Chapter 6 Preparation
A one-hit kill?
And it’s a one-hit kill spanning over four hundred kilometers.
Ji Ma shook her head, “I only have one piece of clothing on me. With our strength, a one-hit kill is too far-fetched.”
“How long do you estimate it will take to repair your Dream Palace?”
“Slow, a month; fast, two weeks.” Ji Ma looked at George and joked, “You’ll need to work harder.”
George, without a hint of embarrassment, nodded, “I will.”
Ji Ma felt a bit surprised and looked at George a few more times, noticing he was serious, and doubted if she was misinterpreting him, so she didn’t dwell on it.
George said, “We need some supplies to enhance our combat effectiveness, like dimensional space bags and medicine. Ji Ma, can you divine magical items?”
“Of course,” Ji Ma replied. “Should we do a surprise attack and raid the main stronghold of the enemy troops? Steal some magical items?”
“No, he already knows we exist, and a surprise attack wouldn’t be as effective,” George thought for a moment and suggested, “I have a few ideas; you should divine a nearby large settlement—whether it’s a demon army or an untouched settlement, it would be useful for us.”
The former can be violently seized, the latter can be traded.
“Alright.”
After Ji Ma finished speaking, she picked up a leftover bone and prepared to throw it into the campfire, opening her mouth.
George unceremoniously plugged his ears with two fingers.
After the divination.
Ji Ma felt mentally exhausted, realizing her magical power had dropped to 75%. She reminded herself that this isn’t Earth, where there’s plenty of pain energy available to charge her up; the targets of her divination aren’t Earthlings either.
“Griffon Forest, Human Disaster Order, Gloom Legion, Color Sin Legion…”
Ji Ma watched the cracks on the bone stick while drawing in the dirt with a branch that previously held a head, roughly marking their directions and distances.
Among them, Griffon Forest was the farthest from their current location, but Ji Ma pretended to unintentionally place it closer.
Just by hearing the name Griffon Forest, it was clear it must be a magical forest within the empire, home to treants and wood elves.
Ji Ma had never been disappointed by the aesthetics of elves; she now hoped to have more beautiful dresses to wear.
“Alright.” Ji Ma threw the branch into the campfire; it crackled, and a piece of burning coal fell onto her black hair, turning into a spark. “What do you think we should do?”
George examined it carefully and pointed at Griffon Forest.
Ji Ma felt delighted inside.
George asked, “What is this word?”
“Griffon Forest.”
“Griffon Forest isn’t at this location.”
“How do you know?”
“I have the empire’s map memorized.” George said, “Although the map isn’t accurate, I know that Griffon Forest is between the two Electoral Provinces.”
So many years later, he still remembered it so clearly.
Ji Ma wasn’t embarrassed to say, “Ah, I drew it wrong.”
She redrew it between the two Electoral Provinces, this time at a location not too far or too close.
George corrected her, “That’s wrong.”
Ji Ma didn’t argue; she knew George saw through her little trick, so she straightforwardly drew it at the accurate location.
“How far is Griffon Forest from us?”
“About two hundred kilometers.”
Ji Ma looked at the nearest location, the Color Sin Legion, hoping there might be a few members whose tastes were at least somewhat in line with mortals, so she could gather their second-hand clothing and see if she could piece together a few women’s outfits.
“Let’s go to Griffon Forest.”
“Mm?”
“The settlement of wood elves. Although wood elves are exclusive, they should have the items we need.” George said, “You also don’t have to be naked like a beast.”
“Oh, then it’s decided.”
That evening.
The two decided to rest.
A tranquil hidden barrier concealed the two, plus one cat.
No blankets, no tents, just the icy cold night wind cutting through, rustling the trees like blades colliding.
Lianxi the cat curled up next to the campfire, with a few palm-sized towels underneath, transformed by Ji Ma’s illusion ability, quite precious.
“Clap clap clap…”
Lianxi the cat opened her eyes, catching sight of her owner’s black silk, with a flash of white on her thigh. She was supporting herself against a tree, mutually pleasing George behind her.
She was still so beautiful, laughing so joyfully and happily, completely uninhibited, with not the slightest consideration that there was a cat present.
She loved that awful man so much.
Lianxi the cat felt a wave of bitterness in her heart.
The rain continued.
The rain fell incessantly, pattering on the withered leaves.
Lianxi the cat had never seen such a passionate rain. Over the years, thousands of maids had tried so hard to serve their master, but not once had she felt so joyous as today.
Moreover, Ji Ma was known to have high standards in the environment during rainy moments. In less favorable conditions, even if the witches were beautiful, she wouldn’t have the slightest interest.
But tonight, she was in this desolate land…
In the sound of the rain, Lianxi the cat hugged the small towel that Ji Ma had placed under her, burying her head in the soft towel, rubbing against it, fantasizing about being close to Ji Ma.
The sound of the rain suddenly intensified.
“…too much compensation, no… umm…”
Lianxi the cat’s eyes grew misty.
Time flowed.
Morning arrived, still gray and dim.
The two and the cat hurried along, encountering a grand imperial road, where a few carts and corpses were sporadically left on the stone path.
At a junction, tree branches were laden with hanging corpses; most wore imperial military uniforms, their bodies generally mutilated, severed limbs, exposing bones, with crows perched atop them. As the two approached, the flock scattered, landing on either side.
The black, bead-like eyes watched the two, as if waiting for them to become corpses, to feast upon.
“Uh… uh… put me down….”
George looked up, holding his breath against the strong stench, spotting a person covered in green pustules, the size of fists, with maggots writhing inside, and horns growing from their head.
From the clothes soaked in pus, it appeared he had once been a soldier of the empire.
A rope hung from his neck, embedded into his swollen throat. He swayed and turned around, his face heavily decayed, lacking a nose, reaching out to George for help.
He had been completely corroded by the residue virus, becoming a semi-sentient corpse, his body a breeding ground for the virus, spreading disease and plague everywhere.
George shook his head sadly, lifted his hand, and manipulated light to form a few Chinese characters above his head: “Please burn this tree.”
A black spot flew down from the sky, growing larger; in hand, it hurled several fireballs, consuming the hanging corpse tree. In the flames, the corpse struggled, until finally, the fire engulfed him.
George briefly performed a rite of passage and resumed his rapid pace down the imperial road, moving as fast as a galloping horse.
An hour later, he was pulled into another small-scale battle.
A group of semi-naked, muscular Color Sin cultists, brandishing human-harp-like instruments, had their eyes on his skin.
George took ten minutes to wipe them out, using their flag to wipe his sword before continuing his journey.
The stone road of the imperial highway ended at a bridge, where two rows of imperial people were nailed to rough wooden stumps—soldiers, civilians, and farmers wielding tools in defense, even a dairy cow.
The corpses were left with only half their bones; flames of bright red curse words were drawn underneath, cursing this group for blocking the bridge and preventing them from chasing down the retreating soldiers.
George approached the broken bridge.
Below the bridge, the river was a deep blood-red, flowing rapidly. Several fish with backs resembling blades stuck their heads out upon seeing George, exposing rows of sharp teeth.
On the other side of the bridge was a town reduced to ruins.
Had the sacrificed empire people turned their backs to the ruins not been a sort of fortune?
George found it hard to take a step, laying down the corpses, including the dairy cow, and burning them; it took him twenty minutes before he leaped across the bridge.
At the town’s entrance, a pile of skulls was stacked. Just as George was passing by, a large swarm of demon raiders surged out from the burning houses, attacking him with round shields and axes. Leading them was a war champion of the demon race, two meters tall and broader than George.
The Demon Champion wielded a remarkably large two-handed axe, clad in armor, resembling a walking tank, each step causing the earth to tremble.
This small battle group numbered nearly two hundred, all charging at George, treating him like a lone extraordinary defender.
George surged in, executing the demon warrior with one sword stroke before plunging into the crowd.
Ji Ma didn’t assist and sat atop a barely intact roof, rubbing Lianxi the cat, who tried to present the softest part of her belly to Ji Ma, hoping to earn a bit of her affection.
“What a waste of time,” Ji Ma lifted her eyes, glancing at the sky. “It’s getting late.”
Below, George seemed to give up on defense, pouring all his rage into each sword strike.
With another strike, he neatly sliced a northern raider in half.
George had originally been at the town entrance, now he was inside, with over a hundred corpses lying behind him.
“O mighty gods! He’s a monster!” a raider wearing a hollowed helmet began to crack, turning and fleeing.
George charged forward, swinging his great sword, beheading three people in one motion, but the raider group scattered, and lacking area damage capabilities, no matter how strong he was, he could only watch them escape.
Ji Ma clapped her hands; curses erupted, killing the murderers of the town, causing them to scream and fall to the ground.
George dashed up, jogging past their bodies, suppressing the urge to stomp on their skulls, stabbing them one by one.
Ji Ma slowly descended beside George.
George said, “You’re just in time; let’s continue on.”
Ji Ma replied, “It’s already five-thirty in the afternoon.”
George had never asked how Ji Ma knew such an accurate time; he said, “So soon?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.” George took the initiative to reflect on himself. “I wasted too much time on the way.”
“It’s nothing. They burnt the town down, leaving behind not a single piece of clothing. I hate that too.”
Ji Ma pointed at a burned shop, the sign vaguely visible, depicting a needle and thread, indicating it was a tailor shop. “They deserved to die.”
“Traitors…”
A demon compatriot lifted its head from a distant pile of corpses.
Ji Ma hurled a branch spear, letting it drink its fill of fresh blood.
“Alright, I can’t take off my clothes now; I can only endure a day longer in dirty clothes.” Ji Ma disliked being naked in an unsafe place, “So you’ll have to do the upcoming tasks yourself.”
“Mm.”
After George destroyed the shrine of the Blood God and set fire to the corpses of the entire battle group,
Ji Ma had already invited him to eat grilled fish. The fish was just done, burnt on the outside, with conditions quite poor and no condiments, the ingredient even carried a rusty flavor.
But Ji Ma managed to prepare it to be somewhat edible.
After George finished eating the grilled fish in large bites, with a heavy heart, he asked, “Ji Ma, based on your understanding, how much improvement can this bring to the land’s corrosion?”
Destroying the shrine and burning the corruption would help the land recover from the corrosion.
Ji Ma felt the magical wind in the breeze and honestly replied, “Zero.”
