Chapter 52: Changes in the Desert

Amy calmed down.

She turned to Rod.

"Does this count as me being the master's wife?"

"Given your previous performance, not yet."

The female orc's face fell.

"See how you Dai Zuiligong afterwards," Rod added finally.

"Amy received!"

【Amy's obedience to you +3, current obedience: 52】

【Obedience broke through to 51, unlocking shared skills with Amy】

【Starting random draw.】

Seeing the information displayed by the Nu Yi Zhou, he had to admit he was somewhat expectant.

Orcs are a race skilled in combat to begin with, let alone Amy's performance.

But when he saw the entries for 【Knitting Mastery】, 【Clay Sculpting Master】, and 【Innate Childlike Heart】, he couldn't help but show the expression of an old man on the subway looking at a phone.

What's going on?

How can this shared skill carry the risk of a debuff!

Finally, the pointer, after sweeping past 【Furious War Cry】 and 【Mountain-Crashing Leap Slash】, stopped on 【Berserk】.

Rod finally breathed a sigh of relief.

【Berserk: A spiritual art every orc knows, sacrificing wisdom and tactics to drastically increase strength and defense for a short time, turning the user into a battle maniac who only knows close-quarters combat.】

"Sacrificing wisdom is a bit hard to accept, but the power boost... is passable, I suppose."

Rod and Amy bathed in the stream again, washing away the scents on their bodies.

After all, succubi have very keen noses; if she smelled it, she'd inevitably say something like 'a pestle that mixes savory and sweet indiscriminately.'

The two returned to the forest, one after the other.

Almost as soon as they entered, Vivian emerged from a tree trunk using 【Tree Walker】.

Her eyes, shining with Bai Guang, stared straight at Amy.

Rod had gradually learned to read her expressionless face; clearly, the tree spirit was wary of the orc.

Amy couldn't read it.

She could only grin foolishly at the tree spirit.

Rod pointed to the Nu Yi Zhou mark on her arm.

"Don't worry, it's under my control."

Vivian finally shifted her gaze, then spoke words that made Rod frown deeply.

"The desert has a problem."

The tree spirit's speech is hard to explain clearly.

The group headed directly for the Oak Region, the area connecting to the Death Desert.

Since the journey almost crossed half the forest, riding horses would be too slow; this time, Vivian carried the two of them using 【Tree Walker】 to move.

Even so, it still took more than half an hour to arrive.

The forest does not directly border the desert.

Between them lies a small stretch of barren land; beneath this strip of earth lie vast amounts of weathered stones, making it extremely difficult for ordinary trees to survive.

All along, Rod had been in the habit of planting sand-fixing plants here; he was just not very familiar with plant characteristics, often buying various plants from the goblin Pete and trying them one by one until a year ago when he settled on a tree species called sand willow.

Rod stood solemnly near a sand willow.

Wind carrying sand grains struck the hard ground, making a 'da-da' sound.

And in the distance.

A massive black-yellow sand tornado roared upward, like several tattered, thin rags gathered together spinning back and forth, except the old rags seemed to almost cover the sky as well.

Even at a great distance from this huge sand tornado, everyone still felt a power of utter extinction.

They also felt that the sand tornado was moving toward them extremely slowly and steadily.

"This is not a natural disaster; I have seen it in ancient texts. This spiritual fluctuation is likely caused by a special ritual performed by humans."

Lady Kali arrived riding a white unicorn, her exquisite face also showing shock.

"Human-made?"

Rod's expression was Ning Zhong.

"Is there a way to dispel it?"

"I'm afraid not. The ancient text's explanation of this ritual is vague, with only a few brief strokes; we only know its history far exceeds ten thousand years."

Ten thousand years ago?

Humans probably hadn't mastered spiritual arts back then.

Rod quickly thought of the Far West on the other side of the desert, Yigo.

The only ones likely to make trouble in this desert are probably those bugs.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Amidst the gale.

A dried arm made of gravel and rocks reached upward, planting itself on the hard stone ground before it, then forcefully propped up a rock sphere the size of a human head.

The rock sphere grew nearly ten such dried arms, pushing and shoving its way toward the forest, one by one.

"What is this thing now?"

Rod was not tense; this thing's strength was only around the early stage of the third tier.

"I'm afraid they are the ritual's accompanying demons. Watch the trees and the muddy ground; these things might cause desertification."

"Amy, go deal with it."

"Oh!"

The female orc stepped forward a few paces and kicked the rock-ball demon with a soccer-style kick, sending it exploding apart.

She turned back, raised her arm, and cheered toward Rod.

As for her great cleaver, Rod had temporarily confiscated it.

Lady Kali glanced at Rod; she knew this orc was still an enemy just one day ago.

How could she be so obedient after only one day?

"Nu Yi Zhou?"

"More or less. Just a little trick."

"I advise you not to be too complacent. The control time of the Nu Yi Zhou is very short, especially for a physically strong race like orcs."

"Thanks for the advice."

Rod didn't care much; he had already witnessed the power of the Nu Yi Zhou.

The elf's eye twitched, realizing the other party had no intention of following her advice.

She gave a soft huff and said again, "Human, you will soon realize your arrogance, and then you will know that the deep dungeon beneath Windstorm City is this orc's final destination."

Having said that, she swung herself onto her horse and left quickly.

Rod ignored her.

Instead, he immediately thought of what the orc could do—guard this area to prevent the invasion of rock-ball demons.

He explained the mission to Amy, and the orc didn't seem to object much.

After that, all he needed to do was commission Lady Kali to build a magical wooden house.

He looked at the Tree Spirit.

Sensing Rod's gaze, Vivian gently turned her face away.

She was still angry.

Rod couldn't help but laugh helplessly; he gently took her hand, and when she didn't pull away, they walked together into the depths of the forest.

He knew the reason for the Tree Spirit's anger: he hadn't sought her help regarding yesterday's incident.

The two walked in silence all the way.

Only the chirping of birds and insects and the crack of snapping dry branches could be heard.

Rod stopped, gently stroked the oak tree before him, and hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Perhaps because Vivian didn't like to talk, when the two were alone, he also always struggled to get a few words out.

So he gave up and simply wrapped his arms around the Tree Spirit's slender body.

Rod lowered his head, inhaling the fresh scent of the trees, feeling the softness and restlessness against his chest.

After a long while, the Tree Spirit pulled away on her own, stood on tiptoe, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Next time, ask Vivian for help. Definitely."

"Okay, definitely."

"... Rod, are you unwell?"

Rod froze, not understanding.

"No, why do you ask?"

Vivian gently raised her hand with green-painted nails and tapped his lips.

"Here. It's burning hot."

"... Maybe a little. Then... help me?"

(End of this chapter)