Chapter 321 - Damsels In Distress

"Because she loves her husband so much, she actively seeks capable women to join his harem. This is the conclusion I came to after observing her for a few years. Well, it's not like she hides anything to begin with. It's obvious."

"Really?" Barbara was slightly surprised. She didn't expect that to be her weird personality. "Then… just now?"

"Yes, she's already set her sights on you. So be prepared. She'll try to persuade you to marry her husband more later," Ava said.

"Ehhh? Isn't this too sudden? But, but I want to fall in love and get married step by step."

"Haha. Nothing is too sudden with that panda. My marriage was sudden too. Good luck dealing with her later." Ava left the room, intending to cultivate her body while waiting for Anda. After all, she had no idea how long it would take for them to arrive.

"Wait, Ava! Tell me more about her! I need to know what I'm dealing with!" Barbara chased after Ava.

---

Meanwhile, on Anda's side.

"Alright, ladies. Listen! I have an announcement regarding our Mystic Pandaplorer team," Anda said.

Outside the carriage, Anda stood in front of a group of five ladies, including Tamina and Lilian. The other three ladies were damsels in distress whom Anda, Tamina, and Lilian rescued during their adventures. All three ladies were unrelated and joined Anda's party at different points.

So far, Anda has rescued four damsels in distress in total.

The first one was obviously Tamina, currently Anda's right-hand man, the most enthusiastic member of the Mystic Pandaplorer team. 

The second damsel, Seraphina Salmon, was a young lady from the Roaring Kingdom's House of Salmon. Her exquisite, noble dress shimmered with intricate embroidery, a gleaming tiara perched elegantly on her head, marking her highborn status.

Anda saved her life from dying in a pool of mysterious liquid cement. In the beginning, Seraphina was teleported and fell into the cement pool, where it reacted and hardened immediately, trapping her body. It wasn't just her; many other creatures were stuck in this natural trap as well. When they died, the concrete turned into liquid cement again, and the corpses sank. It was clear that the mysterious liquid cement hardened when it came in contact with living beings.

Seraphina was stuck there for many months, unable to access her space ring, and was on the verge of death. Her body had deteriorated, her face greatly sunken. She was only alive because she kept desperately cultivating, absorbing spiritual energy through her head, and circulating it to maintain bodily functions. However, this alone wasn't enough to survive, only prolonging the inevitable. Fortunately, Anda rescued her in time.

Within days, Seraphina recovered fully, her beauty restored, her noble bearing intact. But her attitude wasn't to Anda's liking. Unlike Tamina, who shared a noble background but was humble, Seraphina was snobbish, arrogant, and ungrateful—utterly unfit for Leyvi's potential harem, in Anda's discerning eyes. To manage her, Anda employed her signature methods, weaving fear and emotional manipulation to render Seraphina obedient, ensuring compliance despite her flaws. The moment she became a threat to the Mystic Pandaplorer team, Anda wouldn't hesitate to eliminate her.

The third damsel in distress hailed from the Protogaea Continent, an emotionless woman named Cempaka, serving as a Royal Guard for the Humming Kingdom. Anda, Tamina, and Lilian had unwittingly saved her from a nest of demonic spiders while traversing a narrow valley. Anda was torching the thick spider webs obstructing their path to the next treasure-hunting site when Cempaka tumbled from a scorched cocoon, freed by the flames.

The demonic spiders were vile, laying eggs inside their prey to let their offspring parasitically siphon nutrients from living hosts. Cempaka was among those infested, her body riddled with their eggs. Anda deftly extracted the eggs, neutralized the paralyzing toxin coursing through her, and restored her health completely, leaving no trace of the ordeal on her body.

However, Anda was unsure whether Cempaka had always been this emotionless or if her mind had broken during the horrifying event. She could respond, communicate, and act without any problem, but her eyes seemed hollow, and her tone was flat all the time.

Surprisingly, Cempaka unexpectedly declared herself Anda's bodyguard, even when Anda insisted it wasn't necessary. Whenever danger loomed, Cempaka positioned herself before Anda. As a Royal Guard, Cempaka was extremely strong, even stronger than Tamina. Anda eventually accepted this as Cempaka's way of repaying her life's debt, a sign her mind wasn't entirely shattered. Perhaps, in time, her spirit would mend on its own. Or she could use the miraculous bamboo shoot to solve it. However, Lilian told Anda that even her garden would probably take years to grow the same bamboo shoots.

Of course, Anda, being the ultimate tease, would always bring up and compare Seraphina's and Cempaka's contrasting attitudes after someone saved their lives, causing Seraphina to feel deeply ashamed.

The fourth damsel in distress was Viola, a striking beauty from the Cloud Continent's Eternal Beauty organization, a group devoted to seeking, admiring, and protecting beauty in all forms—be it objects, places, or living beings. Their passion aligned with Protector Alexandra's love for beautiful things, earning the Eternal Beauty organization a few coveted spots in the Mystic Realm. Viola stood out, her elegance radiant even in the morning sun's glow, where Anda addressed her Mystic Pandaplorer team outside the carriage in a lush clearing.

Previously, Viola was part of another group with two men from the Protogaea Continent. However, due to her beauty, the two men became infatuated with her, and as time went on, their efforts to court her turned into competition and later hostility toward each other. They began sabotaging each other while traveling through dangerous places or engaging in battles with demonic beasts, intending to harm one another.

Viola noticed what was happening, became disgusted by them, and eventually decided to leave the group.

However, Viola's decision enraged the two men, who formed a twisted alliance to capture her. They defiled Viola, reducing her to their plaything, subjecting her to a cruel fate. She endured their torment until Anda's group crossed their path. 

The men used techniques to manipulate Viola's behavior, forcing her to act as if nothing was amiss during the group's interaction, but their deception couldn't fool Anda. She immediately sensed the searing hatred radiating from Viola toward her captors.

After Anda guessed what was going on, she secretly released a paralyzing scent around the two men. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late—they were completely paralyzed.

When they became paralyzed, their control over Viola dispersed. The moment she was freed, the demon in her was unleashed. She subjected the men to hysterical, merciless torture until they were reduced to pools of blood. After avenging herself, Viola cried for a while, saddened by what had happened to her.

After that, she expressed gratitude toward Anda and joined the group. Now, with Viola by Anda's side, Seraphina became even more obedient and well-behaved. The image of Viola acting like a demon scared her deeply.

Since then, the three ladies had become part of Anda's Mystic Pandaplorer team.

At this moment.

The five ladies—Lilian, Tamina, Seraphina, Cempaka, and Viola—wondered why Anda urgently contacted their array communication device and gathered them, since they were supposed to have free activities today.

"Big Madam Panda, what's going on? I was about to enjoy my beauty bath today, but you ruined it," Seraphina complained.

They were supposed to refer to Anda, the leader of their Mystic Pandaplorer team, as Big Madam, but Seraphina added "Panda," thinking it would be an insult, not realizing Anda was totally fine with it.

Viola shook her head. Look at Big Madam's panda-themed outfit and the panda plush toy in her embrace. Do you really think calling her a panda would do anything? Look at the round birthmark around her left eye. Why do you think she kept that birthmark, which can easily be removed? Get a hint already. She thought, keeping her remark to herself.

"Beauty bath? Ah… you mean that mysterious liquid cement?" Anda replied, her mischievous smile widening, eyes twinkling with glee. "I didn't expect you to grow attached to it after bathing in it for months. Your adaptability is outstanding, Sera. If you need more, I'd gladly give you a bathtub full of it. I stocked up plenty." Her voice dripped with playful menace.

"No, no, Big Madam, not the cement!" Seraphina recoiled, her arrogance faltering, her face paling at the mention. The months trapped in the hardening cement, teetering on death, had left her with deep trauma. Whenever she challenged Anda, the liquid cement was Anda's go-to retort, a sharp reminder that silenced her every time.

After that, Anda continued. "I've been informed that one of my harem sisters has been found. So we're going there to reunite with her. The journey might take a week or two."

"Informed? What do you mean informed? Do you have a spatial communication spirit artifact? It's incredibly hard to obtain one!" Seraphina was shocked.

Tamina chuckled from the side. After she and Anda left Lapin's sky island last time, they hadn't really used the celestial cloud and just continued exploring without it. So none of the new damsels were aware of it.

"Well, something like that," Anda replied.