Chapter 564: Gao Jie Jing Bing and the Intruder

Rod called over Grey-Fur Nick from the five-person dog-kin squad on the spot.

When Nick learned the questions were about their escape from the Demon Lair, he called over Uma, the female dog-kin whose half-face had been burned away and who could no longer speak.

Apparently the male slaves and female slaves had been held in different places, and the latter knew and had come into contact with relatively more things.

From the half of Uma's face that was still intact, one could see the beauty and grace she once possessed; there was no need to imagine what had happened.

On this matter, Rod and the half-wolf Olga silently agreed not to press further.

Although Grey-Fur Nick was the leader of the five-person squad, in truth even the battered Uma cut a more heroic figure.

Her expression and movements were steadier and more earnest than Nick's.

She showed not the slightest self-consciousness or sensitivity about her own wounds.

Unlike the other four dog-kin, who now and then displayed a sense of inferiority, she constantly maintained a quiet dignity, neither servile nor overbearing.

Rod guessed that before she was abducted, she might have been the offspring of some noble house or the like.

"We actually don't know the exact location of the Demon Lair. Before we finally escaped, we went through a brutal battle, and then the enemy's mage knocked us off a cliff into the river below. There were twelve of us traveling together, and in the end only we survived."

Grey-Fur Nick laid out the situation first.

He then went on to describe the Demon Lair's internal layout and the deployment of its personnel.

He explained that besides trafficking people, the Demon Lair was also an underground auction house, and naturally catered to every kind of pleasure and indulgence as well.

However, whether they were visitors there for amusement or the staff managing the place, everyone wore masks.

No one could be recognized.

Rod fell into his old Ke Ban Yin.

His blind guess was that they were all Etherlon nobles and business elites, or simply high-ranking officials.

He had heard of this kind of plot back on Blue Star in his previous life; some beautiful nation had even bought an island to serve as a pleasure den for the rich and powerful.

At times like these, one should not overestimate the bottom line of these high-society figures.

The female dog-kin Uma, meanwhile, gestured at the side, supplementing with signs.

Nick nodded and said, "Not only that — Uma says she saw, deep underground in the Demon Lair, a dedicated research room, set up for certain mages to study… what was it now? Oh! To study Gao Jie Zha Bing!"

The moment he finished, he let out a yelp of pain.

It turned out Uma had pinched the soft flesh at his waist hard, frowning at him like an old mother hen.

Then she gestured again from the start.

Nick scratched his head, not daring to argue back.

"Sorry, I got it wrong — it's Gao Jie Jing Bing. There's a large research room underground in the Demon Lair, dedicated to studying Gao Jie Jing Bing. Uma even suspects all the Demon Lair's other business is just incidental; what really matters is the Gao Jie Jing Bing research lab at the deepest level."

"Gao Jie Jing Bing?"

Rod murmured thoughtfully.

Researching the human body's crystal core?

Lady Kali had mentioned that the capital, Brilliant Light City, had recently suffered an outbreak of Gao Jie Jing Bing, and now over here a research room studying Gao Jie Jing Bing had appeared.

Mm.

He'd just assume it was them doing the poisoning.

Rod was simple and direct, too lazy to think about things without any clues.

Also.

The place where Nick and the others had washed up after falling into the river and regained consciousness was probably Deepflow Lake, which lay far to the southeast of Gale City.

It wasn't exactly close to here, but it couldn't be called far either.

Since they were traffickers of people, they would naturally gather in places with lots of people and poor oversight.

Coral Bay's reconstruction wasn't finished yet, so moving in was naturally out of the question.

But Rod's feat of repelling the Archduke of Purgatory was right here for all to see, and had long since been splashed across every major newspaper.

At the same time, the Twilight Hills in the far west were relatively quiet.

Over the past two months, a steady stream of migrants had poured in, all imagining Coral Bay as some safe harbor.

This period is our awkward phase; we really do need to watch out for people from the Campbell family spilling over to this side.

Just in case.

Rod decided to write a letter to Baron Ram in Gale City.

And to exaggerate things a little, so she would be prepared to respond.

As they chatted, the sun had already sunk below the western hills.

The staff of Coral Bay began clocking off one after another.

Meanwhile, the food carts from Shi Ying Town came rumbling over this way.

He had meant to invite the half-wolf Young Lady Olga to eat together.

But she was wary of a certain forest warden who partied every night, firmly refused, and ran off like the wind.

Rod couldn't be bothered to go back to Shi Ying Town to eat either.

So he and Watching Yuna found a mobile food cart with a lighter palate and settled dinner there.

The little spider was overjoyed to finally share a meal with her master after so long.

Even though she was weary from a long day of work, her bright, sparkling eyes couldn't be dimmed, and her long elven ears on either side looked as if they were about to stand straight up.

After dinner.

Rod sat with her by the sea to rest.

Chatting, hugging, that sort of thing.

Pretty tame.

There was nothing for it — Watching Yuna looked pretty worn out from days of work in a row, and Rod didn't have the heart to push her any further.

Gazing at the white waves surging beneath the night.

Young Lady Spider leaned against his shoulder, sleeping in a daze.

Tally looked around left and right; seeing no one, she knew it was time for her to have dinner.

Receiving approval.

She knelt before him.

Smiling, she unzipped the food packaging and took a huge bite.

"Keep it down, Watching Yuna needs to rest."

"Monkey~~"

Rod supported Watching Yuna's slender, slightly cool waist with one hand, gently stroking it, while his other hand rested on Tally's head, stroking her tenderly.

Admiring the sea waves before him.

Enjoying it, well.

At this moment.

A message came through the 【Chain of Long Distance】.

【Witch Cat: My lord Rod, the Dragon God's dragon body materials have been manifested. If you are free, please trouble yourself to come over.】

Rod's eyes brightened, yet he couldn't help but show a hint of a bitter smile.

Finally completed?

Since obtaining the White Dragon Horn Seal from Axe Beach, more than two months had passed; it was finally finished.

He had originally hoped to succeed in obtaining it before attacking Coral Bay.

Who would have thought plans could not keep up with changes.

It was for the best; the great dragons and dark elves of Coral Bay were much weaker than imagined.

【Rod: Good, I will come tomorrow.】

【Witch Cat: Uh, could you trouble yourself to come over right now? Besides the dragon body materials, a situation has also arisen in the Cat Fairy Paradise...】

Rod frowned.

He hurriedly asked what was wrong.

【Witch Cat: The mana web's coverage has slightly altered the structure of spirituality, causing mana to fuse within it, and thus the dungeon has undergone some changes... Someone has broken in.】

Uh.

Due to the sensitivity of the Cat Fairies' 【Manifestation】 ability, the location of their home is a top-secret matter.

If exposed, it would be dangerous.

【Rod: I will go over now.】

Rod did not tangle with the succubus.

The 【Second Heart】 suddenly exerted force, releasing the lock.

Tally let out a joyful shout of surprise, her cheeks puffing up with happiness.

He gently patted Watching Yuna on the shoulder, waiting for the other to wake up in a daze.

"Sorry, there is something urgent I must handle."

Watching Yuna naturally did not mind this; she immediately became serious: "I will go help too!"

"No need, rest well; I will come accompany you again next time."

Saying this.

Rod took out a test tube.

Ignoring the succubus's struggles, he pried open her tightly closed lips and poured some of the 【Dew of Creation】 into her.

"Although it is stained with a bit of the succubus's saliva, the energy inside can relieve fatigue; just take it directly, don't be too tired."

"Tally's saliva is sweet!"

The succubus hurriedly swallowed the rest and protested loudly.

Meanwhile, Watching Yuna's face turned slightly red, feeling immense joy in her heart at her master's concern.

She obediently received the test tube with both hands and gulped it down.

(End of this chapter)