“Hm, don"t think that just because the platform is so gigantic, it can"t be powered up. Just so you know, the Elemental Segregation Platform is powered solely by its user. Gaiuz for example, would spend his days on that platform during which the fire elements within him would be separated from him. The platform will collect these elements and store it within it"s Mobility Furnace. Thanks to that, the platform is able to output unthinkable levels of performance during crucial moments.”

“Woah~~that"s amazing.”

Truly, that contraption surprised me to no end, up till that point, I honestly thought that those Shadowcats had to spend their entire lives stuck on that platform for their daily needs…even p.o.o.ping…

“Amazing isn"t it? From that look on your face, I bet you a.s.sumed they were stuck to that platform permanently.”

“They aren"t then?”

“Of course not, even though leaving the platform might ultimately cause an Elemental Imbalance in their bodies, short term travel is still all right. You seem to have forgotten that whether it is Meisian, Weiderly or Gaiuz, their castles all have three levels in them. The first level performs an a.s.sortment of functions, the second is for guests and those of status, the third however, is their personal cat territory.”

“…”

"Now that he mentioned it, I do in fact remember him telling us that…"

Clearly happy to brag about his own clan, he continued to blow my mind with the following revelations: “I bet you never noticed that there was a tiny platform hidden behind the platform in their throne rooms. Because that other platform is tiny when compared to the Elemental Segregation Platform, it"s only understandable for you not to notice it. That platform was specifically crafted to allow quick travel between the third floor and the first. Their functions are similar to the Elemental Segregation Platforms except that they are smaller and noticeably faster.”

……

For this operation, Gaiuz had most likely sent out his entire army, numbering a total of three hundred or so Purgatory Shadowcats, all surrounding him in a protective barrier.

By my estimation, the speed of that platform was roughly 15 m/s, which meant it was 54 km/h. At that speed, it would probably take us three to four days of travelling to reach our destination.

Purely for convenience, Gaiuz prepared some mobile Cat Nests which basically served the same purpose as a tent. These mobile Cat Nests were shaped like carriages and were extremely wide, being only a smidge smaller than the platform itself. Just one alone was enough to fit our party though it would be a squeezy ride.

One thing had to be said however, the ones pulling these Cat Nests weren"t the Purgatory Shadowcats themselves. Instead, such a laborious task was dumped on another race known as the Demon Fire Arcane Lizards.

The Demon Fire Arcane Lizards were another species transported over from Abaddon. Mostly, they were the equivalent of horses –weak and easily tamed. Before coming over, they were called Arcane Lizards and were a race known for their st.u.r.dy bodies, extraordinary strength and poisonous saliva. Other than that however, they were weak. Adding on the fact that they were tended to be rather dim as well, their race as a whole belonged near the bottom of the pyramid in Abbadon.

Still, the fact that they possessed a degree of intelligence made them very obedient servants though still dim. Thanks to that, they were raised by the various races in Abaddon for labor.

Like the Purgatory Shadowcats, these lizards had to forcefully change their const.i.tution to suit the harsh environments of Purgatory. What their appearance was like before mutating, that was something I didn"t know but with regards to their current appearance, I had only one thing to say, ugly…also, they kind of stank as well.

The lizard pulling our Cat Nest was at least five meters long and possessed a thick set of limbs br.i.m.m.i.n.g with power. As for its head, it reminded me of those dinosaurs I saw in the movies albeit without a horn. Its scales were a dark shade of green. Perhaps it was due to its forced mutation, but on top of its inkish green scales, there were streaks of red running through its body that when combined with its scales, seemed to give it a fiery appearance. Most likely, that was the reason why the Purgatory Shadowcats gave them the name Demon Fire Arcane Lizards.

Truth be told, those cats seemed more like a bunch of moronic potatoes than anything else to me, the reason being that the way they viewed things seemed so off kilter from my own. Take for example those so-called guardcats, a human guard would never fake his defeat and then fall asleep…furthermore, humans would show fear when they were scolded and would do their best to avoid getting reprimanded even further. After all, their lives were at stake here.

Those guardcats however…the most memorable moment for me had to be when those two guardcat team leaders even had the b.a.l.l.s to toss out that tsukkomi: "sleeping was just an afterthought, nyaah…

Truly, the Purgatory Shadowcats were beyond my understanding and that wasn"t even all I had to say as well…

Take for example where we were now… After days of travelling, we finally reached our destination, known as Domeh Lake. It was a lake of lava just like everywhere else but instead of blackened rock, it was surrounded by lush foliage. Just based on its picturesque qualities alone, I had to admit that this lake was like a rare oasis in an unending desert of red and black.

It was in such a scenic backdrop that three hovering platforms met and combined with each other. The three Shadowcat siblings met and immediately they started off with a customary round of snide remarks. Naturally, the main target of said remarks was Weiderly since Gaiuz would never insult his beloved little sister though the next in line was the latter himself…the reason being that Meisian hated her two brothers.

Rather fascinating in of itself, I quietly listened in on their conversation with ears pressed to the wall of our Cat Nest.

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Gaiuz: “Foolish brother, I see your scruples have fallen once more.”

Weiderly lowered his head: “No they haven"t.”

Gaiuz: “…truly, how stupid can you be…”

Weiderly: “You"re the one who said that they dropped, that"s why I looked!”

Gaiuz: “That"s why I say you"re stupid. How can you even drop such a thing?”

Weiderly: “Well, your scruples have fallen as well.”

Gaiuz lowered his head to look: “Is that so? No, they haven"t.”

Finally at the end of her patience: “That"s enough, did you two morons call me over just so that I can bear witness to your stupidity?”

Weiderly: “O foolish sister of mine, just looking at your furry face, I can"t help but remember those fond memories of you peeing in your box when you were still a wee kitten…”

Meisian: “Shut up!”

Gaiuz: “My foolish brother, I heard our dear Royal Father mention that you used to wet your box as well.”

Weiderly: “Shut up!”

Gaiuz: “Hmph, as if I would shut up just because you told me to. Just for that, I won"t. I still remember back in those days, you…”

What happened next was a furious exchange of insults, snideness and tsukkomi-ing till Meisian finally had enough and yelled: “That"s enough of out you two morons! I"m not here to see you two idiots duke it out, we"re here to decide a Cat King! If you two keep arguing like this, I"ll just fly back to my castle right now! You hear me?! Idiot! Idiot!”

Seeing their little sister blow her top, the two of them finally settled down and moved onto the main topic for today.

Still, amidst all that, Gaiuz could be seen acting rather strangely. At times, he would use his paws to slap the platform beneath him, sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly. When his slapping was rapid, it almost seemed like he was having seizures; when they were slow, they almost seemed more like gentle caresses. Because of that strange quirk, he ended up suffering quite a bit of teasing from the two other Shadowcats. While it was still fine when Weiderly was the one making fun of him, when it was Meisian doing the teasing, his face became noticeably more sullen.

However, even with all that nonsense going on, the discussion proceeded barely impeded. In other words, just as slowly as before.

Honestly, there really wasn"t much to be discussed at all. This battle of theirs would most likely end up being those same few compet.i.tion events plus some kind of Try-not-to-laugh compet.i.tion as the finale.

As for the contents of said compet.i.tion…my face immediately darkened the moment Anmi explained it to me.

The event was really simple: both sides would dispatch their own teams, both of similar strength. The two sides would then take turns performing for the other and should one side laugh or sleep, the contestant in question would be kicked out. The two sides would continue sending out people till one side finally ran out of cats.

"Could there be any more unreliable method of compet.i.tion in this world? Not to say that the event was intrinsically bad…after all, it was full of entertainment value…but as a way to decide the future Cat King…"

"I get the reasoning behind all those other events…hunting, racing, gathering and whatnot…but what the heck is this try-not-to-laugh compet.i.tion…it"s clearly just a comedy showdown isn"t it?! What is even doing in this battle?!"

At times, I truly wanted to burst out in exasperation just from listening in on their discussion…

Still, with the battle program basically ironed out, Weiderly was the first to leave. As he did so, he threw his two siblings a dismissive look before he left, as if it was beneath him to spend more time with them. Just like that, Weiderly sped off in in his Ferrari…oops, I mean Elemental Segregation Platform.