Chapter 208: Loud Conspiracies
The journey to the Abyss wasn’t particularly long, nor was it particularly short. If they didn’t rush, it would take about two days.
Using teleportation magic was the most efficient method, and Kailun had enough remaining attribute points to sustain two days of travel.
After a friendly negotiation, Kailun had acquired the town named Portland for the high price of 100,000 gold coins.
He didn’t station any troops there after the transaction, only leaving a few less important ministers to oversee the town.
These “less important” ministers were actually those who had made mistakes in the past. Kailun left them behind to redeem themselves.
He required them to report the situation to the Royal City every day in a specific format. Their tasks were not shared, and they were suspicious of each other, thus preventing the possibility of them colluding to betray him.
After all, they didn’t know how many people Kailun had sent, nor did they know if there were any hidden ninth-rank assassins in the town.
After Bruce and the others completed their mission and returned to the Royal City, Kailun withdrew their attribute boosts. This was crucial for his upcoming trip to the Abyss.
He also contacted Helena and the others in Alaye beforehand, asking them to minimize their public appearances for the next few days.
To prevent any accidents, Kailun might withdraw more attribute points.
Due to the contract, the Pope wouldn’t dare to directly harm Helena and the others. Using other methods would require some preparation time.
According to his calculations, he could free up three days.
However, absolute safety was impossible. Everything had risks. He had merely chosen the option with lower risk and higher reward.
Six hours later, Kailun took a break. Using teleportation magic continuously had consumed a lot of his mental energy. He needed a short rest.
Standing on a hill overlooking the forest with Bella, Kailun had a strange feeling.
In his memories, he had rarely left the Xiya Kingdom. He had spent most of his time traveling between the Royal City and his own territory.
In a way, this was his first time traveling far from home.
Even his previous expeditions had only crossed the borders of one or two countries, which wasn’t considered far.
“I didn’t expect your mastery of magic to be so impressive. Even my grandfather can’t travel for such a long time like you.”
Bella held Kailun’s arm, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Not only was Kailun’s teleportation speed extremely fast, but the effect was also excellent, almost reaching the limit of this magic.
Judging from the amount of mana he output, it was at least twice that of an average ninth-rank mage. In terms of teleportation efficiency, there was even a threefold difference.
If they continued traveling non-stop, they could even reach the Abyss in just twenty hours.
Even Bella had never heard of such speed.
However, traveling too quickly didn’t align with her desires. For her, every day of these seven days was crucial.
So, Bella said softly, “But let’s rest a bit more. It would be dangerous if we run out of mana and encounter people from the Temple of the Celestial God. We can travel slowly. There’s no rush. I checked. If we continue teleporting along this route, we’ll reach a small town tonight. We can rest there for the night and set off again tomorrow morning. Okay~?”
As she spoke, Bella hugged Kailun’s arm tightly, letting him experience her comforting softness.
Kailun looked at Bella. He saw longing in her eyes, her plea evident.
“I can’t say no to you.” Kailun reached out with his other hand and stroked Bella’s crystal-clear dragon horns, leading her towards a smooth rock. “Let’s go. We’ll rest for a while and have lunch.”
It was almost three in the afternoon. Calling it lunch was a bit late.
However, they were both very strong and could easily skip a few meals without any significant impact.
After cleaning the rock and spreading a thin cloth on it, they sat down side by side. Bella took out some packed food and drinks from her small suitcase.
Seeing this, Kailun sighed. “It’s a pity I don’t have enough materials. Otherwise, I could create some spatial equipment.”
He had recently learned some space-related magic. With his current knowledge, he could create spatial equipment.
“There’s no other way. The Temple of the Celestial God controls all the raw materials. No one else can create space-related equipment. Besides, most space-related magic is lost. Those materials aren’t very useful to them.” Bella said as she arranged the food and drinks on the blue cloth.
Kailun took a bite of a soft bread roll. “It feels like the world has lost a lot in the past ten thousand years. There has been no progress in magic research. The only change is the abolition of the battle mage system.”
Bella tore the bread into two thin slices and spread tomato sauce on them. “The battle mage system was too dangerous. Many people in the Abyss used to choose this path. But most of them went mad. When power exceeds the body’s limits, mental breakdown is inevitable. Most of the bad rumors about the Abyss are related to them.”
Bella sighed, recalling the stories she had heard about battle mages.
In the past, the Abyss had many people but few resources. Many were forced to choose this high-risk, high-efficiency, high-burst path.
But not everyone was a genius. Most people had their limits. Blindly increasing the number of magic circles engraved on their bodies would only lead to destruction.
The “demons” of the Abyss mostly referred to those who had lost themselves.
This was only part of the reason. The deeper reason was that, except for the second mine, the magic crystals produced by other mines in the Abyss contained special impurities, which could easily cause mental problems if absorbed excessively.
And this situation had become increasingly severe over time.
Nowadays, no one chose the path of the battle mage anymore. Only two incomplete battle mages remained among the Abyss’s high-ranking individuals, and they were far from being true battle mages.
“If I remember correctly, that guy also chose this path. It seems his talent is indeed quite good.”
Kailun thought of Paul. Paul, who had already reached the ninth rank, hadn’t collapsed due to engraving magic circles. Kailun believed this was related to the quality of the magic circles he had engraved.
If there was a chance, he could scam Paul. After all, it was a 145% attribute boost.
It would be best to have someone help Paul engrave many useless ninth-rank spells. This way, it would not only increase Kailun’s attributes but also limit Paul’s strength.
Kailun felt that he was too kind. He wished there were more high-quality leeks like Paul.
Coincidentally, he would be the acting Pope for a while. He might be able to do some “good deeds.”
“That guy? Is he your friend?” Bella tore off a small piece of her bread and fed it to Kailun.
“No, just a bad guy who’s even worse than me.”
Kailun bit into the bread Bella fed him and gently nibbled on her fingertip with his teeth.
Bella blushed, her eyes sparkling with joy.
……
They arrived at the small town at eleven o’clock at night. Kailun decided to take Bella, who had hidden her dragon tail and horns, to try the local barbecue.
The town was located between the Abyss and the Xiya Kingdom. Occasionally, they would see Abyssal races, with werewolves being the most common.
Interestingly, a pair of werewolf brothers happened to be sitting at the table next to them. They seemed quite strong and were loudly discussing something secretive.
One of the werewolves, who looked to be in his thirties, raised his glass. “Brother, as long as we complete the ancestor’s mission, our clan will have hope of revival. I’ll be the clan leader, and you’ll be the deputy leader.”
“You’re right, brother. Ever since the old clan leader died and Bolton came to power, our werewolf clan has been suppressed. Not only have our resources decreased, but our movements have also been restricted.”
The younger werewolf clinked glasses with him, took a large gulp of wine, and burped, releasing a strong smell of alcohol. “But I heard that the ancestor also assigned the mission to others. Do you have any clues?”
The older werewolf tore off a large piece of roasted meat. “How would I know? We can’t fathom the ancestor’s thoughts. He’s an entity from tens of thousands of years ago. He must have an important reason for doing this.”
The younger werewolf: “You’re right. I can’t believe the ancestor entrusted such an important task to us. Once we reach the Xiya Kingdom and find the contact person, we’ll…”
The werewolf didn’t finish his sentence because he had passed out on the table.
The other werewolf, although also drunk, was still conscious. Judging from the pile of empty bottles on the table, they had drunk a lot.
“Is the ancestor they’re talking about the same one?” Bella whispered into Kailun’s ear, leaning close to him.
“I guess so. If we’re lucky, we might even encounter her on this trip back to the Abyss. But are the people in your Abyss so unreliable?”
Kailun glanced at the table next to them. How could that entity entrust such a task to these two werewolves? Or were they just a smokescreen to divert attention?
Kailun leaned towards the latter possibility. Based on the current information, that entity, although seemingly pure, wasn’t stupid.
After all, she had survived for tens of thousands of years. She must have had her merits to survive such a long time.
“No, they’re special. They obviously aren’t very smart. They’re probably just cannon fodder.” Bella rolled her eyes at Kailun.
Kailun chuckled. “Not necessarily. A certain foolish dragon isn’t very smart either. She seems quite gullible.”
“That’s too much! I’m full. I’m going back to the room to rest. I’m not talking to you anymore.” Bella kicked Kailun lightly, grabbed a duck leg, and prepared to return to their room.
But she hesitated after standing up. After a moment of contemplation, she bent down and whispered, “Come find me later. I’m going back to take a bath.”
After saying that, Bella ran back to their room on the second floor. It was worth mentioning that Kailun had only booked one room.
“Snap!”
But Kailun didn’t intend to wait. He snapped his fingers, and a gold coin and two silver coins appeared in his palm.
Being cautious, Kailun didn’t take the two werewolves’ travel expenses. If they were lucky, he could have them stay and wash dishes for the old lady who owned the inn for a month.
Kailun sensed that the old lady possessed the strength of a sixth-rank mage, much stronger than these two werewolves.
He placed a silver coin on the table and then followed Bella upstairs.
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