Chapter 338: Perception

Dimia couldn't help but smile, unsure whether he was laughing at the mushroom man or at Rod's earlier address of "pretty sister."

"You've become stronger, Rod."

Rod waved his hand, dismissing the remark.

The strength of the sixth tier is ultimately limited; it will truly matter only after he advances to the seventh tier.

"The mushroom man fears not the Beast-Turning Plague and should play a useful role here. Use him well for now. Give Pan Ni two days off; she hasn't rested in nearly two weeks. Even a ghoul can't endure that long."

Dimia nodded.

The ghoul's necromantic legion has indeed rendered great service during this period.

Especially as the front line pushed forward, the mountain paths grew increasingly complex with more branches; the legion's numerical advantage and fearlessness in the face of death saved them from many unnecessary sacrifices.

Even now, the legion led by Pan Ni continues clearing operations at the very front line.

"As for the mushroom man Toru in the cell, following your suggestion, I sealed his spore-release orifice. When I observed him last night, I could see he was already scratching his heart and clawing at his head; I expect we'll be able to drag him out to work soon."

Seeing everything trending for the better, Rod couldn't help but smile.

The two discussed matters of the front line, then shifted to the topic of outsiders in Shi Ying Town.

The sudden surge in population may have already reached the limit Shi Ying Town can accommodate, and this number continues to rise; meanwhile, it brings problems of public order, economy, and environment that cannot be underestimated.

Among these, employment is particularly critical: without work, there is no money; without money, it is hard to say what these outsiders, lacking local responsibility, might do.

Previously, the expansion of the farmland district eased this pressure, and the opening of New Rank Street did the same.

Rod planned to open recruitment at Henry Farm.

Pan Ni's ghoul herding and breeding project had yielded no results, so he might as well hand it over; however, management would still fall to her and the Banshee Chris.

Actually, thinking about it, that makes sense.

Ghouls, skeleton soldiers, and other undead creatures possess low intelligence; swinging hoes and placing feed is one thing, but a farm involves far more than such simple tasks; it is better to hire an experienced hand.

In fact, this influx of outsiders also brings some benefits; at the very least, it can absorb certain job types and personnel that Shi Ying Town previously lacked.

It's just that this period of pain will likely be quite long.

The City Hall has actually been controlling the population, but the number of basic security personnel is severely insufficient.

Let us hope for results in the coming days.

"Haa—ahhh—"

As they spoke, Rod let out a huge yawn.

Tally had fallen asleep and was unwilling to wake; she was currently snoring deeply in the shadows.

"Did I just wake you from your afternoon nap?"

"I relaxed a bit and accidentally dozed off for a while."

"My apologies."

Dimia said apologetically.

She glanced back and spotted a girl whose lower body was that of a spider at the forest's edge.

That girl watched them from afar, mainly watching Rod, motionless.

Was her name... Watching Yuna?

Sharon had said she was a drider rescued from the Arena of Dread.

Rod followed her gaze backward and saw the drider girl bowing to him from a distance.

"Why stand so far away?"

He beckoned for her to come over.

Watching Yuna was currently the most obedient girl in the forest; she truly carried out her vow to work like an ox and a horse to the end.

The moment she saw Rod wave, she immediately hurried toward them.

Her eight spider legs moved with rhythmic regularity, not slow at all.

"Her name is Watching Yuna, right?"

"Yes, she's a very well-behaved girl."

Dimia's face took on a strange expression as she said, "There are too many girls in the forest, Rod; you must consider Sharon's feelings."

"... You know?"

Rod felt neither embarrassed nor surprised.

To be honest, the canine-girl Sharon was not someone skilled at concealment.

Many times, the look in her eyes when she gazed at Rod was intensely fiery and unrestrained; anyone could see it.

"That day, um... the day you reshaped my mana pathways... actually, I woke up several times during the process and saw you and Sharon... in that... replenishing magic."

Behind the gauze curtain hanging from her brim, Dimia's baby-fat cheeks flushed pink.

"Uh..."

"And before that, once when you came to my house as a guest, in my drowsy state, I heard you and Sharon... at my door... for a long time..."

Well.

Being caught engaging in intimate interactions outside someone else's room was indeed a bit awkward.

Rod let out a few dry laughs.

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, I don't mind—no, what I mean is, please be more careful next time. As Sharon's good friend, I don't want you to let her down."

"Rest assured, I am serious about Sharon."

I am serious about all the girls.

Rod added that thought in his heart.

Hearing this, Dimia felt a moment of daze; a layer of cotton seemed to block her chest—not enough to suffocate, yet enough to make breathing difficult.

Fortunately, her face was still hidden behind the veil at this moment, otherwise Rod would surely have noticed the stiff smile on her face.

The conversation stopped abruptly at this point.

The two of them said nothing more.

Rod took Watching Yuna to inspect the waterway defensive line.

The elven Lady Kali's isolation force field had already been established three days ago — a blue barrier covered in complex spell patterns.

It would not block the river's flow, but could keep debris out.

After that, all that was needed was to periodically fish out the beast-plague corpses caught on the isolation force field.

However.

This force field had no function for filtering beast-plague blood. According to Lady Kali, the most commonly used filtering spell in the current spell system was 【Liquid Filter Bubble】, generally used in spell experiments and magical potion-making.

It's just that this kind of filter bubble spell was extremely fragile, and not fast — it often took five minutes to drive the impurities out of a one-thousand-milliliter blob of liquid.

The Hansen River's flow here had a height difference, making it very turbulent.

Even if Lady Kali could construct a 【Liquid Filter Bubble】 covering the entire river channel, it would be completely unable to withstand the river's impact force and flow speed.

Currently the mages were discussing it, searching for a better solution.

Lady Kali was not among them — she had returned to the forest to prepare for her advancement to seventh-tier ritual.

"Look, that corpse."

Rod leaned against the cliff edge, pointing out the corpse behind the isolation force field to Watching Yuna.

Both of them possessed the spiritual art 【Spider Walk】, so even on sheer cliffs they could walk as if on flat ground.

"【Mage Hand】, remember? Lift the corpse up, then purify it."

"Yes, Master."

Watching Yuna had the innate spiritual art 【Heightened Focus】, so she was bound to be a decent mage.

It was just unknown why she had never learned a single spell at all.

Even this basic skill 【Mage Hand】 had been taught to her by Rod.

The spider-elven girl strained to lift the giant-looking corpse, her delicate little face scrunching up.

After the corpse was placed on relatively flat ground, she began her unpracticed purification spell.

Not bad.

For a first attempt, it was fairly clean.

"For a while after this, I'll patrol the surroundings from time to time — you come along and assist me."

Hearing this, Watching Yuna looked up at her master in pleasant surprise, her eyes brimming with mist, and actually began to weep in a pitifully endearing way.

(End of chapter)