Chapter 608: Exoskeleton and New Strain

Rosalia gritted her teeth and awkwardly turned her face away.

"Men can do it themselves, they don't need a girl for that."

"They can."

Luo De raised an eyebrow.

During the earlier battle, Lady Tooth Fairy had removed her upper armor for ease of movement.

Now she wore a black high-collared undershirt.

This undershirt was meant only to prevent chafing from the armor—nothing was exposed.

But it was tight. Very tight.

It traced the slender waistline and full bust contour; 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, I'm naturally a bit… uh, powerful, and doing it alone takes a long time. 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 saved her, he'd sneaked in several squeezes!

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. Luo De, at a time like this, can you please… be serious?"

Luo De looked utterly innocent.

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

"."

Rosalia frowned.

She forced out a look of disgust, hoping to drive him off.

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

Psychological pressure might have some effect…

Yet Luo De's expression grew even more excited!

"."

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

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

Luo De spread his hands again, showing his innocence.

Not long after.

In the small grove.

Lady Tooth Fairy sat gracefully with legs folded, her beautiful, mature face stiffly turned away.

Her right hand half-raised.

Her movements caused her chest to sway noticeably.

"Is it not done yet?"

She asked, face taut.

Luo De shook his head discontentedly: "You need to give me more emotion."

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

She said it was due to some native spiritual art—during combat, certain parts of her body remained insect-mutated, taking time to revert.

Hmm.

The exoskeleton felt slightly cold to the touch.

Fine hairs covered its surface, perfectly balanced between dry and damp; when moving, it made a soft rustling sound—quite intriguing.

The hard, chitinous texture 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.

"With all this, what emotion do you want from me?"

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

"Mr. Luo De, 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 his, clear disdain and revulsion etched on her face.

Yet again, it failed to drive him off.

Instead, the thing in her hand pulsed more fiercely.

"Luo De… you really are…"

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

On the operating table, a mangled, blood-soaked dog-man experiment lay restrained.

Stiff limbs were plunged upside-down in a maintenance pool; anti-decay arrays carved into the wall hummed, vibrating the fluid.

The dragonfly-masked man stood at the center of the lab; all other experimenters had been driven away.

A wooden box engraved with magical runes was handed over.

"Please confirm receipt, Cardinal."

The man bowed low, his posture humble before the Cardinal.

Cardinal Davide still wore a serene expression, smiling kindly as he took the box.

He clicked it open.

Inside, on a cotton pad, lay a crystal-blue glass sphere.

Ordinary. Unremarkable.

Davide's expression changed—he opened his aged, drooping eyelids wide; his slightly clouded pupils blazed with sudden light.

He even shed tears of emotion.

"The new world… is coming."

The dragonfly-masked man, reading his expression, immediately pressed:

"Then… the new world tickets your church promised?"

"The Igo Church will not forget the Campbell family's contribution."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Igo Church! Praise the greatest Shepherd of the New World!"

Grand Leader Carter grew more and more confused.

He stepped forward, puzzled, and glanced at the crystal-blue sphere—felt nothing special.

How could this open a new world?

Though as a fence-sitter, Carter didn't even know what the "new world" truly was.

"Cardinal, what is this?"

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot to tell you, Grand Leader Carter. Forgive me—old men cry easily."

Davide wiped his tears.

He grew serious: "This is a new strain of crystallization disease—it grants crystallization disease powerful infectivity."

Carter's eyes remained confused.

Crystallization disease was hard to cure and troublesome, but its incubation period was long—taking decades to kill.

After all, spiritual fragments took years to grow.

The Cardinal patted his shoulder kindly: "Do you remember our collaboration with Bahadur Magic Academy on the Hollow Knight project? The Hollow Knights' bodies aren't artificial puppets—they're normal stitched-together sentient beings."

"And the crystallization disease inside them can sever all emotions in their minds, channeling them into the crystal core in their abdomen."

"So…"

"Don't you understand yet?"

The dragonfly-masked man had no patience for Carter like he did for the Cardinal.

He snapped:

"This new strain of crystallization disease will sever all infected beings' emotions, turning them into mindless fighting puppets—until the continent's population is utterly crushed! To eliminate any chance of another dimension rising!

And we, those with tickets, will become the pioneers and founders of the new world, seizing vast resources, land, and power—rebuilding a new era!"

Carter's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

This… meant slaughtering 99% of the continent's sentient beings?!

Cardinal Davide patted Carter's shoulder gently, smiling serenely, filled with longing for the future.

"I'm old—I won't live to see it. Grand Leader Carter, you're still young. Watch it for me."

Carter forced a stiff smile onto his face.

Yes.

Isn't that why I sat on the fence—to wait for the side that would inevitably win?

It's almost as if, once the crystalline plague breaks out, victory is inevitable.

The man with the dragonfly mask laughed heartily and draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Stop thinking, Captain Carter. Join us and welcome the new—"

A flash of sword light.

The laughter cut off abruptly.

Rolling through the air was the head, its face still smiling beneath the dragonfly mask.

Carter still wore that forced, stiff smile, but his steel sword now danced brightly amid the gushing blood.

(End of Chapter)