Chapter 172
... Numerous black shadows rolled and roared, among which a pure white figure stood out conspicuously.
It was a woman.
Compared to those distorted, shapeless black shadows, that white figure was so clear that he could even make out the outline of its face.
She stood there, enveloped by the returning shadows.
This was the last thing he saw in that instant.
The next second, their vision was able to re-observe the real world around them.
"Zuo Jian!!! Are you alright??"
Laurentina's voice rang out, instantly snapping him back to reality.
Am I falling?
This is... the perspective of the one-eyed being released?
Damn it, the momentary disconnection caused the pupil in mid-air to stop flapping its wings, and then it immediately returned to the embrace of gravity.
But...
Zuo Jian was taken aback and glanced around.
He was still a short distance from the ground, so why was Laurentina making an anxious sound?
The next moment, he seemed to understand something.
As his gaze shifted, Zuo Jian quickly saw Laurentina's worried face and Skadi's wide-eyed expression.
As for why he was able to see the faces of the two people in the driver's seat?
That's because he landed directly in front of the high-speed land vehicle.
The good news is that he doesn't have to worry about his fragile eyeball structure being smashed to pieces by falling from a height of 100 meters.
The bad news is that, if his calculations are correct, his landing speed will cause him to crash head-on into what appears to be the license plate of the land vehicle before he lands. At that point, there are probably two possibilities: either he crashes directly into the front of the vehicle and becomes a bloody mess on the license plate.
Or they'd be knocked flying, landing on some unknown rocky ground, and turning into a complete mess.
The premise is that he doesn't resist.
Are you kidding me?! How could he not resist?!
Not everyone has a thing for dump trucks! He's already transmigrated, so there's no need to make up for this process for him!
Constructing wings or any other structure that alters airflow in an instant is impractical; at this distance, only instantaneous hardening is feasible...
Wait a minute! Aren't we still going to get hit?
Moreover! After it's hardened, a collision with the front of the vehicle will almost certainly cause the front to dent... This land vehicle isn't the one Eblana was riding in, which is now his in name only.
They actually rented it in Londinium before they left!
,...
"Damn it."
In a daze, Zuo Jian sighed, and then, as a supplementary ticket, experienced a step that every time traveler must go through.
"Zuo Jian!!!!"
"Smack!!!!"
Time seemed to resume its flowing pace, accompanied by Laurentina's exclamation.
The brakes screeched, and the tires came to a stop, leaving dark tracks on the ground.
Laurentina got out of the car without hesitation and looked under it, but found no trace of him...
"I'm in front..."
A helpless sound came from the front of the car. The person quickly walked to the front of the car and saw a small patch of bloodstains slowly wriggling on the license plate.
"Are you alright, Zuo Jian?"
Laurentina knelt down beside her and asked with concern.
"Physically, you should be fine, but there's still some psychological trauma..."
"What happened to you just now? You seemed to lose consciousness for a moment, what happened?!"
She raised her hand, letting the Zuo Jian return to her body from her fingertips.
[Just now... I think I was dragged into a consciousness space... not my space, but someone else's.]
[... It's too far away to sense it anymore. Is it Originium Arts? It's mentioned in the book; although rare, mental spells do exist.]
"Where? How can someone from this far away interfere with you?"
Laurentina's face instantly darkened, and then a long-handled Circular Saw materialized from her palm, her expression filled with murderous intent as she spoke.
"I'm going to kill that guy who's bothering you."
[Hey, hey, hey, there's no need for that. We haven't figured out what happened yet, and I wasn't their target. I was probably just caught in the crossfire while using my enhanced senses to observe the terrain from high above.]
Laurentina seemed calm as she listened to Zuo Jian's explanation.
She sighed with relief and released her grip on the saw.
"Yes... I'm sorry, I just..."
[I understand, I understand, but... can't you feel the position anymore?]
Zuo Jian eye opened through Laurentina's collar.
He was still somewhat bothered by it.
The white figure I saw in that instant.
He sensed a feeling of sadness emanating from that figure.
In addition... could it affect his mental state?
Frankly, this is a threat.
Moreover, it was the first threat he had encountered since arriving in Terra that was so significant that he could not ignore it.
Whatever the reason, he was determined to investigate.
But, can't you feel the location anymore...?
"The Zuo Jian... that... map..."
Just then, Skadi's voice drew their attention. Laurentina had brought Zuo Jian back to the lander, and they watched as Skadi pointed to the terrain map Zuo Jian had created on the vehicle.
At this moment, a thin line of blood appeared in one corner of the map. It stretched straight in one direction until it stopped at a certain point, where it coalesced into an 'x' mark.
"What is this?"
[... The map markings, the actions of recording the surrounding terrain and synchronizing them to the map at the moment of loss of consciousness, were preserved... those were the other party's coordinates.]
"That..."
[We'll talk about that later, Laurentina. Let's go to the Earl's territory first.]
[Regardless, there is indeed a threat there for the time being; at the very least, we must be prepared.]
(Your Highness, my Your Highness... Don't worry! I'm a fanfiction writer! I absolutely won't let my favorite character die twice in a row!!! Mr. Zuo Jian!! Help the Doctor!!)
Chapter Seven, Earl's Domain
We're almost there.
The three of them rode in a land vehicle facing the setting sun, watching the Mobile City area gradually approaching before them.
The Earl of Warwick's estate was also the former "home" of Loughshinny and Eblana.
Theoretically, they should have arrived at this area long ago, but after their consciousness was affected by an "anomaly" from an unknown source, Laurentina refused to transform back into her previous form and fly into the sky to act as a map guide.
This meant that Skadi, who had no sense of direction, had to rely on verbally describing the route to reach the Earl's Domain. The numerous mishaps along the way naturally reduced her driving efficiency, but fortunately, Skadi's driving skills compensated for this...
For some unknown reason, the lander stalled for a while. Skadi glanced at the dashboard, then got out of the car with a stack of tools from the trunk and started fiddling with the lander's engine. A few minutes later, when the engine roared up again, Zuo Jian even looked at Skadi had returned to the driver's seat expressionlessly, with a somewhat unfamiliar gaze.
Laurentina, seemingly unfazed, told Zuo Jian that Skadi did indeed possess some extraordinary talent in this kind of place... something that ordinary people couldn't achieve.
Just as Laurentina would have been an excellent sculptor if she hadn't become Abyssal Hunters, Skadi, if she hadn't chosen to become an Abyssal Hunters... would probably have been a seasoned plumber?
Zuo Jian was taken aback. So, Skadi was actually... surprisingly reliable?
"Zuo Jian, we've arrived. What should we do next? Go in?"
Skadi stopped the land vehicle and looked at the Mobile City before her. To be honest, if Wellington's territory was a prosperous city, then Warwick's territory could only be considered an ordinary town.
It wasn't even... the kind of place that would be considered very comfortable in a small town.
But even so, it is still the home of many ordinary people.
[Get out of the vehicle. Just leave the lander outside. The residents might be more sensitive around this time.]
Zuo Jian finished speaking, he gestured for Skadi to park the land vehicle on the outskirts of the territory. Then, the group opened the car doors. Apart from himself, it was the first time the other two had set foot in this territory.
After he finished speaking, his body detached from Laurentina's skirt and transformed back into the form of the man who called himself the Dragonblood Duke.
"The distance shouldn't be too far; we'll walk to the original Earl's mansion."
He turned his head and whispered to the two of them.
Compared to his time in Saltwind City, he felt much more at ease now. He had a plan, new companions, knew what he was doing, and believed that his actions could change their future...
"Ah! Zuo Jian has turned into an old man!" Skadi exclaimed in surprise, pointing at his face.
Well, perhaps his companions aren't always entirely reliable.
... That's not quite right either. Strictly speaking, Skadi is just Laurentina's companion. She's only helping Skadi because of Laurentina, and she'll probably leave sooner or later.
Thinking about it this way, I suddenly felt much more at ease.
Zuo Jian walked in front, and the other two followed him across the city gate.
There were no guards or anyone else responsible for protecting these areas, although there weren't any on the last visit.
He had seen guards and such personnel, but he didn't know if it was because the Earl's reputation during his lifetime meant he didn't need these so-called guards to guard these entrances and exits, or if the original guards had immediately scattered like birds and beasts after his death.
But the Earl had been dead for some time, and he didn't care about the truth behind it... nor did he want to delve into it.
"This place... feels a bit like that Saltwind City in Iberia."
Laurentina followed Zuo Jian Zuojian, looking around at the surrounding houses, and spoke with a slight frown.
"But..."
"However, even though the environment here is much better than that of Saltwind City, it feels no different from when we first entered Saltwind City."
He received Laurentina's words on his Zuo Jian, while looking out at the sprawling residential area.
"Poor families typically eat only two meals a day, usually in the morning and afternoon. The sun is already beginning to set, but there's very little smoke rising from the chimneys, and the streets are almost deserted..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the buildings not far away and saw several children looking at them curiously from behind the windows.
But soon, the woman inside the house hurriedly took the child away and drew the curtains.
Are these all Tarans...? It seems the Earl's death truly had a huge impact on them...
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they are afraid of the next Earl to take office.
Most Victoria could only describe their attitude towards the Tarans as terrible. Someone like the Earl... putting aside any schemes or plans he might have, the fact that he would help the Tarans until his death was incredibly rare, one in a million.
In their minds, they would never be accepted by the Victoria.
What will the next Earl do to them? Perhaps bullying men and women would be the least of their worries; he might reduce their land holdings, raise taxes, and conscript laborers?
Zuo Jian was never worried about how despicable the bottom line these powerful figures could display.
Perhaps the reality is worse than I think.
He veered off the main road and walked to a house on the side of the road.
In front of the house is a small courtyard, where several budding flowers sway quietly in the breeze, and the neatly cleared weeds around them testify to the care and attention the owner once gave them.
But when he reached the front door and gently placed his hand on the door...