Chapter Sixty-Five: Little Medusa Vina

"Prepare for battle!" Sun Licheng shouted loudly, immediately ready to charge forward with his blade.

Just then, a panicked little girl peeked her head out from behind a stone pillar, her hair writhing like a nest of lively serpents.

"Medusa?"

Sun Licheng was stunned. It truly was a Medusa. In his moment of distraction, the girl had already drawn a bow and shot an arrow toward him.

The sound of the arrow slicing through the air startled Sun Licheng, and he quickly rolled to the right, tossing a ball of radiant fire as he moved.

The fireball exploded suddenly, flooding the cavern with brilliant light, acting as a flash grenade and forcing the girl to shield her eyes with her hands.

This was a new tactic Sun Licheng had recently developed with Mr. Dexterous—a concentrated luminous fireball, a flashbang of magical space and time.

Taking advantage of the moment, Sun Licheng swiftly cast a scorching arrow, which whistled over the girl’s head and struck the stone wall, frightening her back behind the stalactite pillar.

The sequence unfolded in mere seconds. Sun Licheng was quite pleased with his performance—until, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dogmeat’s magic crystal cannon powering up. He was instantly alarmed.

"Don’t fire!" Sun Licheng shouted urgently.

When the red light on the cannon dimmed, Sun Licheng sighed in relief. If a blast had been unleashed, the girl would have been crippled if not killed, and he’d truly become a ruthless destroyer of beauty.

"Flame shield," Sun Licheng intoned, and small shields of fire briefly flickered into existence around himself and Dogmeat before vanishing.

Seeing Sun Licheng cast a team spell, the girl’s face turned pale. She hadn’t expected her opponent to be a Hero. A Hero! That meant a formidable adversary.

"Why would a Hero appear here? And one accompanied by goblins, those lowly creatures?" she thought, fear rising in her heart.

With preparations in place, Sun Licheng finally relaxed. The opponent was just a young girl, and after that brief exchange, he realized her attacks weren’t particularly strong—far inferior to the Medusa matron he’d encountered in the tunnels before. For such intelligent beings, especially a pretty young girl, he couldn’t bring himself to be ruthless. The memory of the scorpion-tailed lion’s cruel destruction of beauty still filled him with resentment.

"What a fine woman, and that beast knocked half her head off! How heartless!" Sun Licheng silently cursed the lion.

Seeing the young Medusa hiding again, Sun Licheng shook his head, instructed Dogmeat to stay alert, and tried to activate Animal Friend. The result...

Nothing happened.

Sun Licheng slapped his own forehead and cursed himself, "She’s an intelligent being—how could Animal Friend be used for communication? I’m such a blockhead."

After berating himself, he activated Hero’s Power instead, and at last, he felt a response.

"Little girl, can we stop fighting now?" Sun Licheng asked.

"Villain! What are you trying to do?" The girl’s reply left Sun Licheng speechless.

"Are you Medusa?"

Sun Licheng continued his questioning. Then...

The girl’s rapid-fire responses overwhelmed Sun Licheng. "Ugh, I can’t understand any of this!" he cried inwardly.

Such was the limitation of Hero’s Power—it allowed only the simplest communication, often vague and dependent on intuition. The more complex the exchange, the more it broke down.

"What should I do?" Sun Licheng mused, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I can use the Silver Moon Hymn!"

Without hesitation, Sun Licheng soothed the girl and searched for a spacious spot in the cave, beginning to draw a magic array.

The girl watched curiously as the strange green creature scribbled and sketched on the ground. Before long, a complex hexagram took shape.

Back when Christina sang the Silver Moon Hymn, each point of the hexagram was occupied by a female goblin. According to Mr. Dexterous’s analysis, these goblins activated the array with their faith. Sun Licheng, however, held no faith in the Silver Moon Goddess—his master was off hiding somewhere—so he adopted another method: using charged magic crystals.

Sun Licheng had grown fond of goblin imperial artificial crystals. So long as he filled them with taiji cyclone energy, they could be used anywhere without corroding equipment—a real treasure for home, travel, or even murder and arson.

He took six goblin magic crystals from his pouch and placed them at the six points of the hexagram. Using so many at once made Sun Licheng wince, but for the sake of the little Medusa, he steeled himself and set them in place.

The girl’s eyes sparkled as she saw the beautiful crystals. She wanted to get closer for a look, but Dogmeat’s wary growl sent her shrinking back.

Sun Licheng quickly finished his preparations, straightened his fur coat, and stepped into the array, beginning to sing.

He didn’t sing the Silver Moon Goddess’s hymn—he didn’t know it, and besides, the array sought the blessing of the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy, not the Silver Moon Goddess. So he chose a familiar melody. As long as it resonated with the array, it would suffice.

As his song rang out, the magic array’s light began to flicker. Soon, a gentle white glow rose and spread outward.

The young Medusa watched nervously as the light approached and enveloped her. The discomfort she expected never came; instead, she felt warm and comfortable beneath the white glow, and suddenly, she understood Sun Licheng’s lyrics:

"Two little tigers, two little tigers,
Running fast, running fast,
One has no eyes,
One has no mouth,
So strange, so strange..."

Yes, Sun Licheng was singing the famous "Two Little Tigers." Why choose this children’s song? According to Mr. Dexterous’s analysis, it harmonized best with the array, and it was the simplest song for Sun Licheng to perform. Thus, "Two Little Tigers" became his sacred hymn.

Soon, Sun Licheng finished singing and looked at Medusa.

Her cheeks flushed as she asked, "Why does one tiger have no tail, and the other have no ears?"

"Um..." Sun Licheng was dumbfounded.

...

In the divine realm, within the nation of the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy, the archangel Conrad was astonished.

In this world, the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy was not particularly powerful—barely a middling deity, with few followers. Much of his divine power came from providing services to other gods.

This world, unlike many in fiction, did not have a universal language; translation was vital work, and in magic array translation, none surpassed the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy. Thus, this task was outsourced to him, and Conrad was the angel in charge.

Despite the steady business, the faith contributed by mortals was modest—a slow, steady trickle. But just now, a surge of immense power was transmitted, startling Conrad. Not only was it directly offered to his Lord, far exceeding ordinary contributions, it also fused rapidly with divine energy. To put it metaphorically, if divine power was blood, then this energy was O-type—quick to integrate, with no adverse reactions.

"Was that divine power?"

Recalling the vanished energy, Conrad fell into deep thought.

"I should ask His Majesty about this."

After pondering fruitlessly, Conrad decided swiftly.

When he reached the grand hall, he found his Lord in meditation.

In this world, knowledge was still monopolized by a few; the illiteracy rate hovered around 95%. As the god responsible for knowledge and diplomacy, His Majesty had little to do. Routine tasks were delegated to angels, and he often meditated—a form of self-study. As for diplomacy, well, in this world, force spoke louder than reason.

"Your Majesty, please awaken—I have an important report."

Impatient, Conrad called his Lord from meditation.

The deity opened his eyes, regarding Conrad’s excitement. "My child, what has happened to bring you such joy?"

"Oh, is that so?"

After hearing Conrad’s report, the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy was amazed. He hadn’t expected such a wondrous power—though not divine, it closely resembled it.

"Alas, I noticed the event too late. The array below had already closed, and I couldn’t pinpoint its location."

Conrad was crestfallen.

"Haha... it’s all right, my child. Simply remain vigilant. If he can use it once, he’ll use it again. Now, go—report to me if anything happens. I shall return to my meditation."

With that, His Majesty closed his eyes, and Conrad bowed respectfully, quietly leaving the hall.

Meanwhile, Sun Licheng was beset by a barrage of questions from a curious child.

This young Medusa was named Vina. According to her, she had run away from home, seeking powerful strength to become the mightiest warrior of the Moonlight Spring Tribe.

"Er... such a noble ambition," Sun Licheng said, at a loss, as he watched the proud little Medusa.

Since leaving her homeland, Vina had traveled far and suffered greatly. Recently, she fought a fierce magical beast and was wounded in the tail. Over time, the injury failed to heal, and when she reached this place, she could go no further, so she hid in the cave to recuperate.

She hadn’t expected this cavern to be a vital spot for the Moonstone Tribe, who often visited.

To claim it, the girl began to bully the simple goblins, frightening them with various tricks. Still, she was kind at heart and never truly harmed the goblins of the Moonstone Tribe.

"The goblins are pitiable enough—don’t bully them anymore," Sun Licheng said after listening, thinking of the tribe on the verge of starvation, and advised Vina.

Seeing her puzzled face, he continued, "How about this—come with me."

No sooner had he spoken than the girl’s expression hardened.

"You’re a villain!" she said, glaring at Sun Licheng.

Sun Licheng was left utterly bewildered...