Chapter 258: New Treasure

Cat-girl Chloe sniffled and raised her hand.

"I'm part of this too—the crystal was provided by me; blame the two of us, don't hate Lily."

Luo De didn't care much about their open dissatisfaction.

Instead, he found it refreshingly honest, very much in the style of the Heroic Alliance.

He took the square crystal.

It felt cold to the touch.

"I think you've misunderstood my relationship with Lily—we haven't reached that point yet."

"Misunderstood what? Lily is so adorable, yet you keep chasing after so many girls!" Doris, moved by emotion, wore a look of sorrow. "All you men are sheep dung balls!"

Pan Ni frowned slightly beside him.

Sheep dung balls?! How dare you insult my master?! Don't you smell how delicious his flesh is?!

Just as she was about to speak, Luo De raised a hand to stop her.

"So the trial means extracting the pod inside—by any means necessary?"

"Of course not! Bare hands only! This crystal is even beyond the strength of a seventh-rank expert!"

He pressed his finger down.

Crack—

The crystal immediately cracked.

Doris and Chloe's faces froze instantly.

"How can—"

Not to mention the 【Dragon Power Art】 and 【Dragon Heart】 from when his battle spirit solidified.

The power buff 【Tidal Might】, gained after resonating with slime Blackie recently, isn't something to sneeze at either.

That's a strength boost comparable to a deep-sea tsunami.

Yet he didn't press further.

Because the moment he touched the crystal, Blackie, the slime clinging to his body via 【 Zhanrenjing 】, sent a faint sense of longing.

Though Blackie still lacked sentience, due to the 【Mind Link】, Luo De clearly perceived this instinctive feeling from her.

A metallic fluid oozed up onto Luo De's palm.

He took the square crystal.

Then immediately retracted it into his sleeve.

Doris was startled.

Then she slumped and said, "Fine, you win. I'll give you one more thing."

She handed him a purple ceramic swan, emitting a faint magical aura.

It was a low-quality magical ornament.

"My homeland is a remote eastern country called Belis. There, ceramics and swans symbolize devotion and loyalty—I hope you can live up to that."

Chloe stared at the ceramic swan.

She froze for a long moment: "Isn't this the one your fiancé gave you...?"

"No more! He ran away! I, Doris, am not a woman who can't live without men!"

At this, Luo De's hand froze as he reached for it.

"Should I not have taken it?"

"No, take it! Remember! Treat Lily well! Absolutely do not run away on the wedding day!"

Saying this, Doris's eyes shimmered with tears as she stood and ran off.

"Doris!"

Chloe gave Luo De an apologetic smile and stood up too.

"Stay a couple more days in Shiying Town—I'll show you around."

"No thanks, we're leaving tonight to meet the Heroic Alliance comrades at Coral Bay."

"So soon?"

"A bard allied with the Heroic Alliance told us Coral Bay secretly summoned a black dragon from Montes Sea—we need to check it out. Until we meet again, Mr. Luo De!"

Saying this, she hurried after Doris.

Luo De watched the two girls walk away, strangely feeling like he was watching a TV show.

But

Another dragon?

He gently stroked the ceramic swan in his hand.

【【Treasure Addiction】activated successfully】

【Item "ceramic swan" granted Treasure trait: Group Flight Shu 】

【Details: Infused with a maiden's love and disappointment, requires no magic, spirit, or spell components—Group Flight Shu allows the user to affect multiple beings simultaneously.】

His fingers paused.

Luo De raised an eyebrow.

Group Flight Shu?

Air Silver Pia!

Haha.

Let's try it with Tally tonight.

Thinking this, he took a sip of freshly brewed black tea.

Its taste was soft and smooth, gliding through his mouth like silk.

Rich and full-bodied, with a hint of honeyed sweetness.

"... ou added something?"

"A bit of Tally fluid—mainly to enhance the sweetness."

"... on't it affect them if they drink it?"

"I only added it to your cup, my master. My entire being belongs solely to you; no one else, man or woman, has the right."

Luo De smiled and drained the tea. "I like your persona today."

Tally's legs trembled, her eyes glowing faintly red with restraint.

"I'm... ery glad my master likes it..."

A month passed silently.

News of the second dragon in Coral Bay spread like wildfire.

As the sandstorm from the Death Desert swept eastward, fear stirred among the people of Shiying Town, Windstorm City, and surrounding towns.

They gathered for a meeting and attempted to negotiate again with Coral Bay.

But received no response whatsoever.

Coral Bay expelled the Ruins Brotherhood and the opportunistic bards alike to Dusk Hill, turning the harbor city into an iron fortress.

Aside from the scattered rumors from bards' 【hearsay】, no intelligence reached them.

It was unnervingly calm.

Luo De suspected this was tied to that drop of sacred blood that fell into Hell.

Each time he visited the market district to apply for an anonymous shop, he'd slip by Oona the bunny girl to inquire.

But clearly, high-rank battles weren't easily decided.

This blood Zhengduo war was far from over.

Luo De knew that before this war reached its climax, it would be the forest's final moment of peace.

So over the past month, while maintaining his own training and contemplation, he'd deliberately boosted the forest girls' strength.

All of them reaching seventh rank was his small goal.

The closest was the half-seventh-rank zombie Selina.

Next came Tally and the ghoul Pan Ni, both at the peak of sixth rank.

Kali Site fell outside his jurisdiction.

The elf lady had strong self-discipline; for the past month, she'd been busy daily upgrading the Windwall Forest.

The half-deer child Ko was non-combatant, but his prophetic ability was extraordinary—he too needed effort.

The current issue was the banshee Chris and the mare-girl Bond.

Both were lazybones.

Luo De sighed and walked into the forest ranger's cabin.

Click—he locked the door.

"Tally, come eat breakfast."

Tally in the bedroom didn't respond, but he heard her roll over.

"I'm on the Shudao mountain, one—"

"Coming, coming..."

The succubus got up reluctantly.

She was naked, pouting as she walked over.

Her swaying gait was delightfully pleasing.

Luo De frowned slightly.

He pointed at her slightly swollen abdomen: "Why hasn't last night's leaked out yet? Clamp it shut—it's all spiritual essence."

"What last night? It was just now. Please spare Tally~ Please?"

"Then you must do it before you ascend to the seventh tier."

"Then can't you give me some affection? I want you to love me! Hmph!!"

(End of Chapter)