After entering the Mist, Truth immediately switched to her main account and headed straight for Gadelia’s location, all the while checking on Suna’s status from time to time.
Reg had already found Suna successfully, and the two of them had just dealt with a Stump Spider together.
Suna, however, kept a stern face, clutching her skirt tightly, determined to keep her distance from Reg, who was left completely baffled.
Not knowing what the young lady was thinking, Reg could only walk ahead of Suna by himself, leading her forward on their journey…
There wasn’t much happening on this side for now. Every so often, all that needed to be done was to release a monster for them to fight, and then there was that Birdman!
As she approached the Core of the Mist, Gadelia’s wings beat steadily, hovering above a Wooden Fort— empty of people, but thick with the scent of blood:
“So this is the ‘Mist Gang’ hideout that Her Highness mentioned.”
The Wooden Fort had already been battered and scattered by the gale that swept in when Gadelia arrived, and there was no sign of that “Cute Priest” either. It seemed she would have to go deeper inside.
Gadelia could sense that if she went farther to the left… Wait, no, to the right? After carefully feeling out the direction, she figured that as long as she kept moving in some direction, she would eventually reach the central position of the Mist.
But she couldn’t shake this bad premonition…
Still, in this Mist Dungeon crawling with low-tier monsters, what could possibly threaten her?
The chasm between low-tier and mid-tier was like the highest mountain or the longest river in the world.
She was a Fifth-Tier Airwing!
Gadelia adjusted her course and flew straight toward the center of the Mist. Even if she couldn’t tell directions, it didn’t matter— she could always try several different flight paths…
“Whoosh!”
She had barely flapped her wings a few times when Gadelia suddenly felt a chill on her shoulder.
Instantly, a burning pain swept from her shoulder through her whole body, and her wings lost control, sending her crashing to the ground.
“What?!”
Startled, Gadelia quickly checked herself and found a fine, neat cut in her shoulder armor, with a small trickle of blood seeping out.
The injury wasn’t serious, but it put Gadelia on high alert:
“My Skywing Markings… have been damaged…”
“Phantom Wings” was an innate skill of the Airwing clan, but its weakness was the special magical markings on the back of their shoulders.
If those markings were damaged, an Airwing would temporarily lose control of their wings.
For centuries, the Airwing had guarded this secret, so usually only high-level experts would know about this weakness.
But now, someone in the Mist actually knew so much about the Airwing!
The attack had been precise— their aim was clearly to limit her ability to fly. Who could it be?
“Who is it? I know you’re hiding in the shadows!”
Gadelia staggered to her feet, only to see the Mist before her twist and writhe, forming into a blurry figure— a monster with a pair of huge, upright ears, an abstract blend of cat and fox.
“Birdman, don’t you know it’s rude to fly around someone else’s home uninvited?” The huge monster spoke in a raspy voice.
“Birdman?!”
At the sound of that word, Gadelia gritted her teeth. This creature really did know a lot about the Airwing— even the insult they hated most!
The Airwing were children of the sky. After breaking into the upper ranks, they were even called “angels”— an absolutely noble and powerful race.
Other than those Demons skulking in the sewers, no one dared to call an Airwing a “Birdman” to their face!
So who was this creature, daring to hide behind the Mist and insult her like this, even claiming this place as its home…
Did it mean the Wooden Fort?
“Quit the tricks! Don’t think I’ll be scared by your little games. If you’ve got guts, come out and face me!”
Gadelia drew the ruby dagger at her waist and pointed it straight at the monster made of Mist, her gaze unwavering.
There was no way a low-level Mist Dungeon could produce a powerful, intelligent monster, so she was certain the creature before her was just some trick conjured up by the fort’s master.
All it could do was sneak attack from within the Mist? All bark and no bite!
Then the “all bark and no bite” monster reached out with a rough paw, also formed from the Mist.
The paw didn’t touch Gadelia, but the overwhelming pressure it radiated pinned her flat to the ground, making it almost impossible to breathe:
“Ugh!”
Her whole body was immobilized, and she couldn’t muster a bit of magic from within. The Fifth-Tier Gadelia was subdued with a single move… What was going on?
She was actually being completely suppressed by a single paw! Who was this creature— could such a being even appear in the Mist Dungeon?
Could it be that this monster wasn’t human… but the real deal?!
Actually, it was a fake.
This monster was something Truth had just spent a whole five seconds molding— both cute and sinister, with no real power, but perfect for scaring people:
“So much for being strong. With skills this trashy, you still dare to act so arrogant? Even Michael wouldn’t dare to be this cocky!”
The monster’s huge head slowly moved closer to Gadelia’s muddied, delicate face, as if admiring the mix of disbelief, despair, and defiance in her beautiful expression!
Heheheh, the monster she conjured might not have any attack power, but Truth herself, hiding in the shadows, certainly did.
Just a simple intimidation skill was enough to leave this Birdman completely paralyzed.
And at the mention of “Michael,” Gadelia was stunned once more.
She knew that name— the world’s first King-tier angel, the first ruler of Heaven, and the originator of the Airwing race. Gadelia’s own ancestor was named Michael!
And this monster dared to call her ancestor by name!
Could it be a being from the same era as her ancestor? Impossible. Her ancestor had been gone for a thousand years— even gods hadn’t existed back then!
Unlike humans, the beastkin had a different view on the birth of gods.
“Who are you?!”
Realizing the vast gap in their strength, Gadelia’s voice began to tremble, but as a Shadow Guard of the Northern Royal Family, her pride would not allow her to beg for mercy.
“You’ve still got quite the attitude, even now. Today, you’d better compensate me properly, or else…”
The next moment, something soft but slightly heavy pressed down on Gadelia’s back. What was it? The monster’s paw? Or some other strange body part?!
Gadelia desperately wanted to look back, but the pressure left her unable to move even a finger, so all she could do was stare at the terrifying Mist monster in front of her.
A wave of itching tickled her scalp, followed by a sudden sting that made Gadelia instinctively shut her eyes. When she opened them again, a colorful feather floated gently down before her.
Her own feather…
This thing was actually plucking her feathers with its paw!
“Stop! Stop it! I’ll compensate you, just don’t pluck my feathers!”
Gadelia shouted in panic. For the Airwing, the feathers on their heads were their very life!
Truth knew this all too well. In the “Legend of the Illusory Domain”’s previous “Heaven” patch, she had slaughtered many angels, and to get two “Lucky Feathers,” she had even farmed the Final Boss Michael dozens of times without taking a single hit. That’s why she knew the Airwing so well.
At this moment, Truth was sitting leisurely atop Gadelia’s back with her legs crossed. Since Gadelia couldn’t see her, her mind was running wild with guesses.
With another gentle tug, Truth pulled out another small colorful feather from Gadelia’s head and tossed it aside:
“So, how are you going to compensate me?”
“Uwah, please don’t pluck any more! I’m a Royal Guard of the Northern Royal Family— if you let me go back and explain, the royal family will definitely pay you a huge compensation!”
With the second feather plucked, Gadelia could no longer maintain her icy image. Half her face was buried in the dirt, her eyes red, and in front of her lay two of her beautiful, colorful feathers…
They would grow back, but if her kin saw her with her feathers plucked bare, how was that any different from being seen naked?
“Ha? Do you take me for a fool? Listen, you’re not leaving the Mist without compensating me!”
“Then… what do you want…”
What did she want? Truth sized up the Gadelia beneath her. It seemed the only thing of value was the girl herself… So she lightly traced her finger along Gadelia’s slender waist:
“Your body isn’t bad at all.”