Chapter 617: Angel Investment

Rod sent Tally, who was glaring at Hera from the side with puffed-out cheeks, away, telling her to go find the high-ranking officials and members of the Campbell family in the labyrinth.

Lest this girl overestimate herself and challenge Hera.

The halfling Lily began thinking of a way to bring down the winged one Caroline, who was still acting as a light bulb in midair.

Caroline's dispel ability was extremely powerful.

Previously, facing an entire spellcasting squad from the Bahadur Academy of Magic, her +18 Dragon Scale spell had only suffered a -6.

Who would have thought that here, even a direct failure still resulted in -8.

Being able to recruit her for his own use would of course be good.

More importantly—

This was a winged-person race he had never tasted before.

"Little Rod, the frequency of your heart has changed, oh. What are you thinking about again?"

Hera still refused to leave his shoulder.

Bent over and hanging upside down in front of him, her face full of smiles, the beauty mark below her lips full of charm.

Rod looked at the sexy purple lips before him, and felt the heavy softness cushioning the top of his head.

Although separated by a layer of purplish-black exoskeleton breastplate.

He could still clearly feel the fullness deforming from the pressure.

Couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

Hera didn't look offended in the slightest; instead her smile grew wider, yet she pressed down even harder.

Yet, like an aloof cat, she drifted away.

Her hands, painted with black nail polish, affectionately pinched his ears.

"Naughty, I'm already an old auntie."

"If my lord Hera is considered old, then there are no beauties left in this world."

"Smooth-talking~"

Rod chuckled.

But the worry for this old senior welled up in his heart again.

Without beating around the bush, he said directly:

"The Vampire Queen Yulia of the Demon Control Alliance once advised me not to help you advance to the ninth tier, saying it would threaten your life. Actually, I hesitated for a long time too."

Hera was the first high-ranking individual he had come into contact with.

Not only did she give him three chances for free help, she would also offer occasional guidance when he visited in the past.

When facing the seventh-tier spell during the first Yige Sect invasion of Shi Ying Town, if not for the Scorpion Lady Young Lady's divine intervention from the heavens, he might really have died here.

It was impossible to just leave her be.

Hera's expression turned cold, the smile vanishing completely, grim and chilling:

"From this Cardinal, you also know that I once fell from the ninth tier. The person who brought me to this state should naturally think about their own fate."

"I can help you."

"I don't need you, little brat. Aiya, already at the peak of the eighth tier, the little thing has grown up~"

"Doesn't it just, grown nice and big."

Hera's funny bone was always low and strange; she burst out laughing with a snort, trembling on Rod's shoulder.

Rod knew she didn't seem willing to talk more about it now, so he could only temporarily suppress his questions.

He walked slowly to the blood-drenched corpse of Cardinal David.

A gravity wave sucked the spell pouch up.

Hmm.

There were quite a lot of Jin Along, estimated to be around two or three million.

After all, he was one of the six Cardinals of the Aethelron state religion; faith could be exchanged for money, after all.

There weren't many other things.

Some magical implements, potions, and the like, plus a bunch of miscellaneous items like letters.

If one had to name what interested Rod the most, it would undoubtedly be the spiritual art that wrapped David in Lei Ting, drastically boosting his speed.

【Thunder Muscle】.

Very grateful that the people of this world all had the habit of recording their research on spiritual arts and spells in handwritten notebooks.

Rod found the notebook recording this ninth-tier spiritual art without much effort.

This involved a blood resonance technique that could only be used after the ninth tier. He had once tried the 【Element Resonance】 technique to boost his strength, and after a bit of thought, he gained some insight—it wasn't too difficult.

"Blood resonance can also boost lightning resistance, patching up the weakness. It's a guaranteed profit, you could say."

After putting these things away.

Rod went to the tooth fairy Rosalia, scooping up Sen Te De Fa's spell pouch.

Of course.

He still had to offer a few words of comfort along the way.

Rosalia had recovered somewhat by now, though her expression was still sorrowful.

"Thank you again, Rod. I will pay you according to the market rate for killing a ninth-tier. Perhaps I don't have enough right now, but I will definitely pay you back slowly later."

"We're all friends, no need to mention it. Just consider it an advance year-end bonus for Interrogator Xiao Xiao Feisuo and the others."

Interrogator Xiao Xiao Feisuo and several other tooth fairies all worked in the underground prison of Shi Ying Town, where the working environment was rather harsh. Rod had been flush with cash recently and planned to give them all a payout.

Rosalia looked at him gratefully: "With you around, Rod, I can rest easy about Interrogator Xiao Xiao Feisuo and the others. But I will still find a way to pay the reward."

"Are you going to continue? The revenge."

"Yes, Rod, the price for that tragedy back then cannot be paid by Vincent alone."

Rod spread his hands.

"As a friend, I have to be honest — little Rosa, your strength is probably—"

"I know, but I won't give up. What did you call me?" The Tooth Fairy's Young Lady looked at him oddly.

"What I mean is, I plan to set up an angel-investment project. The specifics are that I can help cute young ladies raise their strength. You know what I mean."

The left-foot-on-right-foot of 【Genesis Dewdrop】 and 【Paradox Motive】 can't be wasted — besides helping the girls in the forest raise their strength.

Ambitious-but-not-strong-enough types like Rosalia are also one of the targets of his angel investment.

Hera couldn't help lowering her head to look at him again.

"You're being a hooligan, you know that, little Rod."

Rod's expression didn't change: "Limited to certain people I have my eye on, who have firm wishes — like our little Rosa."

"Sorry, I refuse."

Rosalia bit down on her teeth.

Then, as if remembering something, she froze for a beat.

"Wait — if Vincent couldn't control you at all from the start, then earlier when you asked me to give you that—"

Rod whistled at the sky, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

Rosalia's face instantly flushed crimson — annoyed, disgusted.

"Rod, you bastard really—"

"What about the exit ritual?"

"It doesn't work! It doesn't work! None of it works! Damn it! Where are the Campbell people?! What the hell happened?!"

"I think I saw that Cardinal of Yige Sect — their recruiting corps happened to arrive at Dusk Hills at this exact moment. Could it be them—"

"Bullshit! Without us throwing in money and resources, would Yige Sect have its current status?!"

"Hah, that's rich — what does it have to do with you? You merchants are nothing but self-interested investors from start to finish. What resources have you ever created for society? Throw in a couple of big coins and you think the whole thing rests on you?"

"What did you say?!"

Inside the sealed, pitch-black little room, an argument instantly erupted.

Creak—

The door suddenly swung open, and light flooded in.

A woman of the Campbell family, wearing a beetle mask, flung the door open in a panic.

Then she immediately dropped to her knees in the direction she'd come from, begging: "They're all here, please spare me, don't kill me!"

Click.

Tally's little head poked in, and under the terrified stares of everyone in the room, her small finger counted heads one by one.

Someone immediately spoke up: "Young Lady! Spare us — isn't life just about money? Whatever amount you want, I can pay!"

"I just stole a peek outside. Young Lady, you're Shi Ying Town Forest Warden Rod's person, right? I'm one of the committee members of Cedarwood City. We're still in talks with you folks about the trade road — spare me, and all expenses—"

That person's words set the room off again.

"You fucking idiot! Why'd you say a name?!"

"Damn! A genius like you is a committee member? Cedarwood City is totally rotten!"

Tally beamed like a flower, not minding in the slightest.

"Since you're all going to die anyway, might as well make full use of you, right?"

As she spoke.

The shadows on the ground turned into spikes and instantly pierced through everyone's skulls.

Blood pooled on the floor, forming a fresh-blood formation Rod had never seen before.

As the spiritual temperature rose, the blood steamed up into a pale-blue soul mist, and soon a solid little blue bead condensed into being.

Rod wasn't here, so at this moment Tally rather un-cutely clicked her tongue.

Her face was full of displeasure.

"Only this much? Hmph! That stinky scorpion with her lecherous face, trying to steal my Rod — impossible! This Chastity Pill will show you what's what!"

(End of chapter)