Chapter 1242: Section 1243: Strange Demon
The Underground City of Aisha lies within a canyon surrounded by mountains.
From the outside, it appears to be an ordinary canyon, but beneath it stretches an incredibly vast underground city.
Angel had thought he would be visiting the Underground City, but before he even reached the canyon, a figure leaped up from below, halting the gondola in its path.
The newcomer was a little old man with white eyebrows hanging down to his chest, his small curled beard tied into a bow, dressed in a blue and black wizard’s robe and wearing a wizard’s hat embroidered with iris flowers.
He cheerfully addressed the people on the boat, “The gondola crafted by Angel is quite conspicuous, I spotted it from below in an instant.”
As he spoke, the visitor stepped onto the gondola and plopped down next to Angel.
Angel glanced at him; it was Kanter, whom he hadn’t seen for many days. He looked the same as ever, though the bow tie fashioned from his beard was quite eye-catching—it was flamboyant of him to adorn himself so in his old age!
“Lord Kanter,” Angel suppressed the urge to make a retort and greeted him respectfully.
“Yo, Angel, it’s good to see you’re all right. Otherwise, I would have had nothing but a death notice to take back to Qi Li,” Kanter patted Angel on the shoulder, his face beaming with smiles.
Angel’s face was expressionless as he twitched the corner of his mouth: “…”” What does his well-being have to do with Qi Li?
Kanter’s babble hadn’t ceased as he rattled on and on, until eventually, Sanders, growing tired of listening, said to Angel, “Ignore him, continue flying southeast.”
Angel: “So, are we still heading to the Underground City of Aisha?
“Now that we’ve picked up Kanter, there’s no need to go there. The spatial energy around here is somewhat unstable. If we keep heading southeast, there’s a place called Sunken Ridge where the stability of space is relatively higher. It’s safer to use the fragmented mayfly there,” Sanders replied.
Angel nodded and steered the gondola towards Sunken Ridge.
At this point, Kanter’s chatter began to decrease, his gaze shifting towards the small compartment at the rear of the gondola. When he noticed Popota cloaked in a mantle inside, his eyes flickered for a moment.
He intended to ask something but was stopped by a look from Sanders; the words, which had almost escaped his lips, were swallowed back by Kanter.
Not only did Kanter refrain from asking about Popota, but it also seemed Sanders had briefed him on the events that had transpired with Angel during this period, as Kanter didn’t utter an extra word. He rambled incessantly, touching upon utterly insubstantial topics.
Such as his greatest focus: Monument Valley.
“I’ve already cleared Monument Valley. Angel, have you considered making a sequel?”
Before Angel could respond, Sanders let out a cold laugh, “How exactly did you clear it? You know very well, don’t you?”
Kanter: “Anyway, I cleared it.”
Angel was speechless too—the one who had helped Kanter clear it was Popota. And now here Kanter was, shamelessly claiming to have cleared it himself while Popota was still aboard the gondola…
“At the moment, I haven’t considered it,” Angel responded accordingly.
“Then I’ll consider it for you; remember to make one when you get back,” Kanter said nonchalantly, smiling merrily.
Angel: “…” Is your consideration even useful? Are you making it, or am I?
“Oh yes, and don’t forget one more thing, how is the Pliant Worm Queen now? Under the pressure from the Dreamweaver Ants, has it produced any special eggs?”
At the mention of the Pliant Worm, Angel’s expression grew slightly more serious, as he had devoted considerable time lately to observing the Pliant Worm in anticipation of traveling to the Tidal World. Under the pressure of external threats, the Pliant Worm had recently ceased breeding its auxiliary type and only laid eggs geared towards combat. However, so far, no particularly special eggs had emerged.
After listening to Angel, Kanter pondered for a moment, “It seems we’re still missing something in the details. Why not increase the pressure on it, let the Dreamweaver Ants come into close contact with the queen once? Under the threat of life and death, perhaps the queen will secrete new substances, giving birth to special eggs.”
Though Kanter’s suggestion was bold, Angel feared that going too far might backfire.
Perhaps the queen, frightened, might even lose its reproductive instincts, a scenario well-documented within the biological realm.
That’s when Sanders, who had been silent up until now, suddenly said, “Don’t mess around for now; when we get back, I’ll consult Nis. He’s been to the ‘Heart of the Swarm’ research facility ruins before, he might have some relevant documents.”
Angel nodded; the Pliant Worm Queen was extremely precious, and given that the one he was artificially breeding might be the only one left, he needed to be cautious.
After this matter was addressed, Sanders ceased speaking, leaving Kanter alone to prattle on ceaselessly. Even without anyone responding, he showed no embarrassment, continuing to chat away with unabated enthusiasm.
…
As they were about to reach Sunken Ridge, something strange happened.
They encountered a roadblocking bird. It was an odd red-scaled bird, massive in size yet scrawny as if made of twigs, flapping its desiccated wings, each beat of which raised a boundless gale.
Kanter’s eyes lit up, and he murmured, “Lucky us, to encounter a Wizard Level Magical Creature on the way back!”
While he spoke, Kanter seemed about to take action.
However, just as Kanter was preparing to take flight, Sanders stopped him. For, upon the back of the giant bird, a figure had suddenly appeared.
When they clearly saw who it was, Kanter halted without needing Sanders’s instruction.
Sanders and Kanter’s reactions only served to confuse Angel further. Did they recognize this figure?
Peering closely, Angel saw that the newcomer was a female demon covered in light blue scales. Despite the dense pattern of the scales, they displayed a gradient, and her figure was attractively proud and elegant. Her face was strikingly beautiful, especially the patterns on her forehead, which exuded a mysterious charm. Her round and lustrous buttocks extended into a dark, teal-tipped demon tail… From Angel’s perspective, she was the most captivating female demon he had seen, aside from a Succubus.
“Bandbone Gak, why have you stopped?” The elegant and enchanting Demon Language spilled from the lips of the female demon, yet her words were not meant for them but for the bird at her feet.
“Roar—” The bird let out a bizarre roar, directing it towards Gondola.
Only then did the female demon shift her gaze their way: “Has the Barren Expanse really been eroded by humans to such a degree…? Truly worthy of its desolate name.”
Her voice dripped with scorn as she spoke to the bird below her, “If you’re going to make a move, do it quickly.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the giant bird’s eyes shone brightly, and countless miniature floating tornadoes appeared instantly around it.
Clearly, this was a powerful wind-type Magical Creature!
Seeing that the bird was about to strike, Sanders and Kanter, who had remained inactive up to now, exchanged glances as if making a decision.
To Sanders, neither the bird nor the female demon was a concern in terms of strength, but the identity of the female demon… made Sanders somewhat suspicious.
But since they were about to make a move, Sanders wouldn’t back down just because of any hesitation.
However, just as Sanders was preparing to face the coming battle, the female demon seemed to notice something, “Bandbone Gak, wait a moment.”
The forming tornadoes were disrupted by this call.
The bird called Bandbone Gak emitted a somewhat aggrieved chirp, but it did not catch the female demon’s attention, as all her focus was now on Angel.
Angel didn’t understand why she suddenly turned to look at him, and being the subject of her prolonged gaze made him uncomfortable all over.
Seeing this, Sanders wondered in his heart: Could it be that Angel had caught the attention of that being?
While Sanders was puzzled, the female demon finally spoke, and this time she addressed Angel, “Where did you acquire that scent of death on you?”
The scent of death? Sanders and Kanter looked at Angel with befuddled expressions. They had not sensed anything unusual about Angel, so what did this mean?
Angel was taken aback for a moment and didn’t react at first, but then something seemed to come to his mind.
Suddenly, a black feather appeared in his hand.
At the sight of this feather, the female demon’s pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly closed in on Angel!
But just as she was about to reach him, Sanders stretched out his hand, releasing ferocious energy that not only blocked her path but sent her flying dozens of meters.
Seeing the female demon knocked away, Bandbone Gak’s eyes flashed with blood, and its nostrils spewed a terrifying hot wind!
“Bandbone Gak, do not act,” the demoness commanded as she stood back up, casting a wary glance at Sanders. She hadn’t expected this human to be so powerful.
However, after giving Sanders a quick look, her gaze returned to Angel.
“Human, how did you come by that black feather?”
Angel: “Someone gave it to me.”
The expression of the female demon unchanged, she murmured softly, “His feathers are not physical and cannot fall off on their own. It seems this is the only explanation… but why would you give a human your feather?”
Angel naturally did not respond to the female demon’s murmurings, nor was he going to explain himself voluntarily.
But listening to the tone of her voice, could she possibly know Kulangduo?
“Human, how about we make a deal? You give me the black feather, and I will give you…”
Before the female demon could finish, Angel swiftly pocketed the black feather, not giving her a chance to continue. This item was too important to be lost; it was essential for fulfilling his agreement with Wodell.
Seeing this, the female demon’s lips stiffened.
After a long while, she spoke again, “Never mind then. Since he gave it to you, there must be a reason behind it. Today, out of respect for him, I will not hold you accountable.”
As she spoke, the female demon leaped atop Bandbone Gak’s skull and directed the bird to fly in another direction. Although Bandbone Gak was reluctant, it nodded and departed.
Even after the demoness and the bird had flown away, Angel’s face was still filled with confusion.
This incident was too strange—both their arrival and their departure were bizarre, weren’t they?
What were their origins?
But more than Angel’s confusion, Sanders and Kanter were even more perplexed—what was the origin of the black feather in Angel’s hand?