Chapter 676: Concert and Sudden Thunder 2

The surging wave of green Lei Ting and the obvious crack in the Weave canopy startled everyone present.

In an instant, even the host's amplification spell and the magical light orbs filling the air fell silent and dim.

Yet as everyone held their breath and waited for a full five minutes.

Only after the crack in the Weave canopy above slowly and steadily repaired itself did they collectively exhale in relief.

The psychic taste of that green lightning was practically spilling out.

The threat of extraplanar spaces had long ceased to be a secret on the continent—almost anyone could know of it.

And this recovery seemed to foretell the victory of that goddess of magic.

Someone directly raised their wine cup and roared loudly:

"To Lady Mystra, my lord!"

This directly reignited the festive and concert atmosphere; nearly everyone raised their cups and shouted the same words in unison.

"To Lady Mystra, my lord!" *N

The clamor and laughter surged back once more.

After the interlude.

As the starting time arrived, with a crack, the 'stars' on the dome suddenly went out, and the entire hall plunged into darkness.

A silver-blue pillar of light pierced the darkness like a sword, striking dead center on the stage.

Within the pillar of light, Layla Starwhisper slowly rose.

She wore a gown woven from liquid moonlight, its hem swaying with an unseen current of air.

No opening remarks, no band introduction.

"The first new song, 'Love of the Siren.'"

Her voice went directly into everyone's mind, gentle yet utterly irresistible.

This instantly ignited the concert's mood; a wave of cheers surged the moment the mournful musical rhythm began.

In the floating private box, Rod's face was expressionless.

"There were indeed some fluctuations in the Weave, but they've already been repaired," the dog-person Sharon said.

"As expected of Lady Mystra," the witch Dimia said.

The halfling Lily frowned as she gazed at the lattice-worked dome for a long moment, then shrugged her shoulders and optimistically thought no more of it.

The girls expressed full confidence in Mystra's Weave canopy.

But Rod was, after all, an old father—there was no way he could simply let it go.

That pained, muffled groan from Mystra lingered in his ears, to the point that he couldn't even bring himself to listen to the mournful, beautiful singing of the cloud elf Layla Starwhisper, which told of a siren's unrequited love for a lord.

Reach out to Mystra?

Unfortunately, Rod had no such means.

In their two previous meetings, Mystra had refused to establish a connection on the grounds that mortals and gods should not contact each other too deeply.

Rod guessed that the goddess, with her persecution complex, might fear developing too many feelings for him and getting entangled as a result.

The half-vampire Vanessa had a handy 【Wish Spell】 that could summon a projection of the goddess—perhaps it was worth a try?

Thinking so.

While his thoughts wandered.

Miss Xiao Ke's timid voice came through the 【Far-Speaking Chain】.

【Miss Xiao Ke: Your eyes are wandering, human. Are you very worried?】

【Rod: A little, I suppose. I'm watching the stage.】

【Miss Xiao Ke: Lady Kali was just beside me earlier. She said there shouldn't be any problem—the Weave is still stable.】

【Rod: Mm.】

Silence fell for a moment.

On stage, Layla Starwhisper's first song had already reached its end, and then the style abruptly shifted.

The seamlessly transitioning music instantly grew stirring and thrilling—this was a faster, more upbeat song, though not a new one.

So even inside the floating private box, one could hear the audience below singing along in a landslide-like chorus.

【Miss Xiao Ke: Um... that... if you really feel uncomfortable inside, I could come find you... let you... let you enslave me】

The half-deer-person's timid and shy voice rose, halting and stumbling.

Hm?

【Miss Xiao Ke: Tally chatted with me for a while the day before yesterday. She said the girls you enslave grow stronger the more they like you.】

"."

Rod glanced at Tally, who sat on the sofa beside him singing along, her shifting purple hair swaying and drifting as she bobbed her head.

That little thing was at it again, setting him up.

Tally immediately sensed his gaze.

Singing, she turned her head to meet his eyes and gave him a cute smile.

【Rod: Don't force yourself.】

【Miss Xiao Ke: For the forest, for Little Little Bangde, for... um, I'm a useless half-deer-person, and this is all I can do. But don't have too high expectations either—I don't like you that much! If anything, I hate you!】

Rod smiled, and his mood couldn't help but relax a little.

He teased the half-deer-person a few more lines, and they agreed to talk again tomorrow.

The girls of the Misforged, hearing the singing, also gathered around one after another, occasionally singing along.

It was unclear whether it was because their youthful voices were simply too soothing to the heart.

Or whether the cloud elf's singing was truly as miraculous as the legends claimed.

Rod suddenly saw on his panel the message: 【The authority of the 'Grassland Domain' has strengthened.】

Along with it, his physical origin strengthened once more.

Not bad.

The concert was originally scheduled to end at 22:00, but after repeated encore requests from the audience, it continued until around 23:00.

On stage, Lila Starwhisper had her microphone fully open and never stopped for a moment.

Graceful and commanding.

As a major star, she truly belonged to the top tier.

When the announcement of conclusion fell, this concert finally came to an end.

No.

Due to venue capacity and audience demand, this concert would be held for three consecutive days.

But Rod and the others, out of courtesy, would come only once.

And perhaps precisely because of this.

The major star, accompanied by several key members of her management team, arrived early at the VIP box before the crowd had left, saying they wished to express their gratitude.

Rod didn't care.

After all, the girls of the Mistforged Body had grown sleepy long ago and were all asleep on the large bed in the inner room.

No need to fear exposure.

After receiving permission, Lila Starwhisper, still wearing her stage makeup, walked in boldly and opened the door.

"Mr. Rod! Was it good? All eight songs on my new album are about you!"

After saying that.

She noticed the variety of girls inside the VIP box and froze.

Then her eyes lit up, as if her world of inspiration was trembling again.

"Are these all your girls?!"

"Lila! Be polite!"

Her manager, Camille, rushed in from behind, grabbing the Cloud Sprite's arm in panic.

She had never met this behind-the-scenes king of Coral Bay before; nearly all concert affairs were handled by a highly capable Spider-Sprite named Watching Yuna.

"We are deeply sorry, Mr. Rod. First and foremost, we must thank you a thousandfold for saving Lila a week ago—we've never had the chance to thank you personally?!"

Camille's expression froze.

In her peripheral vision, the cute, cool, and sharp halfing smiled at her.

During their trip to Deepwater City, she had clashed with Rod, Tally, and Lily—she hadn't cursed them, but that night she'd been so furious she'd suffered chest pain and couldn't sleep.

Camille's face twitched, then she offered Rod an awkward, apologetic smile.

Rod laughed and waved his hand, unconcerned.

"Oh, it was just a little misunderstanding! Rod isn't petty, right?"

Lila said with a smile, as if she were very familiar with Rod.

She even went over and poked his arm.

Camille was just thinking how to smooth things over when Lila's words made her pause.

As Lila's longtime guardian beside the major Cloud Sprite, she immediately sensed that Lila's tone and attitude toward Rod were distinctly different.

Wait

This Mr. Rod saved Lila more than once, and he's so handsome and young yet accomplished—who could possibly resist him?

Could it be…

Camille snapped her head up, staring at the array of girls inside the VIP box, suddenly alarmed.

All different races… and not a single Cloud Sprite among them.

Could it be?!

(End of Chapter)