Lord of Rot

At noon, Leech was busy beating up a hundred men.

The chosen youths had been eating well lately. They were growing stronger and bulking up, but they were still no match for Leech’s fists. A couple of punches was all it took to send a whole group of them flying.

A squire jogged over. ”My Lord, a young man calling himself Fanong Gold wishes to see you.”

”Fanong Gold?”

Leech turned and said to the surrounding youths, ”All right, continue training on your own. But since a whole group of you still can’t beat me alone, everyone runs ten extra laps!”

”Yes, sir!” The youths’ shouts were deafening.

They felt a strong sense of belonging to Porcupine Territory. They had suffered in the past, but their lives had been changed here, and their loyalty was already maxed out. They were all candidates for Leech’s future Knight Order, so Leech held nothing back in their training.

His squire, Rob, brought over a towel for Leech to wipe his sweat.

”Where is he?”

”Just outside the training grounds.”

Fanong Gold, from the slums of Iron Stone City, had changed into a set of clean clothes and was now dressed somewhat like a wealthy merchant.

”My Lord!” Fanong Gold gave him a thumbs-up. ”My Lord, you fought a whole group by yourself? Incredible!”

Leech sized up Fanong Gold’s attire and asked, ”Gone into business?”

”No,” Fanong Gold said, scratching his head in embarrassment. ”It’s just... I’m visiting Porcupine Territory, so I wanted to...”

”First, tell me what you’re here for,” Leech said. ”Chuina is doing very well here. I can have someone bring her to see you. She’s still single, by the way.”

Chuina was a Transcendent and quite powerful. Though her personality was a bit rough, she wasn’t bad-looking, and many men in Porcupine Territory had taken a liking to her.

This was especially true for the blacksmiths who frequently worked with her.

If Leech hadn’t been intervening, Chuina’s father would have likely already forced her to marry someone. Girls had no right to choose their own husbands, but Leech would not allow his Extraordinary blacksmith to be wronged. He had to stand firmly on her side.

”It’s Lady Ram. She asked me to bring you something.” Fanong Gold handed Leech a bag.

Inside were two bottles of Lucky Potion and a letter.

Leech opened the letter.

”I’ve received orders and must leave to take care of something. If all goes well, I’ll be back in two months. Inside the bag are two bottles of Lucky Potion. This time, they’re free of charge—my treat. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you: misfortune follows luck, so don’t drink too much.”

Including these two, he now had a stock of ten bottles. He didn’t use them often, however, and rarely found an opportunity to. They were more for collecting than anything else.

”Where did she go?” Leech asked.

”I don’t know.” Fanong Gold shook his head. ”But when she found me, I overheard her telling someone with silver hair that they were going to rent a boat and go out to sea.”

”Hmm,” Leech murmured thoughtfully.

Ram’s journey was bound to be fraught with danger. If things went smoothly, she would be back in two months. If not, she would likely never return.

Leech said to his squire, ”Rob, go have someone inform Chuina that Fanong Gold is here. Ask her if she wants to see him. It’s up to her.”

”Yes, sir!” Rob turned and left.

Fanong Gold’s expression changed. ”My Lord, perhaps it would be better if I went to see her.”

He was terrified that Chuina would refuse to see him.

”Relax.” Leech patted Fanong Gold’s shoulder lightly. ”I am her lord. If she doesn’t want to do something, no one can force her.”

’Is that what I wanted to hear?!’

Fanong Gold lowered his head in resignation. ’I’m on the Baron’s turf,’ he thought. ’I’d better just do as I’m told.’

Upon learning that Fanong Gold had arrived, Chuina hurried over.

Watching the young couple whispering sweet nothings from a distance, Leech found it quite amusing. However, letting Fanong Gold stay the night was out of the question. The kid didn’t have a proper job; he spent his days leading a group of children in the slums to gather intelligence, which didn’t pay much and was full of risks. His Chuina was an Extraordinary blacksmith; he couldn’t just let this kid have her so easily.

Leech felt very much like a protective father. At the very least, they would have to wait until they were actually married.

”Leech!”

A voice was calling his name.

It was the Water Nymph.

Leech’s face lit up. ”Is it done?”

”It seems to have failed.”

”Failed?”

Leech immediately sent his Spiritual Power flooding into the cavern beneath the headland. The first thing he saw was a nearly collapsed castle, with a burly figure standing motionless atop the ruins.

’He’s dead?’

Yes, he was dead. No wonder she said it had failed.

”Before he died, he did have one foot across the threshold,” the Water Nymph said.

”No, this is a success.”

Leech breathed a sigh of relief. If Jonney had actually succeeded in ascending beyond the Transcendent level and survived, Leech would have had the headache of figuring out how to kill him. Now, things were simple. All he had to do was perform his ritual again to resurrect the corpse, and it would be completely loyal to him.

He had learned from his experience with the Water Nymph that when using a corpse from a being beyond the Transcendent level as a base, there was no need to use any wondrous artifacts or Extraordinary materials to create a Corpse Ghost.

Jonney had died of mental collapse and had no external injuries, so Leech would only need to expend a tiny amount of gold.

After some time, the creation of Leech’s second Corpse Ghost—one from a being beyond the Transcendent level—was complete!

”Hm?”

There was no movement for a long time, which made Leech feel that something was not right.

He cautiously sent a probe of his Spiritual Power crashing into the coffin.

A tyrannical wave of Spiritual Power pushed back at him. It even surged back along the channel he had created, pouring into his body with intense aggression.

Deterrence!

He cast the Magic. The opposing force hit a wall and paused for a moment.

Deterrence!

He cast it again. This time, the Spiritual Power actively submitted and retreated. It was like a small dog that, upon seeing the stick in Leech’s hand, flattened its ears, wagged its tail, and retracted its fangs.