Chapter 383: The Second Piece of Dragon Flesh and the Festival

"The second piece of dragon flesh? Where is it?"

The last piece of dragon flesh restored part of Naulin's abilities, though it only granted the effect of 【Chain of Distant Speech】.

But this skill enables instant communication across the continent, aside from being unusable across planes.

When Luo De destroyed the mind flayer nest last time, he reached the edge of the super volcano in Kawa Nation—far beyond the Wind Wall Forest of the Far West, separated by the entire Kingdom of Aitheron, the Heavenly Garden Kingdom, and countless minor states—and still, communication remained flawless.

The strategic value of this skill is obvious.

So Luo De was quite eager to see what enhancement the second piece of dragon flesh would bring to Naulin.

Naulin leaned against Luo De's palm and thought for a moment.

"It seems to be a place called Axe Beach, currently controlled by the local lord? Naulin isn't quite sure. And this time, unlike last time, the dragon flesh can't be used directly—it needs to be given to the cat spirits for manifestation and processing."

She lowered her head, her face gloomy:

"I always feel like I'm troubling you... If you don't want to, it's fine. Naulin will find a way herself."

Axe Beach?

Luo De had heard of the place.

It was said the local count had been overthrown and killed, and now the rebels hold it.

Axe Beach is not far from Deepwater City.

It's one of the few towns near the prosperous Deepwater City that had trouble, so it made it onto the Snow Hill Evening Post's news section—but only as a tiny corner story.

As for why Luo De remembered it...

Because the paper said the count's eldest daughter had conspired with bandits and murdered her own father.

Though afterward, the count's daughter still broke ties with the rebels, fled, and vanished.

She was still listed as a wanted criminal, with her photo printed in the paper.

Let me tell you—

The count's daughter had pale blue hair, very distinctive; in the photo, she looked gentle and sorrowful, and quite beautiful.

That's precisely why Luo De remembered this incident.

As for visiting the Cat Spirit Paradise? Even less of a problem.

He'd already planned to transplant the emerald branch there anyway—he'd have to go eventually.

Luo De pinched Naulin's cheek; the sensation under his fingers, in her soul form, was like jelly—soft and squishy, as if a little too much pressure would crush her.

"What are you talking about? Do we even need to say such things? Even if I die, I'll get you the dragon flesh."

"Die" was just words.

No different from the vows men make to women in bed—they vanish with the dawn of wisdom.

【Naulin's obedience +4, current obedience: 66】

"Really?!"

Naulin was easy to please; she just giggled endlessly, burying her whole face in Luo De's large palm, her lips brushing against his skin.

"But... you can't die, okay? If you must die, only Naulin gets to kill you! Naulin will turn you into the one and only dragon ghost, lock you between her teeth, keep you beside her for all eternity, forever and ever."

Thanks a lot.

Kinda creepy.

After chatting a while, Naulin's spirit began to fade.

Her eyes grew heavy.

As a dragon who lost her body, she had many flaws—long periods of sleep being one of them.

Luo De didn't want to disturb her rest and prepared to leave.

But Naulin wasn't happy; her face, streaked with black dragon scales, pleaded with him, fighting off sleep just to have him stay a little longer.

Fine.

Luo De couldn't refuse; he picked her up like a baby, held her close, talked softly, and within ten minutes, she was fast asleep.

Her soul-body, now in deep slumber, slowly sank into the pink soil of the open labyrinth through his embrace.

"Master."

Tally, like a loyal servant, straightened her crisp black suit and said seriously:

"If you die, I'll make you mine alone."

"How?"

"I'll cut off that thing, hang it around my neck, soak it in magical preservative fluid, and take it out at night when I'm lonely to remember the past."

I'm used to it; succubi are always like this.

Luo De was immune.

"Heh."

"What kind of reaction is that?! This is the highest respect a succubus shows a fine ingredient! In my mother's memories, only one of her cousins ever did this—it was some kind of Kuangwaren."

" Kuangwaren? Wait, I thought frogmen reproduce externally—they don't have actual sexual intercourse."

"That's normal frogs. Kuangwaren still have the thing, but it's twisted and misshapen, with little essence—just a weird novelty. Who knows why my auntie treasured it so much?"

Tally adjusted her slicked-back hair with theatrical flair:

"My mother stole it, used it once, found it boring, ground it into powder, and sold it as a libido booster to human nobles—made a fortune."

". our mom wasn't human."

"My cousin held a grudge against my mother—and me too—swore she'd beat me every time she saw me. But now I've got my master to protect me—no one dares hurt sweet little Tally~~"

With time still early,

Luo De carried some New Year gifts and visited each girl in the forest.

Unlike the banshee Krist, the ghoul Pan Ni, the arachne Yuna, the mare Bond, and the troop of forest gray squirrels, who had already rushed into town for the festivities,

many girls preferred to stay in the woods.

Yuna probably wasn't interested either—she just wanted to stay by Luo De's side.

But the others who went into town were all a bit unreliable; she had to keep an eye on them.

Luo De's mood was good.

It felt a bit like Spring Festival.

Riding that festive mood, he set off a few New Year fireworks with the tree spirit Weiwei'an, the half-deer Xiao Ke, and the orc Amy.

Happy as they were, the three girls were worn out and went back to sleep.

Xiao Ke was reluctant at first.

After all, she lived with Weiwei'an; if they both woke up as puffs, they'd be exposed.

Only after Luo De brought her back to his ranger cabin did she gradually loosen up, half-resisting, half-accepting.

In puff form, she rested on Luo De's bed.

As for Tally—

Luo De strictly controlled her diet; she'd already eaten upon waking, so now she had to handle it herself. She was a qualified judo master, enough to manage on her own, then sneak a snack or two during cleanup—perfectly sufficient.

They dawdled until noon.

Bond was blasting him nonstop through the 【Chain of Distant Speech】, demanding he join her for lunch.

Luo De hurried toward Shi Ying Town while pulling up his pants, nearly getting spotted by nearby tourists.

Then he spent the afternoon playing with the girls and the squirrels in town.

As night fell,

the engagement banquet for Humbert's daughter, Tobeca, was about to begin.

(End of Chapter)