Chapter 1596 - 105: Land of Eternal Night

Bologue and Serey stood before the grave, both silent, neither breaking the quiet. All that was left was the faint sound of breathing, the breeze rustling the leaves, and the belated sound of waves.

What is Serey thinking about now?

Bologue tried to fathom Serey’s inner mind, this Night Race Lord possessing an extremely complex and contradictory psyche; even if his heart were truly extracted from his chest, the truth would still be obscured.

Is Serey reminiscing about his moments with Aisha? Or praying to Aisha, yearning for some ethereal assistance?

Suddenly, Serey asked, "Bologue, do you think I’m a coward?"

"I don’t know."

Bologue answered honestly, "Human nature is complex and multifaceted; a single word is insufficient to describe a person’s entirety—that’s too simplistic."

Serey asked, "Are you comforting me?"

"In a way," Bologue replied bluntly, "You’re crucial to the next operation. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I need your emotions to remain stable."

"Ah, that’s exactly the kind of thing Bologue would say."

Serey had a faint smile on his face, as if relieved, and continued, "Perhaps... perhaps it’s because I was born an Undead that I am so insensitive about many things. Can you understand this?"

"For example?"

"For example, in many things, the biggest difference between me and Aisha is that Aisha was once human—a living being with a soul. She truly experienced the beauty of the world, gazing directly at the high-hanging blazing sun.

But I am different, Bologue. I was born an Undead, a Night Race. I have never gazed directly at the blazing sun, nor have I lived in the way of humans... I have tried to immerse myself among them, but some things cannot be imitated even with effort."

Serey furrowed his brows, raising a hand to touch his chest, "It’s like my life began lacking something exceedingly precious, while also imposed with certain curse-like entities... deep into my marrow."

Bologue did not speak, contemplating Serey’s words like a philosopher. Serey’s voice also paused, as if he were trapped in a maze of self-creation.

In the soothing sound of waves, time passed second by second, until Bologue broke the silence first.

"Done confessing?"

Serey retorted, "Why confess? Why can’t it be a prayer?"

Bologue shook his head disdainfully, "What’s the difference between the two?"

Serey grinned slightly, this deliberate smile donned like a mask on his face. Serey turned around and shouted to those sunbathing on the beach.

"Everyone! Time to go!"

Serey took a deep breath and winked at Bologue, "Returning to the long-lost hometown inevitably brings enormous pressure."

Bologue did not respond, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword with grudge bite. The Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid squirmed slowly under his collar, the Vengeful Saw Axe also unsealed from its case, wrapped tight with bandage-like sealing strips, binding it shut.

Wei’Er quickly approached and jumped onto Bologue’s shoulder, her claws gripping his clothes tightly. Aimou adjusted his state and strode towards Bologue, they exchanged a glance, reached out and grasped each other’s hands tightly.

In the golden stream of light, their figures completely overlapped, a brilliant gold halo rising from the outer edge of Bologue’s pupils.

Palmer rubbed his weary eyes, relaxing from the tense state, making him inevitably appear unkempt. Hinda followed Palmer, having released her animal companions, with hunting dogs at her sides and falcons resting on her arm.

From previous discussions, they learned that Serey couldn’t use his powers recklessly within the Land of Eternal Night. If the blood scent of a Night Race Lord spread out, it would immediately alert the Rebellious Royal Court entirely, or even attract the Night King’s attention.

Under the suppression of bloodline authority, a direct confrontation between Serey and the Night King had no chance of success, only attempts to assassinate the Night King through other means.

Thus, with certain restrictions on Serey, Hinda, good at hunting, came into play. Without the need for Night Race bloodline sensing, her animal companions could sniff out the Night Race’s traces.

"What’s its name?"

Palmer patted the furry head of the hunting dog, which was several sizes larger than a regular hunting dog, resembling a giant wolf.

"Little Red."

Palmer puzzledly repeated, "Little Red?"

Hinda said, "Mm-hm, do you have any objections to my naming?"

"No... none."

Palmer vigorously scratched Little Red’s chin, reminiscing, "I also raised a dog, equally an alchemical creature bred, named Leica."

During this return to the Wind Source Highlands, Palmer had no time to find his beloved pet, unsure of what that giant dog was doing while everyone fought.

"Speaking of which, we each do our part, but you? What are you here for?"

Hinda shifted her gaze from Palmer to the inconspicuous Church.

As a hunter, Hinda was extremely wary of this colleague with scant presence. It was as if should she look away for a moment, Church would completely disappear from her sight, not just visually, but also be stripped from her memory... Hinda realized that Church was also a hunter, and one much more formidable than she.