Chapter 691: Sand Ball

The less-than-graceful contact ended quickly.

Eve did not notice her mother’s makeup had completely vanished; after a brief farewell, she led her trusted elite troops to the vicinity of Gukur Village to retrieve the missing clansmen from the hideout.

Luo De did not hide Eve’s odd behavior from Lillian, saying only a few words.

But Lillian was unimpressed: “The miscast bodies from [Factor Allocation] don’t live long. If she needs them, let her take them.”

“As for the others, I don’t care. The divination spell told me this Tomb of a Thousand Throats may have been tainted by something from the First Age. Eve has stayed too long nearby—I fear she’s been contaminated.”

"First Age demon gods? What are you talking about? The Goddess of Magic, Mystra, was the first deity. Hey~ have you kissed enough yet?"

Lillian pushed at the man whose lips were kissing her neck and collarbone.

He didn’t budge.

His hands weren’t behaving either.

The Naga lady’s cheeks warmed slightly: “We agreed—what was that just now? Eve is still out there!”

But the man clearly had no intention of moving his lips.

He even bit open the buttons on her clothes.

Lillian sighed helplessly, forcing a reluctant expression.

“I’m not going anywhere, sigh… do as you please.”

Once Luo De explained the matter of the demon gods, she grew serious.

Even within the Land Naga’s imperfect Ancestral Spirit magic system, she could sense no trace of large-scale dimensional alteration or influence on reality before Mystra’s ascension.

Though she didn’t disbelieve that the First Age was an era teeming with demon gods, it didn’t stop her from suspecting something else might be influencing her daughter.

“Stop fooling around—let’s hurry after her! Oh, why didn’t you say this earlier?”

“No rush. Gukur Village is quite far from here—even Land Naga need half a day to reach it, and Tally has already followed.”

Land Naga possess an innate spiritual art for gliding through desert sands; when mastered, their speed surpasses even half that of flight magic.

“Let’s fool around a bit first.”

Lillian’s scent wasn’t as sweet as Tally’s, nor as fresh as Vivian’s.

Yet for some reason, merely getting close enough to catch a whiff of her made Luo De feel her aroma profoundly intoxicating—more stirring than Tally’s.

“No no, we have to find Eve.”

Lillian was backed into the corner by Luo De, her head spinning from his heat.

In the meantime, her long, silk-black hair had been tied into a ponytail.

She breathed lightly, eyes locked on him.

By the time the two arrived at Gukur Village using [Group Flight Spell], the sky was shrouded in darkness, obscuring clouds and moon.

Had Luo De not demanded two more rounds of “just one last time,” and had Lillian not indulged him, they might have arrived sooner.

Heading west from Gukur Village for about fifty kilometers, they reached a desert expanse.

Long-term wind erosion had blown away fine sand and dust, leaving only coarse gravel and broken stones on the surface; the soil had been entirely worn away, leaving the ground hard and compacted.

Not far ahead, they saw Tally emerge halfway from the shadows, waving at them.

Lillian, elegant and courteous, had always assumed Tally was Luo De’s relative.

After all, when Tally transformed into a male, she resembled Luo De.

Thinking ahead to the tangled relationship she’d have with Luo De, she offered a sincere apology: “We’re late. Sorry.”

Tally didn’t feel jealous; she grinned mischievously, as if she understood: “No need to apologize. Enjoy yourselves.”

Lillian gritted her teeth and shot Luo De a furious, embarrassed glare.

“Let’s get to the point.”

Luo De tapped Tally’s head.

“Alright~~”

Tally affectionately linked arms with him, making Lillian frown.

“Eve first brought out the missing people—those who recognized the village were sent back; those who didn’t were gathered together.”

She pointed to a large boulder in the desert: “The miscast bodies altered by [Factor Allocation] were brought here—she set up a magic chamber there and stationed elite troops at the entrance to keep people away.”

“Did you go inside?”

Tally shrugged: “I was waiting for you. My shadow magic doesn’t work well inside.”

Lillian urged: “Time is critical—I’ll go.”

The mother-in-law, concerned for her daughter, didn’t conceal her form and marched forward directly.

The elite troops recognized her as the Priestess and dared not raise their weapons, yet also dared not step aside.

“What is Eve doing inside?!”

“Priestess…”

They exchanged uneasy glances, utterly torn.

Lillian’s face remained cold; she didn’t pressure them.

An overwhelming Ancestral Spirit War Soul manifested behind her, unleashing a mass daze spell.

Combined with Luo De’s [Aura of Fear], the entire group collapsed instantly.

She didn’t pause, smashing through the magic chamber with brute force.

Magical light flickered, revealing a spiraling entrance.

Luo De, being both tank and damage dealer, didn’t let the girl go first.

He strode forward, entering first.

As the light faded.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh—”

A scream rang out first.

Then a hundred-square-meter Naga-style bedroom magic chamber came into view.

Arched doorway with latticed wooden screens for the wardrobe area, custom brass-framed wardrobes and mirrored panels.

A circular sleeping zone, surrounded by translucent gauze curtains draped around the bed.

Dozens of small Naga, their colors altered by [Factor Allocation] and clearly stitched with traces of other races, lay motionless, sucking their fingers in sleep.

In the reception area,

the teak low table inlaid with copper and Persian-style cushions had been pushed to the edges, clearing a large open space.

At the center, a medium-sized ritual had been drawn with silver carving knives—not particularly sophisticated.

Eve knelt beside the center, her serpent tail twitching excitedly.

All four arms pressed against the ritual’s edges, desperately channeling spiritual energy.

At the very center lay a sandball, molded from grit—a gaping, toothed mouth occupying half the ball, roaring upward in furious agony.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! Eve!! You’re dead!! I’ll kill you!!”

Eve ignored its roar entirely.

She turned back in surprise at the strange magical disturbance, locking eyes with the stunned Luo De.

Her flushed, slightly sweaty face lit up with radiant joy.

“Perfect timing! Come help me! I caught a fool! Probably a god! Hahahahaha—”

“You know what, Luo De? This thing tried to tempt me with ‘second only to the throne’? How absurd!”

“I’ll never let anyone ride over my head! The god must be me—not some sand-feces ball!”

(End of Chapter)