Umbilical Cord / A Little Blood

He knew he probably wouldn't live past today.

But... to his astonishment, the terrifying monster called Patriot didn't even glance at him once. Instead, it stood directly in front of FrostNova and slowly, but firmly, raised its shield.

"We meet again..."

"The... master of the Banshee Court..."

The Patriot stared at Maria, speaking slowly and deliberately...

Chapter 160 Umbilical Cord

"..."

"The Lady... is not... with you?"

The Patriot seemed to know Maria; his tone was strange, but at least he sounded somewhat human.

Maria simply watched him silently.

She knew nothing about the so-called Banshee Court that the other party mentioned.

But this wasn't the first time she'd heard that title.

During the day, the doctor named Warfarin also mentioned this name in her description.

This further confirms that the Maria Warfarin spoke of is indeed the current Maria, and that she left her mark not only in Siracusa but also in the so-called Banshee Court.

"... What is the purpose of your presence here?"

Wendigo spoke again, his eyes fixed intently on the woman before him, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Although they were no longer enemies in terms of their identities, the war they fought back then was still fresh in his memory.

She was a Valkyrie who, with the purest, most savage, and most terrifying methods, single-handedly changed the entire battlefield.

If the other party hadn't refused, he had no doubt that the title of Sarkaz God of War would have been a part of their medals...

"I'm taking him away."

Maria could sense the intense aura of decay emanating from the other creature. Although other races in this world did not evoke the same aura in Maria, there was no doubt that this monster was the one who made her feel the most disgusted.

That intense sense of inhumanity made Maria want to kill more than once.

But she managed to suppress them all very well.

She was actually quite curious about what this so-called "Banshee Court" was.

"I... understand..."

After a long silence, Wendigo gave his response.

He took a small step back, declaring his resolve.

This decision left almost everyone utterly astonished.

Especially the white rabbit standing to the side, she looked at her adoptive father in disbelief, not understanding why he would make such a choice at this moment.

But she still raised her hand earnestly.

"You can only take his body..."

Regardless, a mission is a mission, and FrostNova will not allow her mission to fail.

As she finished speaking, ice gradually condensed in her hand, as if she wanted to launch an attack on the Skullshatterer.

Maria silently turned her head and looked at the white rabbit.

She made no verbal refusal, but simply watched silently.

The atmosphere gradually froze...

"How rude!"

Wendigo noticed FrostNova's actions almost instantly. For the first time ever, he scolded his beloved child and forcefully grabbed her arm.

A chilling aura instantly spread from the point of contact between the two, reaching the Wendigo's entire hand in a flash.

Even so, he did not back down an inch!

Meanwhile, the members of the Yeti Squad all lowered their heads, pretending not to see anything.

They were the younger brothers who followed their boss, and they only listened to her in everything, but... they also listened to some of what their boss's father said.

What can they do if their eldest sister and father have a fight?

Isn't it just being a wooden puppet?

"..."

FrostNova didn't speak, but simply pursed her lips, gazing at Wendigo, half of which was gradually being covered in ice and snow.

That forceful action was extremely rare... Even though FrostNova was completely numb at this moment, she could still vaguely feel the force the other party was exerting.

This made her realize that her adoptive father was serious.

Patriot don't want her to take action!

After hesitating for a moment, her feelings for the task ultimately prevailed over her duty, and she silently lowered her hand.

Continuing like this, whether the mission succeeds or not is another matter, but Patriot's already poor health will definitely get worse.

Although she never expressed her feelings for him, she still respected and loved the monster who had saved and raised her...

Even though everyone else was so afraid of him.

Wendigo secretly breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

But after hesitating for a moment, he turned around and silently took out a strange cuboid from his pocket.

"This is... the promise... I have fulfilled it... and I return it to you."

"Um?"

Upon seeing what the other person had taken out, Maria hesitated before stepping forward.

But then, her expression froze.

"... the Key."

In Wendigo's hand lay Key exactly the same as the one Maria held!

Except for the fact that the other person's hands were quite rusty, everything else was almost exactly the same!

But... this...

After a moment of stunned silence, Maria instantly understood what this meant.

Clearly, this is a reminder to myself from my future self.

The Doll had previously reminded him of a plan to rebuild Yharnam in Terra.

The mobile platform corresponding to the Key is their ideal territory.

But... there are quite a few problems with this so-called renovation.

The primary question is, where exactly is this platform located?

She obtained the Umbilical Cord needed for the transformation when she slaughtered the Wolf Lord of Siracusa.

Little Regret AI brain controlling the platform is also ready.

The only question is, where exactly is the platform located?

Clearly, since he had handed over the Key at that time, it meant he no longer needed to rely on the Key to locate his territory... In other words, he had already found the corresponding mobile platform...

And if we reason in this direction...

Maria squinted and looked at Wendigo in front of her.

"Then... what about its corresponding platform?"

"... Number 14... is... approaching Lungmen."

"... Thanks."

Maria nodded silently, expressing her gratitude.

This attitude allowed Wendigo to breathe a sigh of relief.

To be honest, it really didn't expect that it would encounter this legendary figure again at this time.

His warlike nature made him unafraid of the monster before him, but his past experiences and rational understanding told him that even at his peak, he might not be able to defeat it.

The best outcome would be to avoid conflict altogether.

As for the traitor's Skullshatterer...

That doesn't matter anymore.

Anyway, once he goes back, he'll take responsibility for all of these problems.

Moreover, there was something else that he valued even more than those things.

"Miss..."

Watching Maria leave with those bewildered, Skullshatterer, Patriot remained silent for a moment before raising his hand again.

"I want to... make a deal with you..."

"... trade?"

Maria turned her head and looked at the other person.

Patriot, however, remained calm and slowly reached into his robes, then carefully removed a small, blackened, withered, charcoal-like object that looked as if it had been burned in a fire.

Maria recognized it at a glance.

In the hands of Patriot, there is a piece of Umbilical Cord?!

Chapter 161 A Drop of Blood

Maria fell silent upon seeing the Umbilical Cord in Patriot's hand.

She raised her head and silently gazed at the Gundam-like figure before her.

Although no words were spoken, the invisible pressure made Patriot feel the weight of his shield.

But he also knew that if he let this elusive female warrior go this time, he might not be able to see her again.

Moreover... FrostNova's body wouldn't be able to hold out until then.

Therefore, even knowing that removing the Umbilical Cord at this time would make the other party's attitude ambiguous, he resolutely removed it.

He wants to make a deal with Maria!

"... Do you know what this is?"

No.

The Patriot explained his thoughts very frankly.

He didn't actually know what this thing that looked like burnt charcoal was; he only knew that it contained some kind of power that he didn't understand... This power could only be used, and he had no idea how to use it.

But he had seen it; Maria went searching for those Umbilical Cord.

This made him realize that this thing was very important to Maria.

It was also the only bargaining chip he could use to make a deal with Maria.

Where did you get these Umbilical Cord from?

Maria continued to ask questions.

The Patriot also readily explained the source of these items.

"Inner Guards..."

"The Ursus Inner Guards... those mad Inner Guards who sought to master Daemon power..."

Patriot was once a member of the Ursus army, but due to Ursus's strict policies towards the Infected, his only child was driven to death... From that moment on, he chose to leave.

The Ursus Empire, of course, would not allow such a monster to roam its territory, and had sent many Blades to attack him.

Unfortunately, those Blades were still no match for the only pureblood Wendigo remaining in the world.