Chapter 193: The Price of a Smuggle
Chapter 193: The Price of a Smuggle
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Following the influx of human reinforcements, the outcome of this war was all but decided. It was initially dominated by the demons, but Baiyi turned out to be their biggest obstacle, breaking the enchantment and confusing their formation, simultaneously. If the demons had successfully breached in to deliver a blow successfully, bringing death and destruction to all corners of the realm, mankind would have been exterminated in a heartbeat.
The soul of Baiyi, the hero who saved the land, hovered inside the microrealm—close to its dark crack. It was pretty similar to the Void outside. The only difference was the lack of a sturdy realm barrier. It was still within the boundaries of the real world—located very close to a few other neighboring realms.
At that moment, however, Baiyi's heart did not contain an ounce of joy and pride from saving the world. On the contrary, it was filled instead with regret and self-reproach as he reflected with his other companions in the Void. "... I was too greedy... I was really too greedy..."
Earlier, when Baiyi had unveiled a part of his original soul, Lord Thaas lose the volition to fight back; however, he had no intention to surrender due to his ego. After a round of interrogation, extracting the information that he wanted to know, Baiyi conveniently vaporized Lord Thaas's soul, putting an end to his vile existence.
"Ha! Death was only a form of true release for me! Unfortunately, you will never, ever have the luxury of death— you only have the vast void of nothingness to belong to, you sorry existence of an evil god!" Lord Thaas roared in his final moments.
Poor fellow, till death did he not know that Baiyi originated from the Void... Lord Thaas, the so-called Abyss Lord… yet his knowledge of the void was as limited as common folk. If you think about it... it's pretty tragic, no?
Lord Thaas gave up a lot of information, but those would need to wait until the end of the day for everyone to assemble for a proper deliberation. Hence, when he had dealt with Lord Thaas, Baiyi's attention was drawn to the micro realm.
Just as he'd perceived earlier, this micro realm was embedded within the realm shield. Using a carbonated can-drink as an example, it was as though a minute hole had been bored through the surface of the can. The hole could not be noticed from the outside, but if one was within the realm, they would realize that the barrier was now noticeably weak—enough to allow his soul and power to channel through!
Hit with this epiphany, Baiyi's greed surged.In the past, Baiyi was never thoroughly satisfied by Mia, because the girl was always too (up)tight. This time, however, he had Laeticia. He was finally able to be a little wilder, and go a little higher. Honestly, no sane man would be willing to go back to his previously insufficient life once they taste the freedom of a little reckless abandon.
Hence, he decided to smuggle more of his power into the real world through the little crack within the microrealm.
The description above was purely verbal, so get your mind out of the gutter.
Regarding the aftermath... because the microrealm was too small, it was only able to contain 20% of Baiyi's power, so If anymore was smuggled in, the microrealm would disintegrate. As a result, the realm's shield regenerated instantly, blocking off the remaining power Baiyi had outside it.
His actions were equivalent to destroying a newly-discovered third energy channel, so it was only natural that he reproached himself and felt a whole lot of remorse. Baiyi chided himself for being too greedy; he had always dreamed of smuggling in more power, but now, his plan had backfired.
"Nevermind, don't worry! You still managed to smuggle in 20% at least, didn't you? Additionally, the second Elect was found! If you use it sparingly, you should be able to handle most situations!" the Scholar encouraged. As a girl, she was more empathetic, and her first approach was to offer some form of solace like a younger sister.
"I'm making it clear NOW! Laeticia is my successor, and also, my apprentice! No one is to touch her, no matter who you are!" The cleric declared, swiftly bringing up an unrelated topic.
'The real problem is the fact that besides you and your cleric buddies... no one else has that disgusting habit of flirting with underage girls! Sure, Laeticia is blessed with beautiful features, but she still looks like a typical village maiden, wearing petals in her hair in an old-fashioned manner... There's not much fun in flirting with her!' Baiyi condemned privately. 'However, it was still a little surprising and unexpected to see a cleric like him defend his own apprentices…'
'We just don't know if he intends to keep her so that he himself can eat her up…
"Alright, alright... stop this topic. Let's think of a way to return now, aye?" Baiyi steered the conversation back to its proper track. He analyzed his surroundings and realized that their location was still within the realm, but it was quite a distance away from Isythre. When Lord Thaas transported them here earlier, it was only because of the effect from the soul-engulfing spell he initiated earlier; the spell which only souls and devils possessed. However, Lord Thaas did not possess a 'soul-expelling' spell to return Baiyi to where he was previously.
To drift back gradually was not an option; he was worried that it would take too long. However, If he resorted to drifting and eventually returned to see Mia with some kid by her side, calling him 'grandpa' or some other nonsense... surely he would use his remaining power to annihilate the world.
"Let's just find a realm to settle down for now. We can use our power to create a body, then forge a crack leading towards Isythre," the Scholar suggested. "This process, if done fast enough, would take two or three months at least. One or two years if we're a bit slower... By then, Mia's kids shouldn't be able to talk yet, I hope... ughh—"
However, he was abruptly interrupted by Baiyi.
"I get your suggestion. Can it get more ridiculous than that?" Baiyi asked rhetorically in the Void.
"Why don't you use up all of your existing power to accelerate forward? Distance-wise, though. It will completely drain your power as a result, but that would much better than watching Mia being taken advantage of, wouldn't it?" the Junior Mage suggested cautiously.
"If we don't have any other options, I suppose this may be the only way..." Baiyi replied, dejected. It was not an easy task for him smuggle in double the amount of power he had now, and now, he had to sacrifice all that to create a power channel as compensation. However, after weighing the pros and cons, he chose to return to Isythre as quickly as possible.
As he prepared to leave, he suddenly felt a weird presence approaching him.
It was a soul—a weak one. There was only a small thread of it, hovering before him like a firefly, trying its best to get his attention.
When a soul showed up in a place like this, it would not be wise to treat the situation lightly. Although it may not pose an imminent threat to him, Baiyi's vigilance was on high alert. "What do you want?" He asked the soul cautiously.
Without answering, the little ball of soul only danced and hovered around him erratically. Instantly, Baiyi felt weird tremors from the realm of Isythre faraway, like it was undergoing some sort of repositioning process.
Before he could ask any more questions, everything in his sight faded rapidly. Within two quick breaths, his soul was transported back into the suit of gray armor in Isythre.
When Baiyi regained his vision, the first item that his eyes registered was a huge piece of storm cloud gradually erasing the azure sky. "What in the world is happening?" Baiyi straightened his body and surveyed his surroundings. It was still a chaotic scene from the war; the three cracks of the Realm was still emitting spatial fluctuations. Earlier, when his soul was yanked from his body, the Void latch above disappeared, but at that moment, no demons were stupid enough to attempt to force their way through.
Ensuring that his surroundings are safe, Baiyi quickly lowered his head and fumbled with the storage pack around his waist. The item that had guided his return—despite the incredible distance—was inside!
He produced a bladeless hilt from within — the hilt from the War God's Sword.
"It was... you?" Baiyi exclaimed. Logically speaking, the War God's Sword possessed a series of spatial powers, so it most probably had a power strong enough to teleport a soul back over a long distance. However, the real question was: why would this sword assist him on its own accord? Unless... the firefly-like soul came from the War God himself?
"Sssssss..." The hypothesis made Baiyi gulp in a mouthful of cold air. The existence of the War God was a pretty terrible thing. It would be even worse if it was astir and not as dormant as he had assumed. The fact that it was almost as if he was aware of Baiyi's existence—which may also indicate that he knew about everything that had transpired around this sword—was the key issue here.
For example, the War God probably already knew that Baiyi had, cough , committed a mass genocide against a slew of the god's worshippers; and that the same Baiyi abducted Attie, who possessed a maximum level Natural Stewardess skill, and proceeded to reshape her into a fawning follower of his Stockholm Syndrome.
Logically speaking, it would be quite normal for the War God to wanna throw a smackdown with him, but to make an appearance at such a minuscule event just to lend him a hand? That was quite intriguing...
Baiyi examined the War God's sword meticulously once more, subtly feeling the birth of an indescribable bond between them. Intuitively, he gripped the sword and flailed it around to see if he could produce a blade glow like Attie's. Failing miserably, he tried again once more, adding, "The Force is with me." Still, no response...
'Too bad then, there was no other way.' He would not have to shed some blood for it to recognize its wielder, right?
This event was too intriguing and too strange. Baiyi had gotten information from interrogating Lord Thaas, and now, his mind was filled to the brim with all sorts of theories, tangled together like a ball of yarn. Everything was too chaotic; he needed, desperately, to find a quiet place to resolve his thoughts.
However, before that, there was something more important: He had to find Mia and the rest. When Baiyi arrived at that conclusion, he heard high-pitched voices calling his name from afar.
"Mister Hope!" Mia's voice had a hint of a sob as she jogged towards him. Upon seeing her, Baiyi heaved a sigh of relief. 'This is great,' he thought. 'Mia… is just perfect the way she is.'
Feeling quite pleased, he hastened his steps forward and took the initiative to give Mia a big hug. He lifted her high off the ground and gently rubbed his faceplate against her little face.
"Ughh... it's great that you're okay, Mister Hope! It's great that everybody is okay!" Mia proclaimed, between sobs and laughter.
"Master, me too, master!" Tisdale followed. After Baiyi released Mia, she rushed into Baiyi's embrace and rubbed her cheeks against his faceplate.
Everyone's gaze eventually fell on Attie, who had also come alone, and his face had a keen expression on it. Was he eager... to do the same? The only thing that held her back was her ego, which made her remain motionless where he stood.