The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

The believer's gaze unconsciously drifted out the window, towards the far north beyond the horizon, where the towering Rosetta Forest naturally came into view.

The vast forest stretches between the northern and southern continents, and the mountains and rivers are just the first major obstacle. Hopefully, the Yale princess can come up with an effective solution.

Chapter 104 Discussion

Following the lead maid in blue, after some time, the believer met Salome Reinhardt again in the long-closed top-floor guest room in the clouds. This descendant of the Yale royal family from the Far East was still dressed in the same black rose-like attire that remained in her memory, but her complexion was noticeably better than when they met the day before.

As the middleman, the landlady of the Clouds was naturally present. However, somewhat unexpectedly, apart from the guards outside the door, a certain big cat that had been locked up for several days was already there.

Noticing Hearn's amused and malicious gaze, Joshua opened his mouth as if to let out a silent roar, but then obediently shut his mouth again after a moment. However, his gaze remained fixed on Hearn from beginning to end, watching his every move.

"Your Highness Salome, you look much better after just a few days."

Standing a few steps away from Joshua, the believer nodded slightly and greeted the princess politely.

"Thank you for your kind words. It is mostly thanks to Miss Jiang Xue's troubles." Salome Reinhardt lifted her veil, revealing the face that haunted the dreams of men of all races in the westward fleet. She smiled and then bowed slightly to the visitor.

Joshua was somewhat uneasy because, in his opinion, the Yale princess should not give such a "grand" salute to a mercenary like Hearn. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

Mr. Hern felt a mix of emotions. The reason was that he hadn't seen it very clearly last time, but now that he understood it better, the more he looked at the prince's face, the more familiar it seemed. It looked exactly like the silicon-based life form in his room that claimed to be made of Prometheus particles.

Seeing the familiar, long, beautiful hair of the prince, somewhere between platinum and silver, the believer decided to go back and dye Pandora's hair to change her appearance, otherwise who knows what trouble might arise later.

Fortunately, that girl inexplicably liked to run around wearing a cloak, and during the time she stayed to guard Salome Reinhardt after rescuing her, she also avoided concealing her face.

Leaving aside the inner thoughts of the two men for the moment, Mr. Hearn, after regaining his composure, chose to get straight to the point.

Some things are simply unavoidable.

“Your Highness, you must have asked Miss Jiang Xue to summon me here not because you were bored or needed someone to keep you company.”

The believer glanced once more at Joshua beside her, the legendary paladin who had inherited the name of a saint.

The death row in Silver Harbor's prison is absolutely no match for this big cat, and his presence here now is naturally a result of the Far East True Dragons, led by Yun Zhong, finding that fragile balance between the leaders of Silver Harbor's native species.

The Lord of Glory has been dead for hundreds of years. What can a follower of a dead god do? It's nothing more than an exchange of interests.

As an outsider, Mr. Hearn was naturally too lazy to delve into the intricacies behind it all, but that didn't affect the fact that his interests were currently intertwined with theirs.

Under the woman's pointed words, Prince Reinhardt nodded slightly, and then uttered the word that held everyone present together.

Silver Ridge.

“Using the notes left by His Excellency Joshua as a guide, and supplemented by the information you have gathered recently, we have pieced together the path to that frigid land in the far north, the so-called eternal and indestructible Garden of Eden.”

Big Cat's shoulders trembled slightly, his broad hands clenched into fists—a knot in his heart that had troubled him for the rest of his adolescence and his entire youth. He had once traveled alone to the Far East, across the ocean, to the land of the true dragons, all to bring his mentor's notes there. More than ten years later, his wish had been fulfilled, but the knot in his heart remained untied, and naturally, he could not contain his emotions.

Hern observed all of this but remained silent. However, what intrigued him even more was that when the nominal Yale princess, a descendant of the royal family and the Son of Earth bestowed with the blood of the Lord of Light, spoke of the so-called "eternal and indestructible Garden of Eden," her pretty face showed no trace of piety or fanaticism, but rather an unexpected calmness.

Even more so, with her rather idealistic nature, the believer Hearn sensed a faint aura of "kindness" in Salome Reinhardt at this moment, unrelated to race.

With this thought in mind, the believer couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't say anything more, but simply asked, "Is Your Highness heading north?"

"It is also."

"Tens of thousands of the sons of the earth have all come out?"

"How is that any different from seeking death?"

"Therefore, what Your Highness needs is a light cavalry unit to act covertly and head north under the cover of night."

"As Mr. Hearn said."

The believer nodded, inwardly approving. Fortunately, this princess had broken free from the stereotypes people held about her. Her outstanding appearance and noble birth did not constrain her personality; in short, she was not just a pretty face, nor did she utter any unrealistic or idiotic remarks. This gave Mr. Hern, who was meeting her for the second time, a slightly more positive assessment of her.

After all, Mr. Hearn had ventured north of the Rosetta Forest and had recently used a scrap of a lich's life box to resurrect himself and travel to that far north.

Not to mention the information obtained from Pandora regarding the Mech Hive's main base. If the information is true, after leaving the southern slopes protected by the Rosetta Sea, in the face of those creations that can be described as cataclysmic disasters, 20,000 Sons of Earth and 20,000 pigs would not be much different.

No, it might not be as good as 20,000 pigs, at least there wouldn't be any traitors among the pigs.

"So?" The believer asked with a slight smile, her eyes narrowed.

“Therefore, I would like to personally invite Mr. Hern to accompany me.” The princess from the Far East composed herself and solemnly expressed her wishes.

"Oh I got it."

Upon hearing this, the believer nodded as if suddenly understanding, then casually spread out her right hand, "So, what about the reward?"

"Hearth, how dare you be so rude!" The Black Panther, who had been silent all along, seemed to have finally reached his limit, and reprimanded his impolite colleague beside him. "His Highness Reinhardt represents the Yale royal family, and his purpose on this trip is the restoration of the dynasty. If you can..."

Joshua's words came to an abrupt halt. He opened his mouth in confusion, only to find that he could no longer utter a single syllable. Looking up at the young man's fingertip casually tracing a rune-like path, the answer became obvious.

Hearn, you motherfucker—

The next moment, before Joshua could move, a dark blue opening swallowed him whole. When he came to his senses, he was already in the lobby of the first floor of the Cloud Tower.

"Let's have a few minutes of peace and quiet, then we'll get straight to the point." Having silently completed some minor tasks, Mr. Hearn was in a much better mood. So, with a smile, he maintained his shrug and continued, "Your Highness Salome, did I hear you correctly? You just said that you hired me, a mercenary, as an 'individual' rather than the 'Yale Royal Family'?"

"exactly."

"I feel like you're making fun of me, Your Highness."

After the big cat Joshua disappeared, the proprietress in the cloud took her leave. Unsurprisingly, she went to intercept the big cat that he had thrown downstairs. The believer was grateful for the proprietress's thoughtful and gentle manner, and her tone of voice became more amiable as she spoke.

“Actually, someone like Joshua is much more reliable than me,” he kindly reminded the other person.

“That is true, but there are some things that Mr. Joshua will not do, nor will my old subordinates from the Far East.” The princess from the Far East remained unmoved.

"Then how can you be so sure I'll do it?"

“Because you are not a follower of the Lord of Light, Mr. Hern.”

Chapter 105 Testing the Sword

"When I was little, my mother once said something like this: 'The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie.'"

Pandora's mind inexplicably recalled this phrase that someone had muttered in the past, and the current situation made her deeply agree.

The red-haired woman named Aozaki Aoko's smile vanished like a winter frost after Nobunaga Hern left the room. When she turned back to face her, her expression was normal.

If I had to quantify it, it would be roughly like the feeling of favorability plummeting from friendly to neutral.

However, upon closer examination, it deviates from true neutrality in subtle ways.

Pandora could sense a subtle sense of hostility emanating from this woman, but it seemed more directed at Mr. Hearn.

Is it a strange relationship between carbon-based life forms?

Pandora, having considered this, decided not to dwell on it any longer. She simply followed Mr. Hearn's advice, and in a flash, her lion ears and tail transformed into the shape of a wolf beast, her hair color also turning light gray.

It's worth mentioning that after observing her changes, the red-haired woman's expression became increasingly subtle. Her lips twitched at one point, and she even showed a hint of displeasure at the end.

"?"

Pandora was puzzled. After meeting the other party's slightly annoyed gaze head-on, she returned the look with an inquiring look.

""

Aoko opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't say anything. Her anger came inexplicably and went away quickly. In the end, after her emotions relaxed, she shook her head with a sense of melancholy, and a flash of azure light also appeared around her.

A moment later, a wolf girl with red ears and a red tail appeared in the room. Her strange clothes were also changed to a style and texture that suited the local style. The overall color scheme was still mainly dark red. At first glance, she looked like a ranger from the mercenary class.

Just as the atmosphere between the two reached its lowest point, there was a rapid knocking on the door outside the room where Hern had left a barrier. After exchanging a glance, Aoko turned and opened the door a crack.

The next moment, a soft, snow-white fox head squeezed through the crack in the door. Qingzi was slightly stunned when she saw the white fox's face, then reacted and couldn't help but exert force to crush the creature to death in the crack. Pandora, seeing the situation was bad, stepped forward and pulled the door open, thus saving the white fox spirit's life through the crack.

"They've started fighting!" Yonglin, still catching her breath, immediately reported the news upon seeing Pandora, who used to be Hearn's constant companion.

“Tell me slowly, who fought with whom? Was it Mr. Hearn?” Pandora flung open the door, sparing the white fox’s life.

The latter retreated into the corridor while anxiously pointing towards the lobby, seemingly about to leave first.

"Yes, Mr. Hearn and Mr. Joshua got into a fight right there in the open space outside the lobby!"

"Walk."

After understanding the situation, Pandora immediately signaled Eirin to lead the way, and the two of them left.

Aoko stared at the white fox's back with a look of utter disbelief, but then, thinking of herself, her furrowed brows relaxed slightly. She stopped worrying and followed after it to the scene of the incident.

It was afternoon when Old Chen, carrying a bowl of noodles with soybean paste and two oranges in his pocket, strolled leisurely under the corridor of the Cloud Inn.

Even with ample supplies, the standard of living on the sea was far inferior to that on land when voyaging westward. For example, fresh fruit, used to treat septicemia, was a scarce and limited commodity at sea.

Suddenly, footsteps rose behind him. As a first-class military officer who had been on board the ship for many years, even though he had been granted leave today, Old Chen did not dare to be careless. He turned around in an instant, one hand already on the sword at his waist.

What came into view was a group of spirited young men, some real dragons and some fake dragons. Old Chen naturally knew about the matter of the Son of Earth disguising himself as a real dragon.

Upon recognizing that they were his own men, Old Chen lowered his hand from his sword and casually stopped one of his underlings, a young servant, to inquire about the events leading up to this.

"I don't know, but they say some Westerners are causing trouble and bullying our brothers."

"Oh, is that so? Quickly lead me there."

Old Chen knew that this was a sensitive time. The Western Fleet, this foreign force, had just reached a cooperation agreement with the local leaders of Silver City, and both sides were at peace. If something major happened at this juncture, it would have far-reaching consequences. Moreover, there were important guests staying at the Cloud Inn. If the local city defense forces were attracted, things would be even more difficult to handle.

So, carrying a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce, and surrounded by a group of energetic young men, Old Chen arrived at the scene of the incident in no time.

As one of the bridgeheads operated by the Far East Gozanlong people for many years, the Cloud Inn is so large that it cannot be easily described by the word "inn". Moreover, it was built during the dawn of the construction of Silver City. In the early days when the land was acquired, this place was still a remote suburb, and land was very cheap. Therefore, the inn has many courtyards, and there are four open spaces in the courtyards that were set up as martial arts training platforms, which were reserved for future needs.

In the years that followed, the Cloud Inn became a regular base for mercenaries, and the four martial arts arenas became even more popular. Every few days, people would settle their scores and grudges there, and some even signed life-or-death contracts to determine who was superior and who would die.

Old Chen was led by the younger generation to the largest of the four martial arts arenas. Because it was located directly west of the inn, it was called the White Tiger Arena according to Far Eastern customs.

As the saying goes, the Dragon People who enjoy watching the excitement never think it's too much trouble. Old Chen saw the two fluttering flags located at the east, west, and north corners of the White Tiger Terrace from a distance, with two lines of large characters written on them.

There is no shame in living, but glory in dying.

What the hell? How come even the flags from Yingzhou have been brought to this Western land?

Old Chen shook his head and stared intently at the platform. He saw a handsome young man of his own clan, of unremarkable appearance, locked in combat with a towering, dark-skinned figure. To call it dark-skinned was a bit of a stretch; under the bright sunlight, Old Chen couldn't immediately make out the towering figure's true form. Only after his eyes adjusted to the light did he get a clearer look at the figure.

Old Chen and the young men around him all gasped in unison, two words popping into their minds.

You beast!

The black-clad creature was unlike any other, with an iron face and silver teeth, a back covered in long hair, dark black hands and feet, a slanted chin like a tiger, and a piercing gaze like a leopard. He wielded a massive sword the size of a plank with incredible force, the blade splitting the ground and cleaving rocks wherever it passed, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.

With this beast as a base, and looking back at the handsome young man who was fighting with it, he was not just plain-looking—he had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, was a man of great talent, dressed in white, moved like a dragon, and had the wind at his feet. He wielded an ordinary iron sword, and every time he attacked the beast until it was exhausted, he would break its sword momentum. For a time, he fought the black beast, who was as tall as an iron tower, to a standstill, and did not fall behind.

Another clang of metal rang out in the arena, and the black-clad man's powerful slash was once again deflected by the ordinary iron sword.

"it is good!"

The young men beside Old Chen were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. They cheered and wished they could jump onto the stage and fight that beast.

Unexpectedly, the dark-skinned fellow abandoned his sword and rushed forward. Taking advantage of the young man's unsteady footing, he raised his tiger-like foot and kicked him.

Boom!

The thunderous thud shook the entire area, even blowing off some roof tiles. The young man flew out like a cannonball, crashing through the courtyard wall and disappearing in an instant.

"what?"

The sudden turn of events left Old Chen somewhat bewildered. As a veteran of the battlefield, he naturally had a clear understanding of the situation. Although the young man from his own tribe was not as strong as the Western barbarian, he excelled in agility. His movements subtly incorporated the principles of the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams. Although he wielded an ordinary iron sword, the point of his sword was always where the giant sword's power was exhausted, demonstrating his ability to deflect a thousand pounds with four ounces of force.

If the fight continues, and the thick-skinned, black-clad fellow is exhausted, there is still a chance of victory.

How did he suddenly become flustered, revealing his weakness, and get kicked out of the arena by that towering black-clad man? If he hadn't desperately used his iron sword to protect his heart before that final kick, he would probably be in grave danger.

The layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details. Old Chen stared at the iron sword broken in two on the field and fell into deep thought.

While he was deep in thought, the excited young men rushed onto the martial arts stage, determined to have a go at the black-clad fellow, and the scene was chaotic.

"Hearn! Hearn! Are you alright?"

Outside the courtyard, inside the clouds, Yonglin struggled to pull out the young man who had just been kicked there by the black panther Joshua from among the bricks and tiles next to a pile of artificial hills. In her haste, she didn't care that she was also covered in dust and dirt. She immediately began chanting many druid resurrection spells, unleashing a resurrection spell on him as if she were doing nothing.

Yonglin felt a special gratitude towards this benefactor who had helped him gain protection. This was the first friend he had met since leaving the Forest of Trees who truly cared for him. If he hadn't been short of a few key ingredients, he would have already started chanting the Tranquil Rain.

As Qingzi watched the white fox, whose anxious expression seemed genuine and who even looked like a tearful flower, perform various actions, she felt a profound sense of disillusionment with her past life.

Pandora stood calmly to one side, not yet uttering a word, but her posture hinted at a readiness to strike, suggesting she was wary of her opponent on the martial arts stage pressing their advantage.

Finally, Qingzi felt she couldn't bear to watch any longer. Wearing her over-the-knee boots, she walked around the white fox who was still trying to save it, silently calculating the height of the person in her mind, and moved to the side. As if possessed, she raised her foot towards a part buried under the broken tiles, as if to stomp down.

A hand, hidden beneath the blue stone tiles, suddenly shot up and grabbed the ankle of the attempted murderer.

Yonglin was startled by the sudden turn of events and took a step back, falling to the ground with a thud. However, when she came to her senses and saw that Hearn had already opened his eyes, she couldn't help but smile with joy. "Mr. Hearn, are you alright?"

"It's alright." The believer used her other hand to pat the white fox in front of her, who was so eager to save people, and pointed outside the hole in the wall.

Yonglin followed the gesture and saw that Joshua was being challenged one-on-one by a group of dragon youths and couldn't get away for the time being. The other party had obviously also seen Mr. Hern, who was unharmed, through the hole in the wall and couldn't help but grit their teeth in anger.

"Let go if you're not dead." In the brief exchange between them, Qingzi tried to pull her leg back several times without success, so she could only raise her right foot, casting a murderous glare at him, her expression one of shame and anger.

"Wait, what were you trying to do?" the believer retorted coldly, refusing to back down.