Chapter 374: Strengthening and the Visitor

Rod had never been able to muster any interest in magical rituals.

Too troublesome, too time-consuming.

With someone skilled at it right beside him, his lazy side won out — if he could skip it, he would.

He stood on the small formation extending from the main ritual, feeling the ritual ceaselessly drain the spirituality from his body, and yawned out of sheer boredom.

The Windwall Forest really was enormous.

No matter how vast Lady Kali's personal mana pool might be, it was still finite, so Rod served as a living battery, channeling a steady stream of spirituality to the elf through the formation on the ground.

Tally declared she refused to be separated from her master and insisted on squeezing in.

After two swings of her hammer on his shoulders, though, she admitted she couldn't handle it.

This ritual wasn't meant for ordinary people — in just this short while, the spirituality inside her had been drained by a chunk; only her own master could pull it off.

With no girls around and the magical ritual completely beyond him,

Rod simply used 【Growth Spirituality】 to pump some points into his gear.

The first, without a shred of hesitation, was the unlucky 【Soul-Quivering Blade】.

One look at the result and he nearly blacked out.

Damn!

Another batch of everyday spells!

【Resist Seasickness】, 【Launch Item】, 【Accelerated Swimming】, 【Zhe Bi Wu Pin】, 【Blindness】.

Not only that, 【Invisible Weapon】 and 【Eye of Gloom】 each rolled twice.

The former would nullify 【Soul-Quivering Blade】's Fear Aura, while the latter would directly weaken 【Polyphthalmia】's concentrated fear effect.

Both triggered erroneous evolutions, so Rod chose to purge those two skills outright, netting himself a wave of 【Erroneous Spirituality】.

His heart was tired.

The unlucky one didn't deserve his favor, fine.

Next up was 【The Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears】.

This thing was the signature weapon of the Great Cultivator from the Blighted Botanical Garden. Rod had never invested points into it before because he feared the Great Cultivator might have some means to pull it back.

But after such a long stretch with no movement, he figured the guy was just a pure brute with no tricks up his sleeve, and set his mind at ease.

One roll at a time, then.

The stronger the weapon, the more 【Growth Spirituality】 it consumed.

He'd spent too much on the girls lately and was running a bit short.

Not just the girls he'd slept with — Little Little Bangde and Selina got a share too, though they received their points by drinking his blood plus Lady Kali's version of a Clarity Potion.

In a flash, the remaining 162 points before his eyes tumbled down several times.

【162 → 62】

Rod's eyes went wide.

A hundred points?

You swiping my balance, bro?

If you don't roll something good, I'll snap you in half.

【【The Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears】 has gained the skill: Extreme Cold Pearl】

What pearl?

【Details: The pruning shears can generate an Extreme Cold Pearl. Driving the Extreme Cold Pearl into any item temporarily grants it an Extreme Cold enchantment, lasting thirty minutes.】

"Well, it's passable, I guess — at least it's better than 【Accelerated Swimming】 and 【Resist Seasickness】."

Rod sighed.

He resigned himself to his fate.

Growth Spirituality was better spent on girls than on gear.

Finally, he drew out 【Sacrificial Body Sword】.

He gazed at the beautiful longsword gleaming with Jin Guang.

He had to admit — it really was gorgeous, really flashy, and its quality was really just so-so.

He'd originally chosen it as his main weapon precisely because it was good-looking enough.

Rod just loved this kind of flashy weapon.

But now, with the pruning shears as a complete superior replacement, 【Sacrificial Body Sword】 had become somewhat dispensable.

He hesitated.

Should he toss it into the 【Myriad Phenomenon Furnace】 and break it down to rebuild from scratch?

But on second thought, he decided against it.

The pruning shears were too ugly, the Soul-Quivering Blade was terrifying — this sword was the only one he had left to hold up appearances.

The forest advancement ritual was very slow.

Rod gazed at Lady Kali's perked-up rear end, and in the blink of an eye another two hours had passed.

Suddenly.

A faint, almost imperceptible ripple of spirituality tugged at his thoughts.

【Spider Sense】 reacted.

"Hm?"

Rod turned his head to look at the empty air.

"Greater Invisibility?"

He raised his hand and slashed out a sword-wave in that direction.

The whistling blue spiritual slash leapt at high speed, then dispersed in midair as if it had struck an iron wall.

Yona and Vivian both noticed the movement and immediately knew outsiders had come visiting.

They hurriedly made battle preparations, while Tally slipped into the shadows a step earlier to seize the chance to act.

"Bernhardt, since they've already discovered us, there's no need to stay hidden."

The words fell.

The elf Ashley and Bernhardt took the initiative to dispel their invisibility in midair, looking down at everyone with cold arrogance.

She glanced at Lady Kali, who was concentrating on performing the ritual in the distance, a cold glint in her eyes.

"Who would have thought — so the one hiding in the forest is actually the most talented young prodigy elf of the Emerald Court's generation, Kali. What a pleasant surprise, what a pleasant surprise."

Windwall Forest was, after all, the territory of the renowned expert Forester Rod of the Dusk Hills. Out of respect, they had never gone to investigate.

Kali, who was in the middle of performing her advancement ritual, cast a sidelong glance at the arrivals.

She frowned slightly, but since the ritual could not be interrupted, she could only grit her teeth and ignore them.

Bernhardt, however, remained cold and indifferent, not looking surprised in the slightest.

He looked at Rod, and could not help feeling a jolt of shock.

Seventh-tier already?

To think he still has such a solid accumulation of spiritual energy.

It seems this man is not just a name without substance.

Besides him, are there two more at seventh-tier?

The tree spirit mentioned it earlier — Ashley said seventh-tier mid-stage, close to high-stage.

There's also a spider-transformed dark elf? A vassal of the Spider Queen Loth? Why would she be here?

There was also a lady who slipped into the shadows just now — should be the succubus this Forester keeps, a seventh-tier succubus. That's quite rare too.

What is that next to Kali?

A rat-man? Doesn't seem like it.

Also seventh-tier?!

I heard the Claw Valley Highlands borrowed a seventh-tier mushroom-man from the forest, and a seventh-tier ghoul skilled in necromancy.

How can Windwall Forest have so many seventh-tiers???

Fortunately, he had no intention of fighting in the first place.

After a moment's thought, Bernhardt stated his purpose directly:

"Forester Rod, we've come here with no ill intent — we only wish to make a deal with you."

Rod rested his golden sword on his shoulder, his face full of disbelief.

This male elf's features were delicate and soft, actually even more exquisite than the female elf beside him.

Coupled with his shoulder-length long hair, it was somewhat hard to tell male from female.

"If it's a deal, then it's a deal — why come sneaking around?"

"Our sincere apologies — due to certain reasons we cannot disclose, the two of us must act as much as possible without being noticed."

Ashley frowned.

Why apologize?

When have the elves of the Emerald Court ever needed to apologize for anything?

Just as she was about to speak up and rebuke Rod, Bernhardt raised his hand again, signaling her to calm down.

Ashley's standing in the Emerald Court was considerably higher than Bernhardt's, but as an elf mentor, he would grade the conduct of young elves when they went out — this score would later serve as a criterion in various Elder Council assessments.

At least when out on assignment, she could not easily talk back.

Rod, seeing that the androgynous male elf's attitude was decent, said casually:

"What deal? Let's hear it."

"I am willing to trade my entire fortune for a chance to attach myself to Windwall Forest, only to break free of the Emerald Court Elder Council's control."

Bernhardt coldly spat out a single sentence.

"Wha—"

Ashley thought she had misheard, and turned her head in shock — only to see a thin, Bai Xi hand already covering her face.

(End of chapter)