Chapter 58

Finally, just before the Resting Wind began to blow, they dug a large pit that could accommodate everyone. Ang and the others were fine, but Negril took up the most space. Despite being only half a meter long from head to tail, its neck, tail, and fleshy wings took up a lot of room, requiring at least the space of five or six skeletons. They had to dig a bit larger.

The wind howled, carrying Ang's thoughts back to the wilderness a few months ago. He couldn't resist reaching out his hand, letting the Resting Wind wrap around his fingers, and guiding the cold aura down.

A large horse head emerged from the edge of the pit, trembling and looking around.

Everyone focused their gaze on it, scaring it back into the pit.

After a long while, it seemed the Resting Wind was too unbearable. Since its hooves couldn't dig a pit by themselves, it had to choose between being killed or being blown to death. It reluctantly chose the former.

Covering its eyes with its hooves, Lightning pretended to see nothing, sliding into the pit on its bottom, pushing Negril to the side.

Negril wanted to lash out but thought better of it. In this situation, kicking it out would be a death sentence. The Resting Wind didn't care if it was a unicorn or a multi-horned beast; it would blow it to death.

The pit fell silent. After a while, with no movement, Lightning slightly opened its hooves covering its eyes. A fist rapidly enlarged and struck its cheek, making it see stars.

Lightning didn't dare to resist, hugging its head with both hooves, determined to endure being beaten rather than going out.

After a thorough beating, the little zombie sat back contentedly, and the angel skeleton relaxed its tightly clenched hands. In its palms were two tiny orbs of holy light, clearly ready to throw them if Lightning dared to fight back.

After a while, Lightning, sensing no movement, cautiously opened its hooves. No one paid attention to it anymore. The little zombie and the angel skeleton were imitating Ang, reaching their hands into the Resting Wind.

The little zombie, having learned from past experiences, only dared to extend one finger bone, quickly pulling it back after a moment, shivering violently as if its bones were about to fall apart.

The angel skeleton followed suit, extending one finger, then pulling it back to shiver, repeating the process with relish.

Only Negril continued to observe it.

Lightning sighed in relief, shifting its bottom to get more comfortable.

Negril kept staring at it, making Lightning shift again. Negril's constant gaze made it restless.

Finally, Negril broke the silence: "How did you become Leonard's mount? Aren't unicorns the darlings of lightning?"

Lightning pouted, saying dejectedly, "Those with horns are the darlings; those without are the outcasts."

"So, you were driven out?" Negril understood immediately. Every species has its own elimination mechanism, and the rarer the species, the more brutal the mechanism.

In human society, even the blind and the lame can find a mate, but it's different for rare species like unicorns and dragons.

Any defect, no matter how minor, results in the loss of mating rights. These species are too few to afford the risk of passing on any defects.

For unicorns, the horn is the essence. Without a horn, a unicorn is just a horse. That's why Lightning reacted so strongly when called a horse.

The same goes for dragons. Defective dragons are driven away, stripped of mating rights, and left to fend for themselves.

But even the most defective dragons are still dragons, which is why you often hear about dragons causing havoc, plundering treasures, and abducting women, leading to waves of heroes going to slay them and die.

Dragons also have a special problem: a strong sexual drive. Without a mate of their own kind, they go for other species, creating a bunch of half-dragons and even hybrid dragon-humans.

As for how dragons, with their massive size, can interbreed with humans, it's because they can shape-shift.

Negril, deeply understanding this, sympathetically patted Lightning's shoulder, showing empathy for the unicorn that had lost its mating rights.

"You didn't have to team up with Leonard, though. You're not the same type," Negril said.

The reason they tolerated Lightning's entry instead of tearing it apart was that they sensed no aggression from it. Although its mouth was foul and its words harsh, it had no aggressive intent.

All its abilities seemed focused on evasion and escape, with light and agile movements and incredible speed, but it never attacked, except for kicking Luther once.

But now, thinking about it, that kick was probably just for leverage.

What kind of creature was Leonard? Arrogant, cold-blooded, cruel, and self-important. How could he gain the loyalty of a unicorn unless there was some form of compulsion?

Lightning hesitated, not speaking.

On the other side of the pit, Ang had one hand outside and the other invisible, his shoulders moving as he tended to his crops with divided attention.

The angel skeleton, after playing the finger game for a while, decided it was enough and crawled to Ang's side, showing him its shoulders, palms, and face.

Ang understood what it meant, wanting him to help it recover. But with both hands occupied, he pulled back his left hand and pushed it aside. After a moment, the angel skeleton came back.

Lightning didn't understand the relationship between Ang and the angel skeleton but was moved by their interaction. Because of its defect, it had been driven away and had no companions since childhood.

"Do you know about the Holy Essence Liquid of the Church of Light?" Lightning suddenly turned and asked.

Negril understood immediately, saying with a strange expression, "You want to use the Holy Essence Liquid to regrow your horn, right?"

"Yes, you know about the Holy Essence Liquid's effects? Quite knowledgeable. Leonard said you were barbarians from the Abyss, not knowing much. Since you know, I don't need to explain in detail. The Holy Essence Liquid can regenerate limbs. Soak the wound in it, and the severed limb will grow back."

"A small bottle costs over a thousand magic crystals in the human world, too expensive. Leonard promised to give me the essence liquid if I served him. Now, that hope is gone," Lightning sighed regretfully.

Negril's face darkened. He was sure this unicorn's horn had been knocked off because of its foul mouth.

"Are you blaming us for losing your chance to regrow your horn?" Negril asked.

"Not really. I've long been fed up with Leonard. If I could beat him, I would have trampled him to death long ago, riding around and seducing noble and common women every day," Lightning said resentfully.

"Actually..." Negril leaned closer to Ang and whispered something. Ang then took a bottle from the Resting Palace.

"Actually, the Holy Essence Liquid isn't exclusive to the Church of Light. We have it too, and it's cheaper. Do you want to try it?" Negril held the bottle in front of Lightning, shaking the transparent liquid inside.

Opening the cap and sniffing, Lightning's eyes lit up: "Real Holy Essence Liquid?! How much?"

"Five hundred magic crystals." Negril wiggled its four-fingered claw.

"So cheap?" Lightning's eyes widened in disbelief: "It's really cheap, half the price. Is it fake? I can't afford it."

Negril was initially pleased, thinking a deal was about to happen. Even at five hundred magic crystals, it would still be a huge profit, as the last time it was sold through intermediaries, two thousand five hundred milliliters only fetched one thousand five hundred magic crystals.

Now, without intermediaries, selling a hundred milliliters for five hundred magic crystals would be eight times the profit.

But the last sentence made Negril's vision go dark: "If you don't have money, why even mention it!"

"If I had money, would I need to serve Leonard!" Lightning shouted back even louder: "One bottle might not be enough for my horn. If I need three or four bottles, I can't afford it. Besides, the essence liquid alone isn't enough; it needs holy light to activate. Where can I find holy light?"

Before he finished speaking, he saw a holy light emanate from Ang.

Unable to resist the angel skeleton's persistence, Ang had to pull back his right hand from the Resting Wind and cast a purification spell to heal it. Visible flesh and skin grew rapidly on the skeleton.

Lightning watched with wide eyes for a moment, then looked at Negril in disbelief.

Negril raised an eyebrow: "What do you think? Want to buy it? Five hundred magic crystals a bottle, with holy light treatment included."

As the sky brightened and the Resting Wind gradually subsided, Ang, who had left the pit, was hugged by a unicorn: "Sir, ride me, please ride me. If you give me enough essence liquid to regrow my horn, I will serve you wholeheartedly, sir, ride me."

Unable to refuse, Ang got on, and the little zombie followed without a word. The angel skeleton and Negril also climbed on, and finally, Negril sat on top.

Lightning, having no choice, forced a smile and carried the four of them away.

Returning to the camp from yesterday's battle, the battlefield had been mostly cleaned up, with most people moved to Ice City. The remaining people were in tents, which would be taken down at dawn. Tents that could withstand the Resting Wind were valuable, and everyone wanted them.

Last night, Lusanna, representing Ice City, and Filin Lisa, representing Necropolis, had argued over the spoils, basically deciding their ownership.

However, they still had to wait for Ang to return, show him the spoils, and let him choose first.

"Sir, this is the Divine Rider Emblem found on Leonard. I don't know why, but a symbol keeps flashing. Only you can control such things," Lisa presented a beautiful emblem.

Ang took it casually, but his attention was on the Eternal Springstone in the center of the camp.

The Eternal Springstone, used by the Church of Light to collect drinking water, had not been put away after the camp was breached. After a night of Resting Wind, a small pool of black liquid had formed at its base.

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