Chapter 675 Fruit Delivery?

"We'll leave you with some privacy," added Jack, turning his back to the legendary gods. "Well… most of us will."

Jack took off into the water passage toward the reef above, followed by everyone else on his side, apart from the helmed man. That man turned his attention to the not-too-distant trees and sauntered over without a care in the world.

The gods left at Glacier Keep were momentarily speechless, taken aback at what had just occurred.

"Torian!" A furious roar filled the god's mind, not hiding any rage whatsoever. "How dare you fail to act!"

"Halmut, I--"

"Shut up and listen for once!" shouted Halmut. "Tralbok just told me of your failure to act and now you deny it? Would he have been placed in that situation if you weren't such a coward?! Be glad that Tralbok can handle himself and keep calm under pressure!"

Accepting the verbal abuse, Torian kept his lips tightly sealed. Talking back right now would only make the tantrum worse, no matter how true or untrue some of the statements were.

"Since you fail to attack when ordered, you have a new assignment. Gather all the fruits on those trees and send them to me via an escort of four Flood Dragons. Can you handle that much responsibility?"

"... Sure thing, Halmut."

"What did you call me?!"

"Of course… your excellency."

"Good… Also, Tralbok will be placed in charge upon entering Glacier Keep. You'll only focus on your small three-man team."

The conversation ended there as Halmut disconnected without offering Torian a chance to rebuttal the order.

Taking a deep breath and shaking his head, Torian looked to the three Flood Dragons that had arrived alongside him. "Sillo, heal that one. You three, take another Flood Dragon with you to collect all the fruit here and deliver it to Halmut, immediately."

"I object!"

Blinking and sighing, Torian asked, "Why, Kylon? I've already bent orders for you, so--"

"They can take fifteen fruits and that's it!" shouted the goddess. "No more!"

"Kylon… Then why is he taking more than that?"

As Torian pointed out, all eyes shifted to the helmed man carefully picking fruit from the trees. He showed the utmost care and only selected those that were perfectly round with the perfect touch of firmness. In the end, the helmed man had taken thirty fruits and casually walked back to sit against the wall near the entrance.

"That--"

"How about we send him thirty fruits, as many as he took?" asked Torian, not wanting more arguments yet understanding that Halmut would be angry with him whether he delivered all the fruit or a portion of the fruit. "What's so special about it anyway, Kylon?"

"... That…" She hesitated to speak up.

"Kylon? Well, if you won't explain why…" Torian walked to the nearest tree and picked the first fruit within reach. After a single bite, Torian instantly understood Halmut's desire for them all.

"These fruits spoil too quickly and can't be preserved," stated Kylon, unable to hide much from anyone that tasted the fruit themselves. "If you take all of them, then nearly all of it will be wasted. And the best results are over long periods of time, not one day. Fifteen to twenty a day will be enough for each of us."

"Well… Thirty will go to Halmut. That proves he'll get more than us and we'll save some fruit. Okay?"

As Torian signaled, the three Flood Dragons began picking fruits as those that came with Kylon discussed who would go with the other three. Quickly, four Flood Dragons left the area as the one that had traveled with Kylon led the way.

The mystery man made no moves to stop the Flood Dragons nor did he acknowledge them. Surprisingly, while the others began to eat their fill of the new fruits, the helmed man kept his share of fruit stored away and didn't bother tasting them.

But the other gods were indulging to the fullest. They were in unexpected bliss with every bite.

At the same time, Sillo poured holy energy into the corpse of the Quake Dragon god. In his fingers was a small, multi-colored crystal that was given to him for use in emergencies. However, Sillo's growing distrust in the crystal and its effects was replaced with disbelief. "No way…"

"What's wrong, Sillo?" Alcahain asked, pausing his next bite after seeing the bewilderment in Sillo's eyes.

"He… He can't be revived…"

"What?!" Torian almost choked on his current bite, along with everyone else caught up in enjoying their meal. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly that… There's no way that I nor Halmut can revive him," answered Sillo. "Remember that black energy that oozed out of the wound? It dispersed a while ago but the amount of dark energy that had embedded into his body was absurd. Not only had it traveled through his corpse like a lightning-fast parasite, it rotted his veins and mana supply…"

"That… But that's--"

"Want to see my sword?"

When Alcahain's shout was interrupted, each of the legendary gods looked to find the swordsman approaching them. "Want to see my sword?" repeated the man.

The mystery man stopped in front of Sillo and retrieved his rapier. Then, he flipped it around and held it by the blade, extending it to the Mage God. "I'll give you one minute. Return it by then or die."

Sensing the ridiculous confidence in the man's voice, Sillo nodded. He was too curious to turn down the unusual offer.

As Sillo took the sword, he carefully inspected it.

"Mind if I--"

"I'll give you one minute. After he's done, you'll be the second and final witness," stated the swordsman.

Alcahain nodded and stood by Sillo, patiently waiting his turn to confirm his doubts and thoughts.

"This… is definitely the cause…" Sillo sighed, but not out of worry. There was a sense of relief radiating from Sillo's face as he admitted that and passed the weapon to Alcahain. "Look at the base of the hilt. You'll find the added inscription neatly written there."