Chapter 115: Anomaly (33 — Please Follow & Read)

"Anomaly?"

Herbert mulled over the word, his brow lifting slightly.

In other words, they're all special individuals?

Born with elite traits? Natural-born BOSSes?

So, Valentina is actually a battle-hardened Gold Fire Dragon?

Mm, she does feel quite a bit stronger than the Madam — after all, not every fire dragon knows how to throw from Earth...

"Are anomalies rare?"

【"One in ten thousand. Some races don't even get one in a million."】

Herbert raised a brow, surprised: "In other words, they're all geniuses of their respective races?"

Heaven's favored daughters — monster-girl edition?

【"To outsiders it might seem that way, but for the anomalies themselves, they might not necessarily see it that way."】

When Miss Xie Shen talked business, she was perfectly serious, earnestly schooling her ally on esoteric knowledge: 【"In the past, anomalies had another name — the Blessed and the Cursed."】

Herbert:?

He understood the Blessed part, but where did the Cursed come from?

【"As exceedingly rare special individuals, anomalies are blessed — possessing power far beyond that of their kin."】

【"This power might manifest in various ways: enormous size, extraordinary intellect, a cold mind, special charm, unique abilities..."】

【"But at the same time, anomalies are also cursed."】

Miss Xie Shen asked softly: 【"You understand, don't you? Excessive power doesn't always draw goodwill — sometimes it invites baseless malice."】

【"Some covet their bloodlines, wanting to claim that blessed power for themselves; others fear that might and try to wipe them out early."】

【"As outsiders, anomalies are destined to be shunned and feared by their own kind, ultimately walking a lonely road paved with blood and fire."】

【"Blessed and cursed, life and death — they spend their whole lives on this path where opportunity and danger walk hand in hand."】

After delivering all this in a solemn tone, Nie Nasha's manner abruptly shifted; she giggled: 【"Well, it's not actually that heavy — it still depends on how each anomaly chooses to view it."】

【"Whether you treat it as a curse of fate, a gift of fate, or even a trial of fate — that's perfectly fine too~"】

"..."

After Nie Nasha finished, Herbert thought of many things.

Valentina, driven away by her kin because of her overwhelming power; Fu Leimei, unable to speak or communicate with her people because of her singing; Svani, feared by her kin for her forbidden research; Flora, who deliberately distanced herself from her people because of her cold mind...

Their past misfortunes were all different, yet they all seemed to stem from what made them special.

"A gift of fate, or a curse?"

Herbert thought for a long while, then finally shook his head and said lightly: "I don't know about the past, but them meeting me — that is definitely a gift of fate."

Herbert wouldn't say he'd been especially good to them, but he certainly had no intention of deliberately persecuting them — some provocations didn't count; those were just little playful interactions.

【"Hehe, perhaps~"】

Nie Nasha neither agreed nor disagreed with his words; she laughed cheerfully and corrected him: 【"It's 'us'! You couldn't have made it this far on your own."】

"Fine, us."

Herbert nodded, then pouted and said: "By the way, you should also thank fate's gift for meeting such a considerate ally as me!"

"If you hadn't latched onto me, you'd still be a statue underground right now!"

Meeting me is also your good fortune.

Miss Xie Shen snorted, disdainful: 【"Hah, as if you're any different? Without me, you would've been played to death by those girls long ago!"】

"... Well, fair enough."

Indeed — without Nie Nasha, Herbert alone would've taken ages just to adapt to Valentina's dragon aura, and even after adapting, there was no guarantee she'd take a liking to him; quick conquests and feedings would've been out of the question.

【"Right~"】

The two spent quite a while in each other's minds, bragging and one-upping each other, before stopping in unison.

Herbert stood atop the tower, alone and solitary, yet faintly felt as though someone stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

He turned his head — no figure in sight, no presence to be felt.

But deep in his heart, there was a feeling.

She was right beside him.

Herbert gazed at the empty space beside him for a while, then suddenly spoke:

"Nie Nasha."

【"Mm?"】

"Thank you."

【"Mm~ hmph?"】

Nie Nasha let out a puzzled little hum, wondering what sentimental stunt this guy was suddenly pulling.

What's going on?

The white-haired youth gazed deeply, eyes full of affection, at the ally he still couldn't see, and said softly:

"I'll probably never forget you for the rest of my life."

【"... Hmph?"】

Nie Nasha stared at his lovesick display, her head full of question marks; the shadow tentacles in her shadow couldn't help but twitch, nearly reaching out to feel his forehead.

Is he sick?

【"What are you suddenly going on about?"】

Nie Nasha was a little thrown off by Herbert; after a pause, she said: 【"I'm not going to leave you — how could you forget me?"】

What on earth got into him?

No, the one who struck tonight wasn't him either!

"No, you don't understand."

Herbert shook his head, sighed, and said wistfully, "Although it's a pity, you may never truly understand what I mean."

【"... Why?"】

"Because this is a meme."

Herbert rubbed his nose and explained in all seriousness, "You're supposed to reply, 'I'm sorry I didn't satisfy my lord Herbert!'"

【"???"】

What a load of nonsense!

The setting blood moon was nearly melting into the sea, while the eastern horizon had already lit up with a hazy glow.

Herbert still sat atop the tower. Having finally managed to get out for a breath of fresh air in the middle of the night, he didn't want to go back so early and planned to stay up to watch the sunrise — he didn't need much sleep anyway.

【"By the way, your performance this time will surely shock them, even put them on guard. Don't you need to prepare a few more reasonable explanations?"】

Just like the anomalous body, such an unusual display would surely draw all kinds of attention.

"Actually, there's nothing much to explain."

He shook his head lightly and said calmly, "Don't forget, this is the Mist Monastery."

"Here, as long as the Archbishop finds no problem, no one will give me trouble."

"At this point, no matter what I say, they'll believe it. Even if there are holes in my story, they'll fill them in for me on their own."

"Besides, they'll sooner or later realize my control over the Third Commandment Hall, and what that means to those monster girls. Finding out a little earlier won't make much difference."

Herbert wouldn't spend his whole life holed up in a prison cell as a jailer — sooner or later, he'd step out from behind the curtain onto the stage.

That's why, for this blood-moon night raid by the dark elves, Herbert took it all on himself, arranging the monster girls to handle it rather than letting the Tribunal and the Knights directly take them down.

Herbert treated this as an opportunity to formally announce his existence to the monastery's cultivators and prove his strength.

And now the result is...

He succeeded!

"This fine show has finally come to a perfect close."

In fact, the monster girls performed far better than he'd expected!

"Which means I have more bargaining chips to negotiate with the Archbishop."

"Maybe... I can really ask about it?"

"Because no matter how I think about it, I'll need a bodyguard when I go back..."

Going on the shelves Friday, so anxious, so anxious, so anxious.

I already owe so many extra chapters, and I'll owe even more in the future — I really want to get on the shelves soon and crank out extra chapters to pay off my debts ahhhhh—

Please, please throw monthly tickets — there'll be extra chapters sooner or later anyway. The earlier you vote, the better this book's ranking, the better the exposure, and the better everything will get.

Love you all—

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(End of this chapter)