"What do you plan to do now? Do you think you can sustain yourself by hiding? This is the Otherworld, you can’t hide. You’re bound to come across magic again, and your body will eventually die due to magic power erosion. Have you really thought about your future?" Cheng Ziang asked, looking at him.
"Going back to Earth now is useless. Earth’s medical science can’t treat the damage to the body’s veins. So, what good would it be to remove the bullet? If the headquarters finds out that I can’t withstand magic power anymore, I would never get the chance to return to the Otherworld," Luo’er said with his head down.
Apparently, Luo’er had his own predicaments. If headquarters knew about his inability to withstand magic power, they would definitely forbid him from going to the Otherworld, hence, that would mean a complete loss of his chance to find his mother.
Presently, Luo’er wouldn’t forget the moment when their family was separated. The words his mother said to him then. For him, finding his mother was more important than anything else, the only hope in his life, he couldn’t be delayed because of his physical condition.
Cheng Ziang quietly watched him, he moved his mouth to say something, but ended up shutting it hopelessly. After a long silence, he finally said: "At the very least, you should explain the situation to Moumou and others, to spare them from carelessly using magic and worsening your condition!"
Cheng Ziang knew it was pointless to persuade Luo’er. The plan to find his mother was deeply ingrained in his genes. As long as he was alive, he would never leave Otherworld.
"Moumou, she..." Luo’er seemed to want to say something but stopped short.
"Are you still worried about her?" Cheng Ziang looked at him and said somewhat helplessly, "She’s not young anymore, she knows what responsibility is. You are always protecting her , will it be helpful for her growth? This is fundamentally her responsibility. It was because of her that you were shot, don’t you plan to let her take responsibility?"
"It wasn’t Moumou’s fault," Luo’er sighed and then said, "If she knew I got hurt because of her, she would definitely feel guilty. Moumou is a kind girl, I don’t want to make her become cold-blooded because of me."
Cheng Ziang quietly watched him, couldn’t resist laughing after a while and then asked, "What about Yue’er?"
"Yue’er..." Whenever Baiyue was mentioned, Luo’er couldn’t help feeling guilty. Often times, the comfort he provided to Baiyue was even less than half of what he gave to Tangmo.
"She likes you so much, but she deserves to bear the pain of your injury. Is it because she is mature and sensible, you would prefer to hurt her?" Cheng Ziang asked.
Listening to Cheng Ziang’s words, Luo’er fell into deep silence. After a while, he blew out the congealed blood from his nose, then washed his face with clear water.
Seeing his silent appearance, Cheng Ziang sighed and then said, "Since you are unwilling to speak, then I won’t interfere in your affairs."
"Thank you!" Luo’er said gratefully.
"But listen carefully," said Cheng Ziang, pointing at him and speaking coldly, "If in the future your old injury recurs due to magic power, then the captain’s power will unconditionally transfer to me. You will do what I tell you to do, understand?"
"You’re trying to seize power, huh?" said Luo’er weakly with a smile, as if it were a joke.
"I’m not joking, you better listen carefully!" said Cheng Ziang coldly. Then he turned his head and huffily walked away from him.
Luo’er understood Cheng Ziang’s good intentions. If his old ailment relapsed next time, this fellow would definitely exercise the captain’s authority to get him back to Earth. So even though it was well-intentioned, he had no intention of accepting it.
After spending some time in the restroom, Luo’er’s complexion finally returned to normal. He went to the cabin from the hallway and found the two girls sitting facing each other, not continuing the drawing or speaking, just sitting there awkwardly.
"What happened to you two?" Luo’er asked with a smile as he walked in.
"Luo’er, are you okay?" Tangmo immediately stood up when she saw Luo’er walk in, her face full of concern.
"I’m fine. I’ve told you, it’s just indigestion," Luo’er reassured, gently patting her little head and smiling.
"Really?" Tangmo asked, half believing and half doubting.
"Of course!" Luo’er’s smile was still so gentle.
He turned his head to look at Baiyue who was silently bowing her head. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his heart, thinking of Cheng Ziang’s words. Indeed, only he and Baiyue knew about his illness, and this girl younger than Tangmo had to bear the punishment of being mature.
"Moumou, go get something to eat from the deputy, I’m a bit hungry!" Luo’er said to Tangmo. Ever since they had helped the merchant ship fend off pirates, they had been treated as honored guests, not only waiving the fare, but also moving into a larger cabin.
"Oh, then I’ll go right away!" Tangmo didn’t see through Luo’er’s mind, she nodded and ran obediently out of the cabin.
Now there were only Luo’er and Baiyue left in the cabin. Luo’er sighed and walked over to kneel before Baiyue. Taking hold of her hand, which rested on her thigh, he said gently, "I’m sorry for making you worry about me all the time!"
Baiyue’s body moved uneasily, but she did not pull her hand away. Suddenly she began to sob, and tears began to fall onto Luo’er’s hand.
"Sometimes, seeing her innocently naive face, I really want to slap her. But I can’t do it, because not only would it hurt her, it would also hurt you. But I’m really upset. You’ve been so badly injured, yet she always intentionally or unintentionally hurts you, always with such blissful ignorance," Baiyue sobbed and complained.
"I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you every time," Luo’er bowed his head, apologizing remorsefully.
"Luo’er, is it because I’m too understanding that you’re so indulgent with her? Should I also become naive and childish to get your attention? Clearly, clearly I was the first. To meet, or to talk. But why do you indulge her so much?" Baiyue, wet-cheeked with tears, looked at him grievously.
"Yes, I’m sorry..." Uncertain of how to respond, Luo’er could only repeat these words over and over.
Seeing Luo’er’s reaction, Baiyue angrily withdrew her hand, biting her lip and looking down in silence. Luo’er had no idea how to comfort her and could only stand up helplessly.
The mood of the team fell again due to Luo’er, which also brought him a wave of guilt.
After traveling most of the journey on the merchant ship, the group disembarked as planned and hired a carriage to the Secret Manor.
Following Luo’er’s suggestion, the Headquarters established communication with the intelligence agency, both agreeing to stand against the Otherworlders’ instigation and fighting with the Church Court’s people.
The smooth consensus was facilitated because the intelligence agency had no idea who held Arya’s Blade. Although they have been on guard against the Headquarters, this suspicion is merely based on conjecture. After all, the entire ambush team had taken heavy casualties, and they had no clue who ended up with Arya’s Blade.
After receiving a friendly gesture from the Headquarters, the intelligence agency began to suspect that the Aud people might have stolen Arya’s Blade and intended to sow discord between the Earth nations and the Church. Of course, if they knew Arya’s Blade was in the Headquarters’ possession, they would undoubtedly bare their fangs.
Having resolved the issue with the intelligence agency, Wang Xu dispatched people to negotiate with the Judgement Legion and commendably convinced the three factions to sit at the negotiation table. While the Church and the intelligence agency suspect the other parties may have obtained Arya’s Blade, without evidence, they have no basis for accusations.
After several days of negotiations, both sides reached a temporary consensus that the Earth forces wouldn’t target the Yazhi City or the Judgement Legion, and similarly, the Judgement Legion would exercise restraint towards the Earth forces. Anyone bearing the banner of the Earth or the Church would be regarded as the fourth faction, unrelated to the other three factions.
With this, Luo’er and his team’s primary concern was resolved. The three factions simply had to wait it out in Yazhi City, and within a certain period, they will maintain an equitable peace without any unexpected outbreak of violence.
Of course, this stalemate benefits the Headquarters the most. After all, they do have Arya’s Blade; as long as they can get the detailed blueprints to Earth, they can pretty much do anything with the original, even selling it off as a favor to the Church if they want.
Despite the tension within the team, the work of drawing and recording proceeded systematically. The two girls obtained a large amount of detailed data from Arya’s Blade through photography, drawing, interpreting, and textual records, enough to reproduce a new Arya’s Blade on Earth.
According to the records, Arya’s Blade’s thin blade is engraved with at least four types of runes: Anti-Magic, Breaking Armor, Defense, and Weightlessness.
Of course, there is no need to explain the Anti-Magic Glyph, it negates all forms of magic, including spells and Rune Array Magic, constituting the Blade’s principal rune.
Next is the Breaking Armor glyph, mainly located on the blade’s edge. This glyph alters the physical properties of metal, making it soft; so that metallic armors become as soft as butter before Arya’s Blade.
Then there is the Defense glyph, primarily reinforcing the blade, preventing damage during combat. Apart from this, the hilt is engraved with the Weightlessness glyph, a weaker version of the Anti-Gravity glyph, mainly balancing the weight of the blade, keeping it in a comfortable weight range.
The runes on Arya’s Blade ensure its disregard for magical defense, it can easily slice through metallic armor; a reasonable weightlessness glyph ensures the wielder doesn’t have to exert much strength, and the defense glyph ensures it can withstand collisions with other weapons without the fear of damage.
Arya’s Blade is famously known for its anti-magic abilities. In the Otherworld, magic is usually non-concrete, so the main purpose of anti-magic is to tear through the Defense runes on Rune Armors.