Chapter 234: Compet.i.tion
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In the blink of an eye, half a month had pa.s.sed. Though Han Jin agreed to help Winston complete the mission, he still wanted to wait for the thunderbirds to lay eggs before they left for Thunder Valley. Winston and Saxon were not in a hurry, and their mission items were not limited to ninth-grade lightning element magic crystals, but also the eggs of the thunderbirds. The reason why they had arrived so early was to carefully investigate the current state of Thunder Valley in preparation for the mission, and according to their original plan, they also intended to wait for one month before they started.
As for the reason why the Twilight Mercenary Corps attacked, Winston and Saxon both believed it was related to the green box. A few months ago, Winston and Saxon met an anonymous mercenary who dropped dead suddenly for unknown reasons on the outskirts of Isolated Cliff City. They found a green box on his body, which they opened on the spot and took a quick look. Inside, there was a book about basic fire magic and nothing else. Seeing the contents of the box, Winston almost decided to throw the box away, but after they returned to the city, Cervantes suddenly confronted the two and asked if they had found a green box. Winston quickly admitted his possession of the box, then to his surprise Cervantes offered to buy the box at a high price.
Actually, Winston did not take the green box seriously. If Cervantes had not offered such a high price and instead just used a random reason to take the box from Winston, Winston would have given it to him.
Maybe it was because Cervantes was a stingy man himself, and he made the mistake of gauging the heart of a man of integrity with his own measures. He felt that Winston would definitely not give him the box for nothing, thus he thought that buying the box at a high price would be the most direct and the most effective method. However, in the end, what he did made Winston suspicious, giving him a reason to send Cervantes away.
No one would offer a high price if there was nothing to gain in return. Since Cervantes was willing to buy the box at a high price, the green box must have a corresponding value. After sending Cervantes away, the members of the Reaper Mercenary Team studied the box for a long while, but they did not uncover anything special.
Later, Winston put the matter aside. However, less than half a month later, Cervantes brought his men to block them on the street. This time, their words were very impolite. Coincidentally, Han Jin happened to return to the city at such a convenient time, allowing him to help Winston out of the predicament.
For a few months, Cervantes never came to look for them again, and Winston had already forgotten about the incident. Now, it seemed that he had gotten careless, but he indeed did not bring the box with him, and instead hid it at a rather secluded location. To find out the secrets inside the box, they had to wait until they had returned to the city.
At dusk, Yalina and others chatted while watching the sunset. Han Jin and Reg both exited the forest. Han Jin’s face was flushed with joy as he finally managed to overlay an Air Manipulation Spell on his green radiance after 20 days of preparing. He was indeed glad that there was one thing off his mind.
“Where’s Gibran and Cain? Haven’t they returned?” Reg asked.
“Not yet.” Julia shook her head. She was worried; though Gibran and Cain both headed to Thunder Valley each day to observe the thunderbirds, they still returned back by this time. However, today they were still missing.
“Don’t think too much about it, they will be fine.” Yalina said, “They’re just observing from outside the valley using Perspective Vision, it is impossible for them to alarm those thunderbirds.”
“I know.” Julia smiled.
“Yalina, it’s time. Let’s have a compet.i.tion!” Han Jin smiled.
“Compet.i.tion? About what?” Yalina was astounded.
Han Jin then stretched out his arms and made a flying gesture. In excitement, his gesture appeared a little awkward and uncontrolled.
“Okay!” Yalina chuckled as she stood up and squinted at Han Jin, “Don’t forget your promise!”
“You too, don’t forget your promise!” Han Jin smiled as well.
“You’re acting like kids.” Julia acted mature while she spoke, but her next sentence exposed her true nature, “Come, let me be your referee!”
“How are we competing?” Yalina made a provocative expression.
Han Jin scanned the area, then pointed at the mountain in the distance, “We’ll fly over there then come back. Whoever lands first wins.”
“Challenge accepted.” Yalina smoothed out her skirt, then took out her magic wand solemnly.
Fairness was the top priority for a referee, but Julia was obviously not qualified. She even waited until Yalina released her magic and slowly rose into the air under the protection of the wind element. Then, she called crisply, “Start!”
Yalina immediately glided to the front. In fact, the speed of the Levitation Spell was not very fast at all. Many high-grade magicians would rather travel around in a carriage than fly around in the air. One of the reasons was that it was a waste of magic power; and the other was that the speed of the Levitation Spell was limited. At the very least, the speed was far slower than the sprinting speed of the soldiers.
Although Yalina’s expression was full of confidence, she was actually very nervous. Rather than receiving material rewards, she was more eager for the spiritual victory. The guy who had no strength in fighting, no magic power, and no grade at all had given her great pressure. Since she was young, she had always been in the center of attention, due to the fact that she was always the smartest, the most powerful, and the fastest improving among her peers. However, after she met Han Jin, the spotlight that always followed her was moved to Han Jin. Whenever there was a crisis, the others always antic.i.p.ated that Han Jin would create a miracle, and completely ignore her. This fact made Yalina really thirsty to defeat Han Jin.
Yalina had already flown forward dozens of meters, but Han Jin remained at the starting line. When Yalina looked back at Han Jin, she could not help but clench her fist tight; Raphael was too arrogant!
“Raphael, what’s wrong with you?” Julia asked anxiously, “Hurry up!”
“Raphael, are you admitting defeat?” Reg tried to goad Han Jin on.
Han Jin smiled, he held out his palm and the green radiance gradually brightened. In the next moment, he turned into a shooting star, rus.h.i.+ng towards the sky at an angle; the flas.h.i.+ng radiance was more dazzling than the sunset, with a dozen-meter long light tail looming behind. His speed was absolutely shocking.
Yalina heard the thunderous roar of wind behind her as she turned to look back. When she turned around, she made it just in time to see a gleaming ray of light whiz past through the air, with the strong wind that it brought instantly messing up her long hair. When Yalina turned back around, Han Jin had already pulled away a significant distance, drawing a beautiful arc in the air. Seconds later, Han Jin had already turned around and was rus.h.i.+ng towards Yalina.
Yalina had just combed away her hair blocking her sight when Han Jin again brushed by her side, turning Yalina’s hair into a mess yet again. Yalina was anxious and angry, so she decided to ignore Han Jin, continuing to make her way forward.
She only had time to continue flying for about ten meters. With a roar, Han Jin whizzed over her head once again, this time the strong wind brought up her skirt. Fortunately, Yalina was no longer a rookie, she was no longer the little girl who liked to wear a palace skirt to venture into the forest. She had worn tight pants underneath her battle skirt, otherwise, everything under would have been exposed.
Yalina gritted her teeth in anger and hurriedly released a magic s.h.i.+eld to protect herself. She really wanted to strike Han Jin with lightning, but she was worried that Han Jin would be hurt. If looks could kill, Han Jin would have died a thousand times.
Han Jin was feeling extremely wonderful as he had not experienced the feeling of being free in such a long time! During each battle, he had to carefully calculate the energy loss as he couldn’t waste any amount of energy. Although his life seemed very promising, he bottled up many emotions that he needed to let out. At that moment, Han Jin had temporarily forgotten his ideals and goals. It was rare to get the chance to have fun, so he needed to get wild!
Han Jin continued doing tricks through the air. Sometimes he drew ‘S’ shapes continuously, sometimes he dived down steeply, and when the ancient trees danced wildly under the strong current, he pulled up again and swept diagonally into the sky.
Julia and the others who were on the ground were dumbstruck. Some things needed to be observed up close, while some things just could not be seen clearly in the vicinity. Their angle and distance were just right. Han Jin sometimes turned sharply to his left, sometimes to his right, sometimes rushed upwards to the sky, and sometimes dove directly towards the ground. Even a bird could not make such incredible movements.
The light trail, which was more than ten meters in length, swept through the air, creating spectacular effects. Compared to Han Jin’s techniques, Yalina paled in comparison. None of the people on the ground could keep their attention on her.
Yalina only made it a few hundred meters in total when she finally realized she paled in comparison. She swiftly turned around and flew back, giving the entire stage to Han Jin.
Han Jin continued to fly over the forest, robust as a dragon and swift as lightning, the roaring sound of the air current was more deafening than the waves.
After a long while, Han Jin finally had enough fun, so he controlled his green radiance to return to the mountain. Yalina was fuming with anger by the time he had returned, glaring at Han Jin without saying a single word. She thought it would be a close match. She never expected it would become her one-sided failure. The fact that she planned to secretly use the Teleportation Scroll at the critical moment seemed like a joke. The only rea.s.surance was that no one knew her plan, otherwise, she would have no face to meet the others.
Han Jin stepped down from the green radiance, and Julia and the others hurriedly gathered towards him. The magical item was so unimaginable, they had never seen anything like it before. Previously, they thought it was just a weapon for attack. Julia became especially affected, as she was seized with emotions. If she had such a powerful item, she would be almost invincible, even the magicians in her own grade would not be a match! The range of a Longbow was beyond the normal range of mental power lock, if the enemy came close, she could fly away, and when the enemy retreated, she could catch up.
It could even be said that the green radiance was more valuable than any other items she dreamed for!
“Was this… made by you?” Julia’s voice s.h.i.+vered slightly.
“Mhmm.” Han Jin nodded, he could tell the agitation in Julia’s heart, “Except for me, n.o.body could manipulate it, but…”
“But what?” Julia asked hastily.
“I can’t … do it now, not in a few years.” Han Jin said tactfully.
Just then, Gibran and Cain rushed out from the forest in the valley. Cain then yelled from a distance, “They were born… they were born…”
“The thunderbird eggs are starting to hatch?” Winston took a long breath and looked at Han Jin, “Raphael, now … what shall we do?”
Han Jin pondered for a moment, “Yalina, I need your help.”
“I won’t!” Yalina exclaimed loudly. She was still angry at Han Jin so she naturally refused his request without thinking. However, as soon as she spoke, she noticed she had lost her composure. She then blushed and whispered, “What do you need me to do?”