radiothebook Chapter 112 The Eternal Anchor
Chapter 112 The Eternal Anchor
Chapter 112 The Eternal Anchor
Herald City, a pile of strange rocks.
Lola approached a standing rock that resembled a porcini mushroom, stretched out her hand, and began to construct a magic circle.
She created a pair of twin rosy realms, one inside and one outside the stone.
The Radiant Realm had just been constructed when some things fell out from the outer Radiant Realm.
Lola deactivated the magic circle, and the rosy realm vanished instantly.
She picked up the things from the ground.
Those were several letters.
However, there are some neat tears on the letter, which should be the result of damage caused by the rosy clouds.
The lack of unified protection makes the abilities in "The Knot of the Clouds" very uncontrollable, often resulting in unexpected outcomes for the user.
Fortunately, the portion that was swallowed up was small and should not hinder reading.
Laura unfolded the letter and began to read.
As the words pierced through her sunglasses and entered her eyes, the veins on her forehead gradually bulged, her nostrils flared, and her teeth chattered.
Lola was consumed by rage; the raging fire nearly consumed all her reason.
Lola will never forgive anyone who hurts Anne!
Laura carefully put the letter away and headed towards the Herald Academy.
Her eagle-like gaze and tiger-like stride, exuding a menacing aura, were enough to instill fear in others.
Arriving at the academy gate, she took a step forward, intending to rush inside, but the gatekeeper immediately stopped her.
Lola turned her head and glared at the other person fiercely.
Although her eyes were hidden by sunglasses, her hostility, which was ready to explode at any moment, was still conveyed to the gatekeeper through her ferocious expression.
The gatekeeper unconsciously took a step back, but he quickly regained his balance, having likely adjusted his mindset as well.
He reached out and pushed Lola away:
"The Herald Academy is off-limits to unauthorized personnel!"
"I'm looking for someone."
"Half of those who want to break into the Herald Academy claim to know someone there."
The gatekeeper stood with his arms crossed, blocking Lola's path.
"And their partner might even pretend to be one of them."
"I wasn't lying," Lola said, her emotions having calmed down somewhat.
"But I didn't intentionally make things difficult for you," the gatekeeper said. "Miss, it's my duty to prevent outsiders from entering."
Please understand.
Lola calmed down and remembered what had happened last time.
Even with Anne by her side, the gatekeeper wouldn't let her in, let alone now.
She pleaded, "Then, could you bring me the person I'm looking for?"
"Sure, but you'll need to provide either documents or money," the gatekeeper said. "If you could just order people around with a simple request, then no number of gatekeepers would be enough."
Lola nodded, asked about the price, and then paid him to go find Annie.
She sat in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, waiting quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, a pair of small shoe tips appeared in Lola's field of vision.
Laura looked up, saw the other person's face, and quickly stood up.
While brushing the dust off her skirt, she called out:
"Annie!"
But Anne remained silent.
Her eyebrows were furrowed between her brows, her eyes were downturned, and she was biting her lower lip tightly, giving her a wronged expression.
"Annie?"
Anne remained silent, but instead took Lola's hand and led her aside.
They returned to the deserted pile of rocks. Just as Lola was about to ask Anne about her situation, Anne rushed towards her.
She hugged Lola tightly, her arms encircling Lola's neck, making Lola feel suffocated.
Then, Lola felt hot liquid dripping onto the tip of her ear.
Then I heard Anne's hysterical crying.
Anne cried bitterly, as if her long-suppressed sorrow had suddenly found an outlet and burst forth all at once.
When Lola heard Anne crying, she felt inexplicably saddened as well, and her eyes also welled up with tears.
In Lola's heart, Anne has always been a good older sister who protects her.
But at this moment, Anne seemed like a younger sister who needed protection.
Only now did Lola realize that Anne was also just a little girl.
Lola understood that she should be the older sister now, but she felt completely lost.
Shouldn't we say something to comfort Annie?
But Lola didn't know what to say; she hated her own tongue.
All she could do was gently hug Anne.
Lola vowed that she would never forgive the person who had wronged Anne so much.
Gradually, Anne's loud sobs turned into quiet weeping, and finally into sobs.
Anne seemed to have cried enough. She released Lola, pushed her close to her arm, and smiled through her tears.
"Sorry, Lola, I got your shoulder wet."
To be honest, Lola found Anne's smiling face, streaked with tears and snot, quite comical.
But Lola would never make fun of her; she shook her head and said:
"It's okay, I got yours wet too."
Upon hearing this, Anne glanced at her own shoulder, then looked at Lola with a somewhat strange expression.
Then he put two thumbs under Lola's glasses, wiped away her tears, and asked:
Why are you crying?
"Because you're crying," Laura said.
Then she saw Anne reach out and pat her head twice.
"Hehe," Annie chuckled, "You're such a good little sister!"
Huh? Does that make her a good younger sister?
Lola was unsure, so she asked:
"What happened?"
Did you read the letter I wrote to you?
"Um."
"That's pretty much what was written in the letter. Although some things happened afterward, they were all similar."
"Annie, tell me, who are the people who bully you?"
Anne asked doubtfully, "There are so many people, I can't even remember them all, and besides, there's no point in telling you."
"I will avenge you," Lola said calmly. "I will kill everyone who bullied you."
Anne smiled. "Silly boy, how could I let you get your hands dirty for my sake?"
Lola shook her head and said, "It's alright, I've already killed someone."
Anne was taken aback by what she heard. She stared at Lola's face for a long time, but she didn't seem to see any sign of lying. She reached out and flicked Lola's forehead hard.
"Ouch!"
Lola leaned back and rubbed her forehead.
"throat-"
Anne sighed heavily, then took Lola's other hand and sat down on the rock.
"Lola, not everyone should be killed so easily. Killing doesn't necessarily solve the problem. Besides, this is my business, my battle, and I want to win in my own way."
"Oh—." Lola paused blankly.
"But—" Anne continued, "you said you killed someone?"
"Um"
Lola lowered her head, not daring to look at Anne's face. After thinking for a long time, she finally mustered up her courage and asked,
"Annie—will you hate me because of this?"
Then, Lola felt Anne's warm hands reach out and tug hard at her face.
Feed?
Lola frowned in confusion.
"How could I possibly hate you? You're my sister!" Anne said seriously. "Besides, I've always expected this day to come."
"Expected?"
"Lola, you possess and have mastered extraordinary abilities, and these abilities destined you to be anything but ordinary."
I firmly believe you will become a great person.
Anne said earnestly,
"And the road you walk will certainly not be smooth sailing. There will definitely be people who try to stop you, and I think sooner or later you will have to kill them. So Annie, although I am shocked that you killed someone, it is not unacceptable, and I certainly cannot hate you!"
Laura listened and nodded gently.
Anne then asked, "But could you tell me who you killed?"
“I can tell you anything, Anne,” Laura said. “His name is Warren, and he’s known as the Slave King.”
"Slaves?" Anne raised an eyebrow. "Could they be your compatriots?"
"Hmm," Laura nodded.
"I see—" Anne paused, "Lola, I understand you!"
"Thank you, Annie," Lola whispered. "But—what if I kill many more people in the future?"
Anne held Lola's hand tightly: "No matter what you've done, you'll always be my sister, Lola. That's the only thing you must remember."
"Um·--"
Only then did Lola dare to meet Anne's gaze directly.
"Actually, Anne, I'm torn. Seeing my people suffer, seeing those arrogant slave traders, fills me with an urge for revenge—."
Anne nodded and said, "If I were in your situation, I might have chosen to do the same thing."
"But I'm afraid that one day I'll become a ruthless monster," Lola said anxiously. "You know, Anne, the thrill of revenge excites me, and maybe I really will become like that—"
"...Lola!" Annie interrupted Lola, "Even if you become a monster, we'll still be sisters."
"Anne.—"
A tear slid down Lola's cheek.
Anne wiped her fingers with her own, and then said:
"However, I can also tell from your voice that you don't want to become like that?"
Lola nodded.
"I see—so that pleasure will make you succumb to killing?"
"Um."
After listening, Anne stroked her chin, looking like she was thinking seriously.
After a moment, Anne seemed to have come to a conclusion:
"Lola, if I told you not to kill, it might limit your future, or even put you in great danger. As your older sister, I absolutely don't want to see you in that situation. Since you're only afraid of the pleasure, then all I need to do is add a few conditions!"
"Conditions?" Lola tilted her head in confusion.
"Hmm! The conditions for killing him!"
Anne bowed her head forcefully and said confidently,
"If you want to kill someone, you should first see if they meet your conditions for killing before deciding whether to take action."
"But what are the conditions?" Lola asked.
"That depends on how you think about it."
"I don't know, Annie, can you help me think of something?"
"Sigh," Anne sighed and shook her head, "If it were Aaron, he would definitely refuse, but—"I'm not Aaron!"
As she spoke, Anne smiled slyly and reached out to tickle Lola's waist.
Lola immediately burst into laughter from the ticklish feeling and fell backward onto the pile of stones.
"No! Haha! Annie! Stop it!"
But Anne showed no sign of stopping, so Lola decided to fight back.
However, as soon as Lola's finger touched her, Anne shuddered and rolled to the side.
Ha, so Annie's defense is actually that low!
When Lola tickled Anne's armpits, Anne could barely breathe.
The only sounds she made after that were intermittent pleas for mercy.
Laura, worried that Anne was upset, stopped "attacking".
After a long pause, Anne let out a "humph" before saying:
"For example, will the other person threaten your life or future? Will not killing him cause you trouble? If not, then don't kill him. That way, you won't talk about killing too casually."
"But if that's the case, wouldn't I be unable to avenge my fellow countrymen and save them from their suffering?"
"Not everyone deserves your help, Lola. If they don't even want to save themselves, why bother saving them?" Anne said with a meaningful expression.
"If they beg you to save them, it's not too late for you to act. That way, you won't be killing for yourself, and you probably won't feel any pleasure in revenge."
Lola nodded. "I understand, Annie."
"Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to listen only to the pleas of your own people. There are also weak and oppressed people in this world, and when they ask you for help, you can listen to their pleas as well."
At this point, Annie suddenly became excited and jumped up from the rock. "Helping the weak and oppressed, eliminating evil and upholding justice—yes, that's what 'chivalry' is!"
"shrimp?"
It's "chivalry."
As Annie spoke, she picked up a stone and began writing Chinese characters.
"This is another language, Aaron taught me. You see, this is 'knight-errant'."
Laura stared at the square-like symbols Anne had carved, seriously doubting whether they were some kind of extraordinary rune.
She raised an eyebrow and said, "But I don't want to help people in this world."
"Why?" Annie asked, puzzled.
"Because there are only bad people here."
"So I'm a bad person too?" Annie retorted. "And Aaron is a bad person too?"
"No!" Lola quickly stood up as well, "Except for the two of you!"
"But Aaron and I are from this world too," Anne said seriously. "This world isn't just full of bad people, and I think your hometown probably has more than just good people."
Laura couldn't think of a rebuttal, so she could only pause for a moment.
"So, little sister," Anne put her hand on Lola's shoulder, "you have to experience this world, understand what kind of people live here, to see for yourself before you draw any conclusions."
Laura nodded solemnly and looked at Anne:
"I understand, Annie, you know so much!"
"Hehe," Annie lightly wiped her nose with her index finger, "Aaron taught me!"
"Aaron didn't tell me any of this." "Of course not," Anne said proudly, puffing out her chest. "I've known Aaron for ten years longer than you!"
Seeing Anne, who was as energetic as before and had a bright smile back on her face, Lola immediately felt relieved.
Just then, Annie glanced over:
"As expected."
"Um?"
"Lola, you have a really cute smile, but I rarely see you smile."
Is that so? "I'm just not used to laughing."
"Then why were you laughing just now?"
"Because I sensed that you seemed to be in a better mood," I was smiling? "Annie, I'm sorry, even though you've suffered so much here, I kept telling you about my troubles."
"That's not true at all!"
Anne stormed over and grabbed Lola's hand tightly.
"My mood only improved because of your arrival!"
"But-."
"—And I've also told you a lot of unhappy things; you saw the letter I wrote to you."
Anne said very seriously, "Lola, I've been the one conveying negative emotions to you. Without you, I'd be feeling so wronged and wouldn't know who to talk to. Thank you, Lola, thank you for being my sister!"
"Thank you for being my older sister!"
Lola answered quickly and seriously.
"Also, Annie—no matter how wronged you are, I'll listen to you. Even though I'm just your sister, you can rely on me a little more."
"I've always relied on you, but—okay, Lola, my sister, I promise you!"
"Um!"
Lola nodded vigorously, and when she came to her senses, she realized she was laughing.
It turns out that even if you're not used to it, you can still laugh.
The two sisters chatted for a long time, sharing their recent experiences and various happy and unhappy moments.
As dusk settled, Anne said to Lola, "Alright, Lola, I have to go back to the academy."
"Um."
"Your sudden appearance in Emblem City was achieved using your extraordinary abilities, wasn't it?"
"Um."
"Haha, then remember to come visit me more often. I'm really happy if you can come and chat with me for a while."
"Um!"
"Of course, if possible, I'll go back to the library occasionally. Aaron might get lonely when we're all gone."
"Um·--·
"Well then, see you next time, Lola."
They kissed each other on the cheek and parted before nightfall.
Lola didn't sit down on the rock again until Anne's figure was no longer visible.
Turning my head, I saw the symbol that Annie had just carved.
Luo La made a move, constructing a magic circle and using the Radiant Cloud to shave off a thin layer from the stone.
Picking up the stone shard, I stared at the square characters on it:
"Shrimp—...—a lowly knight, um, a knight!"
Lola still didn't know what a "knight-errant" really was.
But she believed Anne was right, so she put the stone in her pocket.
Then, she walked out of the city of Herald.
When she last came to Emblem City, she discovered a cave not far outside the city.
The entrance to the cave is very small, and most people cannot get in.
The cave was pitch black, and no one could see what was inside.
Therefore, Lola decided to set up an anchoring magic circle here.
The abilities in "The Knot of the Cloud Realm" are actually only divided into two categories: bringing the Cloud Realm into reality, and bringing reality into the Cloud Realm.
Lola's past use of her abilities—destruction, cutting, and even killing—all fell under the category of bringing the Misty Realm into reality.
However, the power contained within the anchor magic circle belongs to the latter.
Through this magic circle, Lola can bring any real-world object into the Radiant Realm, including herself.
The spacetime in the Realm of Mist differs greatly from reality. No matter how far Lola moves in the Realm of Mist, only a moment often passes in real time.
Based on this principle, Lola can enter the Realm of Dawn from one anchor point and leave the Realm of Dawn from another anchor point.
While real time remains almost unchanged, Lola's location in reality may have shifted thousands of miles.
This achieves an effect similar to teleportation or instantaneous movement.
Lola first used her ability when, under Aaron's supervision, she constructed an anchor point magic circle.
She also made some slight modifications, leaving an eternal anchor point on the library's rooftop.
But in reality, the anchor magic circle is a high-level magic circle.
The reason Aaron had Lola try a high-level magic circle during her first practice was that the structure of the first anchor magic circle was even simpler and clearer than the basic magic circle in "The Knot of the Clouds".
However, as the number of permanent anchor points increases, the complexity of the anchor point magic circle will increase exponentially in order to avoid mutual interference between the anchor points.
That's why Aaron advised Laura last time to be careful when constructing the anchor point magic circle.
Lola has now established three permanent anchor points, located in the Library, Herald City, and Nailport.
With Lola's current abilities, she can only build one more anchor point at most, and even that would be very difficult.
If Lola insists on building more anchor points, she cannot guarantee her own safety.
If the Radiant Realm gets out of control, Lola might not even be able to leave behind a complete corpse.
Lola activated the anchor point, opening the entrance to the Realm of Clouds, and in an instant, she entered the Realm of Clouds.
The world of Xiajing, as its name suggests, is a place filled with the glow of rosy clouds.
However, Lola's biological instincts were not well adapted to this space.
Lola couldn't distinguish up, down, left, or right; she always felt there were directions she had never known before.
The flow of time here also confused her.
Every time she comes here, she feels like she's been here for a long time, but she never feels the weight of time.
Lola strolled around for a while, then slowly walked toward another anchor point.
When she left the Radiant Realm, all her senses returned to normal.
Although she still found the feeling strange, she had already traversed the Radiant Realm many times, so she wasn't so immersed in it or reliving it repeatedly.
Laura smelled a foul stench, the light dimmed, and she heard the sound of flowing water.
This is the sewer system of Nam Harbour.
Lola didn't like this place, but it was the most secluded spot she could find in the port, which was why she chose to set up a permanent anchor here.
She walked out of the sewer and returned to the town.
The port has cleared up in the past few days, but there are still puddles everywhere on the road.
Lola saw a group of men standing on various street corners in the town, scrutinizing every passerby with sinister eyes.
Laura pretended not to care and walked past them.
She was just a little girl, so as long as she didn't act too suspiciously, no one would stop her.
Laura knew that these men were the servants of the slave king, Valen.
Their purpose in stalking on the streets was equally obvious: to find their "missing" boss.
A few days ago, after Lola killed Valen, she used the Mirror of Dawn to erase Valen's body and the bloodstains on the ground.
It devoured everything.
This created the illusion that Valen had disappeared.
Laura didn't need to go to such lengths, but she noticed a square thumb ring on Valen's middle finger.
Before attacking Valen, Lola checked the room.
She had seen a document with a stamp that seemed to resemble the pattern on the thumb ring.
Laura compared the two and realized that the seal was made by the thumb ring.
This gave her an idea.
Lola killed Valen, and when Valen's body was discovered, his men, especially the man who had led Lola upstairs, would inevitably suspect that Lola was involved.
Lola intends to wait for the Crying Fjord shipping route to resume, which requires her to stay in port, a situation that poses a potential risk for her.
But if no one had discovered Valen's body, and later received a letter stamped by Valen with his thumb ring,
They would just assume that Warren had disappeared.
They would then focus on finding Warren, rather than looking for a little girl pretending to help fix the roof.
Therefore, Laura removed Valen's ring, creating the illusion that Valen had disappeared, which led to the current situation.
Lola walked past them calmly without arousing any suspicion and returned to the hotel without incident.
Back inside, Lola sat by the window.
When Mingming parted ways with Annie, it was already nearly night.
But at this time, Nam Harbour was still bright and cheerful.
Lola took out the stone shard, then took out paper and pen, and copied the character "侠" (xia, meaning chivalrous/hero) on it.
He held up the paper, gazed at the gradually setting sun for a while, then tucked it into "The Knot of the Cloud Realm," and destroyed the stone tablet.
Lola leaped forward and pounced onto the bed, kicking wildly with her bare feet.
Today was truly a joyful and unforgettable day!
I woke up in the morning after a night's rest.
Laura noticed more ships arriving at the dock, and she decided to go and check on them again.
There were three slave ships, and Lola saw slaves being driven off the ships.
However, Lola didn't see the captains, guessing that they probably didn't know about Valen's disappearance and went to visit him instead.
Therefore, Laura approached the dock supervisor and asked:
"Is anyone willing to cross the Weeping Canyon now?"
"You really are persistent," the supervisor raised an eyebrow helplessly, "but you won this time, little girl. The Crying Gorge route has now partially resumed."
"real?"
"That's right," the supervisor shrugged. "The daytime marine incidents seem to have subsided recently. I guess either those divers have finally vented their anger, or they've been dealt with by someone."
Lola wasn't concerned with the reason: "Then when will there be ships heading to the permafrost continent?"
"A trade ship is heading there around noon," the supervisor said. "With the shipping route closed for so long, there must be a shortage of supplies on the permafrost continent. Prices should be very high right now, and many merchants have been eyeing this opportunity to make a fortune!"
Lola thanked the regulators and asked about the ship.
She found a boat, and after negotiating with the owner, they agreed that Lola could pay to ride it.
Lola checked out of the room and carried her luggage onto the ship, but it was still some time before noon.
Then she noticed the slaves.
She saw a slave trader whipping her fellow countrymen.
The hellish memories from years ago resurfaced in her mind, and she immediately became furious.
However, she remembered what Anne had said yesterday.
Before killing someone, determine whether the victim meets the criteria for being killed.
The slave trader will most likely not encounter Lola again, and he will not pose any threat to her.
It clearly does not meet the requirements.
However, if her fellow citizens ask Lola for help, Lola can still lend a hand.
Laura disembarked from the trading ship and headed towards the slave display area.
The slave trader, seeing Lola, disregarded her age, rubbed his hands together, and approached her with a beaming smile:
"Young lady, would you like to see slaves? What does your family do? I can give you the most accurate recommendations."
Laura simply said, "I'll see for myself."
She approached the slaves and called out to them in her native language:
"Do you need me to save you?"
Upon hearing this, the slave trader raised an eyebrow and inquired:
"What did you say to them?"
Lola ignored them and instead observed the attitude of the slaves before her.
They had clearly heard what Lola said and looked at her in surprise.
But then, one by one, they either lowered their heads or looked away, and no one dared to respond to Lola's words. Lola sadly exhaled a breath of stale air. Anne was right. Not just anyone was worth Lola killing for, even if they were her compatriots.
The people's sore spots had been completely removed by the slave traders.
They abandoned their ego, no longer yearned for freedom, and willingly became enslaved, attempting to exchange obedience for the smallest act of charity.
Even when a helping hand was extended to their faces, these cowards dared not shake it.
Without hesitation, Lola turned around and left.
The slave trader caught up with her: "Girl, not to your liking? There are many more on the ship for you to choose from. Tell me what kind of slave you want?"
Lola stopped, thought for a moment, and asked:
"In the Kingdom of Judian, which place has the best treatment for slaves?"
"Haha, that's a funny joke. Slaves can be treated well?"
But Lola still looked at him with a serious expression, and the mockery on the slave trader's face quickly faded.
He pondered for a moment and replied:
"If we're talking about where slaves had an easier life, I think it's the Griffith Plains. The people there live by herding livestock, so at least the slaves didn't have to clear land or pull plows."
Lola nodded, took out a coin, and gave it to the other person.
The slave trader, holding the money, muttered behind Lola:
"Small silver coins?"
Back on the ship, Lola took out paper and pen, wrote a document, and then stamped it with Valen's ring.
Then he paid someone to deliver the document to the house where Warren had previously lived.
Since these slave ships were traveling in three ships together, according to the intelligence Laura had, they should be slave traders under the Slave King.
Therefore, they should be under Valen's orders and deployed accordingly.
The document was the order to send the three ships to the Griffith Plains.
Those compatriots who had just lost their free will were not worth Laura killing for.
However, they were still her fellow countrymen, and Lola couldn't bear to see them suffer even more.
Therefore, she hoped that they could become slaves on the Griffith Plains, so that at least they could live a more comfortable life.
After everything was finished, it was almost noon.
Lola waited on the ship for a while, and then the sailors got busy.
They weighed anchor and hoisted the sails, and the ship gradually sailed away from the port.
Lola stood at the stern, leaning on the railing, gazing at the receding continent, lost in thought.
This is her second time going to sea.
Her first voyage left her with only terrifying memories.
The fear, panic, terror, hatred, and despair she felt at that time still linger in her heart.
This time, however, her inner emotions seemed even more complex.
She didn't like this land, and she hated most of the people here.
But on this continent, there is a place she is willing to call home, and a family she cherishes.
Therefore, she also felt a sense of attachment and reluctance to leave this place.
But it doesn't matter, I will build a new eternal anchor point—Lola listened to the raging waves and felt the biting cold sea breeze, calmly thinking that the reunion wouldn't be too far away.