Chapter 915
Chapter 915 - 901
1,349 words
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7 min read
".....These fresh Ling Fruits from the Crescent Moon Forest still have dew on them, tasty and cheap. Wouldn’t you like some more?"
The vendor at the stall, eyeing the youth in front of him who seemed so young that one might suspect he was a Feather-man fledgling who had snuck out, enthusiastically peddled the freshly stocked fruit.
This was a rare case of an easy mark... "Master".
Though appearing young, the Feather-man before him wore boots made of unknown beast’s hide, three-fingered hands donning strange strapped gloves, the black feathers on his head and back gleamed faintly, and paired with that "gentle" visage, he looked every bit like a distinguished visitor from afar.
Unfortunately, the young Feather-man merely smiled and shook his head before heading to the next corner...
"Fresh dragon fish, look how delicious these teeth look...."
And he was stopped by another vendor. He scratched his head, seeming troubled by the game...
"....Chris, is my disguise really foolproof?"
"Of course it is."
"Then why have I been stopped nine times along the way when I’ve only walked three streets?"
"....As a resident of the medieval swamp, your shoes and clothes are too clean, as clean as..."
"An outsider?"
"No, a well-off chump who just got off a gryphon carriage."
After rejecting the fervent vendors once again in the local dialect with a strange accent, Lu Ping’an noticed too many eyes on him, this outsider. With a sigh of resignation, he gave up on his expectation of collecting information and chose to return early to his temporary lodging.
Having just returned to his rented room, he took off the silver ring from his right index finger, and in a moment of distortion, he grew at least two meters taller... While the Feather Tribe with wings and heels on usually stood about two heads taller than humans, in terms of body size, they were generally shorter.
Finally back to a familiar perspective and limbs, Lu Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief, then tore off the fake wings on his back and removed the crow mask from his face.
"Designated Species Alteration Ring" was standard issue for this mission, but a complete disguise of an exotic species required some additional "accessories".
After ensuring there were no prying eyes around, he truly relaxed, took off the coat filled with feathers, and carefully hung it on the wall.
This was his third week in this Exotic Realm, but he still wasn’t quite accustomed to this overly strange otherworldly world.
He was sent here on a mission named "Exploration", which in reality was "espionage"....
"Dinner’s ready, coming in to eat?"
"No, just throw it out here. That landlady has been around a few times recently; it’d be troublesome if she didn’t see anyone."
That Lu Ping’an had managed to stay undercover was actually not the only individual who had come.
This is world B4571, its civilization roughly at a stage between the medieval and Renaissance periods, featuring knights and nobility. At the same time, in some bustling cities, there were strange steam machines and electric inventions.
As an ill-adjusted spy from an exotic land, even with the power to become a local, Lu Ping’an did not choose a more bustling city. Instead, he chose to hone his "persona" in the countryside to get used to the local social customs.
"This damned world is too primitive, even lighting a fire requires coal and wood. Is our target world like this too..."
"B4579 is famous for its crystal land and myriad rivers. The gap between there and here is like that of a caterpillar and a huge dragon. Besides both being relatively elongated, there is no commonality to speak of. However, this place is a gathering ground for the Black Feather Clan—an alias given by humans—and the Patch Tail Clan, with somewhat similar races and cultures, making it very suitable for you to begin adapting to the local environment...."
The world labeled B4579 is where the current dispute took place, and it’s also the frontline area currently under the deterrence of "at least ten aerial god fleets."
And the neighboring at least twenty numbered worlds fall within the territory of that primary world.
"...Wonderful, the localization of this food preparation has been very successful. I can finally stop eating those bitterly unbearable fruits. Humans really can’t get used to the food here."
Within this civilized region, there are at least two dozen species, and the Feather Tribe that Lu Ping’an is impersonating... their advanced upper-rank species, also the main species of this region, are in fact distant relatives of the "Firebird" from among the Twelve-Pillar.
The high-ranking members of the Feather Tribe have red feathers, while these "country" Feather-men have black feathers... The advantage of the medieval countryside is that it’s easy to come across complete illiterates unaware of "common sense" and "social customs," giving outsiders like Lu Ping’an who don’t know anything the convenient guise of a marginal individual, enabling him to quickly adapt to and integrate into the local environment.
Lu Ping’an’s assignment was simply to go undercover and gather information; he was not required to head straight to the core area of the battlefield... If he really were given such a death-sentencing mission, Lu Ping’an couldn’t possibly accept it.
It seems to be due to the technology of the Feather Tribe that these two dozen worlds maintain a relatively stable connection... meaning through certain channels and expenses, it is possible to traverse among these worlds.
So, does that also mean that those folks from the Blood-crow, even if hiding in that world, might have mistakenly fled to neighboring worlds?
There are other spies like Lu Ping’an, and one of their tasks is to "erase" those escapees as much as possible... but since it’s too reliant on chance and luck, even Lu Ping’an didn’t take it too seriously.
Now, his primary mission is to adapt to the local environment and, at the same time, integrate into the local social and environmental circles...
"...Is this one of the worlds under the Twelve-Pillar’s command? Although I can sense the presence of ’high magic,’ it lacks the flavor of distortion and madness."
Lu Ping’an closed his eyes, yet stretched out his hand, trying to perceive this strange yet peaceful world with his bare eyes.
Theoretically, this should be a highly contaminated world, a bizarre hell filled with gods, monsters, demons, and ghosts, but..."
The flame in Lu Ping’an’s hand quickly extinguished; the normally dominant supernatural flame could only serve to light firewood here.
It appears that something is forcibly suppressing this world, reducing the activity of all supernatural powers to a minimum.
"Contamination" seems omnipresent, but when you really try to harness it and make it do something, you find it’s utterly uncontrollable and ineffectual.
"...Not to mention, if my identity were revealed, there’s a real possibility that even a Decree-level could end up killed by the angry pitchforks of peasants."
This isn’t an exaggeration; despite the absence of visible supernatural abilities here, Lu Ping’an saw many strange things.
For example, what’s pulling the "carriages" aren’t tamed beasts but the local "Hoofed Tribe people"; for instance, the ordinary Patch Tail Clan vendor casually moving their food cart away from the front of their stall.
As a professional warrior, Lu Ping’an could feel the terrifying power hidden within their seemingly peaceful frames.
Those seemingly ornamental little wings really could carry the Feather-men to the heavens.
Every regular adult life form gave Lu Ping’an the impression of having basic attributes that weren’t inferior to the average values of a first-tier Battle-profession warrior.
And these were just his most direct and basic impressions of the local life forms.
"With at least tens of millions of people in this world, all belonging to strong warrior species, is this the underlying strength of being vassals of the Twelve-Pillar’s Family Clan?"
— End of Chapter 915 —