Chapter 157 - 124 Fate Reshaper_1

Chapter 157: Chapter 124 Fate Reshaper_1"Well, I can’t accept this piece of equipment. It’s no longer just of its own value, but also sentimental value." Gaven suddenly felt the combat armor he was wearing was somewhat scorching. "If Lord Virginia had truly given you this armor, I suggest that you accept it." General Stelina sighed deeply and said, "Lord’s husband has been deceased for half a century. She needs to move on from that relationship. Keeping the armor at Spring Bud Fortress merely causes her to reminisce. Of course, this is just a personal suggestion. The final decision is up to Lord himself." "Thank you for informing me, General. Otherwise, I would have continued to be oblivious, foolishly taking this armor with me, which would have been terribly rude." Gaven expressed his sincere gratitude. While the two were speaking, not only the Young Red Copper Dragon and Yaling Spirit Soldiers, but also the Pikespirits, had all flown down from the Dragon Scale Oaks. "We’ve won, we’ve won, we’ve killed the Carrier Bug." "Thanks to General Stelina, thanks to Lord Virginia. Without her sending support, our Nectar Village would have been doomed." "We should be even more grateful to Lord Gaven. Without his bravery, at best, we might have driven the Carrier Bug away, but never killed it for good." The Pikespirits were chirping excitedly as they fluttered through the air. The look they gave Gaven was filled with genuine admiration. Whether Nicole had told them about his identity, or if the Milestone of Destiny had directly altered their souls, imprinting him into their consciousness, or if it was a combination of both, was unclear. They looked at him as though they were seeing a living hero, filled with awe, wanting to get close, yet not quite daring to do so. It was Nicole, who had come with Gaven, who broke the awkward atmosphere, dragging a male Pikespirit with dragonfly wings over and saying, "This is my father, Atwood, the village chief of Nectar Village. He wants to express his gratitude to Lord Gaven in person on behalf of Nectar Village." Nicole’s excited little face was a-glow. Gaven’s heroic actions before had her feeling a shared sense of pride and shame, since she was the one who had brought back the reinforcements. Atwood fluttered his dragonfly wings as he approached. Compared to the colorful female Pikespirits, the male Pikespirits had more simplistic body colors and uniform transparent dragonfly wings. Aside from the wings, they resembled miniature Yalings. More serious and formal than the other lively Pikespirits, Atwood gave a solemn bow to Gaven and said, "Nectar Village’s safety is all thanks to the selfless defense of several lords. We’ll prepare a feast to express our deep gratitude to you. Please grace us with your presence." "In that case, we’ll be imposing on the village chief for some time." Even if Atwood had not extended an invitation, Gaven would have found a way to stay. He always felt like there was much more to explore with the newly opened Milestone of Destiny. Not only concerning the Dragon Scale Oaks but also the group of Pikespirits from Nectar Village. If Gnolls were a race gifted in mining, then Pikespirits were natural-born planting experts. Those were exactly the kind of talents his dominion needed. If he could somehow coax a group to come back with him, his future agricultural endeavors would roll out much smoother. "This would be our greatest honor," Atwood said as he bowed, and he turned to look at Stelina. Stelina nodded as well and said, "Our clean-up work isn’t finished yet. We must locate and kill all the Carrier Bug larvae. Otherwise, they pose a safety threat, potentially growing into new Carrier Bugs. We will need to impose on Nectar Village for a few more days." Atwood replied cheerfully, "Being able to serve you lords and repay your life-saving favor is what we should do. We’ll get the feast ready. As for hunting Carrier Bug larvae, I’ve already given orders, most of our people have gone to find them. These tasks, we are best at." The village chief of Nectar Village, Atwood, led the Pikespirit team away with great excitement. Gaven pointed to the carcass of the Carrier Bug and asked, "General, how shall we dispose of its body?" Without hesitation, Stelina answered, "Check its brood chamber for any possible surviving larvae, and then incinerate and bury it on the spot." As she spoke, she gripped her swords and walked toward the carcass of the Carrier Bug. "Incinerate? Bury?" Gaven’s eyes widened in shock, and he quickly shook his head, "That would be an outrageous waste." "How so?" Stelina stopped in her tracks, her eyebrow raised, "Lord Gaven, do you think there’s something of value to be salvaged from this monster?" "I don’t know about other things, but at least I know its carapace is very valuable. If it were crafted into chitin armor, I believe the defense would be extremely strong." The Carrier Bug’s strong defense had left a deep impression on Gaven; it was only because the Keen Edge Longspear had a specific ability that it had any effect at all. Otherwise, it was doubtful that even with five Yaling Long Knives handled by Brolan of the Autumnbreeze, they could have penetrated its armor. "Make armor from this?" Stelina looked equally incredulous, an idea she had never even considered, or rather, something Yalings never contemplated. They typically used minerals or plants for their armor, strictly natural materials, and rarely considered biological materials, including animal furs, let alone insect carapaces. After pondering for a moment Stelina said, "Being instrumental in killing the Carrier Bug, Lord Gaven has played the pivotal role. If it’s useful to you, then it’s yours to deal with. But do you have a way to transport it back?" Looking at the Carrier Bug’s bulky body comparable to a heavy-duty truck, Gaven laughed and said, "As a whole, we definitely can’t transport it back. Not even a Giant Dragon could drag it. But if we dissect it on the spot and transport the parts separately, that could work. I just need to make a trip back to my tribe and bring an air transport squad. I just need to travel through Spring Bud Fortress, but the operation might cause quite a commotion..." After a brief consideration, Stelina said, "That can be arranged easily. I’ll accompany you on the trip myself. I should report back to Lord Virginia about the situation here anyway." Stelina turned her head to the other four Brolan of the Autumnbreeze and commanded, "You are responsible for inspecting all of the Carrier Bug’s brood chambers for any overlooked larvae. Don’t miss a single one, kill them all. Before we return, ensure that no other creature approaches the carcass of the Carrier Bug." S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Understood." The four Brolan of the Autumnbreeze responded in unison. "Go." With a wave of her hand, Stelina sent the four Brolan of the Autumnbreeze off, their wings stirring the air as they departed. Whereas Stelina handled the situation efficiently, Gaven, on the other hand, was somewhat hesitant. The main reason being the Young Red Copper Dragon, who looked reluctantly at the Dragon Scale Oak. Having just arrived and plunged into fierce battle, she had not yet had the chance to respond to that intangible call, and to investigate what exactly was at play. Gaven, seeing through Aivensa’s thoughts, patted his chest and promised, "We’re only returning to gather the Erde Flight Squadron. We will have to stay here for at least three to five days, so you’ll have plenty of time to bond with the Dragon Scale Oak. If plausible, you can completely ask Miss Nicole to be your guide for a thorough tour." "Fine," the young dragon agreed with some reluctance. The journey felt long, perhaps due to unknown reasons. On the return trip, familiar with the path, they moved much faster, especially with two experiences fighting side by side, which provided many more topics of conversation and made Stelina less reserved. She would generally answer any question that wasn’t too sensitive. Gaven, of course, would not entreat her for answers as blatantly as he did with Nicole. There were reasons Stelina and her group did not seek aid from Spring Bud Fortress. Firstly, they knew that Lord Virginia himself had gone to deal with border affairs. Secondly, the situation with the Dragon Scale Oak was special. All five pairs of Hawk Shoulder Guards were deployed by them. Bringing more Yaling Spirit Soldiers would have been futile and might have caused a significant number of casualties instead. The Hawk Shoulder Guards, their Angel Wings mounted on their backs, were incredibly practical air combat equipment. Thirdly, they had to keep the Carrier Bug at bay, preventing it from drawing the essence of the Dragon Scale Oak indiscriminately. If it absorbed enough essence and energy and mutated, it would become much more troublesome to deal with. As they conversed, Spring Bud Fortress was already within reach. Lord Virginia was already standing at the gate, waiting for them. Gaven was now one hundred percent certain that this Yaling Lord was a master of Prophecy Spells, and a very high-level one at that. Gaven, in a past life, had seen Mages of the Prophecy but never one as exceptional as Virginia. Perhaps Virginia had sensed Stelina’s situation. Even if Gaven had not volunteered, Virginia might have employed them on his own initiative. Those who dabbled in prophecy were always mysterious, not to be measured by common sense. "Lord," Stelina bowed in salute to Virginia and then reported in detail the situation at the Dragon Scale Oak. Upon hearing the details, Virginia smiled gently, like spring flowers in bloom, warm yet not flashy, and with grave courtesy, bowed deeply to Gaven, "It seems I was not mistaken in my judgement. You truly are a Fate Reshaper with a special mission. Not only the destiny of the Dragon Scale Oak but also that of Spring Bud Forest has changed because of you. From tonight, you are the most honored guest of Spring Bud Fortress, and its gates will always open for you." Gaven’s heart skipped a beat, racked with turmoil. Virginia’s gaze was so profound, so loaded with significance, as though she could see directly into his soul, peering into everything hidden within his Sea of Consciousness, his greatest secret. Gaven, struggling to contain his restless heart, feigned composure and asked, "A Fate Reshaper? What is that?" "It’s just a title," Virginia patiently explained. "If one compares a person’s destiny to a thread, most people’s destinies are straight lines. Even with twists, they eventually return to the same path. Some people, however, have destinies like balls of yarn with ends that could be anywhere. But there are those, like a void, who when encountered, can twist and reshape even the threads of others’ destinies. Hence, I call them Fate Reshapers, and Lord Gaven, you are such an individual." Guilty Gaven fell silent. What Virginia had said touched upon the essence of his situation, interpreted through the mystical lens of destiny, but she was unaware of the reasons for his uniqueness. Gaven ventured to ask, "Aside from myself, Lord, have you encountered other Fate Reshapers?" "No," Virginia shook her head, "Before meeting Lord Gaven, I had only heard the name. It seemed familiar, but now I am fully certain." Could this be because he had achieved the Milestone of Destiny? The coincidence was too striking for Gaven not to suspect a causal relationship. "I see. Destiny is too enigmatic for us mortals to grasp. What I can do is to make the lives of those around me a bit better." Gaven, harboring secrets, preferred not to delve deeper into this topic and deflected, "The carcass of the Carrier Bug is of some use to us. I intend to dismantle it and transport it back by air. I require passage for this, involving a group of Erde, about two hundred."