Chapter 474: The Withered One

Tally, who had been leaning back-to-back with Rod slacking off, suddenly snickered.

She looked at the ghoul Pan Ni, who had lifted her head in a daze at hearing her name mentioned, and stirred trouble:

"Ghoul, this tiefling says you're a maggot in a cold, lonely graveyard."

"Huh? Owww."

Sehir hurriedly said, "No, no! Young Lady Pan Ni, I meant the feeling the negative energy gives me, not you! Young Lady Pan Ni is the cutest, prettiest, best-figured ghoul I've ever seen!"

"Starting to make up excuses on the spot~~"

"Young Lady Tally! Don't make things worse!"

The ghoul instantly lost the mood to chat about skincare, and with a tearful face went over to Rod's side, tugging at his sleeve for comfort.

This one sure knows how to act cute.

Rod flipped the lamb chops on the grill while affectionately patting her cheek.

He didn't expect to accidentally smear soot and grease on it.

Pan Ni let out an indignant ah-woo, and irritably tried to grab her master's clothes to wipe herself—

But didn't dare.

She could only stand stiffly to one side like a bullied little thing, sniffling.

Rod paid her no mind.

"Sehir, keep going."

"Mm, later the adventurer companion I was with saw that the other's tone was really nasty. My companion was a human female mage, so she stepped in for me and said a few words."

The tiefling girl gave a bitter look at the ghoul Young Lady acting cute beside the man.

For some reason, she had specifically mentioned her companion's gender.

"That one had a violent temper. She gave us a cold look, secretly stirring up her spiritual energy. I could tell she wanted to strike. I was about to pull my companion back to open some distance—after all, a druid's 【Wild Shape】 is quite formidable, and at that close range it wouldn't be easy to deal with.

"But I didn't expect that, just as she was about to act, her face suddenly changed drastically as she looked toward the forest. Without a word to us, she turned into a rotting great black bird and left."

Her face suddenly changed drastically...

Rod rubbed his chin.

Sehir said she had run into that person in the morning.

At that time, Rod and the girls had probably been intimidating the Blizzard Mercenary Corps, so she likely sensed the clash of multiple forces and was startled into retreating.

"How strong was that druid?"

Rod asked.

Sehir apologetically shook her head: "I couldn't tell, but she should be at least seventh-tier."

"Seventh-tier..."

Rod, who could already kill an eighth-tier, did not let his guard down.

Letting down one's guard is no good.

"Turning into a rotting great black bird—why does that sound so off? Is that really a druid..."

There's a half-wolf druid in the forest, Miss Olga.

Lady Kali's good friend, the cat-fey Little Orange, is also a druid.

Though it's been some time since he's seen either of them.

But the forms they take after using 【Wild Shape】 are all upright, healthy, and strong—nothing to do with rot or negative energy.

"The Withered One."

The elf Lady Kali, who had been chatting with the halfling Lily nearby, suddenly spoke up.

Tonight she had tied her cascade of golden hair into a ponytail and loosened her high collar slightly. Rod was surprised to only now notice a small black mole on the side of her snow-white neck.

The feeling was quite novel.

The girls he'd been with could all be said to have been thoroughly enjoyed by him; he knew every inch of their bodies like the back of his hand.

For instance, Pan Ni has a black mole on her left breast.

Vivian has two side-by-side blue-green moles on her thigh, quite close to the base.

Amy originally had one on her abdomen too, but she picked at it and dug it right off.

The land naga mother and daughter, Eve and Lady Lilian, were even more interesting—both had a red mole in the exact same spot on the right side.

And Lady Kali was already a fairly perfect, exquisite elf.

A small mole appearing on a snow-white neck, with the soft collarbone just below, gave an oddly special, subtly alluring feel.

Everyone turned their gaze toward this learned and knowledgeable elf Young Lady.

And she seemed to notice that Rod's gaze was too lewd.

She gave him a cold glare before continuing:

"The Withered Ones are usually druids who once loved nature. For some reason they became severed from the natural world, and chose to walk the path of destruction."

"The path of destruction?"

It was the tiefling Sehir, right at that curious age, who appropriately raised the question.

"They strengthen themselves by siphoning the life force of the earth, and a lush forest is the most obvious and direct embodiment of that life force. The Withered Ones spend nearly their whole lives seeking out and destroying green vegetation."

"Doesn't that mean the appearance of that one means Windwall Forest has been targeted!"

Sehir's face changed.

She was extremely remorseful, and stole a timid glance at Rod's reaction: "I'm sorry, I should have notified everyone right away—maybe we could have stopped her on the spot."

Rod naturally wouldn't care about something like that.

He brushed sauce over a large rack of lamb ribs on the grill; the heat blasted up and an instant burst of fragrant aroma filled the air.

He placed the rack of lamb ribs on a ceramic plate, then handed it to the tiefling girl who thought she had erred.

"It's not your fault. Eat more—you're still growing. What I care about more is why that Withered One knows Vivian's name and existence."

Everyone turned their heads, looking toward the corner of the 【Wind Wall Art】.

There was a big beanbag-like thing Rod had just bought.

Beside it sat a stew pot, its ingredients rolling about in the bubbling, gurgling broth.

Because the half-deer girl Xiao Ke and the tree spirit Vivian both disliked the smoke and heavy flavor of roasted meat,

he'd specially set up a small stove for the two of them.

The two good sisters were currently hugging each other on the beanbag.

Vivian leaned against Xiao Ke's soft, pillowy chest, while Xiao Ke, like a mother, gently brushed her bluish-green hair, smiling as she whispered little secrets.

Until she noticed everyone's gaze.

Only then did the two of them react.

Even though they were all familiar faces from the forest, Xiao Ke still wasn't used to it—she sat up properly with slightly flushed cheeks.

Then she suddenly pretended to glare fiercely at Rod, hugging Vivian and pulling her back so he couldn't see.

"."

Why does everyone like glaring at me.

But Xiao Ke's round deer eyes, all pitiful and pleading, held no fierceness at all—only a touch of cuteness.

The two had been chatting in the corner and hadn't heard, so Rod recounted what had just happened.

Xiao Ke immediately grew serious and quietly asked Vivian a few questions.

Then, from just a few words, she quickly pieced together some things:

"Vivian says that before you and I ever came to this grove, besides that half-wolf lady Miss Olga, there was also a druid living in the forest—a lady with red blotches on her face. She helped Vivian a lot when she first moved here, and Vivian is very grateful to her."

Rod looked again at the tiefling Sehiel.

He saw her nod. "That Withered One does indeed have a red blotch on her left cheek."

Hmm.

An old friend of Vivian's, then.

Sounds like she used to be a decent person, but now that she's become a Withered One, it's hard to say.

If she threatens the forest...

For Vivian's sake, perhaps her life could be spared.

We'll see how things go.

(End of chapter)