Chapter 26: Deal with the Crow

After Pas left following Eliza's brother Yas, Rekton suddenly felt a sense of loss.

"So, I've already come to see that cat as a partner." Rekton looked up at the Crimson Moon overhead, and suddenly felt that his adaptation to this world was much faster than he had anticipated.

"If I keep going on like this, will I really still want to go back in the end?" Rekton felt somewhat lost.

"Caw!!"

A clear, resonant bird cry exploded in the silent night. Rekton looked up — that crow had appeared here again. After circling twice in the air, it landed on the gas streetlamp post ahead, its gilded eyes sizing up Rekton without blinking.

"You weren't just nearby this whole time, were you?" Rekton looked at the suddenly appeared crow, fell silent for a moment, and then asked as if just remembering something.

Having used rapid thinking too many times in such a short period, Rekton felt his entire head become sluggish, as if everything he did was half a beat slow.

"Caw! Caw~~" The crow stayed on the gas streetlamp post and called out twice.

Rekton felt the other party was imitating Pas's cat, trying to bluff its way through. Though somewhat indignant, Rekton had no recourse — after all, the other party was a big shot!

"Do I still need to keep going ahead?" Rekton asked a different question.

"Caw~!" The crow still did not answer. After a single caw, it flapped its wings and flew away. Rekton watched the direction it left in — it seemed to be the same direction Uther of the Earth Church had gone earlier.

"What happened over there? Or what is happening right now?" Rekton pondered for a moment, then followed in that direction as well.

Going forward essentially meant leaving the city district behind, which was also why no one had come to investigate despite several consecutive battles occurring in this area. Of course, the more important reason was that the people staying at home wouldn't dare come out to look — both the Earth Church and the Knowledge Church had deployed personnel, so the ordinary residents in this area had likely already been quietly relocated or led away.

The houses along the road grew sparse, and the streets were no longer as tidy as before. Rekton held a pistol in one hand and carried the Great Magician's top hat wrapped in his coat in the other, his fingers gripping the small metal box in his coat pocket, inside which the bronze phosphorus had been placed back. At the slightest disturbance, Rekton would use the bronze phosphorus without hesitation.

After using up two talismans and with Pas gone, Rekton suddenly felt that choosing to continue pressing forward alone was not a wise decision. But the crow circling overhead also made Rekton afraid to turn back now — even if the crow's current behavior showed no malice, who could guarantee there would be none later? Especially when he knew nothing at all about the other party.

Continuing to follow the guidance of the crow circling in the air, Rekton kept heading toward increasingly remote areas.

Gradually, Rekton noticed that something was off about his surroundings. The plants here seemed to have gone through a round of mutation and alteration from time to time — some had grown slender sharp thorns on their branches, others had become enormous, and plants that should not bloom in this season had even burst into flower.

When passing through these areas, Rekton subconsciously covered his mouth and nose with his coat collar. A Cultivator pathway Sequence Six Biologist already possessed the ability to produce biological toxins, and the mutations of the surrounding plants, along with several huge breaches in the ground left by something bursting out from beneath, made Rekton suspect these were traces left by a Sequence Five Druid.

As a Druid, when facing a troublesome opponent, using untraceable biological toxins to reduce the enemy's combat capability was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Rekton did not know whether the other party had cleaned up the biological toxins they had produced, but he had to be careful — with his small frame, it would be all too easy to capsize in a gutter.

"Caw~" The crow circling in the air suddenly landed on Rekton's shoulder.

Rekton's body subconsciously tensed up, and only relaxed after he saw clearly what had landed on his shoulder.

"What is it?" Rekton thought the other party had discovered something, and immediately asked in a low voice.

"Nothing much. Your captain and the others are just ahead. My identity is not suitable for outsiders to know. Hand me the bronze phosphorus you have — I'll use it to conceal my aura." The crow's voice rang out in Rekton's mind.

"Hmm? How did you know it also has the function of hiding one's aura?" Rekton had wanted to ask how the other party knew he had bronze phosphorus, but thinking that he had already used it during the battle earlier, he dropped that question and instead curiously asked how the crow knew the bronze phosphorus could also hide one's aura — even his captain had never mentioned that to him.

"It doesn't have that function. It's just that I happen to be able to draw upon its residual power to conceal my aura," the crow said.

Rekton hesitated for a while. The bronze phosphorus was his only talisman for protection. Truthfully, Rekton was reluctant to lend it to the other party, but if he refused and this crow simply left, he would also be losing a protective talisman in a sense.

"Alright, but if there's danger, you have to protect my safety," Rekton said, staring into the crow's gilded eyes.

"Fine," the crow nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Only then did Rekton set down the pistol, take out the small metal box containing the bronze phosphorus from his coat, and open it to reveal the bronze phosphorus inside — which looked somewhat dimmer than when he had first obtained it.

Rekton extended the opened metal box, and the crow directly lowered its head and snapped it up in one bite. Then Rekton watched as the bronze phosphorus, about half a palm in size, was swallowed into the crow's belly in a most unreasonable manner.

"You — you ate it?" Rekton had never imagined that by "use it for a moment" the other party meant eating it directly.

"I'm just a crow. If I don't swallow it into my belly, do you expect me to grow a hand to hold it?" the crow said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Phew~ You're right! But after you're done using it, are you planning to spit it back out from your belly and return it to me? Or are you not going to return it?" Rekton felt that these magical creatures all seemed rather improper.

"It's just a mystical item. I'll give you one of my feathers in return later," the crow's voice rang out in Rekton's mind, sounding quite magnanimous.

"Your feather? Is it also a mystical item?" Though Rekton did not hold much expectation, he still asked curiously.

"No, but it can help you seal that hat. That hat of yours is quite good — it simultaneously possesses partial abilities of a Trickster Master and a Clown. It's just that the side effects are too severe. Coincidentally, you can use my feather to apply a certain seal to it, and then you'll be able to use it normally. Moreover, I've also helped you conceal the matter of this sealed item," the crow's voice sounded very confident.

Rekton had to admit that he was shamefully tempted. His captain had said before that if this bronze phosphorus was damaged or lost, it would not need to be returned. Thinking of this, Rekton suddenly felt that this crow had had its eye on the bronze phosphorus all along.

Ultimately unable to restrain his inner desire, Rekton chose to agree to the crow's proposal. Rekton emphasized to himself in his heart: the main reason was that this crow had played dirty and already swallowed the bronze phosphorus — otherwise he might not necessarily have agreed to this condition.

"You have to protect me for a while longer, until the Clown incident is over. A mere Sequence Eight like me is in far too much danger in this affair," Rekton added.

"Caw~!" The crow started playing dumb again.

"This is a necessary condition, otherwise I'll tell the captain about this transaction," Rekton continued, seeing that the other party did not respond.

This time the crow couldn't even be bothered to caw.

"And I'll tell the people of the Earth Church too," Rekton went on.

"Fine. When dealing with a crow, you need a bit more patience," the crow's voice rang out in Rekton's mind.

The corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch — this crow must have learned from Pas's cat. It must have!

(End of this chapter)