Chapter 189: Prophecy

Rod's eyes were sharp and his hands quick; before the spiritual essence could leak out, he swiftly clenched it in his palm.

It was not that he distrusted the others.

It was simply because this world had the existence of Mind-System Mages; if one had low mental resistance, having one's mind read would be the end.

Since the Spirit Seed was such a rare and high-end item, one had to be even more vigilant.

Lady Kali reminded: "Seventh-Tier Mages are different from Spiritual Warriors; they have more means, their spells are more impossible to guard against. Never engage them in direct combat while they are prepared, let alone a Plague Mage who is even harder to deal with."

"I understand."

Although Rod had once faced the half-step Seventh-Tier Zombie Selena, she was a lone wanderer who had stayed in the Labyrinth for twenty years; her spells had not been updated, and her combat awareness was nonexistent, making her completely useless as a reference.

He had, however, seen a Legendary Mage's legendary spell, comparable to a nuclear bomb, in the Open-Air Labyrinth.

If four or five of those spells were fired, Shi Ying Town would likely be flattened.

He asked: "What spell path is the Plague Mage?"

"The vast majority are Arcane-Path Mages; a very small portion are Domain Mages. Before the development of the Legendary and Domain paths, all Seventh-Tiers on the continent were of the Arcane path, so Arcane Mages do not differ significantly from the Mages you usually see."

Lady Kali poured herself another cup of black tea.

"Human, I know your various resistances are high, but Arcane Mages are precisely the group most skilled at bypassing resistances. Perhaps he cannot kill you, but you will likely be trapped, so... be extremely careful."

Rod smiled at her: "Thanks for your concern; wait for my good news."

For this operation, he planned to have Tree Spirits, Succubi, Zombies, and Ghasts participate, along with the external aid of a Half-Wolf Druid.

The Pony Girl would still provide ranged support, again entrusting the Elves and Half-Deer People to guard.

As for the Banshee, she was a bit useless; she might as well just be a mascot on the sidelines.

Lady Kali was displeased: "Hmph, what are you saying? I will also be on-site. Do you think those few fools around you can see through the means of a Seventh-Tier Mage?"

"Then what about Little Little Bangde? Don't you need to watch her?"

"She needs to learn to conduct battle support independently, rather than having me by her side to guide her."

At this moment, the Half-Deer Person Miss Xiao Ke spoke in a heavy voice:

"Lady Kali, I wish to perform a pre-battle prophecy; please help me."

"Miss Xiao Ke, I'm sorry. I understand your urgency, but 【Time Echo】 cannot be too precise..."

"Not 【Time Echo】, but 【Book of Fate】."

Unlike 【Time Echo】.

The 【Book of Fate】, this prophecy-type spiritual technique, was of a much higher tier; awakening it required at least the Sixth Tier or beyond.

The Elf was stunned: "【Book of Fate】? When did you awaken this spiritual technique?"

"During the previous heat, no, it was when I advanced tiers that I was vaguely stimulated." Saying this, she secretly glanced at Rod, then immediately looked away, her cute, small face flushing pink.

She added: "It is not complete; my spiritual essence cannot open it. I feel you might have a spell ritual to help me."

Lady Kali pondered for a moment.

"I do have a method, but it will cause some harm to your mind."

"It matters not. For Vivian and the Forest, I am willing!"

Seeing the Half-Deer Person so resolute, she did not dissuade her further and immediately went to prepare the spell ritual.

Rod saw the Elf walk away.

He went over and affectionately patted Miss Xiao Ke's head; naturally, he would not dissuade her either.

On one hand, this prophecy would indeed be useful; on the other, the Half-Deer Person was stubborn by nature, so arguing was pointless. At this time, providing emotional value was all that was needed.

"Miss Xiao Ke is truly great."

"W-What are you doing... I am doing this for Vivian. Besides... the prophecy might not even be useful..."

She slapped away Rod's hand from the top of her head.

Vivian came over, took her hand, and looked at her with wide eyes.

These two good friends gazed silently at each other, their expressions gentle.

It was quite conspicuous.

Tally leaned over, jumped onto Rod's back, and hugged him tightly: "Master~ Your eyes are so lewd."

Rod clenched the Spirit Seed in his hand—this would surely improve the accuracy of Miss Xiao Ke's prophecy.

He did not hesitate; he patted the Half-Deer Person's shoulder.

"Miss Xiao Ke, do you want to take the next step?"

Miss Xiao Ke froze for a moment, then panickedly clutched her chest: "What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered a plea: "Don't say this in front of Vivian, please, okay?"

Her fragrant lips parted slightly, releasing a scent like orchids.

She looked pitiful, her hands twisting together at her chest, inadvertently pressing the buds just beginning to bloom.

"Uh, I didn't mean that..."

Rod was speechless and immediately realized she had misunderstood.

Miss Xiao Ke bit her lip lightly, her face filled with sorrow: "After this matter is resolved, I will come find you."

"... Uh, okay."

"What is this?"

"Don't worry about it; it is for your own good."

Soon.

Lady Kali's spell ritual was prepared; to ensure the purity of the prophecy, the surrounding area had to remain empty of people.

The others simply waited under the awning in front of the temporary hospital.

Although Vivian's expression was blank, Rod could still see her unease.

He pulled her to sit side by side on the loveseat, gently rubbing her small hand while picking up today's Snow Hill Evening News.

When Rod was by her side, the Tree Spirit was easy to soothe.

She relaxed after a while, imperceptibly scooting closer to her master until she pressed against his thigh, then stopped and sat obediently upright.

Tally, on the other hand, was a restless one.

She squeezed into Rod's lap to sit, reading the newspaper with him.

"Master, why do you like reading this 'Brave Aufiel' novel so much? Oh, it's a smut novel, no wonder."

She started reading along too.

After a while she couldn't help but complain: "I told you before, amateurs are amateurs—Flower Fairies are not an intelligent race like that!"

"What do you mean?"

"In this novel, Brave Aufiel is a Flower Fairy, which is wrong. In reality, Flower Fairies are of indeterminate gender before reaching adulthood."

"Ugh, as expected of a Succubus—you can always pick up this kind of knowledge from you."

Tally snorted smugly: "Perhaps it's because there are fewer Flower Fairies on the continent recently, that's why they made such a mistake. In my mother's memories, my grandmother once kept five young Flower Fairies, and successfully reversed their views before they reached adulthood, making them choose to become male."

Ugh.

What kind of LGBT holy body is this Flower Fairy.

Rod didn't bother with her. After finishing the latest chapter of the Witch Dimia novel, he began scanning the headlines.

Immediately, a headline caught his eye:

【High-Level Battle Spotted in Misty Forest, Observer Beholder Patty Falls, Perpetrator's Identity a Mystery!】

(End of this chapter)