Chapter 346: Snake vs. Shark

Yu Zhizhi’s heart lurched when she heard this. She tried to stand, but Shen He held her down.

The shark had absolutely no intention of letting her go.

He even lowered his head, moving closer.

The door to the conference room opened. The Duke, having just finished an interrogation, saw the two of them sitting by the wooden table.

The little rabbit was in his arms, and they were so close it looked as if they had just finished a deep kiss.

The Duke’s gaze darkened abruptly, and a thick white fog instantly began to fill the tree house.

A smile formed on the shark’s lips. His gaze toward the Duke was tinged with provocation as he caressed the little rabbit’s cheek and gestured for her to stand.

The moment Yu Zhizhi stood up, tendrils of white mist coiled around her wrists and ankles.

She was pulled away to safety.

The Tiger Whale Soldiers at the door felt a chill run down their spines. This was Valoran territory, after all. Even if Duke Bolan was just a clone, still...

Shen He had already drawn his long blade. Now that the little rabbit was out of the way, he had nothing to hold him back.

After all, he’d been fed up with this snake for a long time.

The piercing clash of blades rang out, and the entire tree house began to shake violently.

Most people had fled to the open area on the ground floor. They stared up at the City Lord’s Tree House, now completely enveloped in mist, their faces filled with confusion.

’Didn’t the Valoran Empire and the Deep Sea Empire just agree to an alliance?’

’Why did Duke Bolan and Marshal Shen He suddenly start fighting? Did they fail to agree on the terms?’

BOOM!— The entire conference room collapsed. Shen He gripped his long blade, slicing through a Fog Blade before him and mercilessly hacking at the Duke, whose half-man, half-snake form was shrouded in smoke.

Their blades clashed. The shark’s gray eyes narrowed into a mocking smile. "The Beast Husband you picked for the little rabbit doesn’t seem all that impressive. If the Snake Clan is really that desperate for men, you should consider us from the Deep Sea."

The Duke’s golden, slitted pupils stared at him coldly. Streams of smoke swirled from all directions, enveloping the shark’s body. The mist, which looked impossibly soft, suddenly solidified into sharp spears. Amidst the wreckage, the crowd heard the distinct sound of tearing flesh as a bloody color began to stain the white fog...

The shark’s body looked as if it had been run through with countless spears, yet his face still held a defiant smirk.

Before everyone’s eyes, Shen He’s ravaged body began to coalesce and reform.

And the long blade in his hand had been plunged into the Duke’s chest—

It slid in as if through a cloud, making no sound at all.

Panic flashed in Yu Zhizhi’s eyes. She couldn’t stop herself from taking two steps forward. ’At this distance, the Duke... he...’

Noel suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Don’t go. The Duke is fine. What we’re seeing is just a clone."

A clone has limited strength. Even if it’s injured, the main body won’t be affected.

Yu Zhizhi had almost forgotten...

The Duke’s clone was so realistic; to her, it was indistinguishable from the original.

Amidst the clouds and mist, the Duke gripped the long blade embedded in his chest and began to pull it out, inch by inch.

"Even when the wound is healed, the fog will continue to devour you from the inside. How does it feel? Not too bad, is it?"

Shen He let out a cold sneer.

An attendant from the Snake Clan stepped forward. "Duke, the clone’s time is almost up."

The Duke gave a soft "Mm," and said, "I’ll leave the rest to you."

White mist coiled around his body. His golden, slitted pupils glanced at the young Rabbit Clan female in the crowd, and a dull ache resonated deep in his heart. Feeling the rage that burned within him, he slowly closed his eyes.

’Sooner or later, I’m going to kill that shark.’

As the mist dissipated, the Duke’s clone vanished without a trace.

The crowd still hadn’t recovered from the shock of the battle.

No one understood what had just happened between Duke Bolan and the Imperial Marshal of the Deep Sea. The meeting had been going so well, and then they suddenly erupted into such a violent fight, with both sides getting injured.

And now, the time for the Duke’s clone was up.

The Tiger Whale Soldiers rushed to their lord’s side. Shen He’s newly regenerated upper body was bare. Vicious scars remained where his wounds had already healed, and a black, misty energy was constantly seeping from them.

"Lord Shen He, are you alright?"

The Tiger Whale Soldiers were extremely worried.

’This looks horrifying.’

’Duke Bolan’s fog attacks actually leave aftereffects like this?’

Shen He snorted.

His pain tolerance was nearly maxed out, yet even he had his brow tightly furrowed.

’Once my internal organs are devoured and remade...’

’...this agony should finally disappear.’

Shen He scanned the crowd, only to find that the little rabbit who had been there moments ago had vanished.

He remembered the look of sheer panic on the little rabbit’s face when his blade had pierced the snake’s chest, and his gray eyes slowly darkened.

’Has she actually grown attached to him after spending so much time in Valoran?’

’Just how much does she care about that snake.’

Noel had pulled Yu Zhizhi away.

He escorted the little rabbit back to her mushroom house. "We have the results from the interrogation," he said. "We’ll be discussing countermeasures today and putting the rescue plan into action. Greenfield City is not safe right now. Smugglers could appear out of thin air at any moment. Pack your bags; I’m taking you somewhere else."

"Where are we going?" Yu Zhizhi was still worried about Tang Luo Ke. "I want... I want to wait for Lord Locke to come back..."

The young Rabbit Clan boy fell silent for a moment.

’There were some heavy subjects he didn’t want to broach just yet.’

’K’s whereabouts are unknown, and the outcome is not likely to be good.’

’The person she’s waiting for might never return.’

"Then let’s go to the place I used to live as a child," Noel said, turning slightly. "My secret base. No one in all of Greenfield City knows about it."

Yu Zhizhi nodded softly.

’She didn’t want to leave Greenfield City just yet.’

’And she was afraid of running into the Big Shark.’

’If there was a place she could hide, that would be perfect.’

Yu Zhizhi returned to the mushroom house, packed a few things, and left with Little Amon and the Little Octopus.

Noel’s place was in a well-hidden part of the Jade Forest. It had an underground entrance connected to the Divine Tree Barrier, making it nearly impossible for anyone but him to find.

Yu Zhizhi followed behind him. The Little Octopus trod on the fallen leaves, looking all around. It realized this place was like a safe house, perfect for hiding in during a war.

Yu Zhizhi saw the place where Noel had lived as a child: a cave hidden deep underground, containing a small bed and a single, small oil lamp hanging from the ceiling.

The place was barren, with almost nothing in it.

But the wooden table was spotless, as if it were cleaned regularly.

’Does Noel still come back to stay here sometimes?’

In the innermost chamber, there were plenty of supplies and provisions. If something really happened to Greenfield City, it looked like Noel could live here by himself for several years.

Yu Zhizhi sat down in a chair.

’This secret base is pretty nice. It won’t be easy to find.’

"I’m going to go handle things in the city. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be back every night."

"Okay," Yu Zhizhi replied with a soft nod.

The Little Octopus had already scurried over to the supply nook, opened a can of fish from the top of the cabinet, and dipped a tentacle in to taste it.

The Little White Snake also slithered out of the bamboo basket. It looked around and then asked, "Mama, are we going to play house here?"