Chapter 686: Section 473: Ice Eagle: I still have a small dying wish
The Saber Gang members quickly ran up to the surface.
Spring Boxer and Lan Zao were surprised to find that the ground above the Black Market hadn’t suffered severe damage, it seemed as if the earthquake was confined to within the Black Market itself.
“How strange, what exactly happened here?”
“Was someone deliberately destroying the Black Market?”
Xiong Ju shook his head, “It’s not like that, the base over there was also destroyed. Hurry back, the gang leader and the others need us to rush back.”
Everyone ran at full speed and quickly returned to the vicinity of the base.
The houses near the base had all collapsed, turning into a vast area of ruins, and the casualties were too horrific to witness, with a large number of people buried beneath.
The losses were much greater than those of the Black Market, and the Saber Gang’s temporary base was among them.
Ice Eagle and the Human Race leader both stayed behind at the base.
Ice Eagle’s expression was extremely gloomy.
When he noticed the battle between Qian Xing and Master Cai Jing, he immediately ordered the contraction of all personnel, taking up defensive positions at the base.
What Ice Eagle worried about was that the battle would trigger a full-island disturbance in Flower Skirt Island, and in the midst of chaos, it was very possible that someone would take advantage of the situation, looting in the confusion and striking at the Saber Gang’s temporary base.
This was their only base.
Ice Eagle, as an old gang leader, was very clear about the Saber Gang’s situation on Flower Skirt Island.
The various Silver Level forces had already carved up Flower Skirt Island, and the arrival of several Silver Level figures had already heavily impacted the existing structure of Flower Skirt Island.
The Saber Gang hadn’t truly integrated into Flower Skirt Island. To truly become a part of it, the Saber Gang would definitely have to undergo a trial by fire and blood, overthrowing the existing forces to secure their own position.
Therefore, Ice Eagle’s order was very sensible.
He was very worried that in this chaos, other forces would join hands to deal with the Saber Gang, disguising themselves as rioters to strike at their base.
The base might not seem like much, even if it was swept away, the Saber Gang could completely find another place for a temporary stay.
But in Ice Eagle’s view, this base could not be easily lost.
There were three main reasons.
First, the base’s basement stored the Saber Gang’s funds, a large amount of Cultivation resources, weapons, and equipment. Most importantly, it held Teng Donglang’s ice coffin.
Second, the members of the Saber Gang had escaped from Snowbird Port. Even after recovering, their morale was still low. If in a place like Flower Skirt Island, they couldn’t even defend their only base, it would be a severe blow to their morale. For the current Saber Gang, it would be adding frost to snow.
Third, Ice Eagle hoped that the Saber Gang could occupy a certain position on Flower Skirt Island. If they couldn’t even hold onto their only base, it would give other forces the impression that they were weak and exploitable. In the future, for the Saber Gang to secure a foothold, the price to pay would be greater, with more bloodshed and sacrifices.
Ice Eagle actively pulling back to defend was a move made in anticipation of the crisis, a decision that could be considered both mature and prudent.
But what he had never expected was that the base would suffer such a powerful assault. The earthquake came too suddenly, literally shaking the ground!
Not a single house escaped collapse, and the once level ground was left uneven.
Within the Saber Gang’s temporary base, a simplistic Array had been established with some protective abilities. But against such a strong force, this defensive power was like paper, utterly futile.
Most critical was the ice coffin hidden in the basement, which was also damaged.
The coffin had cracked at one corner, and Teng Donglang’s lower leg was almost completely separated from the knee.
This turn of events pushed Ice Eagle to the brink of a cliff.
His precondition for going to Anqiu was to keep Teng Donglang’s body intact.
When he had reclaimed Teng Donglang’s body in Snowbird Port, he had been very relieved that the latter’s body was intact.
“Teng Donglang’s body has been damaged, leaving me with little time. The only path left is to head to Anqiu as soon as possible!”
The cruel reality severely damaged Ice Eagle’s plan.
He had to accelerate everything, pushing forward with the Anqiu plan regardless of the consequences.
Fortunately, during his time on Flower Skirt Island, his main focus had been on advancing this plan.
Through barbaric duels, he had collected most of the materials.
All that remained for the primary material was just Mithril.
So, the entire plan was already nearly at its last step.
But the amount of Mithril that Ice Eagle needed was substantial, and this type of metal was a rare commodity, hard to acquire on the regular market.
Ice Eagle had earlier found out that a significant amount of Mithril was for sale on the Black Market, but unfortunately, the gang’s funds were not sufficient to buy the amount he needed.
Mithril was very expensive.
Thus, Ice Eagle could only reluctantly order Xiong Ju to go to the Black Market and directly steal enough Mithril.
“Hopefully, they will be successful,” Ice Eagle silently prayed, feeling immense pressure, “Otherwise, everything will be irrecoverable. All the previous efforts would be for naught.”
Spring Boxer and Xiong Ju and others, returning with enough Mithril, finally allowed Ice Eagle to put aside his worries.
“Well done!” Ice Eagle praised.
Xiong Ju pointed at Lan Zao: “We also owe a lot to Hen Fa. It was his move that intercepted the fleeing shop clerk carrying the Mithril.”
Ice Eagle’s face revealed a smile as he nodded at Lan Zao.
Lan Zao smiled back: “I just wanted to get rich and happened to snatch the Mithril by chance. Since that’s the case, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
A worried expression flickered across Spring Boxer’s face, but he didn’t feel it was right to stop Lan Zao from leaving and could only urge carefully, “Then you better be careful in the near future. After all, you’ll probably be regarded as one of Saber Gang by them.”
Hearing this, Ice Eagle immediately had a thought.
He was an old hand at the game and quickly stopped Lan Zao: “Hen Fa, no need to rush off. You’ve helped us this time; we can’t let you be put in danger. You came to the island with us, and this time, you’ve helped us snatch Mithril. To others, you’re definitely one of us!”
“If you leave alone now, they might not come looking for trouble with us immediately, but they will definitely make a move against you first. Although your strength has grown rapidly, you are still just at Black Iron Level and alone, making it easy to fall prey to ambush and schemes.”
“Let’s do this, stay with us for now. Once we get through this chaotic period and dispel their suspicions, you can move freely again. This is the safest course of action.”
“It wasn’t easy for you. You were lucky enough to experience a Bloodline Awakening; don’t be too careless and bury yourself. Your future is bright, the scenery at Silver Level is much more beautiful than at Black Iron Level!”
Ice Eagle spoke these heartfelt words.
He actually wanted to keep Lan Zao within the Saber Gang for good.
Now was an excellent opportunity!
And his words made a lot of sense, and he was not just exaggerating.
Having just publicly robbed the Black Market, Saber Gang truly committed a taboo and is bound to suffer joint questioning from other Silver Level forces in the future.
Saber Gang had long become a thorn in the side of all the different forces on Flower Skirt Island.
After all, with several Silver Level members, Saber Gang had an extraordinary strength that bred envy.
Now having taken such an action, this was a severe challenge to the old order of Flower Skirt Island.
The various Silver Level powers on the island were usually good at cooperating.
Now facing a formidable enemy like Saber Gang, they would certainly band together to confront them.
Lan Zao had intended to stay here and join Saber Gang all along. After hearing Ice Eagle’s speech, he frowned thoughtfully and then nodded his head.
Ice Eagle patted Lan Zao on the shoulder and settled him in. He then ordered Xiong Ju, the Human Race leader, and others to defend the area around the stronghold.
Only after that did he enter the basement with Spring Boxer alone.
Upon arriving in the basement, the Spring Boxer let out a cry of alarm and quickly walked over to the damaged ice coffin.
In the heart of the Spring Boxer, Teng Donglang was like a second father to him. The latter had always been affectionate and spared no effort in cultivating him.
The damaged corpse of Teng Donglang filled the Spring Boxer’s face with sorrow.
“Alright, Spring Boy, now is not the time to wallow in pain,” the Ice Eagle reminded, “We need to hurry.”
“Do as I say now. Watch my every step carefully and do your best to remember them firmly, as you may very well need this knowledge in the future,” the Ice Eagle said.
The Ice Eagle began to handle the assortment of alchemy materials collected in the basement.
The Spring Boxer immediately noticed that the Ice Eagle primarily used those rare materials he had won from the Barbaric Duel Arena.
Out of curiosity, the Spring Boxer arranged the materials according to the Ice Eagle’s instructions, all the while inquiring about the reason for this.
Without turning his head, the Ice Eagle answered while working, “By doing this, we can go to Anqiu.”
“To Anqiu? With these?” the Spring Boxer was surprised.
He had always thought that they would leave Flower Skirt Island by ship, approaching Anqiu step by step.
“Gang Leader, are we setting up a Teleportation Array?” the Spring Boxer asked again.
“Of course not! I’m not a Mage, just a fighter. We’re laying out the Priest’s ritual track.”
“A ritual? What kind of ritual could take us directly to Anqiu?”
“A special one, of course! I can’t explain the specifics, but you’ll understand after you’ve experienced it once,” the Ice Eagle said.
As the Spring Boxer and the Ice Eagle prepared for the special ritual with strong anticipation, far away in the depths of the ocean, near the Ocean Nest, a group of people were also facing a special ritual.
The difference was that these people were in very bad spirits.
Zhou Zhang, with interest, watched the Undead Mages and gave an ultimatum, “The next one will be the Transmission Blood Sacrifice, have you chosen the first candidate?”
Led by the ship ghost, the faces of the Undead turned frightfully ugly.
They subconsciously turned their gaze toward Cang Xu.
Cang Xu’s expression was cold. He closed his eyes slightly, then slowly opened them, looking at Zhou Zhang with a hoarse and struggling voice, “It’s me.”
“Hehehe, I hope you are successful in converting!” Zhou Zhang laughed for a while, then left leisurely.
A deadly silence filled the shack.
“Everyone… please rest assured.” Cang Xu’s face turned bitter as he opened his mouth, “According to our agreement, I am the one with the least progress. I won’t go back on my word, I will be the first to participate in the Blood Sacrifice.”
The Little Prince turned his head away, unable to bear it.
The Fin Spirit looked away.
Ku Feng quietly gazed at Cang Xu and spoke, “I will be the second.”
It was certain.
As a fighter, he could not outpace the Little Prince or the Fin Spirit in the progress of fabricating memories.
After Cang Xu, the Little Prince would not help him because he had his own difficulties and needed to compete with the Fin Spirit.
And the Fin Spirit, to secure his own position, how could he possibly spend his energy and time helping Ku Feng?
Cang Xu nodded.
After everyone left, he returned alone to the shack to see the ship ghost.
“I never thought that the feeling of death coming would be like this,” Cang Xu’s first words upon meeting made the ship ghost heave a deep sigh.
“How does it feel?” the ship ghost sighed.
“Helpless, despairing, but perhaps because I was prepared, it still feels calm,” Cang Xu said with a complex expression.
The ship ghost stared at him, and some of his worries gradually dissolved.
At the approach of death, Cang Xu might bargain his secret of fabricated memories for a possible chance of survival with Zhou Zhang.
The ship ghost had always been guarded against this.
“You might not die, there’s still hope,” the ship ghost consoled.
“To convert?” Cang Xu smiled, “Maybe.”
“Lord ship ghost, before I die, I have a small wish.”
“Please speak,” the ship ghost had a premonition.
As expected, Cang Xu’s request was precisely as he had guessed.
Before the end of his life, Cang Xu wanted to take a look at the inheritance of the Soul Vein.
“Especially the spell to detect the Undead Bloodline…”
“Lord ship ghost, you must be finding this amusing. Even though my Bloodline Mutation is not complete, it’s indeed in the final stages. I’m really curious about what my Undead Bloodline is.”
“Although, I do not possess abilities like you, capable of breaking through the seals of Divine Arts and Spells to gain temporary freedom.”
“But even if it is to perish, I want to die with this memory.”
“This is probably the indignation of my life, the only regret before death.”
“Or perhaps, I really could be successful in converting. When I return, these spells will be my rewards for the risks I endured. Lord ship ghost, I’m very presumptuous, but could you grant me these rewards?”
With another sigh, the ship ghost considered his request.
With death approaching, Cang Xu’s presumptuousness didn’t seem so presumptuous anymore, but rather reasonable.
More importantly, his speech resonated strongly with the ship ghost.
Because the situation Cang Xu was in now was one that the ship ghost would inevitably face too!
The Cang Xu of now was the future ship ghost.
In fact, even with fabricated memories, the ship ghost had no confidence that he would be able to escape his predicament with absolute certainty. In such a precarious situation, the ship ghost was willing to let go of some of his usual principles and accept the “presumptuousness” of this pitiable old man.
After all, he had already compromised his principles before.
With the first concession made, the second was much easier.
Besides, the ship ghost also wanted to stabilize Cang Xu, having him maintain the secret of fabricated memories as much as possible. He could kill Cang Xu, but it wasn’t necessary to arouse the suspicions of Zhou Zhang if it could be avoided.
“Fine, I will impart to you the entire contents of the Mid-level inheritance of the Soul Vein.”
“I am sorry, Xu Jia.”
The ship ghost sincerely bowed to Cang Xu, giving him a Mage’s salute.
Moments later, Cang Xu left the ship ghost’s shack, satisfied.
“All the targeted goals, got them.”
“Who would have thought it would be under these circumstances, hehe.”
“I’m really looking forward to meeting the squad leader.”
Cang Xu looked toward the Golden Altar from afar, toward the many sea beasts that had been driven there and were now gathering. He couldn’t wait to see the Dragon-man youth again.