Chapter 1053 - 504: Lost?
"As for the answer, I still haven’t gotten an accurate one yet, but at least this meeting gave me a pretty good impression."
"But I can’t be sure if he truly intends to honor his promise."
It’s only the first meeting now, nothing fundamental has been involved, we’ve only initially reached a cooperation intention. As for what will happen in the future, it needs further adaptation.
"Hmm, try to make a decision earlier."
The Cold Winter Goddess nodded after listening without commenting further, suddenly reminding, "Also... when you start hesitating, your heart already has the answer."
Oh?
Fulingya sensed something subtle in the Cold Winter Goddess’s attitude and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um, ma’am, do you have any opinion on Herbert? Do you think I should trust him?"
Oh? You noticed?
Hehe, what a cunning little thing.
The Cold Winter Goddess chuckled to herself, feeling that although Fulingya usually seemed dazed, her intuition was quite sharp at times.
But She did not intend to reveal too much, there was too much that could not be disclosed.
"No, I don’t know him well, nor have I ever interacted with him."
Don’t know him?
The Cold Winter Goddess thought for a moment, nodded with some emotion.
"Hmm."
Yeah, I really haven’t interacted with him.
Yes, I don’t know Herbert at all.
That’s right, I’m not aware that he has a secret base either.
Of course, I also don’t know he’s up to something in the Mist Mountain Range with my little kitten.
In short... I know nothing.
The Cold Winter Goddess thought about it, continued to maintain Her aloof persona, shook Her head, and said indifferently, "But from what I’ve heard, he’s a mortal who keeps his promises and doesn’t easily change his mind."
"And judging from the process and outcome of him saving those people before, he’s a trustworthy and reliable ally."
Feeling that such a statement might not be persuasive enough, She added, "If you’re still not at ease, I can help you observe and test him secretly."
"Hmm? Ma’am, are you also somewhat interested in him?" Fulingya looked surprisingly at the composed Cold Winter Goddess.
If it was just suspicion earlier, She now was completely certain that even this Goddess, whose character was as cold as winter, unexpectedly had great interest in Herbert!
Strange, aren’t you only motherly towards cute little children?
The Cold Winter Goddess was momentarily stunned by the sceptical gaze, slightly twitched Her lips, and said, "Ahem, somewhat, but more because he might become an ally of the Natural Pantheon, it’s curiosity about who will become your helper."
"I see..."
After listening to this reason, the Forest Goddess thought for a moment.
Although she felt there was more to Her words, after careful consideration, She decided not to overthink it and duly entrusted this task to Her most trusted assistant, or perhaps ’elder’.
"In that case, please help me uncover his true face."
Fulingya, the proxy Master of the Pantheon, although nominally had good relations with the Four Seasons Goddesses, the closest one was the Cold Winter Goddess, who seemed silent and unwilling to interact with others, like an aloof loner.
Previously, when dealing with the God of Sand and Stone, it was also the Cold Winter Goddess who protected her secretly and quietly controlled the situation.
The reason is simple.
Because when Fulingya was newly "born" and still naive, the Cold Winter Goddess willingly showed Her unreserved kindness.
Although Fulingya later realized that it was just the Cold Winter Goddess’s pervasive motherly instinct, it was enough for Her at the time.
"If possible, it’s best not to let him know, nor to draw the Earth Pantheon’s attention."
Fulingya was still kind-hearted, worried that Herbert might confront the Earth Pantheon too early.
"If they discover our relationship with him, those fools would surely get up to mischief, which would harm him."
However, the Cold Winter Goddess had a different view on Fulingya’s concern:
Uh, would it really harm him?
Why do I feel... quite the opposite?
The Cold Winter Goddess thought of Her encounters in Elda and reckoned that Herbert probably eagerly anticipated some fools falling into his trap.
"Of course."
All right.
The Cold Winter Goddess maintained her impassive expression upon hearing this, secretly delighted, and whispered in Her heart:
"Now, with Fulingya as a shield, I’m not lacking anything."
"Even if my identity is truly exposed someday, I can attribute the responsibility to Her, saying it was all at Her request..."
Family.
Found the scapegoat!
...
...
On another note, after planning his recent affairs, Herbert quickly returned to Elda.
He was about to make sweeping changes and prepare to mobilize troops to form a golden team to advance forward.
But unexpectedly, just as he was about to speak, an unexpected intercepting ’egg’ disrupted his plan.
"Eh!!?"
Herbert never thought that the "Egger," who often avoided him and soaked in water, would spontaneously appear before him.
Did it have something to say?
"Do you have something... hmm?"
Upon seeing the eggshell, Herbert was momentarily stunned, feeling that he seemed to remember something.
He looked at the eggshell, and the eggshell looked back at him.
Their eyes met, and confusion remained.
"I feel like I forgot something..."
Herbert stroked his chin, pondering,
If he remembered correctly, this egg’s origin seemed somewhat special too.
It’s not an outsider’s egg for hire, but a native egg!
It was found in the Mist Mountain Range.
According to Stephen, the most bizarre thing they encountered was this egg.
They kept losing members on the way, dying tragically, only remembering to remove it from the altar before falling into a coma, as if it was the source of all the tragedy... wait.
Herbert was stunned for a moment, feeling like he missed some detail.
Eh?
Did I mention someone’s name just now?
Who was it?
"...Eh!"
Moments later, Herbert came back to his senses, muttering oddly, "Speaking of which, why hasn’t that unlucky Stephen come back yet?"
Searching his memory, Herbert recalled the details from before.
"He said he was going to find his daughter, and his daughter seemed to be an anticipated hybrid."
"But, how come there’s no news after such a long search? Did his daughter die? Or did something happen on the way?"
The reason for forgetting this brother was simple—Stephen was a middle-aged man.
He had paid little attention to Stephen’s departure; if it weren’t for his unique-bloodline daughter, he probably wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of letting him go.
Now, remembering it, Herbert decided to pay more attention, asking, "Nenasha, can you still sense Stephen’s life signal? I remember giving him a wooden token with your power."
["Not dead! But the power on the token has been exhausted~ Successfully protected his life once; it needs to accumulate for a while to regain linking ability."]
"As long as he’s not dead, then he’s probably stuck somewhere special?"
As long as he’s safe, he’ll be back in action eventually.
Additionally, remembering these things, Herbert had a sudden flash of inspiration, recalling another long-lost acquaintance.
Indeed, upon thinking carefully, Herbert was surprised to find that he seemed to have misplaced more than one person.
"It’s not just Stephen, my steadfast follower Fao seems to have been out of contact for quite a while too... Surely it shouldn’t take this long to send some people back home?"
The task Herbert originally assigned Fao was to escort a group of slaves back to their homeland; this task might be time-consuming and laborious, but it wasn’t difficult.
So, where is he?
Fao, where are you!!?
You’re not even in the Monastery!
As Herbert’s thoughts scattered, the "eggshell" suddenly trembled and transmitted a mental message to him.
!!?
In an instant, Herbert put away all his nonchalant smiles, squinting his eyes at the front.
That weak voice said:
[He, has awakened...]
[He, Destruction...]
.
.
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