Chapter 961: Mage Heroine (5)

"Sister Zhuang, is your hand alright?" Tang Ruan asked with concern.

Zhuang Ya waved her hand casually and said, "Don't worry, what could possibly happen? Look!"

She held out her hand as she spoke.

The color of her palm turned tender red, as though a large amount of blood had gathered beneath the skin, but it was rapidly dispersing.

Tang Ruan gently touched it. "Wow, it's so hot! Just like after I soaked in the sauna spring."

Qi Yue also curiously touched it. "Really, it's burning. It doesn't hurt, Sister Zhuang Ya?"

"It doesn't hurt. What's there to hurt? If not for little Zhao Chi telling me to stop, I could have burned that wooden man straight into white ash."

Gu Qing laughed. "Zhuang Ya, you must be happy now, right?"

Zhuang Ya didn't hide it at all. "Haha, of course I'm happy! With such a powerful skill, I won't hold you back anymore! Thank you, my lord Zhao Chi."

Zhuang Ya placed her right hand over her chest and gave a solemn salute.

So that was what she had been thinking.

So she had been feeling a bit down earlier because she was afraid of holding them back.

Now, with this new skill, her confidence had instantly returned.

This fit her personality traits perfectly.

After all, besides pride, there was also sensitivity.

The wooden man was still burning.

The smell of burning was thick in the air.

Zhuang Ya thanked him again. "Many thanks, my lord Zhao Chi, for giving me such a powerful spiritual technique. Whoever you want me to burn, I'll burn them."

Zhao Chi laughed. "No problem. And I noticed your Sea of Fire technique actually deals area-of-effect damage — it can scorch a range of one square meter."

Zhuang Ya nodded. "That's right, and it can move too. Watch!"

She seemed to be showing off, and also explaining.

Soon, flames once again coiled around her arm, compressed into her palm, and a great fire surged forth.

Whoosh~

Zhuang Ya walked about as she sprayed fire, her arm still waving nonstop.

"See that? It can scorch a huge area, in any direction! Hahahahaha!"

The flames seemed to put her in a great mood — she laughed as she burned.

Huge tongues of fire scorched wildly everywhere with her movements.

Tang Ruan nervously stepped in front of Zhao Chi to shield him.

Gu Qing was ready to heal at any moment.

Qi Yue, meanwhile, silently stepped back.

Seeing their reactions, Zhuang Ya gave a helpless laugh and withdrew the flames.

"You guys… I wouldn't burn you…"

Gu Qing laughed. "Your Sea of Fire technique is really too strong. No wonder it's called Sea of Fire — it really is a sea of fire."

Zhuang Ya said, "Yes. Although the spiritual power consumption fluctuates a lot, as long as I charge into a crowd of enemies, I can definitely set a patch ablaze in an instant."

Zhao Chi said, "This kind of area-of-effect skill also suits your talent well. It can quickly build up a high morale bonus."

Zhuang Ya agreed. "Mm, exactly! My talent really isn't bad."

Tang Ruan, however, said worriedly, "Sister Zhuang, you're a mage — you shouldn't be charging into enemy crowds, right? Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

Zhuang Ya waved her hand. "Mages also have battle mages. Wouldn't it work if I just wear iron armor? Anyway, our load-bearing capacity is high, so I can still carry a shield and a greatsword."

Gu Qing said, "That would indeed work. From now on, Tang Ruan charges in front, you and Qi Yue on each side — you can flank the enemy from two directions, and our attacks will be sharper."

Qi Yue nodded lightly.

Zhuang Ya clenched her soft, warm hand. "No problem!"

Zhao Chi said, "Over the next few days, just familiarize yourself well with both skills. You can use them in combination."

Zhuang Ya said softly, "Don't worry, I will."

Zhao Chi pointed at the warehouse behind them.

"This time I bought a lot of living supplies again. The female soldiers already transported them to the warehouse. Gu Qing, you can distribute them later. I also bought some extra books — anyone who's interested can take a look."

Gu Qing nodded. "Alright, leave it to me. Is there a purchase list?"

"Yes, it's quite a mixed bag."

There were a lot of living supplies.

Including toiletries, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and so on.

And since everyone in the territory is a woman, all kinds of feminine products, cosmetics, skincare products, and so on were also indispensable.

Their looks actually didn't need cosmetics — they were pleasing to the eye even bare-faced.

But putting on makeup was more like a recreational activity for them.

They liked it, and Zhao Chi wouldn't interfere.

Besides, with so much bought, it was only 17 gold coins.

Of course, 17 gold coins wasn't a small amount either, but this was to supply over 400 people, and there was still stock in reserve — all in all, it wasn't expensive.

It was still well worth it.

There were quite a few books too.

Some of the books still had blood on them — all spoils seized from battle.

Most were miscellaneous books for relaxation and entertainment.

Some were professional books, covering all aspects.

Zhao Chi didn't bother picking either; for 25 silver coins he got a whole big box, so he bought them all.

Gu Qing skimmed the list briefly, then laughed softly: "Zhuang Ya, my lord bought a full set of dyes this time—quick, tell him what color fashion you like."

Zhuang Ya asked gently: "Alright, Lord Zhao Chi—I won't be adding to your workload, will I?"

Zhao Chi waved a hand: "It's just one step, and it's automatic—no burden at all."

Gu Qing laughed lightly: "It's not just Zhuang Ya—the rest of us have colors we want too. Is that alright?"

Zhao Chi smiled: "Of course no problem, go ahead and say."

Even though they had all imagined it in advance beforehand, they were still hesitating now.

It seemed this sort of thing really wasn't easy for them to choose.

Zhao Chi said directly: "No worries—right now I only know how to make 4 types of fashion anyway, so why not just dye every color for each of you?"

That saved them from having to agonize any further.

All 4 women nodded.

Zhao Chi said: "Gu Qing, you sum it up—what styles and colors do we need?"

Gu Qing smiled: "Okay~"

"First, stockings—both Qi Yue and I lean toward black and skin-tone, gray is nice too.

"Tang Ruan and Qi Yue can pull off any color, but you could also make a few pairs of white stockings—they're younger, so white would suit them well too.

"For style, let's go with pantyhose—after all, they pull up to the waist and cover more. And no open-crotch either; our crotches really do need the protection.

"If you want to tear them open at night for fun, you could make some open-crotch ones—style is up to your taste."

Zhuang Ya had been nodding gently the whole time.

Hearing that line, she couldn't help glancing at Gu Qing.

Tear them open for fun?

This young Zhao Chi, quite the player.

Gu Qing's words kept going.

"Next, high heels. It's hot now, so no need to change the style—fish-mouth is still fine, and the thin heel doesn't need to change either; after all, it makes no difference, and thin heels just look better.