Chapter 189: Prophecy

Luo De acted swiftly, seizing the Spirit Seed in his hand before it could leak away.

It wasn't that he didn't trust everyone.

It was just that this world had mentalist mages—if someone had low mental resistance, their thoughts could be read outright.

Since the Spirit Seed was such a rare and high-tier item, extra caution was absolutely necessary.

Kali Site warned: "Seventh-rank mages differ from Spirit Warriors—they have more techniques, and their spells are far harder to defend against. Never fight them head-on if they're prepared, let alone a plague mage, who's even harder to deal with."

"I understand."

Although Luo De had once faced the half-seventh-rank zombie Selina, she was a lone wanderer who'd spent twenty years in the labyrinth—her spells hadn't been updated, and she had zero combat awareness, making her useless as a reference.

He had once glimpsed a legendary mage's spell in the open labyrinth, a technique comparable to a nuclear bomb.

If four or five of those spells were launched, Shiying Town would be leveled to the ground.

He asked: "What kind of spell path does a plague mage follow?"

"Mostly arcane path mages, with only a tiny fraction being domain path mages. Before anyone developed legendary or domain paths, every seventh-rank mage on the continent was arcane—so arcane mages aren't noticeably different from the mages you usually see."

Kali Site poured herself another cup of black tea.

"Humans, I know your resistances are all high, but arcane mages are precisely the ones best at bypassing resistances. They might not kill you, but they could easily trap you—so be extremely careful."

Luo De smiled at her: "Thanks for the concern. I'll send you good news."

For this operation, he planned to deploy the Tree Spirit, Succubus, Zombie, and Ghoul, plus a half-werewolf druid as external support.

The pony girl would still provide long-range support, again entrusted to the elves and half-deer folk for protection.

As for the Banshee, she was a bit weak—she'd just be a mascot for now.

Kali Site frowned: "Hmph, what are you talking about? I'm going to the scene too. Do you really think your bunch of idiots can see through a seventh-rank mage's tricks?"

"What about Bond? Don't you need to watch over her?"

"She needs to learn to handle battlefield support on her own, instead of relying on me to guide her."

At that moment, the half-deer girl Xiao Ke spoke in a low voice:

"Kali Site, I'd like to perform a pre-battle prophecy. Could you help me?"

"Xiao Ke, I understand your urgency, but 【Time Echo】 can't achieve such precision..."

"Not 【Time Echo】. 【Book of Fate】."

Unlike 【Time Echo】,

The Book of Fate is a much higher-tier spiritual art—only possible to awaken at sixth-rank or beyond.

The elf stared in shock: "The Book of Fate? When did you awaken this spiritual art?"

"It wasn't during my heat cycle—it was faintly triggered during my ascension." She stole a glance at Luo De, then quickly looked away, her delicate face flushing pink.

She added: "But it's not complete. With my current spiritual power, I can't open it—I think you might have a ritual to help me."

Kali Site pondered for a moment.

"I do have a way, but it will cause some spiritual damage to you."

"It's fine. For Weiwei'an and the forest, I'm willing!"

Seeing the half-deer girl's determination, she said no more and immediately prepared the ritual.

Luo De watched the elf walk away.

He went over and gently patted Xiao Ke's head—he wouldn't try to dissuade her either.

On one hand, the prophecy would truly help; on the other, the half-deer girl was stubborn—arguing would be pointless. At this moment, emotional support was all that mattered.

"Xiao Ke, you're amazing."

"W-what are you doing? I'm doing this for Weiwei'an, and besides... the prophecy might not even work..."

She swatted his hand off her head.

Weiwei'an came over and took her hand, staring at her with wide, earnest eyes.

The two friends gazed at each other in silence, their eyes tender.

It was unmistakably touching.

Tally sidled up, leapt onto Luo De's back, and wrapped her arms around him: "Master~ your eyes are so lecherous."

Luo De clenched the Spirit Seed in his hand—it would surely enhance Xiao Ke's prophecy accuracy.

Without hesitation, he patted Xiao Ke's shoulder.

"Xiao Ke, want to go one step further?"

Xiao Ke froze, then clutched her chest in alarm: "What are you talking about?!"

Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered pleadingly: "Don't say that in front of Weiwei'an, please?"

Her lips parted, exhaling a fragrance like orchid blossoms.

She looked pitiful, her hands twisted together over her chest, unintentionally pressing the budding curves beneath.

"Uh, that's not what I meant..."

Luo De was speechless—he immediately realized she'd misunderstood.

Xiao Ke bit her lip, her expression sorrowful: "After this is over, I'll come find you."

"... h, okay."

"What's this?"

"Don't ask. Just know it'll benefit you."

Soon,

Kali Site completed her ritual. To ensure the prophecy's purity, the area had to be completely empty.

Everyone else waited under the canopy in front of the temporary hospital.

Though Weiwei'an's face was expressionless, Luo De could see her unease.

He pulled her onto the double chair beside him, gently rubbing her small hand while picking up today's Snow Hill Evening News.

With Luo De nearby, the Tree Spirit was easily calmed.

Soon, she relaxed, subtly shifting closer until her back pressed against his thigh, then sat perfectly still.

Tally, however, was never still.

She squeezed into Luo De's lap and read the newspaper with him.

"Master, why are you so into this 【Hero Ophir】 novel? Oh! So it's a porn novel—that explains it."

She followed along, reading.

Soon she complained: "Amateurs really are amateurs—flower spirits aren't like this!"

"What do you mean?"

"In this novel, Hero Ophir is a flower spirit—that's wrong. In reality, flower spirits remain genderless until adulthood."

"Uh, no wonder I always get this kind of knowledge from you, Succubus."

Tally sniffed proudly: "Maybe there are fewer flower spirits on the continent these days, so people make this mistake. In my mother's memories, my grandmother once kept five young flower spirits and successfully changed their views before they matured, making them choose to become male."

Uh.

So flower spirits are some kind of LGBT holy vessel?

Luo De paid her no more attention. After finishing the latest chapter of the Witch Demia novel, he scanned the major headlines.

Immediately, a headline caught his eye:

【Mist Forest Sees High-Rank Battle—Observer Eye Demon Patty Slain, Killer's Identity Unknown!】

(End of Chapter)