When Ash and his team proactively engaged the Griffin Army, they initially thought to go easy since it was their first encounter, hoping that subduing them might lead to future negotiation opportunities.
But Ash quickly realized that they were the ones at a disadvantage.
The Griffin Army’s flight speed was incredibly fast. Ash and his team couldn’t catch up without using a Miracle for movent. However, the Griffin Army excelled at using weather to their advantage. These teorologists didn’t directly confront Ash and his team but instead kept evading while creating thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other extre weather to hinder these three foreign intruders as much as possible.
The teorologists kept casting spells from a safe distance. When Ash and his team tried to counterattack, they would imdiately retreat; when Ash and his team tried to run, they would chase relentlessly. Even the Holy Sanctuary Mage found it exhausting, unable to find a chance to hide. They were hunted for an entire day and night, and the number of Griffin teorologists kept increasing, even alternating shifts, treating Ash and his team like they were tackling a Fish-Slicing Dragon.
It wasn’t until their seventh failed attempt to hide that Igula suddenly realized they might be monitored by a Miracle, which was why they were being found no matter where they hid.
After multiple tests, they were sure the surveillance originated from the sky, so after adding a camouflage against the sky, the Griffin teorologists could no longer determine their precise location.
Then Ash and his team successfully blended into the surrounding towns, and by comparing maps, they discovered they had been chased by the Griffin teorologists for hundreds of kiloters. Naturally, the Griffin teorologists wouldn’t give up easily. Unable to pinpoint their exact location, they decided to conduct a carpet search!
To escape these pursuers, Ash and his team boarded a luxurious train, turning back towards Jiale City.
The Griffin teorologists would never have expected these three foreign workers, who had already been identified as lacking residency permits, not only didn’t flee in panic but brazenly headed towards the Kingdom of Stars’ capital, Jiale City. Truly ambitious foreign workers, one might say.
Although they "boarded the train," using any transportation required identification, and even moving livestock like Lala Fat required proof of quarantine. Ash and his team couldn’t disguise as Lala Fat, so they relied on the versatile Igula to mislead the train staff, sneaking into the restroom until the train left the Griffin teorologists’ search area before erging.
Mighty Holy Sanctuary Mage, the first unlawful act in the Kingdom of Stars was to ride the train without a ticket.
"I’m very serious, really, never closed my eyes for a mont," Ash said serenely. "But I wonder which two kids dozed off? Sigh, taking care of two kids is so tiring..."
"I was just resting my eyes," Harvey imdiately said. "If I were to sleep, it would be in a coffin, not standing up and passing out. But you’re right; taking care of two kids is really exhausting."
Igula was nearly laughing with anger: "You two still think you’re not in the kids’ category? If it weren’t for taking care of you two big babies, would I have fallen asleep in the restroom?"
At this mont, the compartnt door suddenly swung open, and a handso blond youth hurried in, passing through the car like a gust of wind.
Ash and his team barely caught a glimpse of the back, and then Harvey suddenly said, "It’s a woman."
"Yes, indeed," Igula confird, "and with a great figure."
"Have you two been deprived for too long, seeing a handso guy and thinking it’s a girl?" Ash rubbed his forehead. "Do you need to handle your physiological needs in the restroom? Just don’t go together."
"Didn’t you sense anything?" Igula asked.
"Sense what?"
"The Black Crow’s scent!"
"Do you an a bloody sll or sothing?"
Harvey explained: "It’s the kind where it’s clearly a woman but insists on acting like a man."
Ash replied: "First, are you talking about sll or so abstract intuition? Second, are you certain Tamasi is a woman?"
The Swindler and the Necromancer exchanged a glance, and Igula was a bit uncertain: "A man couldn’t possibly look like that, could they...?"
"Before eting you, I never thought a man could look so flamboyant," Ash remarked. "This hypothesis doesn’t hold."
Harvey raised his hand: "I have evidence; the Black Crow has a wider pelvis, a very prominent and large butt, that proves it’s a woman, right?"
"It still doesn’t hold," Ash spread his hands. "Igula is a perfect counterexample to your evidence."
"That’s true..."
"Are you two deliberately mocking ?" Igula trembled with anger, his shoulders shaking, and said coldly, "Ash, aren’t you always carrying the Black Crow? Didn’t you feel anything?"
"She wore armor all the ti, making her rock-hard," Ash sighed. "How could I feel anything? Plus, I didn’t even think about that back then."
Igula provocatively asked, "So do you hope Black Crow is a man or a woman?"
"Is there even a question?" Ash replied instantly, "I wish you two were won!"
Slap!
Ash reached out to block attacks from both sides, saying, "Okay, okay, aren’t you two very tired? Just sleep a bit more while you have ti. I’ll stay awake and keep watch. When we reach Jiale City, we’ll still need to find a place to settle down."
Ash understood why Igula and Harvey were so weary—one had to regenerate starting from the eyeballs, while the other’s body was like a torn doll with cotton spilling out. Though they finally recovered, they had exhausted too much life energy, requiring not only a lot of food but also plenty of sleep to regulate their bodies, like oiling new gears to assist in their breaking-in.
They were exhausted.
Not to ntion they had just survived the Silent Spiral catastrophe and, upon arriving in the Kingdom of Stars, had been chased by Griffin teorologists for a day and night. Even if they were made of iron, they couldn’t withstand such relentless abuse.
"Hmm," Igula covered his eyes with his arm, "I am a bit tired... but a Swindler never feels sleepy in unsafe places; danger is more stimulating than any alertness."
Ash: "Are you implying the restroom gives you a great sense of security?"
Harvey propped his chin and said, "Maybe he wants a lap pillow."
"And you?"
"Of course I do, but Alice can’t co out conveniently, so I don’t feel like sleeping."
Igula ignored their chatter and said, "I noticed, Ash, you use a similar accent to the female conductor’s. Are you sure this is your first ti in the Kingdom of Stars?"
Though voice text can achieve a universal understanding worldwide through the Void Realm’s Technique Spirit, Void Realm phonetics can only serve as the "official language," with each domain naturally developing distinct dialects like independent islands. Blood Moonese, for example, sounds lyrical, with intonations woven like a song; Gospel language blurs the lines between F and H sounds, which sounds quite cute; Senluonese stretches words with suffix sounds and drawn-out tones, sounding sowhat whiny.
So when Ash spoke with the female conductor earlier, Igula and Harvey hadn’t said a word; the mont they did, the conductor would realize they weren’t locals. But Ash switched his accent naturally, and the conductor didn’t suspect a thing, not even associating them with the foreign invaders pursued by the Griffin teorologists.
"It’s genuinely my first ti here," Ash said. "I just used to chat often with a Starian, so I picked up the accent."
Igula nodded and asked again:
"Do you want to go to Jiale City just to et that person?"
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