Chapter 52: The Desert

Amy calmed down.

She turned to Luo De.

“Is Amy considered your wife?”

“Given your previous behavior, not yet.”

The female beastman’s face fell.

“Just prove your worth by redeeming yourself,” Luo De added at last.

“Amy receives!”

【Amy’s obedience increased by 3, current obedience: 52】

【Obedience surpassed 51, unlocked shared skill with Amy】

【Beginning random selection.】

Seeing the enslavement rune’s display, he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation.

Beastmen are naturally battle-oriented, and Amy’s performance was no exception.

But when he saw the skill entries—【Knitting Proficiency】, 【Mastery of Clay Sculpting】, and 【Innate Childlike Heart】—he couldn’t suppress the expression of a confused old man staring at his phone.

What’s going on?

Why does this shared skill carry a debuff risk?!

Finally, the pointer passed 【Rage Roar】 and 【Mountain Shatter Leap】 before stopping on 【Rage】.

Luo De finally exhaled in relief.

【Rage: A spiritual art used by every beastman—sacrificing wisdom and tactics to temporarily boost strength and defense, transforming into a berserker who fights only at close range.】

Sacrificing wisdom is hard to accept, but the power boost... is barely acceptable.

Luo De and Amy washed themselves again in the stream, rinsing off all scent.

After all, succubi have keen noses—if she caught the smell, she’d inevitably call him some crude term like “a pestle that doesn’t discriminate between meat and vegetables.”

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

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

Her eyes, glowing with white light, fixed directly on Amy.

Luo De had gradually learned to read her expressionless face—clearly, the tree spirit was wary of the beastman.

Amy couldn’t read it.

She only grinned foolishly at the tree spirit.

Luo De pointed to the enslavement rune on her arm.

“Don’t worry—she’s under my control.”

Vivian finally looked away, then spoke words that made Luo De frown.

“The desert… has problems.”

The tree spirit’s speech was always hard to interpret.

The group immediately headed toward the oak zone—the area bordering the Death Desert.

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

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

The forest did not directly abut the desert.

Between them lay a narrow strip of barren land, its subsoil packed with weathered rocks where ordinary trees struggled to survive.

Luo De had long maintained the habit of planting sand-fixing plants here, but he was unfamiliar with plant traits, often buying various species from the goblin Pete and testing them one by one until, a year ago, he settled on a species called Sand Willow.

Luo De stood solemnly beside a Sand Willow.

Wind-blown sand grains struck the hard earth with a steady tapping sound.

And in the distance,

a massive black-and-yellow sand tornado roared upward, like several tattered, thin rags twisted together in a swirling vortex—except the rags nearly obscured the sky.

Even from afar, all of them felt a force of utter annihilation.

And they also sensed that the sand tornado was moving, slowly and steadily, toward them.

“This is no natural disaster. I’ve seen it in ancient texts—this spiritual fluctuation is likely caused by a man-made ritual.”

Kali stepped forward on her white unicorn, her delicate face showing shock.

“Man-made?”

Luo De’s expression turned grim.

“Can it be undone?”

“Probably not. The ancient text’s description of this ritual is vague—only a few lines, and it states its history exceeds ten thousand years.”

Ten thousand years?

Humans probably hadn’t even mastered spiritual arts back then.

Luo De immediately thought of the far western lands beyond the desert—Igo.

Only those insects would dare meddle with this desert.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Amid the howling wind,

a dry arm composed of sand and rock thrust upward, gripping the hard ground before heaving up a boulder the size of a human head.

The boulder sprouted nearly ten such dry arms, each one pushing and shoving as it lumbered toward the forest.

“What is this thing?”

Luo De wasn’t worried—its power level was only around Third Tier, low end.

“Likely a companion demon spawned by the ritual. Watch the trees and soil—these things may cause desertification.”

“Amy, deal with it.”

“Oh!”

The female beastman stepped forward and kicked the boulder demon with a football-style strike, sending it exploding apart.

She turned back, raised her arm, and cheered toward Luo De.

As for her great axe—it had been temporarily confiscated by Luo De.

Kali shot Luo De a sidelong glance; she knew this beastman had been an enemy just one day ago.

How could she be so obedient now?

“Enslavement magic?”

“Something like that. Just a little trick.”

“I advise you not to be too complacent—enslavement magic’s control is short-lived, especially against beastmen with their robust physiques.”

“Thank you for the warning.”

Luo De wasn’t concerned—he’d already witnessed the enslavement rune’s power.

The elf’s eye twitched, realizing he had no intention of heeding her advice.

She sniffed lightly and added: “Human, you’ll soon realize your arrogance—and then you’ll understand that the deepest dungeon beneath Windstorm City is this beastman’s only rightful end.”

With that, she mounted her horse and departed swiftly.

Luo De paid her no mind.

Instead, he immediately thought of what the beastman could do—guard this area against the boulder demons’ intrusion.

He explained the task to Amy; the beastman didn’t seem to mind.

Afterward, he’d just need to ask Kali to build a magical wooden cabin.

He turned to the tree spirit.

Sensing Luo De’s gaze, Vivian gently turned her face away.

Still angry.

Luo De couldn’t help but smile wryly; he gently took her hand. Seeing she didn’t pull away, he walked with her deeper into the forest.

He knew why the tree spirit was upset—because he hadn’t sought her help yesterday.

The two walked in silence.

Only bird calls, insect chirps, and the snap of broken twigs broke the quiet.

Luo De stopped, gently stroking the oak before him, unsure what to say.

Perhaps because Vivian disliked speaking, he always struggled to find words when alone with her.

So he gave up, and simply wrapped his arms around the tree spirit’s slender frame.

Luo De lowered his head, inhaling the tree’s fragrance, feeling the softness and quiet pulse against his chest.

Long moments passed—then Vivian pulled away, rose on tiptoe, and lightly kissed his lips.

“Next time… ask Vivian. I promise.”

“Yes. I promise.”

“.Luo De, are you unwell?”

Luo De froze, confused.

“No, why do you ask?”

Vivian raised her blue-tinted fingernail and gently touched his lips.

“Here. Feverish.”

“.Maybe a little. Can you… help me?”

(End of chapter)