Chapter 55: Dark Elf City Othello

The sensation of skin, the feel of hair, the warmth, the scent in his nostrils, the taste on his lips—all of these exploded in his mind like a thunderclap. All the suppressed gloom and darkness vanished, replaced by a frenzied surge of vitality and energy.

At first, Talice was shocked, then she desperately tried to break free. But Asa's grip was firm, almost crushing, making it impossible for her to escape.

In the next moment, he had pinned her to the ground. The hand that had been around her waist now moved to her chest, and even through her leather armor, she could feel the pressure of his palm. A strange, tingling sensation swept through her body. After a brief moment of weakness, she was overcome with shame and anger, and she clenched her fist, striking towards Asa's head with all her strength.

But her fist was caught by Asa. A low, beast-like growl escaped his throat. Though his rational mind was temporarily lost, his combat instincts remained, especially those driven by his current impulse. As a living being, this impulse was the most vibrant, captivating, and life-affirming force, the very essence of life's continuation. It was the purest release of life itself.

He pressed down on her, his hand on her chest tearing away her leather armor and the garments beneath. Her chest, now exposed under the torn cloth, was grasped by him. He felt his blood surging, burning.

For Asa, this was the greatest instinct and impulse to seek life and forget death. He was completely immersed in it. But for Talice, it was an unprecedented terror. She had never imagined that this would happen to her. A coldness in her chest, then a warm and rough touch. Under the horror she plunged the other hand wildly into Asa's eyes. Fighting spirit and magical light were flashing, and in this situation she was completely unable to tell whether she should be struggling or fighting or killing.

This hand, too, was caught by Asa without even a glance. Then both of her hands were pinned above her head by one of his. Asa tore off his own clothes with his free hand, and their bare skin pressed together, causing both of them to tremble.

Feeling the warmth and friction of their skin, the weight pressing down on her, and the scent and heat of his breath, Talice was terrified. But her greatest fear wasn't of these sensations themselves—it was of herself. She felt something deep within her stirring, ready to erupt and intertwine with the sensations from his touch. Her body was already weak and heated, which only intensified her fear.

Out of fear, she was struggling desperately even though she was already weak and crunchy and powerless to struggle. But then she whirled around and felt his legs merge between her own, braced and pressed up. Even through each other's clothes and pants she could feel the difference and the heat. Then the hand slid down her back, limp and numb wherever it passed, and then the sensation paused for a moment at her waist, slightly hindered by her pants, and then dug in.

A strange, irresistible surge finally shattered Talice's thoughts and will. She opened her mouth and let out a scream so sharp and loud that she had never heard anything like it from herself before.

From the beginning, she had kept her mouth tightly shut, trying not to make a sound. Partly to resist his mouth, and partly because she remembered that Ayime was sleeping not far away. But now, she had forgotten everything. Instinctively sensing her imminent collapse, she used the last of her strength to let out that scream.

The scream echoed through the vast cavern before fading into the distance. Asa's ear was right next to her mouth, and the piercing sound caused him to pause, his consciousness briefly returning.

As he stopped, the sharp pain in his eardrum turned into real, searing pain in his ear. Talice had bitten his ear. The scream hadn't been that of a knight, nor was this action that of a knight—it was the sound and act of a woman.

This dual sting only partially awakened Asa, and the desire that had already filled every part of his body could not be dispelled by such a sting. But then a sensation immediately achieved this. Asa suddenly jumped up.

The only thing that could be stronger than this intense, palpable impulse was the equally intense and palpable sense of danger. Asa not only jumped up himself, but also grabbed Talice and lifted her off the ground, then leaped away towards the distance.

The ground, which had been calm and cool just a moment ago, suddenly became warm and started to tremble slightly. These were just surface-level disturbances, though. Asa and Talice could both sense the immense elemental magic gathering beneath the ground where they had just lain, producing an effect. From the intensity of the magic, it almost felt like a forbidden spell's power.

But this effect seemed to be all it was. The terrifying magical elements were merely gathering a hundred meters below the surface, creating a reaction. From here, they could only feel some faint vibrations and warmth.

Both Asa and Talice's tension and emotions slightly eased. Talice broke free from Asa's grasp and jumped away. She hopped over to pick up the clothes that had been ripped off and hastily put them on. Her originally tied-up hair had fallen loose, her face flushed red, filled with anger, murderous intent, and shame, and her eyes seemed to carry a gleam that Asa had never seen before.

At this point, Asa had mostly returned to his usual state. Reflecting on everything that had just happened, he felt somewhat awkward and at a loss for words. He let out a long sigh, unsure of what to say. Apart from the sting, his ears also felt warm and wet. He reached up and touched them, his hand covered in blood. Only then did he realize that Talice had bitten off a piece of his earlobe, but he didn't see her spit it out.

The two fell into a strange standoff. Neither of them spoke nor made any movement.

A small, thin figure staggered out from the nearby passage, drawing the attention of both Asa and Talice away from their tense standoff.

"What's going on? Was that your voice just now, sister? What is this magic beneath the ground?" Ayime stumbled over, still very weak from not having slept long.

Talice walked over and wrapped her arms around Ayime, saying nothing, her gaze still fixed on Asa with a cold, murderous intensity. Ayime's large eyes flicked between the two, and from their expressions, she seemed to understand something. However, she didn't say anything either.

This wasn't the time for silence or a standoff, but no one knew what to do. Asa slapped his forehead heavily with his hand, half sighing, half groaning.

"Take those scrolls and head back the way you came... It's too dangerous here. Something seems to have happened." Asa pointed to the scrolls that had fallen to the ground when he ripped off his clothes, the ones he had scavenged from the Tooth Tower. Fortunately, the pockets containing the black star sword hilt and the one with Jessica's ashes and the gemstone were still tied to his waist. He bent down to pick up his sword, not daring to meet their eyes, and quickly turned to run down the path he remembered from the map.

As he turned and ran, the two Dread Knights, who had been standing motionless, finally stirred and followed him, their figures soon disappearing into the darkness of the cave's passage. Soon, only Talice and Ayime were left, tightly holding each other.

The ground continued to tremble and heat up.

Stones rained down from the ceiling of the cavern, falling in such dense clusters that they resembled a storm. Most of the dark elves had never seen rain before; this was their first experience. However, this "rain" was not water, but fire and stone.

The top layer of the cavern ceiling glowed red and trembled, and then those stones, half-melted, began to fall. They left fiery trails behind them as they plummeted from thousands of meters above, crashing down in a rain of molten rock.

There were stones as large as two or three meters in diameter, as well as boulders the size of artificial mountains, but no matter their size, every massive, red-shadowed stone that hit the ground caused a deafening roar. The half-melted stones shattered and splintered, sending debris flying and stirring up screams and wails. The acrid smell of burning and the stench of blood filled the vast cavern within seconds. Just half a minute ago, this place had been the largest city of the dark elves, Othello. Now, it was a hellish landscape, filled with fire, explosions, bodies, screams, and death. Huge stones continued to fall from the ceiling.

"Stop him, stop him!" The dark elf matriarch, Trihana, screamed madly. Her upper body was bare, and below the waist, she was wrapped in a hastily grabbed sheet. She brandished a long whip, directing the other dark elf warriors. The agile dark elves, regardless of gender or whether they were warriors or priests, all surged in the direction pointed by her whip.

Trihana was the ruler of Othello, the leader of the largest family in this dark elf city and a member of the Elder Council. She had just been enjoying the devoted service of three handsome human sex slaves when the massive elemental disturbance woke her, and upon rushing outside, she found herself faced with this hellish scene.

Her magical power was not weak, but in the face of something resembling a forbidden spell, she was completely powerless. However, she could track the source of the magical disturbance to find the culprit. She knew that the only way to stop this disaster now was to confront him.