Chapter 431: Meeting

That bastard of a man has gotten stronger again?

And gotten this much stronger?

The first thing in Eve's heart was envy and unwillingness — back in the open-air labyrinth, the gap between them hadn't seemed this big.

Then came happiness.

The stronger this guy got, wasn't that the same as her getting stronger too?!

With this guy around, it was more than enough for the Bural Clan to unify the Mirror Desert!

Eve quickly sorted out her thoughts and calmed down from her shock.

She unhurriedly recovered from her throwing stance, then stood proudly.

She'd originally wanted to go over and cut off the demon's head, holding it high to proclaim her victory, but on second thought, with her strength she probably couldn't cut through it, so she let it be — better than having to ask that guy for help again.

Eve swept a cold glance over the six Santarin.

She saw that some of them were putting on unnatural, stiff smiles, while others had ugly expressions and dodged her gaze, refusing to meet her eyes.

She felt a little pleased inside.

That bastard of a man was still useful for something.

"Hmph, a mere demon — how could it possibly be a match for our Bural Clan."

With her cold, proud victory declaration finished.

The rest of the land naga were greatly inspired too, shouting excitedly, as if they'd been buffed, and began attacking the remaining demon stragglers with even more vigor.

And her mother Lady Lilian was happy her daughter could wipe out a strong enemy in one stroke, but couldn't help feeling puzzled.

She knew her own daughter best.

That demon ape was born with a very strong physical advantage — even if its spiritual accumulation was at the peak of sixth-tier, it could absolutely unleash the combat power of half-step seventh-tier.

By all rights, even if Eve could win, it should have been a hard fight — she absolutely shouldn't have had it so easy.

Could she have obtained some high-powered treasure?

But she shouldn't have used it here either — she'd have to ask about it later.

Lady Lilian set aside her doubts and began seriously wiping out the remaining demons with her clansfolk.

The land naga coordinated seamlessly, and before long had slaughtered every last one.

And now came the time to demand an explanation.

Behind Lady Lilian, the ancestral spirit's phantom did not disperse, its blue-white halo radiating brilliance.

Behind her, the land naga had gathered into a single mass, their natural serpentine eyes' ferocity and cruelty laid bare without a trace of concealment.

The pressure condensed from gathered magic pressed down hard on the six Santarin before them.

The highest-ranked among them was a human warrior with a stubbly beard, early seventh-tier — and the watered-down kind at that; the rest were around fifth- and sixth-tier.

Faced with the magical pressure of mid-seventh-tier, approaching high-tier, plus the strength they had just displayed.

They immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"Santarin, you'd better give me an explanation."

Lady Lilian said coldly.

Although her features were the gentle type, when angered, combined with the ancestral spirit's phantom behind her, she was fierce and overbearing enough to inspire fear.

The stubble-bearded man with cold sweat stepped forward, his gaze not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

"Priestess of the Bural Clan, the matter of the demons was a pure accident. This cave is sufficiently hidden — historically, only the rulers of Axe Beach have known its location. If the demons followed, perhaps they were tailing certain naga among you."

This brother started shifting the blame with his very first sentence.

The naga side wasn't going to indulge him either.

A female naga with rough, dark skin and half a nose missing stepped forward, her voice extremely loud, her expression ferocious:

"What the hell are you bullshitting! From start to finish the demon only said one thing, and it was aimed at you Santarin! The problem now is the trouble you brought, and now it's spilling onto us — what's that supposed to mean? Trying not to pay up? Does Santarin like doing work for free without paying?!"

This female naga was clearly the negotiation proxy.

After all, many things said by Lady Lilian as the leader would come across as lacking gravitas — at a time like this, a qualified proxy was very necessary.

What followed was a war of cursing and negotiation between the two sides.

The tomb-opening work at the White Dragon Tomb ground to a halt as a result.

Rod couldn't be bothered to listen to their bickering, and imitating Tally, he stuck out his tongue from the shadows and licked Eve's neck once.

The girl trembled, gave that patch of shadow a reproachful glare.

"What are you doing?"

【Hide deeper into the cave, let's meet up.】

Eve stayed silent.

She glanced over and saw her clan's side had the advantage in the negotiations, so while no one was paying attention, she retreated covertly.

Soon, she turned through the winding cave passages and arrived before the White Dragon Tomb's massive spell-seal.

Rod walked out from the shadows, moved to embrace her, but she dodged.

"It's not far here — if my mother pays attention, she can sense it. You'd better put up some countermeasures."

Eve crossed her arms, her attitude a little cold.

Rod smiled and crushed a magic ring of 【Detection Avoidance】.

Immediately, they were wrapped in a fluorescent green cubic space.

"That should do it, right?"

This time Rod went to hug her, and finally managed to pull the naga girl into his arms.

A faint smell of sweat mingled with the scent of clove and tangerine drifted into his nose.

The body in his arms was a little stiff.

"You've changed, Eve. Not as passionate as before," Rod said with a smile.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been since we last saw each other? A full three months. Good thing we're nothing more than a simple business relationship — otherwise I'd have fallen for someone else long ago."

Eve rolled her eyes, her tone dissatisfied, but she leaned her head forward and pecked his lips.

Seeing that Rod had no reaction, she frowned and kissed him again.

Still no reaction, so she gave a cold, curt snort.

"What?" Rod was still smiling.

"I don't think you miss me as much as you claim you do."

"Fair enough — even lovers can't avoid a bit of polite small talk."

"You—!"

Watching her flustered look, Rod burst out laughing, wrapped an arm around Naga's slender waist — which looked all the more delicate against her thick serpentine body — and kissed her deeply.

Eve tried to struggle, landing a few punches on his rock-hard abs, each blow weaker than the last.

After that, she gave in and hugged him back.

The two kept kissing without pause.

It was a long while before they could tear themselves apart.

A Naga's serpent tongue was naturally long and slender.

It even hooked him and refused to let him go.

Having absorbed a portion of 【Charm Fluid】, and gone three long months without any intimacy, Eve was already aroused.

Even after their lips parted, she still buried her face in Rod's neck, taking deep, greedy breaths.

"Use that thing to strengthen me — that growth essence that makes me stronger. Hurry."

"A bit too mercenary, Eve."

As Rod spoke, he undid her silver armor and thick leather garments, revealing a black short vest beneath.

Calling it a short vest was generous — it was really just a piece of black cloth covering her chest, with two thin straps running up from her collarbones, wrapping around the back of her neck and tying into a bow, serving to pull and hold it in place.

The part covering her chest, however, was stretched completely taut by Eve's truly magnificent scale, pressing down on the lower edge and making her grandeur all the more pronounced.

The fabric was even stretched thin enough to become semi-transparent across her upper chest.

Rod could easily see through it — the deep abyss and the soft, settled weight within.

(End of chapter)