542 Mythical Beast? Part 1 (2/2)
Saleen remained unmoved and silently thought to himself, ”My water shield is unique in the sense that it is shaped like a bubble. Will the Goddess figure it out?” The river was clearly a barrier that could not be crossed over by mages from grade-6 and below. If he did not absorb the leaves of the Tree of Life or any special kind of magic, then there was no way he could reach the temple that was far, far away.
Was all this just a trap set by the gods?
She was not a disciple so the Gods would not be able to descend upon her. None of the people in her team were disciples of any faith either. By right, if the Goddess wanted to be revived, she would not have pinned any hopes on this team. Compared to Gods, this team was too insignificant.
”Who will cross first?” Saleen asked.
”I will!” More than ten voices shouted at the same time. Saleen looked and realized they were all Lex's swordmasters and grand swordmasters. Even Wild Bear was slapping his chest as a form of self-volunteer.
Combat puppets did not possess any life strength and Saleen could not be sure if the bubbles could transport an entire person over. The first person to attempt to cross the river would definitely be taking a risk that could be fatal. Amongst Lex's subordinates, none were afraid of death.
In comparison, Saleen's subordinates all kept their mouths shut, unwilling to make such a sacrifice. Saleen was pleased because he knew that if he did give the order, one of them would volunteer to take the risk. At least that unlucky demonic spirit would not be able to escape. Saleen did not have to say anything and these people already knew how to protect themselves.
This was not cowardice nor even intelligence. It was more of an attitude towards survival.
The ten swordmasters all looked to be of the same size, so Saleen randomly picked a person's name. He came to Saleen. His eyes were hidden under the helmet and blocked by the dark-colored crystals so Saleen could not see his expression.
”I cannot guarantee your safety,” Saleen said.
”I understand, Master Saleen. Please cast the spell,” the swordmaster answered honestly. He somewhat despised the reaction from Saleen's subordinates. They were all on an adventure together, yet none of them were willing to take risks. He was very clear that Saleen was very much stronger than them though. Even with the Spirit Snake armor, his own team did not possess an overwhelming edge over them. It was not worth it to let the stronger person take the risk.
Without a word, Saleen released the water shield again, enveloping the swordmaster. The swordmaster realized that he was still able to control the forward or backward direction of the bubble through his own actions. There was no need for that though. Wild Bear gave him a hard push from behind and he was in the river.
This was the advantage of the Spirit Snake armor, otherwise Wild Bear's strength would have just slipped off instead of being exerted on the water shield. If he had pushed with the intention to attack, the force would have been entirely absorbed by the water shield. Of course, the assumption was that Saleen was not controlling this magic.
Lex kept her eyes locked on the swordmaster that was floating towards the opposite bank. The force that Wild Bear used was just nice, so the bubble was just about able to reach the opposite bank without any control from Saleen. Although the river current was calm, in contrast, Lex's heart was still a little flustered. In order to maintain secrecy, the people that she had brought along were all extremely loyal. Even the mages were those that followed her from the very beginning.
As the bubble reached the opposite bank, the swordmaster exerted strength from his legs and leapt up bursting through the bubble and landing beside the combat puppet.
Over on this side, the swordmasters let out a loud cheer. Lex's subordinates were often solemn and grave, but after more than a month of anxiety, they finally let loose for a moment.
The water shield that Saleen had newly constructed was the only one that possessed life strength, so he could only send people over the river one at a time. The three water shields that he originally possessed had already been digested by his calabash long ago.
”Take care of safety. The two of you will go over first.” Lex saw that the method worked and decided to send the two black metal grand swordmasters over.
The black metal grand swordmasters were more powerful than a normal swordmaster. After the two of them had crossed the river, Lex immediately arranged for a grade-5 mage to cross as well. With a combination of a mage and grand swordmasters, they would be able to put up a fight should there be any dangerous creatures on the opposite bank.
All her worries were unfounded though. Lex crossed the river and still did not encounter any attacks. Saleen was the last to cross and he did it by holding onto the water shield and flying across directly. After landing on the opposite bank, a small creature suddenly emerged from within the river. The creature was only the size of a palm and it stared directly at Lex's team. Saleen jerked his head back and discovered him.
If the Goddess' Oracle, Jessica, was there, she would have been furious. She spent so much energy on catalysis for this creature to guard the temple. Just before she left, she specifically instructed the creature to protect the temple, but it apparently returned back to the river instead without fulfilling its role of protection.
It had no choice. It was too weak and small and was not given enough time to grow. The intelligence of this creature had not fully matured either, so it would take another three-hundred to five-hundred years before it would fully comprehend Jessica's orders.
What it knew was that the temple belonged to him, and no strangers should get close to it. He was not powerful enough, so he could only tail behind Saleen and company. Who knew that Saleen would discover its presence the moment it emerged. This creature possessed the life strength of the Goddess.