Chapter 295: The Defensive Line

"No one knows; the Beast Transformation Plague erupted with remarkable speed, reaching its current scale in merely two days."

Rosalia's expression was grave.

She had changed into gear more suited for movement today, her hair tied back in a simple ponytail.

A bit less mature and seductive, a bit more youthful and energetic.

"My intelligence network has repeatedly mentioned a black-robed mage carrying a recording stone. Judging by the patterns on his robes, he is almost certainly a student of Bahadur Magic Academy. I believe this incident cannot be separated from this person."

Rod nodded in agreement.

Anyway, no matter what, from now on, seeing a black-robed mage means drawing the sword and cutting.

Rosalia pointed to the mountain path below where Beast Transformation Plague victims were especially numerous.

A pile of fallen rocks in the middle of the mountain path blocked most of the patients; even those capable of crossing the rock pile would be dealt with by the Wendigos behind them.

Wendigos actually have no physical form; their terrifying appearances are entirely composed of adhered bones, leaves, and stones. Even if splashed with the blood of the Beast Transformation Plague, no problems would arise.

In fact, the primary mode of transmission for the Beast Transformation Plague is blood contact, so having creatures without flesh and blood deal with it is indeed the most suitable approach.

"Look, Mr. Rod, that is the main thoroughfare crossing Claw Valley Mountain, also the place with the most people. Guarded by Miss Daphne's Wendigo subordinates, it is passable, with basically no omissions, but the problem is there..."

Rosalia pointed to the other side.

Before she could begin speaking, the steady sound of footsteps came from behind.

"What? It can't just be some Beast Transformation Plague victims."

Everyone turned their heads and saw a human man wearing dark red leather armor.

His appearance was quite handsome, and a magnificent golden greatsword was on his back.

Judging by his accumulation, he was a Tier Seven Initial Stage Spiritual Warrior.

"Mr. Ryan."

The Tiefling Sybil on the side called out this person's name, her expression puzzled, wondering why this person would appear here.

"Sybil, if you needed help, why not ask me? I only found out because Gavin and the others told me."

This warrior, Ryan, was quite familiar with everyone, looking at Sybil with a face full of tenderness.

The girl took a step back, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

"Sorry, the farmland needs mages; I didn't think that much about it."

"Is that so? Alright, I forgive you. But surely this area in front of us definitely needs help, right?"

Having finished speaking, he took a few steps forward, passing the crowd, and stood at the very front of the mountain.

Smiling, he looked down at the chaos before him.

Sybil, worried Rod would misunderstand, hurriedly explained: "This is Mr. Ryan, who recently came to Twilight Hills to travel. I cooperated with him once during a monster-handling commission, and we haven't cooperated since. This is my third meeting with him; the second was when we accidentally met at the Spiritual Guild."

Rod couldn't help but laugh; this report-style introduction was the first time he had ever heard one.

The Fairy Tooth Fairy Rosalia on the side said: "Then stay. After all, a Tier Seven Spiritual Warrior counts as combat power. Recently, the City Hall's funds are severely insufficient; there is no reward. However, judging by Mr. Ryan's character and quality, he surely wouldn't value money, would he?"

"What?! Ahem... Of course! What is money? What is important is protection! Protecting the ones we love."

Ryan, having accidentally exposed his true thoughts, hurriedly adjusted himself, striking a pose he thought was handsome while looking at Sybil.

The girl was not impressed, expressionlessly averting her gaze from him.

She even subconsciously leaned a step closer behind Rod.

Ryan frowned, looking at this famous Forest Warden.

Tsk.

He's just a bit more handsome, a bit taller, and has a better body ratio than me, that's all!

Repelled two Tier Seven?

Heh, I really don't believe it.

【Jealousy +165】

Rod didn't pay him any mind, continuing his conversation with Rosalia about blocking the mountain path.

There were two problems.

First, it was in the north of Claw Valley Mountain, specifically the Hanson River that crosses the Koshi Plains and Twilight Hills, leading directly to the Monster Sea where Coral Bay is located.

Generally speaking, because the Beast Transformation Plague victims are not zombies, although their brains are not very sharp, that is due to the dominance of beastly nature; even so, their intelligence is far higher than that of animals, so they would not risk wading into the water.

However, the extremely low visibility caused by the sandstorm caused many Beast Transformation Plague victims to lose their footing and fall into the rushing Hanson River, directly swept to Twilight Hills.

The clothes of the three captured Beast Transformation Plague victims were all soaking wet; they must have arrived this way as well.

The second problem is that quite a few Spiritual Warriors of not low rank have been infected. When not suffering from the illness, they obviously possess higher intelligence; currently, they are lingering on the outskirts of Claw Valley Mountain, occasionally launching attacks against the Wendigos controlling the mountain path.

Guarding for just two days now is nothing, but once time passes, they will grow weary of dealing with it, and sooner or later, a mistake will occur.

"What about Storm City?"

Although knowing they had their own hands full, Rod asked the question out of habit anyway.

"They only gave me six words: 'You have full authority.'"

A bitter smile appeared on the Fairy Tooth Fairy's seductive face.

"Understood. No money, no people. If it goes well, it's because they commanded well; if it goes wrong, you take the blame."

"Exactly so."

Then she lowered her voice:

"In the battle to retake Twilight City, although Aethelorn won, it was a pyrrhic victory. The number of casualties was far from as low as written in the newspapers. District cities including Storm City were all ordered to support with manpower, equipment, and Jin Along. The pressure was immense. Heh, if not for the lingering prestige of the Argyle family, those high-ranking nobles in Storm City with ulterior motives would probably have already carved out their own kingdoms. After all, this is the far western frontier; although not as rich as the interior, it excels in being easy to defend and hard to attack."

"Oh, why are you telling me this?"

Rosalia chuckled lightly: "Aren't you and Miss Daphne, the very favored daughter of the Argyle family, in love? Why not save Storm City from its predicament? I think it would be quite good for you to take control of Storm City. Although you are a bit lecherous, at least you are far better than that group of non-acting nobles."

"Wait."

Rod turned to look at her, seeing burning ambition in the other's eyes.

This guy is wielding his spear like a weapon.

"I recall you saying Baron Ram of Windstorm City owed you a favor; why are you now urging me to deal with them?"

Rosalia paused, sticking her tongue out in a manner quite uncharacteristic of her:

"Very well, Baron Ram is a pitiful widow; she is not an overly excessive person, aside from being somewhat greedy and fond of keeping male favorites."

Uh.

Her expression suggested she hadn't remembered Baron Ram at all; that meant she simply didn't have the person in her heart.

Rod began to suspect that this foreign Tooth Fairy had used some small tricks to establish a connection with Baron Ram.

"Your most loyal servant, Master! Pan Ni has come to protect you—"

The voice of the ghoul Pan Ni drifted down from the sky from far away.

Whoosh—

Wind and sand brushed past.

A magical fluctuation from the Flight Spell appeared in the sky.

The elf Kalista, the ghoul Pan Ni, and the banshee Chris floated down gracefully.

(End of this chapter)