Chapter 685: The Thousand-Throat Tomb

The Gulaishi Clan, the Priestess Palace.

The hall stretched on and on; the evening's afterglow could not penetrate it at all, utterly pitch-black.

"Priestess, my lord, whatever shall we do!?"

A sturdy female Land Naga, dressed in armor with a quilted soft beneath, dropped to her knees and pleaded in panic.

The only firelight in the hall came from the suggested altar atop a raised platform at the center, where a hunched, stooped old priestess reverently lit the priestly items on the table.

Seeing the Priestess, my lord, seemed to give no reaction, the general Naga went on clamoring:

"This is a matter of our Mirror Desert — whether it's our Gulaishi or the Bulaer Clan, no matter how you put it, it's a matter for the Land Naga. No matter when, it's never the turn of some human to meddle, to wreck things!!"

"Priestess, my lord! Where there's one, there will be two. That man's strength is terrifying. He's come to our little Mirror Desert with some scheme in mind. If we don't stop him, the consequences will be endless!"

"Our Gulaishi Clan cannot sit and wait for death. A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. They can hire outside help — do they really think we can't?"

On the altar, flames surged; sparks crackled and popped.

The old priestess slowly, with the creak of age, turned her head to look down at the general below.

"How much did the Campbell family pay you?"

The general below looked as if struck by lightning; her face went deathly pale and she slammed her forehead into the red carpet on the ground.

"Priestess, my lord, my heart is wholly for the Gulaishi Clan! I am utterly without a second thought! All of this is for the revival of the Naga!"

The old woman drew a deep breath: "What are the Campbell family's terms?"

"Every month, an offering of fifty children who have not yet reached maturity, race irrelevant. And after retaking the Thousand-Throat Tomb, the contents of research and exploration must be shared."

The old priestess, hearing the first condition, had shown no reaction at all.

But the moment the words Thousand-Throat Tomb came out, her face changed drastically. She fixed a deadly stare on the general below: "You told her? What gall you have!"

"I'm innocent, Priestess, my lord! The Campbells' eyes and ears are everywhere. We suddenly produced four high-tier seventh-stage warriors — how could the contents of the Thousand-Throat Tomb possibly be hidden from them? That human man the Bulaer Clan hired is outrageously overbearing. We were already on the line between life and death; we had no choice but to take the risk!"

Crackle!

The sparks flared.

Orange warmth circled the altar once, yet no matter what, it could not push outward any further to drive the darkness inside the palace away completely.

The old Naga woman, with her back to the firelight, had her aged face shrouded in a layer of dark gloom.

". Let their people come see me."

The general below was overjoyed.

But then she froze, and, hesitating, said: "Priestess, my lord. It's not that they come to see you — it's that we must go see them."

The old woman's face twitched.

"The Thousand-Throat Tomb?"

Rod said, his voice doubtful. He sat with his legs splayed out, lounging sloth-like on a beanbag-like cushion inside the tent.

His palm cradled the back of Tally's head, every now and then toying with her pale, slightly cool earlobe.

Tally couldn't help being tickled; with breakfast still in her mouth, she just giggled and giggled.

Her teeth nuzzled and rubbed, inevitably biting down every now and then.

Rod was thick-skinned, and he knew the succubus was doing it on purpose, so he didn't much care.

Although things with Tally had eased up, and he'd let her move back into the ranger's cabin, the diet still had to be kept under control.

Two meals a day, morning and evening — nothing to argue about.

Even last night, when he was busy with Eve, she could only sit off to the side mining while watching, sneaking little snacks every now and then.

The Land Naga practiced monogamy; Eve loathed anything involving multiple people.

So even when she snacked, she could only sneak it in once Eve had zoned out and rolled her eyes back, then give Rod's a quick suck.

"A legend of the Gulaishi Clan."

Eve shot a cold glance at the succubus being teased into a silly grin, and turned her head away, displeased:

"The Thousand-Throat — legend has it a kind of primeval beast, long extinct in the desert. Whenever it appears, it heralds endless sandstorms and famine, devouring all life. When you came to find me, couldn't you have left this succubus behind? She irritates me just looking at her."

"Just treat her like a pet dog or a rabbit or something. I have to feed her every day."

"Yes sir~ Tally is Master's puppy pet~ Woof woof woof~ Slurp slurp slurp—"

The succubus was utterly shameless, two little pink fists bunched up beside her cheeks, playing cute.

Rod smiled, and looked toward the girl who had deliberately stood far away.

The Naga Young Lady had already put on her bodice — though calling it a bodice was generous; it was just two strips of black cloth linked together with thin cord.

It wrapped around beneath her chest, encircled her torso, lifted the black cloth to contain the two giant rabbits, and finally tied the cord behind her neck. It looked like a bikini.

The bodice's slight lifting effect made the visual impact of the giant rabbits even more explosive.

The waist revealed when standing was even slimmer, more athletic and wild — utterly impossible to tear one's eyes away from.

She noticed someone's gaze.

Eve curled the corner of her mouth. When she went to put on the close-fitting linen undershirt, she deliberately didn't undo the buttons, just pulled it straight on over her head.

A close-fitting shirt was naturally a little tight.

Without a doubt, it caught at the broad, domineering chest area. The squeezed-out scenery lasted only an instant; with a twist of her slender waist, it was quickly covered again.

"The internal organs inside those four high-tier seventh-stage warriors had long since dried out — almost no moisture at all, very strange. I suspect they obtained something from the tomb."

Rod admired her figure.

"I'm going in too."

"Not so fast — the basic excavation is still underway. The Gulaishi Clan people won't let it go; they're probably going to cook up some dirty trick. By the way, Mother will probably come by this afternoon. You dress me properly, and turn this succubus into a man — or at least into some hideous creature."

Eve's face didn't blush, her heart didn't skip.

Having another woman hanging around her own man — for the matrilineal Land Naga, that was just plain embarrassing, all right?

The warmth of the morning ended quickly.

The newly occupied territory had many issues to resolve, so Eve left the tent first.

After filling Tally's bulging mouth, both were energized and did not passively wait for the Gureish Clan's next move.

After learning the location of the opponent's palace, Rod chose to strike first.

【Repulsion Technique】 exploded upward from the spot; the rolling black smoke of 【Burning Wind Teleportation】 glided across the sky, swiftly departing.

Among the land Naga, females still outnumbered males, and strong, handsome men were always in demand wherever they went.

Many stared blankly at the black smoke in the sky, unable to snap out of their daze for a long time.

When they finally came to their senses, the Naga's gazes toward Princess Eve shifted, becoming more reverent.

Our princess's methods are truly extraordinary—she has even subdued a man like that.

No wonder she is the next ruler of the Bular Clan!

Eve naturally noticed these glances, and of course she enjoyed it.

Immediately, pride showed on her face; she lifted her head and straightened her chest.

At this moment, sand and wind rolled, and the howling sounded like the murmurs of some creature.

Eve blinked slightly and turned to her adjutant.

"Were you speaking?"

The adjutant shook her head in confusion: "I did not speak, and I heard no one else, Princess Eve."

"Really? Maybe I imagined it… hmm? There it is again—confirm you didn't hear it."

"I heard nothing, Princess Eve. Are you tired?"

Eve ignored her and scanned around, following the sound.

The laborers of the frontier camp, the mages building defensive works, the soldiers on perimeter guard, the grain officers organizing logistics, the crackling sparks.

Finally, her gaze fixed on the arch-shaped entrance of the Tomb of a Thousand Throats.

(End of Chapter)