Chapter 225: Unchanging

Chapter 225: Unchanging

Time passed quickly. Zoya returned silently, like a drop of water rejoining a river without a ripple. Adam came and, to everyone’s astonishment, received the delegation, but then there was no further movement.

After receiving the delegation, or rather, after he had seen enough of the novelty, Adam cast them aside. He knew perfectly well that he was useless; in fact, if any single one of them was brought out alone, it would be just as useless.

There never was a true Monarch in the Northlands. Once a family split up and the two groups had a falling out, even brothers would beat each other’s heads in. Of course, it was just a beating; they would still go to each other’s homes to freeload without hesitation, and for that, they would even eat more…

The two passes that the Northlands once had to the outside world—the Castle and the Western Territory—were now of no use. The Warriors who had gathered, along with the decision-makers, all went back to their own homes.

Given the current situation in the Northlands, sending news from here back to various places and waiting for a response would take long enough for the delegation to have a whole litter of young here. Adam believed that many of those unlucky ones left behind at home, like him, would seize the chance to come watch the excitement and, like him, receive the delegation…

Bran’s City Manor was quite good, much better than the Mountain Villa. It was just that people like Danny weren’t very friendly. Wasn’t it just about sneaking into Bran’s room and taking a couple of things?

He had always wanted to do that back in the day, just never succeeded. Now that Bran wasn’t here, it was the perfect chance to fulfill that wish. What business did an outsider have meddling in matters between brothers? Adam stroked his chin and began to figure something out; it seemed she wasn’t exactly an outsider.

He finally met Bran’s Wood and wanted to spar with him a couple of rounds. But when he saw that row of sixteen great hammers, he instantly gave up on that idea.

Now, the Giant Falcon, Feiyu, from Bran’s place had grown a lot, which was truly enviable. That clumsy bird from before finally had a little sharpness about it. According to Danny, it would still take a few years for this clumsy bird to truly reach adulthood, but even so, its current size already surpassed that of an adult Snow Falcon.

Although this place seemed messy, all sorts of characters could be seen here, so it was still quite interesting. He could tell that Bran didn’t care much about this place; it was like a herd left to graze freely. If only this place were given to him to manage, it definitely wouldn’t be worse than it was now.

He envied this city for being able to attract numerous Wizards. Even though they were all from other races, as long as they could be used by him, he didn’t care. Compared to the Little Wizards of the Northlands, those here were much less impressive, and precisely because of that, they were more reassuring to use. If necessary, he could select people from here in the future.

Who knew when Bran would be back? He really envied him—free and easy, with no one daring to control him—whereas he himself could not be so. Steeped in envy, jealousy, and resentment, Adam, who hadn’t stayed more than a few days, left reluctantly.

The two homes weren’t far apart; pushing a fast horse back and forth wouldn’t take more than a few days, so he decided he would come visit often in the future. Adam thought about how Bran would have no choice but to receive him, and couldn’t help but feel pleased.

…

On this day, Danny came to the courtyard hall in the morning mist, preparing as usual to greet the Ancient Tree. A familiar figure sitting under the tree made her breath catch a little.

Bran! She called softly and quickly walked over.

At her call, Bran looked up, bared his teeth in a grin, then lightly lifted himself up and leaped to her side, giving her a big hug. Huahua took the chance to jump onto her shoulder and rubbed against her cheek.

“When did you get back?”

“Last night. You were all asleep, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

The Ancient Tree extended a vine and poked Bran. “You can chat in a moment. Continue the story you hadn’t finished telling.”

Bran was amused. “Perfect timing. Let me show you something good.”

Saying this, he pulled Danny under the tree and pointed at a small pool. “Look!”

Following his finger, Danny saw a sphere of dark blue water rolling in the pool, with mist continuously gathering onto it.

Initially, Bran didn’t gain much from that Lonely Island. It was still a relatively extreme environment; turbulent ocean currents tightly wrapped around the isolated island, and water vapor filled the air. Even sitting at the island’s center, drops of water occasionally fell on him. In just a short while, his hair became damp, with beads of water forming on the ends.

Bran never lacked patience. He began to breathe in rhythm with the ocean tides there. Not every type of Mana suited him, nor could every type be forcibly drawn into his body. Soon, he felt like a half-filled water skin, sloshing with each breath.

He wasn’t one to give up easily, especially when he didn’t sense any danger. All he needed to do was fill it up, then wait for his body or the Mana to find its own way out.

But the body or the Mana didn’t find a way out, nor did it need to. What way out does a fully filled water skin need?

Bran was never one to spit out what he had taken into his mouth. He tried to forcibly compress this Mana and pull it into his star cluster. Maybe he had eaten too much recently, or perhaps his ability had absolutely no connection with this type of Mana. Anyway, he truly became like a water skin squeezed with great force, and the water inside sprayed out through the gaps that had been forced open.

Then a few sea serpents swam to his side and began slowly absorbing it.

Spitting out most of it made Bran feel much more comfortable, at least he knew he really couldn’t handle any more at the moment.

A few days later, a storm descended upon the Lonely Island. Amid the howling wind and torrential rain, a creature Bran had never seen before appeared. It emerged from the turbulent ocean currents, dancing along with the storm. It feared neither the sudden downpour nor the huge waves, because the sudden downpour and huge waves were part of it. The entire island was enveloped by it; at that moment, Bran’s perception could no longer penetrate below the sea surface.

Sitting there, Bran finally understood what it meant to face the might of heaven and earth, and what it meant to be insignificant. He didn’t know what the result would be if that huge thing slapped him? He couldn’t even find its vital spot.

He sat quietly, watched, and waited.

As the wind and rain gradually subsided, Bran slowly moved toward the seashore, slowly gathering Mana. Having shown off in front of himself for so long, it was time to pay some price. Within that strange creature, a dark blue shimmer flickered intermittently; Bran felt its attraction.

At that moment, he understood. What had drawn him here was it—that dark blue shimmer. He could even smell the fragrance of Mana.

The air around him began to tremble slightly, emitting a humming sound that rose and fell in pitch. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to attract attention. Surrounding the small island, a wall of seawater rose. Within the wall, countless eyes seemed to stare at Bran, with curiosity, with inquiry…

Bran stared at that small patch of dark blue within the water wall, his eyes full of greed. His Magic Field slowly yet firmly expanded, little by little touching the water wall. Then, Bran revealed a victorious smile.

A tremendous sound, earth-shattering! The sound wave swept past, and the wall of seawater encircling the island transformed into a sky full of fine rain. Meanwhile, Bran and Huahua had already shot up at an angle, and a Mist flew out from Bran’s body, enveloping that dark blue sphere.

Run! At that moment, Bran wasn’t so much running as flying…

And he really was a little scared. Once that thing snapped out of it, it would be strange if it didn’t slap him to death!

…

Bran was bragging about his great deeds in the Northland City. He didn’t know that the Azure Wave Archipelago had already met with misfortune.

Just as that rainstorm had subsided, a tremendous sound came from the distance. Lookouts saw a Shadow speeding across the sea surface from afar.

Then the color of heaven and earth changed; the ocean surface surrounding the Archipelago began to churn and leap restlessly…