Original God's Dark Priest

Upon hearing this, even Mavica's expression became momentarily unnatural.

What's going on? Are the parents here to confront us?

She did know that the Shadow Priest and the Traveler were connected, but she didn't expect the connection to be so close. Just a rescue operation had brought them out.

This hasn't even happened yet; what if something does happen...?

Mavica's expression stiffened: "You think Ying can't handle that kind of situation?"

“No, what I mean is that it’s really unreasonable for you Nata to send a guest on such a risk.” Saffir said sarcastically, “You have no one else? You insist on sending a guest on such a dangerous mission. If you’re so short of manpower, why don’t you just come and join me?”

Mavica shook her head: "Ahem... I'm sorry I can't agree to your condition. But you're right, we really don't have enough manpower."

The Abyss's offensive is growing increasingly fierce. As you can see, even if we hold our current position, our forces are stretched thin, and we simply cannot spare enough men for a rescue mission.

Actually, there was something else she didn't say: Ying had volunteered to participate in all of this. Saying it out loud would seem like she was shirking responsibility, so she chose to keep it to herself.

Saffir looked at Mavica. This fire god felt out of place with the rest of Nata. In a country dominated by tribes, the god was dressed in a leather coat with big, wavy hair, which gave her a strange feeling.

Logically, a country's deity should possess some characteristics of that country, but the Goddess of Fire has almost none; she is not adorned with any Nata elements.

Hmm... I don't understand, but I respect it.

Before Saffir could continue, Mavica said, "If you're worried about Ying's safety, you can take her with you when she returns here. The rescue plan is currently in the stage of searching for Kazina's ancient name; she hasn't entered the truly dangerous Kingdom of the Night God yet."

Her tone was serious, and she showed no sign of trying to fool anyone.

Saffir stared at Mavica for a long time before finally saying, "Can you... guarantee her safety?"

Mavica shook her head: "I don't know what the situation is like in the Kingdom of Night God. I'm sure even if I said it was possible, you wouldn't believe me. In fact, it's an extremely dangerous place, and there's a good chance you won't come back."

"What do you plan to do if they really don't come back?" Saffir asked a very pointed question. "You have already lost the power of the gods, are you going to accept defeat so helplessly?"

“…” Mavica fell silent. She looked at the blazing sacred fire beside her and said softly, “Flame means destruction, but it also symbolizes rebirth.”

“What?” Saffir didn’t understand what Mavica meant.

Mavica chuckled softly: "Even though you don't trust me now, I want to say that if what you say really happens, I will do everything in my power to break through the abyss and bring them back."

"What will be the cost?" Saffir was more concerned about this question.

But this time, Mavica did not answer; she simply shook her head slightly.

Saffir understood; the price was heavy, but not unacceptable.

She had already learned about Mavica's thoughts from the captain and had also had a close encounter with the Vulcan. She now had a basic understanding of Nata's mission.

"I'm leaving." Saffir didn't intend to stay any longer; she turned and was about to leave.

Just as she turned to leave, Mavica suddenly called out to her, "Please wait a moment."

Saffir turned back to look at the other person with some confusion.

"Fools, must we be enemies?" This was the question she had been wanting to ask. Neither the captain nor Saffir seemed like bad people to her, and from their standpoints, it shouldn't be a matter of life and death.

This time, Saffir gave her a definite answer: "As long as the Heart of Vulcan is still in your hands, we will inevitably clash. The captain failed, and he will not allow me to take advantage of the situation, so you have gained some breathing room."

But that's all. If the captain's entire plan fails, you'll face a different situation when I take over.

After saying this, she paused and then said, "But the Abyss is also our common enemy. If you can complete the plan before we completely lose patience, perhaps you can persuade the captain."

“And what about you?” Mavica pressed.

Saffir put his hands behind his back and walked away, leaving only the words: "Me? Ha...who knows?"

Until Saffir completely disappeared, Mavica did not take any further action. Saffir's attitude was very ambiguous, not seeming hostile, but certainly not cooperative either, which puzzled Mavica greatly.

She didn't believe that Saffir truly followed the captain's instructions and arrangements completely. This person must have come to Nata for something, and this matter was most likely unrelated to the Fools; it was probably out of personal motives.

"What exactly is her purpose?" Mavica wondered, trying to analyze it but unable to figure it out. After thinking it over, she thought that Ying might know something, so she decided to wait for Ying to come back and ask her.

She had just had this thought when she dismissed it, because Saffir had just said that there was no need to tell Ying that she had been there. If she asked, Ying would definitely know that Saffir had been there.

Considering that doing so might displease a potential ally, Mavica ultimately abandoned the idea of ​​investigating.

Iansan had already returned with the construction workers. Mavica shook her head, clearing her mind and focusing her attention on the arena's restoration work.

Meanwhile, having left the arena of life, Saphir recruited several Fools' advance party soldiers, had them disguise themselves, and infiltrated the Smoke Lord's tribe.

The purpose of infiltrating them was simple: they didn't need to investigate intelligence or even deliberately contact anyone. They only needed to do one thing: spread the news.

As evening approached, Obsidian Grandma, still hungover from yesterday's drinking session, finally emerged from her messy house, rubbing her throbbing head.

Her fair face still showed signs of fatigue, and if you looked closely, you could see that her long pink hair was not smooth and looked a bit frizzy, which proved that she had just woken up.

As usual, I strolled around the tribe for a while to relax, but I learned some shocking news.

"What? Teacher Su Jin came to Nata? When? Where?" Upon hearing the news, Citrali immediately perked up, grabbed Keine who was whispering to someone nearby, and asked anxiously.

When she was suddenly grabbed, Kuina was startled. Then she realized that it was Obsidian Granny who had grabbed her, and she was scared half to death.

After finally regaining her senses, Kina stammered, "Grandma... stop... stop shaking it, it's going to fall apart!"

"Was what you just said true?" Setrali released Kine, but still didn't give up asking questions.

Keine took a couple of breaths before saying, "It was said by a traveling merchant from Nordkalai. Apparently, after the book signing in Sumi, Teacher Su Jin said that the next stop would be Nata."

"Really!" Seth Lari's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful news!"

As she spoke, she seemed to realize that her tone was a bit off, so she coughed twice and pretended to be serious: "Ahem, I understand."

Then, she left without looking back.

He muttered to himself as he walked, "Did they come from Sumeru? Then that means they're in the Echoing Child's territory? No, maybe they're in the Suspended Wood Man's territory... Should I send someone to check? Ugh, so conflicted..."

Would it be inappropriate for others to know that Obsidian Grandma would actually attend a light novel author's book signing event?

How about... we disguise ourselves?

Sitella's mutterings naturally did not escape the observation of Saffir, who was hiding in the shadows.

Saffir memorized Sitella's appearance and quietly left.

Having identified her target, the next step was to create a chance encounter. Since Cecilia wanted to get close to Teacher Su Jin, her plan was quite simple.

When they returned to the captain, it was already late at night. The captain was sitting back in a chair with a burning campfire in front of him. The fire illuminated the captain's face, which was covered with black lines, making him look somewhat sinister.

Seeing the captain leaning back in his chair, Saffir walked over: "Aren't you going to rest?"

"We're waiting for your news," the captain said succinctly.

Saffir shrugged upon hearing this: "I've already seen Cetalli, but directly capturing her is definitely not an option."

"We need to persuade her, not force her," the captain emphasized.

Saffir waved his hand: "I know, I know, I know what I'm doing."

She didn't want to dwell on the topic and focused her attention on the captain's chest, where Mavica had struck him with all her might, injuring him as a result. Afterwards, Saffir treated the captain, but the effect wasn't particularly good.

It wasn't until the captain was being treated that Saffir understood what that punch meant. Fragments of his soul were constantly spilling out of the captain's heart. These weren't shattered by Mavica, but were already present within the captain's body.

Seeing this, even Saffir, who had seen it all, couldn't help but gasp. The captain was human, yet he had so many souls stuffed into his body. This wasn't some kind of evil magic; rather, it seemed like…

“To treat one’s own body as a temporary resting place for the souls of the dead… The wailing of the dead at night will drive people mad,” Saffir murmured.

The captain said in a relaxed tone: "I originally thought I would go crazy, or even now I think I will go crazy one day."

But I persevered. Not only did I not go crazy, I was more clear-headed than many others.

Hearing his seemingly pointed remark, Saffir curled his lip: "They can't hear you anyway. You can keep talking like a cricket here. Say it to their face next time."

"I will." The captain clutched his chest, clearly still in pain. "Aurora..."

"What is it?" Saffir moved a stool and sat down next to the captain. She stretched out her cold hand and brought it close to the flame. The warmth from the flames flowed into her body through her meridians, making her breathe a sigh of relief.

She doesn't know when it started, but she always felt cold, which made her keen on warming herself by the fire and going to hot springs.

The captain slowly spoke: "I once arrogantly thought that seizing the Heart of God would be no difficult task for me. Especially after seeing how easily you took the other five Hearts of God."

I didn't think much of it and just did it. But... I underestimated Vulcan's strength and overestimated my own current condition.

“Those Hearts of God were all obtained through trade; none of them came easily, and they can’t be resolved with just a fight.” Saffir smiled wryly, never expecting that his captain had such a naive side.

The captain also gave a wry smile, and after a long pause, continued, "But the plan cannot be abandoned..."

“If all else fails, I’ll make another trip. I’ll take the blame. It won’t make a difference,” Saffir suggested.

The captain shook his head and rejected the idea: "No need. The Fools owe you a lot. Although this is our first time working together, I thought a long time ago that if we had the opportunity to work together, I would not let you bear the blame."

I don't know how you acted before, but judging from the final outcome, you didn't want to really make enemies with other forces. Therefore, I don't rule out cooperating with you.

Saffir listened quietly without interrupting.

The captain seemed tired. He slowly stood up and glanced at Sapphire, who was staring at the flames, and said, "This time, you don't have to prioritize the mission. Even if you don't get the Heart of God, there are always other solutions."

Aurora, you and I both know perfectly well that Nata, and all other nations, have never been our enemies. Therefore, there's no need for us to play the bad guy.

"..." Safiel remained silent, gazing at the campfire before her. The flickering flames reflected shimmering light in her heterochromatic eyes. After a long while, she parted her red lips slightly, "Okay."

It's late at night, time to rest.

Lying on his large bed in his room, Saffir thought about his plans for Sitralli.

She had originally planned to take some measures, but now... she decided against it.

Perhaps that's just the kind of person the captain is. She wasn't particularly familiar with him; if she had to say, her understanding of him was limited to a few brief encounters. Everyone said he was upright and would never resort to any means to achieve his goals.

But how credible are these rumors?

Saffir was initially skeptical, but now it seems the rumors about the captain are true; the captain is indeed that kind of person.

Having understood this, Saffir felt much more at ease.

Since the captain doesn't need to resort to underhanded tactics, she can better execute the mission at her own pace—no, it shouldn't be called executing a mission, it should be called…

Go do what you're supposed to do.

Saffir jumped out of bed. Now that the course of events had changed, it was time to release the little guy who had been imprisoned.

She quickly dressed, clutched the Cave Heaven Pass, and left Chenge Pot.

In the Abyss Palace, Orloren has been here for two days. He has not suffered any mistreatment, not even cold looks or hostility.

This place is like a paradise, where people go about their business in an orderly manner.

He'd already explored the entire area in the past two days, and even met someone named Araki Ichito. Or perhaps a ghost? Never mind, it doesn't matter.

At the other party's introduction, he tried the so-called dragon hunting operation. At first, Ororen was resistant because Nata was the kingdom of dragons. Dragons are so cute, how could he hunt them?

But after seeing the dragon there, Orloren gave up the idea.

What's cute? What's unhuntable?

He, Orloren, was born to hunt dragons!

How can those hideous evil dragons be compared to Nata's adorable dragons?

Not to mention that those dragons unleash devastating dragonfire attacks with every breath they utter; they're simply not creatures you can get along with! So the people here are right; these dragons definitely deserve to be killed.

After a busy afternoon and bringing back spoils, he also successfully upgraded his equipment with the help of an uncle named Jiuli. Holding a brand-new bow and arrow, Ouloren couldn't wait to test its power.

Unfortunately, it was too late, and he should rest. He made an appointment with Araki Ichito and his group to continue the next day, and returned to Taizu Palace in a cheerful mood.

Upon opening the gate, the first thing he saw was two girls chatting happily. He recognized both of them; one was a girl named Clementine who was in charge of guarding him, and she had a small dragon beside her. The little dragon was quite cute, but it didn't like to show itself.

The other person was Aurora, the shadow priest who had captured him and brought him here.