Chapter 116: Review

After that, Sharon left the forest.

She would submit the data and footage to the Magic Control League; if approved, official personnel would be dispatched to implement the plan.

The witch Demia observed in place for a day, then left the forest.

The rat people's gathering and revenge were deeply unsettling.

She was sent by Windstorm City not only to counter the evil rituals in the Death Desert, but also to maintain security in Shiying Town.

These past days, she had wasted too much time in the forest; the mine had been guarded day and night by David's garrison officers, with severe manpower shortages.

Luo De suggested sending the ghoul Pan Ni to help.

After all, ghouls, equally skilled at digging, might handle rat people more easily.

But she refused.

Demia still could not let go of the people Pan Ni had killed; cooperating with her felt like blasphemy to her.

Luo De really wanted to tell her she didn't need to treat Pan Ni as a companion.

After enslaving them, he had always treated ghouls as slaves.

But these were matters hard to advise on; he could sense Demia's dissatisfaction over not killing Amy and Pan Ni.

The demonic creatures from the desert had temporarily returned to normal.

With no threat from Geye Beasts or Shadow Weavers, Luo De left the Shaliu District and went to Henry Farm outside Baiyu District.

He purchased a batch of animals to enrich the farm's setup.

He also had Vivian use vines to turn over the farmland again.

The farm had no special purpose for now; Luo De simply bought it because he saw it left idle, the land gradually going to waste, and he had some spare cash.

He planned to entrust its management to Pan Ni.

Though it was strange to have ghouls grow vegetables and raise sheep, slaves must behave like slaves and be ready to be exploited.

Starting today, ghouls would not only serve as the first line of defense beyond the forest, but also earn their own food.

Luo De would allocate 5% of the farm's profits for their food and wages.

No income, no meals—after all, ghouls could survive on dirt if needed.

Of course, this 5% would be adjusted appropriately, at the discretion of the farm's owner, Luo De.

The banshee Krist also didn't want to idle; she could shift into a physical form, nearly indistinguishable from a normal human, and would handle all external business.

Luo De, for his part, would not interfere.

He spent his days diligently practicing the 【Elibert's Secret of Pleasure】 with the succubus tree spirit.

Vivian's spiritual accumulation had nearly reached its limit; with relentless day-and-night training, she had finally advanced to High Sixth Rank.

Thus, three leisurely days passed.

The Magic Control League's review team arrived at the forest.

Shaliu District.

Luo De arrived to see Sharon grimacing awkwardly beside a man and woman in Magic Control League uniforms.

The female staff member pointed and gestured, her expression clearly dissatisfied.

Nearby, Demia's baby-faced expression bore a frown of anger.

"What's going on?"

"That person is picking bones out of eggs—claiming the spell environment isn't standardized, the submitted materials are flawed, and succeeding on the first try is unrealistic, just to brush Sharon off."

Luo De frowned.

In this 【Dark Vortex Rift】 magical disaster, Windstorm City and the Magic Control League had jointly responded, but the Magic Control League held primary authority.

As Windstorm City's representative, Demia had no real power to interfere with the Magic Control League's internal review system.

"Where's Kali?"

"She's occupied with something else—said she found someone or other."

Over there, the two reviewers spotted Luo De.

They immediately came over.

"Hello, Mr. Luo De, the forest warden of Windwall Forest, correct?"

"Yes."

"We are review officers of the Magic Control League's disaster response team. I'm Valery, and this is Martin."

Martin was a refined man wearing glasses; Valery, from her short elf ears, was clearly a half-elf.

A half-elf?

Luo De had a poor impression of half-elves.

Fortunately, Kali wasn't here today—he'd heard half-elves often retaliated against pure-blooded elves.

"I know you've been invited to join the Magic Control League and will soon become our colleague, but we must separate public duty from private ties. I have a few questions I'd like to clarify—would you be willing to answer them?"

"Go ahead."

"In Investigator Sharon's report, it states you possess a high-level labyrinth access pass, which was key to the experiment's first-time success. Do you understand the dangers and instability of labyrinths?"

"."

At this question, Luo De immediately guessed its intent.

Valery was biased—aiming to blame and emphasize the labyrinth's drawbacks.

He could sense her clear disdain for labyrinths from her simple words.

It was unavoidable; labyrinths, as natural disasters, kept occurring across the continent.

This plan focused on grafting labyrinths—effectively expanding the scope of labyrinth disasters—so such criticism was unsurprising.

"This operation is located in the remote Death Desert. The labyrinth grafting ritual is documented in numerous mage manuals and can be fully controlled and stabilized."

Demia said from beside him.

Valery said nothing.

She lowered her head, scribbling in her small notebook.

"What if the ritual fails? Do you have contingency plans? What if the labyrinth becomes uncontrollable and expands across the entire desert? Who would stop the Igos then?"

"All magical rituals carry a risk of failure; we naturally have methods to interrupt them. Such speculation is meaningless—the labyrinth doesn't operate as you imagine."

"Then how does the labyrinth operate? As far as I know, no mage has fully understood labyrinths. Could Demia, a sixth-rank mage, understand it? Or perhaps this man beside you, who keeps a succubus and might not even be able to stand, understands it?"

"You!"

"?"

Luo De blinked in confusion—why the sudden personal attack?

The man named Martin waved his hand, signaling both to stop.

He smiled apologetically at Demia and Luo De, then pulled Valery aside.

"Valery, I recall the higher-ups were quite interested in this plan, weren't they? It involves an elf who will deploy a secret technique to stabilize the labyrinth. Though she will construct it alone, observing it up close would surely yield valuable insights—what's wrong with you?"

Valery stared coldly into the distance.

"I just hate labyrinths."

Martin sighed inwardly.

He knew perfectly well what his colleague truly felt.

As the illegitimate daughter of the famed elf elder Manla, Valery's identity was semi-public within the Magic Control League.

Elder Manla was an unconventional elf—a rare personality to hold power in the Verdant Court.

Thus, when the scandal broke that he had been drained to death by a succubus, the backlash was immense.

The Verdant Court expelled all non-pure-blooded elves, directly triggering a schism into the Nature Faction and the Freedom Faction.

After her fall from grace, Valery leveraged her vast knowledge accumulated among elf tribes to successfully join the Magic Control League.

In her review cases involving succubi or pure-blooded elves, the approval rate never exceeded five percent.

(End of Chapter)