Chapter 422: Or I

"Is this… the membrane from the planting sphere's dome? Have you learned how to craft planting spheres?" Negril stared at the bundles of semi-transparent "cloth," puzzled.

*Scritch*, three heads popped up one after another from the edge of the cart—Ang and the others, who had been working dozens of meters away, heard "planting sphere" and moved faster than teleportation, zipping over in an instant.

Du Luo said awkwardly: "Not yet. Though crafting planting spheres isn't hard, many materials are still missing. We'll talk about it once we've gathered everything."

"Then why did you bring these 'cloths' over?" Negril asked, confused. Ang and the others turned to look at him, their synchronized gaze instantly tripling Du Luo's pressure.

Du Luo said: "I thought—if we can't craft planting spheres, why bother? Why not just dig a hole in the ground and replace the dome with semi-transparent material? The only difference is we can't 'fold' it up—but why would we need to? This land is ours now. Why not build a permanent structure?"

Ang and Negril's eyes lit up simultaneously. Negril praised: "Brilliant idea. That saves a ton of complex structures—just dig a hole. This kind of work suits Ang perfectly."

Ang immediately started hauling down the semi-transparent cloth.

Silver, hypersensitive to cost, couldn't help asking: "Actually, I've been wanting to ask—since digging a hole in the ground works, why go through all this trouble making it expandable?"

Du Luo pointed to the starburst array above: "Expandable structures are unnecessary on land, but extremely useful in the void. Toss one into the void, and it auto-forms."

"So that's how it works," Silver realized.

Once Ang excitedly dug a large pit, propped up the transparent cloth with supports, and connected the micro-pipe network, a permanent planting sphere appeared.

Placed beside the collapsible one, both looked like two semi-transparent bowls inverted on the ground.

Watching Ang enjoy himself so much, Du Luo finally revealed his purpose.

"Survey?" Negril asked. Ang tilted his head.

"Yes. There's a valley in that direction—we want to build a bridge there. We hope my lord can help us survey it. The most labor-intensive part of any project is surveying. If we did it, we couldn't guarantee accuracy, and it'd take two or three months at least," Du Luo said.

Ang nodded, then pointed to the planting sphere and said: "Cloth, more."

Negril translated: "Get more of this cloth."

Du Luo grimaced: "I've already ransacked the city. This is all we have—it was seized from a fabric merchant who specialized in erotic wear."

"Actually, my lord could make more himself. Your silkworm silk is top-tier material. Weave it into fine nets of this size, coat them with resin from the glue tree, then cure them with blue light—and you get this semi-transparent fabric."

Ang counted on his fingers, noting each step.

Negril glared at Du Luo, helplessly covered his face. Disaster. This wasn't giving Ang tasks—it was handing him a whole new project list: raise silkworms, plant trees, then add blue light? Each one was something Ang excelled at.

………

Following the Sha River toward Beifeng City, turn south just before reaching the mountain base—that's another source of the Sha River. In fact, the Sha River has many sources, formed by countless small streams converging from the mountains.

Soon they arrived at the valley Du Luo described—carved over years by rushing water. Though only fifty meters wide, it plunged hundreds of meters deep.

Ang studied Du Luo's blueprint, peering left and right, beginning his measurements.

The dam was built by Ang himself, so a single glance was enough. But this bridge was Du Luo's project—all measurements had to be legible to him, requiring precise markers, making it slightly more complicated.

But no matter how complex, it was still just a matter of a few more glances. Half an hour passed, and just as the survey neared completion, a group of riders emerged from the opposite side of the valley.

They wore black cloaks, but beneath them bulged unmistakably with armor—they were a fully armed squad of swordsmen.

The swordsmen, spotting Ang and the others, were equally stunned. "Huh? Who's here?"

"Looks like a mage? Builders?" one of the swordsmen replied.

The leader said: "Kill them. We're on a secret mission—don't let our location leak."

"Yes!" Two high-ranking swordsmen leapt from the group, activating their aura and soaring upward. At the peak of their jump, they channeled aura downward, propelling themselves across. The moment they landed, they were knocked to their knees by the Little Zombie and the Little Angel.

"???" The entire squad of swordsmen froze, blinking in confusion. What the hell just happened?

Since there was no need to intimidate, the Little Zombie hadn't armored up—but its towering, muscular frame was already hard to gauge. Why was the little girl even more terrifying?

After knocking down the leaping swordsmen, the Little Angel let out a howl, charging up for a massive attack aimed at the opposite bank—until Ang snatched her up.

The swordsmen across the valley remained stunned for a long while before regaining their wits. A squad of elite, fully armed special operatives on a secret mission, encountering a group of road workers, had planned to casually eliminate them to prevent leaks—only to be taken down by a little girl?

The Little Angel was so terrifying they'd ignored the Little Zombie. Such an absurd situation left them utterly bewildered.

After a long pause, the leader finally called out: "Friends across the way, we're the Latuslasi Mercenary Company. We apologize for the earlier incident—please return our men."

"Latuslasi? What a stupid name—probably just made up," Negril muttered.

"He's so bold—he's ordering us to release them? What do we do?" Silver asked.

"Provoke them. If they come over, kill them all," Du Luo said.

Negril flew up, turned around, lifted his tail, and twisted—

Have you ever seen a dragon the size of an embryo twist its ass at you? The swordsmen across the valley instantly exploded with rage, clanging their weapons out of their scabbards.

Among them, a slender man in a cloak but no armor pushed through the crowd to the front, exchanged a few words with the leader. From the leader's demeanor, it was clear this man held far higher status.

Ang frowned. On the slender man, he sensed a familiar aura.

After their conversation ended, the slender man removed his cloak, glanced coldly toward them, then pushed his hands forward.

The leader immediately shouted: "Everyone, prepare!"

*Whoosh! * A pair of wings unfurled behind the slender man, bathing him in holy light. As he pushed his hands fully forward, beneath his wings, another pair of luminous wings flickered into existence.

A beam of light shot out the instant the second pair of wings flashed—straight toward Negril's twisting rear.

Simultaneously with the beam's release, the leader swung his sword: "Kill!"

The prepared swordsmen leapt across the valley.

But as they jumped, they witnessed a horrifying sight—the beam was caught by the little girl.

Yes. The Little Angel darted in front of Negril, blocked the holy radiance, and hugged it into a ball. On her own body, two more pairs of luminous wings sprouted.

"Huh? Two pairs of wings? She didn't even use the Archangel's Staff?" Negril exclaimed.

When the Little Angel used the Archangel's Staff, she could unfold one pair of true wings and two pairs of luminous wings, becoming a six-winged Archangel. But now, she hadn't activated her true wings—and yet she'd manifested two pairs of luminous wings, something that normally required the Archangel's Staff.

He was still puzzling over this, but the swordsmen across the valley were frozen in shock—especially those mid-leap, who felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

They were right to feel it. Ang swept his hand—and a row of fireballs blasted outward. Was this a half-crossing ambush?

Mid-air, with no footing, most swordsmen helplessly watched fireballs strike them, turning them into flaming torpedoes that tumbled into the valley.

Only one swordsman, with exceptionally thick aura, endured the explosions, using their force to propel himself backward.

When he landed on the opposite bank, his hands and face were badly burned.

Everyone across the valley stood frozen again.

The Little Angel hugged the holy orb, huffed angrily, and bit into it. Then she turned back to Ang and yelled: "Aow!"

Ang wouldn't let her unleash her big attack—but the enemy could? Unfair! She was furious.

"Aow—"

"Aow?!!!!" The Little Angel was ecstatic—but she couldn't drop the orb, so she started nibbling it, bite by bite.

The leader's legs trembled; he nearly collapsed. He glanced left and right: twenty men remained, but ten were the slender man's attendants—no combat value. His own men? Only ten left…

A squad of elite operatives, mysteriously wiped out—mission failed. But such an absurd defeat felt unreal. Had he hallucinated?

Only the slender man remained calm. Without expression, he flapped his wings and rose into the air: "Who are you? Why are you blocking us?"

"An angel! A Holy Spirit Angel! Isn't the Church of Light banished to remote regions? How is there a Holy Spirit Angel here?" Negril exclaimed.

Silver hesitated: "Lord Negril… this *is* the remote region."

Where could be more remote than this wasteland?

"Oh, right… so they're heading to Abert's place?" Negril realized.

"Possibly. Uh, my lord, he's lying—he says *we* blocked them," Silver fumed.

"Pfft! They attacked first! This is infuriating! Are all Holy Spirit Angels this barbaric? Isn't there one as cute as the Little Angel?" Negril raged.

Du Luo and Silver blinked, glancing at the Little Angel beside them—gleefully munching the orb, eyes sparkling with anticipation…

Dammit. The most barbaric one is right here.

The Little Angel finished the last bite of the orb, stretched her shoulders back—and *whoosh! * Her true wings unfurled.

The entire opposing side gasped. Even the four-winged angel, previously impassive, was stunned: "Supreme Holy Spirit?! Six-Winged Archangel! Supreme Lord, forgive me—I didn't mean to offend—"

The four-winged angel knelt down, shouting.

The Little Angel panicked. Surrender? No way! She'd finally gotten to unleash her big attack—how dare they surrender?

Frantically, she shoved both hands forward—before Ang could snatch her up—and fired a massive beam of light, engulfing the four-winged angel.

Then she waved her hands—the beam swayed, swallowing the cluster of attendant swordsmen behind him. A six-winged Archangel's holy radiance lasted a short while.

Of the remaining twenty, thirteen vanished.

The leader got lucky—he wasn't hit. Seeing the four-winged angel reduced to a glowing orb, he screamed: "Run!"

He leapt and bolted back the way they came.

The other survivors reacted, following him in retreat—but they hadn't gone far when a middle-aged, handsome man in a tall hat and cloak stepped in front of them, smiling, lifting his hat politely.

"Name."

"L… Labu," the leader stammered. It wasn't cowardice—he'd just experienced something beyond his limits.

A six-winged Archangel? That tiny, harmless, pink, adorable girl with the folded wings? Who could've guessed?

"What were you doing here?" Negril asked.

"I… I don't know. I was only assigned to escort the Holy Spirit Lord to Beifeng City," Labu said.

"Escort him to Beifeng City? Only there? Not anywhere else?" Negril asked, surprised. He'd assumed they were heading to Abert's stone tomb. If they were only going to Beifeng, why take this route?

Labu blinked: "The trade route to Beifeng City is cut off. Don't you know?"

"I know. But you're not ordinary people—can a blocked road stop you?" Negril asked.

"But then everyone would know. The Holy Spirit Lord insisted on secrecy," Labu replied.

The questioning ended here—Labu's only duty was escorting the Holy Spirit. He had no idea what the Holy Spirit intended to do.

But now the Holy Spirit was gone—obliterated by the Little Angel's attack, leaving only a Holy Spirit Heart.

The Holy Spirit Heart rested in Ang's hands, undergoing a purification ritual to see if it could be revived.

The Little Angel fidgeted beside him, hopping and reaching for it. Ang, annoyed, swatted her hand away—but after a few swats, she snatched it by accident.

She grabbed it too hard—the Holy Spirit Heart shattered, crumbling into fragments that drifted into the air.

The little angel hurriedly tried to grab them, but the more she grabbed, the more they shattered, scattering faster and faster until she cried out, "Aww—," her voice shattering the fragments of the Holy Spirit Heart into countless specks that drifted down like stars.

This time, when the little angel reached out again, the specks of light flew to her palm like weary birds returning to their nest.

Nagelis shrugged irritably and said to Labu, "Alright, the Holy Spirit Heart is gone. Come up with something valuable—some intel that'll reveal his purpose—or I'll bury you alive."