Chapter 147: Meeting

Early the next morning.

The city hall sent someone to find Rod, saying an important meeting required his presence.

Rod did not refuse; after cleaning up, he quickly got ready.

Before leaving, he even patted Pan Ni's bottom, who was too tired to get up.

Though the feeling was not great, the ghast had worked very hard last night, shaking until she nearly flew off.

Worthy of praise.

So, during the final release, he infused 20 points of 【Growth Spirit】.

【Pan Ni acquired skill: Undead Legion】

【Details: Growth Spirit activated a native spirit art Pan Ni had not yet mastered; Pan Ni can summon and control undead creatures, such as skeletons, zombies, and even more powerful undead beings, as their servants.】

【Pan Ni acquired skill: Dark Domain (Partial)】

【Details: Growth Spirit activated a native spirit art Pan Ni had not yet mastered; the cold and dark aura emanating from Pan Ni can weaken enemies' power, instead strengthening her servants, while continuously damaging living beings.】

Unexpectedly, her luck was quite good.

Two quite excellent skills appeared at once.

You see, domain skills had appeared only once each on the succubus Tally and the tree spirit Vivian.

The former was 【Domain of Pain】, the latter 【Domain of Life】.

After comprehending part of the 【Life】 domain, Vivian even directly learned a powerful spirit art called 【World of Trees Descends】.

However, she never liked fighting, so whether she would have a chance to use it remained uncertain.

In the end, Rod still made a temporary return to the ranger's cottage.

There were no clothes of his in the farm cottage; when he raided Pan Ni last night, he had worn only a thin undershirt.

For a meeting at the city hall, appearing in just an undershirt would hardly be decent.

Shi Ying Town.

The conference room inside the city hall.

After Rod entered under David's guidance, he found that all five committee members of Shi Ying Town and the witch Dimia had already arrived.

Only he was awaited.

Rod apologized to everyone.

Fortunately, all six present were pleasant-faced, smiling and inviting him to take a seat.

After all, Rod had not only saved the daughter of this region's lord but also rescued Shi Ying Town from a major disaster several months ago.

Naturally, everyone was kind and approachable toward him.

The old gentleman Humbert, the one who had fallen in love with his own stepdaughter, was the most senior and highest-ranking person here; although each member of the committee held one equal vote, most proceedings were presided over by him.

As for the witch Dimia.

She was an assistant dispatched from Storm City, specifically from the military affairs division; she did not normally participate in the committee, but because this agenda item was too critical and indeed required military affairs input.

The committee formally began its first agenda item: a rebellion occurring within Coral Bay.

Upon hearing this, Rod pressed his forehead.

Here it comes again.

When the kingdom of Aethelorn was still strong, people lived in peace and prosperity, but after suffering continuous defeats in the war against the Heavenly Court's Flower Kingdom, many problems began to surface one by one.

According to the old gentleman Humbert, this was an organized rebellion.

A local official guardian mage named Lu Lu Xiusi, somehow, obtained a magic capable of controlling golems in large numbers; using the golems to frequently harass the inland areas to draw in troops, he secretly colluded with ghost pirates on the great sea, executing a feint to the east and an attack to the west, successfully capturing the main urban district of Coral Bay.

Worse still, the Ruin Brotherhood seemed to be involved in this rebellion.

After the official forces of Coral Bay were driven out of the main urban district, they panicked to discover a pincer attack by the Ruin Brotherhood from the rear.

Only after expending most of their forces did they barely assist the original administrator of Coral Bay in escaping successfully.

In fact, this administrator was a descendant of the Argyle family.

To deal with the pursuit, these fugitives split into two groups: one fled toward Storm City, the other headed toward Shi Ying Town.

That descendant of the Argyle family was hidden among them.

Shi Ying Town received the plea for aid first.

"Why do the rebels pursue this my lord? It sounds as if they cannot do without this my lord."

A fat middle-aged committee member asked.

Rod nodded, sharing the same question.

Suddenly, he felt some slight movement in the shadows.

He looked down.

He discovered Tally quietly crawling out from the shadows beneath the table.

Her face gently rubbed against Rod's knee as she looked up at him with a seductive gaze.

She now appeared in the form of a human farm woman; simple and conservative yet with an added touch of purity and cuteness.

But the high swell on her chest added a touch of contrast, making her appear even more lewd.

The conference table in the hall was an enormous polygonal wooden table; Rod sat at the very edge, and no one noticed the extra succubus beneath it.

Well.

The witch Dimia might have noticed; she looked puzzled, glancing around the room again and again.

Since awakening the 【Grand Duke Bloodline】, the succubus's shadow magic had improved greatly, and her concealment abilities had advanced considerably.

Dimia might have detected a fluctuation of mana but did not know what it was.

Rod pressed down on Tally's hand, which was clawing at his trousers, and asked in a lowered voice:

"What are you doing?"

Not long ago he had gone back to the ranger's cabin to change clothes, and when Tally heard they were heading into town, she tagged along as well.

Also tagging along was the banshee Chris.

"I wanna eat breakfast~"

Rod swept his gaze across the group and saw that, apart from Dimia, no one else had noticed a thing.

He felt a faint thrill.

So he quietly went along with her idea.

"No making noise!"

"Okay~"

With a coquettish laugh, Tally immediately bent her head and got to work.

Oh—

Rod's spirits lifted slightly.

This scene, paired with the succubus's gentle, slow play, was its own sort of pleasure in its own way.

"Yes, according to the letter, this rebel mage named Lu Lu Xiusi apparently also commands a blood-sacrifice spell. If used to sacrifice the special bloodline of the Agar family, it would achieve some evil purpose—as for what that purpose is, we don't know."

The old gentleman Humbert explained.

The committee members fell silent at his words.

The situation in Etheron right now was truly dire. Everyone present had some means of learning about the chaos unfolding inside Stormwind City; they couldn't even spare troops to deal with the bandits of Dusk Hill, let alone a rebel mage strong enough to seize Coral Bay.

And the faction that fled Coral Bay had split off troops to come to Shi Ying Town—on one hand seeking shelter, and on the other, of course, hoping to borrow soldiers to retake Coral Bay.

A few months earlier, Shi Ying Town had just gone through a war and was already badly weakened.

Added to the current chaos, asking the committee members to lend out the troops guarding the town—truth be told, they were more than a little unwilling.

"Splash—"

A strange wet sound came from Rod's side.

Everyone looked over in confusion.

Rod quickly gave a small cough.

"What about the Land Naga? I heard Stormwind City has a contract with them—why not have them go help handle it?"

As he spoke, he gave Tally's cheek a hard pinch.

"Mr. Rod may not know this, but those Naga have already arrived at Dusk Hill. They claim that after their long trek they have no strength left to fight and must first settle down in the Death Desert and rest for a few days before anything else."

Ah.

Hearing this, Rod immediately recalled the Land Naga's classic habit of going back on their word.

He hoped Stormwind City's magical contract would hold up—otherwise it'd be drawing water with a bamboo basket, all for nothing.

The previous chapter wasn't unlocked, you can read it directly in the group

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(End of this chapter)