Although Angel understood the causes and effects, he had no plans to get involved.
His only feeling now was a bit of relief; fortunately, he hadn’t responded to the Boiling Gentleman’s words earlier. Otherwise, he would have offended Minaxia out of thin air.
Perhaps offending Minaxia would have gained the favor of the Boiling Gentleman, but he wasn’t playing a game of favors. The rise and fall of such favor meant nothing to him, and it was better not to offend anyone. Moreover, their relationship might not be adversarial; it might even be one of love and rivalry.
In this situation, Angel naturally chose to remain silent, without leaning towards anyone. He simply wanted to play his role as Shava well, wait for the banquet to end, and find an opportunity to return to reality.
Besides that, what occupied Angel’s mind were the bits of information revealed during their conversation.
For instance, the descent of Xinai.
Is the descent of Xinai related to the Xinnai Land he heard of before? What does descent refer to?
Furthermore, when the black and white maids spoke earlier, they mentioned many places, such as the Sunken Cemetery, Byer Corner, the Candle Maze, and the Cross Post where Minaxia stands guard. These places were undoubtedly regions within this relic.
However, the more Angel listened, the stranger it seemed.
Reeves from the Vansel Family, as a pioneer, had already explored this relic when it first opened. According to Reeves’ first impression, this relic shouldn’t be too large.
At least, it shouldn’t feature expansive areas like Duling Garden. Although Angel didn’t know the size of places like Xinnai Land, Sunken Cemetery, or Byer Corner, their names suggested they weren’t small. Was this really the original relic?
While Angel was filled with doubts about the relic, Minaxia and the Boiling Gentleman had stopped arguing. It wasn’t that they reconciled, but because, as they criticized each other, the Dalmatian enjoying Angel’s petting on the table unconsciously barked twice.
Its barking wasn’t powerful at all, simply an expression of fort. However, it caught Minaxia’s attention.
Minaxia glanced at the Dalmatian, a plex emotion flickering in his eyes. Previously, in search of this little guy, he had turned the entire Xinnai Land upside down, only to find it fortably napping here.
This stirred a slight resentment in Minaxia, even surpassing his urge to argue with the Boiling Gentleman.
But no matter how resentful, Minaxia dared not do anything to the Dalmatian.
After all, it was Minister Dim’s most cherished pet. As the Minister of Arms, the Dalmatian was his primary weapon, and even without anyone controlling it, its threat level was substantial. At least, Minaxia knew he couldn’t beat the Dalmatian.
He could only look angrily at the Dalmatian, growing more depressed the more he thought about it, finally sulking and sitting at the first seat on the left, remaining silent.
The Boiling Gentleman, however, continued discussing various traits of the Seed of Distortion with Angel. Minaxia heard them but was too lazy to engage further.
Angel echoed a few words since he was somewhat interested in the Seed of Distortion, but with Minaxia present, he dared not question too much.
The Boiling Gentleman chattily discussed for about two or three minutes before stopping.
The Boiling Gentleman actually wanted to say more, but the current situation didn’t allow it because the guest at the last seat, seated directly opposite Angel’s main seat, had finally appeared.
Angel knew the identity of the final guest, who should be the Master Nuka they always mentioned.
However, he didn’t expect that this Master Nuka’s arrival would be different from all other guests.
Before Nuka even appeared, a terrifying sense of oppression descended out of nowhere.
This oppression wasn’t like the previous energy pressure or personal might and was closer to the pressure field Angel could evoke with the green pattern in his right eye. Yet it was even more understated while having a stronger effect.
This oppression wouldn’t cause death, but it inexplicably made it hard to breathe, akin to a divine might.
It instilled a feeling of trembling from the depths of one’s heart, forcing submission.
Angel wanted to activate his right eye to counter this oppression, but he was acutely aware that this pressure belonged to a similar quality as the green pattern of his right eye. Since his mand over the right eye’s green pattern was not strong enough, it wouldn’t be effective against a more formidable oppression.
If this oppression continued to intensify, Angel felt his performance might reveal a flaw.
While Angel contemplated a countermeasure, he suddenly noticed the Dalmatian lying on the table didn’t react at all to this pressure; it even nuzzled Angel’s palm, wondering why the petting stopped.
As the Dalmatian nudged his palm, Angel could distinctly feel the oppressive force on his mind slightly diminish.
The difference was stark, especially under such high pressure.
An idea sparked in Angel’s mind as if realizing something.
He continued to absentmindedly pet the Dalmatian, going so far as to scritch its chin. Clearly, the Dalmatian relished Angel’s chin scratches, drawing closer and eventually leaping onto Angel’s lap to enjoy the chin rubs.
As the Dalmatian settled on Angel’s lap, the surrounding oppressive force vanished instantly.
Angel understood he had guessed correctly. The Dalmatian must have a unique force field that negated external pressure.
When the Dalmatian came onto his lap, this force field obviously spread to Angel, shielding him from the external pressure.
Angel sighed with relief, thinking: Another challenge overe.
Without the influence of the oppressive force, Angel took an interest in observing the other guests’ reactions in the room. For the arrival of Nuka, the black and white maids and Minaxia were very excited, especially Minaxia, almost trembling with excitement; which was probably why the Lunatic Tome called Minaxia a fanatic.
In contrast, Davaxia and the Boiling Gentleman’s reactions seemed ordinary, but Angel noticed some details.
Previously, Davaxia had mostly focused on "eating," rarely letting anyone’s arrival change his attitude or actions; only the Dalmatian’s arrival had prompted a defensive posture, evidencing his wariness of it. But after confirming the Dalmatian exhibited no destructive behavior, he returned to his habitual state.
Now, however, Davaxia was frequently showing unease, seemingly unfortable with the surrounding oppressive force.
The Boiling Gentleman was similar; though his expression was hidden, subtle cues in his behavior revealed he wasn’t quite accustomed to the oppression.
Moreover, as time went on, the oppressive force became stronger, eliciting more noticeable reactions from Davaxia and the Boiling Gentleman.
Yet the black and white maids and Minaxia felt no disfort from the oppression, perhaps because they inherently submitted to Nuka?
As Angel mused, Nuka finally appeared at the doorway.
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