Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 750 - 359. Maggot

Chapter 750: 359. Maggot

Polina stepped into her shoes, strapped a dagger to her calf, donned a thick, exquisite coat, and turned to shout to her family:

"I’m heading out."

"Polina! Remember to tell that blacksmith that our scythe should be ready."

"Alright, okay, sure, I know, goodbye grandpa, bye-bye."

Polina said dismissively, picked up her small bag, stepped into her shoes, and quickly rushed out of the house.

For her, today was a special day.

At sixteen, Polina had grown into a graceful young lady, her wavy blonde hair pinned behind her head, her clear eyes as magnificent as rubies, and her full, well-proportioned figure was visible even under the cover of her bulky clothes, showing off elegant curves.

Even as an outsider, she had made a name for herself in Valley Peak Village.

Of course, this was primarily because her grandfather, a local sage and her family owned a small, quaint estate of over fifteen hundred acres in Duna Autonomous State. The wine in the cellar always made the gentlemen of The Capital linger and forget to return.

But this had nothing to do with Polina Shang Kavgerny, who was on vacation in the countryside; she loved her current life.

Without the supervision of maids, she could wear trousers and riding boots, romp through the fields, chase rabbits with her hunting dogs, ski down from a seven-hundred-meter-high mountain without having to wear the bright, heavy pearl necklace and diamond earrings, or the shallow-colored silk dresses.

The family teacher couldn’t control her studies, allowing her to freely read the strange tales of the rural farmers and the battle letters of the legendary General Borania, instead of wasting time in literature, deportment, and etiquette classes.

Everything about the countryside was so delightful; nobody cared if you did something disrespectful or unladylike. The sight of the farmer’s wives cursing each other was always a spectacle that Polina enjoyed, and chasing squirrels and picking truffles in the woods were indispensable daily entertainments.

Of course, her grandfather, who had been a knight in the Kingdom in his earlier years, was also very interesting. He always maintained a soldier’s demeanor and never treated Polina as a frail damsel, teaching her how to fold clothes, wash dishes, haggle, bandage wounds, identify herbs, swordsmanship, and shooting.

Occasionally, when she managed to cheer up her grandfather, he would tell her about his past battles with the Barbarian Tribes beyond the border, how they fought fiercely by day and at night, the soldiers from both sides would secretly trade Alige and Gold for pepper and glass beads.

Therefore, Polina didn’t mind helping her grandfather with tasks.

But today was different, she was really looking forward to what was going to happen next.

She hurriedly ran through the streets of Valley Peak Village, and the simple villagers greeted her as soon as they saw her:

"Hey, young lady, with that outfit, are you going to war somewhere?"

"Good morning—Gaslin said he found something good and called me over."

"Ah, that Gaslin from the eastern side of the village—although he’s incredibly handsome, he’s always lazy and easily excited, last time he even caught a cauliflower snake and said ’Look, I caught a dragon’."

The villagers scoffed and joked:

"Speaking of which, have you seen Andwa? I haven’t seen him for two days; he might have gone hunting in the mountains, right?"

"Maybe—though I’m not hopeful, it could still be fun to watch."

Polina was indifferent; she was very excited because only she knew that what she was going to see today was absolutely, definitely not ordinary.

Gaslin was indeed incredibly handsome, like a Succubus from a legend, but he acted like a fool. It was said that a few years ago, he came down from upstream and hit his head on a rock, ever since then, he lost his memory and couldn’t even remember his own real name.

However, Polina was no flirt; she didn’t care about Gaslin’s flawless beauty. She hung out with the not-so-smart Gaslin purely because they had enjoyable chats.

Besides, his discovery this time was likely unparalleled in the entire Kingdom—a treasure so extraordinary.

She jogged along, passing through the densely packed village, arriving at the bridge of the village. In the distance, a waterwheel turned relentlessly by the river, the blacksmith’s hammer struck metal, and the intense collision sounds grew closer.

Ding—Ding—Ding—

The sound of smithing pulled Polina back to reality, and remembering her grandfather’s reminder, she stopped, turned, and walked towards the open-air blacksmith’s shop.

Having just approached a few steps, the heat emanating from the shop made it difficult for her to come closer. The magma in the furnace was slowly being drained out, looking like dust-covered Gold, both dazzling and intense, making one dizzy to look at.

Ding—Ding—Ding—

The tall, strong blacksmith’s back was towards her, silently swinging his hammer, striking the metal on the anvil. It seemed he was making three-bladed tools, which is a special smithing technique that wraps soft layer steel around hard steel like a sandwich to save on costs.

"Mr. Blacksmith, hello."

Polina clasping her hands behind her back, due to the high temperature, dared not approach and shouted towards the towering figure at the forge:

"I’m from the Kavgerny family. A few days ago my grandpa ordered some nails from you. Are they ready? Grandpa wants to fix the garden fence to prevent wild boars from crashing into it and eating away, especially since grandma’s favorite sunflowers are inside..."

She spoke like a melodious lark, rapidly and with logical leaps, not two sentences in she would shift to discussing the policies of the Kingdom Parliament and the Kingdom’s unreasonable economic system.

Clang!

The triple-layered steel billet suddenly broke, the blacksmith set down his hammer and the failed forging, walked into the house, and after a while, he came out with a large box of nails and silently walked towards Polina.

Polina looked up at the towering figure, more than two meters tall. His black hair scattered over his shoulders like numerous serpents, his very stout body, full of coarse features, with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, and buck-teeth, his appearance was ugly and frightening.

Due to his proximity to the furnace, he wore only fireproof cotton pants and a leather apron. Otherwise, he wore nothing, revealing his greasy skin, his large belly quivering and swaying with each step, and his exceptionally pale skin, which from a distance, certainly resembled a fat maggot.

Even though Polina was pure and kind-hearted, the sight of him silently approaching startled her, but she immediately smiled faintly, picking up the paper box from his hand and opening it straightforwardly in front of him.

The nails inside were neatly arranged, and the acid-etched surface made the nickel plating gleam brilliantly. They were arranged so meticulously, much like soldiers on parade, immediately showing the care that had gone into their ordering.

"How beautiful!"

A light flashed in Polina’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but pick up a long nail, examining it in the sunlight:

The nail’s shaft was perfectly straight without any bends, and the sharp tip was indeed very sharp, yet it did not give the impression of fragility. Instead, it made one believe that this nail could be firmly driven into any wood, with a nickel plating on the outside durable enough to resist corrosion. Such beautiful nails almost made one reluctant to use them.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Blacksmith."

Polina smiled, and as she was about to take them back, a voice suddenly came from behind:

"Polina! You’re so slow!"

Polina turned around and saw a black-haired young man standing at the bridgehead, looking bored in her direction, his features exquisite and beautiful, as if he stepped out of a painting.

He lazily yawned and said:

"Poliiiiina, hurry up a bit, everyone has arrived except you."

Polina said, "Wait a minute, Gaslin, my grandpa ordered these nails, and I need to take them back to him."

"That kind of thing can wait till later, it won’t be long anyway." Gaslin glanced at the ugly, fat blacksmith, immediately experiencing an unpleasant physical reaction: "Well... not to say anything else, you can leave the nails here, and just pick them up when you come back, right?"

"Hey, Gaslin, you don’t understand,"

the freckled girl immediately said:

"Polina doesn’t want to see the face of that fatty maggot twice, that’s why she’s in a hurry to send the nails back."

Hearing this, Polina quickly explained:

"No, I just want to get these nails to my grandpa as soon as possible."

"Well, well, you don’t have to force an explanation; I can understand that..." Gaslin scratched his hair, teasingly saying: "Really, Polina, standing next to that silly fat maggot just makes things worse, doesn’t it?"

"Talking like that really isn’t appropriate; how is attacking someone’s appearance masculine?"

"Attacking someone’s appearance isn’t nice, but attacking someone with looks is even worse."

The handsome and unconcerned Gaslin waved his hand, glancing at the fat blacksmith and immediately feeling uncomfortable:

"Anyway, Polina, hurry up; Alicia is still waiting for us."

"Ah..."

Polina hesitated for a moment and turned to look at the blacksmith.

"Mr. Blacksmith..."

The blacksmith hung his head low, said nothing, and reached out to take the box of nails, turning back toward the house.

Polina felt a bit strange inside; though the blacksmith’s appearance was repulsive, saying he was the least welcomed person in the world wasn’t an exaggeration. Seeing him instinctively brought about disgust, but having Gaslin make unprovoked attacks and ridicule, wouldn’t anyone feel uncomfortable?

"Alright, let’s go!"

The freckled girl embraced her from behind, affectionately saying:

"Forget about the fatty maggot, let’s hurry and do our thing—all the more because Gaslin found something quite extraordinary today."

’...Yes.’ Polina remembered the item she saw and was immediately excited, as her girlish curiosity overcame everything else.

"Okay."

Polina nodded and walked a few steps with the girl, then suddenly stopped, pondering for a moment, turned around, and shouted to the blacksmith inside:

"Mr. Blacksmith, I will definitely be back by seven, please take care of things then!"

She clapped her hands, said ’please don’t lock up’, and quickly caught up with Gaslin and the others, entering the forest.

A moment later, the fat blacksmith came out of the house, moved to the anvil, ready to clean up the scrap iron and slag, and restart the forge, when a voice suddenly shouted:

"Hey, maggot."