bookpub Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: Bascra (6)
Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: Bascra (6)
Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: Bascra (6)
The Arch Fiend decided that saying that alone was more than enough of a contribution on her side, so before we could even ask her what we would be looking for or if there was a need for urgency to get to this 'thing' that we were meant to be intrigued by, she of course just dissipated into a puff of pink smoke right as we could comprehend what she said.
We all shared a look before Jahi just let out a sigh and shook herself out again, the Demoness trying to get rid of all of the sand as she gestured loosely at the smoldering corpse behind us, saying "Well, before we can head on in we need to dismantle the Fiend's corpse and figure out what we earned from this."
Anput and I nodded at one another as we withdrew our knives and covered them in our mana, slicing into the Fiend's charred flesh and searching for the things that we could make use of, which was primarily the Fiend's bones, though Anput also went about defeathering the Fiend as well, piling the iridescent plumage off to the side for whatever it was that she wanted to do with them.
As we worked, Leone eventually joined us after she tended to Jahi, who was now standing above us watching us closely, our typical distribution of labor coming to us easily as we settled into the routine we had created for us in Zhu'Rong Caverns all that time ago.
"This also just seems so... weird, doesn't it? Sla'Caligo did say that the Fiends we were running into at this moment in time are the little guppies swimming around causing a ruckus, but surely even the 'guppies' would have a bit more bite to them? And I know it's odd coming from me, who was almost buried alive, but... that felt too easy, didn't it?"
The Demoness' musings made me check the System notifications to verify that this Fiend had – in fact – died, and upon seeing the millions of experience waiting to be acknowledged by this kill, I shrugged my shoulders as I replied "If we were to go one on one with any of these Fiends, I sincerely doubt we could walk away from that fight entirely intact. Maybe we wouldn't even be able to walk away, since we'd be dead. But all four of us? Together? Jahi, we have a rather impressive skillset spread between us, and as arrogant as it sounds..."
Yanking the Fiend's humerus free from its socket, I studied the dazzling blue bone for a moment as I felt the mana lingering around its surface, the drops of oily blood sizzling on the hot sands in an interesting way.
"We really are just that strong when placed as a group. I mean, Leone's magic is incredible given her age, and it's boosted by our surrounding area - each breath you take is laden with Fire Mana, after all - while Anput has a really solid mana herself that's paired with her insane ability to wield all kinds of weapons with adequate proficiency. Then there's your insane natural physique being boosted by one of the strongest mana types known to mortals?"
I glanced at Jahi as I raised the bone in my hand, showing it to her as I finished by saying "And to round us out, I have both Ice Magic - which is rare in these areas - as well as the ability to very crudely wield Lust Mana? We cover so many different types of opponents with such ease that it makes sense that we manage to win so easily, and since all we do is train, eat, sleep and have sex..."
That was its own charm though, and where the people of Muqai Al-Maedin matched their city by having a more vibrant style and displayed an abundance of energy, the people of Bascra wore simple robes and donned veils or keffiyeh's to keep the sand from doing too much
damage.
They seemed quieter and more serious, but as we strode into the city and came face to face with them, they let out a relieved cheer as they moved closer, their elation showing with how they almost ignored the bristling Death Jackal's beside us, though as soon as their scimitar's were peeking out of their sheathes, the people maintained their distance and cheered from
afar.
Jahi seemed to find the attention as enjoyable as ever, as did Anput as the two waved at the crowd, while Leone donned her practiced smile as she joined them, though when Jahi muttered "I kinda feel like a fraud... I mean, I got smooshed right away it feels like..." I couldn't help but chuckle, while Anput didn't bother to hide her laughter at all as she turned to grin at us, though as she did so something flew just an inch beside her face.
The clang of metal on metal caused all of our heads to snap towards the source, where we found one of the Death Jackal's brandishing their scimitar and parrying something out of the air; another metal needle spun around before sinking into the sand beside us, the thin foot long spike of metal glittering beneath the sun and bringing questions to our mind that needed to be answered.
Preferably by the person shooting them at us from a nearby rooftop, and Hera had the same thought I did as she gave orders to our retinue, using hand signals that sent two Death Jackals sprinting forwards, their strides long enough to cover the distance in mere seconds.
As they made their way towards the robed figure above us, another Death Jackal deflected another barrage of needles from the other side, causing me to click my tongue as I cast a Wind Cloak spell over all of us, going for protection first before I lifted the needle with my Wind Magic and sent it hurtling back towards its owner, who barely managed to duck as it whistled
past their cheek.
"Well this is one hell of a greeting, wouldn't you agree~?"