Chapter 28: Situation

Luo De cut off the head of the last demon.

Thus, this wave of crisis brought by seventh-rank demons had been fully resolved.

“Seventh-rank isn’t as strong as I imagined.”

“Never underestimate seventh-rank, human sir,” Falshard bowed in gratitude, “Demons are not a sentient race—they know no sword arts, possess no spells, and harbor no spiritual essence; their most troublesome venom barely affects you.”

“The accumulation of spiritual essence at seventh-rank is the dividing line—it undergoes a qualitative transformation,” Kalistre continued, “Human, with your strength, you shouldn’t keep a succubus—it will only corrupt your body and mind.”

Many have said so.

Seventh-rank beings have deeper insight into spiritual essence; the spiritual arts they manifest are incomparable to those below seventh-rank.

Like the scorpion woman Hera in the Eucalyptus Zone.

Over these past days, Luo De had often disturbed her, yet each time he failed to sense any accumulation of spiritual essence within her.

“Hehe~”

Tally walked over and laughed, “I never knew elves could be so brainless—look at his muscles, look at his vitality—how could one person possibly consume him? He’s the one being corrupted, oh wait—no, he’s the one drowned by it splashing all over his face~”

Kalistre’s face darkened with anger.

“Lecher!”

“You understand, then? Even though you’re a two-hundred-year-old virgin, you’re no purer yourself.”

“You! You’re asking for death!”

She was about to gather her magic, but the venom worsened, and she spat out another mouthful of black blood.

“Kalistre!”

Falshard quickly cast a detoxification spell, but its effect was minimal.

Luo De handed her a magical antidote.

Just one sip, and the poison’s effect quickly subsided.

“You should keep some magical antidotes on hand.”

Magical antidotes have always been more effective than detoxification spells.

“Relying on external objects is a sign of weakness.”

Despite looking half-dead, Kalistre still stubbornly held her ground.

“Then don’t drink it,” Tally mocked.

“You!”

Falshard, helplessly, begged for two more bottles of antidote, finally suppressing the venom on both of them.

Luo De turned to retrieve his spoils.

Besides the crystal stomach sac, the demon’s two scythe claws were also of excellent quality.

Had Luo De not targeted their weak joints, he might not have been able to sever them at all.

“Does Shiying Town have any skilled blacksmiths?”

He thought back, recalling only old Bob, who specialized in making woks and kitchen knives.

He’d have to entrust Pete to take them to Stormwind City.

“Human sir, if you’re troubled by forging these scythe claws, you may leave them to us,” Falshard said, having recovered quickly due to his lighter poisoning.

“You? Elves?”

Elves are not known for crafting.

“Dwarves—I happen to know a dwarf craftsman,” he smiled.

Dwarves. That made sense.

Elves and dwarves seemed to have decent relations.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Not at all—it’s merely a small token of gratitude for saving our lives. By the way, while fleeing earlier, I saw a faint glimmer of spiritual essence near the demon’s feet—human sir, you might want to look for it.”

“Oh?”

Luo De walked to the demon’s corpse, slashed twice with cool precision, cutting and searching.

Organs, rotting tumors, and shredded flesh flew everywhere.

Falshard stepped back, unwilling to approach.

Siti couldn’t hold back and vomited beside him.

“This human sir… truly has no restraint.”

Moments later.

Luo De finally spotted the source of the spiritual glow Falshard mentioned.

It was a high-quality leather whip.

But its spiritual essence was dim, clearly damaged by the demon’s venom.

“Please give this to me,” Falshard smiled, “I have a way to restore its spiritual essence.”

“I’m counting on you.”

The two chatted for a few moments.

Only after Kalistre regained mobility did they leave the cave.

They would return to their tribe to recuperate.

Luo De would continue onward.

His condition today was good—he planned to press the advantage.

Half a month passed quickly.

Luo De’s spiritual essence steadily advanced to mid-fifth-rank.

The scorpion woman Hera’s venomous fire resistance had been fully absorbed—he could now resist nearly all fire and poison attacks below seventh-rank.

The crystal stomach sac, through accumulated gains, had also significantly improved his overall resistance.

Compared to the stability of his forest ranger life,

recent circumstances had grown turbulent.

Surrounding small nations stirred restlessly, probing frequently.

The conflict between the Kingdom of Aitheron and the Heavenly Flower Kingdom escalated; Dusk City, known as the first line of defense, fell—with over ten thousand dead, including five seventh-rank royal magicians all assassinated in surprise attacks.

The eighth-rank city lord fled back to the capital, Brilliant Light City, overnight, only to be immediately impeached and thrown into prison.

The king flew into a rage; upon the suggestion of the Pope of the Igo Church, he dispatched a cardinal to the frontlines to direct operations, vowing to retake Dusk City.

As for public opinion, it was overwhelmingly negative.

They believed the Kingdom of Aitheron was decaying, unable to stand against the Heavenly Flower Kingdom, which controlled core technologies.

As a result, panic spread—many now wished to flee the kingdom and seek refuge in neighboring nations.

The tension of war even affected the remote Shiying Town.

Taxes rose, and the town hall could no longer pay salaries—citizens received only about sixty percent.

David and the other constables complained bitterly, dragging Luo De to brothels in broad daylight, claiming their misery could only be relieved by ejaculation.

Luo De, of course, ignored him.

Fortunately, most of the gift from the Argyle family remained—otherwise, with current wages and only half the reimbursement for expenses, he’d be just as miserable.

He returned to the forest once more.

Only then did he escape the tide of public resentment.

Shiying Town was a small place—it still paid something, so it wouldn’t be severely affected in the short term.

Didn’t you see David still had money to visit brothels?

As the saying goes, when the kingdom’s economy declines, brothel quality improves.

Back at the cabin.

Tally reverted to her true form and settled into his lap.

Her body heat burned, pulling Luo De’s thoughts back to the present.

“Even if full-scale war breaks out, Windwall Forest and Shiying Town won’t be touched.”

After all, the Death Desert lies right beside it—no one bothers with such barren land.

“Master, I’m hungry.”

“Eat on your own—I’ll sit.”

“Okay~”

As Tally opened her mouth and lowered her head, a powerful spiritual surge erupted from outside.

She yelped and was shoved aside.

Luo De dashed outside in an instant.

The magic alert trap in Baiyu District—

And it was… fifth-rank.

Lately, he’d felt something off, and with the tense situation, he immediately suspected an enemy attack.

The Igo Church?

Not necessarily—the war is dire, and the king is relying heavily on them; they likely can’t spare forces to target a mere forest ranger.

“Bond!”

Bond kicked open the stable door and came running.

“Wait for me!” Tally rushed out, leaping into Luo De’s arms just before Bond set off.

He sprinted toward the alert location.

(End of Chapter)