Chapter 537: The Druid

The sky's body froze as if petrified.

It perfectly froze Aurelio's stunned expression.

His jet-black skin rapidly faded, turning close to the color of soil.

Then, like sand scattered by a gale, it turned to dust.

His clothing, weapons, and gear followed the collapse of his body and fell downward.

Luo De naturally accepted them all.

With a pull of his 【Gravitational Wave】, he sucked everything into his hands.

Now was no time for careful inspection—he shoved it all into his spell satchel at once.

【Obtained negative buff: Hero's Curse】

【Stacks: 1】

【Details: Spiritual recovery slowed by 5%, casting speed slowed by 5%, strength and constitution reduced by 5%】

【Resistance successful】

【Latest effect: Spiritual recovery slowed by 1%, casting speed slowed by 1%, strength and constitution reduced by 1%】

He stared at the data on the panel.

Luo De sighed inwardly: Indeed.

The half-deer hero's prophecy may have carried hidden agendas, but it still drew upon or aligned with the power of the legendary prophetic river.

There was certainly some fate involved.

In simple terms, the emergence of a hero was somewhat "in accordance with heaven's will."

Killing a hero candidate, therefore, naturally incurred certain negative effects.

No wonder even places like Deepwater City took hero prophecies so seriously.

"Even if I forcibly resisted, the effect still triggered—thankfully, the reduction isn't much."

Luo De spotted Tashaya, leader of the Bloodthorn Clan, far away, pale with shock, as if seeing a ghost—despite enduring Sharon's barrage of spells, she fled frantically in the opposite direction of Luo De.

And far off, the half-goat Einala had already drawn her black-gold longsword.

A pity.

This sister was also a 【hero candidate】.

But stacking curses by killing someone like her felt hardly worth it.

Hmm.

Hero prophecies are truly disgusting.

"You killed Aurelio?! You killed a hero candidate?? Do you know this plunges the entire Twilight Hills into chaos!"

Einala contemptuously threw her broken 【Sword of Devotion】 onto the ground and shouted at Luo De in the sky.

Her expression had turned grotesque and frenzied.

"Aurelio and I were both half-deer candidates—he was stubborn, but a gentle, powerful man; without him, peace in Shi Ying Town and Coral Bay would be impossible."

As she spoke,

she released her spiritual energy, forming a pale green net.

It enveloped the nearby rocks and ruins.

Soon, the rubble fused together and slowly rose into a ten-meter-tall stone giant.

This half-goat was a druid.

But not all druids specialize in wild shape transformation.

Some summon and enhance natural creatures.

Some amplify spells and resonate with specific terrains.

Others control fungi and toxins, granting death new life.

As for this Einala, whose nostrils spewed twin streams of blood and whose eyes were bloodshot—

she was clearly of the "summon and enhance" type.

She summoned elemental spirits of rock and earth from the ground and endowed them with even greater bodies.

"I must kill you, I must kill you! Only then can I prevent future crisis and strife! Kill one to save countless lives!"

Luo De refused to look at her.

He drew his other sword from his waist—the pale, porcelain-like 【Tremor Blade】.

Shi Laimu's 【Black Gold Coating】 instantly dyed it black-gold, yet the sword retained gaps and openings for the thirty-six bulging, writhing Fear Demon Eyes.

He casually swung it at the stone giant.

Vast spiritual energy surged through the swing—【Giant Slash】's colossal spiritual blade flashed and vanished.

The stone giant stiffened.

Its upper body slid down with a thunderous crash, cleanly split in two.

"You've spent plenty of time in your little cell already—might as well stay a while longer."

Saying this,

he opened his palm and launched four humus ice blades, pinning her limbs to the ground.

Then, all thirty-six Fear Demon Eyes suddenly opened, rolled with a gurgle, and fixed their gaze directly on Einala.

Before she could cry out, Einala was struck as if by lightning.

Her eyes widened, locked onto Luo De in horror.

Tears and drool streamed down her face.

She collapsed lifelessly onto the ground, trembling and convulsing uncontrollably.

Luo De ignored her.

He turned and flew toward the dark elf mages on the wall.

The dozen or so of them, casting together, had barely held off the forest mages.

But with Luo De's arrival, they were crushed instantly between the two fronts.

He closed in for melee, cutting through them like slicing melons on the wall.

You run, I chase—

blood flew, limbs scattered everywhere.

If not for Diami's warning not to further damage the wall—saying it'd hinder post-battle recovery—

Fine.

It seems the Witch Lady had long planned to seize Coral Bay.

Of course—this is a port, valuable both strategically and commercially.

Conveniently, after robbing the dragon, Luo De had a surplus of Jin Along he couldn't spend—investing here would be ideal.

With Diami, as a council member, vouching for him, he could legitimately seize vast territories here; even if Asilong recovered and came to inspect, he'd have no grounds to challenge Luo De.

Not long after,

all threatening mages were eliminated.

As for Tashaya, the eighth-rank leader being hunted by Sharon and Lily—

a certain dog-man had solemnly insisted on cutting off the enemy's head himself.

Luo De wouldn't interfere.

But his bloodlust unquenched, he wandered into the chaotic battlefield and slaughtered indiscriminately.

He was scolded by Eve, who said his random killing among the crowd would panic the dark elves, scattering them and making cleanup far more time-consuming.

Alright.

There were only about a hundred dark elf conscripts left—leave them to the girls.

Luo De slunk back to the rear to check on the girls' injuries.

When he returned, he learned:

Many had been wounded.

The ghoul Pan Ni had exhausted her mana, her legs too weak to stand—she sat like a duck on Diami's mana-restoration ritual.

Supposedly, this was her second time coming to refill—luckily, ghouls have tough bodies.

The female beastwoman Ai Mi was covered in blood and wounds; two consecutive 【Rage】 states had left her utterly drained.

She was being treated with a medical pack while dozing off, leaning against a tree.

The arachnid elf You Na had clearly pushed too hard—both her limbs broken, she sat pale and still beside them.

Not counting those still on the battlefield: the half-wolf Oujia, the treeling Wei Wei'an, the land naga Yi Fu, the witch Diami, the dog-woman Sharon, the halfling Lily, and the star-spirit Hai Li.

The rest all bore some blood.

Fortunately, none of the wounds were severe.

After visiting each lightly injured girl,

Luo De strode through the medical zone.

He entered a temporary tent.

His eyes immediately fell on Mouse Girl No. 3 lying on the bed, her buttocks pressed against the headboard, her plump, strong, long legs propped against the tent's canvas, kicking playfully.

On the other side,

lay the severely wounded elf Kali Shi.

Her body was wrapped in bandages; she sat upright beside the bed, observing the battlefield through the rabbit-woman Ao Na's magical vision.

"Ah, Luo De is here to see you, Kalist."

Ona smiled.

This eighth-rank mage was in an unharmed state; it was said she had shattered two mage squads, with only the edge of her white robe singed.

(End of chapter)