Chapter 103 Chapter 101 Difficult Journey (Part 1)
In the real world.
George was telling everyone that the road ahead would be tough, and everyone was listening seriously. Jima was yawning, with one hand covering her belly, which felt like a warm fire burning inside.
Perhaps this was the price of being a succubus.
Jima hoped that the warm fire inside her could become a child, so she would have an extra life-saving token.
At this moment, George looked over.
Jima glanced at his profile and recalled how he had reined in his horse and charged forward valiantly last night. Her face flushed, and she turned her head away.
The more she tried not to think about it, the more her mind wandered, and she couldn’t help but picture George’s brave demeanor during the battle last night.
George was so proactive, so wild; he really liked my body… I must be a real pervert.
Jima hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. She could accept George; she understood that. But now, to become like this, to become part of him, was truly unbelievable.
Thinking back on her past memories, the beautiful recollection of last night only brought a faint sense of nausea.
If only she could completely abandon her past self, life would be perfect.
Jima’s joy faded, turning into sorrow as she sighed. An impulse to express herself through song surged within her heart. She suppressed this urge and instinctively reached for the “Bloodstained Songstress” at her waist. Today, she had replaced the “Wish Compass” with the “Bloodstained Songstress.”
The downside of wearing it was the constant urge to sing.
Though Jima believed her voice was lovely and she sang beautifully, the minor issue of being tone-deaf paled in comparison to her looks, vocal talent, and extraordinary charm.
But Jima also knew that it wasn’t the time to sing.
“Jima!”
“Here.”
“Your task is to scout and infiltrate, create chaos, and pay attention to your safety.”
Jima replied, “Understood.”
“Our intention is to reach Dulon City and we are determined to pass through the tunnels controlled by the ratmen. Do you understand?”
“Got it!”
Butcher Kirk stroked his beard and muttered, “You’re even more loquacious than my grandfather.”
Beside him, Felix, who was twice his height, raised his sword, yearning for an epic journey.
The meeting adjourned and everyone prepared to depart.
Just as Jima was about to take flight, she caught sight of Eve Frostleaf approaching.
“What’s the matter?”
Eve Frostleaf stopped next to her, her green eyes turning toward Jima. “Last night?”
Truly a high elf.
Jima lowered her voice. “Yes, while I was reporting to George, I took the opportunity… you know, elves.”
The surrounding air grew cold.
Eve Frostleaf said, “Jima, you…”
Jima could guess why Eve Frostleaf was so concerned; aside from jealousy, she had taken spoils that Eve liked.
Jima said, “It was my oversight. How about we go together next time?”
Eve Frostleaf shot her a cold glare. She was genuinely angry, narrowing her eyes at Jima.
Tch!
Jima smiled and said, “Alright then, I’ll give you some time alone.”
Eve Frostleaf turned and left, leaving a cold breeze in her wake, with two words mixed in: “Who wants?”
But Jima could see that among the seven desire orbs in Eve’s chest, the largest was the purple orb, a symbol of desire.
Really, she has to be so proud.
Originally, Jima thought of mending the rift with Eve Frostleaf, but since she acted this way, a bad idea popped into her mind.
Compared to Eve Frostleaf, the Saintess Jenna was still silly, completely unaware that anything was amiss. She was carrying a tower shield while encouraging everyone.
George approached and asked, “Jima, what do you plan to do next?”
“I have my methods,” Jima said. “I might spread rumors or cast curses, but if I come across any valuable intelligence, I’ll report to you immediately.”
“I remember you instigated city riots twice before,” George asked. “Can you use that tactic against the ratmen?”
“That time in Shalin City, I had an audience; I stirred their desires and caused chaos in Shalin City,” Jima explained. “In Marlin City, I had the time to let rumors spread, and there was greed. Young Master Es used a lot of money to provoke people’s greed. Plus, Marlin City holds a special status; the regular army can’t immediately quell the chaos. As you saw, the latter is far less intense than the former.”
George said, “So, you have no time and no special conditions against the ratmen?”
“Exactly, so I can only give it a try,” Jima said. “After all, they’re an army. If I could make them turn on each other by myself, what would be the meaning of an army?”
George replied, “Indeed.”
“Okay, I’m off.”
“Wish you a safe return.”
“Kid, don’t say it so ominously,” Jima said. “The war situation is ever-changing; maybe the ratmen haven’t reacted yet, and the initiative is still in our hands. Right now, the ratmen are just a pile of meat waiting to be beaten.”
With that, Jima flapped her wings and flew up, her figure disappearing into the darkness.
To save magical energy, Jima directly used a precious can of potion, which contained the ability of Shadow King Arkanis—evading sight. In short, it allowed her to become invisible in the shadows, perfectly suitable for Jima.
She flew through the darkness like a gust of wind. Below, a patrol of ratmen, holding torches, looked up momentarily, mistaking her for a gust of wind before continuing their patrol.
Jima flew through the underground tunnel for nearly three hours, the path below gradually widening. Finally, she saw a large opening ahead, with yellow light streaming in from outside.
Jima hid in the shadows and flew out of the opening, feeling suddenly open.
She arrived at a place resembling a “crossroads” on the surface, where several caves converged. The cave she flew out of was the highest, while below, there was another cave opening a hundred meters high, alongside more than twenty other openings of various sizes.
This “crossroads” was so vast it could almost be a small world. Even if the capital of the Empire, Adolf, were moved here, it wouldn’t feel crowded.
Jima hovered in the shadows on the uneven walls of the cave. Below her, there was an ancient dwarven stone stairway built into the wall, which the ratmen were now expanding upon.
She followed the winding stone stairs down to a wide flat area, where a level stone road built by the dwarves flowed out from several cave openings. In ancient times, dwarves walked on this stone road; today, countless ratman slaves carried goods or pulled carts under the whip.
The ratmen had built a logistics base here using materials scavenged from various places. Though it looked shabby, it was still slightly better than the green-skinned craftsmanship.
Jima noticed that there was ample space between each building, making it difficult to set everything ablaze.
On either side of the logistics base, two rivers of lava flowed slowly. Hanging above the lava rivers was a row of iron cages, which held dead or dying ratmen.
Just as Jima was about to fly over this logistics base to scout further,
a ratman army poured in through the cave entrance below, treading on the dwarven-built road, swarming in like a mass of ants.
Jima held back the impulse to drop a can of bottled potion (Blazing Light Sphere) and instead picked up binoculars to observe closely.
Leading the ratman army were rare Storm Rats, clad in iron armor, holding shields in one hand and knives in the other, their weapons gleaming, free of rust, and their fur smooth and glossy. They were larger than the slave rats playing the roles of livestock in the logistics base.
By ratman standards, Storm Rats fought bravely and were high-spirited.
After them, Jima also spotted rat ogres. They were carrying fuel tanks, wearing gas masks, and wielding flamethrowers as part of the dimensional fire-breathing squad.
A ratman warlord in red armor perched on the back of a robust rat ogre, with several iron spikes on his back armor, adorned with the heads of dwarves, ratmen, and humans, waving a magical weapon with a flourish.
Undoubtedly, it was an elite ratman army.
A commotion erupted in the logistics base ahead, which Jima witnessed firsthand. Ratman overseers wielded whips, driving a group of ratmen into what resembled enlarged hamster wheels.
“Crack!”
With a crack of the whip, the ratmen in the hamster wheels ran desperately.
Jima lowered the binoculars, puzzled. “Is this ratman exercise?”
At that moment, unexpectedly, the logistics base lit up with green lights. At the entrance, several ratmen hurriedly assembling light bulbs were electrocuted, trembling and falling to the ground, twitching as smoke rose from their fur.
The bulbs lit up, forming ratman words Jima couldn’t understand, likely welcoming phrases for the warlord.
It turned out the hamster wheel was a rat-powered generator.
Jima looked at the hamster wheel, surprised that ratman technology had developed so quickly to the point of using electricity.
Several ratmen rushed out from the entrance, dragging away those electrocuted on the ground to welcome the elite ratman army.
Jima estimated that this elite ratman force consisted of at least six thousand rats, with more than half being Storm Rats, not the slave rats meant to serve as cannon fodder.
She frowned. If this elite ratman army were to attack Dulon City, that would be one thing. But she feared they might have come specifically to guard the area and block the Savior Squad.
She needed to figure out what the other side’s intentions were and create some chaos on the side.
Jima thought about this as she flew down along the shadow of the cave wall, successfully sneaking into the logistics base by taking advantage of a shadow extending into it.
First, she helped the ratmen identify potential fire hazards. Unfortunately, there weren’t many hazards, and the warehouses weren’t full, merely stacked halfway with food and equipment.
If she used fire to eliminate the “fire hazards,” it would expose herself, which would be entirely not worth it.
While pondering, Jima blinked and quickly divined.
In the seemingly deserted alleyway before her, a line of “danger” words jumped out. It was likely that there were ratman assassins lying in ambush.
Jima avoided that path, flapped her wings, and silently flew over a wall, approaching a building at a leisurely pace. This building was constructed on the ruins left by the dwarves.
The ratman warlord was heading to this building.
Jima flapped her wings and blended into the shadows, successfully slipping into the building from above a guard’s head.
At that moment, she heard voices discussing in a room:
“What? A bunch of dwarven things slaughtered the outpost?”
“Yes, yes, the survivors told me, there was… something glowing, burning non-stop.”
“Impossible! Dwarves can’t use magic.”
Jima came up with a plan and snuck into the room.
The ratman messenger said, “All the rats saw it, a big light sphere, like the sun, burning and burning.”
“A bunch of dwarven things are that strong?”
Jima took over the conversation, imitating the messenger’s voice and lying, “It’s a coalition of dwarves and humans!”
“A coalition?”
The messenger was confused but accepted, “Yes, yes, it must be a coalition of dwarves and humans.”
Having said that, the messenger felt very quick-witted. If a group of humans really destroyed the outpost, he wondered how the ratmen above would react.
