Chapter 342: Abandoned Outpost
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The void left behind by the vanishing spaceship had caused a massive implosion. Hundreds of metres down at the bottom of the lake, the implosion was so great that it almost created large scale tremors, which could even be felt up on the surface. But, the little green people and the spaceship were gone, so there was nothing Hao Ren had to worry about. He was at most adding another mystery to the many mysteries already surrounding in the Blood Lake.
Nangong Wuyue was in front, using herself as shield against the impact of the implosion. Because of that, she now almost swam like a crab. Hao Ren felt a little sorry seeing the siren maiden who was swimming upside down almost as if she was about to meet her maker soon. "Are you okay?"
Nangong Wuyue's body oblique, but still leading in front. She acted tough. "I'm all right! Just a little dizzy! But don't underestimate the survivability of siren under water..."
Vivian looked at her, also feeling sorry. "...but you're already upside down..."
Nangong Wuyue tried to correct her posture but failed. She swayed her head a bit and said, "Sometimes you get to look at things from a different angle..."
Lil Pea was tailing Nangong Wuyue happily, imitating the upside down posture. Hao Ren quickly grabbed her by her tail, pulling her back and said, "Behave yourself! That posture is bad luck!"
Nangong Wuyue had to maintain her siren form to keep herself balanced after the implosion—not that she could really balance herself. Suddenly, she turned her head around and looked at her tail, beginning to wonder again. "...do you think I have fish bone?"
Cold sweat flew down Hao Ren's back even in water. "How long are you going to harp on this question?"
The four ascetics, who had waited on the shore for quite a while came towards them as they emerged from the water, still looking sombre. Hao Ren thought they might remain so even if the world was to come to an end, as long as the end of the world was not the whim of their Goddess. Big beardy came up to him and said, "Have the green creatures left?"
"Don't call them green creatures, they're people too. They're Kerbalians. We're just a lump of meat in the eyes of aliens without any physical forms," Hao Ren said, sounding like a guardian of equal rights but he forgot he had been calling Kabala, "the little green man". "The spaceship is gone but has created quite a noise. It was little out of control, but don't worry, there's no problem aside from the noise."
One of the female ascetics asked, "Did you see any visions at the bottom of the lake?"
"None that I can recall," Lily said thoughtlessly. She was playing with a couple of black stones in her hands she took from the bottom of the lake. "What should we have seen, by the way?"
The four ascetics shook their head in unison, almost like telling that was just fine. Hao Ren looked up, realising the sky was already completely dark. Hao Ren could tell from his memory the direction where the outpost was on the shore. He went in that direction, telling them, "We've got to go now. The noise might have alerted the holy army, we will have a hell of a time to explain ourselves if we are spotted hanging around here."
They moved toward the outpost. On the way, Vivian slid the silent ascetics a glance. She said, "Masters, we know our circumstances. We don't belong to this world but we're not here to cause trouble. If somehow we're being interrogated especially by the church, I hope you can put in a few good words for us, besides acting as our witness in matter of the Orb of the Holy Synod."
Big Beardy paced, his voice cold. "Don't worry, as clerics, we'll keep our promise. As far as the holy orb is concerned, though we shouldn't lie, we know what to say depending on the situation. After all, we've gained your favour during our stay in the Surface World, it's now time to return the favour."
Though always in their sombre faces, Big Beardy and company were pretty easy to deal with. They had almost an astounding degree of flexibility in their moral compass under the premise of 'mission'. In order to guard and bring back the Orb, they could surrender, become prisoners, kill, do everything below the bottomline of the clergy, collude with the unbelievers, and even resort to deceit and lie. It was safe to say that they would do anything except surrender the sacred thing of the Goddess. Such was the special clerics of The Disciples of Glory; they were determined, and specific in their action, with 'sacred mission' as their sole purpose in life.
Amiable but extremely paranoid.
Having spent three days with Big Beardy and company, Hao Ren dared not say he had figured the always-in-thought accentric weirdoes out, but he had more or less learned about their modus operendi, and knew how to deal with them. So he and Vivian had no problem for the four ascetics to be their guarantors; it did not go against their code of ethics anyway.
Becky looked up, gazing at the starry sky, her heart was heavy. She was finally home, but it was a little bit different from what she used to imagine. The happy-go-lucky mercenary maiden had her down moment. But she quickly shoved the depressing thought behind her and became happy bunny again. "Oh yeah, I've got to claim my reward back home! Master Big Beardy, I'll tag along when you return the Orb. I'll be an elite. I wonder who will be presenting the reward. I hope it's Marshal Ophra, if she hasn't left the west already... hahaha..."
Goosebump on her skin when Vivian heard they way Becky laughed. She hugged herself and scurried near to Hao Ren. "Why am I so sensitive to such laughter?"
Hao Ren's eyes rolled. "Hessiana—"
Those goosebump moments suddenly flashed across her mind. Vivian turned and glared at Becky. "Don't laugh like that. I have an allergy!"
"Even if you're now made a knight and given a manor, what use they have?" Nangong Wuyue gave Becky a glance. "You could only stay for fifteen days top. The big mansion practically belongs to your servants, not yours."
"You don't have to remind me about that!" Becky almost jumped up as if she was stepped in her tail. "I only need to enjoy it while it lasts."
Those were not ordinary people; they did not slow down their pace one bit despite the talking. Soon they were arriving at the lakeside outpost. As soon as the silhoutte of the outpost was in sight, Y'zaks suddenly shouted quietly. "Halt! Something's wrong!"
Hao Ren looked ahead, and noticed the problem too: the outpost looked dark from afar, not even a bit of light; light from the stars and two moons shone on the outpost, the outpost seemed empty. Upon careful observation, Hao Ren noticed many structure of the outpost had been damaged. He had a particularly deep impression of the few pointed towers at the corners of the outpost, which had only a few columns left standing now.
Becky could not exactly see the situation in the outpost. She was surprised it was dark. "It looks empty. Isn't the lakeside outpost supposed to have guards?"
Lily sniffed around. Her ears stood erect and her tail puffed up. "I smell blood, but it's almost gone. It should be from a few days ago."
"The outpost was attacked?" Big Beardy and company were finally unsettled. They lunged toward the structure. "Hurry up, let's check it out!"
Hao Ren followed suit and came before the higher ground on the lakeside. More details in sight: the wooden wall of the outpost had basically collapsed, the magic barrier outside the wall had also gone, almost two-third of the wall on the facade was crushed into pieces as if some giant creature had stepped on it, debris strewned everywhere. He followed Big Beardy inside, the same state of destruction inside the structure: broken walls and fragments of solid wood. Some debris was buried in the ground as if they were stomped.
It looked like the outpost had been ransacked by a giant.
Immediately, Hao Ren had thought of the rock giant he once battled. Was the line of defense in Leyton breached after he left two months ago? The rock giant had come within the inner line of the sacred lake?
But the situation at the sacred lake seemed normal, the little isle in the centre of the lake was still brightly lit—he was dead sure about it because he had let Lil Pea swim over and took a peek.
Big Beardy had made a round around the outpost. He then said in a sombre voice, "What has happened? The pagans had attacked the sacred grounds?"