Chapter 122
Without waiting for Xerath's answer, she already understood that it was quite dangerous. Virgil turned around and shot an arrow into the sky. When the lightning approached them again, it was diverted by the small arrowhead.
Pegasus's movements became erratic, constantly changing directions with the water lord pulling them along. They stumbled and swayed with them. Xerath smiled and whispered to her, "Sylas, have you packed away your notes?"
Sylas nodded blankly and said, "Yes, they're all here." She pointed to the backpack on her chest.
Xerath said, "That's good. It seems like we won't be able to retrieve our other luggage, like the fur we used as a blanket last night. I quite liked it."
Virgil shouted loudly, "If you liked it, I'll get you another one next time!"
"No need, I can't think of anywhere else at home where we could use it!" In the strong wind, their communication had to be done through shouting.
"You can spread it whole on the sofa! This way, you and the little beast can lie together on the same fur when reading in the living room, how about that!"
Quite tempting, the archmage's heart skipped a beat, reminiscing about sleeping in the open desert wrapped in thick fur with Sylas. If they were in Aimekotes, they could lie on the terrace.
Not hearing her response, Virgil laughed heartily, while Xerath pretended he didn't exist and said to Sylas, "I need Leunen to come out and replace Hyectra, okay?"
"Alright... no problem, but didn't you say only pure water is non-conductive?"
"Leunen is a bit impure, but Hyectra needs to rest for a while."
"Ma'am, can I still..."
The archmage snapped their fingers, and the water lord's mouth mysteriously disappeared.
"Is that okay?"
"But teacher! We can already see Aimekotes!" she pointed to the distance, where Aimekotes was also engulfed in this massive storm, with swirling clouds, darkness like night during the day, only occasional lightning flashes illuminated the surrounding desolation.
Actually, Aimekotes cannot be seen here, but the tower was struck by lightning, which activated the Energy Storage Crystal. So, the sun became as bright as ever, and Sylas saw a strange light, and she concluded that it was the glow of Aimekotes.
This is absolutely correct, but with the crystal, the top of Aimekotes reaches a height of sixty yards. According to calculations, they are still about eighty thousand yards away from the tall tower.
"Yes, that's why we need Leunen for this part of the journey. Hyectra is already tired, and I'm afraid she might have some trouble."
"Okay... alright..." It sounds as amazing as changing the carriage of a fast-moving horse, but thankfully, both water lords are skilled spellcasters and have enough flexibility to eliminate many of the bumps that should have been there.
Leunen gradually wraps around the rope, swallowing the knots into its belly. It carefully avoids letting the sleeping flames of the Grand Lord touch the rope and piles up many crystalline water over there.
Although it may not be necessary in reality, everyone holds their breath and focuses. Even Virgil, who usually looks back, is no exception. It's not until Dvořák speaks up as a reminder that Hyectra transforms into a thick film, covering Leunen from above. They are all being pulled along by the horse, causing Hyectra to deform.
The lightning struck where they had just been.
Sylas broke free and anxiously rushed into Xerath's arms. Leunen exclaimed, "My lady! Please stop doing such dangerous things!" Its tentacles were just forcefully untangled by Sylas, but Leunen stubbornly followed after her. Xerath had no choice but to reach out and catch Sylas, soothingly saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Sylas looked up and said, "You can't do anything either, can you? You can't fight against a bolt of lightning, can you? You'll also be killed by the storm, right? I don't want this... I don't want this!"
"Um... please don't cry." Xerath hesitated and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears streaming down Sylas's cheeks. Sylas held onto Xerath tightly, making her movements a bit clumsy. She couldn't hold herself steady, so she had to rely on Leunen, who was not very skilled in using magic, to keep them in place.
Water is soft, and its shape changes greatly with the slightest force. It doesn't feel very reliable. Pegasus's sideways movements made Xerath's actions look funny. Her hand, at times, seemed to be caught by invisible mischievous creatures, preventing her from touching Sylas's face. The tears flew sideways or splashed onto her own face.
The young girl's soft body pressed against her, radiating youth, vitality, and energy, which the archmage could keenly feel.
"Please, stop crying. I'm here with you, alright?" she said stiffly.
However, the archmage couldn't bring herself to say the words, "We'll definitely be alright." She had become skilled at avoiding the truth, but she couldn't make false promises. She could shatter a storm with a single blow, but the storm could also shatter her.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that Xerath berated herself for having these "improper" thoughts at a time like this. She struggled to control herself, not giving in to the temptation of embracing Sylas. She couldn't push her away out of fear of succumbing to temptation either.
"Although we can't guarantee that everything will be fine, I feel like things will turn out okay... Look, Virgil often goes back and forth in storms, and he's still surviving, isn't he?"
"Archmage! Could you please not use derogatory terms to describe me?" Virgil protested loudly, perhaps the wind carrying his voice over.
"Stay safe, alright? Stay safe and believe... believe in Dvořák."
The archmage felt uneasy because he had lied. When he used the wind magic earlier, some orderly elements caught the attention of the wild and active ones nearby. This small change caused unexpected consequences at the Elemental Gate, a very special place.
The center of the storm "noticed" her. This interesting variable caused the active wind elements to gather in a certain pattern. Two "winds" gathered in different ways, but both sent out an "invitation" to each other. Shining silver "eyes" followed them from behind, and lightning-like claws grabbed the ground, causing the massive and heavy storm to move slowly.
It moved slowly, but almost as fast as a Pegasus.
"Virgil! How is Dvořák?"
"Hang on! We made a deal! I promised it great rewards!"
Xerath pondered with a indifferent face. The silver shining eyes had no warmth, just like before, even when facing Sylas. No one knew what she was planning.
Hyectra seemed exhausted, lying down. Its mouth seemed to be missing, and there hasn't been a new one yet.
Not knowing how long they had been running, moving forward in the desert. The sense of distance and time was unreliable. Fortunately, Aimekotes' tower began to emerge on the horizon. However, in the sky occasionally lit up by lightning, it didn't seem to invoke feelings of love and peace.
Instead, it looked like another form of evil, reaching towards the sky with its thin and bony fingers, holding a bright and irregular crystal.
Xerath suddenly said to Virgil, "Virgil, ride your horse well and don't look back."
"Of course, I won't look back!"
"No matter what's in front of us."
"Of course!"
"..."
"What did you say, Xerath?" Virgil turned his head to ask because he didn't hear clearly.
Xerath lowered her head and said to Sylas in her arms, "It's time to get up, my... my scaredy-cat. Please help me convey it to Virgil."
Sylas reluctantly let go of her and propped herself up, looking down at Xerath.
She felt that this posture was not very good and slightly offensive. Xerath lying between her arms with short hair made her look a bit unfamiliar, but the calm gray eyes conveyed the message.
This is her teacher, and she also pressed her teacher down.
She quickly wanted to get up, but Xerath said, "It's okay, listen to me finish, and then let Leunen put you on the horse's back."
"What is it?"
Instead of immediately speaking, Xerath fiddled with the scarf wrapped around her head, her long and fair hands neatly tying and flattening the scarf, ensuring that she could both dodge the strong wind and still see things clearly.
Sylas looked at her in confusion, and the archmage's eyes shimmered as if about to explain something... something more abstract and unclear. But after a while, she slowly spoke, "Shoot the arrow towards the highest point of 'soaring into the clouds'."
Sylas couldn't help but wonder if she had missed something. "Is that it? What does it mean?"
Xerath laughed and said, "Virgil will understand, won't he, Leunen?"
Hyectra rolled up Sylas, but in order to reach out her arms, the water bed beneath the archmage had to become thinner.
Sylas landed behind Virgil and said to him, "The teacher told me to tell you, 'Shoot the arrow towards the highest point of 'soaring into the clouds'.'"
"What? Is that the towering into the clouds I've been thinking of?"
But no one answered him. He turned his head to look at Sylas, only to find the little girl with her eyes closed, her body sliding against him.
There was no one on the water cushion behind him. Leunen had disappeared, and the archmage was not there either. He quickly shook open his cloak and wrapped Sylas behind him.
"Xerath! Xerath, where are you?" He suspected that Xerath had developed some kind of instant teleportation superpower, so he shouted to see where she was. But no one answered him. The wind grew stronger and the lightning became more frequent. Suddenly, Pegasus spread its wings and dodged a lightning strike.
He couldn't help but look back. A giant shadow had blocked the way he came. A tall stone wall obstructed his view. He suddenly remembered what Sylas had just said.
"Shoot the arrow to the very top of the 'towering into the clouds.'"
This is the towering into the clouds. Virgil carried Sylas to the front and tied her with a reins. Dvořák then spread his wings high and jumped up to maintain stability, assuming a gliding posture.
"Good boy!" Virgil raised his hand and shot an arrow. The small arrowhead broke through the wind and flew, constantly changing its flight posture with invisible turbulence in the air. Virgil squinted his eyes and observed carefully, then shot two more arrows. The feather arrows, adjusted by his eyes, successfully nailed to the highest point.
In an instant, a silver-white tentacle grabbed the tiny feather arrow. Virgil could even see sparks.
Pegasus landed on the ground and bumped, almost making Sylas fall off. He quickly hugged her and whispered to Dvořák, "Faster! We need to bring Sylas back and come back to pick up the archmage!"
Dvořák snorted, able to hear the grumbling and disdain inside. In fact, Virgil himself also doubted if the archmage intended to come back after leaving him in the stormy field.
