Chapter 96: The Road Home and Windstorm City

Gema glanced at Lily, then at the unconscious Chris.

She winked at Luo De and gave a thumbs-up.

As for the half-dragon Xia Li, Gema never found her.

Perhaps she had her own business; since she’d already paid, she no longer needed to cross the maze, so they stopped waiting for her.

Luo De shoved Chris into the carriage.

He said to Lily:

“Let’s go. Come visit me in the Windwall Forest sometime.”

Lily gave her usual smug grin.

But inside, she felt deeply reluctant.

Though they’d said goodbye just days ago, this parting felt especially sudden.

“Don’t forget to write me—I mean, tell me how Chris is doing. As a member of the Hero Alliance, I can’t let a con artist return to the underworld.”

Gema cracked the whip and set the carriage in motion.

“Alright, I will.”

Luo De leaned out and waved goodbye with a smile.

The dim nightlight fell on his handsome face, leaving Lily momentarily spellbound.

She waved from afar until the carriage vanished from sight.

Then she climbed to the cliff’s edge and gazed at the carriage moving along the road ahead.

A faint loneliness crept over her.

Three weeks later.

A carriage trundled slowly over a bumpy dirt road.

After detouring from the Open Maze around Hot City, passing through Nest Lake City to the north, crossing the Wanderer Plains, and finally taking a boat across the ocean territory of the Naga, Luo De’s group finally arrived outside Windstorm City.

After a moment’s hesitation,

Luo De decided to enter the city to visit Daphne.

He’d known from her letters that her condition had never improved; though he’d replied and expressed concern,

as a friend, a personal visit was still necessary.

As for the “Heart of the Divine,” which her sister Isabella had once commissioned him to inquire about, Luo De had inquired with the tree spirit Vivian and during their journey to Jade City.

Unfortunately, there was no trace of it at all.

In Windstorm City, the Mage Academy.

“Left a week ago?”

“Yes. Miss Daphne’s treatment never worked well, so she was transferred to White Wax Harbor, where they specialize in spiritual constructs and physical healing.”

A healing mage spoke with a look of shame.

Her name was Sophia, one of the healing mages trained at the academy.

As a student who had long received educational funding from the Argyle family, failing to cure the count’s daughter was a disgrace to the academy.

“I see.”

“Miss Daphne mentioned you, Mr. Luo De.”

Sophia pulled something from her spell satchel and placed it in Luo De’s hand.

“I was going to wait until my leave to deliver it to you personally in the Windwall Forest.”

Luo De opened his palm to reveal a plain glass bottle.

Inside was a small clump of fresh grass with soil still clinging to its roots.

“Miss Daphne has been constantly worried about your health, muttering every day about when you’d get drained and collapse—I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what she meant. But you look very strong to me. Do you have some hidden illness? You should come to our academy for a full checkup!”

“Thank you. No need.”

He bid farewell to Sophia.

Windstorm City was slightly smaller than Jade City.

It had no mage tower.

After all, it was on the far western edge of the realm, where mage towers exerted strong influence over domain mages.

Most mages, when advancing to domain level, avoided such places—caution and staying in the back were typical mage instincts.

Thus, most mage towers were built in the prosperous inland regions of the nation.

For example, Jade City had three, while Hot City, another border town, had none.

This was tied to national policy—some nations deliberately built mage towers on their borders.

Luo De spent twenty minutes and walked out of Windstorm City again.

On the way, he bought a copy of the latest Snow Hill Evening News.

“That fast? You’re worn out?”

Tally teased him, displeased.

Since it was just a brief visit, no one bothered entering the city—Windstorm City’s inspections were strict.

Luo De deliberately left the succubus behind to avoid upsetting Daphne.

That had enraged her.

Now she even deliberately took on Daphne’s appearance.

Luo De pinched her face hard.

“I believe my master chose to be worn out—there must be a reason!”

Chris floated to one side, fists clenched, looking utterly loyal.

Perhaps due to lack of exposure,

this banshee had no idea her enslavement curse was a high-tier enchantment—she’d tried escaping, bribing Gema, and deceiving to break free.

But after half a month of “education,” she seemed to have accepted her fate, transforming from a brave “my fate is mine” warrior into a groveling ghost.

Of course, Luo De never laid a hand on her.

One reason was the psychological shadow left by the dry tree—he now craved normal flesh and had no interest in her for now.

The other reason was that whenever she let her guard down, her true deathly visage would show.

Good heavens.

Even though Luo De wasn’t picky, he still had standards for looks!

“White Wax Harbor… I remember Bahadur Magic Academy has a branch there.”

Gema said upon hearing Luo De’s reason for leaving.

“Bahadur.”

To be honest, Luo De had a poor opinion of that academy.

He didn’t elaborate further.

He lay back comfortably, his head resting on Tally’s snowy white thighs, legs crossed as he opened the Snow Hill Evening News.

“Hey, I didn’t say you could rest your head there.”

Tally spoke with Daphne’s face, frowning.

“Not Daphne—too skinny, uncomfortable. Change to someone else.”

“Hmph, you tell me to change and I just do it?”

“Your real form. I like those thighs.”

“Hmph.”

Tally reverted to her true demonic form: dark blue skin, wearing a white short skirt and a loose short top.

From Luo De’s angle, he could clearly see the two full curves beneath.

Chris immediately floated to Luo De’s feet and began massaging his legs.

Gema, driving the carriage ahead, glanced back at this decadent scene and looked thoroughly disgusted.

“Comfortable.”

Luo De smiled as he opened the newspaper.

But the first page made his smile vanish.

【MAJOR NEWS!!!】

【Jade City Shocked by Horror: Lord of Hot City, Driven by Ambition, Sacrificed Five Thousand Jade City Civilians to Ascend to 8th Rank!!!】

“What the hell.”

He kept reading.

It turned out the Hot City army had entered Jade City under the pretense of transporting corrupted jade trees, spent time and vast sums to construct a sacrifice array, and two days ago sacrificed five thousand civilians, successfully ascending to 8th-rank legendary mage status.

They then declared their secession from the Atheron Kingdom and formed an alliance with the Kao Tribe to establish a new nation called “Holy Flame.”

The report noted that numerous bards had flooded in, beginning to investigate the reasons behind Hot City’s treason.

“Damn it.”

Luo De couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Thank goodness he’d left quickly.

At the same time, he worried about Lily—she’d said before leaving she’d investigate the outskirts of Jade City.

He didn’t know if she’d been caught up in it.

(End of Chapter)