Chapter 675: Concert and Thunderclap

Luo De lazily finished his afternoon tea while listening to Tally chatter incessantly.

After locking the door for Madame Sophia, it was already around six in the afternoon.

He didn’t dawdle further and arrived right on time at the Coral Bay concert venue.

As the unseen power behind Coral Bay, being invited was only natural.

To be honest, Luo De had little interest himself.

One reason was his dislike of noisy places; another was his annoyance with Lela Star-Speaker.

But he couldn’t resist Bond’s pleading to accompany her—not just her, but Sharon the dog-person, Saisier the tiefling, and Pan Ni the ghoul were also quite interested.

After all, they were all young girls; it was normal for them to be drawn to pop culture.

Bond was pleading when the other three happened to be nearby.

Saisier was never good at asking for things; though she stayed silent, her big eyes blinked at you pleadingly, and it was hard to refuse.

Sharon was far more direct.

She kicked Luo De in the shin and said, “Come with us,” and that was final.

Fine.

He’d never heard a concert in this life or the last; might as well check it out.

The other girls showed little interest, especially those close to the forest—Vivian, Xiao Ke, Callist, Hera, and others.

Xiao Ke wanted to go but was too timid; the rest simply had no interest at all.

No problem.

Luo De could just open a [Far-Speech Chain] for them later—same view.

Interestingly, Mouse Girl No.13 also wanted to go, but Callist was initially unwilling.

Thanks to days of nourishment, No.13’s fractured soul had received partial repair.

As a result, she’d developed some personality.

She’d reportedly argued with the elf lady that night, hiding in her room and sneaking tears.

She didn’t turn on the light, and her tall, one-meter-eighty frame curled up on the crushed little cushion, sobbing quietly.

Pitiful.

Callist immediately softened, filled with regret.

But she stubbornly refused to back down.

Finally, she concocted an excuse to summon Luo De, who mediated for a long while until it was resolved.

Speaking of which.

After taking the mycelial core, Callist successfully advanced from mid-7th Rank to early-8th Rank.

As for payment, she hadn’t mentioned it yet.

But she’d summoned Luo De over five consecutive days to “catch frogs”—perhaps too often, because on the fifth night, during a soul peak, she trembled violently and nearly screamed out loud.

Both of them froze awkwardly for a moment.

“So many people smell awful.”

Looking at the queue for entry, Tally sneered.

She gripped Luo De’s arm tighter, burying the lower half of her face in the sleeve of his arm to mask others’ smells with her master’s scent.

“Aren’t succubi supposed to love this kind of scene?”

“Tally’s already your personal toilet—how could I be like other succubi? Look, there’s a succubus turned into an elf—hahahaha, a rookie, her ears still haven’t fixed properly.”

Luo De looked over.

Sure enough, he saw a shy, short elf walking with four or five men.

The men vied to speak to her, and the girl responded to each with just the right amount of sweetness, flashing a demure, subtly seductive smile that made their blood boil.

“Go warn her, Tally.”

“Okay~~”

Tally pressed two index fingers to her temples and twirled them, puckering her lips to look cute while pretending to cast a spell.

“What are you doing?”

“Sending a message~~”

“Tell her—if anything happens tomorrow related to this—any disturbance or death—I’ll blame it squarely on her.”

“Got it~~”

Ahead, the elf-imposter succubus suddenly shuddered.

She turned around in terror, her gaze cutting through the crowd to land on the master and servant standing still.

A terrifying aura, heavy with the suppression of primordial ancestry, nearly suffocated her.

A succubus of Ancestral rank.

And the man beside her—that was Luo De, the unseen power behind Coral Bay!?

Could it be that Luo De was merely her spirit slave??

Her delicate face twisted in extreme fear, revealing a pale blue true skin for an instant—she nearly lost her shape-shifting spell.

She nodded weakly, her face as pale as death, pitiful to behold.

Then she hurried away, dragging her group of targets with her.

Luo De sighed.

These men were outsiders; he didn’t care much, and out of respect for Tally’s kinship, he turned a blind eye to their feeding.

His gaze turned to the venue ahead.

Seven enormous silver spires pierced the clouds.

This harp-shaped building was newly constructed, specifically for concerts.

Even after the event ends, it can still host medium- and large-scale gatherings.

He walked slowly closer.

The excited shouts and clamor of spectators carrying banners and costumes surged toward him.

Some discussed Lela Star-Speaker’s upcoming new song.

Others debated the craftsmanship of their own fan merchandise.

Luo De leapt over the crowd and spotted one of Yuna’s female mage subordinates waiting at the main hall entrance.

Under her guidance, the two took a special corridor and entered the venue proper.

The main hall was a perfect circle; a hollow dome floated hundreds of magical orbs like stars.

Seven glowing pathways radiated from the central stage, dividing the audience seating into seven fan-shaped zones.

Luo De went nowhere else.

A lord had his own special seat—a private balcony suspended midair, directly facing the stage.

Some audience members stared, murmuring and grumbling as the two ascended.

Only when someone recognized Luo De did they fall silent, pretending nothing had happened.

“Luo De!”

As soon as they entered the floating balcony, they saw the girls already there.

Bond the mare and Cui Qian, the giant squirrel now only reaching her waist, hovered around the fruit platter.

The moment Bond saw the door open, she laughed and launched herself at them.

Sharon the dog-person and the witch Dimia lounged on the sofa chatting.

The halfling Lily brought the curious Mouse Girl No.13 to the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, explaining the scene below.

Pan Ni the ghoul and the female orc Amy performed magic tricks before a group of forged-girls, drawing cheers and applause.

The mature yet sweetly childish ghoul lady beamed proudly, lost in the girls’ praise.

Of course, it would be better if she didn’t keep licking her lips and swallowing saliva while staring at them.

The rare day off zombie Selena sat in the corner, surrounded by a low-pressure aura of negative energy.

She had no interest in it—she’d been dragged here by Luo De.

Luo De looked at the scene and genuinely felt relaxed and at ease.

Though due to insufficient staff, the aranea Yuna had to personally oversee things, and the tiefling Saisier, as head of security, was busy below.

But once the show began in earnest, they’d both come up.

Luo De smiled and opened the [Far-Speech Chain] to share his view with the half-deer Xiao Ke.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please note: the performance is about to begin. Please take your seats promptly.”

A melodious female voice, amplified by [Illusory Sound], echoed through the air.

BOOM!!

At that moment, a powerful, earth-shaking thunderbolt erupted outside the venue’s hollow dome!

So intense it drowned out all other sounds and shook the entire building.

And within the dark clouds.

The emerald thunder had faded, yet left a clear crack on the faintly visible deep-blue magical web sky.

“Hmph!”

A pained groan came from the sky.

Luo De’s smile froze.

He recognized the voice—it was Mystra’s.

(End of chapter)