frightfiction Chapter 645 The Truth About Being a Traitor
Chapter 645 The Truth About Being a Traitor
The footsteps were coming from the direction of Mount Tiemu.
It was truly unbelievable to see people in such a godforsaken place.
Of course, the same thought also came to the newcomer's mind, so his gaze towards Xu Ning was filled with disbelief.
However, he quickly came to terms with it, plopped down in the shade next to Xu Ning, and rummaged through his backpack while sighing, "High-paying commissions usually don't lead to anything good. I'm sure you know that."
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Many people understand this principle, but greed blinds them, and people tend to overestimate their own abilities."
The man paused, then sighed, "Yes, it seems I'm really not suited for the work of an adventurer. So, I'll leave this drum to you. I hope you can complete this task. But I must warn you, those cult members aren't as friendly as the intelligence reports suggested... they..."
Xu Ning looked at the broken drum that had been shoved into his hand, and his lips twitched. "I just casually said something to you, and it feels like I'm going to take the blame for you... Hey, explain yourself before you leave, or I'm going to knock you out!"
"Aren't you the person Miss Catherine sent to continue the mission?"
It seemed that the guy was more shocked by Xu Ning's statement that he wasn't there to accept a mission than by the fact that Xu Ning was about to beat him up.
"You're not here to continue your mission, so why did you come to this godforsaken, restricted area? Don't tell me you came here to see the scenery."
Xu Ning sneered, "What? Is it a crime for me to come here to see the scenery? You just mentioned some cult, right? Are you secretly doing something shady with the Abyss Cult?"
"I've never heard of any Abyss Order. The mission issued by the Order of the Nagaju mentioned 'the Nagaju Order.' Those arrogant guys don't listen to anyone. They just keep saying 'secret secrets' and then kick people out..."
Upon hearing that it was a mission from the Order of the Order, Xu Ning couldn't help but ask another question.
"It's just that when the scholars of the Order were observing the celestial phenomena, they noticed that the north seemed to be blocked by something, so they issued a mission for us to come here and ask the locals for the reason. It's that simple."
Xu Ning scratched his chin and pondered, "This is interesting. What could possibly block out the sky..."
The man looked at him incredulously. "You really came here to see the scenery? Don't try to fool me. I bet you just crawled out of the ground!"
Xu Ning's face hardened. "Wow, you're so smart, does Catherine know that?"
"How do you know I crawled out from underground?"
The man reached out and pulled Xu Ning out of the shadows of the cliff, pointing northeast and asking, "If you really came to see the scenery, how come you didn't see something that big in the sky?"
Xu Ning looked up and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" "How come someone has poked a hole in the sky while I've only been out for two days to see the scenery..."
It's no wonder Xu Ning reacted so strongly; anyone who saw this scene would probably react the same way.
A huge hole had appeared in the sky to the northeast, seemingly out of nowhere.
The light emanating from within was a familiar deep purple, a typical abyss color.
And dirty things that looked like gray crystals kept falling from it.
"Um, since you're not here to continue this quest, could you please give the drum back to me? It's a crucial quest item, and I'll have to return it to Catherine if I decide to quit!"
Upon hearing the words "key prop," Xu Ning finally remembered to look at the drum in his hand.
This drum looks very old, probably the style of my African drum from my previous life. The only thing that shows its unique identity is probably the ice element mark painted on the drumhead!
Xu Ning casually flicked a finger on the drumhead, and the sound was crisper than its worn-out appearance suggested.
"This thing can mend the sky? How?"
The man said helplessly, "How could that be? This is just a token for making contact. So, are you going to give it to me or not? If not, then take it to Catherine yourself!"
Xu Ning casually shoved the drum into the cave, "Okay, you said it! But I have something to do, I'll come back another time!"
With a tap on the teleportation anchor point, Xu Ning teleported directly towards the teleportation anchor point near Tanit.
"Holy crap! This bastard stole my drum! I still have a deposit with the association!"
At this moment, Xu Ning could no longer hear the guy's screams. Regarding the strange celestial phenomenon just now, Xu Ning felt that it was very likely related to the increasingly strong dark power that Lilupal had mentioned.
Since I've promised to pick up Lilupal and Feligis, I have no choice but to go and see what's going on there.
However, since the Order of the Church has also issued a mission, it means that the Little Grass God should have noticed the situation here, and will probably send someone over to check it out soon.
There's no need to rush things; I should first settle things with Tanette.
First, I'll kill that old bastard Marcela, then I'll say goodbye to Jade.
However, it was too late. When Xu Ning arrived at Massera's tent, he discovered that the old man had already absconded with the valuables.
I ran to look for Jiede, but she wasn't there either. There was a small note hanging on the tent with four big words on it: "Out on business!"
Below the note was a stick figure of Jade, with her head tilted and a mischievous grin.
Xu Ning chuckled as she took the note down. "Very good. Being in the mood to draw little figures means you're doing fairly well."
But thinking about it, it's been almost three days since I and Tadra left. Jade usually doesn't stay away from missions for this long, so she should be back by now.
Let's just wait for her here all day!
Xu Ning simply went straight into Jiede's tent, had Qingyi prepare a few side dishes, and quietly drank wine to recharge his energy.
Since it was at Tanit's camp and Massera had escaped, Xu Ning didn't let Tadra show herself for the time being.
Xu Ning was actually in a bit of a dilemma regarding Tadella's placement.
Just like Jiede, he actually intended to take her away from this desert, but Jiede longed for this desert in her heart, so he could only let her cause trouble here.
Although Tanit became her place of residence, Xu Ning was actually very dissatisfied with this tribe, even though he understood that this was the way of life for desert people.
The same goes for Tadella; she too is a desert falcon, and may not be able to grow up healthily as a harmless little bird in Sumeru City.
The best outcome seems to be putting the little camouflage and the little falcon together...
Xu Ning laughed as soon as the thought crossed his mind.
"Will these two get along? At least for now, it seems like they can't be put in the same cage!"
Just as I was pondering this, a fragrant breeze wafted over, and the tent flap was lifted.
Xu Ning wasn't surprised at all by the arrival of the person; in fact, he thought she was late.
"With the road to the oasis now open, there must be a lot of things going on in the clan lately. What brings the clan leader here?"
Babel looked at Xu Ning's face, his expression seemingly somewhat panicked.
"Your Excellency, Lord of the Town... Hmm? Um... Where is the Mother of the Town who is by your side?"
Xu Ning smiled. "The Mother of Zhenling has returned home. Could it be that the clan leader came here just to pay his respects to the Mother of Zhenling?"
Babel shook his head.
"I just want to tell you something... I don't know how to say it, it's just... not good news."
Xu Ning downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, gave a faint "Oh?", and waited quietly for Babel to continue.
“Jed…she seems to have betrayed the Tanit tribe…”
Xu Ning paused in his pouring of wine, then smiled and said, "Although I don't know what happened, I want to ask, is this your judgment, Chief? Has Jiede betrayed the tribe?"
Babel seemed to want to nod, but then shook his head.
“I… don’t want to make that judgment, even though she seems to be involved with the northerners, attacked the Tanit tribe’s watchtower, and supposedly sent some people to look for you, apparently saying that you have something she’s determined to get…”
Xu Ning's smile widened as he listened to these words.
"Thank you for telling me this, Chief. Otherwise, I would still be in the dark. But did the Chief tell me this in the hope that I would bring Jade back and hand her over to the tribe for disposal?"
Babel's face showed a sorrowful expression, "If I could... no matter what, she was a member of the tribe, and I've always considered her my daughter..."
Do you have her approximate location?
Babel nodded and said, "Yes, I'll mark it on the map for you; it's roughly in this area."
Xu Ning put the map away, then walked up to Babel and looked down at the graceful matriarch.
"Chief Babel, although I know that wearing red silk blindfolds is a custom of the desert people, to be honest, this thing obstructs your vision and makes it difficult for you to see many things..."
Xu Ning reached out and ripped off Babel's blindfold.
"Your eyes are beautiful, but it's a pity they see so little. By the way, have you ever seen Jade's eyes?"
Babel was caught off guard when Xu Ning ripped off his blindfold, and a flash of anger immediately crossed his eyes.
However, she managed to suppress it well.
“My lord, we are forced by life to live in a corner of the world. Perhaps, as you say, we are indeed short-sighted. For a small oasis that can provide food and water, we can turn our blades against our fellow believers and kill each other.”
"But we have always thirsted for knowledge and power, but what have we gained? Those northerners, since entering the desert, have traded goods with us and taught us knowledge. We once thought they were all good people, but now... they have tempted our people, causing them to rebel and turn against us..."
Babel took the red silk from Xu Ning's hand and covered her beautiful eyes again.
"Perhaps you still think Jade isn't that kind of person, and of course I'd prefer that the Fools kidnapped her, but in either case, she needs to confess to Tanit and prove her innocence; that's the tribal rule."
Babel bowed deeply to Xu Ning, "Please bring her back!"
Xu Ning glanced at the stunningly beautiful matriarch once more and said in a low voice, "Then so be it."
Stepping out of the tent, Xu Ning walked towards the edge of the canyon without looking back. After checking the location given to him by Babel, his wind wings suddenly unfolded behind him, and he rode the gale upwards, then flew rapidly in that direction, carrying with him a cloud of yellow sand.
Babel, who witnessed this scene from the highest point of the canyon, felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Had he really done something wrong?
I did nothing wrong. These people are arrogant and self-important, and they don't care about the development of our tribe at all. I have worked hard to get to this point, and the Eternal Oasis is already in my grasp. I am about to achieve great things, so how can I let these people stop me?
Hopefully, Xu Ning will forever be on the path of searching for Jie De, and that Jie De, the "daughter" he sent away, will never appear in this world again.
However, this vicious curse seemed unable to keep up with Xu Ning's speed at all.
This was the first time Xu Ning had unleashed his wind-elemental power without reservation in the desert.
It has to be said that the wind power I received from that cowardly god was somewhat too gentle. Of course, it could also be that my own power was insufficient to generate the power to break mountains and fill seas.
However, the small amount of power to control the sandstorm that he obtained from Lilupal was exceptionally powerful and useful.
While traveling, they used the feedback from the wind and sand to search for traces, and searched for possible human voices in the hot wind.
"Huh? A pack animal! And people too?"
Xu Ning made a turn in mid-air and landed head-on in front of the man and the beast.
The sudden appearance of the figure startled the憨憨地驮兽 (a type of beast), and the fat thing let out a howl, lowered its head, and headbutted Xu Ning.
Xu Ning was already annoyed to see that it wasn't Jiede, and when he saw this stupid guy trying to cause trouble, he simply opened his palm and slapped the yak-riding beast's small face.
The yak, a beast that has carried animals for generations, has only ever received a light tap on the bottom; it has never been slapped so hard before.
With a look of utter despair, it tilted its head and reflected on its animal life, then curled up on its four short legs and lay down, utterly dejected, and refused to move again.
"Don't move, don't force me to shoot... I... I don't want to mess with anyone..."
A gun barrel emerged from behind the pack animal, accompanied by a blustering but ultimately weak threat.
Xu Ning took two steps to the side, took a sip of his drink, and nodded at the guy.
"I remember you, you were the recruit who tried to point a gun at me last time..."
Xu Ning did indeed remember this guy.
When they went to rescue Tadella last time, this guy even tried to point a gun at me, but their captain, Thunder Hammer, shot the gun away.
"What a coincidence! The last time I saw you, you seemed to be playing a kidnapping game. What are you up to this time? And why are you all alone here? Don't you usually operate in company units?"