Chapter 608: Exoskeleton and New Pathogen Strain

Rosalia gritted her teeth and awkwardly turned her face away.

"Men don't need to rely on girls for that kind of thing."

"It's possible."

Rod raised an eyebrow.

During the previous battle, Young Lady Tooth Fairy removed her upper-body armor for ease of movement.

Now she wore a black high-collared undershirt.

This undershirt was mainly designed to prevent armor chafing the skin—nothing was exposed.

But it was tight. Very tight.

It outlined her slender waist and full bust, and as she moved, her shoulder blades fluttered beneath the fabric like butterfly wings.

Paired with the skirt armor slightly lifted by her hips, the sight was half-revealed, half-concealed.

Her waist-to-hip curve was exquisitely alluring.

"But you know me—I've raised so many girls in the forest, and it does take a while to satisfy one alone. If you help, you don't need to go all the way—just your hands or something."

Pfft!

Rosalia silently cursed him a lecherous dog.

She knew full well this bastard was getting horny!

He'd been lusting after her body for days, not just one or two.

And that night when he rescued her, he'd sneakily squeezed her several times!

But he'd saved her life, and she'd just said she'd do anything for revenge.

Coming from this lecherous man, the request somehow felt reasonable.

"Mr. Rod, at a time like this, can you please be serious?"

Rod looked utterly innocent.

"I am serious. You don't want me to be controlled by their domain and miss your revenge target, do you?"

"."

Rosalia frowned.

She forced out a look of disgust, hoping to drive away the lecherous dog.

She knew Rod was lecherous, but he was also gentle and easygoing—soft words worked on him, not force.

Psychological pressure might have some effect…

Yet Rod's expression seemed even more excited!

"."

Rosalia wrestled with herself for a moment, but realized she didn't resist Rod as much as she'd imagined.

"Fine, then. For my revenge, sigh… Rod, you really are…"

Rod spread his hands again, feigning innocence.

Not long after.

In the small grove.

Young Lady Tooth Fairy sat gracefully with legs folded, her beautiful, mature face stiffly averted.

Her right hand half-raised.

Each movement caused her chest to sway noticeably.

"Is it not done yet?"

She asked, face tense.

Rod shook his head dissatisfiedly: "You need to give me more emotion."

He glanced at Young Lady Tooth Fairy's insectoid exoskeleton palm, its surface like polished obsidian.

She said it was due to some native spiritual technique—during combat, certain parts of her body remained insect-mutated, reverting only after a while.

Hmm.

The exoskeleton felt slightly cold to the touch.

Its surface had fine downy hairs, perfectly balanced in moisture, and when moved, produced a soft fufu—sound, quite intriguing.

The hard, chitinous texture of the insect shell was also pleasant.

If only Rosalia's movements weren't so stiff.

Too bad she allowed only hand contact—nothing else. This socialite lady was unexpectedly conservative.

Rosalia exhaled deeply, calming her agitated emotions.

"I'm already like this—what more emotion can I give you?"

"For example, look at me. Make eye contact. Let me feel your feelings in your eyes."

"Mr. Rod, I thought we already discussed this—I don't feel that way about you."

"No matter. Look up."

Rosalia bit her lip.

She lifted her gaze to meet Rod's, her face clearly showing disdain and revulsion.

Yet again, it failed to drive away the forest warden.

Instead, the thing in his hand throbbed even more fiercely.

"Rod… you really are…"

Yellowish-brown fluid surged through the bronze pipes beside the experimental table.

A mangled, bloody, flesh-torn dog-man experimental subject was restrained on the operating table.

On the wall, a preservation array was carved to keep the stiff limbs thrust upside-down in the pool from rotting, its liquid humming and trembling.

The man in the dragonfly mask stood at the center of the laboratory; all the experimental mages had long been driven away.

A wooden box engraved with magical sigils was handed over.

"Please accept it, my lord Cardinal."

The man bowed low, keeping his manner very humble before this Cardinal Archbishop.

Cardinal Archbishop David still wore a serene expression, smiling kindly as he took the wooden box.

With a click, he opened it.

A crystal-blue glass orb lay on a cotton cushion.

Utterly unremarkable.

David's face stirred; those aged, drooping eyelids opened very wide, and his somewhat cloudy pupils, in that instant, blazed with light.

He was even moved to tears.

"A new world is about to arrive."

The dragonfly-mask man, reading his face, immediately pressed on:

"Then, the new-world ticket your sect promised—?"

"The Yige Sect will not forget the Campbell family's contribution."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank the Yige Sect! Praise the greatest shepherd of the new world!"

Grand Commander Cart grew more and more confused the more he listened.

Puzzled, he stepped forward, glanced at the crystal-blue glass orb, and felt nothing special about it at all.

How could this possibly open a new world?

Though as a fence-sitter, Cart simply did not know what this so-called new world actually was.

"My lord Cardinal, what is this?"

"Oh! Forgive me, I forgot I had not yet told Commander Cart about this—please pardon an old man who is quick to weep."

David wiped away his tears.

His expression sobering, he said: "This is a new strain of Crystallization Disease; it can grant the disease a powerful infectivity."

Cart's eyes remained puzzled.

Crystallization Disease, though hard to cure and troublesome, has a very long incubation period—it won't kill a person for a good dozen-odd years.

After all, a spiritual fragment also needs no short time to grow from infancy.

The Cardinal Archbishop patted his shoulder and said benevolently: "Do you still remember the Hollow Knight project we cooperated on with the Bahadur Academy of Magic? In truth, the Hollow Knights' bodies are not man-made puppets, but normal stitched-together sentient beings.

And the Crystallization Disease within them can sever every emotion in their minds midway, accumulating it all at the crystal core in their abdomen."

"So—"

"Still don't understand?"

The dragonfly-mask man had nowhere near the same good temper with him as he did with the Cardinal Archbishop.

He said curtly:

"In other words, this new strain of Crystallization Disease will sever all emotions from every infected being, turning them into puppets that know only fighting—until the continent's population is thoroughly beaten down! And so, the possibility of an other-dimensional rising will be completely avoided!

And we, the holders of the tickets, will become the pioneers, the founders of the new world, grasping vast resources, land, and power! Building a brand-new epoch from scratch!"

Cart's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

This—doesn't this mean slaughtering ninety-nine percent of the sentient beings on the continent???

Cardinal Archbishop David kindly patted Cart's shoulder, his smile serene yet tinged with longing for the future.

"I'm old; I won't live to see that scene. Commander Cart, you're still young—see it for me."

A stiff smile squeezed itself onto Cart's face.

Yes.

Isn't that exactly why I sit on the fence—to wait for the side bound to win?

One could almost say that once Crystallization Disease breaks out, isn't victory inevitable?

The dragonfly-mask man burst into laughter and stepped over to sling an arm around his shoulder.

"Don't overthink it, Commander Cart—join us in welcoming the new—"

A flash of sword-light swept past.

The laughter cut off short.

The head tumbling through midair still wore the dragonfly mask's smiling face.

Cart still held that forced, fake smile, but the steel sword in his hand was already gleaming bright, dancing amid the gushing blood.

(End of chapter)