Chapter 83: Maze Mission

After saying goodbye to Harris.

Gema asked about the date of their return.

Luo De gave no specific date, only said it would be within these two days, and told the goblin to prepare in advance.

He went to Lily’s residence in the inner district.

The two were somewhat friends, and had naturally exchanged temporary addresses.

Twenty minutes.

Luo De found Lily at the edge of the rubble in the central square.

She stood outside the cordon, silently watching the workers inside carry out cleanup operations.

Unlike most halflings with a 50-50 body ratio, Lily had relatively long legs, estimated at a 30-70 ratio, making her look more like a young human girl.

She often wore a light red leather breastplate over a white undershirt.

It looked flat, with only a slight bulge.

“Lily.”

“Luo De, look—they planted a healthy emerald branch right where the tree used to be.”

She pointed toward the distance.

Right where the emerald tree had stood, there now stood a small branch.

A green magical barrier enveloped it, and beside it lay a pile of expensive nutrient materials—presumably magical components to help it grow better.

The restored emerald tree still lay on the ground.

You could see its spiritual essence irreversibly fading; more than half of it had already turned into ordinary wood.

Propagation?

Luo De’s heart stirred instantly.

If the emerald banyan branch were planted in the Windwall Forest, wouldn’t that mean he could use his distance-ignoring [Spatial Tree Form] to travel between Shiying Town and Jade City?

“I heard it was the demon seed that did this. If only I’d been outside back then.”

Lily pouted.

Clearly, as a member of the Hero Alliance, missing such an opportunity to expel evil left her deeply frustrated.

“Let me remind you—it took twelve sixth-rank peak mages barely to subdue it.”

As Luo De spoke, he signaled a nearby worker to stop.

The worker recognized him; upon learning he wanted to buy the emerald banyan branch, he paused, then excused himself to find a higher-ranking official.

“I’ll find my own way. Why do you want this?”

Before Luo De could answer,

the passholder of the Open Maze sent another message—still requesting his help.

He ignored it again.

He pulled out a newspaper he’d bought on the way.

It showed an image of twelve mages casting a spell together.

Three of them were unmistakably wearing the black robes of Bahadur students.

“Look, there’s your enemy.”

“I saw them. I tracked them the day before yesterday, but they stuck together too tightly—I couldn’t strike.”

Luo De froze.

He’d just been joking; he hadn’t expected Lily, fresh into sixth rank, would dare confront sixth-rank peak opponents.

Lily added: “Later, they met up with two other Bahadur students—same as them.”

“The Open Maze?”

What were the odds?

Luo De suspected the enemies the passholder needed to repel were exactly this group.

Soon,

a senior onsite manager appeared to negotiate the purchase of the emerald branch with Luo De.

Perhaps due to his connection as an retainer of the Argyle family, their attitude was unusually friendly.

They finally agreed to sell it for five hundred Jin Along, and threw in a magical vial to preserve its vitality.

“You’re leaving? Which direction?”

Upon hearing Luo De was leaving,

Lily was reluctant.

She seemed to want to walk with him a little longer.

But after learning their routes were completely opposite, she said:

“What a pity. You’re a very reliable partner.”

Her face betrayed unmistakable disappointment.

“If only you didn’t keep succubi.”

Luo De smiled.

He knew Lily was a halfling who valued loyalty and friendship, so he voluntarily exchanged contact addresses with her.

After a few casual words, they waved goodbye.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The Open Maze pass flooded him with messages.

Like those annoying pop-up notifications in QQ.

Luo De frowned and selected “Reject.”

Yet almost instantly, the pass sent another message.

And this time, it came with a spell.

[Far-Speech Chain].

Meaning, since he kept ignoring them, the other side had called him via voice.

This was originally a forced call.

But his skyborne [Will of the Heavens] granted him such high mental resistance that it became a selectable, rejectable spell.

After a moment’s thought, Luo De chose to accept.

“Waaah~~”

“Why won’t you answer!”

The moment the link connected, a young girl’s sobbing scream pierced his ear.

“Are you... Red Dragon Sapan?”

“N-no, I’m Naulin.”

The girl’s voice grew timid, lacking confidence.

“...But aren’t you the dragon soul?”

Luo De was confused—the pass had said “Maze Dragon Soul.”

Besides Red Dragon Sapan, what other dragon souls were there?

“Naulin is definitely a dragon soul—just accidentally ended up like this, waaah, please, come save Naulin, they’re going to dig me out, waaahhh!”

“Can’t you find someone else? There are plenty with passes.”

“Naulin dares not ask them—they’re too greedy. Once they learn where a dragon soul is, they’ll come dig me up.”

“Then why trust me...?”

“You’re different. The trees here like you, trust you. And the way you kill... is so cool. Naulin wants to be as cool as you.”

“...”

Luo De froze.

He didn’t know what to say.

But then he thought—if he went quickly and returned fast,

he wouldn’t get dragged into the war between Blazing City and Kaoe too soon, right?

“First, tell me the reward.”

“Whatever you want, Naulin will give you! Spells, treasures, dragon scales, dragon bones!” she pleaded urgently.

Luo De thought for a moment.

Given her status as a girl, he still uttered those words:

“I want you to submit to me, willingly become my slave.”

The grand ambition of his collection plan couldn’t be derailed by a minor interruption from the Skyborne Tree.

Could it be worse than Eva?

That was Luo De’s only thought.

Besides, if he could enslave a dragon soul, and raise its obedience, it would surely boost his strength significantly.

“No!”

Naulin spoke timidly, but at the critical moment, she refused without hesitation.

"Don't worry—I'm just a human, with a lifespan of barely a hundred years. Even if my dragon soul is taken, I'll obey until I die. That's not a hard choice, is it?"

The other side fell silent for a moment.

"Then... will you hurt me? I—I heard humans are all perverts."

"Very likely."

Luo De said bluntly.

Then the other side trembled shyly and said, "Alright... but not yet. If you're willing... wait until I reform my dragon body."

"Deal!"

Luo De threw back his head and laughed loudly.

Future dragon experience unlocked!

He hurried back to the ruins of the square and called for Lily to come help.

Of course, he'd also let Naulin have her share.

As for whether Lily would refuse—

The moment she heard it might involve students from Bahadur Magic Academy—even if the opponents might include over five sixth-rank high-level cultivators—her eyes lit up and she agreed at once.

The two split up.

One went to prepare supplies and food; the other went to buy two fast horses.

Then they'd meet again at the city gate.

During this time, Luo De notified Gema to delay her return—she didn't care either way.

(End of Chapter)