Chapter 474: The Withered One

Tally, who had been leaning back against Luo De to slack off, suddenly snorted.

She glanced at the ghoul Pan Ni, who had looked up dazedly at the mention of her name, and sowed discord:

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

"Huh? Ugh."

Lin Saixier hurriedly said: "No, no! Miss Pan Ni, I meant the negative energy gave me that feeling—not you! Miss Pan Ni is the cutest, most beautiful, and best-built ghoul I've ever seen!"

"Now you're scrambling to make it up, huh~~"

"Miss Tally! Stop causing trouble!"

The ghoul immediately lost interest in skincare products, came over to Luo De with a mournful face, and tugged at his sleeve for comfort.

This guy's pretty good at being cute.

Luo De flipped the lamb chops on the griddle while affectionately patting her cheek.

He accidentally smeared black ash and grease onto her face.

Pan Ni let out an indignant "Ah-oo!" and angrily thought of grabbing her master's clothes to wipe it off.

But she didn't dare.

So she just stood there like a bullied child, whimpering.

Luo De ignored her.

"Lin Saixier, keep going."

"Hmm, later, my fellow adventurer—who was a human female mage—saw how hostile the other person sounded, so she spoke up for me."

The tiefling girl glanced bitterly at the ghoul girl, who was snuggling up to the man.

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

"That person was temperamental—she gave us a cold, icy look and quietly stirred her spiritual energy. I realized she was about to attack, so I was about to pull my companion back—we're close enough that a druid's 【Wild Shape】 could be dangerous, and being near her like that wasn't safe."

"But before she could act, she suddenly paled and turned toward the forest, said nothing to us, transformed into a rotting black bird, and flew off."

Suddenly paled?

Luo De rubbed his chin.

Lin Saixier said she met that person in the morning.

At that time, Luo De and the girls were probably intimidating the Snowstorm Mercenary Company—she likely sensed multiple forces clashing and got scared off.

"How strong was that druid?"

Luo De asked.

Lin Saixier shook her head apologetically: "I couldn't tell for sure, but she was at least seventh-rank."

"Seventh-rank?"

Luo De, who had already killed an eighth-rank, didn't relax.

Underestimating the enemy was never wise.

"A rotting black bird? That doesn't sound very orthodox—is she even a druid?"

There was already a half-werewolf druid in the forest—Miss Oujia.

Xiao Ju, the cat spirit and friend of Karist, was also a druid.

Though neither had been seen for some time.

But both of them, after using 【Wild Shape】, took forms that were bright, healthy, and strong—nothing like rot or negative energy.

"The Withered One."

Karist, who had been chatting with the halfling Lily, suddenly spoke up.

Tonight she had tied her waterfall-like golden hair into a ponytail and slightly unbuttoned her high collar—Luo De only now noticed a tiny black mole on the side of her snow-white neck.

It felt strangely novel.

The girls he'd been with had all been thoroughly claimed—he knew every detail of their bodies.

For example, Pan Ni had a mole on her left breast.

Wei'an had two greenish-blue moles side by side on her thigh, close to the root.

Amy originally had one on her abdomen, but she'd been clumsy and dug it out herself.

The land naga mother and daughter, Eve and Lilian, were even more interesting—they both had identical red moles on the same spot of their right southern hemisphere.

And Karist, already a perfectly refined elf,

now with a tiny mole on her snow-white neck, beneath which flowed her graceful collarbones, somehow carried a peculiar, subtle allure.

Everyone turned their gaze toward this learned elf lady.

She seemed to sense Luo De's gaze was too lewd.

She shot him a cold glare, then continued:

"The Withered One was once usually a druid who loved nature, but due to some reason, became severed from the natural world and chose the path of destruction."

"The path of destruction?"

The curious tiefling Lin Saixier asked the perfect question.

"They drain the life force of the land to strengthen themselves, and lush forests are the most obvious and direct manifestation of life on earth—The Withered One spends almost their entire life seeking and destroying green vegetation."

"So her appearance means the Windwall Forest is targeted!"

Lin Saixier's face changed.

She was furious with herself, stealing a timid glance at Luo De's reaction: "I'm sorry—I should've told everyone right away. Maybe we could've caught her then."

Luo De naturally didn't care about this.

He brushed sauce over a large rack of lamb ribs, blasted them with heat, and the aroma burst forth.

He placed the rack on a ceramic plate and handed it to the tiefling girl, who thought she'd messed up.

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

Everyone turned their heads toward the corner where the 【Windwall Spell】 stood.

There was a large, plush lazy sofa Luo De had just bought.

Beside it sat a stew pot, its ingredients bobbing as the broth boiled vigorously.

Since the half-deer girl Xiao Ke and the treant Wei'an disliked the smoke and heavy flavors of grilled meat,

they'd been given a separate little stove.

The two good friends were now huddled together on the lazy sofa.

Wei'an leaned against Xiao Ke's soft chest, while Xiao Ke gently brushed her greenish hair like a mother, whispering sweet nothings.

Only when they sensed everyone's stares did they realize.

Even though they were all familiar with the forest, Xiao Ke still felt embarrassed—her cheeks flushed as she sat up straight.

Then she suddenly glared fiercely at Luo De, hugged Wei'an tightly, and pulled back so he couldn't see.

Then she suddenly glared at Luo De with a feigned scowl, hugged Vivian, and stepped back to block his view.

Why does everyone always glare at me?

But Xiao Ke's deer eyes were round and wide, pitifully innocent—there was no fierceness, only cuteness.

They hadn't heard anything in their corner, so Luo De retold what had just happened.

Xiao Ke immediately grew serious and whispered a few questions to Wei'an.

Then quickly pieced together some facts:

"Wei'an says that before either of us came to this forest, besides the half-werewolf Miss Oujia, the forest also housed another druid—a woman with red blotches on her face. She helped Wei'an a lot when she first moved here, and Wei'an was very grateful to her."

"Vivian said that before either you or I came to this forest, besides the half-wolf woman Ojia, there was another druid—a lady with red blotches on her face—who helped Vivian a lot when she first moved here, and Vivian is very grateful to her."

She nodded: "That Withered One indeed had red blotches on her left cheek."

She nodded: "The withered one indeed has a red blotch on her left cheek."

Wei'an's old friend?

She sounded like a decent person once—but now that she's become the Withered One, who knows?

If she threatens the forest…

Considering Wei'an's feelings, maybe we can spare her life.

For Vivian's sake, perhaps we can spare his life.

(End of Chapter)

(End of Chapter)