Chapter 459: Loot and Warnings

The wind was gentle, the sun bright, and the sky clear for miles.

Unlike the dusk hills, ravaged by sandstorms and winter, the weather in Jianwan was pleasantly comfortable.

The warm sunlight alone was enough to dispel the lingering chill.

After just these few days here, one could easily say it was spring all year round.

Luo De rode the horse that had fled during the Axe Beach unrest, slowly heading toward Deepwater City along the trade road.

Its hard hooves clattered rhythmically.

He let Tally, seated in his lap, hold the reins and guide the horse.

He himself examined the loot from the spellbags of the half-elf Virgil and the cambion Boden.

In cash, there wasn't much—only about 120, 00 Jin Along.

The bulk was still with Boden; Virgil, as a leader of a Shadetower branch, had only around twenty thousand Jin Along—somewhat pitiful.

It made sense.

Most of it had probably been paid to the land naga who had fled earlier.

Luo De didn't care; the naga mother and daughter, Eve and Lilian, were essentially his people anyway.

The magical items, however, were quite interesting.

【Red Feather Armguards】 enhanced the wearer's perception.

Luo De tried them, but with his high-perception shared skill 【Spider Sense】, the boost was negligible.

Tally didn't like the armguards' design either.

So he planned to give them to the other girls in the forest.

【Staff of Dread】, a staff crafted from a dreadbeast's skull, carried the spell 【Dread Whispers】—those affected would hear mad mutterings, likely disrupting a mage's concentration effectively.

【Archery Gloves】, gloves that enhanced archery skill, would suit Bond the pony girl.

【Dolphin Amulet】, a magical item that extended breath-holding to thirty minutes and increased swimming speed; Luo De had his own underwater breathing and had little need for it.

【Seasonal Shawl】, this one was unclear—it was currently magically sealed, but its exterior was adorned with faint vines, making it seem suitable for the treant Vivian.

And so on.

But many were spell aids that spiritual warriors lacked.

Whether Boden or Virgil, both were confident in their own strength.

To Luo De, honestly, most of these were mediocre.

What interested him most was the wooden dice-shaped 【Phase Anchor】.

Luo De had acquired a 【Phase Key】 leading to an unknown plane from the gray squirrel's gift—he needed this item to open it.

But the words "unknown plane" gave him pause; he could wait a while.

Next were the piles of precious ores from Boden's spellbag—after all, there were plenty in the Abyss.

They could be used in the Myriad Transformation Furnace.

For the girls in the forest to forge weapons and armor.

Lastly, there were handwritten notes on the spells 【Ray of Flame】 and 【Biological Weaving】.

The former resembled a heat ray; Luo De thought it looked cool.

The latter—the half-elf's version—was too ugly; let the forest mages study it if they wanted.

As he thought, the succubus ahead chatted:

"So, Master, what exactly is this Order of Light Knights, meow?"

Today, Tally had transformed into a cute catgirl with orange fur.

She sat in Luo De's lap, tilting her head to brush her cat ears against his neck.

The soft ears brushing against his skin tickled—quite amusing.

Looking down, he could see two small mounds faintly rising beneath her clothes, just beginning to show their shape—kinda cute.

After all, catfolk were universally flat-chested, ranking among the top five races on the continent for breastlessness; it fit the trope.

Luo De shrugged: "I just made it up on a whim."

"Meow?"

"What do you mean, 'meow'? You want to join? Hey, why are you speaking so strangely today?"

"Isn't it cute, meow?"

Tally twisted her supple body sideways, arching her hands into a cat-pawing pose.

Her large vertical pupils half-lidded, her lips curled into a seductive smile.

"I suggest you don't do this in front of real catfolk—I heard they hate this kind of cat-acting, call it a racist bitch move."

"Hehe, only the female catfolk hate it. I have a distant cousin who really likes catfolk—she goes hunting in their territory every day. She says every single male catfolk loves pretending to be cats while… you know."

"Huh? Uh…"

"Catfolk were originally patrilineal, but as the continent evolved, things shifted. Female catfolk gained more influence, even overcorrected—things collectively disliked by female catfolk became universally shunned by the entire catfolk society. As a result, many male behaviors are forbidden, repressed—until my cousin teases them, and their true nature bursts out."

"."

This gender topic was too dangerous—let's skip it.

Luo De glanced around, took the reins, and steered the horse off the main trade road onto a quieter dirt path.

His hand slipped inside her clothing, gently stroking her abdomen.

Tally's eyes grew sultry—she understood at once.

Under the cloak's cover, she slowly pressed closer.

Together, they enjoyed the rhythm of the horse's sway.

They played like this along the road.

After a long while,

the 【Far-Speech Chain】 in his mind carried the voice of the elf Calyste.

【Calyste: Speak.】

Luo De smiled faintly, adjusted the succubus in his lap, whose breathing had deepened and who was no longer satisfied with slow play.

【Done already?】

Virgil's final state had troubled him, so he wanted to ask the more knowledgeable elf Calyste—but she'd been performing a ritual then, replying only with "later" and falling silent.

Now, it seemed she'd finished, and had come looking for Luo De.

【Luo De: From last night until now—twelve hours straight. Take it easy, or you'll drain your mana again.】

【Calyste: None of your business.】 Her voice was stiff—perhaps she'd remembered something.

【Luo De: Did you run into trouble? Call me anytime if you need help—I'm done here.】

【Calyste: There was trouble, but it's resolved. The Axe Beach area had some major activity the day before yesterday—was it…?】

Calyste was in the Mistwood Forest—not too far away. So she'd heard it too.

Luo De wasn't surprised.

After all, during these two days of travel, the 【Odor Disguise】 reminder had popped up on his panel every hour.

Good thing he had this skill—it concealed his location even from high-level cosmic beings like Great Cultivators, keeping him hidden from all prophecy and fate-divination spells.

【Celestial Blessing】 was too blatant, too loud.

It was fine to use in remote places like Shiying Town, but in Jianwan, where experts abounded, he had to be more cautious.

(End of Chapter)