Chapter 86 - Search in the South China Sea

Chapter 86: Chapter 84:

No sooner had Fidel given the order than he faced unanimous opposition from the commanders of the Stone Moss City Defense Army, "Your Highness, the prince, that must not be done! Even though you know him, we can’t be sure he isn’t bait sent by the enemy."

"How could that be possible, Tuku Lu is the hero who rescued me and Nono from the hellish plane—open the gates quickly!" Fidel’s face turned slightly displeased.

"Your Highness, this old servant begs you to reconsider. You say the person below is the hero who rescued you from hell, and this old servant has heard a bit about that. But Stone Moss City is very far from the hell rift—so how did he come here? With the Eight Great Families’ rebels stationed outside the city, how could he have possibly broken through the enemy’s blockade? Therefore, after considering these points, this old servant must conclude that this person has definitely sided with the Eight Great Families!"

"This..." After hearing the old commander’s analysis, Fidel had to admit, the analysis really did make sense.

Fidel thought it over carefully, and indeed it was true. The hell rift was extremely far from here, and with war spreading across the entire empire, there was no way a mere First-Transition warrior could have covered such a long distance over mountains and rivers.

Thinking this through, Fidel gave up on the idea of opening the city gate, and peering down asked Lu Hong, "Tuku Lu, first tell me, how did you get here?"

"Damn, suspecting me!" Hearing Fidel’s questioning, Lu Hong muttered under his breath. If Nono had been on top of the gatehouse, she would have probably rushed down to embrace and kiss him by now.

"Don’t blame him; after all, this city gate protects the lives of everyone in the city. If the enemies launched a surprise attack and the city gate’s array wasn’t deployed in time, it would be the end of Stone Moss City." Lai Li was quite understanding of the other party’s concerns, "Just tell them, even if the rebel siege were lifted they couldn’t go anywhere. Whether they believe it or not doesn’t matter."

"True." Lu Hong nodded. Even if he told Fidel that the rebels had been driven away by a young girl at his side, it would still be safer inside the city during this period of pillaging by the rebels.

"I was transported here, and there’s no need for you to open the gate. I just want to know about Nono’s situation and then I’ll leave," Lu Hong shouted towards Fidel.

"Nono?" Seeing Lu Hong’s good attitude, Fidel felt a pang of guilt rising within him, "Nono was taken into the Nansha Great Forest by a strong member of the Xiahe family. Lando from the Hell Sect personally pursued her, and I’m not clear about the current situation."

Great, that’s as good as saying nothing. Lu Hong waved his hand, "The siege on Stone Moss City has been dealt with by me; you can relax for a while. I’ll go chase after Nono."

"Pure nonsense!" Upon hearing Lu Hong’s statement, the commanders of Stone Moss City were immediately furious, "An enemy army of tens of thousands outside isn’t something a mere First-Transition junior like him could annihilate! I reckon he’s a spy for the rebels!"

Of course, Lu Hong didn’t care what the people above the gatehouse thought; he turned to Lai Li and said, "Gonna tighten your belt again?"

"Mm." Lai Li nodded, grabbed Lu Hong and leapt into the sky, leaving Fidel and a group of commanders staring in disbelief.

"Am I seeing things? Is that a Third-Transition strengthener?" The commanders exclaimed in astonishment, noting that without activating any skill, only those of a Third-Transition profession could fly.

"Now, I’m somewhat inclined to believe Tuku Lu’s words." Fidel forced a smile, unaware of where Lu Hong had found such an assistant.

Nansha Great Forest, along with the Frost Leaf Forest and Red Maple Forest that Lu Hong had previously entered, might sound similar, but in reality, the Nansha Great Forest was many times more dangerous than the previous two.

Nansha Great Forest, serving as a natural barrier between the Beastman Empire and the Holy Divine Empire, was deemed perilous not just because of its vast size.

In Nansha Great Forest, high-level demon beasts were common; you wouldn’t find any demon beasts below Level 6. Once at Level 6, without the strength of a mid-Second Transition, you were just food for them.

And the deeper you went into Nansha Great Forest, the stronger the demon beasts became. Closest to the center, nearly everywhere was populated by peak Level 11 demon beasts, which even Third-Transition powerhouses wouldn’t dare to provoke lightly.

However, once you reached the actual center of Nansha Great Forest, things changed. No demon beasts roamed the central region, where a towering Great Snow Mountain stood reaching the skies. The mountain was barren of life, a forbidden zone for any creature, as no demon beast dared to tread into the mountain’s domain. This was because at the peak of the snow mountain lived an old dragon, an Ancestor Dragon.

Lai Li carried Lu Hong as they swiftly searched through the Nansha Great Forest, facing this vast sea of trees—it was like headless flies merely chancing upon luck.

"Do you have any good ideas on how to find someone?" After flying for most of the day, Lai Li couldn’t hold her question back any longer.

"No, if there were anything, I would have told you earlier," Lu Hong said, restraining his irritation, as he noted how uncomfortable his tightened belt was.

"When will we find what we’re looking for?" Lai Li landed on the ground first; maintaining flight was quite exhausting for her since she hadn’t fully recovered her strength, especially while carrying a burden.

"Roar!" Just as the two landed, a giant lizard lurking beneath the surface opened its massive maw and bit at them.

"Get lost!" Lai Li swung her arm, transforming the Power of Soul into an iron fist that pushed the lizard back into the ground.

Naturally, the giant lizard was not willing to give up and thrashed wildly, trying to escape Lai Li’s control.

"A Level 8 Earth-eating Lizard?" Lu Hong recognized the identity of the lizard, a Second-Transformation Peak Demon Beast, which stood no chance against Lai Li’s grasp.

"Still trying to struggle?" Lai Li scoffed coldly. This beast really didn’t know when to quit, so she increased the force in her hand.

The Earth-eating Lizard was pushed inch by inch into the soil, and finally, with a pitiful howl, its organs were crushed, and it died of asphyxiation.

"Ah, poor thing," Lu Hong shook his head.

"Are you still worried about these things? Hurry up and think about how to find Fina," Lai Li gave Lu Hong a look and took out some food from the Space Ring and handed it to him: "Regain some strength, we’ll continue searching afterwards."

"Hmm?" Lu Hong held the food Lai Li passed to him and hesitated to eat.

Seeing Lu Hong’s hesitant look, Lai Li sneered, "What’s wrong? Afraid this is some kind of dark cuisine?"

"Not at all." Lu Hong quickly stuffed what looked like a normal piece of bread into his mouth.

"The taste is okay, not delicious but passable," Lu Hong commented on the normalcy of the food he was sampling.

"It’s made by your buddy, not me," Lai Li clarified where the food came from.

"Lock Fan? He baked the bread? I didn’t expect him to have such potential," Lu Hong smacked his lips, now fully at ease with the food in his hands, and picked up another piece of cake to eat.

But the next second, a strange taste caught Lu Hong off guard, and he spat it out immediately.

"I only said that the piece of bread was made by him," Lai Li laughed, pulled out a piece of bread made by Lock Fan and began eating it heartily. Though she couldn’t taste anything, she felt a hint of sweetness deep within.

"You’re setting me up," Lu Hong looked at Lai Li with resentment.

"Kind of, but I’ve noticed you seem happier in the Nansha Great Forest. Don’t you care about Fina anymore?"

Lu Hong shook his head, "I do care, but some things can’t be rushed. Fidel said Lando personally took action; I think Nono’s chances of survival might not be great. Although, from the looks of it, delaying even a minute puts Nono’s life in greater danger, I always feel that Lando’s personal involvement isn’t just about killing Nono."

"What do you mean?" Lai Li curiously pressed on.

Lu Hong thought for a moment and organized his thoughts before speaking, "Think about it, in the battles at Stone Moss City, neither side had a Third Transition powerhouse presiding. The Demon Sect could easily have sent a patrolling Third Transition powerhouse to kill Nono. Why send Lando, one of the top forces of the Demon Sect, who would have been more useful slaughtering the Sheh family’s powerhouses in the North?"

After hearing Lu Hong’s analysis, Lai Li countered, "Maybe the Sheh family sent someone very strong to protect Nono, which is why Lando had to come personally."

"You might be right, but I still feel that isn’t the case. I can’t explain it, but I believe Lando’s purpose is not merely to kill Nono. You know, Lando’s profession is a Demon Whisper, and her skills are very tricky and hard to guard against. Since she has come all the way to Stone Moss City, why didn’t she slaughter the guard forces, which would have been as easy as opening her mouth?"

"Who knows, let’s not think too much. Let’s rest a bit and continue our journey," Lai Li no longer delved into this speculation poor in information, focusing instead on eating her beloved bread.

"Hey, share some with me."

"No."

"Then what do I eat?"

"Cut some meat from the Earth-eating Lizard and grill it; it’s non-toxic, anyway."