Chapter 131
Chapter 131: Nailisi’s Abilities (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lex’s words left Baimeng a little disheartened. Skinning off hides was considered a physically challenging task. Whenever he brought his swordsmen out, he had used to do a great deal of these things. A Grade 4 magic beast’s hide was worth around fifty gold coins. If these magic beasts had not been destroyed completely by Nailisi, they would be able to fetch ten thousand gold coins altogether.
“Baimeng, this will be hard on you. These magic beast skins are a good material when it comes to making magic scrolls.” Lex smiled as she took over the dinner preparations from Baimeng.
“Master!” Baimeng was slightly shocked.
“Sigh. Baimeng, we don’t have much time,” Viscountess Lex said with worry. Upon hearing this, Baimeng immediately left the barrack to skin the hides.
Seeing Baimeng leave, Lex was a little dazed as she stared at the kitchen. The Qin Empire’s combat mages, mid-grade officers, and anyone above them used magic to heat up their food in order to prevent smoke. Sometimes, smoke would attract attacks from mages. Lex knew that she did not have much time, and even with optimal results, they would still need at least a year before they could leave god’s hell.
The god’s ring had taken the brunt of the attack from god’s punishment and required a great deal of time to recover before it could become a coordinate for a teleportation portal to the Myers Mainland. Without a teleportation portal, even if she reached Grade 10, It would be impossibly difficult to return.
She was not bothered by the usage of the magic scrolls. So long as they could survive, the gold coins could be earned back. The question was, could they survive? The location of this camp was not ideal, being sandwiched between volcanoes and forests. The volcanoes needed no explanation. Going back in their direction could spell death at anytime. The edge of this forest was filled with groups of Grade 4 magic beasts. Now that the first wave had appeared, a second one would soon follow.
If they did not have enough scrolls, it was possible that casualties would soon ensue if they were attacked by another wave of magic beasts. Her father had given her plenty of scrolls this time. However, a scroll was a one-time item and there would come a time when they would run out. The best idea was to go far away from this forest and find a safe dwelling.
The problem was that they would probably only find safety on the other side of the forest. It was a tough choice. If they stayed at their current camp, they would likely use up all of their magic scrolls and die a later death. If they crossed the forest, there were unknown dangers within and it was possible that they would not all survive.
To die a slow death or fight for a chance. If the situation had nothing to do with her, the choice would have been obviously simple.
Saleen and Sika looked expectedly at Nailisi as she said, “Master, release a bubble.”
Release a bubble? That sounded like she was about to punish someone. Saleen released a water shield and the defensive ability of it was now already close to that of a Grade 4 one with its diameter reaching two meters. Even if it was not used to enclose one’s body, it could block a direct attack.
Nailisi waved her hand, her fingers crooked as though she were playing a guitar and moving her fingers about. Saleen could suddenly feel her thoughts. She was about to attack.
Nearly simultaneously, a black mark appeared on her nails as she brought all five of her fingers together, viciously piercing the water shield that Saleen had created. Her white hand had passed through the shield easily, almost as if the Grade 4 magic had been nonexistent.
A person needed to know that even at a close distance, a crossbow might not be able to pierce through a Grade 4 magic. Only a high-grade alchemy crossbow could cause any damage to a magic shield.
Saleen held his breath. Did this not make Nailisi a human-like witcher spider? A golden light flashed past Nailisi’s green eyes as she suddenly opened all of her fingers and five black streaks accurately pierced the weak spots of the water shield. With a loud pop, the water shield broke apart.
Piercing magic! This was true piercing magic, which was able to structurally destroy things using magic. Saleen knew clearly what flaws his water shield had. However, that was because he had studied the Figaro formula and the magic had been released by him, hence he was familiar with it. Nailisi had only pierced the water shield with her hand and could immediately find the weak spots of the magic shield, destroying it. This ability was even stronger than the sword aura.
Sika watched from the side and suddenly asked, “Nailisi, can you still…bite someone like that?” Sika opened her mouth and made a chewing action.
Nailisi’s face turned red. Her strongest weapon in the past had been her teeth, and she did not particularly enjoy biting things with her mouth. Seeing Nailisi nod, Saleen asked again, “What else can you do?”
“Soul ability.” Seeing that Saleen looked confused, Nailisi tried to explain it simply. “Essentially, I can make use of the contract with you and gain some of your energy. For example, my eyes can see some of the workings of the elements.”
“You can cast magic now?” Saleen thought back to what had been written in the demon magic book. The supreme demon had even been able to walk across dimensions, becoming a rare elite.
Nailisi shook her head and moved her fingers, saying, “With this ability, I can no longer learn magic. However, my focus is the same as yours and I can release scrolls.”
Hearing this, Saleen was satisfied. A demon that could release magic scrolls and had the ability to break magic shields was strong enough for him.
“What grade of magic scrolls can you release?” Saleen asked.
“Master, whatever grade magic scroll you are able to release, I am able to too,” Nailisi answered obediently, despite having hidden a secret from them. Her strongest ability now was her tail. It was just that after maturing, she would not enjoy turning back into her demon form while in combat.
Master doesn’t seem to like the demon form very much. He even violently pushed me away just now. If I hadn’t been afraid of Master, would I be very sad? Why would I need to be sad? Could it be that I have fallen in love with Master?
Nailisi was torn, Saleen, on the other hand, was overjoyed. He no longer cared that the chalcedony had been wasted. Nailisi seemed to have gained more power than what had been written in the books, and it was possible that she still had even more abilities lying dormant. At the very least, she appeared closer to a human now. Her lightened skin with its jade green magic patterns seemed to indicate that she was going to become a unique demon.
“Master…”
“What?” Saleen returned to his senses. He had just begun analyzing what the green magic patterns on her skin meant.
“I’m a little hungry…”
Sika’s stomach started to growl as well. Saleen remembered that he still had the corpse of the silver grand swordmaster inside of his demon ring. Since Nailisi had already eaten one, another one would not be too big of a deal.
“Sika, let’s go find Lex.” Saleen pulled Sika along as he tossed the corpse to Nailisi. The two of them rushed out of the barrack, afraid of the horrifying scene they would witness.
Nailisi had wanted to reject it in order for Saleen to change his opinion of her. However, she was too hungry and the soul of the silver grand swordmaster had already been destroyed. The remains still had a special energy to them and once they were eaten, she could become even more similar to a human.
Saleen and Sika moved sneakily to Lex’s room. Seeing the two of them, Lex asked, “Where is Nailisi?”
“She is a little tired. She wants to take a nap,” Saleen said without flinching
“Okay. Come give me a hand.”
Lex took out a large piece of black bread and placed it on the table. Sika took out her boomerang and used it to slice the bread, placing the slices on a plate. Lex took out another metal container and opened it. It was filled with fats. When a soldier was fighting, bread alone was not sufficient. These fats had been purchased from the Cloudflow Empire and were mainly whale oil and some fish gel, which could rapidly replenish a soldier’s strength.
Spreading the fat on the black bread, Lex removed the lid from the wok. The strong smell of meat filled the air as Sika swallowed her saliva, controlling herself.
She knew that the way she ate was not elegant, and even though her behavior was acceptable in the Cascausus region, in the Qin Empire, doing so would only draw laughter and embarrass Saleen.
“Have Nailisi come and eat.” Lex filled everyone’s bowls full of meat soup and began to cut up some fruits. Only a mage could store fruits for an extended period of time. During a six month long expedition, it was not only fruits, but even vegetables would rot quickly.
Saleen could feel a sense of satisfaction deep within his soul. It was coming from Nailisi and he knew that the silver grand swordmaster must have nearly been finished by her. He shook his head and said, “She isn’t hungry. Have Baimeng and Holzer come and join us.”
“Okay.” Lex nodded. Sika called Baimeng and Holzer to Lex’s room before Lex said, “There is something that I cannot decide. I need to discuss it with all of you.”
“You want to cross the forest?” Saleen’s words left Baimeng and Holzer in shock as they turned to look at Lex. She nodded.
“What is there to discuss? If we stay here, our scrolls will be gone sooner or later. We both aren’t sorcerers. Relying on magic for combat is impossible when dealing with that many magic beasts.”
“But…” Holzer was about to protest when Saleen waved his hand and cut him off.
“I have heard that in the Cloudflow Empire, the wealthy love to eat frog meat. The meat is tender, but once the frog dies, it will quickly rot and not even magic can preserve it. Hence the Cloudflow people thought of a method. They would keep the frogs in clear water for a while until their innards were clear. Then, they would place the frogs in a pot to cook, using only warm water, and the frogs would not notice any danger. They would not jump out of the pot or struggle. As the water temperature rises, the frogs will not feel anything until the water start to boil, at which point the frogs no longer have the energy to jump out of the pot.”
Holzer did not say another word. He could understand what Saleen was saying. If their group stayed here now, they would be just like the frogs in the pot. The loss of their scrolls was akin to the pot becoming hotter. Once their scrolls were all used up, it spelled death for all of them.
“Actually, crossing the forest isn’t that scary. Even the strongest magic beasts have their own territory and these territories do not overlap. We just need to avoid the dangerous areas. I still have some magic scrolls with me. It should be enough for low-grade magic beasts.”
Lex’s words had been meant to comfort them. Danger was everywhere in the forest, and it was not the same as hiding in a camp with a wall around for protection and the advantage of high ground. Moreover, the plants in god’s hell were not safe either, and setting up camp was a huge problem in itself, let alone in a forest. The Windspeed spell would also be affected and they would not be able to move forward at their fastest speed.
Saleen did not want to take the risk either. However, when it came to advancing, he had already given it some thought. Staying in the camp was more dangerous for him. Lex still had the ability to fly, and if they could not hold the camp, she would still be able to escape.