Free Web NovelChapter 226: Be Silent
Lucas’ vision was blurry after being blinded by the flash, and it wasn’t until 5 or 6 seconds later that his sight gradually began to return to him.
Wait, why am I still alive? Suddenly, the young boy realized something was wrong; namely, he was still breathing.
More than enough time had passed for the Seventh Order turtle’s Spirit Qi beam to have hit, so by all accounts, the Sunchaser should have exploded, either killing him or sending him plummeting to the ground, but none of that happened.
Blinking repeatedly, Lucas lifted his head and began blearily looking around, trying to figure out just what was going on. He was searching for anything that seemed out of place or unusual, and it didn’t take him long to realize that something was indeed off.
First of all, the ship was no longer rocking back and forth, or even moving for that matter. Somehow, it had come to a complete halt and was now just hovering mid-air.
This development stunned Lucas. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the ship had somehow been grazed by the turtle’s attack and was now listing, falling, or limping forward, but for it to just be floating in place was totally beyond his expectations.
Although the situation with the frozen Sunchaser was odd, what really caught Lucas’ attention was the dumbfounded, slack-jawed looks on several people around him.
Not everyone had recovered from the previous burst of light, and many people were still cowering, covering their eyes as if afraid to look; however, those who had gathered the courage to lift their heads and investigate what was going on were all now gawking in his direction.
At first, Lucas thought they were staring at him, but that didn’t make any sense. He hadn’t done anything, and certainly wasn’t capable of affecting their dire situation in any way, so there was no reason for them to be staring at him.
It was only after a second or two that the young boy realized these people weren’t looking at him, but rather at something behind him.
Upon understanding this, Lucas naturally turned around and was immediately flabbergasted, his jaw dropping just like the others as he stared in disbelief at the sight before him.
Pristine, ice-white fur that looked both silky and soft; a slender, lithe form with four graceful legs; delicate, pointed ears that crowned its elegant head; it was the most beautiful beast Lucas had ever seen, and he had seen a great many beasts these past few days. freēwēbnovel.com
This beast had no wings, yet it was somehow able to float above the Sunchaser’s deck, radiating a kind of majesty and poise that made it seem noble and inviolable.
The most distinctive feature of this creature, however, was its bushy tails that gently swayed back and forth in a mesmerizing manner.
In terms of size, the beast wasn’t very big, about 2 metres tall and perhaps 5 metres long, including its tails, making it only slightly larger than a Cloud Treading Colt.
The words ’intimidating’ or ’imposing’ were ill-fits for it, and it didn’t give off any kind of fierce, menacing aura, yet a single glance was all it took to know this beast was extraordinary.
It wasn’t the beast’s ferocity, or the pressure it radiated, that revealed its strength; but rather, its actions.
Holding up ones of its forepaws, the beast had casually ’caught’ the Spirit Qi beam the giant turtle had just shot out, gathering it into a glowing ball that it was now holding in place just centimetres from the Sunchaser.
"Bu... wha...." Lucas’ gums flapped as he mumbled incoherently. The power required to accomplish such a feat was so great that it exceeded Lucas’ ability to comprehend. At the very least, this floating beast had to be many times stronger than the Seventh Order turtle.
What did that mean? It meant that this pure-white creature was likely in the Eighth Order, or maybe even the Ninth!
A single Peak-Rank Eighth Order Beast was capable of destroying the entire Rockwell Kingdom, while a Ninth Order Beast stood at the very pinnacle of Servist’s power structure! How could such an overwhelmingly powerful being have just suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
As Lucas was lost in his own thoughts, the floating beast calmly turned its head back, allowing him to finally get a full view of its face, and when the boy did, he was again stunned and unconsciously uttered, "Yuki?"
Before him was a much bigger, much more mature version of the little fox he had picked up a few days ago, or at least that’s what he initially thought.
No, that’s not right! Whipping his head back, Lucas confirmed that Yuki was still behind him, lying in a bewildered Eris’ embrace.
The resemblance between the newly appeared fox and Yuki was uncanny, but there were still some clear differences aside from the obvious contrast in size.
For one, the big fox had 5 tails, whereas Yuki only had 3.
Another distinction between them was that Yuki had shimmering, golden eyes while the big fox’s were a kind of piercing blue.
Lucas also quickly noticed that Yuki seemed quite weak and drowsy. The fox kit had been quite active just a moment ago, yipping and squirming as the Sunchaser was dodging left and right, but now she was barely able to keep her eyes open.
Even so, Yuki was staring up at the big fox behind Lucas, a look of longing apparent on her face.
Glancing back, Lucas noticed the big fox was also staring at Yuki with a yearning look, the icy aura around it noticeably softening. Lucas had seen that kind of look before many times on his own mother’s face and finally made the connection, realizing what was going on.
Standing up somewhat unsteadily, Lucas bowed deeply and shouted, "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior!"
As if awakened from their trance by the young boy’s voice, many of the others aboard the ship, including Christina and Eris, all scrambled to get up and lower their heads as well, understanding that this magnificent being had rescued them from certain death.
It didn’t matter that it was another beast which saved them from the giant turtle, they still had to show proper respect to their saviour and to the strong, that was simply the way of the world.
Gently taking Yuki from Eris, Lucas stepped forward and tried to hand the little kit back to her parent, but to his surprise, the big fox actually shook her head and spoke directly into his mind, "Human child, thank you for taking care of my precious baby, but I cannot take my daughter back from you now."
The voice was feminine, soft, and melodious, carrying with it a kind of innate charm that could entrance anyone who heard it.
If Lucas was not wide-eyed and staring right at a giant fox, he would have sworn that it was a gorgeous mature woman who was speaking to him. In fact, that much was probably still true, as even as a beast, this fox could rightly be described as bewitching.
Lucas was temporarily stunned, both by the fact that this fox was speaking so clearly into his mind, and also by the allure of its voice. He even blanked out for a second before hastily shaking his head and coming to his senses, a drop of cold sweat dripping down his back as he realized that this beast was able to affect his thoughts with its words alone.
Celestina had used a similar technique to communicate with Lucas via her Soul Sense on several occasions, but that was less her speaking directly into his head and more her projecting her voice into his ear. This method also didn’t have any kind of hypnotic or suggestive quality to it; it was simply a way of talking discreetly across slightly longer distances.
Very much contrary to that, the instant Lucas heard this fox’s voice, he nearly lost consciousness, forever unable to extricate himself from it.
What’s more, he could somehow tell that there was no malicious intent or any kind of special technique at work here, it was just the innate power of this fox’s voice which had so impacted his thoughts.
"You recovered quite quickly, little one. Impressive," Yuki’s mother continued, apparently a bit surprised. Clearly, she knew her own strength and what kind of effect her voice should have had on an immature human child.
Hearing the voice again, Lucas hurriedly fortified his mind to avoid embarrassing himself once more before asking, "Senior, why can you not take Yuki... take your daughter back?"
Before the big fox could reply, angry roars echoed from the distance, reminding everyone that the giant turtle was still around and still targeting them. It too seemed to have been momentarily distracted when Yuki’s mother appeared, but after recovering, it was apparently unwilling to just back down.
Its home had been invaded, then it was transported to this strange land and wounded by inferior hairless monkeys. Its dignity had been challenged, and the only way to assert its dominance was to slaughter all those who dared affront it.
Unfortunately for the beast, it had just made a fatal mistake.
From Lucas’ perspective, a look of annoyance flickered across the big fox’s face as she let out a low growl, "Be silent."
Without even turning her head back, Yuki’s mother flared her aura and casually swung her outstretched paw.
The movement was done with the epitome of ease, looking neither fast nor aggressive in any way, but for that brief instant her aura was released, everyone aboard the Sunchaser felt an overwhelming pressure.
In the blink of an eye, the glowing blue mass of Spirit Qi which Yuki’s mother had caught was ripped apart by 4 dazzling arcs of white light that shot out from her claw. These arcs didn’t just stop there though, they continued forward, striking their target less than half-a-second later.
There was no thunderous impact, no booming explosion, no anguished roars, just a silent flash of light in the distance.
