Chapter 343
Chapter 343
Chapter 343
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 343 – Lan Qi’s Classic Skin
The fragrance of lunch still lingered in the room.Sigrid stood up and gently smoothed the hem of her dress.
She walked to the mirror, checking her appearance. The bright violet in her eyes shimmered with satisfaction and ease.
Lan Qi hadn’t moved, still seated by the small round table, seemingly lost in thought.
Steam curled from the teacup by his hand as his fingers lightly tapped the table. His gaze seemed to pierce through the window, toward the distant snowfields.
Between the two, Cat Boss paced back and forth, tail held high like a little flag, urging them to get moving on time.
“Cat Boss, don’t leave my side on the road from here on.”
Lan Qi lowered his head, looking at the black cat on the floor, his tone a reminder.
The Snowfield Province wasn’t far now—but that meant the journey ahead would be even more dangerous.
Lan Qi intended to use the [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Magic] Cat Boss carried to directly contact the lords of the Snowfield Province, but that alone wasn’t enough. They would still need to cross the mountains and drive further toward the province before it would work.
Without a relay station, [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Magic] could only reach a few dozen kilometers at most.
For communications beyond that distance, it had to be used with a terminal connected to a network of relay nodes.
Just like back at Ikerite Academy, when Adams of the Yaloran Kingdom’s academic delegation wanted to contact Knight Commander Juliana back home, he had to insert the communication card into the academy’s terminal and route through the many relay stations maintained by the United Parliament across the southern continent to complete the transmission.
Currently, all terminals in the Empire’s northern territories were under strict military control—even nobles and officials were forbidden from using them.
“Okay, meow.”
Cat Boss nodded. It understood that leaving Dandellen City and heading south would be fraught with peril.
The journey would take them through Snowfield Province, Box Mountain Province, and finally past the blockade to the Imperial Capital, Helrom—no easy feat.
The Annihilation Branch’s main force had set out from the northwest provinces. The Son of Annihilation would bring his archpriests to Box Mountain Province’s transportation hub before heading due north—toward Snowfield Province.
A little further north of that was Dandellen City, where the group currently stayed.
The cat circled anxiously on the floor.
From Lan Qi and Sigrid’s conversations these past two days, it inferred that the Son of Annihilation would likely leave most of his forces in Box Mountain Province. Holding that single choke point meant that no one could break through the Empire’s northern blockade, ensuring absolute control.
The further north one went into the desolate snowfields, the more hopeless it became—like searching for a needle in a haystack.
But for Sigrid to make it back to the Imperial Capital before the late-April election, they had to use Box Mountain Province’s maglev rail network. The Annihilation Branch knew very well that both the Ba'tian Cardinal and the Ba'tian Son would be forced to go through that province.
Once they reached that “Rock Junction” station, no disguise would help. The Cardinal’s body radiated sealing magic so strong that no mage within range could possibly miss it.
“Sigrid, how much of your strength have you recovered, meow?”
Cat Boss tilted its head up at Sigrid.
Sigrid had already transformed back into her pristine, glamorous appearance, her graceful stance betraying no weakness—but even the cat could sense that the dangerous aura she once exuded had completely vanished.
“Probably weaker than the state I was in while we were traveling north. Right now, I’m relying entirely on my Saint Son.”
Sigrid sighed helplessly.
Though the proud and imperious Ba'tian Cardinal was not the sort to say such things, right now she was Sigrid.
And besides, Lan Qi was the Saint Son she had personally chosen. Relying on one’s own chosen strength wasn’t exactly shameful.
“Meow meow…”
Cat Boss found this harmless version of Sigrid rather likable—certainly more tolerable than before—but it still shivered with fear at the danger that awaited ahead.
Even with Lan Qi holding the authority of Governor Rocky McCarthy, there was no way he could simply escort Sigrid through Box Mountain Province unopposed.
The Annihilation Branch’s main force would spare no effort to annihilate them.
The forces they could muster from Snowfield Province were nowhere near enough to confront the enemy—it was a difference of entire orders of magnitude. Worse still, the Empire’s garrison stationed in Box Mountain Province was currently cooperating with the Annihilation Branch.
If fighting broke out there, the Imperial Army would side with the Annihilation Branch first.
“Don’t worry. I have a way to get her through Box Mountain Province.”
Lan Qi set down his water glass, his straight back pressed against the chair.
Cat Boss glanced over, watching him from the side. The way Lan Qi gazed out the window made it seem like he was plotting something.
“Escort me safely back to the capital, and I’ll consider that a great merit.”
Sigrid crossed her arms and nodded, her satisfaction with her Saint Son steadily growing.
“Besides, leaving the Son of Annihilation to block Box Mountain Province isn’t right. What if some other innocent Imperial citizens are harassed trying to pass through?”
Lan Qi murmured as he stared at the window sill.
“…!”
A wave of dread shot through Cat Boss’s fur.
It knew this feeling.
Whenever this man’s sense of righteousness awakened, disaster was sure to follow—and someone, somewhere, was bound to suffer.
Back in Ikerite, at least there had been someone sane around to serve as a counterbalance.
But ever since coming to the Empire, Lan Qi had thrown away the brakes completely and started running wild.
The cat was no longer looking forward to seeing Huperion.Now it dreaded that meeting.
It had sinned! It no longer had the face to see Hu Bao!
As Cat Boss was writhing in moral agony, Lan Qi stood up, slinging his coat over one shoulder as he turned to Sigrid.
“Let’s go, Sigrid. But the road ahead is going to get even more dangerous—you’ll need to change your appearance again.”
He pulled from his pocket a [Transformation: Human] card and handed it to her.
This was the last one he had with modifications for hair color and facial features.
Only the very first card he’d used upon arriving on the northern continent remained—
The one that could turn her into a green-eyed, chestnut-haired girl, just like Governor Rocky McCarthy.
Sigrid accepted the spell card and quickly used it to change her appearance, then raised her gaze to Lan Qi.
From the moment she’d awakened, Lan Qi had been in a different appearance too—yet she alone knew he was still himself.
“I’ve never seen you use this disguise before. Why?”
She stared at the young man’s black-haired, green-eyed visage. It was aloof yet oddly gentle, more striking than any of his previous disguises.
Why was he choosing to make himself so eye-catching this time?
“…”
Lan Qi only smiled wordlessly, coat slung casually over his shoulder.