Chapter 345: Apotheosis and the Pod

Another apotheosis.

Rod nodded. It wasn't all that unexpected.

After all, this was the Age of Apotheosis.

He couldn't help but think of the tiefling Sael and her younger brother Prula, who were currently staying in the forest.

The elf Farshad had somehow learned that the two siblings were the tiefling bloodline nodes, and had taken it upon himself to conceal their star-fates — so thoroughly that even the Archduke of Gehenna couldn't find them.

Since this concerned an Archduke of Gehenna's further advancement, Rod's resolve to protect Sael only hardened.

He still understood the logic of "when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold."

"So? Have they found her yet?"

"No. Coral Bay has over ten thousand people, and the drow have no way to distinguish bloodline nodes. Right now they can only sacrifice them one by one to that lord and try."

Rod frowned.

Tieflings were converted from humans — some at birth, some during puberty, and in more extreme cases, some at the very end of old age.

Without any means of detection, the drow would very likely treat every human as a potential tiefling, and try activating their demonic bloodline one by one before sacrificing them.

He had long imagined that the people of Coral Bay were in dire straits, but hearing it with his own ears still left him somewhat vexed.

Rod had long been fed up with the drow of Coral Bay, and had more than once wanted to wipe them all out in one stroke.

They could almost be called the chief culprits behind the chaos across the entire Twilight Hills.

But his strength didn't allow it.

The Archduke of Gehenna's large contingent of warlocks could cast Gehenna spells without any ritual steps, and could even resurrect through the Archduke's power — and now there were two dragons on top of that.

A battle like that, even Gale City might not necessarily take it, let alone Shi Ying Town.

There were plenty of seventh-tier in the forest, but a battlefield with mages was a cold-blooded meat grinder. The number one hundred and seventy-two — the seventh-tier casualties reported in the Snowhill Evening News' coverage of the Twilight City battle — still echoed in Rod's mind.

But then again.

Compared to a formal, head-on war, Rod leaned more toward assassinating the drow's leadership.

The premise being, of course, that he could counter their resurrection ability.

He couldn't help but rub the emerald pod in his spell pouch.

This was something the halfling Lily had entrusted two friends to deliver.

— 【Victory Pod】.

【Treasure Properties: Soul Lock, Regrowth】

【Details: A treasure painstakingly sought out by a halfling whose heart was bound to her beloved. The fruits within the pod can lock onto a target's soul, making it a specialized treasure for dealing with warlocks' endless resurrections. The pod contains six fruits, and one regenerates every five minutes.】

In effect, it was similar to the 【Gnoll Feast】 Lady Kali had once used.

Likewise effective against opponents who excelled at extracting souls to resurrect.

Only the 【Victory Pod】 lacked the 50% uncertainty of 【Gnoll Feast】.

A different sort of thought quietly rose in Rod's mind.

The reason he had never before carried out an assassination was, first, the issue of strength, and second, his lack of understanding of Coral Bay's internal structure and personnel.

But now — with Atticus's defection, the second point had been satisfied.

Next, it was time to focus on raising the strength of everyone in the forest.

Those two dragons?

They would certainly not be living inside the city; if they kept a low profile, the forest folk might never even notice them.

But just to be safe, Rod would call on the scorpion woman Hera and the rabbit-folk Ona for help.

Two eighth-tier — combat power, rock solid.

"What's the deal with those two dragons?"

"About a month ago, something fell into Gehenna, and almost every named ninth-tier expert on the continent showed up there. That lord... he seems to be at the center of the vortex, so he can't break free to worry about Coral Bay. That's why he summoned two dragons to hold the fort for us."

That "something" was surely the blood of Mystra — the one who created the Weave and was then brutally murdered.

That drop of blood stained with the divine spark.

At the center of the vortex, huh.

Ona had once said that an Archduke of Gehenna named Asmodeus had temporarily obtained that drop of divine blood. Surely it couldn't be the very one these drow worshipped??

Rod couldn't help but rub his brow.

Honestly, this was bad enough.

He could only hope the other ninth-tier would bring more pressure to bear in this chase for the divine blood.

He hadn't expected Vivienne — the one most lacking in emotion — to be the first to notice his unease.

She stepped forward, took his hand, and gently squeezed it in her palm.

Then she pressed it to her own chest and held him tight.

He also looked into those big eyes flashing with Bai Guang, staring blankly back at him, expressionless.

"Don't, worry. Vivienne, help, Rod."

"Thanks."

The orc woman raised her cleaver high: "Emi will help too! Leave the fighting to Emi!"

Watching Yuna bowed low: "For Master, Watching Yuna is willing to do anything."

Miss Xiao Ke also hastened to declare at this point: "I'm not great at fighting, but if you need anything on the divination side, you must tell me!"

Speaking of which.

Rod recalled the 'price of divination' Lady Kali had mentioned.

He couldn't help but ask Miss Xiao Ke about the price she'd paid in her last divination against the Wen Yi Fa caster Amel — blocking the erosion of two 【Ke Yin】 was entirely her doing.

Miss Xiao Ke's face stiffened, and she waved her hands: "No, nothing at all."

Having said that, she turned to run, but Rod pulled her back in one swift motion.

Facing the dead-serious man, the half-deer girl could only lower her head and pretend not to care as she said, "It's nothing, just twenty years of lifespan."

Twenty years?!

A half-deer's lifespan is similar to a human's, both around seventy to one hundred years.

Losing twenty years just like that??

Rod was stunned for a moment.

Then came an ache of heart he couldn't hold back.

"If something like this happens again, tell me beforehand, alright?"

He softened his tone and drew the delicate girl's body into his arms.

But with Vivian by her side, she naturally wasn't willing to do something so intimate, and pushed Rod away with a stiff, adorable little face.

"Why are you hugging me? We're not that close."

Miss Xiao Ke was a half-deer who was easy to satisfy — just seeing the worry and heartache on this fellow's face was enough to make her heart secretly sweet.

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to make it up to you."

Rod said with a perfectly serious expression.

"Hmph! I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for everyone~"

"I just love that tsundere look of yours."

"L-love??"

She panicked, turned to Vivian and flustered, "Don't misunderstand, Vivian! He was saying 'see the West Loop' — yes! The West Loop trail of Dusk Hill! It's a pretty scenic spot, I passed by it on the way back! The sunset was gorgeous!"

Only Vivian, from start to finish, showed no expression at all.

Listening to Miss Xiao Ke's baffling description, she could only tilt her head in puzzlement.

(End of chapter)