It took the two of them 30 minutes to reach the top of the mountain, from there Han Ling allowed Gentle Sun to rest for a while as he collected clues from the rocks on the mountain.
But this was all just an act to prevent any troublesome issues. “Sun, could you cast your Sun Protection on this tablet.” The red haired mage trotted up to Han Ling before peering at the tablet with strange markings.
“Did you find something?” “Please do as I say.” Han Ling replied in a calm voice. Gentle Sun gave the masked man a very cute pout before touching the tablet, feeling the cold rock in her palm, then she closed her eyes and an orange yellow glow coated the stone.
Suddenly the peel of a bell sounded in the far distance, then another in the opposite direction. A golden glow coated both Han Ling and Gentle Sun. Sun widened her eyes in surprise, her mouth opening to speak but couldn’t as she was whisked away by the light.
The pair opened their eyes to see themselves standing on fluffy white clouds, the sun floating above the sea of clouds, its glow warm on their skin. It would be pleasant… if there weren’t dozens of arrows flying straight at them. Han Ling pulled Gentle Sun towards him, releasing nine sabres from his sword, deflecting the arrows ably.
Then there was a faint movement behind Han Ling, he ducked just in time for a black fist to fly past. Han Ling kicked out, only to hit air. The assailant teleported in front of Han Ling, its fist punching down on Han Ling’s head.
TING!
The assailant bounced back; a smoking slit on his fist as the red sabre brandished wickedly at the enemy. Draped in a black cloak and hood, the hulking enemy stood still, ready to pounce at any time. Han Ling calmly stood, Gentle Sun cowering next to him. He spoke in a sombre tone, “Please inform Chieftain Zenkibo that the descendant of the goddess has arrived.” He caught sight of the enemy flinch before disappearing like he was never there.
After a few seconds, Han Ling felt movement next to him and he turned to see Gentle Sun still in his arm, her face beet red and eyes quivering. Han Ling inwardly cursed and quickly let her go, looking around at the sea of clouds, acting like nothing happened.
Gentle Sun glared at the swordsman, her cheeks still red, “I’ll allow it this time, but don’t ever do that again!” Han Ling scratched the back of his head and nodded.
At that moment, the cloaked assailant appeared in front of them, the man removed its hood and revealed a crow head. “Please allow me to send you to the Chieftain.” Raising both his hands to the humans.
Once they grabbed the hands, they felt the world spin and suddenly they were right inside a wooden house, filled with black crow-headed humans. They were the Tengu, an extremely secret tribe that serves the goddess Amaterasu. Amaterasu found this tribe when they were on the brink of extinction, and in return the Tengu became the knights of Amaterasu.
However… Amaterasu was forced from the Realm of Monsters, and the Tengu live in isolation ever since, waiting for the time their goddess will return.
And now, Han Ling stand before the Zenkibo, a short man wearing a typical Tengu mask, red face and long nose. Zenkibo’s eyes fell upon Han Ling, “Hmm, they were telling the truth… I sense a faint trace of her holiness on him.” Then he looked at Gentle Sun and those eyes widened considerably.
At the same time, Han Ling felt a powerful pressure emit from his side, and he looked to his right with an expression of calmness. Sure enough, Gentle Sun was glowing a bright gold, her face one of bliss and eyes completely gold. Like a lie, all the Tengu in the room dropped on one knee, head facing down, and eyes closed.
An ethereal voice ushered from Gentle Sun’s mouth, one unlike her own, yet was still familiar.
“Thank you, Han Ling…” Amaterasu’s voice was like a summer sun, the warmth in her words could melt ice, the comfortable warmth of her smile could light the coldest hearts.
Han Ling kneeled as well, but his tone was laced with concern, “You should not be here, esteemed goddess. The Beast god and Lich god will notice—” “It’ll be alright, I have masked my presence with Gentle Sun’s, she’s a wonderful little girl.” Her smile was elegant, something Gentle Sun herself could never pull off.
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“Esteemed Sun Goddess Amaterasu! We Tengu shall serve you once again!” Zenkibo’s voice boomed as he knelt on the ground. Amaterasu turned to the Tengu, a sad smile on her face, “I am terribly sorry for what has happened to you all, I hope you can forgive me.” Zenkibo raised his head, tears running down the mask face, “We would always forgive you esteemed Amaterasu, without you we would never live!” Amaterasu smiled gently, reaching down to touch the mask, stroking it gently.
“Thank you…” A tear rolled down Gentle Sun’s face, she turned to Han Ling, “Thank you for allowing me to meet them again, please allow them to leave the realm of monsters, their lives belong to Earth, where they once were.” Amaterasu’s voice started to waver, “When you return them to Earth, they will fight for you and will follow your orders as they are mine, and I will reward you at that time. I give you’re the title, Sun’s Friend.”
[Hidden Quest: Tengu]
* Bring all 500 Tengu back to Earth.
* Rewards: Sun Blessing. Unknown.
Han Ling bowed to the fading voice of Amaterasu, and quickly propped the falling Gentle Sun back up. Gentle Sun’s eyes flickered and finally opened, frowning at the sight of Han Ling propping her up. “What happened?”
Blood Mask gave her the run-down of the situation, and once he was done, Zenkibo approached the pair. “Esteemed guests, I have sent for the other Chiefs, and they will be here shortly, in the meantime please rest.”
But Han Ling didn’t move, “I wish to ask a question.” “What is the question?”
“Do you allow outsiders to learn the Sora Ga Maiagaru?”
Zenkibo’s body shook and his eyes widened considerably, “How do you know of that?!”
Han Ling stared at the Tengu in silence, Zenkibo then coughed, “Pardon me, I would have to ask the Head Chief for this information, please understand…” Han Ling nodded, expecting this much.
The pair followed the same Tengu that brought them here and entered a small house on top of the clouds. They rested in different rooms until the same Tengu asked them to follow him.
Han Ling returned to the wooden house, finding a dozen Tengu with the red masks, but there was a single one on the throne, its nose much longer than the other Tengu’s mask. He immediately recognized the Tengu as the Great Chief Sojobo, the master of Mount Kurama.
Sojobo regarded Han Ling with a strange gaze, and the latter returned it with gold eyes.
[Kuebiko’s Eyes]
Sojobo (Great Chief of the Tengu)
Level: 100 (??/??)
Unique Element: Hurricane
Age: 4,000,982
Class: Hurricane Lord (Lord rank)
ATK: 1782
DEF: 822
SPD: 1232
Magic ATK: 4231
Crit rate: 82%
Elemental Resistance: 20%
Cooldown reduction: 10%
Mana: 190,000/190,000
HP: 1 mil/1 mil
Free Basic Points: 0
Class Bonus: Hurricane Lord
Hurricane Lord buff: Wind attacks deal 40% more dmg.
Hurricane Lord buff: Gains Magic Damage attribute. Gains Crit rate attribute. Gains attribute Elemental Resistance. Gains Fan style: Hurricane.
Han Ling nearly coughed out blood at those outrageous stats. Elemental Resistance? Crit Rate? Cooldown Reduction? These were the best attributes anyone could get! As expected of the Great Chief of the Tengu clan, he’s a monster even the Goblin King can’t defeat.
“Oh… How interesting, you even have the God of KnOwledge’s eye… Zenkibo was correct, you are a powerful human.” Sojobo spoke, his voice sounded like a distant thunder, but also a soft wind. Han Ling bowed, “It is an honour to meet the Great Chief Sojobo.” Sojobo nodded, “I heard from Zenkibo that you have gained the title of Sun’s friend, and so we shall aid you in your conquest of the Realm of Monsters.”
“We have no need for conquest, I only wish to get rid of the enemies against me.” Sojobo stared at Han Ling, “Now I move on to the question you asked, and I wish to ask a question of my own.”
There was a silence between them, and Han Ling could felt a chill in his heart. “How do you know of Sora Ga Maiagaru?” A cold pressure fell on Han Ling’s shoulders, his shoulders shaking at the weight, Han Ling grunted out loud, but his eyes stared straight at Sojobo’s. There was no way he could outsmart a man who lived millions of years, and he couldn’t escape if he wanted to… so there was only one way.
“The goddess Amaterasu requires me to learn the technique.” The pressure disappeared suddenly, and Sojobo’s eyes sharpened. “The goddess told you?” Han Ling only nodded, his eyes still and cold. Sojobo met those eyes and sighed, “Very well, we shall teach you the Sora Ga Maiagaru…” then his long nose turned to Gentle Sun, “In the meantime, the goddess’s descendant shall learn of her powers, through the Scriptures her holiness has left behind.”
Han Ling felt a huge weight of worry disappear from his shoulders, and a smile crept up on his face. The Sora Ga Maiagaru, also known as the Sky Soarer, an extremely powerful technique that allows the user to gain wings, capable of flight as well as teleportation. They were one of the best flight type techniques in the world of Sovereign’s Battleground.
The Tengu were extremely powerful, not only are their sword techniques powerful, but they were also able to teleport freely and easily, a single Tengu could probably go toe to toe against demons. With 500 Tengu’s on their side, Jiron now had a much higher chance of surviving in the Monster Realm.
Han Ling followed Zenkibo down a couple of stairs, which led them to a small room containing a single altar at the centre. “This is the Sora Ga Maiagaru Altar, once you have your wings ready, we shall teach you the technique and you will gain your own wings.” Han Ling nodded, and promptly blinked back to the Realm of Monsters.