Free Web NovelChapter 293: Eternal Spring Valley
"So, you want me and this little cake-eating glutton, to go meet a pair of Sixth Order Spirit Beasts, and explain to them that the Great One they have pinned all their hopes of getting home on, is actually just a remnant Soul Manifestation?" Lucas asked Vanessa.
"Pretty much," the blonde-haired Commander nodded and smiled, "Should be a simple matter for you, right?"
"Haaa..." Lucas let out a long sigh while rubbing his temples.
Yuki, on the other hand, seemingly oblivious to the trouble they were in, was happily sticking her face into her second piece of sponge cake for the night, scarfing it down bite after bite.
"Can we come?" Eris, who was standing nearby together with Tina and Audrey, asked eagerly.
The three girls had been taking turns carrying Yuki tonight, using her as a scarf to keep their necks warm in exchange for sneaking her bits and pieces of food, a bargain the fox kit was more than happy to accept.
Naturally, both Lucas and Vanessa immediately turned to the young red-head and flatly declared, ""No.""
In response, Eris began pouting, as usual.
Christina, the more responsible of the girls, gently pulled Eris over and tried to reason with her, "Now now, let Senior Brother Lucas and Master deal with this. If everything works out, we can meet these Spirit Beasts later."
Pursing her lips, Eris thought it through and eventually nodded, "Fine."
For her part, Audrey just gawked at the absurdness that was going on around her.
Multiple Sixth Order Spirit Beasts were literally at the gates of the city, the one Spirit Adept present actually needed Lucas and Yuki to go negotiate with them, and her two new friends, Eris and Tina, were behaving like this was all perfectly normal.
The two girls were even thinking about meeting the foxes, as if they were going for a casual stroll.
So much about this seemed off to Audrey, but everyone seemed to be acting like it was no big deal. It was enough to make the young girl seriously question whether everyone was going crazy, or if it was just her.
Regardless of Eris’ enthusiasm, or Audrey’s confusion, or even Lucas’ reluctance, in the end, 10 minutes later, the young boy and a slightly overstuffed fox kit were sitting atop Starlight, Vanessa’s Golden Hawk, flying swiftly towards the western part of the city.
..... freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"So, this Eternal Spring Valley is a human Sect?" Celestina asked curiously.
"Indeed," Frey replied, chatting with the human woman as a way to pass the time while they nervously waited for the Great One’s representative to arrive.
"A Sect established in the middle of a frozen wasteland... it’s hard to imagine," Celestina mused, genuinely finding it surprising.
There were parts of the Blue Sky Continent in the far north that were covered in snow all year-round, but those places were all basically untouched by human hands; after all, surviving in such a hostile environment was difficult even for Spirit Realm Cultivators, let alone ordinary Mortals.
Understanding Celestina’s confusion, Frey explained, "It’s only because of the unique environment in Eternal Spring Valley, one that is warm and green all-year-round, that they are able to survive and thrive there."
"Oh? This Eternal Spring Valley sounds like a paradise. Why haven’t the beasts claimed it for themselves? Surely, they must be stronger and outnumber the humans there," Celestina wondered aloud.
"Hmph," Bron snort from the side, "We beasts are indeed stronger, but we aren’t a united front. The humans are cunning and take advantage of our divisions to keep us from driving them out."
Celestina felt that while this grumpy male fox was probably mostly correct, he was surely being a bit biased in his opinion. As such, she turned to Frey with a questioning look on her face.
Shaking her head wryly, Frey added a few more details, "It’s true that there are many powerful beasts in and around the Crown Mountains, but even if the warring tribes were to set aside all their differences, fighting the humans of Eternal Spring Valley would probably still be difficult."
"The humans are that strong?" Celestina asked.
"En," Frey nodded, "We don’t know how many powerhouses Eternal Spring Valley has exactly, but there are several Grandmasters among them."
Celestina didn’t know how many ’several’ was, but even one Spirit Grandmaster was a force to be reckoned with. Fights between Grandmasters and Ninth Order Beasts would undoubtedly cause widespread death and destruction no matter who emerged victorious, which was probably another reason the beasts and humans avoided clashing over the valley.
"The valley is also too small to accommodate all of us beasts, so even if we defeated the humans, it’s unclear how we would divide it up between us without causing another war," Frey continued.
"A fair point," Celestina agreed, "There’s no reason to fight and die for something you can’t possess in the end."
"That is exactly what my father and the other Elders of the tribe think," Frey smiled toothily, "It’s why we maintain peaceful relations with the valley. It’s more beneficial for us to be on good terms, rather than on bad ones."
Bron made some grumbling remarks under his breath when Frey said this, but a harsh glare from his wife promptly caused him to shut his mouth and look away.
Frey let out a sigh, knowing that her husband would probably never be able to get along with humans after what they had done to his parents.
Still, Frey felt that, just like there were good beasts and bad beasts, there were good humans and bad humans as well.
Take Celestina for example.
They hadn’t known each other for very long, but Frey felt that this human woman was quite upfront and honest, even a bit kind and compassionate, just like the older foxes from her tribe.
If Celestina knew what Frey was thinking, it wasn’t clear whether she would have felt flattered or offended, but since the latter didn’t speak her thoughts out loud, an awkward situation didn’t develop.
"Of course, there’s also the simplest, most basic reason we beasts don’t try to take control of Eternal Spring Valley," Frey snickered lightly, "It’s too hot inside."
"Too hot?" Celestina was taken aback for a moment before realizing how reasonable that actually was.
To beasts which had grown up in and adapted to a frigid environment, spending prolonged periods of time in very warm climates would probably be quite uncomfortable.
This thought also caused Celestina to frown slightly as she realized that this might become a problem in the near future for her new acquaintances.
Right now, the Rockwell Kingdom was heading into winter and the temperatures were getting colder by the day, but in a few months, it would start warming up again, and half-a-year from now, the summer heat would surely become unbearable for these furry Snow Spirit Foxes.
Oh well, we’ll deal with that problem when it arrives, Celestina sighed to herself, deciding to tackle the issues in front of her first before worrying about the future.
Just then, the two foxes turned their heads towards the sky, causing Celestina and the surrounding Spirit Initiates to also look up.
There, in the direction they were all looking, was a low-flying golden bird illuminated by the numerous braziers and Spirit Lamps around the military camp, one that was swiftly coming in for a landing.
"Seems they’ve arrived," Celestina commented before beckoning to Frey and Bron, both of whom now wore somewhat confused looks on their faces.
They could sense a very strong presence emanating from the back of this bird, one they recognized as the aura of the Great One they were hoping to meet; however, it seemed to be coming from a small human, rather than a beast.
Intrigued, but also worried, Frey and Bron followed Celestina to meet this newcomer.
.....
"Lucas, this is Lady Frey and Lord Bron. They are Snow Spirit Foxes of the Ice Fang Tribe," Celestina introduced one side, before doing the same for the other, "Frey, Bron, this is my First Disciple, Lucas. I assume you can tell already why I summoned him here."
Being stared at by two large Sixth Order Foxes, Lucas naturally felt a bit nervous; however, with Yuki resting on his shoulder, and his Master standing next to him, he summoned his courage and bowed politely, "Greetings, Lady Frey, Lord Bron. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
For a moment, both Frey and Bron just stared at Lucas, uncertain of how they should interpret what they were sensing from him.
This human pup carried the scent and aura of a Great One from the Fox Clan; of that, there was no doubt. He even had a young fox kit with him, one who the two Snow Spirit Foxes could tell came from a very, very powerful bloodline, but that didn’t make any sense.
How could a human have the aura of a Great One? How could a Great One entrust their child to such a weak human? If the Great One really did leave their child with this human, why had they done so, and where had they gone now?
