Chapter 50
For Ye Yihe, who was spending New Year's in a foreign country and with Fyodor for the first time, he deserves full marks.
After Fyodor finished playing the Christmas carol for him on the cello, he played another melody that was more expansive, melodious, clear, and serene—perhaps a concerto with a deeper meaning, but unfortunately Yeikh couldn't understand it at all.
What is its name?
"The Ninth Hymn".
Fyodor explained to Yeikh, “For the nine days leading up to Christmas, there will be worship services every day, and the prayers used in each service will be different. When the ninth day ends and the tenth day arrives, the gates of God’s Kingdom will close, and the Lord will judge the sins of the creatures left on earth.”
Ye Yihe grunted, but what he really wanted to ask was, since today wasn't the ninth day, why was this hymn announcing the end being played?
But in the end, they simply sat inside the tower with its endless spiral staircase, raised the champagne glasses that Fyodor had drawn with his mind, and gently clinked them together.
The New Year has come to an end.
Next, they will head to Tromsø, the "Gateway to the North Pole".
During this winter season, which has now turned into polar night, no matter when you look up, the night is filled with stars.
Due to the road closures, Fedor had to take a train to Stostani, the nearest town to Tromsø, and then travel by car from Stostani to Tromsø.
Given that the main roads are guarded by troops sent by the local government, Ye Yihe was quite curious about how Fedor would get through—there are also continuous snow-capped mountains nearby, surely he wouldn't choose one to hike over, would he?
That's a bit too dedicated!
Fortunately, Fyodor did not actually intend to do that.
To be honest, his physical strength wouldn't allow him to do something so difficult.
"Ah, my supreme master, you have finally arrived here with unparalleled glory...!"
In Stostani, Yeikh met an unexpected helper—Ivan, who was also wearing a thick cloak.
It had been more than a year since I last saw him, and his silver hair had grown quite a bit longer, reaching his waist with beautiful, slightly curled ends. As he bowed respectfully with his hands on his chest, a few strands would sneak out from the gaps in his cloak, fluttering in the cold wind that carried the snow.
"Ivan!"
Yeikh, who was on the front line, greeted him happily. The last time he saw Ivan was in France, when he asked Ivan to help him engage Verlaine in a fight to delay the assassination attempt and to secure a deal to spare Sartre Bernhardt.
And now, his Russian communication skills have improved by leaps and bounds!
"Did Verlaine come to you asking about the contents of 'The Secret of the Gentle Forest'?"
He felt a little ashamed to talk about it. He had clearly obtained the contents of the document from N long ago, but he had never passed it on to Verlaine, including the half-mother he had found who was not related to him by blood and... his two younger brothers?
Leaving the latter aside for now, the former can still be revealed to the other party to save Sartre Bernhardt's life.
The reason he hasn't spoken about it until now is that, apart from the series of events that followed causing him to sleep for too long, he also doesn't actually have Verlaine's contact information—it was Ivan who made the deal with Verlaine, and only the other party knew the contact information.
“Not yet,” Ivan said with a smile, his deep voice drawn out, revealing a piousness akin to a hymn.
"Please do not worry. He himself has been searching without success and will not impose this unreasonable demand on his master."
Ye Yihe thought that the fact that the King of Assassins was so easy to talk to might be because he had a good time staying with Granny Bernhardt... In addition, he had already gotten all the information he wanted from Sartre Bernhardt, so whether or not to kill him was no longer of much significance.
Rather than prioritizing assassination missions for reward, Verlaine seemed to have a deeper inner drive that propelled him to complete those tasks.
"Well, I've actually found the answer," Ye Yihe said, sounding a little guilty, "but I'm not sure if he can accept it..."
For example, he might actually harbor a monster capable of destroying the world within him; he might also gain a mother who looks much younger than him, a android brother, and an artificial superhuman brother who is twelve years old physically but over four years old mentally...
Anyway, if one day he really had to tell Verlaine these things, Yeyhe would absolutely not say them to her face—what if Verlaine couldn't accept reality and killed him in a fit of anger? After all, this was Fyodor's body.
"As expected of my master,"
Ivan's smile remained unchanged, even his silver-grey eyes curved slightly. "You naturally possess the power to know everything, just as people must bow down before your footstool as if beholding a saint..."
“…Hiss,” Ye Yihe was so embarrassed by his flattery that she felt nauseous. “Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this for now…Let’s find an opportunity to contact him after this vampire matter is over.”
Let's not let them get impatient and go back to kill Sartre Bernhardt.
“As you wish,” Ivan replied with a smile.
As for how to enter the blockaded Tromsø, Fyodor had already made arrangements.
Since he mentioned that "hero of the Far East" and made it clear that he needed to bring him the Holy Cross Sword, it naturally meant that they had already been in contact regarding the outbreak of vampire powers.
Although the Norwegian government reported to the public as a "strange virus," they were actually fully aware that it was an out-of-control supernatural power at work, and invited the hero who was best at dealing with multiple supernatural enemies to resolve the incident.
It is said that he once participated in the operation to annihilate 100,000 werewolf-powered experimental subjects and achieved an outstanding record. It is the best choice to let him handle this vampire power outbreak.
And this Holy Cross sword will be the key to the opponent's victory in this battle.
Although Ye Yihe has not yet witnessed Fyodor contacting the other party... this probably happened before he woke up.
It seems that Ivan was also arranged by Fyodor to come to Tromsø in advance to make contact with the other party, because when they were in the car that drove past the checkpoint, Ivan simply showed the other party a pass or something, and the guards saluted him and immediately let him pass.
The driver, seemingly familiar with the area, drove straight to a location resembling a military base. The heavy metal structures stood alone amidst the pristine white snow, their silence only amplifying their somber and austere presence.
"I haven't seen many people infected with superpowers along the way."
Ye Yihe asked Ivan in a low voice.
The holy sword used to subdue vampires had no scabbard; it was wrapped in strips of cloth several times and was currently placed on the seat next to him.
“This is not the front line,” Ivan explained to him. “In addition, there aren’t many people infected by superpowers yet. They are currently being controlled in a small area by the troops led by Lord Fudi to ensure that the rest of the population will not be infected.”
Ye Yihe suddenly realized, "He's waiting for this holy sword to be delivered."
"Yes," Ivan replied. "Lord Fudi was very pleased to hear that you had successfully found the Holy Sword and urged me to come and pick you up as soon as possible."
Ye Yihe was also happy to be able to help the other party stop the vampire's power from erupting and prevent it from affecting more people. He thought to himself that this was a good thing no matter how you looked at it.
After the military vehicle passed through multiple security checks and drove into the base, Ye Yihe did indeed meet the "Hero of the Far East"—Ivan introduced him as Fukuchi Sakura.
However, since he wasn't the one who contacted the other party before, and he had no interest in engaging in formalities, he simply returned the body to Fyodor and settled into the sofa in the Palace of Consciousness to listen in.
This man, known as the "Hero of the Far East," Fukuchi Sakura, looks quite young, with three claw-like scars on his right cheek.
It is said that he was scratched by werewolves in a previous battle, which ironically became one of his signature medals.
Although he was middle-aged, one could tell from his every move that his physical abilities were terrifyingly strong. Ye Yihe felt that even if he used his former body again, the probability of him winning against his opponent would still be very small.
But this posture of maintaining vigilance while walking, including the unconscious gait... he felt very familiar with it, but he couldn't quite remember it for the moment.
"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for so long, hahaha!"
The man in military uniform laughed heartily and with delight, even patting Fyodor on the shoulder in a friendly manner—but just from the sound, Ye Yihe was even a little worried that the skin might get bruised.
"Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission."
Compared to the passionate Fukuchi Sakura, Fyodor's faint smile appeared much colder.
In front of the accompanying soldiers, he handed the holy sword he was holding to them, "What you wanted," he said, tilting his head slightly, "now you will be able to completely destroy one of the [Ten Calamities]."
When he said the last few words, Fyodor emphasized the syllables.
"Oh, so this is the Solzreuni!"
Fukuchi Sakura seemed particularly happy. He took the holy sword, which was wrapped in strips of cloth several times, and unwrapped it to take a look.
"Yes, I can indeed sense unusual energy fluctuations... This is undoubtedly a holy sword capable of destroying vampires."
The soldiers following Fukuchi Sakura were clearly from the Norwegian army, and they visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
The fact that one of the "Ten Great Calamities" had been slumbering on their country's territory, and then suddenly erupted like an uncontrollable plague, had already brought them considerable psychological pressure.
Moreover, those infected vampires not only have greatly enhanced physical abilities and possess an unkillable self-healing ability, but they also completely lose their minds and attack anyone they see. What's even more terrifying is that the person being bitten will also become a vampire, and then infect the next person!
Lord Fudi then declared that only the Holy Cross Sword of the Church could kill the enemy, causing them to remain stationed there for a considerable period of time, to the point of near despair.
Now that the holy sword has been delivered, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now everything is foolproof. I can go to the source of this calamity tomorrow and wipe it out."
Fukuchi Sakura happily rewound the cloth strip, then looked at Fyodor standing in front of him, "Fyodor-kun, would you like to come with me?"
"I don't need to."
Fyodor bowed slightly, his tone sincere, "I wish you good luck in your military campaign."
Ye Yihe, inside the Palace of Consciousness, also sincerely wished this Far Eastern hero success in defeating the vampires, so that he would receive resurrection points.
[Xiao Ai,] he even specifically checked with the system, [If I successfully resolve this vampire power outbreak, I should be able to get resurrection points, right?]
[A system check confirmed that an event was indeed triggered,] Xiao Ai (Xiaomi's AI assistant) responded and went online, [but the specific details are confidential; the host can determine success or failure through the settlement process.]
Although it was phrased euphemistically, Ye Yihe was almost certain that this was the incident that triggered it.
After all, he had followed Fyodor for over a thousand kilometers, even breaking open a three-hundred-year-old antique coffin along the way just to obtain this holy sword, and in the end, he even used it to eliminate a great calamity that was enough to destroy the entire world.
Fyodor went to great lengths to find the Holy Sword and then traveled all the way to the blockaded Tromsø, seemingly just to transport the Holy Sword by hand—he didn't stay in this harsh military base for long before leaving with Ivan.
Judging from the fact that he left with empty hands, he didn't even receive any reward.
Fukuchi Sakura didn't mention any reward, and he set off quickly, as if Fyodor were a selfless saint who generously gave him the holy sword for free.
For a moment, Ye Yihe hesitated again about his previous opinion: was it too hasty to conclude that Fyodor was the villain?
Or perhaps the other party isn't a traditional villain...?
Just like the concept of "anti-heroes" in Europe and America, whose actions are not virtuous or righteous, and who have even committed many crimes and whose behavior deviates from the law and morality—but in the end, they still accomplish extraordinary and inhuman acts of salvation.
All that Fyodor had done since he awoke, including their time together, had made him feel very close to Fyodor.
Well, he meant that, faced with Fyodor, who was so considerate and patient, intelligent yet obedient, and had no flaws except for his nail-biting habit, it would be hard for anyone to feel any aversion or disgust towards him, right?
Ye Yihe felt he couldn't do it, so he specifically asked Fyodor, who was sitting in the car—he was almost subtly trying to defend Fyodor.
[You're just going to leave like this, without even asking for a reward? We went out of our way in the middle of the night to undermine Heaven...]
In the reflection of the rearview mirror, Ye Yihe could clearly see a hint of amused mockery in the smile that appeared in Fyodor's eyes, and there was no trace of indifference or depth in his grape-red eyes.
“In fact, he covered all the expenses along the way,” Fyodor finally revealed, “including the sightseeing ferry tickets we took and the two Nissen sprites you bought.”
Ivan, sitting in the passenger seat, showed no surprise at Fyodor's sudden mutterings in the back.
"[...That's to be expected,]" Ye Yihe pretended not to hear the rest of his sentence. "[We've already found him a holy sword and hired human couriers to deliver the goods, do you expect me to pay out of my own pocket?]"
This time, Fyodor let out a few soft laughs that Yeykh could usually hear.
"The value he brought me afterward far outweighs any monetary reward I could receive right now," he explained casually.
After thinking about it, Ye Yihe felt that it made sense. After all, he was a renowned hero, and being able to build a good relationship with him was already a remarkable achievement.
If people knew that helping to find the Holy Sword could make someone a hero's friend, countless people would probably fight tooth and nail to do it.
"Okay," Ye Yihe accepted this explanation, "So where are you going now?"
"Leave the city center and head to the snow-capped peaks of Sirwa on the coast."
"The sea there doesn't freeze over even in January," Fyodor said. "If you're lucky, you can not only see the aurora borealis, but also watch humpback whales and killer whales breaching the surface."
Ye Yihe blinked slowly, "[...Aurora?]"
"I promised you that on the ferry,"
With his fingers interlaced on his thigh, Fyodor smiled.
"It allows you to witness the breath of this planet firsthand."
Ye Yihe took a deep breath, [...]
See? That's how it is. This guy just suddenly sticks out a little cat paw and scratches him all the time.
So, while Fudi Yingchi was fighting desperately against the source of the vampire's superpowers, Fyodor took him to the best viewpoint to see the aurora borealis—a little embarrassed, but Ye Yihe had to admit that he was in a particularly good mood.
Besides, he and Fyodor definitely couldn't beat the vampires... coming to see the aurora and whales can't be considered dereliction of duty, since the holy sword has already been delivered.
In the darkness as they ventured deeper into the icy plains, only Fyodor's figure could be seen.
All the original tourists were kept outside the cordon, making the mountaintop desolate and empty, with only the crunching sound of boots on the snow echoing through the air.
Halfway through, Ye Yihe became the master of this body.
Looking up again, he could see a vast, tranquil, and magnificent band of light slowly extending and changing overhead, like a light veil fluttering in the breeze, stretching endlessly across the canvas of the sky above.
This is a natural wonder that cannot be achieved by humankind. It is magnificent yet ethereal, hazy yet real, and the shock it brings is unparalleled. No wonder astronomers have given it the name of a goddess.
Under the aurora, even a humpback whale leaping out of the sea appears tiny, just as it is merely one of the myriad creatures on this earth.
This was a magnificent sight that Fyodor had specially brought him to see.
For a fleeting moment, Ye Yihe almost wanted to tell Fyodor all his secrets, including the truth that he wasn't actually Fyodor's second personality—
Until he heard the system notification.
[Host failed to resolve the event, resurrection points +0.]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
