Volume 2: Empire Chapter 127 Winter Hunting Festival
"It's been a while since I last saw you..." Luke came to Dale and took out a squirrel made of ice. "I just caught this on my way . I'll give it to you as a gift for the Frozen Hunting Festival."
The squirrel was created by ice magic. It was crystal clear and cute. When Dale stretched out her hand, the ice squirrel jumped into her palm, then climbed up and down on her clothes, making Dale giggle.
"You are so lucky. When I came here, I also saw small animals made of ice magic, but I didn't catch them." Dale caught the ice squirrel in her hand. The surface was cold but not irritating, and it would not melt when exposed to heat. Dale teased the ice squirrel and suddenly remembered something. She let go of the squirrel and took out a long box from her pocket. The box was wrapped with ribbons and tied with a bow: "This is my gift for you for the Winter Hunting Festival. I hope you like it..."
"What is it? Can I open it now?"
"sure……"
When Luke was unpacking the box, Mina bowed to Dale and said, "Winter Hunting Festival Harvest! Hello, Miss Jasmine, I am Mina, Mr. Luke's maid, and I am very happy to meet you.
you're so beautiful!"
Dale noticed Mina standing next to Luke: "Hello, Mina, I wish you a good harvest at the Winter Hunting Festival too."
Luke introduced Dale to her, "Mina lives in the underground steam city and was hired by me for family reasons. She takes care of my daily life in Winter City and is a very hardworking child.
Did you make this yourself?"
Luke took out a magic wand from the box. It was made of firewood and felt slightly hot in his hand. The grip was embedded with hundreds of magic stone particles, each of which was carefully polished to a standard 58-sided surface, which could transmit the released magic power into the magic core inside the magic wand with minimal loss.
The surface of the magic wand is carved with circles of blooming jasmine flowers in hollow relief. Luke slightly releases some magic power to trigger the magic core to glow. The jasmine flowers are clearly layered and orderly in the light, just like real flowers.
Dale said confidently, "Of course I made it myself. I saw that you didn't have a suitable magic wand, so I tried to make one. I did very well in the magic prop making class, and I learned the carving skills from sister Agatha... Do you like it?"
Luke held the magic wand and easily threw out a magical firework.
It is much faster than casting magic with bare hands, and it is easier to master the output of magic power and improve control over magic.
Luke had never thought of preparing a magic wand for himself before.
He has the Greedy Red Dragon Spear, and the Ruihuo Magic Wand on the handle is itself an excellent spellcasting tool.
However, the Greedy Red Dragon Spear was too conspicuous, and taking it out would be equivalent to revealing one's identity. Now there was a magic wand that matched his fire attribute, which was very suitable for use in certain occasions.
"Of course I like it!" The magic released attracted the attention of the people around him. Luke immediately put the magic wand into his sleeve, and then said to Dale: "You gave me such a precious thing, but I gave you an ice squirrel I caught on the road. It seems that I am too insincere."
Dai Er grabbed the ice squirrel and said, "No, I like your gift very much. You know... I don't lack precious things.
I just want to let go of my identity and enjoy this exotic holiday."
"Then let's celebrate the Winter Hunting Festival together. Mina rented a sleigh for us. The most lively place is on the glacier outside the city. Let's go... first try the food of the Winter Capital, then go fishing and hunting, and then we will go to the underground steam city in the evening."
…
Abandoned factory.
Irabim used all her strength to smash open a wall of ice, and then stumbled out. Her body was covered in blood, her left hand was torn off, and her eyes were filled with fear. But before she could get out of the cave, something pounced on her from behind. She screamed and struggled, but it was no use. Her body was dragged back and soon she was silent.
Inside the factory, Qingkong walked out of the formation, the secret technique was lifted, and those angry mechanical beasts collapsed into scattered parts one by one.
All the Ice Cave Agents who were prey died, and not even a complete body could be found.
There was frozen blood everywhere.
Jennifer followed behind Qingkong, looking around to see if there were any remaining enemies. At the same time, she said, "Professor Qingkong, Irabim should have sent out the news that Princess Dale had left the academy, and agents from the Ice Cave will be here soon.
What should we do next? "
Qingkong walked to Irabim's body. The girl was no longer breathing. She was lying on her back on her own icy blood, her eyes open with a longing for life.
"Don't worry about Princess Dale. I've already sent the sheriff to follow her. Go back to the academy and make sure the illusion puppet I made is not discovered by others."
"Yes, Professor Qingkong. Aren't you going back?"
"I have something else to do in the underground steam city. Let's keep this place as it is now, so that the people in the ice cave can see what happens if they mess with me. Then they will know how to get along with us."
"I understand, Professor Clearsky."
Shortly after Qingkong and Jennifer left, a team of Ice Cave agents carefully approached the abandoned factory.
Ilabim, an insider in the Winter Capital Magic Steam Academy, brought news that "Princess Dale has left the academy", and Bartlett immediately led a team to arrest Dale.
But there was no news yet.
Subsequent Ice Cave agents found the abandoned factory based on clues left by Bartlett, but the smell of blood that even ice and snow could not suppress made the Ice Cave agents who came to support realize that things were not going well.
They approached the target factory carefully from various directions and then rushed in at the same time.
Then he was stunned and his limbs went numb by the scene before him.
Even though they were all professionally trained agents, they were still frightened by this Shura scene.
What exactly happened here?
Who attacked Bartlett's team?
At this time, Qingkong had already entered the underground steam city on a rail car.
The underground Steam City was also enveloped in a strong festive atmosphere. Factories and mines had to take a day off today, no matter how tight their production schedules were. Workers from all over gathered in the Steam City today, enjoying a rare day of leisure with their meager salaries.
Qingkong, wearing a cloak and a hood, came to the high tower in the center of the city, and then took the elevator to the bar on the top of the tower.
There were more people in the bar than usual.
There was chaotic music playing on the stage, and a "person" hidden in the shadows was singing loudly with a hoarse voice.
A motorcycle race was playing on the big screen overhead.
There are no breaks in today's races, one after another, and all professional racers will compete for a champion today.
Qingkong walked to the bar and lifted her hood, revealing a beautiful elf that immediately attracted the attention of people around her, but no one associated her with Qingkong.
"Beautiful Elf, this must be your first time here. This drink is for you..." The bartender poured a glass of wine for Qingkong, and then said, "Would you like a bottle of 'Carnival Night'? It can enhance your five senses and give you wonderful feelings that you can't normally get."
Qingkong picked up the wine glass and swirled the wine inside, saying, “Carnival Night has no use to me. Its enhancement has little effect on my current five senses.
Tell the tyrant that I came here as promised."
The bartender was thinking of getting the elf to participate in motorcycle gambling, but when he heard the tyrant's name, the smile on his face disappeared immediately. He saluted to Qingkong: "Can I know your name?"
"Tell him what I look like. He knows who I am."
"Yes, beautiful elf lady."
The bartender found someone to take over his shift and then quickly ran backstage.
Qingkong drank the free drinks and looked at the magic projection in the sky.
There is Nidick.
Since he won the first place with an absolute advantage last time, Red-headed Weasel Nidick has become a popular driver. In every race, someone will sponsor him a bottle of "Concentrated Carnival Night". Although his results are not as outstanding as that time, he can always be in the top three and win the first place many times.
Today, Nidick is also the favorite to become the champion driver of the Winter Hunting Festival.
When Nidic drove past the finish line, the atmosphere in the bar reached a climax. The bartender also came to Qingkong at this time and said, "Come with me, Miss Elf."
Qingkong drank the last of the wine, then followed the bartender to the backstage of the bar and walked into a closed single room.
There is only a one-way glass separating this place from the lively bar.
The tyrant lay on the large sofa, holding a large-caliber wine glass in his hand, enjoying absorbing the soul energy coming from the bar.
Qingkong took off his cloak and threw it on the hanger beside him, then sat on the sofa: "The soul energy here belongs to Chiyan. If you absorb it like this, aren't you afraid that he will cause trouble for you?"
The tyrant waved his hand to let the bartender who brought Qingkong leave, and then closed the door.
"Although there is a lot of soul energy here, they are all scattered and free scraps. They are okay as snacks, but not a feast. Chi Yan won't let me harvest souls here. If I eat some of his snacks, can he still cause trouble for me?"
Demons have a very strong sense of territory. Chi Yan tolerates another demon to stay in his territory, which is already giving face to Luke, but he will never allow the tyrant to hunt in his territory.
The tyrant is now in a desperate situation, without any territory of his own and unable to leave Winter Capital, so he can only steal this free soul energy.
Qingkong didn't want to ask the devil about his soul food fetish. She asked the tyrant, "Meteorite said you had something to ask me, and it was related to the World Tree."
Speaking of the World Tree, the Tyrant immediately stopped absorbing soul energy.
"How much do you know about the World Tree and the artifact?"
"Don't try to trick me. I'm here to see your attitude."
The tyrant is sure that Qingkong knows the relationship between the World Tree and the artifact. The lack of power makes him decide not to keep the secret from Qingkong. Only by regaining the power of the artifact can he be the tyrant he once was, no matter what the artifact is.
The Tyrant looked at the demon Chiyan who was singing hard on the stage, and after taking a long breath, he said, "You should have known that the reason why the five ancient civilizations destroyed the World Tree was because the World Tree had the potential to become a divine weapon.
Although the World Tree had no interest in becoming a divine weapon, it was an existence that broke the balance of the ancient war. Both sides wanted to get it, but were afraid that it would be obtained by the other side. In the struggle, someone started to attack the World Tree, and then the five ancient civilizations all attacked it..."
The tyrant told Qingkong about the war that took place on the grasslands of the ancestors, and also confirmed Qingkong's speculation about the world tree and the artifact.
"...Now, the five ancient civilizations have not stopped searching for the lost artifact. Therefore, the revival of the World Tree will definitely attract the attention of the five ancient civilizations. If a fight over the World Tree is triggered again, it is possible that the newly born World Tree will be destroyed once again."
After listening to the tyrant's story, Qingkong asked, "Last time you proposed to study the World Tree, do you have a way to transform it into a divine weapon?"
“Of course I didn’t…” The tyrant said helplessly: “The power of the artifact is the interpretation of the original energy of the world, and the language interpreted by each artifact is different.
Golden Language, Demon Language, Angel Language, Dragon Language, Shadow Language, you can release divine spells by reciting the corresponding language communication artifacts.
You study the occult arts. Divine arts are actually a type of occult arts, but their release is not restricted by mysterious props.
In that war, none of us managed to seize the World Tree, so naturally we don’t even know what language it speaks, let alone how to transform it into a divine weapon.”
"How can you study the world tree if you don't know its language?"
The tyrant said sadly: "The biggest gain from that war is... I not only mastered the demon language, but also learned four other ancient languages. Mastering the language allows you to communicate with the corresponding artifacts, but you are limited and cannot exert the full power of the magic."
After saying this, the tyrant extended his hand as a demonstration.
A difficult sentence was chanted, and a ball of holy fire suddenly appeared in the palm of the tyrant's hand.
The burning of the holy flame caused the tyrant to stop casting the spell immediately. He shook his hands and said, "On the battlefield, you will know what kind of magic the opponent is going to use after listening to it many times, and you will learn it slowly. Ancient languages have many things in common, and what I said about studying the world tree is just an attempt.
If it succeeds... even if the divine magic system based on it is not suitable for me, it will still be much stronger than what I have now."
Qingkong said, "It sounds like you just want to try your luck, but I don't think your luck is very good. If the five ancient civilizations knew that I was researching ways to turn the World Tree into a divine weapon, they would definitely attack the Moonlight Royal Court."
"If you don't study it, they won't attack? Transform the World Tree into a divine weapon as soon as possible so that it can't be destroyed.
Let me go to the Moonlight Court, and I will try my best to hide my presence."
Qingkong said, "No, as long as you are in the Moonlight Royal Court, you will definitely be noticed by others. Before the World Tree is transformed into a divine weapon, the five ancient civilizations cannot find anything unusual there."
The tyrant said: "If I don't go to the Moonlight King's Court, how can I communicate with the World Tree?"
Qingkong smiled and asked, "Do you know why the Moonlight Royal Court is called the Moonlight Royal Court?"
"The resurgence of the new generation world is related to the moon."
"Yes, the new generation of World Tree has been favored by the moon, and I am fortunate to become the Moonlight Queen. Let me tell you a secret. Under the moonlight, no matter where I am, I can communicate with the World Tree.
It is safest to conduct research on the World Tree in Raging Waves City.
I can secretly set up an ancient language research group at the Oulu Academy. Oh, and I also have an ancient language expert who can learn ancient languages from scratch without anyone teaching him."
