Chapter 499: The Dog Man and the Spy

Northwest of Dusk Hill.

There lay an unremarkable slope with a gentle grassland and a few ancient trees, locally known as Old Oak Slope.

From afar, Luo De saw two opposing sides standing on Old Oak Slope.

One side was naturally his own, led by the witch Dimeya; the ghoul Pan Ni and the female orc Amy were nowhere to be seen, leaving only the banshee Krist and several windigos beside her.

The other side consisted of six warriors clad in light leather.

Interestingly, each of them carried more than three steel swords, suggesting they had been trained by the same master.

At their forefront stood a young man, fairly handsome, the strongest among them—likely at mid-seventh rank.

He bore the most extravagant array of swords: six in total.

Luo De even felt sorry for how heavy that must be.

But if it were only these men, Dimeya wouldn't have asked him to come personally.

Even if Pan Ni and Amy were currently destroying a major bandit nest, they could still return to reinforce in time.

Dimeya's plea for help wasn't due to these men alone.

As a witch, her magical perception was inherently strong; combined with the magical circuitry rebuilt during her Spirit Seed transformation, she far surpassed her peers.

Moreover, she had always been cautious, routinely casting dragon-warding spells on herself before any operation on Dusk Hill.

Thus, she sensed a secret unknown to the others:

—A dragon was watching.

Should she openly inform these sword-wielders about the dragon?

Dimeya dared not.

The Five-Colored Dragons often chose proxies within urban societies; the sudden appearance of this group, coinciding with her detection of the dragon's gaze, could mean they were colluding with it.

So she had no choice but to seek help from a former forest warden who had once driven off a dragon.

Luo De had already learned all these details through the 【Far-Speech Chain】.

He also knew what he must do next: launch the first decisive blow to cleanse Dusk Hill and compress the black dragon's raiding space—with overwhelming force and unwavering resolve.

Since the entire Argyle family had moved to the frontlines and now neglected Qiangfeng City, Shiying Town and the forest must seize control of this territory themselves.

BOOM!!

With the arrival of February, the sandstorms weakened, and the sky grew clearer.

Then, suddenly—a deafening explosion!

Luo De unleashed a reinforced 【Repulsion Technique】 from both hands and feet against the pale blue sky, using it as propulsion.

He exploded midair into a burst of white mist, accelerating abruptly, leaving behind a long white trail as he shot forward.

Both sides on the ground looked up.

Dimeya and Krist's side relaxed immediately.

The six-sword group, however, grew alarmed and frowned.

Seeing the figure in the sky hurtling straight toward them, their unease deepened.

Another BOOM!

Luo De forcibly landed on the ground nearby; the soil exploded under high-pressure impact, spraying upward like a giant wave before crashing down into a massive crater.

As the dust cleared, he walked forward with a cold expression, unhurried and composed.

His body remained spotless.

Well, of course not.

In fact, Luo De had secretly activated and detonated the 【Invisible Grace Seal】 the instant he landed.

The forcefield's explosion not only made him land with a spectacular, dramatic blast, but also instantly repelled all dirt and dust.

I'm a respectable man with considerable power.

Time to make a grand entrance.

The man with six steel swords stepped forward, unafraid.

Luo De ignored him entirely.

He walked straight to Dimeya's side and asked quietly:

"Can you pinpoint the dragon's location?"

The witch shook her head: "My 【Dragon Perception】 shares the same origin as my dragon-warding spell—it's specifically tuned to dragons—but the dragon's position lies beyond my sensing range. I can only sense that something has been triggered."

That's the advantage of spells.

Extremely targeted.

Even beyond one's natural sensing range, they still trigger awareness.

Luo De's 【Spider Sense】 is powerful, but it's purely physical perception—outside its range, there's no chance of detection.

I heard the Heavenly Court's Flower Kingdom developed a spell called 【Legendary Perception】 to counter the legendary spells that Aithelon Kingdom can launch over extreme distances.

"Hmm, then ignore it for now—if you sense anything here, tell me."

Luo De nodded reassuringly.

Tally's shared skill 【Painful Whipping】 could enhance spell effects; perhaps a lash to Dimeya might help.

But…

Let's deal with the current situation first.

He glanced at the banshee Krist, who was sneaking closer, and sighed.

Today, Krist retained her undead form.

Her semi-translucent pale gray skin shimmered faintly with silver light; her long black hair floated like smoke.

She wore a high-collared, fitted long dress, similarly turned pale gray by undead energy—clearly she cherished this dress, even floating midair, she bent her knees to keep it from touching the ground.

As a result, the snug dress sharply outlined her waist and hips.

"Why aren't you helping Pan Ni and Amy? Slacking off again?"

"I'm not! Dimeya told me to stay with her!"

Dimeya defended her: "The Ruin Brotherhood always hides underground; Krist's help makes things much easier."

When fighting, Krist instinctively hides behind the strongest person.

But hearing her mistress scold her, she drifted back behind Dimeya, peering out from behind her shoulder with only half her head visible, her swollen red eyes glaring at Luo De with false bravado.

Luo De chuckled at her expression and turned to Dimeya.

"... id she overcharge you on payment?"

"As soon as I said it was your order, she cut the price to one-tenth—exactly the municipal budget limit."

Dimeya smiled.

One-tenth just happened to hit the municipal budget limit?

She must've guessed.

After all, it's Krist—the greediest creature alive.

But Luo De didn't care; if she earned something, she'd at least quiet down a bit.

Tally suddenly poked her small head out from the shadow of Luo De's clothes and nudged toward Krist.

"Master, this undead hasn't joined any parties in days and keeps vanishing—you should punish her."

Krist's face darkened: "I have real work to do, unlike you lot who do nothing but play around in the farm villa."

Luo De's expression turned odd: "Real work?"

Her idea of "real work" usually meant causing trouble.

Dimeya looked confused: "Play around?"

"Him."

The banshee bluntly ignored her mistress and pointed directly: "He forces me and five other girls to throw parties—naked, wildly debauched ones—and insists on playing all sorts of weird games. After one night, we're all limp and can't even float the next day!"

"Games?"

Dimeya's cheeks flushed red, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

As the primary inspiration for the protagonist hero Ophir in those lewd novels, Luo De's romantic life had always fascinated her.

Krist glanced at her.

During the engagement banquet of the old gentleman's stepdaughter Tobeka, she'd briefly exchanged words with this witch—mostly about Luo De and her bedroom exploits.

Krist was a country undead; she stole, cheated, escaped prison—but still considered herself a good girl.

Talking about bedroom matters? She couldn't.

Unless, like last time, you bribe me~

Thinking this, Krist deliberately examined her fingers, waving them back and forth.

"Oh dear, this dress feels so empty without jewelry~~"

Dimeya understood instantly.

They were all longtime customers; last time, she'd traded a necklace for a "Undead Caught Between Front and Back Assault" technique—a chapter that became wildly popular in the newspaper!

She smiled and removed a decorative emerald ring from her finger, offering it.

"My mind's been elsewhere—I picked up this ring behind you just now, meant to return it, but somehow I slipped it on by habit!"

Amid the threat of the dragon and the six swordsmen, she had completely relaxed, even finding time to joke with Krist.

Why?

Even Dimeya hadn't realized it—the sense of safety brought by this arriving forest warden was stronger than she imagined.

Luo De's face darkened.

He flicked Kris on the forehead as she took the ring with a beaming smile; the girl yelped in pain, nearly crying out.

He then snatched the ring from her hand and returned it to Dimea's.

He was about to say something.

"Mr.!"

The six-sword warrior over there stepped forward again, his gaze cold and resentful, slowly drawing his sword.

Only now did Luo De notice.

He was a Dog-kin, and because one of his ears was missing, it was hard to see beneath his gray hair.

Moreover, his wrists and neck bore obvious scars.

Clearly marks left by long-term binding.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Necromancer Lady and the Lady in the Shadows are both under your control."

He gritted his teeth, filled with hatred.

Behind him, several other Dog-kin with identical scars bared their teeth and slowly drew their steel swords.

Luo De understood.

It wasn't hard to guess.

They were a group of Dog-kin who had been tortured, once enslaved.

"Slave-masters! All deserve to die!!!"

Facing the charging six-dog squad.

Luo De calmly raised his hand to halt the witch's spellcasting and Tally's shadow manipulation.

"I've got this. You focus on sensing the Dragon's location—it's going to hurt a bit."

He raised his hand and used 【Painful Whipping】, lashing Dimea's rear through her clothes.

"Ow! Luo De, what are you—? My magic power has strengthened, and its flow efficiency has increased!"

A glow flickered over Dimea's body; she felt something, her face filled with astonishment.

But then she clutched her rear and glared at Luo De, "But why did you hit me there?"

"Sorry. Habit."

Luo De smiled as he raised 【Dragon Scale Technique】, stepping forward barehanded to meet them.

(End of Chapter)