world is so big, there must be things that can shake the soul, something noble that is worth our life's work to achieve, an ultimate goal that transcends base desires. In the end, what is the purpose of living?"
"I'll hire a maid to take care of my courtyard."
"Uh……"
……
A few days ago, after Salome announced her decision to fly over the Lofian Mountains, there was a brief commotion on Octopath Traveler. However, this commotion did not stem from fear, but rather from the opposite: a surge of excitement.
Lofty ideals without a material foundation always discourage people, but the Northbound Travelers, who now own the Octopath Traveler, are an exception.
With Hern the Immortal Master guaranteeing that his vehicle could even traverse the Astral Plane, flying over the towering peak of Thranheim, which seemed like an insurmountable barrier, didn't seem like a pipe dream.
Furthermore, after years of sifting through the waves of the northward voyage, those remaining on board are now tough men who have honed their skills since setting sail from the Far East. Their thought processes have been somewhat distorted by the storms of years of ocean life. Therefore, when Salome gave the order, the crew of dragons on board not only did not produce any defeatist strategists, but instead, they were all filled with enthusiasm, high spirits, and fervor.
Over the next few days, the Octopath Traveler flew from southwest to east, traversing a vast expanse of land on the western side of the Northland, shrouded in snow. From the islands that formed the Sorkin Fjord to the vast, holly-green tundra, the sunlight in the Northland was so thin that the lakes and seas along the way appeared to the group in an overly tranquil and serene, deep hue.
It was a water system completely different from the crystal-clear waters of the South; all that met the eye was a deep, dark expanse.
Then came the end of the tundra. The northward-bound group finally began their aerial "climb" of the towering Lofian Mountains. As the altitude gradually increased, the invisible net covering the entire ship was gradually taking shape under the weaving of the believer. The harsh weather arrived as expected: storms, snow, dark clouds, and thunder. The planet Thranheim began to show its inhabitants the cruel side of the natural cycle of the star itself. The Lofian Mountains, which stood as the roof of the world on this star, were destined to become a forbidden zone for most living beings after crossing a certain altitude line.
Today was an exception, with rare, blessed weather. As the altitude increased, the group, now above the clouds, witnessed the magnificent view that should be found on the rooftop of the starry sky under the generous, bright sunlight.
The clouds under the warm orange sun were no longer the devastating gray-black of the past. The storm had subsided, and the pristine white peaks revealed their majestic outlines amidst the warm clouds, bathed in the golden sunlight. At first glance, they resembled a beacon lit by the gods in a sacred covenant to guide the world...
A breathtaking view lies ahead; please enjoy.
While enjoying the scenery, it's not surprising that your mind might be occupied by things that don't belong to human intelligence.
Take Yonglin, for example.
Since getting rid of the unlucky fate of being "destined to be ill" predicted by a Far Eastern divination since childhood, this white fox has become much simpler. Compared to his previous miserable and gloomy appearance, he has finally shown some of the carefree nature that Rosetta people should have.
So, under the combined influence of the stunning scenery and the good news, Yonglin, who was admiring the sea of clouds at the summit of Mount Lofian while leaning over the bow of the ship, asked Mr. Hearn, who was on duty, such a question out of the blue.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Hearn fell into a polite but awkward silence, and hinted to the little fox cub that he didn't want to talk to him much that the incident should be left alone.
However, perhaps because mood and emotional intelligence are inversely proportional and mutually exclusive, Yonglin, who is usually quite perceptive, failed to grasp the meaning behind Mr. Hearn's silence. Therefore, she pressed him for an answer and even considerately changed the way she phrased it.
Therefore, Hearn felt something and responded to him frankly and sincerely with a perfectly reasonable reply.
However, Mr. Hearn's answer clearly did not satisfy Mr. Yonglin.
In Yonglin's eyes, Mr. Hearn was a refined immortal who was otherworldly yet worldly, possessed great supernatural powers, had an otherworldly demeanor, and had transcended vulgar interests.
How could such an immortal have such a clichéd and vulgar wish?
No, considering the utterly incompetent and depraved nature of the wealthy families in Yonglin's own clan, Yonglin even felt that Mr. Hearn's clichéd wish could be reduced to mere desire...
It's really too low-class—
In a great mood, Yonglin was outspoken and didn't hold back her words. As soon as she spoke, her tail was yanked hard.
Rosetta people's large tails are as sensitive as their ears. Faced with the sudden violence, Eirin immediately squatted down as if her pants had been pulled down. When she pitifully looked up, what she saw was Shinjo, who was wide awake with dead eyes, standing with her arms crossed against the boat.
“Yonglin, as you know, I am a kind and honest person. I have always been too lazy to nitpick over trivial matters. I was not born an immortal. I was just like you, born as one of the masses. In other words, my understanding and concepts have been updated gradually as my abilities have improved. Being able to sit on the eaves of a roadside shop in Baiyin City with a bowl of noodles and watch people open for business, I am naturally not some kind of otherworldly being. In other words, I am a vulgar and pure person who has detached myself from high-class interests.”
After giving herself a brief summary, the believer spread her hands innocently.
"Is it really so absurd that someone like me would have such a simple, readily available wish? After all, my family is really short-handed to take care of the yard..."
The believer was still muttering to herself, and Eirin, listening to her rambling, was momentarily confused.
"Why a maid?"
He still asked somewhat unwillingly, trying to recapture the image of Mr. Hern as a benevolent and compassionate sage who saved the world.
"Simple. Would you be willing to have Yoheizi dress up as a maid and come to your house every day to take care of you?"
The believer rolled her eyes and casually pointed with her thumb toward Joshua, who was standing guard on the bridge.
"I don't want to."
Upon hearing this, Yonglin felt a wave of dizziness and immediately shook her head vigorously, forcefully denying it and forcing herself to expel the images that had just flashed through her mind.
"Hearn, you fucking bastard, don't drag me into this!"
A roar came from the bridge. The nickname "Blackie" was used among the Gozan dragons on board. It naturally referred to the towering black panther paladin in the guild. Joshua, with his good manners, would not take a group of dragon cubs seriously, especially such a harmless joke.
Only when the news reached Hern, the last saint, and was then proclaimed by his foul mouth, would he bristle like a real feline.
It was no secret that the two powerful figures on the ship disliked each other. The Saint was upright and incorruptible, dedicated to his duty and preventing the collapse of the empire; the Hercules was dashing and powerful, saving the nation from disaster. Since neither could be offended, they would gossip about both sides. These Gozanlong people, whose brains had been damaged by the storms at sea and who had long since disregarded life and death, left Salome with two impressions—
Firstly, they possess a high level of execution. Even though Jiang Xue had long since left the team and remained in the south, they could still command her with ease and ensure that orders were obeyed without question. They were truly well-trained soldiers.
Secondly, he's a gossip and chatterbox, fully displaying his brotherly style...
Suddenly, a thunderclap arose amidst the floating clouds, and the ancient, vast roar of a dragon resounded through the sky.
The thunderclap interrupted Eirin's inner turmoil, calmed Joshua's anger, and dispelled Nobunaga's drowsiness. Salome and Aoko also emerged from the captain's cabin and stood on the bridge.
As the sun rises, above the sea of clouds and white peaks, a radiant body of light, even more dazzling than the morning sun, flaps its wings and cleaves through the sky.
The Lofian Ridge above the sea of clouds is naturally a forbidden zone for most mortal beings, but since ancient times there have been some outstanding monsters who were born from mortal beings and are not included in this list.
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"Joshua, protect His Highness."
Just as the luminous object swept towards the demonic ship, the believer stepped onto the ship's side and glanced sideways at the paladin on the bridge.
"It's your duty!"
The last saint of the alien race drew the nameless holy sword given to his master, and its glorious holy light, identical to that of the luminous body but even more brilliant, enveloped the hull of the Eight Directions Traveler.
The next moment, the impact from the other side clashed head-on with the Saint's Radiant Shield, causing the Demon Ship's trajectory to halt.
At the bow of the ship, Yonglin saw clearly that it was an ancient white dragon bathed in holy light. Its enormous and majestic body was blasphemously marked with a strange feature of half scales and half feathers, which was completely different from the colored dragon species he knew.
Within the Holy Shield, as two dimensional forces from the same origin clashed, the Believer leaped off the bow of the ship.
Yonglin felt a blur before her eyes, and when she looked again, the ancient white dragon that had crashed into the Holy Shield had vanished without a trace.
Then came a deafening roar from afar, as if mountains were being shattered and rocks were being split. In an instant, the white peaks covered in dust and snow lost their luster, revealing the true form of the dark mountain range. It was as if several parts of the mountain had been shaved off for no apparent reason, and a crater like a meteorite suddenly appeared, making the mountaintop a flat, lifelike shape.
Within the flat top lies a newly formed lava lake, and within the lake dwells the strange white dragon that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
A rift opened wide in the void at the bow of the ship, and the believer who had just left the ship stepped out. Several contrived holes were burned into her white dress by the lava. She casually pointed to the meteorite crater on the mountain and told Salome to lead the ship to check it out.
“There’s something wrong with that old dragon; it was already dead before it crashed into our ship.”
He then grumbled and swore as he moved to the lower deck.
"You promised to leave the ship to me with complete peace of mind! How come the boiler malfunctioned at this crucial moment? You couldn't even dodge this mindless attack from that damn dragon! Have you never been hit before, you idiot?!"
……
Chapter 213 Now at the bottom of the ancient border prison (Part 3)
Whether the Octopath Traveler's boilers were ever damaged is currently difficult to verify.
But Mr. Hearn has a lot to say about whether the stoker/helmsman of the Octopath Traveler is competent.
In his view, Ms. Boiler, who was in charge of the magic ship, had failed in her duty during the previous confrontation.
No wonder he was furious and stormed down to the hold.
"Yo!"
A young and vibrant high school girl, Miss Aoko, lazily sat on the chair left over from a previous business meeting. Now that the business was over, the chair had been transformed into a well-made ship's wheel and a comfortable light-colored sofa.
As soon as the believer stepped down from the lower deck and peeked out, she was greeted with such a brief, lighthearted, enthusiastic, and utterly clueless greeting.
"Yo!"
The believer casually retorted in the same manner, then crossed her arms and leaned against the bulkhead near her seat with a forced smile.
"..."
"..."
Under the guise of the believer's polite yet questioning gaze, the atmosphere in the lower deck was quiet and awkward. The boiler girl broke out in a cold sweat, feeling increasingly uneasy as time went on.
"that……"
"Which one?"
"Um... Hearn, you're fifty-three seconds late today!"
"?"
"?"
""
Good heavens! After all that planning, instead of repenting, they struck first?
This sudden and unexpected counterattack did not throw the believer into a panic; instead, it only made him laugh in anger.
“Your Highness, our contract does not include a clause requiring us to visit you at the appointed time every day.”
"Then let's do it now."
Upon hearing this, the boiler lady's eyes lit up, and she immediately made a suggestion.
"……you."
"Yes, that's it. Hern, you have to come here to chat with me every day on time. I'll decide the time."
"No, wait, you just launched the ship and crashed head-on into that dead dragon. It wasn't because you were slacking off or daydreaming, but purely because you wanted to find an excuse to call me down to the hold?"
"Of course! Who told you to keep talking to that vixen upstairs all day instead of coming down to keep me company..." The imposter Miss Tian Lanlan, a high school girl in her late teens, pouted aggrievedly on the sofa, counting her fingers incessantly.
"No, I have a bunch of important things to do, a mess to clean up, and the magic ship is flying over the roof of the world and has even collided with an ancient white dragon that has come back to life. At this critical moment, you've put on this show for me, just for such a trivial reason?"
The believer was horrified upon hearing this, and for a moment felt as if the air was blowing through the burn holes in her clothes, making them feel cold and damp.
"I'm not bored at all! On the contrary, I'm so bored being all alone here."
"..."
"Hearn?"
"Take off MissBlue's appearance."
"If you insist, Hern, then it doesn't matter."
Soon, the youthful version of Aoko disappeared, and Boiler Girl reverted to her original, ethereal form, consisting only of an outline.
call……
It was a truly novel experience. Even though we knew perfectly well that we were two completely different people, we would subconsciously impose our impressions of each other from our first meeting at the beach on each other in a sentimental way because of our familiar appearances. Once the other person’s words and actions did not match the beautified remnants of our memories, a deep sense of displeasure would arise from the bottom of our hearts.
One of the many inconveniences of human beings is that, in many ways, the material basis influences their sensory judgments.
In her memory, Aoko was a calm, reliable, rational, strong, and warm guide. In a certain period of time that had long since ended, she was always that azure star that he knew was unattainable but still tried his best to reach out and touch. Even though she is now an intimate person with whom she jokes around all day and fights when things get tough, Shinju still keeps that initial feeling sealed in her heart.
In other words, seeing a silly roe deer with Qingzi's past appearance acting unreasonably and throwing tantrums in front of him, doing things that are both ridiculous and absurd, is an experience that he finds disgusting no matter how he thinks about it.