Chapter 704: 119. A team on the brink of collapse_2
Chapter 704: 119. A team on the brink of collapse_2
“Thank you, Clan Chief Dal.”
“Don’t mention it, we should be thanking you… Without this gentleman’s help, I fear we would have all perished in that unrest at the Mia Hotel.”
Dal shook his head, first glancing at Fisher, who was sitting in the carriage with his eyes closed, recuperating. He then glared at his daughter Juna, who couldn’t stop looking at Fisher, prompting her to stick out her tongue helplessly and hop out of the carriage first.
“You don’t have to hurry down. The attack at the hotel probably wasn’t targeted at our Snow Fox Species. I believe Miss Valentina is also in the dark about this… You can take your time to talk, and come down after we’ve set up the camp.”
After saying this, Clan Chief Dal then let the carriage curtain fall, leaving only Valentina’s people inside. Valentina glanced at Balzac, who lay on the ground with his arm severed and his face pale, and then at Celti, who was huddled in a corner of the carriage, shivering uncontrollably. Celti had long been awake, but presumably due to Erwin’s attack, the curse from the Wutong Tree, and the Turand Family’s betrayal, she had been frightened to the point of incoherence.
Despite the carriage’s temperature being quite warm, Celti’s body couldn’t stop shaking,
“Why… why did the Turand Family suddenly capture us? Isn’t the boss a part of the Turand Family? Just now… I thought I was going to die, it was so scary… Even Balzac too… No, I don’t want to die yet, I’m still so young…”
Sitting next to Valentina, Heidlin let out a sigh. She leaned tiredly against the seat and began to explain to Fisher with some resignation,
“The expenditures for searching for the Wutong Tree have been too much. It started with the discovery of the Grey Bird Species’ underground palace; the investments on us have been growing exponentially. The substantial financial burdens have already caused dissatisfaction among many of the leading figures in our tribe, and more critically, the commotion we’ve caused in the Northern Realm, including at the Moon Rabbit Shrine and at the Mia, is the real headache for them.”
“If it weren’t for the outstanding contributions the young lady’s parents had made to the family, they wouldn’t have invested so much. Moreover, they don’t know what exactly is inside the Wutong Tree; continuing to invest in an uncertain hope isn’t their first choice.”
Celti was slightly stunned and didn’t continue speaking, but Fisher turned his head to look at Heidlin and asked,
“Are you saying that the Turand Family is sure that by offering Valentina to the curse, the family’s genetic disease can be resolved?”
Heidlin nodded and spoke looking at Valentina beside her,
“It was only after I was forced to join their plan when they discovered I had overheard them that I learned that, after acquiring a brief moment of glory and experiencing the terror of the curse, the people of the Turand Family fled back to the Snowflake Fortress where the Moon Princess once lived, living a meager existence. But they are not fools, of course; they thought of ways to solve the problem, and the first thing that came to mind was the Demon that had previously offered them a deal.”
“The Demon responded to their summoning, expressed sympathy for the humans who had hastily made a decision without understanding the specific details of the deal, and were now starting to suffer. The Demon told them that the curse was pursuing the last of the Phoenix. However, the Phoenix Bloodline had already dispersed among the members of the Turand Family, and returning the full bloodline was extremely difficult. Nevertheless, after the Turand Family made a sacrifice, the Demon still reluctantly provided a solution.”
“One option was a mass sacrifice of family members with a diluted bloodline to the curse, but the Turand Family, already diminished by premature deaths from dealing with Demons and the curse, could not afford another round of sacrifices. The second was to procreate and wait for the Phoenix Bloodline to concentrate in a certain generation. The sign would be that the Moon Princess’ Sword would shine again due to the bloodline, and at that time, the person with the majority of the Phoenix Bloodline could be sacrificed to solve the problem.”
“Clearly, with no other options left, the Turand Family had to choose the second, and the innocent family member with the concentrated bloodline is Valentina.”
After hearing this, Fisher laughed ironically and said,
“The Turand Family was victimized once by that Demon’s deal, and yet they would choose to trust the Demon a second time, truly leaves me speechless…”
Heidlin shook her head and explained to Fisher,
“The Turand Family had tried the first method, offering family members outside the Snowflake Fortress as sacrifices to the curse, and it actually quieted down for a considerable amount of time. Restoring the bloodline could briefly calm the frenzied curse, even slightly prolonging the life of others in the family with genetic illnesses. There was even a time when some clan members lived to the ripe old age of 35…”
“Uh…”
Inside the carriage, Balzac’s pained groans suddenly rose, interrupting Heidlin’s words. He had already lost an arm, not yet fully healed, only to be knocked unconscious roughly by the Turand Family’s people. His current condition was anything but optimistic, likely to take a good while to heal. Meanwhile, Celti was naturally timid, and the only somewhat useful climbing gear she had designed had not been brought along, rendering her the equivalent of dead weight at present.
Valentina had been quietly listening the whole time. To her, the cold-blooded actions of her family were undoubtedly heart-wrenching, but what was even more pressing was the road ahead, and that was the true reason for Valentina’s sense of helplessness.
Setting aside whether she still needed to seek the Wutong Tree, given the team’s current state, with the injured and maimed barely holding together, they wouldn’t even make it to the foothills of Sema Snow Mountain. And the family would certainly not give up the pursuit, they still wanted her to surrender her life to save the family from the hereditary illness…
Moreover, the mastermind who had attacked them at the Mia Hotel remained unidentified. But regardless of who it was, possessing such terrifying power and coveting the Seal in her possession, it could hardly be considered a light matter.
At this point, trapped in a dilemma, Valentina stared at the team teetering on the brink of collapse, feeling a profound sense of fatigue for the first time. Just as a headache began to assail her, the curtain at the doorway suddenly opened, revealing Clan Chief Dal’s face once more,
“Ladies and gentlemen, the camp is almost ready, and our people have brought back some game. Let’s make do with what we have for tonight.”
“No… I don’t want to, I want to go back! I don’t want to go anywhere else, we’ll all die if we don’t!”
At that moment, Celti, hidden in a corner, glancing at the rudimentary camp outside, couldn’t hold back any longer. She covered her head, shaking uncontrollably, turned her trembling gaze to Philis who sat silently, cradling her arms, and said,
“Philis, you didn’t get to bring out any money, did you? You love money the most… Balzac, his health is terrible, with such severe injuries, if we don’t get Healing promptly… Can’t we go back? No matter what, just a few of us can’t make it up the Snow Mountain… Those large, eye-studded tentacles… Ugh! We’ll all die. Whimper, I don’t want it, I don’t want to go, let me go back… Anyway, isn’t it the boss they want, let me go back, please, I beg you…”
Philis opened one eye and yawned, utterly disinterested in dealing with Celti. It was Heidlin who, hearing her last words, stood up quite irritably, her eyes blazing as she said,
“Celti, you…”
Before she could finish, the calm Valentina raised her hand, stopping Heidlin’s further words. She simply covered her cheeks, exhausted, and spoke,
“Celti is right; from the moment we left the Turand Family, the engagement of everyone present officially ended. Even if we were to continue, I can no longer provide any of you with any further compensation… Don’t worry, tonight we shall temporarily stay here. It’s not safe to wander outside during the nights in Mia. When the morning comes, and the blizzard eases a bit, everyone will be free to go…”
Her quiet words left the panicked Celti speechless. Celti looked up at Valentina, only to see her gently remove a ring engraved with the Turand Family’s Seal from her finger. With the ring gone from her ring finger, it was left bare anew.
As if to accommodate the habit of fidgeting with a ring when contemplating or relieving stress, she put the Magic Ring Fisher had given her on that finger, then exhaled deeply, smiling at everyone present,
“If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last night for our group in search of the Wutong Tree, my friends. Rest well.”
Then, she gently tossed the removed ring, a symbol of the Turand Family’s honor, out of the carriage. The night’s rising blizzard quickly covered the ring, leaving no trace behind.