Chapter 194: Avalanche
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“I want to eat chicken wings.”
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【Welcome back, chaotic neutral Tan Mo. Loading into Innocent World. Good night.】
… …
East of Innocent Continent, Scarlet Maple Path
Mo Tan woke up in the bumpy carriage, mumbling groggily, “Roasted wings are so delicious…”
Kloi, who was feigning sleep across from him, shivered. His gentle face seemed to twist slightly, then immediately brightened as he looked at Mo Tan: “You’re finally awake, Brother Lu Wei.”
The person named Mo Tan, whose character was Tan Mo, and who was currently ‘Cordoba Ruby,’ rubbed his eyes and then flashed a brilliant, silly grin: “Morning, Kloi. I seem to have slept for quite a long time.”
“Indeed. I’ve lived for over two hundred years and have never seen anyone sleep for so long in one go like you, of course, not counting Half-Orcs with hibernation habits.” Kloi winked at him, then casually tossed over a packet of dried meat: “Eat something.”
Mo Tan caught it casually, unceremoniously pinching a piece and throwing it into his mouth. He laughed indistinctly, “Thanks. Looking at this, I do feel a bit hungry.”
Then he decisively ignored Kloi and buried his head in the food.
Kloi didn’t mind. He just took out his Black-Skin notebook and casually flipped through it, waiting for the other party to finish eating.
Mo Tan ended up eating for over half an hour, directly consuming about a week’s worth of Kloi’s rations. Finally, he let out a resounding burp and politely returned the bag that… had once contained the dry rations.
【How long has this guy been hungry? No, wait, wasn’t my raven just… My goodness, there’s not even a crumb left…】
Even with Kloi’s excellent psychological fortitude, he couldn’t help but feel a little stunned. He felt that this young elf named Lu Wei seemed a bit different from normal people… if he could even be considered a person (or humanoid creature).
“Got any water?” Mo Tan burped twice more, then asked him with a smile, “My throat’s a bit dry.”
Kloi nodded and handed over his water bottle, which he had just filled two hours ago.
Half a minute later, he received an empty water bottle.
【Is this guy just gluttonous with a big stomach?】
Kloi praised ‘Brother’s immense capacity’ while casually writing ‘Glutton’ in his notebook, the meaning unclear.
It was genuinely unclear; he himself didn’t know why he wrote that. He could only say that this Bard named Cordoba Ruby, besides being able to eat, drink, being shameless, and taking advantage of others, was simply too ordinary!
And Kloi found it particularly unacceptable that such an ordinary guy, at most with the added descriptor ‘a bit of a jerk,’ had eaten one of his pets. So, in a daze, he gave the other party an exceptionally cool nickname to comfort the soul of that unfortunate raven.
At least you were eaten by a 【Glutton】 and not by an ordinary jerk, so please rest in peace… that was probably the logic.
“By the way, Brother Kloi, where are we now?” Mo Tan craned his neck to look out the window, picking his teeth as he turned to ask, “This is my first time going so far south. How much longer until we reach the Violet Empire’s territory?”
Kloi smiled gently: “This is Scarlet Maple Path, west of the Free City, known for its red maple trees that are vibrant all year round. Going south for about another day and a half will bring us to the Fernan Territory border. The caravan will stop in Fernan City for about a week before returning. If you plan to collect materials in the Imperial Capital, you’ll have to go much further south… Brother Lu Wei?!”
“Huh?” Mo Tan, who had already started to doze off with his eyes closed, instantly jolted awake, then chuckled awkwardly, “Scarlet maple trees, right? They’re quite beautiful.”
Kloi: “…”
Mo Tan stretched lazily, then gave Kloi a thumbs-up with an admiring expression: “You’re quite amazing, brother. You even know why this road is called Scarlet Maple Path.”
“It’s Scarlet Maple Path…” Kloi corrected weakly, then shrugged: “I prefer reading history and geography books, so I know a bit about these things. It’s nothing major.”
Mo Tan’s eyes widened: “Nothing major? It’s already amazing, isn’t it? I’ve lived for so many years and still haven’t found north.”
“Brother Lu Wei, you’re joking.” Kloi naturally took the other party’s only truthful statement as a joke, then casually asked, “Where are you planning to find medicine for your sister this time?”
“I want to go to Saramun to find a Pharmacist known as Mr. Bian,” Mo Tan said with a heavy expression, looking out the window and sighing softly, “He’s said to be very good at treating skin diseases.”
Kloi was a bit confused: “Didn’t your sister get her head caught in a door?”
Mo Tan nodded seriously: “Yes, but she’s not only intellectually disabled, she also has skin diseases, hair loss, athlete’s foot, and stunted growth. My journey this time is long and arduous…”
【Why don’t you just let your sister be free if she’s so pitiful?】
Even Kloi, as an NPC, couldn’t help but inwardly complain, then he chuckled awkwardly and changed the topic: “I also know a few Pharmacists quite well. I can introduce them to you sometime…”
“Oh!” Mo Tan’s eyes instantly lit up. He quickly asked, “What are their names? Where do they live? What are they good at? How old are they? Is the consultation fee expensive?”
Kloi, who had only been making polite conversation, was stunned again: “Consultation fee?”
Mo Tan nodded: “Do they charge money for treating people?”
“Well, I suppose they would…” Kloi was clearly struggling to keep up, subconsciously following Mo Tan’s rhythm: “However, some people prefer collecting rare materials, so they don’t necessarily have to charge money.”
Then Mo Tan began to pester Kloi for the names, addresses, and contact information of these people, almost asking for their phone numbers.
The latter, left with no choice, casually tore a page from a book and wrote down a few names and addresses for him.
【High-Rank Pharmacist Ger in Free City, High-Rank Pharmacist Zama in Free City, High-Rank Pharmacist Hammor in Vienne City, High-Rank Pharmacist Bax, High-Rank Pharmacist Folei… Quite the network, huh…】
Mo Tan glanced at the page in his hand, nodding repeatedly with a bright smile, muttering something about ‘Shuang Ye is saved’ and the like.
Kloi, sitting across from him, felt a pang in his liver.
A moment later…
“Then I’ll take my leave, Brother Lu Wei.” Kloi suddenly pulled out a letter from his Pregnant and shook it, shrugging: “Actually, my mentor sent someone to deliver a letter to me around noon today, asking me to return to the Free City first. I’m afraid I can’t travel with you for the rest of the journey.”
Mo Tan nodded readily: “Oh, then you go ahead~”
Kloi: “…”
Fifteen minutes later
Mo Tan, who had curled up in his seat for another nap, suddenly sat up with a flip, chuckling softly: “Finally gave up, huh?”
He leaned over and looked out the window. The raven that had been circling in the air earlier was indeed gone.
“I’ve been hearing crows cawing since last night. You might as well have just straight up asked me if I roasted your bird.” Mo Tan sighed leisurely, then casually crumpled the page Kloi had given him into a ball, his eyes narrowing slightly: “High-Rank Pharmacists aren’t people just anyone can know, let alone the Vice President of the Pharmacist Association in the Free City… Heh, still too young.”
The name High-Rank Pharmacist Hammor was one he had heard from Xia Lian when he was ‘Black Vatican.’ It was one of the names the Holy Maiden had mentioned when they were discussing how to deal with the Plague, but there had been no follow-up because the source of the Plague had mysteriously Disappeared. However, Mo Tan had subconsciously remembered it for no other reason than that anyone famous in a place like the Free City was definitely not an ordinary person…
【They say the headquarters of the Wanderer's Inn is also there. I wonder if it has anything to do with Kloi. Hmm, someone who can control ravens should find it very convenient to gather information.】
Mo Tan smiled playfully, then suddenly felt that he had been thinking a bit too much recently. So he pushed these thoughts out of his mind and leaned by the window, admiring the fiery red scenery on both sides of the road.
… …
At the same time
Crow Illumina was moving straight towards the Fernan Territory at an incredible speed. Seven or eight ravens, all pitch black and surrounded by faint black mist, encircled him. They not only obscured the young Dark Elf’s figure but also occasionally glided behind or beneath Kloi, stirring up ripples that allowed him to fly through the air as if on solid ground, completely ignoring all obstacles on the path and moving rapidly almost in a straight line southward.
From a distance, it looked like a migrating flock of crows.
“Although it truly seems to be just a simple coincidence.” A smile appeared on Kloi’s face, which had +3 affinity. His previous white robe had been replaced by a black cloak, and his formerly neat slicked-back hair now fell messily, covering his scarlet pupils that had lost their highlight.
Kloi casually grabbed a raven mask from his dark blue spatial wristband and gently placed it on his face.
He was indeed the Bard Crow Illumina, but he was also the disciple of the Wanderer's Inn’s big boss, the person in charge of the Inn in Vienne City, and Raven Mage Kloi.
“Forget it, as long as I know he’s not deliberately looking for trouble, that’s enough.” Kloi’s figure eerily made a right-angle turn beside a Scarlet Maple tree, and his speed did not decrease in the slightest as he brushed past it: “I’ll remember this debt for now. The immediate priority is…”
A group of yellowish-brown rats, shimmering with lightning, suddenly rushed out from both sides. They were Mudkips, one of the most prolific low-rank magical beasts in Innocent World.
The flock of ravens soared, their scarlet vertical pupils in the air like ferocious evil spirits, instantly tearing the dozens of heedless rats to shreds.
“This time, I must get ahead of that Jun Wu!”
… …
Still at the same time
Far north of Innocent Continent
Mount Sumir, at the foot of the mountain
A tall, burly figure emerged from the blizzard. He also wore a hood and a patched cloak. His exposed skin was crystal clear, occasionally flashing with a hazy glow. On his back hung an enormous, sharpened, gleaming with sharp cold light, hair-splitting, at least three sizes larger than before, and adorned with a flashy crystal… staff.
Yes, that man, he, had arrived!
As everyone guessed, this was the genuine, lively Cordoba, who had set out from Tian Zhu Mountain some time ago.
“What a magnificent place.” Cordoba looked up at the towering and majestic Mount Sumir, standing in the blizzard, marveling at the wonders of nature. Despite the numerous twists and turns he had experienced on his journey, it could not diminish his soaring ambition at this moment. Thus, this Player Deputy, burdened with a sacred mission, could not help but let out a long cry to the sky: “I’m ~ here ~ ah ~ ah ~ ah ~”
After a long cry, the refreshed Cordoba took his first step towards conquering this sacred mountain, and then…
Splat ~
A snowball hit him in the face.
Cordoba shrugged. He thought this felt much better than having a snowball shoved down his neck in reality.
Splat ~ Splat ~
Two snowballs hit him on the head.
Cordoba pouted, then suddenly took a standing long jump, scaling over ten meters, and then crashed head-on into a large lump of snow.
Although a bit annoying, this amount of ice and snow would not cause any inconvenience to him, a Rune Construct. Let alone losing health, he wouldn’t even get the ‘cold’ status.
Splat splat splat splat…
【?】
Splat splat splat splat splat splat!
Cordoba subconsciously felt something was wrong, and then in the next second, he heard…
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!!!!
“Hey~” He widened his eyes, looking up in disbelief.
He saw a white torrent in the distance rushing down at a visible speed, accompanied by an earthquake-like tremor and a gradually deafening roar.
“What the hell is this…”
Cordoba was stunned for about 0.5 seconds, then immediately let out a cry and dashed down the mountain… for about thirty seconds.
Then he was hit hard in the back by an overwhelming flow of snow!
The speed of an avalanche is, of course, much faster than a person can run, so this fellow who had the guts to shout at the base of a snowy mountain was naturally swept away without a doubt.
But Cordoba did not give up!
He glowed with the yellowish-brown light of the Giant Strength Rune, raising his heavy ‘staff!’
“Normal attack’s… Alright, I give up…”
Seeing over twenty stacks of 【Cold】 and 【Slow】 status effects on him, Cordoba sighed. He couldn’t move.
Then he was buried…
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-One: End