Chapter 680: Confused Herbigon vs Confused Hayleen

Chapter 680: Confused Herbigon vs Confused Hayleen

Narrator: In the broadcast tower.

Hayleen: (Speaking in a warm but confused tone) “Sweetie, if Lord Ronzic wanted the communication system replaced, you could have warned me before smashing it. Sudden things like that scare me.”

Herbie still has his left eyebrow raised and his right eye is still squinting.

Herbie: (Speaking in a perplexed tone) “Huh? Err…” (Clears his throat and is now speaking in a professional tone) “Ah yes, of course. Please accept my apology, Miss Hayleen. Lord Ronzic felt the communication system was outdated and plans to install new ones throughout the base.”

Hayleen: “Apology accepted, Sweetie. Did Lord Ronzic say when the new one would arrive?”

Herbie: (Still speaking professionally) “No, he did not. But there is some other business I have to do here…”

Herbie releases a plant with a thorn head from his hand and the thorn slices part of Hayleen’s neck. A lot of blood flows out from the wound. However, Hayleen does not scream in pain. She stares at Herbie with a frown for a moment and then starts smiling and rubs the back of her neck. Herbie stares back while trying to hide how shocked he is.

Hayleen: (Speaking warmly) “Ah, so Lord Ronzic wishes for me to continue my combat training and you did not give me a heads up to keep me on my toes.”

Herbie can no longer hide his shock as his mouth opens wide and his eyes roll up so far that his pupils have rolled back into his head.

Herbie: (Thinking in extreme shock) “Goddess, this lady is a dolt!! She can’t be that stupid can she!!?”

Hayleen: (Speaking with a concerned tone) “Sweetie, what’s the matter? You look ill.”

Herbie returns to his calm expression and clears his throat again before speaking.

Herbie: (Speaking professionally) “Ah yes, that was my intention all along. I’m just impressed by how well you endured that attack.”

Hayleen: “Thank you for the compliment, Sweetie. I think this tower makes for a poor place for combat training so let’s do it outside.”

Herbie: (Still speaking professionally) “Of course, Miss Hayleen.” (Now thinking to himself in his normal tone) “This works well for me. Fighting in here could draw attention from the base. That said, it’s pretty worrying that my attack didn’t draw a painful reaction from her.”

Herbie and Hayleen walk into the elevator and push the button inside to send the elevator downward. While the elevator descends, Herbie keeps focus on Hayleen.

Herbie: (Thinking) “There is the possibility that she is just playing dumb. But what would be the point of that? Someone confident in their abilities would not need to hide their intentions like this. Gah! This is so annoying! Figuring out if someone is bluffing is not my strong suit!”

When the elevator reaches the bottom, the door opens but they are greeted by a pack of wild animals. The animals are like the fusion of a wolf and a deer. They have the general size of a deer with similar long legs and head shape but they have the fur and detailed features of a wolf. Some of the animals have antlers.

Narrator: Wild Animal of Planet Pylon — Rovoliv

The rovolivs growl menacingly at Herbie and Hayleen.

Herbie: “Well, I just so happened to have left the entrance door open when entering this tower.”

Hayleen: “Oh my! These creatures are always coming to the tower to find some food. I guess these creatures will give me another chance to further test my combat training. Here we go!”

Hayleen holds out her arms wide and starts a loud scream.

Hayleen: “HAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

A powerful visible clear force blasts forward from Hayleen’s entire body. The force picks up all the rovolivs and seats in the room, and blasts them all outside and off into the far distance. Herbie and Hayleen step outside to observe the end. In the far distance, a massive blast of force explodes out with extremely heavy winds blowing out in all directions from it. Herbie watches with his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly open.

Herbie: (Speaking in an almost speechless awe) “Holy… mother… of goddess…”

***

Narrator: On the grounds outside of Ronzic’s base.

Two male dark divine beings observe the heavy winds coming from off in the distance.

Guard 1: “That must be Hayleen again.”

Guard 2: “Yeah, I imagine those rovolivs are bothering her again.”

Guard 3: “Yep, there’s nothing to worry about. Let’s carry on.”

***

Narrator: Back to Herbie and Hayleen.

Hayleen snaps her finger in frustration for a moment before returning to her warmer smile and tone.

Hayleen: “Ah drat! I still can’t control it. I went overboard again. You see, Sweetie, despite all of my training, I still am ‘all-or-nothing’ when it comes to using my magic power. I’m incapable of holding back. Of course, it did come in useful that one time.”

Herbie: “That one time?”

Hayleen: “We’re you not told about it, Sweetie? Light being slaves stole the ship we were building for Project Sputnik so Lord Ronzic had me use my power and blast the ship before it got too far.”

Herbie: (Thinking) “Well, that explains the heavily damaged ship we found in space just outside of the planet.” (Now speaking aloud) “I think it’s best if we take the combat training farther out. We wouldn’t want to damage the tower after all. You already turned the bottom floor into a mess…”

Hayleen: “Good thinking, Sweetie. There’s a valley to the north that I think would make for a good spot.”

Hayleen and Herbie begin walking north with Herbie walking behind Hayleen. As they walk, Herbie stares at Hayleen’s back.

Herbie: (Thinking) “I could make another assassination attempt right now but it would be risky considering how well she endured the last attack. I absolutely cannot risk the tower getting destroyed or drawing attention from others near the base.”

***

Narrator: 10 minutes later.

Herbie and Hayleen stand at the top of the valley and look down into it. The valley has more cliff edges farther down into it, giving it a steep staircase-like look. There are more rovolivs at the bottom of the valley that are feasting on the carcass of another unrelated animal. There’s also some plant-life that are struggling to live.

Hayleen: “Here we are, Sweetie. It’s perfect, don’t you think?”

Herbie: (Clears his throat and begins speaking professionally) “Ah yes, it’s the perfect place. Now…”

Herbie turns his right arm into a log and uses it to pound Hayleen straight in her back. The hit knocks her forward in the air above the valley. Herbie jumps forward to position himself above her and then uses his other hand to release a thorn-topped plant that pierces her straight through her upper back. Hayleen coughs up blood. Herbie finishes up his attack by again pounding her in the back with his log arm that blows her straight down to the ground. She hits the ground where the rovolivs are. The ground breaks apart around them and the force of the rubble knocks the rovolivs away. Once the rovolivs get up, they run away in fear.

Herbie lands on the ground and waits to see the result.

Hayleen slowly stands up, revealing the state of her body. However, she still does not scream in pain.

Hayleen: (Speaking warmly but with a bit of struggle) “That was not nice of you, Sweetie. You were supposed to wait until we got down to the bottom of the valley. This isn’t an example of keeping me on my toes.”

Herbie: (Speaking professionally) “Please forgive the sudden attack. Testing someone with surprise attacks through deception is one of the best ways to gauge someone’s skills.” (Now thinking to himself with some nerves) “Gah! That was a stupid explanation! Even she wouldn’t buy that!”

Hayleen: (Speaking in a nervous but accepting tone) “Oh, I guess that’s true. You’re a really good teacher.”

Herbie’s jaw drops as his shock and confusion take over again.

Herbie: (Thinking) “Huh!!!? She bought that explanation!!? She’s not just a dolt, she’s a mega dolt!!!”

Narrator: Expecting a standard battle, Hayleen’s confusion and naivety are testing Herbie’s sanity!

Chapter 680 END

To be Continued in Chapter 681: Ronzic Fills Out His Staff Part 4 — Head of Surveillance — Hayleen