Chapter 313: Demon's Mouth

Today, Rosalia wore practical warrior gear suited for movement, relatively plain.

She looked like an ordinary mercenary.

Yet her elegant, dignified aura and stunningly beautiful face were far too eye-catching; no matter how plain her attire, no one would truly mistake her for an ordinary person.

"Perhaps we can advance slowly, continuing to establish several more layers of defense lines."

Rod pointed toward the mountain path in the distance.

After all, this is mountainous terrain; there are always higher elevations than the roads.

Who knows what those beast-men patients, seemingly under a buff of stupidity, are thinking? What if they suddenly decide to make a leap of faith?

The current defense line sits at the very edge of Claw Valley Mountain, near Twilight Hills.

Once breached, the outside is open plains; establishing a new defense line then would be far harder than now.

Right now, it is best to clear the entire Claw Valley Mountain.

Rosalia nodded, indicating agreement with Rod's idea.

"Securing the whole of Claw Valley Mountain is indeed the best option, but there are many passes near the Koshi Plains; the defense line might end up stretched very thin."

That is another problem.

However, discussing it now is a bit premature.

The two discussed some further details.

Rosalia suddenly smiled, looking down at Oona chatting with Pan Ni.

"An eighth-tier mage, Mr. Rod, you have quite the way with people."

"She is a true friend. By the way, she might stay in Shi Ying Town for a while to investigate something in Twilight Hills."

"We couldn't ask for more. Having an eighth-tier Young Lady mage stationed here is wonderful. However, recently there have been quite a few mercenaries coming to Shi Ying Town, Mr. Rod; there might not be available lodging in the town. Argyle's manor might accommodate her; the Municipal Hall will cover the cost."

Argyle owns a manor in Shi Ying Town; when the Land Naga visited previously, a banquet was held there.

If the Municipal Hall can rent the manor, naturally it can use it itself.

"Thank you. But there is no need for such trouble; I have an empty house on New Rank Street."

New Rank Street was built with joint funding from Rod, Dimia, and the Old Gentleman Humbert; naturally, a room was reserved for himself.

Rosalia gave an ambiguous smile:

"A golden house hiding a beauty?"

"Haha—don't talk nonsense."

The two descended from the watchtower.

They saw Pan Ni showing off her necromantic army to Oona.

Her duty stationed here these past few days has greatly strengthened her necromantic army.

Not to mention the increase in numbers.

Zombies, ghasts, skeleton soldiers, undead, and so on; the quantity of each part is basically over fifty.

One can only say, as befits a necromancer, her power to spawn troops is quite terrifying.

Among them, eleven sixth-tier skeleton soldiers with black bones were particularly eye-catching.

These were all beast-men patients Rod killed on the Koshi Plains the day before yesterday; the corpses, of course, could not be wasted, so they were brought back directly to craft into undead soldiers.

It is a pity their flesh and blood are harmful and cannot be kept; otherwise, the upper limit might have been even higher.

Of course.

Rod would actually like to capture some mountain ogre trolls for her to refine into undead.

There are several small troll tribes within the Koshi Plains; it is just a pity they were not encountered.

The rabbit-person Oona is naturally talkative, dragging along Pan Ni, whose desire to confide is already maxed out, to keep the tooth-fairy fairy Rosalia chatting.

Girls chatting, after all.

Once they start, it is hard to stop.

With the three women laughing and talking, Rod felt it inappropriate to join in, so he went to find Little Little Bangde, who was sniping from far behind.

On the way.

Tally jumped out from the shadows, speaking urgently:

"That rabbit-person, Master! Let's eat her!"

"Where did you get that lustful ghost? Why are you even more impatient than me?"

"It's a rabbit! Rabbits are the very symbol of cuteness!"

Having said that, she transformed into a tall rabbit-person, her face stern and cold yet bearing a pair of high-standing, adorable gray rabbit ears.

An interweaving of maturity and cuteness, quite a contrast.

She gave Rod a cold snort.

It looked just like Lady Kali wearing rabbit ears to act cute.

"Oh!"

Rod couldn't help but applaud.

Tally is already a capable one; in terms of contrast.

"A certain race with a prominent appearance can create quite a clear contrast. Look~ Master, I can feel the surge in your heart~~"

"If she isn't here, joking is fine, but Oona is a celibate rabbit-person; forget it."

Rod has always respected others' faiths.

Just like nuns on Earth; one cannot, for one's own selfish desires, strike out and destroy someone else's inner foundation, can one?

Speaking of which.

In TV dramas, there were scenes of Wu Zetian as a nun; that sheer-silk monastic robe, sss—

Hmm?

A nun who practices abstinence, wearing a low-cut robe of sheer gauze—could this not be a kind of contrast?

"Do not trust human nature, oh~"

Tally wore an expression of having seen through the mundane world and shook her head.

"Perhaps Master does not know; even the rabbit-people of the Chastity Faction have their own set of games."

"How so?"

"Do you know the 【Demon Mouth Technique】? It is an illusion-type spell that makes a selected object speak, but in reality, it does not truly open its mouth; it only affects the vision and hearing of those who see it."

"I truly never expected that one day even you could educate me on spell knowledge."

Rod sighed.

"Hmph!"

Tally, annoyed, used her pair of gray rabbit ears to nudge his face, only to rush into his embrace, kiss his neck, and then giggle softly.

She continued speaking:

"The rabbit-people of the Chastity Faction will place the Demon Mouth Technique there; relying solely on imagination, they can complete a soul impact."

"Such a wild piece of trivia; I almost don't dare to believe it."

"Believe it or not."

While speaking,

Rod had already found the pony-girl Little Little Bangde.

She was drawing a bow and shooting arrows atop a tall tree, while the giant squirrel Cui Qian dozed below, said to be guarding for her.

He had expected Little Little Bangde to throw a tantrum after two days of duty, but she was unusually sensible regarding the defense of their home.

She drew her bow almost every single moment.

Once her spiritual energy was depleted, she chatted with Cui Qian while recovering.

Within just two days, the long-stalled early stage of the Fifth Tier had broken through to the mid stage.

After all, possessing centaur bloodline, combat is always their fastest path to advancement.

"By the way, Rod, near the Great River, there is a mage infected with the Beast Transformation Disease; my arrows cannot break through."

Little Little Bangde said while stuffing snacks brought by Rod into her mouth.

The Great River?

On the Koshi Plain, the only river worthy of the name Great River is, of course, the Hansen River.

"What is that mage doing?"

Mages infected with the Beast Transformation Disease can also cast spells, provided they do not suffer an outbreak.

But even if they do not suffer an outbreak, they cannot become normal people; their blood has infected their thoughts, turning even good people into antisocial ones.

"He is leading wave after wave of Beast Transformation Disease patients to the riverbank, then using spells to draw the blood from their bodies and pour it into the river... By the way, there are also some mushroom-people blocking that mage."

The pony-girl's attention was entirely on the snacks.

She spoke without care, occasionally revealing an expression of enjoyment.

But Rod could not help but frown.

(End of this chapter)