What use is there for returning the 'King's heart'?
The old magician didn't answer this question and his story only reached up to this point before refusing to continue, this was very depressing for Du Wei. Whether it was his past life or present life, he has always been a person with a high level of curiosity. To only reveal half a story enshrouded in mystery and still not come up with an answer, this fact was causing his heart much discomfort.
However, the old magician at the very least gave him enough information to answer one question he had: "Our destination is all the way to the North…. And of course, will have a use for you by bringing you along."
All right!
Du Wei clenched his teethes in frustration, but since he has already boarded this dark ship, he may as well go all the way. Moreover, being in the presence of such two powerful experts, Du Wei had no other options.
Even though Queen Medusa is following behind him, Du Wei is not foolish enough to think that someone like her will listen to him and be at his disposal. The near disaster class beauty is only following him to 'observe human nature'…. So, he can't expect help from the other parties.
All the way to the North…. What is there in the North?
The old magician lets out a mysterious laugh, "Once we get there, you will know."
If he didn't take into account the huge difference between both group's strength, Du Wei would have really wanted to take off his boots and throw it at the old magician's nose. Maybe after smashing in his nose, the old magician would think twice about laughing!
In this way, the team has now lost one Dadaneier, but gained an old magician.
"We should step upon our journey." The old magician declares: "Right now, I've trapped the temple pursuers inside a magic array near the large lakes. According to my estimation, it would take those men's two days to break free from the illusions. On top of that, I've disguised myself and escaped in the opposite direction before I came here. Let's hope they will head in the other direction."
Well then… Let's be on our way!
Du Wei sighed.
From his sleeves, the old magician took out a pouch that never seems to run out of magical items. Moving his hand around inside the bag, he took out a whistle and blew into it... Despite blowing into the whistle, Du Wei couldn't hear any sounds, but Hussein and Medusa were both frowning from his action.
This is obviously a magic tool.
Not even for a moment, a running sound could be heard from a distance. Then with amazed eyes, Du Wei could see four strong looking wolves running towards the group from the woods.
Ice Demon Wolves!!
"Oh! No, no, don't touch; don't scare these little kids!" The old magician waved his hand to stop Du Wei and Hussein's attempt at attacking. Slowly walking over to the wolves, the old magician murmured a set of unknown spell words into their ears. As if domesticating a dog, the four wolves obediently lay down onto the snow and made a 'woo woo' sound as the old magician rubbed his hand against their back furs.
Then, with a smile, the old sorcerer said: "Well then, with four people, we can have one wolf for each of us. This will be better than walking with our legs through this forsaken place."
Ride… A… Wolf?
And an Ice Demon Wolf at that
Du Wei didn't know whether to sigh or feel appreciative of how this played out.
"Come here, little kid." The old magician said this with a very nice looking smile: "You're the smallest and the lightest here... So, you ride it." With that said, one of the gray furred demon wolves suddenly stood up and eyed the oncoming Du Wei. As if sensing his fear, all of the animal's fur stood straight up as it lets out an intimidating growl.
"Are you sure I should ride it?" Seeing the demon wolf, Du Wei questioned himself that if he were to take another step closer, this beast would definitely open its jaw and swallow him whole.
"Come here! Do not be afraid!" The old magician beckoned Du Wei to come while clinging to the Wolf's head. Forcing it to lower its head down, he muttered a few words in a low voice besides its ears to get it to quiet down. Seeing this, Du Wei meekly walked over to the old magician's side.
Though ice demon wolves are only intermediate leveled magical beasts, their heights can't be considered very tall, but it is still double of that of an ordinary wolf. As the demon wolf meekly laid there in front of Du Wei, he reached out his hand to touch the back of the ice demon wolf under the guidance of the old magician. Instead of resisting Du Wei's advance, the wolf lowered its head and quietly lets out a 'hmmmhmm' sound a few times.
"Good, it likes you." The old magician smiled, "Now, get on it. You don't need to panic; I'll control it as we go."
Before even entering the frozen forest with the old magician, Du Wei was already showing admiration towards the old magician's ability to communicate with animals. Looking back to the time of the snow hounds, the old magician was able to manipulate the dogs easily with his will. Even the well-educated Du Wei had no way of identifying what kind of magic the old Gramps used to communicate with the animals.
Both Hussein and Medusa didn't need the help of the old magician. With his huge Dou Qi (energy) pressure, Hussein easily suppressed the demonic wolf under him. Seeing the discontent his demon wolf had as it lets out a small cry; Hussein flicked one of his fingers on the wolf's forehead, causing it to franticly jump up and down in pain.
As for Medusa, she was even more terrifying. High leveled magical beasts are inherently capable of calling forth lower leveled beasts. Acting as docile as it could be, her wolf lowered its head in silence as it sat in the snow awaiting Medusa to walk over and climb on top.
However, Medusa coincidentally took an extra glance at the old magician. Even though her eyes are still shut tight, it was clear from her face that she came across something unexpected.
"Your ability to communicate with other creatures is very good." Medusa spoke in a gentle voice: "It's been a long time since I've seen a pure bred Dru…."
Speaking up to here, Medusa suddenly smiled and kept her mouth shut.
The old magician nodded in gratitude at her, then coughed loudly: "All right, let's be on our way!"
It was at this moment, a sharp cry came from behind the Canyon: "Your Majesty! My Queen! Wait for me!!"
Then a gray ball of flesh came rushing out from the Canyon entrance. This person was none other than the mouse prime minister, Gargamel.
No longer wearing the ridiculous looking robe of the prime minister, his grayish colored fur was now donning a leather jacket made out from some unknown animal. On top of his head, he wore a funny looking hat and burdened on his back, there was a small baggage. As he came up to everyone, he dashed up to Medusa and started crying: "Your majesty! You can't just leave poor Gargamel behind! If you leave, how am I supposed to live here alone! You know, I'm a mouse; I can't go back to the human world…. As for this place, it belongs to the Treant's tribe…. I…."
Although Medusa is a magical beast and not a human, Gargamel did after all spend 20 years with her and taught her much knowledge regarding humans. Now hearing Gargamel begging, Medusa couldn't help but give out a slight sigh as she thought for a moment: "Very well, you can follow us then."
Gargamel was exalted at this news. Even before this, he already had the motive of clinging along with Medusa. His baggage was already stuffed with everything he wanted to bring along for this journey. As for the mice people left behind in the Canyon, they will just have to fend for themselves!
Now that he has gained their agreement, Gargamel immediately wiped away the tears in his eyes. Even then, he still looked somewhat puzzled at the scene in front of him.
A total of four demon wolves.
His stature is very small and he doesn't weigh very much, so even if he were to ride along with someone else, it wouldn't be a problem….. But looking at the inhuman beauty of Queen Medusa, coupled with years of accumulated respect, how could Gargamel possibly dare to ride with her?
As for the cold faced knight that would randomly aim his sword at his neck, Gargamel feared that his own head would be a goner if he were to choose such a person!
As for the strange old magician... You know what, forget it.
After a long time of picking, Du Wei still seemed to be the best choice. Gargamel masked the most sincere smile on his face and walked over to where Du Wei was located. Seeing the smiling Gargamel standing in front of him, Du Wei understood his meaning. Letting out a sigh, Du Wei said: "Very well, you can get on, but... You should be able to shrink a bit more, right?"
Gargamel hurriedly nodded. Although he is stuck in the form of a mouse because of the fountain of youth, but changing his size and shape a bit is still within his capabilities despite losing 90% of his powers due to the water.
As Gargamel shook his body several times, he simultaneously chanted a few spells from his mouth. With this, his body immediately shrank to the size of a regular mouse. Despite shrinking his body size, his shape was still fat like a meatball. The only change is that Gargamel was much more pleasing to Du Wei's eyes. Thinking back on his previous life, Du Wei could somewhat compare this mouse to a famous anime movie featuring a character called 'Totoro'.
Du Wei scooped him up with his hand and put Gargamel's baggage behind him. Afterwards, Du Wei opened his chest pocket and slid the mouse into it. As he does this, he warned: "You better be careful not to move around, if you dare to get into my clothes and move around my body, I'll roast you!"
With a loud shout from the old magician, the four demon wolves immediately dashed forward and ran furiously through the snow!
In the boundless snowy forests, the four powerful demon wolves left behind a clear trail in the snow. Despite their carelessness, the snowflakes falling from the sky quickly removed any trace of their presence.
Comparing the movement speed of these demon wolves to ordinary horses, their movement speed is several times faster! On top of this, demon wolves are naturally more agile, capable of jumping up and down through the woods and dodging any branches that blocks their path.
The only demerit for these wolves and their way of traveling is that they are several times more uncomfortable than horses. The speed of their travel may be faster, but their level of bumpiness is enough to shatter Du Wei's body.
Luckily during their rest at night, Du Wei is able to stretch his body and perform several sets of the movement routine. (Star Dou Qi routine) Only thanks to this, was he able to overcome this level of burden.
During Du Wei's practice session, the old magician was observing him. Then after he was done, the old magician sighed and asked: "This set of movement routines was taught to you by Hussein, right?"
Du Wei didn't bother making an excuse and directly admitted it. The old magician had a somewhat complicated looking expression as soon as he heard Du Wei's answer. After staring at Du Wei for a long time, he sighed and walked away while muttering something to himself.
"Destined... Everything is destined. I taught him the first set, and then Hussein teaches him the second set….. All these coincidences are all predestined."
For four days, they continued to ride through the forest in this fashion. During the day, they would run without rest and during the night, they would rest. Naturally, these demon wolves are much stronger than ordinary wolves, but even so, there is a limit to their endurance. After four days of running without rest, the four demon wolves started showing signs of exhaustion. Seeing the apathetic looks on them, the old magician decided to let them go on the fifth day. Without waiting, he took out the whistle again and blew into it.
After blowing into the whistle, what came to them were not demon wolves, but the sound of rustling movement. From the snowy ground in front of them, a giant spider the size of a bed came out of a big giant hole!
Seeing the giant spider standing in from of him, Du Wei could see it gently shaking its body to remove the ice and snow clinging to its yellowish colored fur on its eight limbs. As he looked closer, he could see rings of black striped patterns on the spider's belly. And for its face…. Du Wei could only force himself to have one look before turning away.
This giant spider actually had a face like that of a human, but just somewhat distorted! Some features on the face were dislocated and when the spider opened its mouth, what came out are two giant pincers instead of teethes.
The old magicians jumped on top of the spider like it was normal, and then closing his eyes, he pressed his hand against the spider's head.
A moment later, he gently wiped away his sweat and smiled at everyone: "Okay, get on…. Come on, get up."
Inside Du Wei's chest pocket, Gargamel was shivering so much from fear that his teethes was making a chattering noise: "Evil Faced Spider Queen! My god! This is an "Evil Faced Spider Queen!"
Evil Faced Spider Queen?
Du Wei frowned and couldn't stop his body from getting goose bumps!
Along his travels, Du Wei has already learned quite a lot regarding the different kinds of magical beasts. While traveling with the Snow Wolf mercenary group, Beinlich (leader) mentioned a few species of high leveled magical beasts. Among the list was the Evil Faced Spider Queen.
This thing is a horrible and sickening creature… Such words are an accurate description of this spider. Their specie is naturally prone to live underground in the ice and snow. Whenever the male mates with the female, the female gender would feed on the male…. So, the ones that manage to grow into such sizes are always the female gender. This is where their name 'Evil Faced Spider Queen' came from.
By living underground in the snow and ice, these magical creatures are capable of tearing through the ice that is as hard as metal. Their physical appearance is covered in a thick layer of hard shell! If you want to understand how hard it is…. Historic documents recorded an event where several fifth leveled warriors attacked this being in a barrage of slashes. The result of this endeavor was that the spider withstood their attempt and not even a scratch could be seen on its shell.
On top of this, they also have the natural ability of the spider race and that is spinning webs!
The spider silk of this magical beast is extra tough, even when constantly hacked away with a sword, it would not break apart. Stronger than steel chains, the silk also has another characteristic and that is the ability to dissolve away any material with its acidic properties! Once a prey is entangled in the web of the spider queen, the venom would immediately enter the body and the prey's innards would be quickly dissolved!
This isn't everything in the spider's arsenal. Their specie also has another weapon and that is to spread a venomous fog!
This ability is just like a charged up version of weakening magic. Once the spider faces an enemy, they can diffuse the venomous fog and causes the enemy to weaken several times. Whether they have strong magical abilities, or unparalleled martial skills, all will be weakened a lot by this venomous fog! Not only is the fog capable of weakening the enemy, it also has a strong invasive characteristic….. Even if you were to hold your breath, the venom would invade into your body through your skin and pores.
The most disgusting point of this creature is its eating habits.
When a prey is captured, they would not immediately kill their food. Instead, they would paralyze the prey with its venom, keeping it alive during the spider's feasting….. It would neither bite nor eat the unlucky beast; instead, the spider queen would pierce into the prey's flesh with a straw like appendage from its mouth. By doing this, it would allow the spider to suck up the fluid inside the prey while it was still alive!
It does not only suck up the blood, but also the brain and bone marrow, or any form of liquid within its prey! (Now I wonder does it suck up the piss and poop too?)
The more terrifying point was that through all of this, the prey is fully aware of what was happening. As the prey watches on from being paralyzed by the venom, it is still fully conscious and awake. Slowly watching its life being drained away by a monster is one excruciating experience!
Moreover, this monster spider is the kind of creature to 'store' away its prey. If they are unable to finish their prey in one sitting and only manages half…. Half! After draining a large portion of its prey's bodily fluid, it would keep it alive by wrapping it inside a cocoon of silk to store away for later consumption… Even if the prey is stored away for a period of time, the animal inside would still be alive! (This is a gross way to feed, but real life spiders does this anyways)
Unable to fathom where the old magician managed to get such a high leveled monster, but it was clear that this spider is not as easy to control as the demon wolves from before.
From Du Wei's somewhat dazed attitude, the old magician looked at him and smiled: "What's the matter kid? You're not afraid of it now are you? Don't worry, this guy is very compliant, so come on up."
Du Wei endured the nauseating feeling inside and climbed up the spider's back. As he sat on top of the spiders back, the prickling feeling of the yellowish hair on the spider's body was causing him to feel even more disgusted and nauseating. Unable to settle down, Du Wei puts on a wry smile and asked: "I say, next time could you not call forth such a disgusting being? Couldn't you just summon another four demon wolf?"
"Demon Wolf?" The old magician smiled: "Son, look around! This place is already the northern most part of the frozen forest! Anything capable of surviving around here is all monsters and to be able to find such a big guy like him is already considered very lucky."
Hussein said nothing and sat beside Du Wei, while Medusa hesitated a bit before sitting down... It would seem snakes don't have a liking towards spiders either.
Gargamel was still shivering inside Du Wei's chest pocket and this action somehow caused him to break out into a shiver too: "What means did this old Gramps used to bend all these monsters to his will…."
Even before Du Wei could finish his thought, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his heart: "You don't know? I can't believe you can't guess it."
"Courtenay Semel?" Du Wei almost shouted these words!
After so many days of absence, there was finally a reaction!
Courtenay Semel relies on Du Wei's spirit to survive. Even without voice dialogue, Semel's meaning and words would echo inside Du Wei's mind.
"Such a waste of all those books and you actually dare to claim to be the most knowledgeable and educated of the Rowling household. Why do you always assume it was magic, couldn't you think outside the box? I'm telling you now; this is a biological manipulation skill, not magic at all, and this skill is famous across the lands… Could you guess what it is?"
Biological manipulation... Manipulating creatures...
Du Wei's eyes suddenly lit up!
That's right… This is not some sort of magic!
But rather...
Du Wei stole a glance at the old magician, suddenly remembering the word that Medusa almost spilled out the other day!
Dru….
Dru what?
Druid!!
Only the amazing Druid race has the innate natural ability to communicate with all living creatures!
However, in the historical literatures read by Du Wei, the Druid name has long since faded into history. This amazing race has long since gone extinct a very long time ago.
But there are no absolutes in life.
Thinking up to this point, Du Wei suddenly laughed: "Hey, old Gramps… I suddenly thought of something. You are a Druid, right? I had no idea you are a Druid! Hasn't the Druid race gone extinct already?"
There was no surprise on the old magician's face as he listened to this. Instead, his face was cold as he glanced back at Du Wei and whispered: "You guessed? Humph, it was Semel that told you right? Otherwise, how could a kid like you possibly guess it? I'm willing to bet that you don't even know what a Druid really is. Except you, everyone here already knew what I was!"
Sure enough, Medusa already recognized this fact a few days earlier. As for Hussein, his face was as calm as ever, clearly indicating that he knew this long before.
The only one to realize now is probably Du Wei…. Well, maybe not if you include the mouse in his chest pocket.
The old magician's eyes suddenly lit up with some sort of excitement on his face: "Semel communicated with you? Could you ask her to come out... Oh, why is she refusing to see me?"
Du Wei has been thinking about the relationship between the old magician and Semel. Asking in his heart, Semel gave out a somewhat confused answer: "I don't know who this person is… I shouldn't know him… But I don't know why my heart is having a negative feeling towards him, as if not wanting to get anywhere near this person!"
Du Wei shrugged his shoulders, not saying a word. Seeing this, the old magician guessed the answer from Du Wei's face. Letting out a sigh, the old magician said: "Very well… It's not surprising if she doesn't want to see me. I just wanted her to come out to have a look at this place. Years ago, both of us came to this place together!"
As soon as the voice fell, Du Wei suddenly felt a chill from behind him and Semel's hand is already on his shoulder. Taking a look over his shoulder, he could already see Semel materializing behind his back. Her silver colored hair seemed even more elegant when matched with the ice and snow of the surrounding terrain. With bare feet and a red dress, her body was floating in midair as she looked into the distance.
Seeing Semel, the old magician lets out an excited expression as he takes in a deep breath: "You... You are finally willing to reveal yourself!"
"I don't know you." Semel looked into the distance; her faced looked like it was at a loss as she shook her head: "I'm not the Semel that you know. Furthermore, I have never been here before….. But, why does this place seem so familiar inside my heart and this feeling is growing more intense as time passes."
Hussein snorted, holding his sword with his eyes shut. While Medusa said nothing, but she was frowning with her head facing the direction of where Semel stood. (Though ordinary people cannot see Semel, but Medusa didn't need to see because her eyes were always shut. From her actions, it was obvious she could sense someone was there.)
"While this kid says you aren't Semel, but a magical creature….. Yet, I have a feeling this is not necessarily true." The old magician profoundly stared at Semel: "You have a familiar feeling towards this place…. Really? What does it feel like?"
Semel's beautiful face suddenly leaked out a hateful feeling. Her hateful feeling flashed across her eyes as she shouted: "I have no idea! But I only know that by standing here, I suddenly hate you! My heart suddenly hates you to the limit…. I can't help but want to kill you!"
With that said, she raised her slender fingers aiming at the handsome face of the old magician. Now the once handsome face of the old magician is covered in a layer of frost and her fingers still had flashes of cold electricity zapping out!
"HA HA HA HA HA HA!!" The old magician lets out a burst of laughter, then looked the Semel's fingertips: "You see! Look at your own fingers! Can you still say you are just a magical creature? It would be impossible for a magical creature to use magic! Look at your own fingers! What is it! Isn't that the Stars Magic!!?"
Semel was awestruck as she looked down at her own fingers. Lost for words, her eyes showed confusion as her body quivered: "I... What's going on... Me, how can I use magic?"
Du Wei sighed
Use magic? Along the way, this woman has used magic more than once or twice already and the last time, she and Hussein were about to commit mutual suicide in their fight. The reason she can't remember was because the first two times, her consciousness wasn't awake, but now, she is wide awake. (Semel has dual personalities)
"Semel..." The old magician's voice was soft and gentle as he whispered: "I don't know exactly what happened to you, but I'm sure I could figure it out, so let me help you remember, okay?"
"No!" Semel's attitude suddenly changed: "I do not want to recover whatever memories! I'm not the Astrology teacher Courtenay Semel that you speak of! I am what I am, I am a magical creature! Old Gramps! Don't bother me!"
With that said, Semel was gone with a wave of her hand.
Du Wei and everyone else fell silent, all had a weird look on their face.
The only exception was Gargamel inside Du Wei's pocket. Suddenly popping his mouse head out of the pocket, he asked in a curious voice: "What did you just say? Who did you speak with? Courtenay Semel? How come I can't see?"
But it seems that no one will care about the curiosity of the mouse Prime Minister. Du Wei carelessly stuffed the mouse back into the pocket and looked at the old magician: "I say, what other things you not told us yet, old Gramps?"
"When you need to know, I'll let you know." The old magician's face seemed somber and even somewhat painful in his eyes.
"So, what about Semel? She is now linked together with my spirit! I don't care if she is truly Semel, or a magical creature. I think I need to know something more about her."
"Fine." The old magicians thought for a moment.
His eyes seemed painful and his gaunt face looks like it was ten years older as he sat on the spiders back.
"Courtenay Semel..." The old magician spoke in a low voice: "I knew her a long, long time ago….. Yes, that was more than two hundred years ago. At the time, she was an infamous astrology teacher in the capital."
"And then what?"
The old magician suddenly smiled, his laughter went from low to high as he looked at Du Wei's eyes weirdly: "Boy, you are such a clever man, could you not have guessed?"
He gently patted his own mage robe and laughed coldly: "Semel was merely an astrology master without a hint of magic…. Then suddenly, she was able to perceive the secret of 'Star Magic'! Do you not wonder why? Humph, you have already learned a bit of the Stars Dou Qi. When you hear the name of Stars Magic, don't you find it strange? Could it be that you don't even have a hint of questioning?"
"It was because I thought of this, so that is why I need to find you for proof." Du Wei said this coldly.
"Courtenay Semel... She was a simple woman, a genius addicted to astrology. A person bent on spreading the knowledge of astrology. Then she suddenly developed the Star Magic…. In fact…." The old magician pointed to his own nose: "In fact, the truth is very simple! She, like me, is also an inheritor of Aragon's will! We were supposed to be partners, but later on….. We became enemies!"