Chapter 353 - 283: Village Defense Battle (19)
Chapter 353: Chapter 283: Village Defense Battle (19)
Shirel’s brow furrowed, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.
She looked to be in a great deal of discomfort.
Gu Qing cast Healing Skill and Purification Technique on her again, but Shirel showed no signs of relief.
Zhao Chi asked, "Gu Qing has already healed you completely, so why do you still look so exhausted? Are you sure you don’t need more rest?"
Shirel shook her head. "Condensing my Racial Bloodline takes a heavy toll. It’s not something a Healing Skill can replenish; I need to recover slowly over time. I won’t rest now. It wouldn’t make a significant difference in my current state. I’ll leave as soon as the supplies are ready."
Zhao Chi said, "It’s chaotic out there right now. Where did you teleport from? I can try to send you to a closer location."
Shirel gave a slight laugh. "You actually know how to show concern? If you can, just teleporting us closer to the south would be best."
"The wall is to the south."
"Yes, the wall. I no longer have a territory, so I’ll just have to take the public route."
"Got it."
"We should add each other as friends. Even though I’ve lost my territory for now, I should be able to reestablish it as soon as I get back."
Zhao Chi considered this for a moment.
He hadn’t revealed any of his personal information to Shirel yet.
He hadn’t even said Gu Qing’s name out loud.
In other words, once Shirel left his territory, she would have no way of finding him.
But if they became friends, even without knowing his territory’s coordinates, Shirel could find him in the Great World just by his name.
Although he and Shirel had already shared the most intimate of acts...
...that was only a consideration from a Human perspective on morality.
To an Elf, it wasn’t something to be taken so seriously.
Otherwise, Shirel would never have used such a method to condense her bloodline in the first place.
The Succubus Race was an even more extreme example.
They treated such acts as casually as eating a meal, with no moral burden whatsoever.
Therefore, Zhao Chi still had to guard against the possibility of Shirel leaving only to return with reinforcements for revenge.
The chance was slim, but it was a risk he had to account for.
After all, her previous arrogance and imperious attitude had left a lasting impression.
Zhao Chi shook his head. "Let’s just forget it. If we’re fated to meet again, we will."
Shirel stared at Zhao Chi, stunned.
It was as if she had never considered he might refuse.
She nodded silently. "I see... But you can at least tell me which county you’re in, can’t you?"
"...Ice River County."
"Alright, I’ll remember that."
Zhao Chi suddenly realized that Shirel was speaking much more normally now.
Her previous imperious attitude was gone.
’Is it because I just helped her extract her bloodline?’
’Or is she just too weak to maintain that haughty posture?’
Gu Qing reminded him in a low voice, "My lord, you should check her Obedience Level."
’Obedience Level?’
Zhao Chi opened Shirel’s information panel.
[Name] Shirel Melocha
[Obedience] 7 (Utterly Submissive)
’What’s going on?’
Zhao Chi looked at Shirel, and she was looking right back at him.
Shirel only looked exhausted; her previous arrogance was completely gone.
Or perhaps... the arrogance was still there, but she wasn’t showing it in front of him.
Zhao Chi was puzzled.
Before, when Gu Qing had dealt with her harshly, her Obedience Level had only increased by 1 point.
But after his two "intimate interactions" with her, her Obedience Level had jumped from 2 to 4, and now from 4 to 7?
And this had all happened in less than a day.
’Maybe Shirel is the type who responds to a soft approach, not a hard one.’
’But I’ve been pretty forceful with her myself, not soft at all.’
Gu Qing saw his confusion and smiled. "It seems the Saintess of the Elf Tribe has been completely won over by you."
She hadn’t bothered to lower her voice.
Shirel heard her loud and clear, but offered no rebuttal.
She merely shot Gu Qing a quiet glance before her eyes fixed back on Zhao Chi.
This continued until the supplies were ready.
Shirel sighed. "You prepared everything quite quickly. I didn’t expect commoners to have such high efficiency."
Gu Qing said, "Starting up again right before you leave? Can’t you try to leave a good impression on our lord?"
Shirel froze for a second, then looked toward Zhao Chi.
Zhao Chi waved his hand. "It’s fine. As long as they’re not malicious insults or filled with hostility, I don’t mind."
Shirel let out a breath of relief. "After some time, I might come back. Our lands produce an abundance of Experience Fruit. Would you be interested?"
A smile appeared on Gu Qing’s face.
Zhao Chi waved his hand. "I don’t need Experience Fruit. Do you have any other Specialty Products? It doesn’t matter if they’re more expensive."
Shirel was puzzled. "You don’t want Experience Fruit? We don’t sell them for that much. If you’re not interested in those, we also have Star Tear Fruit, which can temporarily boost Perception. Or the Elf Bow, which is lighter and stronger than your regular Bow and Arrow. There are many other items, but those belong to other families."
Zhao Chi asked, "How long does it take you to get here from Holy Tree City?"
"About a month."
"That long? Didn’t you use a territory connection to get here?"
Shirel scoffed. "Hah, you really... Don’t you know that cities are very far apart? Even with territory connections, it’s not an instantaneous trip. Besides, the journey from Holy Tree City to here crosses several other cities. Of course it takes a month."
Zhao Chi nodded. "In that case... I can give you some extra food."
Shirel was taken aback for a second. "Really? You’re willing to give me more food?"
"Just tell me how much you need."
"Hmm... let me see... Ten days’ worth of food should be enough. We can’t carry too much more, and it would slow us down."
"And after the food runs out?"
"We’ll hunt or buy more. We’ll be passing through other cities, after all."
"Alright. You have 266 people in total. Based on 1.5 kilograms per person per day, I’ll give you a total of 4 tons of food."
Shirel’s mouth fell open.