Chapter 34: Bond

Several days later.

Unblemished Crystal Ground.

Luo De, Bond, and Kali Site arrived at the shallow layers of the corrupted mine.

“Sss!”

A spiritual arrow pierced the lizard demon’s skull.

Death triggered the demon’s self-explosion—*boom*—poisonous blood erupted into a flower of flesh and blood on the cave wall.

When entering the terrifying mine.

Bond’s [Timidity] took hold, clinging to Luo De and refusing to move away.

It was Kali Site who forcibly pulled her free to successfully kill the first demon.

“Too slow. You should have acted faster.”

She judged sternly.

The elf’s natural magic and archery are unmatched on the continent; her archery skills likely surpass Bond’s [Archery Proficiency].

“Sorry.”

Bond was afraid of this scowling elf.

She preferred the joint training from Xiao Ke and Luo De over being taught by a scowling elf in a pitch-black cave.

Luo De led the front.

He was encased in a spherical spiritual shield, surrounded by five demons at once.

The spiritual shield continuously shed glowing particles, showing no sign of collapse.

The [Eternal Lightless Seal] has the advantage of unified offense and defense, but its defensive power is weaker than other seventh-rank spiritual defensive arts.

Fortunately, unlike other defensive spiritual arts, it does not force a cooldown state called ‘Spirit Stagnation’ upon breaking.

*Boom!*

Luo De deliberately detonated the Lightless Shield.

A powerful spiritual shockwave instantly shattered the five demons into pulp, preventing them from even releasing their toxic explosions.

He turned to look at the two behind him.

Bond cowered, gripping her shortbow tightly, daring not to contradict Kali Site ’s harsh reprimand.

He felt this was fine.

Xiao Ke and he had been too gentle with the mare-girl.

This intensified training was Luo De’s own suggestion.

One reason was to test the [Eternal Lightless Seal].

The other was that Bond, progressing rapidly, now needed real combat.

As for why Xiao Ke and the succubus weren’t here, but Kali Site instead:

After all, news of the half-deer and Luo De training the mare-girl throughout the forest reached Kali Site quickly.

Perhaps due to the natural affinity of nature-aligned races, Kali Site and Xiao Ke had built a decent friendship these past days.

With no combat power, Xiao Ke immediately requested the elf’s help upon learning Bond would undergo Shizhan training.

Simply put, humans and adorable mare-girls must never be left alone together.

As for the succubus…

After eating her fill early in the morning, she vanished somewhere.

Since the enslavement Zhou restricted her, Luo De wasn’t worried she’d harm anyone, so he ignored her.

“Go deeper.”

Luo De suggested.

After all, only fourth-rank demons were here—too easy for Bond.

“No.”

Kali Site rejected his suggestion.

“Her current state isn’t about improvement—it’s about habituation.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”

Kali Site paused, surprised by Luo De’s abrupt agreement.

Honestly, living in the forest these past days had slightly changed her view of Luo De.

Someone who could befriend tree spirits and half-deer, yet was also an Aitheron Kingdom forest warden,

Naturally earned the elf’s favor—elves always favored those who protected nature.

If only he didn’t keep a succubus.

Thinking of this, her face flickered with awkwardness.

“Human.”

“?”

“At night, keep your Dongjing with the succubus quieter.”

Luo De looked at her with a strange expression.

Tally’s cries were loud, but the elf’s treehouse and the nearest warden’s cabin were nearly two kilometers apart, and the forest dampens sound.

Unless the elf used a hearing-enhancing spiritual art, she couldn’t possibly hear.

Kali Site seemed to guess his thoughts.

Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Elves have a habit of communing with nature before sleep and upon waking; during those times, our awareness of surrounding movements is heightened.”

Luo De understood.

Everyone says elves are eccentric—he’d almost thought this one had a habit of eavesdropping.

“Sorry, that was Tally’s feeding time. Could you try communing earlier?”

“Why should I change my habits for you?”

Kali Site said coldly.

She stood, one hand on her hip.

Against the light behind her, beneath her high, healthy, perfectly proportioned buttocks, her legs tightened into a startlingly slender, straight, and elongated line, accentuated by her form-fitting attire.

It was hard to imagine such a perfect natural creation.

Luo De didn’t want to admit it.

Even without the [Second Heart]’s pounding urge, he’d still silently swallow his saliva.

*Boom!*

At that moment, Bond launched an attack, shooting and exploding a demon.

“Yay!”

“Bond is amazing.”

Luo De affectionately patted her head.

“I’ve wanted to ask—why name this child Bond?” the elf asked.

“I thought she was a boy at first.”

Xiao Ke had not told the elf Bond’s true situation, instead lying that she’d found her in the forest.

“Another one!”

Bond exclaimed, raising her shortbow toward a demon appearing nearby.

But this demon’s appearance differed slightly from the others.

Though its aura remained fourth-rank, its abdomen was grotesquely swollen, veins bulging visibly beneath stretched scales.

Kali Site ’s face changed.

“Wait! Bond!”

But it was too late—the spiritual arrow had already been fired.

Luo De reacted instantly upon hearing the elf’s shout, snatching the mare-girl into his arms to shield her.

*BOOM!!*

This demon’s explosion was the loudest he’d ever heard.

Yet the shockwave and spiritual disturbance were weak.

Luo De frowned, lifting his head.

He saw the entire cave coated in green blood.

“That’s not bad.”

Aside from the noise, it had no real power—why was this sixth-rank elf so alarmed?

“Ugh.”

Beside him,

Kali Site was drenched in green fluid, her face grim.

Her spell shield had been utterly ineffective.

Looking closer, Luo De noticed her form-fitting outfit was slowly dissolving under the green fluid.

A large expanse of pale white suddenly exposed to the air.

Especially around her abdomen.

The melting flowed swiftly downward, until it reached the very bottom of her flat abdomen, where a slight bulge showed not a single hair.

Kali Site quickly drew her legs together and covered herself with her hands.

Luo De met her murderous glare head-on.

“Shall I take this as your nature, human?”

He turned away sullenly.

“What was that?”

“A rare demon in the Unblemished Crystal Ground. Its body doesn’t contain poison, but a green liquid that dissolves magic. I didn’t expect to see one this shallow.”

At this moment, Kali Site ’s scowl was evident even in her tone.

Magic is derived from spirituality, but the ability to dissolve magic does not mean it can dissolve spirituality.

Clearly, a useful tool against mages.

Luo De stared at the green liquid covering the ground and silently pulled a collection vessel from his spell satchel.

“Human.”

“What?” he didn’t look up, scraping the green liquid off the earthen wall.

“Give me clothes.”

“Didn’t you bring a spell satchel?”

“I never use such external tools.”

“Fine, fine, fine.”

Luo De had no extra clothes, so he took off the only tunic he was wearing and handed it to her.

(End of Chapter)