The Scarecrow obediently ran over to Ethan and complained tearfully, ["I'm at least half your servant, okay? I got bullied. Aren't you going to help me get revenge?"]
"Get lost. Why were you picking a fight with them for no reason?", Ethan raised his hand and collected all the poison arrows stuck in the Scarecrow, "Behave yourself. When we get back, I'll have Logistics make you a new body. Otherwise you can just stay a candied-hawthorn stick for the rest of your life."
["I don't want that!"]
The Scarecrow only dared to act spoiled in front of Ethan.
But Ethan ignored it and simply looked up at the Genie Sylas, "Archmage Sylas, can we leave now?"
"We can."
After answering Ethan, Sylas immediately turned to the two Shadow Guards, "You two, get inside."
The two Shadow Guards nodded obediently and instantly entered the black gemstones.
The two gems in Sylas's hand immediately became brighter.
"Let's go."
After dealing with the Shadow Guards, one man, one Genie, one cat, and one scarecrow left the stone chamber directly.
When Ethan arrived at the second stone chamber, the Queen Bee had almost finished the new hive. It was quite large, over a meter tall and about seventy to eighty centimeters wide, shaped like an oval sphere.
Sensing Ethan's arrival, the Queen Bee immediately crawled out, ["Master, you're back?"]
"Yeah, I'm back. But we need to leave. Is the new hive ready?"
["It's ready. Please wait a moment, Master,"] The Queen Bee said, ["I'll call all my subjects back first."]
Right after that, Ethan saw a yellow aura form around the Queen Bee.
For some reason, he realized he could understand what was within that aura. It felt more like a scent humans couldn't smell, or maybe a magnetic field, something hard to describe.
Yet Ethan could translate its meaning.
It represented return.
And… The Queen Bee's summon.
The next second, Countless Fart Bees flew back from all directions.
Most of them were carrying fragments and bits of material, likely for building the hive. But just then, the aura around the Queen Bee shifted again, turning into a command of "abandon all objects."
Immediately after, Ethan watched as the Fart Bees dropped everything they were carrying without hesitation.
The materials they had worked so hard to gather fell randomly from midair.
Yet not a single Fart Bee disobeyed. Every one of them carried out the Queen Bee's order.
Ethan looked at the beautiful rain of materials in the sky, feeling a bit amazed.
Sylas even raised an eyebrow, "You actually subdued these poison bees? Kid, you've got some skills."
"Like them?", Ethan lifted the massive hive and grinned, "If you do, I can give you a few to keep as pets. Consider it compensation for killing your old pet." [T/N: Wtf?]
"Thanks, but no thanks."
Sylas waved his hand, his expression turning a bit unpleasant, even showing a hint of fear in his eyes.
Ethan carried the hive and was about to leave the stone chamber. But after holding it for a short while, he found it too bulky and inconvenient to walk with.
So he glanced at the Scarecrow.
The Scarecrow felt uneasy under his gaze, ["You… what are you planning?"]
"Well, you're missing a body right now."
Ethan smiled and stepped closer while holding the hive.
The Scarecrow backed up repeatedly in fear, ["You're not thinking of using the hive as my body and making me hop around poking it, are you?"]
"Bingo, correct!"
Without caring whether the Scarecrow agreed or not, Ethan grabbed its head and stuffed it straight into the hive.
Now it finally looked more human.
Well… more like a snowman.
⛄️ ⛄️ ⛄️
After settling the hive, Ethan led the whole group back to the last stone chamber in the Land of Treasure.
The place where he had fought the Stone Monster earlier. From a distance, Ethan could already hear a bird call echoing nonstop.
"Coo… coo-coo… coo-coo-coo… coo?"
At that moment, Sylas suddenly remembered something, "Damn it! I almost forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
Ethan looked puzzled.
Sylas looked annoyed, "I forgot this gate is guarded by that big idiot. When we go out later, we'll have to beg it."
"If that guy refuses to open the door, we might not be able to get out at all!"
"That's it?"
Ethan immediately laughed.
That counts as a problem?
For someone as smart and always prepared as Ethan, does that even count?
"That's not enough?", Sylas snapped, "That bastard has been wanting to find a substitute for over a hundred years, someone to guard the gate in its place!"
"When you beg it to open the door, it'll definitely bring that up as a condition."
"Let's see what you'll do then!"
"Simple," Ethan shrugged, "Since I got in, I can get out."
Sylas sneered, "You'd better not come crying and begging me for help later."
"Relax. I won't."
"You sure are confident. Too bad this world is full of people who are overly confident."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, "What if I really get out without begging you?"
Sylas said proudly, "Then I'll teach you a method to improve your strength for free."
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Just then, a series of slapping sounds rang out. A paper crane folded from leaves wobbled its way toward Ethan.
He quickly held it in his palm. The moment it touched him, it transmitted a voice directly into his mind.
["My master says, as long as you agree to become its substitute and guard the treasure gate until someone clears this Land of Treasure, it will save you once."]
"Go back and tell your master, no need! I've already come out!"
Ethan smiled and tossed the paper crane back.
Sylas stared at him in surprise, "Strange. How did you convince that stubborn old fool to make such a promise on its own? That guy has always been arrogant, thinking it knows everything and can do anything. Since when did it start begging others?"
"Hahaha!"
Ethan laughed loudly, "That's because I jammed it up. If you were halfway through taking a dump and couldn't finish without someone's help, what would you do?"
"I would never let anyone help me with something that embarrassing! That's disgusting!"
Sylas looked at Ethan in disgust.
But Ethan just grinned and walked toward the exit, "Anyway, just remember your promise about upgrading me."
"Hah! You talk like you're completely sure. I'll just wait for you to get slapped in the face… uh…"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.