"Whew, I'm exhausted."
Artoria didn't have enough magic to cross the ocean from China back to New York. Finding a signal tower, Artoria used the small computer she carried to connect to the network. Through Saturday's sub-system, she contacted Saturday. Soon, a stealth plane arrived in front of Artoria. After boarding the plane, Artoria's magic studies with the Ancient One were officially over, though she was a bit annoyed. The Ancient One could have sent her home with a wave of her hand, but instead threw her at the foot of the mountain.
It was a bit too much, Artoria thought resentfully. Finally returning to her room before dawn, Artoria dove into her soft bed, not wanting to move at all. During this period of cultivation, she could do things with a wave of her hand, but the main issue was that she hadn't eaten well. She hadn't expected the mages of Kamar-Taj to actually use money to buy food instead of cooking for themselves. Although she wasn't short on money, there was no particularly good food near the plateau; besides roasted mutton, there was only highland barley noodles, and the taste was just okay.
"Poof!"
Seeing the clone enter, Artoria dispelled the Shadow Clone technique and lay quietly on the bed, receiving information from the clone. Fortunately, nothing major had happened, and she hadn't been exposed. The clone's mission was considered successfully completed. However, what made Artoria feel great was definitely trolling Hydra. How wonderful! Those parasites hiding in the dark finally suffered a setback. Although they seemed to have been exposed this time, it was acceptable as long as no evidence was found.
"That Nick Fury guy hasn't come to find me to join the Avengers lately. What's going on?"
Rolling over, Artoria lay on the bed like a salted fish, not wanting to move at all. But even if her body didn't want to move, her brain had to think. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recent actions were a bit strange! She had released such powerful energy in New York, yet they hadn't sent anyone to recruit her for the Avengers. But she wasn't in a hurry. If she was really bored, she could collaborate with the Divine Spear Bureau! Compared to the black-faced and black-hearted Nick Fury, she had a much better impression of China than S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Saturday, pull up the recent big news for me to see. Make me happy."
"Yes, master."
Lying on the bed, Artoria quietly looked at the ceiling. After giving the command to Saturday, the ceiling instantly turned into a large screen. All the major events recently were displayed, including some that certain departments didn't want people to see; none could escape Saturday's clutches.
"Another Mutant experiment, Colonel Stryker."
"It seems the deeper the love, the stronger the hate!"
Looking at the list of missing persons above, the people on it—regardless of gender or age—all shared a common characteristic: before disappearing, they had suddenly manifested extraordinary abilities or turned into monsters. Combining this, Artoria immediately thought of Mr. Stryker, who had a love-hate relationship with Mutants. There was a ninety percent chance he was behind it.
"Uncle Wolf seemed to have looked for me, right? Could there be some bond between me and the Mutants?"
She remembered years ago when Wolverine Logan had looked for her at the seaside Base, but she had chosen not to go out. Although it had been a while, Artoria could still remember it, which was quite good.
"Forget it, I'll find a chance to visit Professor X."
Sighing in her heart, Artoria had Saturday turn off the lights. She fell into a dream without even taking a bath.
"Wah! Ah!"
"I'm...? I'm not dead!"
The young Brian, who had been lying like a corpse, suddenly jumped up from the road as if he had come back to life. He looked around in terror, then felt his body. After finding no sensation of pain, he pinched himself. The stinging pain confirmed his thoughts: he wasn't dead. He breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, the magic old man he saw just now must have been a hallucination!
"Thump!"
"Ow, I'm gonna die."
Suddenly, a long object knocked him from a standing position to a face-down one. He felt like his lower back was about to be broken. A dirty amulet appeared. The moment he saw this amulet, Brian realized that everything just now was not a dream. Reaching out to grab the amulet, a trace of extraordinary power emerged in his body. The back that was originally heavy as hell now felt like nothing. Straightening his spine and climbing up from the ground, Brian looked at the amulet and put it away. Then he looked at the object that had almost crushed the breath out of him: it was a long, ornate wooden box, seemingly inlaid with gems, looking very valuable.
"To give it to the King? Which King is this King?"
Thinking of the magic old man's final mysterious smile and that inscrutable sentence, Brian felt his head throbbing.
But there was no way around it; it seemed the other party had saved him. Although he seemed to have an objective, Brian didn't mind helping him out. How could he ignore the request of his savior? With a sigh, Brian picked up the wooden box from the ground. It was quite heavy. Strapping the wooden box to his back, Brian miserably discovered that his motorcycle was completely mangled and unusable.
"How unfortunate!"
Sighing at the motorcycle in front of him and uttering the famous line of a certain 'Imagine Breaker,' Brian could only walk home step by step. Fortunately, it wasn't too far anymore, about fifteen or sixteen kilometers. Luckily, the people chasing him seemed to think he was already dead; otherwise, it would probably be another pursuit.
"This crazy woman, she's still so guarded against me."
At this moment in Avalon, Merlin was clutching a bump on his head. Just after he sent the Holy Sword out, someone had given him a hard blow to the head. Please! He wasn't doing anything world-destroying, so why treat an old man living alone like this? Ancient One, you brat, can't you show some respect for your elders? It's really a headache.
"I hope that wooden box can mask the Holy Sword's aura. Time is running out, young man. That thing's effect won't last long. Once the Holy Sword senses something, even the best seal will be useless. I hope you have good luck!"
Rubbing his head where the swelling had gone down, Merlin thought for a moment. He seemed to have forgotten to tell the boy a very important thing: the wooden box was merely a container that could cut off the Holy Sword's aura for a period of time. Once this time passed, the Holy Sword might go on a rampage, and that wouldn't be his problem. Another thing was to be careful of Morgan, that woman whose mind was a bit unstable and who had those kinds of feelings for her sister.
If Morgan found out that someone was carrying her sister's sword, she might feel worse than Death.
"Forget it, it's none of my business now. Good luck, young man."
As long as the sword was delivered to the King, these problems wouldn't arise. However, Merlin, who was about to enjoy his upcoming leisure time, seemed to have forgotten to say who the King was and where the King was. In such a big world, how were you going to let Brian find them?
Indeed, Merlin, you are such a troll.
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