Chapter 149 Chapter 149: Body in 'Mara', Heart Like 'Flowing Cloud'
Chapter 149: Body in 'Mara', Heart Like 'Flowing Cloud'
"It's alright, I'm already mostly fine now. You don't need to waste any more time on me."
The negative effects brought by the Mara-Struck state had been temporarily eliminated. After all, this Cloud Knight wasn't a fool. He could clearly see that little Pardo was obviously very afraid of his current appearance, and he also knew his own condition wasn't exactly good.
He had just wanted to pat the dust off his body, but then silently realized that his palms and armor were already completely covered by the wildly growing branches and twigs. There was simply no room left for him to pat anything.
Since things had come to this, he could only suppress the inexplicable surge of emotions welling up in his heart. Pretending as if nothing had happened, he stood up and addressed the group: "This Mara-Struck state may seem dangerous, but in a way, it has also healed all the injuries on my body..."
He then turned to look at Kevin, the excitement in his tone completely genuine: "But this gentleman's ability could definitely be of immense help to the frontline soldiers... Those heretics of the Denizens of Abundance, they... they can even silently drag our comrades beside us into a Mara-Struck state like mine... If such a terrifying ability cannot be countered, it would simply be a disaster!"
The more elite an army is, the more effective such methods of internal breakthrough become—just imagine, a comrade who has fought alongside you for dozens or even hundreds of years suddenly clutches their head and swings their weapon at you. Would your first reaction really be to strike first?
Of course not. The longer you have worked together, the less likely you are to act decisively. This is especially true for the more elite, battle-hardened veterans.
"Rest assured, our original purpose in coming here was to solve problems. Since I am here, I won't let the situation get worse."
Kevin nodded slightly, then looked up at Pardo beside him. She instantly understood his meaning and immediately grabbed the hands of Qingque and little Elysia beside her, starting to walk deeper inside: "That's right, that's right! Don't worry, with Boss Kevin here, those Denizens of Abundance are just a piece of cake~"
Of course! This help isn't free! The Xianzhou Alliance will definitely have to pay up in the end!
Only after Pardo had finally walked a considerable distance away did Kevin, who had been standing still all along, suddenly speak to the other man again: "If you still have any bad ideas, I advise you to put them away... That would be the stupidest thing."
"......"
This Cloud Knight, who had likely galloped across battlefields for hundreds of years, remained silent for a long moment before softly speaking: "I know all that, but... For Xianzhou people, the greatest taboo is revealing 'Mara-Struck' before others. Because that means abandoning one's humanity, succumbing to the 'abomination' buried within the bloodline of longevity... It also violates the teachings of the Reignbow Arbiter."
After all, he had received such teachings since childhood—'The Abundance' is the enemy of the Xianzhou Alliance and 'The Hunt'. And 'Mara-Struck' is the most shameful and unshowable aspect for Xianzhou people, because for them, it symbolizes only death.
When symptoms of 'Mara-Struck' appear in oneself, for Xianzhou people, it means their time is near. They should quietly wait in some place for the judges of the Ten-Lords Commission to come and take them away for custody... After all, generally speaking, Xianzhou people show symptoms of 'Mara-Struck' around a thousand years of age.
And situations like this, where Mara-Struck symptoms appear prematurely, are like a one-eyed wolf forced to leave its pack for some reason—it's not that there's no possibility of returning to the pack, but everyone knows they shouldn't hold much hope for it.
"Is that so? But I think even if you grabbed a bomb right now and ran to blow yourself up with those Denizens of Abundance heretics, it would still be much better than the idea you just had."
Kevin paused slightly in his tone before continuing: "Besides, if there's nothing to testify for me, will those Cloud Knights necessarily believe that I can help them deal with Mara-Struck symptoms?"
"This... this...?!"
This Cloud Knight instantly understood Kevin's meaning—in other words, he wanted him to use his current appearance, which was completely that of a 'Mara-Struck', to go negotiate with his former comrades. To make them believe that even schemes like those of the Denizens of Abundance could be overcome.
But... wasn't it already said before? For Xianzhou people, the greatest taboo is revealing 'Mara-Struck' before others. Even those elders whose time is near, when they realize they have symptoms of 'Mara-Struck', usually just stay quietly at home.
Whether their thinking is feudal or open-minded, life forms that constitute a society will always have moral bottom lines to some degree, high or low. And such behavior is undoubtedly treasonous for Xianzhou people.
For most Xianzhou people, dignity in this aspect is undoubtedly more important than life itself. But... but... what if placed on the other end of the scale isn't just his own life?
"Alright! I agree!"
———— ————
After all, the Cloud Knights belonged to a large army on the move. To ensure the Denizens of Abundance couldn't cause any more trouble, at least hundreds of thousands of Cloud Knight troops had poured into the Alchemy Commission simultaneously during this time.
And to track the traces they left behind, forget about letting little Pardo who was most skilled at these things do it. Even if you made Qingque—who had almost no special skills besides slacking off and playing cards—do it blindfolded, she could still find the location of the Cloud Knight army.
Finally, after another dozen or so minutes, the group successfully arrived at the temporary headquarters where the Cloud Knight army was stationed within the Alchemy Commission. But before they could get completely close, a patrol squad of over ten people stopped them first.
"Halt! If you dare take another step forward we will attack immediately! Wait, this is... Mara-Struck?!"
Upon seeing the abnormally shaped Cloud Knight within the group, the patrol team that originally had some intention to question them immediately all raised their weapons. They quickly formed a battle formation, tightly surrounding the few in the center—they had already suffered enough losses because of this along the way. How could they still be slow to react?
"You damned Denizens of Abundance heretics hiding in the mist is one thing, but you actually dare come out and approach the main camp! I'll..."
"Wait! You fool!"
Fortunately, just half a second before the situation was about to escalate further, the Mara-afflicted Cloud Knight in Kevin's group suddenly spoke up. The familiar voice caused that patrol squad leader to freeze on the spot.
"This... this voice is... Captain Flowing Cloud?! But... but how is that possible? Could it be that even after turning Mara-Struck you still... No! Quick! You! Go notify Lady Diviner Fu Xuan! Hurry!"
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