Chapter 97: The Grass Domain and Recent Developments

Continuing to read the Snow Hill Evening Post, it was mostly minor gossip and foreign affairs.

For instance, the Land Naga tribe of Bular in the Mirror Desert successfully rebelled; the brave Princess Bular led reinforcements to rescue her mother, restoring her to power.

Another example was a gossip piece about Count Cabon.

It occupied an entire full-page section.

[Exclusive Revelation]

[Count Cabon’s Mansion: The Midnight Phantom Ball and the Strange “Soul Contract”]

The gist was that Count Cabon hosted an "invisible" ball, specifically inviting ghosts and spirits, to appease an ancient vengeful spirit with whom he had made a soul contract.

From [Exposure of the Soul Contract] to [The Count’s Silence and Speculation], the bard named Leo wrote with powerful prose, packed with twists, grounded in real people.

If not for the tiny line at the bottom—“This article’s authenticity is questionable”—Luo De might have believed it was true.

Quickly.

After reading the issue’s table of contents, Luo De found only the major events up front interesting.

He tossed the newspaper to Tally.

Tally had no interest in anything except her master, so she passed it to the Banshee.

Chris’s voice was actually quite pleasant—gentle, poised, and clear.

It was just strange how her wailing sounded like sawing wood.

Luo De simply had her read it aloud for everyone to hear.

He lay back properly, reflecting on the gains from this journey.

First.

Leveling up goes without saying.

His physical strength and spiritual accumulation rose dramatically.

Then there was the Domination Spell.

He added two new servants: the curse-dragon Naulin and the Banshee Chris.

Naulin was unfortunate—trapped in the open labyrinth, her obedience barely improved; luckily, before leaving, she unleashed a [Dragon’s Breath].

Chris was still a work in progress.

Luo De sensed her inner restlessness; over these three weeks of travel, her obedience had only barely increased by five points.

Shared skills were still far off.

Next came blessings and the like.

The [Body Proliferation] and [Rage-Fire of Resentment] from the High-Level Pass.

The growth, domain retention, and extreme spiritual resistance from the Dead Tree.

This was powerful.

Especially the Sky Ancient Tree Eva—she gave him a great deal.

Plus 121 points of Growth Spirituality and [Elbert’s Secret Tome of Whimsical Love].

Though the cost was Luo De developing a psychological shadow toward her, if he had to do it again, he’d repeat the same mistake.

Finally, the loot.

He never expected the richest one would be that fourth-rank little mage.

“Thirty-four Overload Rings, wow. And the notes on crafting magic rings and overload rings—I really have them.”

Luo De knew that with these,

he’d never again worry about money.

As for the gift recently delivered by Daphne through Sophia,

it was a domain.

[Partial Authority of the “Grass” Domain: A gift from Daphne Argyle, increases bodily primal energy and greatly enhances regeneration, at the cost of slightly reduced fire resistance.]

“Thanks, Daphne.”

After nearly two hours, they crossed the birch forest beyond Stormwind City.

The group’s carriage arrived at Dusk Hills.

This was the final leg between Stormwind City and Shi Ying Town, with settlements on both sides.

The rhythmic clopping of hooves gradually slowed.

Finally, they stopped.

“Mr. Luo De, there are people blocking the road—bandits.”

Miss Gaima lifted the carriage curtain and said.

Luo De was curled up on Tally’s lap, lying sideways with his face toward her flat, lean abdomen.

Drifting into sleep amid a faint sweet scent.

Perhaps it was the succubus’s evolutionary trait—her lower regions also tasted sweet, like honey.

“Chris, deal with them.”

“Understood, Master!”

Chris revealed her deathly form and flew out of the carriage, feigning menace.

Not long after,

a chorus of screams erupted ahead.

“Strange… I rarely hear of bandits in Dusk Hills.”

Luo De spoke, exhaling warm breath onto Tally’s belly, making her giggle.

“Bandits? No, but smugglers are common enough.”

Gaima agreed.

Chris floated back into the carriage to boast.

“Master, I scared off the bandits!”

“Well done.”

“They were robbing a small merchant, killed his guards, smashed his cart—the surviving merchant asked if you’d give him a ride.”

Luo De sat up.

Leaned out to look.

There, by the roadside, a plump old merchant wore a look of deep worry, and behind him cowered a young girl, terrified.

Several corpses lay nearby; the horses were dead, the cart smashed—pitiful indeed.

“Where to?”

“Shi Ying Town! Sir, I’m Fraser Fairclough, this is my daughter Aure. I work at a mineral processing plant in Shi Ying Town—could you please give us a lift?”

The old merchant called out loudly.

Fraser Fairclough?

Come to think of it, Luo De recognized the name.

And the face matched vaguely.

Luo De didn’t mind—they were headed the same way.

“Get in.”

Tally transformed into a dignified, composed matron.

The carriage pulled up beside the old merchant.

Luo De shook his hand.

After brief pleasantries, he learned they were returning from Coral Bay in Dusk Hills; luckily, their cart was empty, or they’d have lost a fortune.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Luo De.”

He wiped sweat from his brow.

His daughter Aure clung tightly to her father, glancing fearfully at the Banshee across from her.

Chris, feeling playful, prepared to shift into her deathly form to scare her.

But Luo De sharply tapped her head.

Still, it startled Aure enough to make her tear up.

“Sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize—my daughter was terrified by undead and Wendigos, so she’s afraid of spirit races… please forgive this ghost lady.”

“Undead and Wendigos? Are there any in Shi Ying Town? I haven’t seen any.”

"Not in town, but the southern mines have plenty—and lots of ratmen too. No one knows why, but this year they’ve been unusually active, so we have to pay extra appeasement fees to the workers."

He shook his head, visibly burdened.

Clearly, the heavy expenses wore down this elderly man who had finally had a daughter.

Shi Ying Town had many mines, and even more processing plants.

Merchants like Fairclough were countless, but his aging body couldn’t afford to expend much energy on them.

They chatted about recent developments in Shi Ying Town.

Then they spoke of the disturbances in Coral Bay to the south of Dusk Hills—Sirens and golems harassing the area.

In short, as Aetheron weakened, long-buried problems surfaced.

After half a day’s travel,

Fraser and Aure stopped at the inn before Shi Ying Town’s main road.

He thanked him again and tried to pay the fare.

But Luo De refused, and in the end he insisted on leaving behind some exquisite mineral crafts as a keepsake, then walked toward the inside of the station supported by his daughter Aure.

(End of Chapter)