376-386

Chapter 376 - Second Level, Stagnation

Cling, clang, the battle rang.

The Warriors clashed with the enemy, but few could deal the finishing blow.

The power of the enemies was reaped but mostly went to Great Warriors and Battle Masters alike, putting many on the verge of breakthroughs.

Even so, the few Warriors the succeeded advanced immediately under the influx of power from the undead demons.

Not only did they advance their strength, but they also advanced multiple ranks, allowing them to jump straight to the peak of the Warrior realm, one step away from the Great Warrior realm and with excess energy to keep going.

However, no one managed to take the final step to break through to the Great Warrior realm.

This was not because they could not or did not want to, but because the situation did not allow them.

The Great Warrior Realm required meditative focus to guide the rampant energies through the right channels of one's body before hammering down the walls of the Great Warrior realm to achieve the breakthrough.

It was different from the Warrior realm that simply allowed the rampant energy to temper the surface of one's flesh.

Not everyone possessed the same insanity Sabertooth did and attempt a breakthrough in the midst of battle. It was no longer about courage but plain suicide.

No one would be able to cover them. They would only be offering their own necks to the enemy to chop.

Even so, the Darkmoon Tribe enjoyed a qualitative boost in their strength as dozens of warriors reached the gates of the Great Warrior realm.

As for the ones that were already in the Great Warrior realm, they had all suppressed their breakthrough.

It was only the Battle Masters that did not face the same problem. They had long discarded the root of their body cultivation and could no longer progress further.

Only the chief of the tribe still could.

"Lass, you should be on the verge of a breakthrough, right? You should take this opportunity to breakthrough. I will cover you!"

Old Hammer said.

Swinging out with his heavy Soul Weapon, a wave of enemies was blown away.

"You will cover me, but who will cover the area you leave behind? Strength is important, but I cannot trade the lives of my tribesmen for it."

Chief Valencia shook her head.

She hacked out with her own Soul Weapon and swept away all the Behemoth-class Bone Demon before her like an impregnable fortress. None were able to make it past her defense.

Old Hammer smiled approvingly and no longer continued the topic. This is how a great leader ought to behave.

A strong leader can indeed lead the tribe, but only a selfless leader can lift it from the ground up.

The enemy's army was reduced to 35-thousands in a short time, but the number still greatly outnumbered their capable warriors.

As they continued to fight and defend the city wall, a silent aura of destruction shot past Chief Valencia and disintegrated a group of enemies before her.

Duna's voice shortly sounded after, "What if I cover you?"

Chief Valencia's eyes slightly widened with surprise and asked, "Why are you helping us?"

She did not think that Duna would come back so soon and help them, no less when she had expressed zero interest and intention in doing so.

"I was paid."

"You were paid?"

Chief Valencia was more confound by her words and wore a stupefied expression.

She found it rather hard to see through Duna and understand the nature of her character. Who paid her, and what kind of price was paid for her willingness to help?

Duna nodded.

She tossed and caught the pea-sized Dark Crystal in her hand before it was ground to dust and absorbed all its contents.

Afterward, she waved her hand, and a bigger wave of destruction swept over the undead army and reduced thousands of enemies to atoms.

Her brows furrowed shortly after.

'It seems there are still some limitations in using power far beyond one's capability. The Destruction Law puts too much strain on our body…'

Duna pondered.

Chief Valencia noticed the reduction in the scale of Duna's attacks and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just do what you need to do."

Duna said indifferently.

It was not her character to show weakness.

"Then… many thanks, Duna. I owe you one."

Chief Valencia nodded.

Without further ado, she sat down and meditated for her eventual breakthrough to the Mid-ranked Battle Master realm.

Duna's coverage was not small.

Many supporting Great Warriors and Warriors in the area also took the opportunity to meditate for their breakthrough after suppressing their cultivation for so long.

Duna noticed this, but she did not say anything.

She continued to wave her lily-white hands, sending out a smaller scale aura of destruction and disintegrated the enemy in its wake.

The strain on her body soon hit a concerning level as cracks began to form on the surface of her hand like the slow shattering of glasses.

'This job is proving itself more tedious than I have imagined. Our body will not last much longer. It is already beginning to experience the backlash of the Destruction Law.'

After seeing this, she became more passive in her attacks, only striking the enemy when they drew too close to the humans and kept them out of harm's way.

Power does not come without a price, and even more so, it cannot be used indiscriminately without consequences.

'However...'

Duna frowned.

She had given her word to help. She was not someone who goes back on her word, and even more so, abhor the people that do.

In the end, she should not have been soft-hearted when she accepted the task, or were those Lumi's feelings affecting her decision?

No!

Duna shook her head of those thoughts.

It is wrong to blame her sister for that. She was the one in control. She was the one who made a choice. It was her decision, and hers alone. She was also a person.

More cracks formed and spread to her arms.

At this point, Duna no longer dared to use the almighty Destruction Law. It was too powerful, and the backlash was too much. She was destroying their body.

Duna narrowed her eyes and changed tactics.

Temporal Law, Second Level – Stagnation!

An elusive aura swept across the battlefield before a transparent dome-like barrier rapidly expanded and covered the region, painting the inside with a monochromatic feeling as the incoming Behemoth-class Bone Demons became immobile.

No, it was not complete immobility. They just moved perceivably slow! This was the effect of decelerating time!

Everyone within the temporal domain has their time decelerated. As such, not only were the enemy decelerated, even the humans were also decelerated!

The temporal domain did not differentiate between friend and foe. All within its area of effect was affected by decelerated time! Only Duna, herself was immune to the effects of Stagnation!

"What kind of power is this?!"

"Is this the power of time? Time has been stopped!"

"No, time hasn't been stopped! It has been decelerated! Look, they are moving slowly, but surely!"

The warriors exclaimed in shock.

Everything inside the temporal domain moved incredibly slowly to the world outside, but to the affected people inside, time was moving normally.

That was the scary aspect of Stagnation. The people inside the temporal domain did not even know their time had been decelerated!

"This is our chance! If the Behemoth-class Bone Demons are moving this slowly, we can kill them!"

"No, wait! If you rush in, you might also be—"

A warrior with a brighter mind tried to warn, but it was too late. The foolish warriors rushed into the temporal domain and got themselves affected by decelerated time.

"These idiots…"

The brighter warriors sighed.

The warriors were foolish, but they cannot be blamed. They could not think of anything else after seeing the prospects of killing Behemoth-class Bone Demons.

It was the dream of every Warrior to enter the Great Warrior realm. If there was a chance to do it without risk, why not?

It was nice to dream and all, but unfortunately, reality was much different from what they had imagined.

Of course, the decelerated warriors still had no idea. They are still thinking they can kill the 'slow' Behemoth-class Bone Demons inside.

Creak…

At the center of the temporal domain, the cracks of Duna's arms spread all the way to her upper body and made her heart chilled.

She did not expect that the Temporal Law would also put some strain on her body and almost killed both her and Lumi as a result of casting such a vast temporal domain.

'It seems I can only use the Darkness Laws!'

Duna paled slightly.

Chapter 377 - Devour, Sensory Deprivation, And Time Seed

'It was unwise of me to use the Second Law of Temporal Law. Fortunately, I did not overdo it and use the Third Level, Temporal Suspension.'

Duna pondered.

The strain brought by using the third level would have pushed her body beyond the breaking point. She would have destroyed themselves.

Although Temporal Suspension had no offensive capability, its power was not inferior to the First Level of Destruction Law, Disintegration.

In other words, Divinities that have comprehended the Third Level of Temporal Law were comparable to Divinities that comprehended the First Level of Destruction Law.

If the Second Level, Stagnation, was the deceleration of time, the Third Level, Temporal Suspension, was the actual stopping of time.

But even then, the Third Level was not the highest level of attainment a being can achieve in the Temporal Law.

Duna found out through the Divinity fragment that there were rumors of a fourth and fifth level. However, Divinities capable of achieving such heights during that age should have been few and in between.

Duna treaded the barren ground and drew herself closer to the enemy until she stood right before a Behemoth-class Bone Demon, mismatched in size.

The Behemoth-class Bone Demon was 4 times her height, but she was not intimidated by the difference. Nothing could intimidate her, and even more so when affected by Stagnation.

She reached out her pearly white but crack hands and placed them on the leg of the Behemoth-class Bone Demon before a powerful suction force began to rob the undead demon of all its power.

'Darkness Law Third Level, Devour!'

The Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy forcefully entered Duna's half corporeal body and became apart of her strength.

As for the Behemoth-class Bone Demon, it was no more, returned to death's embrace after Duna absorbed the force that steered it.

The Behemoth-class Bone Demon still had its shape, but it was already beginning its slow decline into a heap of bones on the ground under Stagnation's effect.

'I should be able to mend myself with this—no, it's not working. It can only help me recover slightly. The damages brought by the Destruction Law cannot be healed. Dammit! The consequences are direr than I anticipated. What can I do? I cannot let Lumi see her body like this.'

Duna frowned.

She grabbed another Behemoth-class Bone Demon and absorbed its power, but there were no longer any changes to the cracks on her body.

She bit her lip in frustration.

'Stagnation is about to end.'

She observed the increasingly unstable temporal domain before retreating towards her original location.

After the temporal domain collapsed and dispersed, the flow of time in the area returned to normal, and the battle between the two sides resumed like nothing had happened.

Only the others could tell what had happened.

'Sigh, it is all my fault. If It is not because I wanted to test these powerful laws, our body would not have been in this current state.'

Duna felt regretful, but she did not have time to dwell on it. She can only seek the solution after the battle.

'Darkness Law Second Level, Sensory Deprivation!'

The power of darkness gathered and swallowed Chief Valencia and the surrounding warriors attempting their breakthrough.

"What's going on here? What is the banshee trying to do?!"

"I cannot see anything! My… my voice! I cannot hear my voice! But I am surely talking!"

"It seems only my sense of touch is still here…"

Many warriors panicked.

Everyone in the area was also caught in the skill and found themselves in a world of absolute darkness and robbed them of their sense of sight, smell, and hearing.

Duna stood outside of the dark dome and picked up the bone whistle hanging around her neck before playing a ghostly tune.

An elusive power rippled across the battlefield and stunned all the encroaching enemies with her soul attack.

The humans in the range of the soul attack also suffered some minor nudges to their souls, but the ones inside the dark dome were utterly unaffected by everything outside.

It was Duna's consideration to the people trying to breakthrough.

"It's Duna's soul attack!"

"Yes, with this, the Behemoth-class Bone Demons will no longer be a threat to us."

"Thank you, Duna! You have done a lot for us! Please do not overexert yourself further! We can take it from here!"

"This is a chance Duna has given us. Make use of it wisely, everyone! You won't get a better chance than now to harvest these demons!"

"OHH!"

The warriors roared.

Many Warriors jumped down from the city walls and joined the others with a frontal charge towards the enemy.

The battle quickly entered a climax. If there were no other unexpected variables coming into play, the Bone Calamity plaguing the western side of Weeping Forest would soon be brought to an end.

Meanwhile, Leon continued to meditate with closed eyes.

The Temporal Laws surrounding Leon were no longer vague as they were moments ago. They have become more distinct and clear that the abnormal flow of time in Leon's surrounding air could be sensed by others.

Suddenly, the air quickened and kicked up a gust of wind that billowed outwards from Leon. Shortly after, everything returned to a tranquil state like nothing had happened.

Within the sea of consciousness, Leon glanced at the newly formed Seed of Time that fused with his soul core shortly after.

The Temporal Law was successfully comprehended.

No matter how superficial his understanding was, the seed's formation indicated that he had reached the required threshold to begin manipulating the power of time.

He wanted to keep going and fuse the Spatial Law and Temporal Law, but he had neglected the battle for too long. He should at least check on the situation.

He opened his eyes shortly and observed the surrounding.

Despite shutting off his senses to the outside world, he seems to instinctively know how much time had elapsed since the start of his meditation.

The Seed of Time granted him a heightened awareness of the flow of time and not just the ability to accelerate time.

At his current rudimentary level of understanding, he could only accelerate his own flow of time. This ability was akin to burning his own lifespan, but it allows him to move quicker in return.

It was like the brain entering a hyperactive state and granting the human body superhuman reflex and quick thinking.

A deeper level of comprehension was needed before he can accelerate the time of anything beyond himself.

Leon heaved a sigh of relief after checking that his body was still in one piece and the evil Lumi was not in his immediate surroundings.

'It seems I am still alive.'

Suddenly, his body shivered abruptly as Duna's previous strong killing intent finally struck him and goosebumps reappeared on his skin.

'It seems I was spared.'

He assumed wryly.

Shortly after, he turned his attention to the ongoing battle and sent out his divine sense to observe the situation.

'The Bone Kings are gone, and only a small number of the undead demon army is left. Things are going surprisingly well and will be ending soon. This… should be Lumi's work. Did she manage to snap back to her good self? I wonder where she is now...'

Leon casually extended the range of his divine sense and searched the battlefield.. He frowned shortly after spotting Lumi near Chief Valencia.

Chapter 378 - Broken Hand

After sensing the peculiarities of the situation on Lumi's side, Leon shot to his feet and made his way over.

When he arrived at the location, he immediately pulled a nearby warrior over and asked, "What is going on here? What happened to… Lumi?"

"Lumi? Ah, no, that black-dressed Lumi calls herself Duna, the older sister of Lumi. She helped us wiped out half the enemy and had been protecting the others as they try to advance their cultivation. I'm not exactly sure what happened to her, but it might be related to the strange power she was using before."

The warrior explained.

"Duna? The old sister of Lumi?"

Leon was confused.

"I don't understand either, Big Brother Leonhardt. That is all I've heard and understand." The warrior said.

"I see, thank you. You can go."

Leon released his grip and allowed the warrior to rejoin the battle.

Afterward, his brows furrowed.

So, it seems that Lumi had not been the one assisting the humans, but the other one called Duna? It seems he has misunderstood this person.

He thought that Duna was the evil nature of the vengeful spirit that have been split apart from the original human Lumi, but this no longer seems to be the case.

A real vengeful spirit would not be helping humans but killing them.

He became curious about this 'Duna.'

What was she exactly? Why does she call herself the older sister of Lumi? Was she really Lumi's older sister and not a split personality? In fact, she can be Lumi's older sister and a split personality at the same time.

There were medical records of twins having higher chances of developing split personalities of their other half when one of them dies in the womb and fails to be born along with the other.

However, Leon was unsure if this was the case or if another soul was also dwelling inside Lumi's body. He did not know much about Lumi, to be honest. He can only ask her about it later.

The more concerning problem now was the state of their body!

"Maya, take a look at Lumi's body. Is this the backlash of using the Destruction Law?" Leon asked and share his senses with the artifact spirit.

"Hmm."

After a quick glance through Leon's vision, she nodded, "That's right. This is the result of overusing a power beyond one's ability. The Destruction Law is not something just any being can use without consequences. It is natural for there to be a price in using it. It's the power of the Greater Divinities after all."

"Greater Divinities? Are there also hierarchy differences between Divinities as well?" Leon asked.

"You ask a pretty stupid question. Of course, there are. Just as there are Gods and High Gods, there are also Devils and Great Devils. Only 7 High Gods and 7 Great Devils comprehended the Creation and Destruction Supreme Laws during ancient times."

"Hoh? That means that Lumi awakened the memory fragment of such an incredible Divinity? Can you tell which Great Devil it is—No, that is not important. Is it possible for Lumi's body to recover from the side effects of using the Destruction Law? It doesn't seem like it will be simple." Leon asked with a frown.

He was not well-versed in treating vengeful spirits, or rather he is not well-versed in treating vengeful spirits at all!

He only treated living things before!

"Aren't you supposed to be a doctor? You already have everything needed to heal her. Why don't you figure it out yourself?" Maya said with an attitude.

"Are you kidding me? Do you think my medicine and acupuncture will work on a non-living entity? How come I don't know that?"

Leon suddenly frowned.

Vengeful spirits were not exactly non-living entities. Their physical bodies may have died, but their souls were still alive.

"Hmph! Anyways, I have spoken enough. You can figure it out yourself." Maya stated before going completely silent.

Leon's lips twitched.

It seems that Maya was still dissatisfied with him, but why does she have to stop at the most important part?

"That's enough, Lumi. You have done more than enough. You need to start taking care of your own body." Leon called out to her.

"I am Duna."

Duna snorted after hearing his words and continued to send out her soul attacks to assist the battle until it ended.

"Duna, it is then."

Leon acknowledged.

He did not try to persuade her after noticing that although the state of her body was quite serious, the condition was not aggravated by her soul attacks.

At this point, there were not many enemies left to kill. The battle was about to end, and the warriors were about to complete their breakthrough.

"Why are you pushing your body so far for us humans? I thought you didn't like humans." Leon asked.

Strangely, he did not feel any fear of Duna. If she wanted to kill him, she would have already done it.

"Hmph! Who said I didn't like humans? I feel closer to humans than anything else. I just don't like you!" Duna snorted.

"Eh? I guess that is true…"

Leon was shortly stunned before scratching his cheeks wryly. He needed to stop seeing her as another vengeful spirit.

"How come you haven't killed me?"

"Why so much nonsense for? Do you want me to kill you? You should be grateful that I don't feel like it right now, hmph hmph!" Duna glared at Leon feistily with two hands on her hips.

Crack…

One of Duna's hand cracked under the slight pressure and detached itself from her arm, and fell to the ground, causing both of them to freeze.

After a moment, they slowly glanced down at the broken hand.

"Your hand broke."

"I can see that."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Cannot. I've already tried."

"Hmm…"

Leon furrowed his brows as he stared at the broken hand. After getting detached from the main body, it began to disintegrate slowly.

Duna's body was like a fragile vase that threatened to shatter apart at any time. He could not imagine how she would survive if that were to happen.

"What methods have you tried?" He asked.

"Third Level of Darkness Law, Devour," Duna stated.

Seeing Leon have no idea what that means, she explained, "Devour uses the power of darkness to strengthen and recover the body by swallowing other forms of existing energy. However, it is of no use."

"I have discovered that there are some traces of Destruction Law on my body, which obstructs the healing process. I can only recover once the traces of Destruction Law disappears, but I cannot ascertain when that will be."

Leon frowned after hearing this.

The Destruction Law can be counteracted with the Creation Law, but no one is capable of that.

After pondering for a moment, he came up with an idea. They might not necessarily need to remove the traces of Destruction Law. They just need a power that can overcome it.

He realized why Maya said he had everything needed for Lumi's body to recover.

Thinking up this point, he reached out his hand and said, "Try absorbing this to heal yourself."

"Did you not listen to a word I said? It's no use—"

Duna paused when she saw the grey energy that concentrated towards the tips of Leon's fingers before he passed the pseudo-Grandmist Energy to her.

Shortly after, her eyes widened with surprise.

How was it possible for this person to have Grandmist Energy?! Just who exactly is Leon? Grandmist Energy should have gone extinct long ago after the formation of Primal Chaos!

"It's not the real deal, but it is still more potent than any other source of energy out there. I call it pseudo-Grandmist Energy." Leon explained.

He knew that since Duna had awakened the Divinity fragment, there was a chance that she would have gained some knowledge about Grandmist Energy.

"Hm?"

Leon raised an eyebrow when Duna suddenly grabbed his hand. A powerful suction force came after that and absorb all the pseudo-Grandmist Energy he offered on the tips of his fingers, but that was not enough for Duna.

She was greedy for more.

Leon widened his eyes when he realized that the little devil was actually taking advantage of his kindness and trying to suck him dry!

The Law of Nothingness suffused in the Black Vortex protected the grey ring of energy around his soul core from being absorbed, but the same cannot be said for the few Body Runes in his body!

They disappeared are having their energy rung dry by Duna!

Nevertheless, Leon was not pained by the disappearance of these Body Runes forged with artificial Spirit Energy. In fact, it could be said that she helped him.

"Aren't you being a little too greedy?" Leon calmly asked.

Duna became rather embarrassed and touched at the same time. She did not know that Leon had offered all the pseudo-Grandmist Energy he had.

However, this was her misunderstanding.

She was unaware of the Nihility Law in Leon's body, which hid the rest of his power from being seen and devoured by her.

Duna did not want to show her embarrassment, so she scowled, "Hmph! So what? What are you going to do about it?"

"Um, nothing, I guess?"

Leon could only respond.

Chapter 379 - Time's Up

Seeing the lack of anger from Leon, Duna felt even more guilty. She could not help but think that there was something wrong with this person. Did he like being abused? Was he a masochist?

"Hmph!"

She could only grumble and storm off to absorb the concentration of pseudo-Grandmist Energy given to her after picking up her broken hand.

The pseudo-Grandmist Energy was worthy of being called pseudo-Grandmist Energy. Even though it was not the real thing, it was still a very close imitation to the source that birthed everything in existence.

It was the best source of energy for rebuilding the body or forging a new one.

Countless cracks on Duna's body disappeared one after another. Within a few breathes, the body was fully restored. Not a single crack could be seen, and the broken hand was reattached.

The pseudo-Grandmist Energy had worked wonders on Duna's body with excess energy to spare, which she began to channel into building the foundation for her Corporal state.

She had just recently entered the Corporeal state and had yet to build her foundation.

The Corporeal state was not the state of being Corporeal, but the state of becoming Corporeal. Once the foundation is built, she will have a material body no different from humans.

The cultivation of evil spirits was a strange one. Rather than cultivating to become a strong ghost, it was more like cultivating to become alive again.

Perhaps, this was why evil spirits harbor resentment towards the living.

It was because they had died unjustly before their time and wanted to live again, so they prey on the flesh of the living to rebuild their mortal body.

Fortunately, Duna and Lumi did not have to go through this process. With enough pseudo-Grandmist Energy, they would build a more perfect body than what the flesh of humans can offer.

While Duna was busy building her foundation, Leon quietly observed the battlefield.

The battle ended shortly, and the large dark dome began to disappear, showing the Great Warriors trapped inside.

Every one of them had completed their breakthrough. It was only Chief Valencia that was still in the middle of her breakthrough to the Mid-rank Battle Master realm.

After this great battle, the Darkmoon Tribe lost a few hundred more people, but they also gained a few hundred more Great Warriors at the same time.

Thus, although their number of warriors have been reduced, they have become collectively stronger as a tribe.

Sabertooth assumed command of the tribe in Chief Valencia's place and began issuing orders to the warriors, "Clean up the battlefield and collect the bodies of our fallen brothers and sisters!"

"Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

"Send the seriously wounded brothers and sisters back for emergency first-aid immediately!"

"Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

"Don't leave a single of those precious bones and other equipment on the battlefield behind! Get someone to fetch them back. They make good materials for Venerable Shamans to tinker with!"

"Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

"You—You don't need to go! Stay here and guard the chief—!"

Boom!

As Sabertooth directed the warriors on the field, the ground beneath Chief Valencia cracked as she shot to her feet angrily with surging momentum and vigorous aura.

Her breakthrough was a success, but she was not happy!

"SABERTOOTH!"

Chief Valencia exploded.

"Yes, Chief Valencia?"

Sabertooth answered with a startled expression.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The chief roared.

Sabertooth was perplexed by the question and said, "Why I was issuing orders to clean up the battlefield in your stead, chief."

"Issuing orders, my ass!"

Whack!

Chief Valencia smacked Sabertooth in the back of the head and sent him tumbling into the ground.

"Chief?"

Sabertooth had no idea what he had done wrong.

"Why the f*ck are you doing it over here?! Are you trying to break my concentration and annoy me to death with your loud f*cking mouth?!" Chief Valencia cussed.

Only then did Sabertooth realized where he had erred.

"My apologies, chief. It was not on purpose."

"Whatever. Get out of here. Go do your thing somewhere."

Chief Valencia kicked him away and observed the surrounding with a frown. The breakthrough took longer than she thought. There was no opponent for her to test her newfound strength on.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Chief Valencia," Leon said.

Chief Valencia turned to Leon and nodded.

"Un, it is all thanks to Duna. I would like to express my gratitude to her. Where is she now?"

"She's just right over there, but I believe now is it not a good time to talk to her. She is currently recuperating." Leon pointed and explained.

"In that case, I can only postpone for later. It is our tribe's greatest blessing to have you two this time around. Our losses would have been disastrous otherwise." Chief Valencia said with heartfelt appreciation as she watched the warriors clean up the battlefield in the distance.

Leon shook his head wryly and denied, "You give me too much credit, chief. I did not do anything in this battle. Everything was accredited to Lumi—and Duna's efforts."

"Even so, I would like to thank you for what you have done for us."

"Then I will shamelessly accept these feelings of gratitude."

"Chief!"

A warrior rushed over with an urgent report.

Chief Valencia glanced at the warrior before returning her attention to Leonhardt and said, "Let us continue our talk another time. A room has been reserved for you in my humble abode. Feel free to return and get some rest if you wish. I need to take care of some matters."

Leon's mouth twitch.

The giant palace was considered a humble abode? Well he be damned. The chief was too modest.

"Don't mind me, Chief Valencia. Please go ahead and do what it is you need to do."

After Chief Valencia nodded and left, Leon ran into some familiar faces for some small talk before they all busied themselves with their own matters. Everyone had something to do except him.

He glanced around to see what he can do to help. After spotting a warrior bleeding profusely while be carried, he made his way over and said, "Put him down. He is going to bleed to death at this rate. Let me heal him."

Healing was his expertise.

"Do it quickly!"

"Y-Yes!"

The young warrior hesitated before responding after Leon's solemn urging and placed the bleeding warrior down.

"Can my arm still be saved?" The bleeding warrior asked with cold sweat while gripping on his right arm, which was only attached by a small piece of flesh.

"Your arm should have been beyond saving at this point, but fortunately for you, you met me."

"Please help me!"

The wounded warrior.

Leon nodded.

The wounded warrior's arm was basically cut off, but so long as the arm was still alive, it can be saved.

Divine-tier medicine could indeed mend broken limbs and regrow new ones, but Leon did not have any divine-tier medicine on him.

It was just the right time to practice a new medical technique he had developed. It infuses his existing medical knowledge with his new abilities.

"Hold his arm like this for me."

"Yes!"

Leon instructed the young warrior after pressing a few acupoints and stopping the bleeding.

Afterward, his hands glowed with the green aura from wood energy and began to forming refined energy strings on the tips of his fingers before shooting the green strings into the arm.

The green energy strings intricately weaved around the broken nerves, muscles, and bones and connected them together before the regenerative properties of wood energy healed the damaged tissues.

A few minutes later, the wound on the arm was closed, and the wounded warrior regained his arm's senses.

"What a divine miracle! I thought I lost this arm for good! Thank you, Big Brother Leonhardt! You are a Divine Doctor!"

"Alright, try not to move it too much. I have only healed it superficially." Leon turned to the young warrior and said, "You can take him back for the rest of the procedure now."

"Yes, right away!"

The young warrior answered.

He was honored to have witnessed such a miraculous sight. The person's method of healing was practically a work of art!

After the duo left, Leon went to find his next gravely wounded patient. He did not invest too much into one patient to maximize the number of patients he could treat.

As long as the severe aspect was treated, the rest can be left for the tribe's medics to handle.

In the following two hours, several dozens of warriors were saved from permanent disabilities as a result of Leon's efforts.

At this moment, Duna opened her eyes and sighed with a bit of regret. Few people were left on the battlefield.

"I need more pseudo-Grandmist Energy to build a perfect corporeal body. I should find that person and ask him where he got this amazing thing."

Duna decided with clenched fists.

She felt guilty, but she will be shameless for herself and for her little sister if it is what it takes to get her hands on some more pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

"Hm, where could he have gone?" Duna looked around before grabbing a nearby warrior and asked overbearingly, "You, tell me where Leonhardt is."

"Ah? Big Brother Leonhardt should be in the medical bay where the wounded warriors are taken." The warrior answered nervously.

"I see, thanks."

Duna nodded and took a few steps before suddenly pausing after sensing something in her mind.

"It seems like the little girl is waking up. My time is up."

There was a subtle sad look in Duna's eyes, but she quickly shook her head and closed her eyes.

Chapter 380 - Being Followed

Shortly after Chief Valencia left with the warrior scout, she asked, "What news do you have for me? If it is not important, then make it short. There is a lot of clean-up work to be done."

"It's the group of vagrants, chief."

The scout stated.

"Oh? The vagrants? What do they want? Are they still hiding sneakily near the borders?"

"No, chief. Most of the vagrants have already left during the start of the battle. However, a small group had secretly snuck in from the northern side while the tribe was busy fighting in the south. Although they were very subtle, my team still tracked and locked onto all their locations."

The scout reported.

"They dare sneak into our tribe without my permission? They must be spies from the other tribes on the plains."

Chief Valencia's eyes turned cold, and asked, "Did you find out how strong they are?"

"I am very sorry, chief. My team has yet to ascertain their cultivation. Please punish me!" The scout said regretfully.

"No, that is fine. It is good to be cautious and not alarm the enemy. You did are very good. Continue to monitor them covertly and find out what they after. If it is detrimental to the tribe, you are to engage the enemy at once and capture them for me. However, if you deem that they are too strong, report to me at once!"

"Yes, chief!"

The scout bowed and prepared to leave at once.

"Wait!"

"Is there anything else, chief?"

Chief Valencia did not answer immediately. She pondered for a moment before asking, "Which direction did the rest of the vagrants headed to?"

"I believe it was the southwestern direction, but I am not exactly confident. However, it has not been too long since I sent one of my men to follow them. He should still be in the range of the long-distance voice transmission shell. If you can give me some time, I will ask him to validate the truth."

"Then do it at once." Chief Valencia ordered.

"Yes, chief!"

The scout obliged and took out a white shell with intricately carved red patterns and began commuting to the other side through it.

A few breathes later, the scout nodded and said, "I have confirmed with my men. The vagrants are indeed headed southwest and have not changed directions since they left our borders. Is there a problem, chief?"

Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes coldly.

"Not so much of a problem for us, but what they are planning to do is very disrespectful; it might as well be a personal problem. Tell me, how do you feel if others took advantage of you?"

"I will be aggrieved and want to right the wrong. Why do you ask this, chief?"

The scout was confused.

"You still haven't realized it? What do you think is in the southwest direction?"

"In the southwest from here is… the Blackwind Tribe. But the Blackwind Tribe has fallen to the Bone Calamity, so there should only be a city of ruins left there. If the vagrants are headed there, they will find…"

The scout thought aloud and soon understood why the chief did not seem happy to know that the vagrants were heading southwest.

Seeing the scout's somber look, Chief Valencia knew that the scout had understood what she was implying.

"Right, the Blackwind Tribe may have fallen, but its survivors have been assimilated into our tribe. Therefore, everything that is left behind in the ruins of the Blackwind Tribe rightfully belongs to us… These vagrants are nothing more than thieves trying to steal in our backyards!"

"These vagrants are too audacious! How dare they take advantage of the chaos to rob us of what is rightfully ours! Even if we don't want it, it belongs to the Seven Tribe Alliance! Who the hell do these people think they are to waltz into our territory and take our stuff?! Chief, I suggest for us to quickly arrange a punitive force to go teach them a lesson!"

The scout said angrily with gritted teeth and a firmly clenched fist.

"I understand how you feel, but the situation does not permit it. We have just finished fighting a large-scale battle. The warriors need time to recuperate and rest. Also, we do not know how strong these vagrants, not to mention that they number in the thousands. If we arrange such a large force to go after them, it will leave our tribe vulnerable. Perhaps, that is what the enemy wants us to do!"

Chief Valencia sighed and shook her head.

The scout scratched his head in frustration after listening to the chief's carefully analytic view on the matter.

"Dammit, how is this still a group of vagrants? It is more like a damn army! Are we just going to let them do as they please? To come and go as they wish on our lands?"

"Naturally not, but this is not something for you to concern yourself with. Just continue to carry out the task I have for you. I am going to use the grand transmission pillar to commute with the distant Crimsonfog Tribe and notify them of the situation." Chief Valencia said coolly.

"It seems the chief already has a plan. Then this subordinate will take his leave."

The scout bowed and took his leave.

…

After Duna closed her eyes, her consciousness faded into slumber as another consciousness awoke and took control of the body.

The black dress lost its power source and faded away, returning to the lily-white dress, usually adorned by Lumi.

"Eh? Ehhh~? Where is everyone? What happened to the battle? What is going on???"

Needless to say, Lumi was totally confused and oblivious to the current situation. Her memory was a blank sheet when she tried to recall.

The warrior on the side wore a peculiar look as he looked at her strangely.

Did she seriously not know? Or is she trying to play a prank on him? Why does she seem like a completely different person to the one she was a few moments ago? Lumi? Duna? Does she have something like a multiple personality disorder?

Lumi suddenly recalled something and panicked as she quickly glanced down at her chest. She heaved a sigh of relief to see that nothing was wrong with it but found that was strange in and of itself.

She was sure that she was struck by a powerful arrow. The pain was vivid in her memory. How did the hole disappear? Was she going crazy?

'I should go ask Leon.'

She decided.

Looking around, she failed to find Leon, so she approached the nearby warrior and politely asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Leonhardt is?"

"Big Brother Leonhardt is at the med bay where the wounded warriors are taken to…" The warrior repeated the same answer he gave to Duna moments ago with a strange studying gaze.

"I see. Thank you."

Lumi quickly expressed her gratitude and left.

Nothing from her expression seemed false. The warrior was baffled by the fact that a banshee could have split personalities. In fact, it was the first time he witnessed anyone with split personalities.

…

Over at the Med Bay, many wounded warriors were placed on stretchers made from bones and hides of demonic beasts.

No matter how severely wounded they were, not a single one of them uttered a cry of pain. They were warriors, and injuries were a frequent occurrence to them. They have long gotten used to the pain and developed a high tolerance for it.

"I've done what I can here. I'll leave the rest to you guys." Leon said to the medics in charge of applying first-aid treatment to the wounded warriors.

"Thank you for the hard work, Big Brother Leonhardt. You are a real miracle worker. Your divine healing has saved many warriors from permanent disabilities. It is a great shame that you are not part of our tribe."

The medic said.

He understood that with Leonhardt's abilities, he could go to any tribe and be most welcomed. The tribes never lacked warriors; they lacked capable healers.

More often than not, many warriors are forced to give up on their warrior's path due to getting crippled by their grave injuries in battle.

If not for such cases, there would definitely be more powerhouses on the Infertile Plains.

"Well, things are still open for discussion with your chief," Leon said with a smile.

Everyone in the med bay perked their ears to listen as their eyes lit up excitedly.

"You mean…?"

"Yeah, I could be joining, but we will have to see."

Leon left shortly after leaving those words behind. He decided to head back to the chief's palace to meet Darlene, but not before passing through the playground to secretly check on Mia.

As he walked down the empty streets, he noticed a cloaked figure had been secretly following him from the darkness since he left the med bay.

He paused his steps and shouted, "Come out! Why are you following me?"

"Sorry to alarm you, Young Master Leonhardt.. I have heard words of your recent exploits and wanted a chance to meet you. May I have a moment of your time to move to a private place to discuss some important matters?"

Chapter 381 - Power Of Spacetime

"Interesting."

Leon extended his senses and searched the area to see if the cloaked figure had any accomplices nearby.

The breath was weak, but he managed to detect the presence of another human. However, this person seemed to have been secretly monitoring the cloaked figure. They did not appear to be on the same side.

After knowing this, Leon nodded, "Lead the way."

"Thank you for your understanding, Young Master Leonhardt." The cloaked figure smiled unsuspectingly under his hood and led Leon into a more isolated and dark area away from the main street.

You are not from this tribe, are you? Which tribe do you belong to?" Leon casually asked the cloaked figure, but he was ready to retreat at the slightest sign of danger.

"Yes, I am not from this tribe. I wonder if Young Master Leonhardt have heard of the Great Ironhawk Tribe?"

"The Great Ironhawk Tribe?"

Leon furrowed his brows. The name did not ring a bell. Apparently, this tribe was not part of the alliance the Darkmoon Tribe belonged to.

"It seems Young Master Leonhardt has not traveled beyond the territories of the Seven Tribe Alliance. This is understandable. Someone like you has long been noticed by everyone if you have visited the central plains before."

"The Great Ironhawk Tribe is from the Infertile Plains' central region. Our tribe possesses 3 ancestors at the Battle King realm and 20 warriors at the Battle Master realm. We are considered one of the relative stronger tribe out there." The cloaked figure introduced.

"Is that right… and so? What do you intend to achieve by revealing this bit of information to me? Are you not afraid of being hunted down by the Darkmoon Tribe's warriors? I heard the Seven Tribe Alliance share a terrible relationship with other tribes beyond their borders." Leon said intriguingly.

"It is a risk I am willing to take if it means I can invite Young Master Leonhardt to the central region to join our tribe. What do you think of our tribe? Whatever the Darkmoon Tribe intends to offer Young Master Leonhardt, we are willing to double the benefits."

"Hoh…?"

On the top of a building some distance away, the scout overheard everything and gnashed his teeth angrily while simultaneously clenching his fists.

'F*ck! So it's a rat from the Great Ironhawk Tribe! How dare this mother f*cker come into our city and sneakily try to poach our people! I must cripple him and teach him a lesson he will never forget!' The scout viciously thought.'

Just as he was about to move in for the strike, a silent hand reached out from behind and applied pressure on his shoulder and stopped him, following the person's whispering voice, "Wait."

"Big brother?" The scout uttered after getting a careful look at the person. It was another scout in the same line of duty as him.

The person brought the index finger of his other hand to his lips and hushed, "Shh, be quiet."

"What are you doing here? What about the target you were monitoring?" the scout quietly whispered.

The person did not explain and directly pointed in a specific direction. After the scout followed the trajectory directed by the person, he was quickly startled to realize that there was someone else nearby.

That person had not been there earlier when he checked and must have arrived sometime after. However, the person was very subtle. The scout would not have noticed unless his big brother pointed the person out for him.

Leon stood there and appeared to be in deep contemplation of the cloaked figure's offer, but in truth, he was counting the number of people that were arriving with his superhuman hearing.

After some time, his count stopped at 7 people. Including the cloaked figure in front of him, there were a total of 8 other people.

'About for from each side, huh?' Leon silently mused before directing his attention back to the cloaked figure's offer.

"Although I have yet to negotiate with Chief Valencia, your offer is quite tempting. However, what will you do if I were to refuse?"

When this question was asked, the cloaked figured raised an eyebrow and said with a frown, "I cannot understand why you would refuse. Our tribe is stronger, and the benefits we are willing to offer is greater. No matter how you look at it, you only stand to gain from this. You have no reason to refuse."

"You seem to forget that we are in the middle of the Darkmoon Tribe. To enjoy the benefits your tribe is offering, we must first get out of here alive. However, there's a more important point. You do not seem to hold any great position in your tribe. There is no weight in your promises. How can I guarantee that my interest will be met when I arrive in your tribe?"

Leon wore an amusing smile.

From the start, he had zero intention of following the cloaked figure to the Great Ironhawk Tribe. It was too far from the teleportation array, not to mention that his important people were right here, in the Darkmoon Tribe.

When the cloaked figured realized that the other party had zero interest even after all that talking, his expression became more somber and gloomy under the hood.

"It seems Young Master Leonhardt has no intention of accepting the offer. In that case, I can only forcefully take you back with me. And should that fail, I will have no choice but to—"

The cloaked figure did not finish his words before his eyes flashed with a cold light and immediately made his move.

The distance between the cloaked figure and Leon was closed in an instance. Although Leon was prepared, he was still surprised by the cloaked figure's speed!

Too fast!

Leon could not follow the person's movements!

'Accel World!'

He cast temporal acceleration on himself, and the world immediately became slower—No, it should be said that the world appeared slower!

Time was constant, and as it should be! Only his perception of it was quicker, making everything around him to appear slower!

The cloaked figure's incredible speed suddenly became readable to him as he followed the person's movement and saw the person's attack trajectory.

The person wanted to incapacitate him with a single chop!

Although Leon could read the movements with his eyes, his body was not fast enough to dodge the attack!

'Distortion!'

Leon bent the space in front of him with his Spatial Laws, and the cloaked figure swiped horizontally at empty air. His body may be slow, but his mind was fast!

"What!"

The cloaked figure was greatly alarmed that his sure-hit chop had missed its intended target! Leon took the chance to retreat as far as he could with a single leap!

At the same time, everyone secretly in hiding reacted quickly and made their move!

"Big Brother Leonhardt is in trouble! Quickly assist him! Do not let these bastards get to him!" One of the senior scouts roared.

"That person is a Peak-rank Great Warrior! None of us will be able to hold him back for long! Quickly send the signal!" Another scout urged as he dashed forward and quickly engaged another cloaked figure in battle.

A signal flare was soon fired into the air and lighted up the sky above the area.

"Dammit, Ardeshir! We strayed from the main objective for this, yet you cannot even grab a kid at the Early-rank Great Warrior realm! Are you even a Peak-rank Great Warrior?! How can you fail?!"

A cloaked figure on the other side barked in annoyance as he forcefully fended off the scouts that suddenly appeared.

"How the f*ck would I know how I fail?! I was so certain I was going to knock the kid out, but it was like space was suddenly stretched!" The cloaked figure barked back in frustration and went after Leon again.

However, two scouts at the Mid-rank Great Warrior realm appeared between them and blocked the Peak-rank Great Warrior's path.

"Out of the way!"

The two scouts stood no chance against the Peak-rank Great Warrior as they were flung away like swatted flies. Their bodies flew like cannonballs and broke through the walls of several buildings.

"Why do you have to make this so difficult on yourself?! Just follow us, obediently!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior roared as he closed in on Leon.

"You better not f*ck up again. We don't have much time now that we exposed ourselves!" Another cloaked figure accomplice barked.

"I know!"

The Peak-rank Great Warrior swiped at Leon again, but he managed to evade with ease the second time around.

The difference between going into Accel World and already being in Accel World might not seem like a big deal, but it made a huge difference!

Even though the opponent's strength and speed vastly outstripped Leon, he had the situation under control! With the power of spacetime on his side, he was nigh uncatchable!

"What! How could I fail again?! What darn sorcery is this?!"

The Peak-rank Great Warrior was in disbelief.. His notion of absolute strength trumps everything was in tatters. How can a little Early-rank Great Warrior be so f*cking difficult to catch?!

Chapter 382 - Witty Escape

On another side of the city, another group of cloaked figures hiding in a dark alley turned their heads up towards the signal flare in the distance.

"That area is where the others went. Something must have happened there. I should quickly head over and check it out. They could be in trouble and need our help." One of them whispered with a womanly voice.

"Are you a damn fool or what? So what if they are in trouble? That is their fault! We are trying not to avoid attention, so we carry out the task assigned to us, not attract it! You hear me?!" Another one chided in a repressed voice.

"Right… that was my mistake. I'm sorry." The person was quick to acknowledge her wrong.

"I know your lover is over there, but do not forget why we are here and think of the bigger picture. If we fail the task and return to the tribe, the chief will not spare us."

Hearing mention of their chief, the group shivered.

Their fear of the chief was a deeply rooted one.

The tribal chief of the Great Ironhawk Tribe was a ruthless and cold-blooded leader who would not think twice before executing anyone that provokes his ire.

The number of humans killed by the chief was enough to form a river of blood and a mountain of bones. Many men and women died for the smallest and stupidest of reasons, for example, being too ugly.

"Let us continue with the mission…"

"Right."

The group quietly disappeared towards the city's center.

…

Leon's manipulation of higher-order laws was something the people of the Infertile Plains were unfamiliar with.

Forget about the Peak-rank Great Warrior's incomprehensiveness; even the scouts did not understand how he could evade the attacks of someone clearly out of his league.

The prevalence of body cultivation was dominant on the plains, but awakening cultivation was something still in its infancy.

"I don't believe it! If I cannot catch you, then I can only kill you! You should have just obediently followed us back to our tribe! Why do you have to make things harder on all of us?!"

The Peak-rank Great Warrior drew his dagger and lunged at Leon with increasingly faster and more ferocious attacks.

With the swooshing sounds of the fluttering wind as the dagger's blade ripped through the air at incredible speed and sharpness, each thrust and swing aimed for Leon's life!

Nevertheless, Leon continued to retreat, sidestep, and move in irregular ways to evade each and every strike with the assistance of his Spacetime Laws.

Even so, it was not as easy as he made it look!

His comprehension of the Spatial Law and Temporal Laws were still at a rudimentary level. His application was limited, and the Peak-rank Great Warrior was too strong!

While he could dodge, he could not escape! It was impossible to get the person off his tail!

The dense killing intent made him feel incredibly pressured as the slightest mistake will cost him his life! Even so, if he cannot escape, he will retaliate!

"If I don't want to leave, no one can make me! Don't think that I will continue evading your attacks forever; I can also attack!"

Leon spat coldly.

A bone spear suddenly appeared in Leon's grip before burning hot flames ignited on the tip of the spear, adding a layer of lethality to it.

Shortly after, Leon made a downward vertical swing at the Peak-rank Great Warrior with his flaming spear.

"Bahaha! Asking for death! Do you think an attack of this level will work on me?!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior sneered. He was surprised by the person's ability to conjure flames, but that was not important.

The boy's attack was fast, but not fast enough!

The Peak-rank Great Warrior struck out with his dagger, but he did not aim to receive Leon's blow! He was aiming to slip past it and deal Leon a fatal blow!

The Peak-rank Great Warrior predicted the scene in his mind, but the reality was different!

Peng!

The spear and dagger strangely connected after space was distorted!

"WHAT! It's that strange power again! Wait! This feeling—!?"

The Peak-rank Great Warrior quickly noticed the feeling of the clash during the moment of impact was off. It did not produce an explosive effect of two clashing forces!

Leon did not commit to a full-powered clash with the other party. Rather, he used the other person's strength as a springboard to propel himself away and escape!

"Later, sucker!"

Leon purposely taunted the Peak-rank Great Warrior and made a provocative gesture with his free hand as his body flew back at incredible speed from the repelling force.

He had quickly concocted the retreated plan after the two scouts were blown away. With the disadvantage in both numbers and strength, it would have become dangerous if another cloaked figure went after him.

"ARGH! How dare you trick me! I'm going to kill you!"

The Peak-rank Great Warrior was livid with rage after being treated like a fool. The humiliation drove him furious!

"Enough! How you fooled around enough?! We need to retreat before reinforcements arrive! It is clear that our movements have been compromised from the start! We have underestimated the Darkmoon Tribe's intelligence severely!" A cloaked figure barked angrily.

"You guys retreat first! I will leave after I kill this f*cking brat! A warrior can be killed, not humiliated!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior stated madly.

"Hmph! Suit yourself! Everyone, retreat!" The cloaked figure did not waste time and immediately spoke to the other two cloaked figures.

The cloaked figure did not waste his breath on persuading the person. It was clear that the Peak-ranked Great Warrior had lost his rationality due to rage.

The other two scouts were unable to hold back the three cloaked figures from escaping. It was clear that they were no match for the cloaked figures.

The other three cloaked figures were all High-rank Great Warriors, while the scouts were only Mid-rank Great Warriors.

"You are truly a stupid muscle brain. Is killing me more important than your own life?" Leon continued to taunt as he retreated from the Peak-rank Great Warrior's pursuit.

The person was truly a madman with no regard for his own life. Did the person think he can just blatantly chase and hunt him down in the heart of the Darkmoon Tribe?!

"Hmph! You don't know your own worth! If our Great Ironhawk Tribe cannot have someone like you, no one else can! This is what you have forced me to do! If you cannot be used by us, then you will only be detrimental to our tribe alive! You are better off dead!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior roared.

Leon created some distance between them with his wits, but with the Peak-rank Great Warrior's speed, it was only a matter of time before the person catches up.

As they darted through the streets, a tyrannical bone saber suddenly flew over and impaled itself in front of the Peak-rank Great Warrior!

Boom!

The Peak-rank Great Warrior was forced to give up his pursuit as his expression turned ugly in the next moment.

"Who did you say is better off dead? I think you are tired of living! How dare you behave rampantly in my tribe! Who the hell do you think you are?" Chief Valencia spoke as she arrived promptly.

"It's good that Chief Valencia came. I was beginning to think that no one was." Leon sighed as he was finally given a breather.

The chase took quite the toll on him after all the extensive treatment he gave to the wounded warriors back at the med bay.

"Sorry for the delay, Little Brother Leonhardt. I had somethings to take care of—Where do you think you are going?!" Chief Valencia suddenly snorted and gave chase after retrieving her Soul Weapon.

The Peak-rank Great Warrior tried to escape at the first opportunity given to him. No matter how brave and tough he thought he was, he knew that he was no match for a Battle Master.

It was only now that he began to regret his rashness.

Nevertheless, it was impossible for a Peak-rank Great Warrior to escape from a Mid-rank Battle Master.

In a short instance, Chief Valencia caught up to the Peak-rank Great Warrior and showed him who's boss.

The battle did not even last a few breaths before the Peak-rank Great Warrior was floored to the ground with all his limbs broken and crippled.

More reinforcement along with the scouts arrived shortly after, but everything was already over.

"Chief Valencia."

The people greeted.

"Take this person to the cell to be locked away and go request for Master Woodrow to swing by and interrogate the person." Chief Valencia ordered the scouts.

"Yes, chief!"

The scout obliged.

A High-rank Great Warrior approached and asked, "Is something like this necessary to trouble the Venerable Shaman? Why not let me interrogate the person?"

"No doubt that a Peak-rank Great Warrior will have tight lips. I do not doubt your interrogative skills, but we are short on time. Don't forget that we still have a few rats on the loose. No doubt that the capture of one will alarm the rest. This issue needs to be solved quickly. The commotion has alarmed everyone, and we need to keep the streets safe for the people."

"I understand."

The High-rank Great Warrior bowed and acknowledged Chief Valencia's wise decisions.

Chapter 383 - Picking Up The Little Girl

Meanwhile, Lumi continued to search for Leon over at the med bay. When she arrived, everyone became so tensed, some of the wounded warrior's wound reopened and spurted blood like a little sprinkler.

"Ah, medic! I'm bleeding again!"

Although she no longer had the heavy and dense aura of resentment surrounding her, no one forgot the mysterious and frightening power she displayed. It was still fresh in their memory.

If they were to displease this banshee, there was no telling where the banshee will accidentally erase them from existence.

The thought of that was simply too scary to imagine.

"Hey, you!" Lumi picked a nearby medical-looking person and called him over, "Can I ask you some question?"

The person's heart jumped from the abruptness and stuttered, "Y-yes? How can I help you? I mean, what would you like to ask?"

"Can you tell me where Leonhardt is? I was told that he came here earlier." Lumi asked nicely.

Seeing the banshee being so polite, the fear in his heart was considerably abated. The person nodded and said, "The Divine Doctor—No, Big Brother Leonhardt was here, but you are too late. Big Brother Leonhardt had already left some time ago."

"Ah, really? Did he tell you where he was going?" Lumi asked with mild disappointment. Was that person avoiding her? He did not even wait for her and left her on the battlefield all alone. How hateful.

The medical person shook his head and said, "Big Brother Leonhardt did not specify his destination, but he had expended a great deal of energy to treat everyone. If I'm not wrong, Big Brother Leonhardt should have gone back to rest."

"I see, thank you very much!" Lumi expressed her gratitude before leaving promptly.

The medical person shook his hands and said, "No, no, it was nothing really! Glad to be of help!"

Shortly after Lumi was gone from sight, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. This white-dressed version was so much more approachable and easy-going compared to the black-dressed one.

Nevertheless, there was a certain pressure from the individual that still made them nervous and uneasy.

This veiled pressure came from the Devil's law comprehension that Lumi herself was not aware of it. But if she so wishes, she would be able to wield this power as simply as Duna did.

She flew back and reached the palace first. When she failed to find Leon, she did not continue to go look for him. She believed that he would return to the palace sooner or later as there were matters in the palace for him to deal with.

"Oh wow, they have fireworks! The people here sure are quick to celebrate their victory." Lumi exclaimed after seeing a signal flare shoot into the sky, mistaking it for celebratory fireworks.

…

After Chief Valencia settled her businesses with the surrounding warriors, she turned to Leon and said, "You're a valuable and heavily sought-after person, Little Brother Leonhardt. It is not safe outside during this following period. I suggest you don't wander around without any company. How about we return to my place for now?"

Leon thought briefly for a moment before nodding, "Alright."

"Ah, but before that, there is a place I must stop by. I hope you won't mind?" Chief Valencia stated.

"Not at all," Leon replied with a headshake as he becomes slightly curious. Nevertheless, he did not ask and followed the chief silently to find his answer.

The route they took coincided with the same path Leon originally intended to take. They stopped by the playground next to the academy for children.

The place was not only an educational facility but a great shelter with good insulation.

Many families could be seen waiting outside for their children to leave the academy grounds and find them so they could head home together.

Giggles and laughter could be heard as children dive into their parents' arms.

Apart from a select few who had not been within the shelter, most of the children were ignorant of the battle that occurred outside. The adults wanted to protect the children's innocence while they are still young and free from responsibilities.

Even so, not every child had a family to return to. Some children stood on the playground searching for their parents, but to no avail.

Not everyone made it back from the battle alive.

"What plans does the chief have for the orphans?" Leon curiously asked.

"Someone will take care of them and arrange new homes for them." Chief Valencia answered as she continued to search the crowd of outgoing children on the playground.

Leon assumed that the chief had come to pick up her children, but then again, he had not heard of the chief having any children despite having multiple lovers.

As they watch the crowd of children on the playground together, Leon wondered if he would be able to spot Mia among them.

After a moment, he recalled something he had heard from Ironhead and realized that the chief might be waiting to pick up Mia.

As if you confirm his speculation, he spotted Mia's appearance and saw the chief waving her hand over shortly after.

"Aunty!"

Mia ran over and dived towards Chief Valencia as she knelt down to catch the little girl with her open arms.

"How was school today, Little Mia? Did you behave well? Did anyone bully you? If they did, you can tell me. I will get someone to teach them a lesson." Chief Valencia said warmly.

Leon watched the chief doted on Mia greatly.

'Anyone bullying this little princess would only be other children. Was the chief seriously going to beat up other people's children if the little girl was bullied? No, maybe it had already happened.' Leon quietly mused.

The little girl giggled and nodded, "Un, Mia was very good today! The teachers all praised Mia for being well-behaved! After Aunty taught all those naughty kids a lesson, no one dared to bully Mia again!"

"Bahaha, is that so? That's good, that's good."

Chief Valencia nodded approvingly.

She had zero guilt for the fact that she had beaten up children before. Naughty children needed to be disciplined early, or they grow up spoiled and pick up many bad habits that stick with them for life.

Nevertheless, Leon sweated at the fact that the chief had no scruples beating other people's children.

What did the parents do when that happened? Did they complain? Did they harbor resentment towards the chief for it? Or… maybe not?

With the chief's great prestige, perhaps the parents might even felt that it was an honor for the chief to discipline their naughty children and offer their gratitude.

This could indeed be a good thing if the parents are too soft-hearted and doting to discipline their own children when they are naughty.

If they cannot do it, they should let others do it.

Raising a child was like raising plants. With the right amount of water and sunlight, they will grow nicely. But if too much water is given, they will drown and die.

As such, a loving parent might not necessarily be a good parent, while a strict and cold parent might not necessarily be a bad parent either.

The topic was quite subjective.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is Brother Leonhardt. He is very skilled in the art of healing. So, if you ever get hurt, this brother can fix you good as new." Chief Valencia introduced.

Leon had been standing inconspicuously behind the chief. As such, the little girl had totally overlooked him.

However, at that moment, their eyes finally met. The little girl's eyes quickly widened. Leon smiled wryly as he understood that the little girl had recognized him through the lion-headed cloak he was wearing.

Apart from a change in his skin tone, he practically looked the same as before. There were no surprises there.

He winked at Mia at once with one eye, and the little girl was bright enough to understand his meaning as she quickly held back the words that hung on the tips of her tongue cutely.

"Why don't you say hello to Brother Leonhardt for me?"

"Hello, Brother Leonhardt."

Mia greeted after Chief Valencia's urging.

"This little girl here is called Mia. She is somewhat like a daughter to me. I hope you can look out for her whenever you can while you are here in the city."

"No problem."

Leon smiled lightly.

Even without the chief's request, he would still do it. The little girl was his adopted little sister. Although they had spent a short time together, he treated his relationships seriously.

This was even more so for Mia. She would never forget how Leon treated her and took her out of the slums to eat good food and wear nice clothes.

It was a single act of kindness, but a lifetime of gratitude.

"Hello there, Mia. This brother is still new in this city and has not prepared any meeting gift. Would little Mia be willing to show this brother to some good food places and clothing stores around here?"

Little Mia's eyes reddened slightly as she nodded, "Un!"

Chapter 384 - A Problem Of Two Souls

After picking up Mia, they headed back to the Chief Palace together. Along the way, Chief Valencia was surprised by how well the other two got along.

She did not sense the slightest aversion to strangers from the little girl. Even she did not get such treatment.

The little girl was still a little wary of her when they first met. After her initial surprise, she thought with alarm, 'Aren't they getting along too well?!'

"Is Little Brother Leonhardt fond of children?" Chief Valencia asked, seemingly casual on the surface.

Ironhead had also asked Leon this question before. Thus, he did not think much of it and acknowledged it with a nod, "Un, I am fond of children."

Some distance between Mia and Leon was immediately created as Chief Valencia pulled Mia away and looked at Leon warily.

"I'm warning you, there's a line you cannot cross! Little Mia might be cute and adorable, but she is too young!" Chief Valencia warned while shielding Mia from Leon like a mother hen protecting its chick.

Leon was stunned before his eyes widened in horror and said, "Woah, hold on a f*cking minute! You are sorely mistaken! It's not like that!"

"It's not like what exactly?"

"It's not like… argh!"

Chief Valencia's wary gaze pierced right through Leon's heart. He received a serious mental blow after being looked at like he was some lolicon.

After furiously trying to explain himself out of the quagmire, the group of three made it back to the Chief Palace. Leon only managed to dodge a bullet after he finally convinced the chief of her misunderstanding.

Sweat trickled down his forehead after the ordeal while Mia could be heard giggling.

"I've heard Little Brother Leonhardt had exhausted himself while treating numerous warriors after the battle. Feel free to use the washroom and get some rest. We will meet again later after you are properly rested."

Chief Valencia bade goodbye to Leon before turning to the little girl and said, "Let us go see your mother, Little Mia."

"Alright, Aunty. See you next time, Brother Leon—Leonhardt!" Mia waved cutely while Chief Valencia carried her away.

Leon wave back but froze after seeing Chief Valencia turning her head around to give him a warning look.

It seemed that she was not entirely convinced.

Leon could only scratch his head wryly and accept the fact that Chief Valencia will continue to be guarded against him. He wondered what he had done wrong to be seen as a child predator.

"Haiz…"

He sighed despondently and headed back to the room he shared the night with Darlene. That girl must still be waiting for his return.

After taking a few dozen steps downs the guest rooms, he bumped into Lumi shortly after.

"Aha! I knew I would run into you here sooner or later! Why did you leave me behind outside the city all by myself?" Lumi said with an aggrieved expression.

"Ah, sorry about that. It must have slipped my mind while I was tending to the wounded warriors." Leon awkwardly said.

Lumi immediately pouted.

However, she shortly recalled the respect and admiration the wounded warriors had in their eyes when she mentioned Leon's name back in the med bay. Since he was busy doing good deeds, she could only unwillingly forgive him for leaving her behind.

"Never mind. There is something I want to ask you. What happened to the battle? I can't seem to remember anything…" Lumi began asking.

"Hmm…" Leon contemplated for a moment before asking back, "Do you really not remember anything while you were out."

Lumi shook her head.

Apart from before the scene of her getting shot, everything else was a blank slate until she woke up.

"Hmm, what can I say? A lot had happened. But before that, did you ever have an elder sister named Duna?" Leon inquired.

"An elder sister named… Duna? Hm? Duna… Duna…" Lumi mumbled the name repeatedly like she had heard it somewhere before, but it had become too distant and vague to remember.

When Lumi forced the issue, she suddenly lost strength and passed out as her body began to fall towards the ground.

"Lumi!"

Leon caught her before she hit the ground and felt the weight of her body. It was heavier compared to her weightless past. It could be said that she had gained weight.

This was possibly due to absorbing his pseudo-Grantmist Energy after Lumi advanced to the Corporeal state.

Leon placed Lumi inside his Worldspace and quickly reviewed some related books in the Archive with a slight frown.

Since Lumi passed out, Duna should have awakened. However, that was not the case. The both of them seemed to be unconscious.

"What's wrong, Lumi?" Maya appeared beside Leon and asked curiously.

"She passed out after I tried to mention her elder sister Duna to her," Leon answered promptly as he continued to peruse information on the matter.

But no matter how he looked, there did not seem to be any precedented medical cases that explained what happened to Lumi.

'An unprecedented case that has not been recorded in the [Divine Book of Life]? This is a first…' Leon frowned.

"You told her about her elder sister? Oh, you shouldn't have done that." Maya said.

"I can see that, and I am trying to understand why it is a problem. Do you know something?" Leon asked after seeing how Maya was quite willing to talk.

Since she seemed so cooperative, why would he continue using the Archive when he can ask the knowledgeable artifact spirit directly?

"Well, you should give up on checking the Archive for answers. Lumi's case is a special one. If I'm not wrong, her problem is no longer as simple as a psychological disorder nor a problem with the soul, but a problem that is a fusion of both problems."

Leon nodded.

The book in his hand dissipated into energy particles and flew back to the high-rise bookshelf before converging back into a book on the shelf. The high-rise bookshelf descended into the ground and disappeared shortly after, returning the Archive back to its flat white state.

"A fusion of both problems, huh? That is assuming that another soul is residing inside her apart from the fragment of Devil Soul. And that soul is supposedly Lumi's elder sister Duna. However, she seems to have forgotten this person due to her psychological disorder, which passed all her negative feelings onto Duna and merged with her…"

Leon began to analyze the problem quickly after Maya gave him a heading. His years of studying medicine did not seem to be in vain.

"So should Lumi becomes fully aware of Duna, her split personality would be fixed. But in the process of taking back the negative feelings she had given to her elder sister Duna, she will also be absorbing Duna herself… which leads to the merging of both their souls. But in the process of merging two souls, the more dominant one will take control, while the other one disappears…"

"You're quick to understand the heart of the matter. That is also what I have guessed. Thus, the reason she passed out with Duna not waking up either is none of them subconsciously want to merge with the other." Maya stated.

"It seems I should not bring up the topic of her elder sister again in the future," Leon said with a concerned frown. This matter was quite delicate.

"Yes, unless you want Lumi to disappear forever. Although she is the main host, Duna is definitely the stronger one of the two." Maya said.

Leon nodded.

He completely agreed with Maya's statement. Lumi soft and gentle, while Duna was vengeful and overbearing. Lumi definitely would not stand a chance against her elder sister if they fuse.

However, there was also another possibility, and that is Duna completely surrenders herself and allow Lumi to become the dominant one during the merge. Still, then Lumi would definitely not want that either. Thus, both of them fell into a self-induced coma, with neither one of them waking up.

"This is problematic. Let this matter end here."

"Sure, now about the matter with the new stories you promised—"

Swoosh!

Before Maya could finish her words, Leon's spirit had already disappeared from the Archive and returned to the outside world.

"This bastard sure is quick to run!" Maya stamped her in rage. Having lived such a long life, she found everything dull and boring. Reading novels has become her hobby, but Leon would not even grant that for her.

However, it was not that he did not want to, but the fact that there is none to give her!

The Darkmoon Tribe had a library, but the tribe was, after all, a warring tribe where everyone's life regularly dances on the precipice of danger. No one neither had the luxury nor boredom to be writing novels for others to read.

"Uh—"

Leon was met with Darlene's face up close as soon as he opened his eyes, causing him to let out a sound of surprise.

"You're back. What were you doing just standing here? Were you too tired and just took a nap on the spot?" Darlene inquired with a sweet smile before grabbing his hand and pulling him along. "Come, let us go back to our room."

"Wait, I have not washed up yet."

"Then let's go to the washroom. I will help wash your back." Darlene said proactively with a slight blush.

Shortly after, Leon's little brother woke up energetically as soon he began having dirty thoughts.

"Well… hehe… let us go wash together then."

Chapter 385 - Divine Demon Tree

At the center of a courtyard within the Chief Palace, there was a single tree of an unknown breed with special runes surrounding it to keep it alive.

The trunk and branches were crimson red like fresh blood, while the leaves were pitch black with a mysterious glow like black obsidian stones.

The tree looked quite demonic, but several servants were sitting by the foot of the tree in meditation. The Darkness Profound Energy near the black tree was much denser compared to other parts of the Darkmoon Tribe.

It was a rare breed capable of producing Darkness Profound Energy; this alone made the black tree's value inestimable. It was an invaluable and peerless treasure solely possessed by the chief of the Darkmoon Tribe.

Despite that, several selected servants were permitted to cultivate by the black tree. Their status was anything but ordinary.

A few more servants could be seen sweeping the fallen black leaves on the ground further away from them. The status between sweeping servants and the servants cultivating by the tree was like the difference between heaven and earth.

They simply cannot be compared.

The moment Chief Valencia stepped inside the courtyard while carrying Mia in her arms, the sweeping servants quickly took notice and humbly greeted with their heads lowered, "Chief Valencia."

"Un."

Chief Valencia acknowledged their greeting and lowered herself to let the little girl down.

Mia wanted to run towards the black tree, but Chief Valencia held onto the little girl and said, "Wait, your mother is cultivating. Don't disturb her."

The little girl immediately adorably covered her mouth before the word 'mother' escaped her mouth and waited patiently with the chief for the servants by the black tree to finish their cultivation session.

These servants were precisely the missing people Leon was looking for.

Even though Leon inferred that their living conditions were quite good working in the palace, he would have never thought that they were valued this greatly by the chief.

After some time, Helen and the other ex-disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect woke up from their cultivation session and noticed the nearby Mia and Chief Valencia.

"Chief Valencia, Mia, you're both here." Helen and the others greeted, before Helen asks, "How is the situation outside."

"The battle is over. We lost quite a few people, but it was a great victory, nonetheless. Many warriors advanced their strength, and so have mine." Chief Valencia answered her question with a wide smile. Evidently, she still felt good about her breakthrough.

"That's great news. Congratulation on your breakthrough, Chief Valencia!" Helen and the others congratulated.

"Thanks. After cultivating by the Divine Demon Tree for some time, what level have you all reached now?" Chief Valencia asked.

"We're not sure yet. Allow us to test our strengths."

After the chief nodded, Helen and the ex-disciples began executing some practice punches at the empty air. The force of their strikes was accurately sensed by the chief.

"The force is around 18,500 jin, huh? Not bad. You're all growing quickly." Chief Valencia praised before she felt Mia's small movements and realized she was still holding onto the little girl.

"Mother!"

Mia darted into Helen's arms after being released. Helen picked up Mia and carried her with a gentle expression.

"How's my little girl? Did anyone bully you in school today?"

"No!"

Mia answered cutely.

Chief Valencia watched them interact briefly with a warm expression before she said, "I'll let you two catch up. I have things I need to do."

After everyone bade goodbye to the chief and watch her disappear from the courtyard, Mia pulled herself closer to Helen's ears and whispered excitedly, "Mother, guess who I saw today?"

"Oh? Who did you see?" Helen asked casually with a warm smile.

She did not think much of the question, but when the little girl whispered the name in a lower volume only audible to Helen, she widened her eyes and whispered back, "Is that true? You saw your big brother?

"Definitely saw!" Mia said with heavy emphasis.

Helen became alarmed and glanced around with a bit of caution before she quietly said, "Let's head back to our room first. We will continue to talk there."

"Okayyy."

…

In another part of the Chief Palace, several hours later.

After washing up, the afterglow on Darlene's face could still be seen as they exited the washroom together.

"You're a real nymph, you know that?" Leon poked her nose while she was clinging to his arm like honey.

Leon shook his head wryly when he recalled the moment he thought that Darlene genuinely wanted to help him wash his back. Who knew that she was aroused than he was and be the one to initiate things?

"Hehe!"

Darlene simply giggled sweetly and flashed Leon a flirtatious look. In return, Leon smacked her round apple booty a slap and said, "Trying to seduce me again? Watch how I teach you a lesson!"

"Ahh! Don't~!"

Darlene said coquettishly and tried to escape Leon's grasp as he teasingly chased after her. However, at that moment, their little game of cat and mouse was interrupted.

"Ahem!"

A female servant coughed with a slight blush.

After catching Leon's attention, the female servant spoke, "The chief would like to see you, Young Master Leonhardt."

"I see. That much time has already passed, huh? I understand. I will see the chief shortly." Leon nodded to the female servant. It seems that he had spent too much time 'washing' with Darlene back in the washroom.

"Then I will take my leave first." The female servant said and curtsied politely before taking her leave.

Shortly after, Leon turned his attention to Darlene and said, "Why don't you head back to the room first? I have something important to talk to the chief about."

"Then I will wait for hubby. You know where to find me." Darlene threw Leon a seductive look before she hurried off in case Leon punish her bottoms again.

'This seductress…'

Leon shook his head wryly and began heading off to see Chief Valencia. Along the way, his brows wrinkled slightly as he felt something was slightly off.

Although he did not mind his women taking the initiative with him, he felt that Darlene was too proactive in trying to please him.

This did not seem to match with the information that female servants were supposedly very reserved.

Was Darlene still afraid that he would throw her away after popping her cherry? He could only contemplate these things later as he was about to meet the chief.

Shortly after Leon was gone, Darlene turned around. She glanced in the direction he left with an indecipherable expression for a moment before continuing to enter the guest room reserved for Leon.

…

"I heard you want to see me," Leon spoke as soon as he entered the main hall and spotted Chief Valencia seated by the dining table, filled with an array of exquisite dishes.

Chief Valencia nodded and said, "I supposed you have not eaten yet. Come, join me. We will talk over the meal."

Looking at the appetizing food on the table, Leon's stomach began to rumble with eagerness. The food gave off an aromatic scent not inferior to the food on the night of the great feast.

"Since the chief has offered, I shall humbly accept," Leon said and brought himself over to the dining table before seating himself opposite of the chief.

No dining utensils were prepared, but an empty plate was placed there. The warriors of Darkmoon Tribe ate with their hands and do not rely on any tools.

"Please, dig in. No need to wait."

"Don't mind if I do then."

Leon immediately dug into the food. The smell of delicious food made him feel famished. However, he began to feel awkward shortly after noticing the chief watching him eat without touching her own food.

"Ahem."

Leon wiped his mouth and cleared his throat before he initiated the topic, "I've given it some thought. I can join the tribe, but I have several conditions."

Before the meeting, Chief Valencia was already mentally prepared to satisfy Leonhardt's requirements to recruit him. His abilities were simply too valuable to pass on.

Just the fact that Leonhardt can treat the Demon Possession problem means that he is a person that must be protected at all cost.

The elder generations of warriors all cripple their Demon Core once they reach a certain age because the chances of contracting Demon Possession become noticeably higher the older one ages.

No one cripples their Demon Core after contracting Demon Possession. This is because they would have already lost control of their Demon Core and unable to safely self-destruct it.

Because of the threat posed by Demon Possession, the elderly warriors always had the regret of not knowing how far they could have progressed in their cultivation before contracting Demon Possession.

However, everything changes with Leonhardt around. Everyone would try to hit their absolute limit because they would know that they can still be saved after contracting Demon Possessing.

The chances of Battle Masters breaking through to Battle Kings would also be higher due to that.

Chief Valencia glanced at Leonhardt with anticipation and tried to calm her excitedly heart before asking, "What are your conditions for joining our tribe?"

Chapter 386 - Cannot Hold It

"Firstly, I do not want my freedom to be limited or restrained by anything or anyone. I will take up residence in the tribe and contribute towards its development and survival, but I will not heed the orders of anyone. I do not like people forcing me to do something I do not want to do." Leon stated.

"This condition is not a problem. We will treat you like how we treat the other Venerable Shamans. What are your other conditions?" Chief Valencia nodded forthrightly. Her goal was never to control Leonhardt but to convince him to stay in their tribe. So long as he is around, they could seek him out and request his help.

She knew that vagabonds are unfettered people who like to travel a lot. Asking the person to stay was already a big request. To ask for the person's allegiance was simply asking them to run away.

She had to make sure not to cross his bottom line.

"My second condition for you to give Darlene and the other female servants with Void Bodies to me. This won't be a problem, right?" Leon asked.

"Oh?"

Chief Valencia was slightly surprised by this condition and said, "I can understand if it just Darlene, but why do you also want the other female servants with Void Bodies? What do you plan to do with them?"

"I don't plan to do anything to them except use them as servants to look after my designated home. It was Darlene's request that I take them with me." Leon stated as he peeled a piece of meat from one of the dishes on the table and popped it in his mouth casually.

"It was Darlene's request, huh? It seems Little Brother Leonhardt has grown quite fond of this little servant. Very well, I will agree to this condition. Anything else?" Chief Valencia asked.

Leon smiled lightly and did not comment on her opinion. After a short moment of contemplation, he nodded and said, "I do have another condition, but think of it as more of a request from me. I need a permanent residence and a place to open my medical clinic. Will this be a problem?"

"Not at all! I cannot be happier to satisfy this request." Chief Valencia stated eagerly.

Since Leonhardt was taking the initiative to set up his clinic, they would not need to ask him for favors. They just needed to visit his clinic when it is opened to be treated. She only hopes that Leonhardt does not charge a sky-high price for his consolation fees.

"I remember Ironhead had arranged a private courtyard for your accommodation. What did you think of that private courtyard? Was it to your liking?"

Leon recalled the courtyard in his memory and nodded, "I've only stayed briefly, but I have seen the interior. It's truly not a bad place."

Although he felt it was still a little barren and could use some renovation, he did not mention this. After all, wherein the Infertile Plains could he grow lush green plants?

"How about making that private courtyard your permanent residence?" Chief Valencia suggested.

"Is that alright? I heard the private courtyard still belongs to the family members of a deceased warrior."

"You do not have to worry about this. I will negotiate with the family and transfer the property under your name once I purchase the property from them."

"This doesn't seem proper, no?" Leon asked with slightly furrowed brows. The chief definitely has the purchasing power with her wealth, but he did not want to owe too much, especially when he did not earn it.

Chief Valencia shook her head and said, "It's a necessary expense to get you to join us. Are there any more conditions? Feel free to list them all at once."

"No, that is all."

"Well then, just to clarify. In order to satisfy your first condition, I will not be providing you with any fixed amount of Dark Crystals regularly. You are fine with this, yes?"

"Of course. That is only to be expected." Leon nodded.

He only chose to live with the Darkmoon Tribe and did not choose to work for them. It is only natural that he does not get paid.

"Very well. Allow me to formally welcome you to our tribe." Chief Valencia strode over and offered a handshake with a big smile. A burden seemed to have been lifted off her shoulders.

"Glad to be part of the family."

Leon accepted the handshake with his greasy hands, but Chief Valencia did not seem to mind this. Her own hands were dirtied during the meal.

A subtle hint of disappointment was seen in Chief Valencia's eyes. The ideal result would be for Leonhardt to work for her, even if she had to offer a high wage.

But she also understood that with Leonhardt's skills, it would not be difficult for him to earn Dark Crystals. None of the Venerable Shamans had difficulty making Dark Crystals, and he was the youngest addition to them.

"We will be in your care in the future." Chief Valencia lightly before bidding farewell, "I will leave first to take of the requests as promised. Feel free to dine on your own and leave at your own pace. A servant will clean the table later."

"Alright."

After Chief Valencia disappeared, Leon enjoyed a sumptuous feast at the dining table to himself. The food on the table was enough to feed 10 people.

Nevertheless, Leon could not help but eat three people's worth. He never realized the joy of eating until he reincarnated into his second life.

Leon patted his bulging belly in satisfaction before he amusingly thought, "I am sooo going to regret this later… but it was worth it."

It was like going to a buffet. People do not go there to enjoy top-quality food. They go there to eat their money's worth.

"This will be a waste if no one eats them." Leon thought as he looked at the remaining food on the dining table.

After glancing around and confirming he was the only person in the main hall, he pocketed all the food into his Worldspace.

'Best save it for later.'

Leon licked his lips.

The Infertile Plains was far from flourishing like the Human Domain. Still, they had some terrific cooking techniques in addition to some exquisite spices and ingredients only unique to the Dark Continent.

'Time to leave.'

Sometime later, Leon returned to the reserved guest room, where Darlene was seen waiting on the bed patiently for him.

"Welcome back, hubby." She said.

"Un, I'm back."

Leon nodded and entered the room before taking a seat on the bed just beside Darlene. A feeling of weariness soon spread to every inch of his body.

Surprisingly, it was not the fatigue accumulated during the day, but the food weighing him down and making him drowsy. Darlene noticed his expression and started to give him a shoulder massage quietly without a word.

Leon smiled at her thoughtful gesture and began to talk, "I had a talk with the chief earlier about joining the tribe."

There was a slight pause in Darlene's message before she resumed massaging his shoulders and curiously asked, "How did that go? Did hubby decide to stay in the tribe?"

"Yes, not only that, but the chief has promised to give us a permanent resident to stay and also agreed to hand you and your sisters over to me. You do not need to continue working as a servant anymore."

Darlene began to tremble as she asks, "Ah? Really?"

Leon turned to the side and looked her directly in the eye and said with a gentle smile, "Do I need to lie to you about this?"

Darlene quickly shook her head and dived into Leon's arms emotionally.

"I love you, hubby!"

Leon smiles slightly without commenting.

Love… this word cannot be used lightly. Liking was easy, but love requires dedication and commitment. It was too early for them to be talking about love.

The only thing Darlene seems to like him about right now is…

Pak!

Leon lightly slapped away the hand Darlene was using to sneakily reach for his little brother before he said, "Don't. Now is not a good time for that."

"You don't want me?" Darlene asked with watery eyes.

"I do, but now is really not a good time..." Leon tried to stress with a difficult expression.

His mind was telling him "no," but his body… The dragon was awakened, but his stomach felt uneasy with gas building up inside. He seemed to have eaten something funny.

Nevertheless, Darlene did not seem to have heard the latter part of his words as she reached for his erected rod and brought her head closer. She wanted to please him with her mouth.

However!

Leon's face became more constipated by the moment until he could hold it anymore and let it rip!

"Not good, it's coming out!" He cried.

"What coming out? I haven't started yet—"

Phhhrt!

Leon let out a quick fart, and a short burst of methane gas entered Darlene's nose, causing her face to instantly pale with a tinge of greenness.

"Ugh… Bleurgh!"

Darlene gagged.

Leon felt so embarrassed he could die, but since it already happened, it happened. He cannot do anything to change that fact.

Sometime later, Darlene recovered and glared at Leon with a wronged expression, "How can you do that to me?"

"Ah, don't give me that look... I tried to warn you already, did I not?" Leon tried to explain while avoiding her piercing gaze, but after a moment, he thought of something, and a short, suppressed laughter escaped his mouth, "Pft!"

"Is this amusing?!"

Leon knew Darlene was going to hate him for some time for this, but he could not be bothered to dwell on it too much. Since it happened, it happened. Just let it be.

"Well, kind of? You know what they say about the first step in a relationship. It's not the first kiss but the first fart. Hahaha." He laughed with a relaxed expression.

"Huh?" Darlene widened her eyes and pouted angrily with a heavy blush, "Who the hell even came up with that!"