Chapter 60 - 54: The Past of Black Water, Key to the Holy Land

Chapter 60: Chapter 54: The Past of Black Water, Key to the Holy Land

Gale Step!

The War Axe targeted her pale back and came crashing down!

"PSH!"

The blade tore through flesh and blood. The immense force sent her flying more than ten meters, and she only stopped when she slammed into a black boulder on the shore.

She collapsed onto the sand, blood pooling beneath her as her breathing grew faint.

Her resentful eyes watched as the tall Beastman approached step by step, blood still dripping from the blade of his axe.

Just as Hellish Roar raised his War Axe, preparing to deliver the Slaying blow.

"Wait."

Shen Xing’s voice rang out from behind him, and the Beastman’s War Axe froze in midair.

His wheelchair crunched over the black gravel, stopping less than a meter away from her.

The Dark Naga Priestess on the ground lifted her head to meet a handsome face and a pair of scrutinizing eyes.

"Hmph... You wretched human..."

The Naga Priestess glared at him, her voice barely a whisper. "Do you think this is over? Soon... you will regret what you’ve done today..."

Shen Xing ignored her threat and got straight to the point. "Do you know Garrett?"

Hearing the name, a flicker of confusion crossed the Naga Priestess’s eyes before being quickly replaced by hatred.

"I don’t know who you’re talking about. If you’re going to kill me, just do it. Cut the crap." She sounded indifferent to her fate.

"You don’t know Garrett?"

Shen Xing’s brow furrowed slightly as he pressed on. "Then why did he tell us to kill you? He also told us to bring back this bracelet, claiming it belonged to his late wife."

"The bracelet..."

The Naga Priestess glanced instinctively at her right wrist. As if realizing something, the expression in her eyes shifted rapidly.

"Hmph... So it was that ungrateful bastard who sent you. That certainly sounds like him."

’So this Naga Priestess really is connected to the Wandering Merchant,’ Shen Xing thought, his interest piqued.

Xia Wanyin walked over and asked softly, "Ungrateful how? What’s your relationship with him?"

The Naga Priestess shot her a look and said coldly, "Weren’t you sent here to kill me? Then get on with it. Why ask so many questions?"

Shen Xing shook his head. "I’d rather get the full story. That guy wasn’t telling the truth, and I have no intention of getting screwed over."

"Hmph... Not completely stupid, then," the Naga Priestess sneered. "You were indeed being used. If you had killed me just now, you would have been subjected to the ancient curse of the Dark Naga Race."

"Within a week, you would have dissolved into a pool of black water and died in agony."

"A curse? What are you talking about?" Shen Xing’s brow creased.

"Haven’t you noticed that I’m different from the other Dark Naga?" The Naga Priestess seemed to have recovered some of her strength; her murderous aura had faded.

"Different?"

Shen Xing gave her a long, scrutinizing look before nodding slowly. "You are different. You’re much bigger."

Don’t get the wrong idea. He meant in terms of strength.

Beyond that, there was a major difference in their auras. The other Naga showed little intelligence, and even their Life Auras were faint, like common mobs in a video game.

But this Female Naga was the sole exception. Not only was her Life Force abundant, but she also possessed a high degree of intelligence.

"So, what’s the deal with this curse?" Xia Wanyin asked softly.

The Naga Priestess glanced at her and began to explain slowly, "Most of our Dark Naga Race are born in the Dark Holy Land at the bottom of the river. They serve as our clan’s primary combat units."

"Only a small number of Dark Naga are born naturally, gestated by a mother."

"And we naturally born Naga shoulder the responsibility of leading the entire Race and guarding the Holy Land."

"Therefore, if you kill me, the Holy Land will lay an ancient curse upon you. Your deaths will be certain."

"That ungrateful bastard has designs on our Holy Land, but he doesn’t want to suffer the curse himself. So, he’s using you to get to me."

Shen Xing nodded in understanding as he listened, cursing inwardly.

’Dammit, of course this quest was a setup.’

’Good thing I didn’t completely trust that Wandering Merchant. It seems that in this world, even neutral NPCs aren’t necessarily harmless.’

’Truly, honest people like me are a dying breed.’

"Then why is he so determined to kill you? And what about him saying the bracelet is his late wife’s? What’s going on?" Xia Wanyin pressed for more details.

At this question, a complex mix of anger, sorrow, and other emotions flickered in the Naga Priestess’s eyes.

After a moment of silence, she began her story.

"More than a decade ago, a Knight was crossing the Black Water River by boat. When he reached the middle of the river, a sudden gale capsized his vessel, throwing both him and his horse into the water."

"A young Naga Priestess couldn’t bear to watch the Knight drown, so she rescued him and nursed him back to health."

"Perhaps it was through spending so much time together as she cared for him, but the two developed feelings for one another. And so, two beings from different Races came together."

"A few months later, the Naga became pregnant."

"The bond of blood in her womb made her lower her guard completely. She took the Knight to her people’s most sacred place: the Holy Land."

"It was only then that the Knight revealed his true colors."

"Everything he had done was for the sake of entering the Holy Land of the Dark Naga Race and seizing the holy relic, the Sovereign’s Staff of Black Water."

"He sealed the Naga Priestess and tried to steal the staff. Fortunately, the Holy Land was protected by one final seal that could not be opened without a key."

"Filled with grief and rage, the Naga Priestess used a forbidden power to shatter the seal on herself and drive the Knight away."

"But the power took too great a toll. That, combined with her pregnancy, caused her to die, filled with regret."

As she said this, a look of pure hatred crossed the Naga Priestess’s face, and her voice grew several shades colder.

"But that man still hasn’t given up. He wants to enter the Holy Land again to steal the staff."

"This bracelet... is the key to the Holy Land."

After she finished her story, Shen Xing and Xia Wanyin fell silent for a moment, processing everything she had said.

’The story sounds a bit melodramatic, but it’s logical,’ Shen Xing thought. ’It explains why the Wandering Merchant wanted this Pearl bracelet and why he wanted this Naga dead.’

’Listening to her, it sounds like we’re the damn villains here, aren’t we?’

’So after all that fighting, were we just helping a monster, screwing over the Dark Naga Race for that Wandering Merchant?’

However, Shen Xing didn’t fully believe the Naga Priestess’s words.

Knowing the Wandering Merchant had already deceived them, Shen Xing wasn’t about to blindly trust the one-sided story of another NPC.

’Besides... if I let her go, what about my quest?’

His gaze fell upon the Naga Priestess on the ground as he said in a low voice, "You just said that killing you means suffering the ancient curse of the Naga Race."

"So, if I have someone else do it, the curse won’t fall on me, will it?"

Hearing this, the Naga Priestess’s pupils contracted sharply.

Beside him, Xia Wanyin whipped her head around, a look of shock on her face.

...

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