Chapter 3018: Chapter 3019: Shallow Sea Strongman
"Intuition only?" Angel asked.
Dox nodded as a matter of course: "Of course, donât you trust my intuition?"
Angel and Kaier fell silent, they truly dared not distrust Doxâs intuition. If it werenât for Doxâs intuition, they would have gotten lost hundreds of times in the underground aqueduct alone...
Angel thought for a moment and asked again: "Then did you observe anything?"
Doxâs eyes flickered: "If you hadnât come to find us, I might have observed the peculiarity about him..."
Angel raised an eyebrow: "So, I disrupted your grand observation plan?"
"Thatâs right." Dox reflexively replied, but as soon as he finished, he sensed a change in Angelâs gaze.
"Shall I send you back now?" Angel looked at Dox: "Donât worry, I assure you Iâll send you over completely and undetected by him."
Seeing the mischievous look in Angelâs eyes, Dox immediately understood that this guy meant no good!
He quickly said: "Actually, itâs not like I gained nothing at all."
Angel: "Oh?"
Dox pondered for a moment and said: "I discovered, this guy named Aex might like men."
Angel frowned, and nearby, Kaier was full of surprise and doubt.
Dox continued to murmur: "My outfit just now was specially altered to match his style, and yet he didnât glance at me even once. What does that mean?"
Angel did not reply, but Kaier, beside him, muttered under his breath: "It implies Mr. Aex is very upright."
Dox: "No, it means he doesnât like women."
Kaierâs mind involuntarily conjured Doxâs female warrior form. Indeed, a style that bared rugged wildness with openwork wooden armor and a beast-skin skirt, paired with striking red hair as the highlight, exuded sheer wildness and brilliance.
This outfit, by ordinary understanding, certainly aligns with Aexâs aesthetic for those explosive muscles.
However, just because something fits someone elseâs aesthetic doesnât mean it demands action.
There are many women who fit Kaierâs aesthetic, yet most of the time, he merely appreciates without flirting. Especially when someone is evidently occupied, flirting is just causing trouble.
Aex is just like that; heâs protecting everyone, and then you turn into a woman hoping someone will flirt with you? How can that happen? The Bilun Tree Court is in disaster, and everyone is suffering; do you think this is a holiday?
Anyway, Kaier didnât believe Doxâs conclusion.
As for Angel, he had only one thing to say about Doxâs conclusion: "So then?"
Isnât this just a matter of personal style? Regardless of whether this information is true or false, even if true, whatâs the point of observing it?
At the very least, for Doxâs claim that "my intuition tells me Aex definitely has issues," thereâs no correlation.
Dox thought for a moment and said: "Then... itâs possible that his protection of us is actually imprisonment, wanting to develop captives."
Angel: "...So does he like women now?"
After all, Doxâs earlier female warrior form was also covered under Aexâs "protection" or "imprisonment."
Angel looked at Dox and asked again: "You assert that he has problems, then you should prove it. I trust your intuition, but intuition canât arise without basis, right?"
Dox fell silent, suddenly unsure what to say. Indeed, given what Aex had displayed, he couldnât really claim the other was wrong.
Saving people, protecting people, not stopping anyone from leaving, and thereâs even guards from the Birlos Family among those being protected; they could control the Council Hallâs magical energy array and open a hole in it anytime to leave without going through the front door.
Therefore, unless Aex resolved the matter of the Birlos Family guards, his protection is protection, not confinement.
And based on Doxâs observations, Aex truly hadnât planned on dealing with the Birlos Family guards.
Dox: "Youâre right; my intuition isnât baseless. In fact, I did observe something else, but I havenât figured it out yet..."
Just as Dox spoke halfway, a loud noise came from outside.
The loud noise was accompanied by the slight shaking of the Council Hall building.
Keep in mind, the Council Hall is protected by the magical energy array, and ordinary quakes wouldnât cause it to shake. But now, even within the Council Hall, they clearly felt the tremor, albeit mild, which suggested some issues.
"The source of the disturbance is coming from the direction of the arena... that blue gorilla probably caused it," Angel said quietly.
"Blue gorilla? You didnât know before?" Dox looked at Angel in surprise, "I just heard your questioning with Aex and thought you suspected his identity too, posing as a bluff. Turns out you really didnât know."
Angel: "You mean, you know what that blue gorilla is?"
Dox nodded: "Of course, thatâs a Shallow Sea Strongman."
"Shallow Sea Strongman..." Angel repeated softly, slowly recalling those cluttered memories: "That seems to be a creature originating from the Wild Realm?"
Dox: "Thatâs right, âStrongmanâ in the Wild Realm refers to gorilla-like creatures, and Shallow Sea Strongman means a gorilla that can stir up huge waves near the shore."
As the name suggests, this gorilla has immense strength and can survive in water, possessing water control attributes.
In terms of individual strength, the Shallow Sea Strongman is quite formidable.
However, although the Shallow Sea Strongman originates from the barbaric wilderness, it doesnât mean they are all Otherworldly creatures.
Angel remembered reading in "Where is the Magical Beast" that due to its excellent individual strength and easily exploitable bloodline, the Shallow Sea Strongman had been introduced into the Wizardsâ Realm by Bloodline Wizards long ago. After generations of breeding, it has already integrated into the Wizardsâ Realm.
Even the Extreme Sect doesnât scrutinize the native Shallow Sea Strongmen from the Wizardsâ Realm too much. After all, the Shallow Sea Strongmanâs bloodline is developed thoroughly, and many Bloodline Wizards opt to integrate the Shallow Sea Strongmanâs bloodline into themselves; the same goes for Bloodline Wizards of the Extreme Sect. Fighting against the Shallow Sea Strongman is somewhat like fighting against themselves.
Thus, itâs imperative not to simply regard Shallow Sea Strongman as an Otherworldly creature.
However, Angel mentioned "originating from the Wild Realm" because he sensed the Inscription Force on the Shallow Sea Strongmanâs fur.
In Angelâs mind, this Shallow Sea Strongman rampaging in Bilun Tree Court likely came from another world. Given itâs an Otherworldly Shallow Sea Strongman, Angel naturally first thought of its place of originâthe Wild Realm.
"Judging by your look, you didnât encounter the Shallow Sea Strongman on your way?" Dox asked.
Angel nodded; he only saw footprints and hair, but as for the Shallow Sea Strongman... he never even saw its shadow.
Doxâs eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement: "Shall we head over to the arena to take a look then?"
Angel: "Are you very interested in the Shallow Sea Strongman?"
Dox didnât deny it: "Indeed, I am quite interested. This Wizard-level Shallow Sea Strongman, if we can refine its bloodline, would be quite valuable, starting from at least fifty thousand Magic Crystals!"
After pausing for a moment, Dox said: "If it wasnât for observing Aex back then, I would have chased after the Shallow Sea Strongman already."
Angel looked unconvinced: "By the sound of it, you think you can take on the Shallow Sea Strongman on your own?"
"Not really." Dox admitted candidly: "However, if other wizards joined in, there might be a chance."
Angel: "Do you see any wizards making a move now?"
Dox fell silent... Indeed, with the Shallow Sea Strongman still causing such a commotion, there were obviously no wizards intervening. This is normal, considering official wizards are all guarding against each other, collaborating against the Shallow Sea Strongman would be impossible. Moreover, even several wizards together, without going all out, would probably find it difficult to deal with.
Dox: "Earlier we didnât have anyone, but now we do, you and I can give it a try."
"Trying might lead to dying." Angel was far less optimistic. Unless he could rally people, it would be hard for just two of them to deal with the Shallow Sea Strongman.
Whatâs more, Angel knew that the Shallow Sea Strongman wasnât alone; it had a manipulator behind it.
The one able to control the Shallow Sea Strongman definitely wasnât just a simple wizard.
Dox: "We could go take a look first, hold off on making a move for now, if others resolve it, we might get lucky."
Angel: "I guess right now the wizards of Bilun Tree Court are all thinking the same way you are."
Everyone wants to be the yellow bird; who wants to be the mantis catching the cicada?
Dox chuckled, not denying it. He knew everyone might have this thought, but it didnât prevent him from checking things out at most, no one benefits... If someone really steps up, he might just shamelessly take advantage of the situation.
Angel considered it and finally agreed with Doxâs suggestion. However, Angelâs intention was genuinely just to "observe," not to intervene. Unless the profit was enormous enough to attract him to rally people, otherwise, he would just watch.
As for whether there might be significant benefits in this matter? Angel currently couldnât see any.
...
Having decided to check out the arena situation, Angel and Dox didnât intend to linger any longer, swiftly leaving the Council Hall.
After leaving the Council Hall, Angel initially planned to have Kaier return to the Starry District, but remembering the attackers came from there, the place might not be truly safe, so after some thinking, he decided to let Kaier follow them. If they did encounter danger, Kaier could temporarily hide inside the bracelet.
Having made this decision, the group proceeded towards the arena.
While walking, Angel didnât forget to inquire about Doxâs unfinished words from earlier.
"You said earlier you observed something on Aex that made your instinct suspicious. What was it?"
Kaier also curiously looked at Dox. Even though he had always been with Dox, he couldnât understand Doxâs various behaviors after encountering Aex.
He always felt Dox seemed very concerned about Aex, but Kaier just couldnât see what about Aex attracted Dox.
Dox didnât immediately answer, instead he turned back to Angel and asked: "Do you think Aex has problems? ... You probably think the same way I do, that Aex has issues? Otherwise, you wouldnât have suddenly asked Aexâs thoughts on this attack at the last moment."
Angel: "Aex might indeed be hiding something. But I think what Kaier said isnât wrong, at least Aex seems like a good person."
"I appear to be a good person too." Dox murmured.
Angel: "Youâre implying that, privately, youâre not a good person?"
Dox: "... Defining good and bad people isnât that simple."
Angel shrugged: "Thatâs why I said, he âseemsâ to be a good person, at least, in saving and defending people, he didnât do anything wrong."
From Aexâs emotions, Angel could sense Aexâs genuine intention to save and protect people with sincerity.
However, to say Aex has no problems... Angel doesnât believe it.
Because on the question Angel asked, Aex lied.
This meant Aex actually knew some inside information about the attack, maybe he even had a connection to the attackers.
So, Aex might be a good person, but not a "pure" good person.
Dox didnât expect Angelâs thoughts to be so convoluted, he just found Angelâs answer typically tricky... Ambiguous.
Dox: "Regarding the saving and protecting people, I really donât understand why he did it. However, I still believe there are issues with him, and the issues are really significant."
"What issues?" Angel: "Or rather, what sparked your instinct?"
This time, Dox wasnât mysterious, he quietly spoke: "Because... he can perform Consecutive Slash."
...
Meanwhile, deep beneath the Council Hall.
Aex, patrolling through the corridors, suddenly stopped.
Frowning, Aex looked at the dim oil lamp on the wall. The flame within the wick was flickering rhythmically; and gradually, a thin crack formed on the glass lampshade outside.
"Earthquake?" Looking at the crack, Aex muttered softly: "No, wait! Itâs coming from the arena side... Has Ohado made a move?"
A image of a massive blue gorilla appeared in Aexâs mind, his brows slightly furrowed as he fell into deep thought.
Finally, his contemplation was broken by a crisp "crackle."
The lampâs glass cover shattered.
After snapping out of it, Aex whispered softly: "Ohado should be fine... after all, they are there. I still need to protect the group of weaklings here; I canât leave."
Murmuring softly to himself, Aex continued to walk on, seemingly continuing his patrol in the underground corridor.
But after just a few steps, Aex suddenly turned his head, staring at the scattered glass shards on the ground, unfamiliar dread surfaced in his mind.
"With people from the Birlos Family here, the group of weaklings staying here should be safe. I, I... Iâll still check on Ohado, it canât have any mishaps."
Aex subconsciously clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and walked towards the corridorâs end.