Chapter 583: The Goddess

Are magical aether energies forbidden in Dusk Hills?

As the sound waves of magic expanded outward, the vast magical canopy covering the land responded in turn.

It stirred a ripple of magic, spreading rapidly outward.

Luo De's expression changed.

Mistral protected him—that much had been certain back in Olive Town when the vampire Vanessa used the Wish spell.

But now it was different.

This goddess of magic had explicitly issued such a declaration, even announcing it across the entire continent.

This meant the matter had nothing to do with him personally; Dusk Hills itself possessed unique properties.

Luo De immediately thought of the Igoh.

As the far western frontier of Athelon, this land lay just across the Death Desert from the exiled Igoh.

If anything could reach them most directly—or if they truly managed to escape the Death Desert's bounds—

Shi Ying Town, and then Dusk Hills, would be the first to encounter them.

But upon further thought, it felt wrong.

Could the exiled Igoh truly influence a goddess of magic?

"Or perhaps… the First Era relic hidden beneath Shi Ying Town?"

It was possible.

Luo De shook his head and let it go.

After Karen the Gnome was reduced to powder by Mistral's magic, the jackal-men who claimed to serve the Campbell family were utterly terrified.

Bloodied and battered, they knelt on the ground, begging Tally for mercy.

The beaten, dazed jackal-men seemed to believe this succubus lady had summoned a god.

Tally flicked the blood off her blade with a smug grin.

Then, pressing her fierce yet softened face against Luo De's chest, she pouted and asked if she'd been good.

She naturally cared nothing for anything outside her master.

She paid little heed to Mistral's divine prohibition.

The halfling Lily, recovering from her shock, voiced concern:

"Mages are a curious lot. With a goddess of magic's lifespan, they'll risk coming here—and then Dusk Hills won't be free of their meddling."

"I only hope these arriving mages cause less trouble."

Luo De pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Banning mages from coming was impossible; though they loved stirring up trouble,

their creativity was unmatched.

Tally smiled with her face—similar to Luo De's, but softer—and asked, "Master, what should we do with these little things?"

"Kill them."

The jackal-men gasped in horror and immediately shifted their kneeling allegiance.

"Not advisable."

Lily frowned.

She was a halfling of the Knightly Alliance, which had a clear principle against killing—though not strictly enforced.

Lily herself had killed when necessary.

She'd shown no mercy to the Bahadur Magic Academy—after humiliating them, she struck lethal blows.

But generally, she chose restraint.

"Coral Bay is still under construction. Angering a notorious black-market family too early might cause problems."

Luo De considered.

He wasn't afraid of the Campbell family.

But the problem was Dusk Hills was too vast; his influence still didn't reach far enough.

These men were involved in human trafficking—premature confrontation before Coral Bay was complete might not be wise.

He nodded: "Lock them up. Let them send someone to extradite the criminals and post bail."

As for Karen the Gnome—

Who cared? Let him die.

Asking him to come ransom his men was already Luo De's last courtesy.

If they want to turn hostile, let them.

Not long after,

the jackal-men were dragged off to Shi Ying Town's jail.

Luo De then went to find the old gentleman Humbert and the witch Dimia, informing them the conscription squad had arrived in Stormwind City.

Both were pessimistic.

They were clearly well-traveled and knew what these conscription squads were like when they came to the countryside.

They immediately had salted meat and cheese stored in cellars, sealed the mill under the pretense of "quarantine for plague," while actually preserving flour.

They made unmarried girls smear soot on their faces to appear as old women, and sent eligible youths hiding into the forests beyond Twin Fingers Mountain.

Since Luo De now knew,

the war between the Heavenly Flower Kingdom and the Athelon Kingdom aimed to rapidly reduce population to forcibly counter emotional projections from another dimension,

he understood this war was meaningless.

He would not let Shi Ying Town's people die for it.

When the time came, he would stage a "plague outbreak" in Shi Ying Town to deter conscription.

It wasn't that he feared them.

After all, they represented a nation's army; appearances had to be maintained.

After discussing these matters,

Luo De returned to the forest by evening.

The elf Kalist had already been waiting outside the Bai Yu grove.

Still wearing her tight, pale-blue one-piece suit, hugging every inch of her skin.

Her thigh-high boots with rolled cuffs emphasized legs longer than her life.

Naturally perfect proportions.

She crossed her arms, scowling.

"Is this ban issued by the goddess Mistral connected to you?"

Luo De nearly thought she knew about his connection to Mistral.

He shrugged: "How could it be? But I heard Shi Ying Town hides a First Era relic—perhaps it's related."

"A First Era relic?"

Luo De realized he'd never told her about this.

He relayed the information from the vampire king Yulia, and what the Witherer Greta had learned from the ancient spiritual memories of the Windwall Forest.

Kalist paused thoughtfully:

"Tracing the ancient memories of trees—that's a druidic secret art… but I happen to know it too, though success rates are very low."

"I'll handle it."

Luo De's Tree Blessing had evolved into 【Child of Nature】.

One of its natural phases, 【Ancestral Memory】, allowed him to trace ancient tree memories and recover lost natural arts.

It sounded far more reliable than their low-success-rate secrets.

Kalist was already used to Luo De possessing numerous "tricks."

She wasn't surprised.

"Windwall Forest is large. Checking each tree one by one wastes time. I can sense whether any trees carry special spiritual signatures—wait a moment."

"Thank you."

"Hmph. You've never stopped troubling me."

Kalist said coldly.

Luo De smiled.

Elves were prickly—this phrase meant exactly the same as "no need to be so formal."

Finished speaking.

The elf lady's snow-white hands glowed with translucent white magic, sending thin streams to link with the forest trees.

"This process will take time. You don't need to wait here."

She appeared immobilized, holding the same pose.

"If I've asked you for help, how could I possibly go rest? I'll stay here with you."

"... mph. Then why are you staring at my body?"

Luo De pretended not to hear.

He walked closer: "This seems like a perception-based skill. I can temporarily boost your casting efficiency and perception—want to try?"

Saying this,

the spiritual whip of 【Painful Lash】 materialized in his hand.

At this, Kali's eyes flickered with momentary daze and longing.

But it instantly turned to shock and anger.

"How dare you!?"

"Fine, fine, fine—don't use that."

Luo De stopped teasing her and directly shared the 【Spider Sense】.

Just then.

A message suddenly popped up on the interface:

【"Trace State" triggered! Memory Tree successfully intercepted!】

【View now?】

(End of Chapter)