Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 82 - 81: Gods Are Omnipotent
"Five days have passed..." Marina paced back and forth in the encampment, "How long are we supposed to wait in this place?"
This envoy team is hopeless.
France is doomed!
She looked at the coachmen and guards... They were sitting on the grass, playing dice games, staring at those few shabby dice from morning till night!
She turned to look at Baron Milton on the other side, who had even brought tea-making tools, and was currently sharing tea-drinking tips with the diplomats, seemingly unconcerned about the leader’s disappearance!
What about the witch group?
As long as Sarah has a chance to study alchemy, it doesn’t matter where she stays.
The other two, rather than being apprentice witches, were more like attendants sent by the assembly to care for her and Sarah. They were only fifteen or sixteen years old, and expecting them to take on a major responsibility was out of the question.
Indeed, in this damn team, only she cared whether the mission could be completed!
Marina felt for the first time that having a sense of responsibility was truly a tormenting thing.
Every additional day spent here felt like her lifespan had shortened by a year!
After anxiously pacing several more circles, she once again approached the Baron, "Do you think we can really keep waiting like this? The British are pressing their attack aggressively, soldiers die on the front every day, while we sunbathe in the countryside!"
Milton looked up at her, calmly invited her to sit, and said, "Miss witch, the envoy team is essentially an army, and the leader is its commanding general. Now the general’s orders are to wait in place; if you act on your own, you’ll be violating military orders, and no one will plead for you should you be hanged."
"What if the general is giving senseless commands?" Marina retorted.
"He would be dismissed and tried, but whether he is negligent would be decided by His Majesty and the chief military commander."
"So you’re saying the leader can be replaced? You must also feel that it’s unreasonable for us to camp here after having barely started the journey, right." She argued back, "Could you petition His Majesty to reconsider the arrangement of the leader?"
However, the Baron wore a peculiar expression and then exchanged a smile with other officials.
"It’s not possible."
"Why not?" Marina couldn’t understand; she was a witch, not easily granted audiences with His Majesty, but Milton, if he returned to the capital, surely Charles wouldn’t turn him away.
"... Sigh, since you’ve never been to the royal court, let me explain a bit more." Milton shook his head helplessly, "Having Lord Xuan as the leader of the envoy was jointly decided by His Majesty and the Holy Maiden. It’s only been five days; asking His Majesty to revoke the decision is tantamount to accusing them of poor judgment. Furthermore, the Divine Envoy stated that his plan requires time to prepare. Five days is insignificant for the whole journey, and you lack evidence of his negligence; His Majesty won’t change leaders based on an assertion from us."
"If you make a false claim, it would be fine if you succeed, but if not, you risk incurring the resentment of both the Divine Envoy and the Holy Maiden. Such misfortune is unbearable for most people." Another official half-mockingly laughed.
"Lord Xuan disappeared directly in the tent, right? The guards didn’t see him leave the camp; anyone capable of that, why not wait ten more days?"
Marina had nothing to say.
Disappearing is considered a skill now? A witch displaying a ’gaseous transformation’ technique years ago would have been bound as demonic sorcery and burned!
Yet, to claim the Divine Envoy lacks ability, is actually a charlatan, Marina found hard to believe. A mere swindler could never earn Joan’s trust, let alone be revered as a divine messenger. Moreover, she had been invited by Joan to visit his domain, a room filled with soft holy light, not opulently decorated like a cathedral, yet it carried a natural and cozy feeling.
When the Divine Envoy aimed an odd device at her, she even saw a record of her life’s learned knowledge.
Joan said it was a required method to leave a mark, whereupon she contributed her years-long studied, yet unsuccessfully synthesized ideal potion within her alchemy.
What he gave her in return was a mysterious ability called Breathing Technique.
This was definitely not an illusion, as she now naturally absorbs a bit of mana every day, and could absorb more by facing the moon at night.
To easily swap a person’s talent and knowledge, how could this person not possess ability?
In some sense, Marina rather felt the Divine Envoy seemed more like a demon!
Because such ability meant he could elevate mortals instantly or bring those great talents to abrupt downfall.
Beyond just waiting, there was also this layer of consideration in her mind wanting to change the leader.
Marina was somewhat afraid of dealing with a person like this.
Realizing her persuasion was futile, she could only return to the center of the encampment and continue pacing.
By the sixth day, things finally took a turn.
After breakfast, Marina’s head echoed vaguely with a voice. By listening closely, it seemed to be a repetitious murmur...
"Feedback time has arrived, remember the good review; feedback time has arrived, remember the good review..."
Realizing this wasn’t her hallucination, she was immediately scared into a cold sweat.
It’s said that when the demon comes knocking, it will cause various hallucinations.
Who is it? Who’s whispering inside my head?
She suppressed the panic in her heart and found after circling around the camp that the voice seemed to come from the direction of nearby houses.
Marina immediately called Sarah and the guards to surround the room from all directions.
As she cautiously approached the front of the house, she found the Divine Envoy waiting at the door for her. The inside of the house was bright and clean, filled with exquisite products, totally unlike an abandoned house’s look.
"Look, isn’t he back?" Sarah patted her shoulder, "It’s probably time to set off. I’ll go pack the alchemy box. Remember to find a proper place for your smelly socks, don’t just mix them with the herbs."
What... Marina thought incredulously, thinking of Chen Xuan, is this the "I’ll send you a message when the time is right"? 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
What is visiting back? What is a positive review? Does this message have any significance at all?
"As long as it’s connected, it’s fine, everyone is here, right?" Chen Xuan didn’t mind her stiff expression and directly instructed the guards, "Call everyone over, I have something to explain."
Before long, the envoy team was all present.
During this period, they witnessed another strange event.
A group of burly men, obviously not of the French descent, quickly dismantled the house door until it could accommodate a four-wheel carriage.
Then, they slowly carried out a peculiar metal object from the house.
It was painted with shiny varnish, larger than the royal carriage, with interior seating seemingly for passengers. However, it didn’t have wheels and had a straight, thin tail at the back, looking somewhat like a tadpole.
"How long have I been gone?" Chen Xuan asked once everyone had gathered.
"Six days," Marina gritted her teeth.
It seems one day there is equivalent to two days here, which isn’t bad. Chen Xuan thought, the more frequent the shop connections, the smaller the time difference. Compared to Joan’s time where years passed in a flash, the one-to-two ratio is negligible.
His previous transaction with Marina was meant to register her as a guest, thus inserting an anchor point within the envoy team. From then on, once a visit invitation is sent, the guest could actively find the shop.
"You all must be impatient, right? I have good news and bad news," he announced loudly, "The good news is we can set off today; the bad news is that not everyone can go! First of all, we can’t take horses or carriages, so the twenty horses and vehicles should be left here. Also, guards, chefs, and attendants don’t need to follow, excluding the twenty diplomatic personnel and four witches, the rest should escort the carriage back to Versailles."
What?
Marina was momentarily doubting her ears! Depart today, but no horses?
How to traverse such a long journey on foot!
And without a chef, who would cook? Eating dry bread all day long would surely sink morale to the bottom! What if bandits are encountered along the way, relying solely on two witches for defense?
Others were equally shocked.
For most followers, not going to the East was actually good news. The distance was excessively far, some would surely die on the way. Being forced back by the Divine Envoy, His Majesty wouldn’t blame them.
It was Baron Milton who raised a very practical issue, "What about the food, property, and gifts on the car? Human power can’t bear so much stuff."
Chen Xuan pointed behind him, "Stuff them all into the house. This house is part of a divine realm; when we arrive in the East, it will also arrive instantly."
"I see." The baron surprisingly accepted this explanation right away, "As expected of the Divine Envoy, truly extraordinary!"
Others began applauding along.
"Praise the Lord!"
"With divine protection, Your Excellency will surely succeed!"
Only Marina was dumbfounded; is this the difference in trust between witches and Divine Envoys?
Not quite, not quite; they aren’t so devout, simply rejoicing being rid of a daunting task!
At Chen Xuan’s command, everyone acted immediately, unloading goods from the carriage and moving them into the house in batches. Marina took the chance to wander inside, only to find those burly men had vanished.
Once the goods transfer was finished, Chen Xuan called Marina and Milton aside alone.
"You two don’t need to go over."
"Your Excellency, are you relieving me from my duties?" Milton asked somewhat puzzled.
"Quite the opposite, this trip eastward, you two get first-class seats," Chen Xuan had already planned, "Just wait here for a moment; once I handle the others’ arrangements, the envoy team can formally set off.
