IW: Chapter 221 - The Blessed Niu Niu Is So Fierce!
"Lord Bai Ye, you're back."
Moonlight Tavern.
When Bai Ye returned, everyone here looked at him differently.
No one expected that the guy who used to do small tasks would become one of the Five Sword Saints, a title that spread throughout the Arad continent.
"Yo, isn't this the Sword Saint bro?"
"Socia, are you being sarcastic?"
Listening to Socia's tone, one who didn't know might think she was being sarcastic.
What do you mean,'Sword Saint bro'?
He just went to fight an Apostle, and somehow, through word of mouth, it turned into the Five Sword Saints killing Shiroke.
Speaking of which, who spread that?
Apparently, at the time, he had told Siran and others that Shiroke had left through the Dimensional Rift, not that he had killed her.
"Just kidding!"
Socia shrugged, then took out a glass of wine and placed it in front of Bai Ye: "This one costs money!"
"Hey, if it costs money, why put it in front of me?"
A trace of speechlessness flashed across Bai Ye's face.
What was this?
Forced buying and selling?
"I heard the Purple Mist Group also went. Didn't you make any money?"
The Purple Mist Group had a lot of money.
A hint of surprise flashed in Socia's eyes; she had thought Bai Ye could make a lot of money.
"Don't even mention it, I forgot about it then."
Bai Ye had indeed thought about it before going in, but afterward, because Siran got involved, he forgot about it and just went drinking with them.
Recalling this, Bai Ye only wanted Siran to return his money!
"Lord Bai Ye, I'll treat you."
Celia had been working part-time for Socia these days, so she had saved some money, mainly because she didn't want to be a burden.
"No, that's alright. I still have enough money for one drink."
Bai Ye shook his head. Although living off someone else was tempting, it wasn't necessary for just one drink. He'd save that for later when he became the Light of Genesis. For now, he'd keep it.
"Haha, Bai Ye, you don't even want your wife's money for drinks?"
"Yuese, what do you idiot know? That's called cherishing his wife!"
This group of people...
Bai Ye shook his head and didn't bother to explain anything.
Anyway, explaining to them was futile, so it was better to say nothing at all.
"How was it? The feeling of defeating an Apostle?"
Socia loved to ask adventurers about their experiences after they returned from their expeditions.
This was one of Socia's few pleasures at the Moonlight Tavern.
And this time, it was about facing an Apostle; a legendary Apostle actually appeared in Arad.
Although Ozma was also one in the past, that was too long ago.
The Melancholy Cave was affected by the Apostle, and it also affected the creatures of Arad.
"Actually, it was nothing much. I just went and told Shiroke to give me some face, and she didn't, so we killed her!"
Since everyone thought Shiroke was dead, then let's just pretend she was dead.
Besides, if he kept proclaiming that Shiroke was alive, wouldn't that attract more attention from Held?
"Oh? The Apostle didn't give you face, so you killed her, huh? You're amazing, kid!"
Yuese gave a thumbs-up, a hint of admiration flashing across his face. Although he felt Bai Ye definitely embellished the story, he indeed accomplished it.
After all, the entire Arad continent was talking about it.
"Haha… I…"
Bai Ye looked at the admiring gazes of the people around him and suddenly felt that saying Shiroke was dead didn't seem so bad after all.
He was originally about to say something smug, but the next second, Shiroke's voice appeared in his mind: "What? You're spreading rumors everywhere that I'm dead?"
Shiroke was only in slumber, but that didn't mean she was truly dead.
She still kept a general eye on outside matters, because what if she didn't understand something and was directly thrown back into the Melancholy Cave again?
"Cough, how am I spreading rumors? The Arad continent is spreading it like that!"
This is messed up!
Sister, weren't you in slumber?
You still keep a trace of consciousness while in slumber?
"Quickly explain that I'm not dead!"
"Then Held will know, won't she?"
"That guy already knows I'm not dead!"
Shiroke was speechless. Held definitely knew she wasn't dead. Did Bai Ye need to remind her of this?
"And you're still spreading rumors that I'm dead here, it will only increase your suspicion!"
Shiroke added, in her opinion, Bai Ye's actions made no sense at all.
"Stop, stop, stop, Master, don't nag anymore!"
Bai Ye quickly stopped Shiroke's intention to continue speaking. It seemed Shiroke was preparing to lecture him at length.
It gave him a headache. Was she going to give him a lesson?
"Alright everyone, actually Shiroke didn't die, she just escaped through the Dimensional Rift. I don't know why it got distorted into us killing Shiroke!"
After resolving the voice in his head, Bai Ye finally chose to clarify.
After all, Shiroke would definitely appear later, and that lie would be exposed sooner or later. Wouldn't that make him look like he was bragging?
"Hey, stop joking, the whole continent is saying that!"
Yuese shook his head, somewhat disbelieving what Bai Ye said.
"You know how rumors get more and more outrageous as they spread!"
"So, you just drove Shiroke away?"
Socia rested her chin on her hands, then said: "That's still pretty impressive, I heard Apostles are terrifyingly strong!"
The Dark Holy War back then was caused by an Apostle, wasn't it?
Speaking of which, it was only resolved with the help of another Apostle.
So, being able to drive an Apostle away already seemed very strong.
"Pretty much."
Just assume Shiroke ran away.
After drinking a glass of wine here, Bai Ye immediately went to find Niu Niu. Arriving at the backyard, he saw Niu Niu constantly swinging the axe in his hand, clearly not wanting to be a support and always firm in Bai Ye's training methods.
"Niu Niu."
Bai Ye called softly.
Niu Niu, who was swinging his axe, looked up at Bai Ye.
He's back!
That's good, now he can show Bai Ye the results of his recent training during the time he was away!
"Bai Ye, since you're back, let me show you how strong I am!"
Niu Niu said, picking up his axe and striking at Bai Ye. Although he had been training recently, he had also heard about Bai Ye's deeds.
"Niu Niu, let's sign a pet contract. I can make you stronger!"
Although Bai Ye secretly wanted Niu Niu to change his class to Shaman.
Immediately, Bai Ye took out the pet contract and silently willed to use it. In Niu Niu's mind, a voice asking if he agreed sounded. Niu Niu subconsciously looked up at Bai Ye, and after seeing Bai Ye nod, he directly agreed.
After signing the contract, Niu Niu suddenly felt a connection with Bai Ye. They no longer needed to speak aloud; instead, Bai Ye and he could convey whatever they wanted to say to each other through a mind link.
He, Niu Niu, was now a Niu Niu with an official position?
"Use pet skill book."
Bai Ye silently willed, and in his heart, he prayed that the next skill would definitely be a Shaman skill.
And in Niu Niu's mind, a skill's usage suddenly surged forth.
[Niu Niu's Blessing]: The blessed target recovers one percent of their vitality per second, lasting for thirty seconds.
No!!!
Niu Niu fell to his knees, the ability he least wanted appearing in his mind. He couldn't do this problem, he couldn't do it!!
"Niu Niu, you can do it!"
Bai Ye patted Niu Niu's shoulder, his joy no longer hidden.
He didn't expect to get a Shaman skill right from the start!
Excellent!
Starting with a big one!
Although the recovery wasn't very strong, as it only lasted thirty seconds, its advantage was that it was a skill, not a consumable.
Niu Niu didn't try to stop Bai Ye's actions much; instead, he knelt on the ground, his mind blank. Although he didn't know what the ability was about, Niu Niu roughly understood that it must have come from Bai Ye.
It's just, he's really so heartless!
He clearly wanted to be a combat Niu Niu, why this?
"You can't blame me, Niu Niu, I can't control this!"
Bai Ye naturally saw Niu Niu's empty and somewhat resentful gaze.
In response, Bai Ye quickly stated that this matter could not be blamed on him.
"Then, do you think I still have a chance?"
Niu Niu was extremely upset.
"Yes, definitely!"
Of course, Bai Ye still hoped Niu Niu would go the Shaman route, as skill books were random.
After hearing Bai Ye's words, Niu Niu was overjoyed and immediately prepared to test out the newly acquired skill, Niu Niu's Blessing.
A faint green light flashed in his hands, and then he felt as if he was immersed in a warm ocean, his cells seemingly much more joyful.
"You take your time experimenting. I'm leaving first."
Bai Ye watched Niu Niu, who had already started making small cuts on himself and then blessing himself, and then left after speaking.
He said he didn't like it, yet now he's already experimenting like this.
But is this how 'recovering vitality' works?
The wound was healing rapidly. It seemed somewhat different from the game. He wondered if using this ability after a severe injury would directly pull someone back from the brink of death.
He still needed to try it out later. If it could truly pull a severely injured, dying person back from the death line, then this skill would be a divine skill.
Leaving the Moonlight Tavern, Bai Ye hurried to the palace and reported what he had encountered to Queen Skadi. Since he had accepted her favor, he naturally had to be diligent and responsible.
Listening to Bai Ye's description, Skadi finally had the most comprehensive understanding of the situation.
It turned out that Shiroke hadn't died, but had left Arad. However, this was also good; as long as the anomaly in Arad ended, whether Shiroke was dead or not didn't really matter much.
"Bai Ye, I have something I'd like to ask your opinion on."
Queen Skadi looked at Bai Ye very seriously. After understanding the full story, Queen Skadi's idea of winning over Bai Ye became even stronger.
No matter what, such a combat power couldn't be allowed to just wander around, could it?
"What?"
Although he had already guessed Skadi's thoughts, Bai Ye still pretended to be somewhat unclear.
"Would you like to join the Belmar Principality? I can grant you the privilege of forming your own army."
Queen Skadi said, a fervent gleam in her eyes.
This was the only condition the Belmar Principality could offer that she believed was most suitable for Bai Ye at the moment.
"I prefer adventuring."
Form an army?
Bai Ye thought for a moment, then refused Queen Skadi's proposal.
Become a general of the Principality?
Although it sounded good, it would inevitably mean losing his freedom. Compared to so many lottery opportunities, Bai Ye felt that the position of general didn't seem that appealing.
After being rejected, Queen Skadi was somewhat disappointed, but she also grasped Bai Ye's point about not wanting to join the Principality.
"What if I give you freedom and the right to form an army?"
"Your Majesty!?"
Ente was startled. He was about to speak to object, but Queen Skadi waved her hand to stop him.
"What do I need to pay?"
Bai Ye fell silent for a moment. This condition was very good, but the other party wasn't just giving him benefits for free.
To gain something, one must give something.
"This army belongs to you, but you report directly to me. If you deem a task unreasonable, you may not follow it. However, should the Belmar Principality ever be attacked by external forces, you and your army must protect the Principality.
At the same time, I will provide you with a residence and stable monthly gold. Anything you desire, I can provide, as long as the Principality possesses it."
Queen Skadi said, her eyes fixed on Bai Ye. Clearly, these were the best conditions she could offer.
And after hearing her words, Bai Ye could only sigh silently in his heart, 'Wife Aelijah, it's really not my fault, Queen Skadi gave too much!'
What did she mean, anything the Principality had, she could give him? Bai Ye suddenly thought of something... cough...
"So you're gambling?"
Bai Ye looked at Queen Skadi with a chuckle.
He probably understood that Queen Skadi seemed to be gambling, betting that he would eventually have a conscience?
"You could say that. Our Principality only has these, and the Empire seems to be stirring again recently. I don't want the Principality to be merged into the Empire."
Since the conversation had reached this point,
Queen Skadi didn't mind making it clearer. She directly admitted that it was due to the immense pressure from the Empire, which forced her to offer such tempting conditions in exchange with Bai Ye.
She knew Bai Ye wanted to buy a house recently, so she directly offered one.
She even gave Bai Ye freedom and the right to form an army for the Principality.
This would likely be impossible in other places.
Therefore, she believed her sincerity was ample, but it was up to Bai Ye how he chose.
Listening to her words, Bai Ye looked deeply at Queen Skadi. He had to admire that the daughter of a wealthy merchant could become the Queen of the Principality; she indeed had some means.
"So… give me your answer, Bai Ye…"
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