Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 167 The Watcher's Rescue
This time, Su Ming didn't choose to go through the city gate, since the city walls of Shafenger Town weren't very high anyway. He picked up a girl and jumped over without much effort, while the unicorn easily carried one in each hand and vaulted over as well.

This was Su Ming's first time working with the unicorn in her girl form. Dressed up, she exuded a cool and elegant aura, and her movements were dashing and heroic, completely different from her usual loli form.

But when Su Ming carried the second girl over, he found that the one standing on the ground was already a tiny little one.

"Hey, is the limited-edition skin expired?" Su Ming said, displeased.

“That form is too taxing,” Qiluo said.

Su Ming didn't understand, "Transformation magic has this characteristic? And with its small size and high density, wouldn't it be easier for it to get stuck in the snow?"

"I've been using this little girl transformation since I was a child, I'm completely used to it," Kira explained. "If I used a different form, the magic consumption would be several times higher."

"No, doesn't your body grow with age?"

"What's grown up is the unicorn's true form, not its transformed state," the unicorn replied matter-of-factly. "Su Ming, what form am I in, and how do I affect you?"

"……nothing."

The snow was deep, and everyone sank in with every step. The unicorn, however, took advantage of her small size and good stamina, and plowed a rut in the snow. As a result, everyone followed behind her, and their progress was much faster. They quickly covered a considerable distance.

Hearing a faint noise, Su Ming looked back and saw the town gates of Shafenger open in the distance, letting out a faint light. In the darkness, three large sleds pulled by snow beasts rushed out from inside.

From the blurry figures, one could vaguely recognize them as the guards who had appeared before, but there were seven or eight of them, and it seemed that some important person was being protected in the middle.

Is this some kind of suicide attempt?

“Elisa,” Su Ming called out through his earpiece.

"I see it! Wait for me for fifteen minutes!" Violet grabbed her coat and flying broom, rushed out of the carriage, and plunged into the night sky.

****
After a while, the sled came to a stop, and eight people got off one after another. In the middle, surrounded by people, was an old nobleman dressed in rich clothes. He tripped and almost fell when he got off the sled, as if he was carrying something quite heavy.

But the old man was in good health and quickly regained his balance. Without even glancing at Su Ming, he walked straight over, grabbed a girl, and used his illumination spell to look at her face.

"Tsk tsk!" The old man made a lewd sound of admiration. "Not bad for a face!" He reached out and touched the girl's chest again. "Great figure too. These human traffickers really know how to pick!"

The girl begged for mercy, but the old man grabbed her long hair and slapped her across the face. The guards came up and grabbed the remaining girls as well, and immediately a chorus of cries and pleas filled the air.

"One per person isn't enough, let's take turns," the old man grinned and chuckled.

"Haha, as long as you don't kill her too quickly, it's fine as long as you don't kill her too soon," one of the guards joked. He found the girl he had captured too noisy, so he raised his hand and punched her in the stomach, and she immediately bent over and coughed.

“Benny Fairn Whittaker?” Su Ming said coldly.

One of the guards we had just met stepped forward. "Outsider, mind your own business!"

Another guard said, "That's right, these girls have been conscripted as handmaids of Lord Whittaker."

The old nobleman glanced at Su Ming, confirming that he didn't look like a nobleman, and sneered, "What, you want to interfere with the Whittaker family's handling of private property? Considering that you helped us find these girls, I'll let it slide!"

The guards burst into laughter, but each of them kept their hands on the hilts of their weapons, wary of a possible sudden attack from Su Ming.

A girl knelt down and said, "Sir, I am already married and do not meet the conscription requirements! Please let me go home!"

One of the guards laughed loudly, "Haha, so you haven't exercised your right to the first night yet, have you? Today is the perfect time to make up for it!"

The girl was struck dumb, and sat down on the snow in shock.

The right to virginity? Su Ming narrowed his eyes. Even in this backward autonomous region, such a thing existed in name only.

He didn't intend to spare these people's lives.

"Su Ming, just bear with it a little longer," came Zi Jin's voice, mixed with the whistling of the wind.

"Don't worry," Su Ming said in a low voice. Impulsiveness is pointless; if you're going to act, you have to kill!
However, once Violet makes her move, the commotion cannot be concealed. News of the necromancer's appearance in this region will inevitably spread, attracting the attention of various forces and the hunt of bounty hunters.

Su Ming didn't hesitate to save the girls; he just felt it wasn't worth it because of these scoundrels in front of him.

Even if their motives are entirely selfish—this journey to Mount Qiongding is meant to rescue dozens of top scholars from the mainland and thwart the plans of a cult—they now face additional risks because of this scum.

Even if you chopped them up and sold their meat, it wouldn't be worth a penny!

What infuriated Su Ming even more was that if they could kill Bennyfin Whittaker and this group of guards, what about the others? Even if they sent these girls home, they might still face the same fate. Whether they were human traffickers or the territory administrators who were supposed to protect them, they all treated them as playthings to be exploited at will.

This small town is just one of thousands of towns on this vast ice plain; the disgusting old man in front of me is just one of countless nobles.

A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed Su Ming. But he quickly adjusted his mindset; at least, he needed to clean up the filth in front of him first!

****
A sharp beam descended from the sky, piercing the snow with a clang and embedding itself in the ground.

"Violet so fast?" Su Ming quickly looked up and saw a two-handed longsword with golden light.

A burst of light erupted, and power surged from the longsword. The snow was torn apart, and shockwaves spread outwards in a ring. This power deftly avoided the girl and Su Ming, knocking the guards and Benny Finn to the ground.

"Who is it!" Benny Finn tumbled a few times, scrambled to his feet, and roared as he hid among the guards. The runic shield on his robes also activated and lit up.

"My name is Justice!" A clear, girlish voice rang out in the night sky, and a figure descended from the heavens, landing in front of Su Ming. She wore a light blue armor and a linen cloak, her long golden hair swaying freely in the wind.

"Damn, it's Iser!" Su Ming quickly reported to Zi Jintong in the quietest possible voice.

Fortunately, Violet was wearing in-ear headphones, so she could hear clearly even during high-speed flight. The scholar quickly lowered his flying broom, landing on the snowfield, and then swiftly donned his forbidden magic cloak.

Iser, Catherine's daughter, even briefly fought against Violet during the Battle of the Agate Sea. This young woman possesses considerable strength and holds a high position within the Church. If she discovers this, it means a fierce chase with the Knights of Light is about to begin!
Moreover, in the northern lands, the Icefield Special Forces of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, the White Shot Cavalry, will also come.

This is absolutely a disastrous start. Even Violet, who escaped before, has no intention of challenging again.

Here, after landing, Iser extended her white hand and beckoned, and the sword stuck in the ground immediately flew back into her palm. With a casual wave, she blew away the snow within a radius of several meters, revealing the brown soil surface.

The girls scrambled to Iser's side, including a little green-haired girl who had blended in. Iser was only wearing a tight-fitting casual outfit, with light armor covering only her vital areas. Her cloak billowed in the cold wind, revealing the girl's graceful figure, making her stand out starkly against the backdrop of the bulky winter clothes worn by the others.

Su Ming couldn't help but shiver. Everyone was bundled up like dumplings in minus twenty-five degrees Celsius, so why was she still so stylish?

"Iser!" Benny Finn exclaimed angrily, "What are you doing meddling in other people's business now!"

"How can the affairs of God's people be mere trifles!" another voice rang out, and a young girl, also dressed in a light priestess robe, descended from the sky. When she landed on the snow, she was so light that she left no footprints.

"Very well, another troublesome one," Su Ming sighed inwardly.

“You!” Benny Fein also assessed the situation and realized that his side was weaker than the other side. “You have violated the agreement between your church and us. Aren’t you afraid of being exiled to an even more remote area?” he threatened.

"We haven't violated the agreement; we're simply upholding the law as members of the North," the priestess said logically. "According to the 'Lord's Autonomous Region Convention,' the recruitment of maids must be announced to the maid's village three days in advance, and a fee of one gold coin must be paid to the maid's parents. Scribe Bennyfin, are you perhaps just forgetful?"

“…I’ll take care of the paperwork!” Benny Fein said through gritted teeth.

In the snow and moonlight, Iser planted his longsword in the ground, placed his hands on it, and faced the crowd with a heroic air. "Then we'll take the person away first, and you can come back to collect them after you've completed the formalities."

Benny Fein yelled at the group of girls, "Which village are you from?"

There was silence; no one answered him.

Benny Finn was furious. He pointed at the married girl and said, "Come here, the right of first night doesn't require any paperwork!"

"Oh dear, the right of first night must be exercised by the lord himself," the priestess girl chuckled, covering her mouth. "Were we out of touch? Have you already killed your brother and taken the throne?"

Benny Fein's face turned extremely ugly. He glared at Iser and the priest for a while, and finally gave up unwillingly.

"You're all good, just you wait!" He yanked his collar hard, shook off the snow that had gotten on him from rolling around, and turned around, saying, "Let's go, let's go to the city and find some girls to have some fun!"

Iser gripped the hilt of her sword and took a small step forward, but the priestess stopped her.

“Our goal is to spread light throughout the entire ice plains, not just for these few bastards,” she whispered, trying to persuade them.

Their eyes met, and Iser finally gave up on taking any further action.

The guards, realizing the standoff had ended, all breathed a sigh of relief.

Iser, the most outstanding young Watcher of the Temple of Light. Her recent arrival in the North has put considerable pressure on them. Several foolish and overconfident individuals have been swiftly and decisively dealt with by her.

They had no confidence in fighting such a being. Although Iser wouldn't go for the kill due to the agreement between the Temple of Light and the nobles of the autonomous territory, severely injuring him would be inevitable.

Su Ming tightened the sling of his gun and turned to Qi Luo, "Miss Holy Beast, the escort has been interrupted for some reason, so I won't refund the two gold coins deposit. Goodbye!"

After saying that, he walked towards Benny Finn and his group of guards, "Wait, could you please take me back to the city? I have some good stuff I can sell you!"

One of the guards who recognized him turned around and asked, "What good stuff is it?"

“A fine weapon,” Su Ming replied, pulling a warhammer from his backpack—the very one the warrior who had been killed earlier had been holding.

Su Ming tossed it to the guard, who caught it. It felt very solid in his hand; it was a good quality item!
"Alright, get on first, we need to take a closer look," the guard waved. Su Ming boarded the sleigh and followed the group back to Shafeng'er Town.

Zijin couldn't see the screen, but she could hear the sounds from the scene. Su Ming's movements made her frown, but after thinking for a moment, she said nothing.

Taking this opportunity to distance themselves from the troublesome Iser and the young priestess was the right choice. In comparison, the guards and that scoundrel old man were safer.

What I fear most is that Su Mingxiang's actions go beyond simply using this opportunity to leave!

****
The priestess turned to Kira, clasped her hands, and bowed slightly in a blessing gesture. "Greetings, Miss Holy Beast! I am the Light Priestess Jerus Zera!"

The unicorn haughtily raised its head, snorted, and took a small step back. "Don't be so enthusiastic. The people of the moon don't like the scent of the God of Light."

Gerus was not surprised. "At least allow me to heal you to express our admiration for Miss Sacred Beast, who upholds a benevolent heart!"

"The people of the moon don't like the divine magic of the God of Light either," Qiluo stubbornly refused. She had fractured her shoulder blade during the fight with the warrior and did need treatment, but—

"All the gods have compassion for the suffering in the world, and the power to heal wounds is impartial to all." The priestess spoke gently.

Qi Luo tilted her head and thought for a moment. Hmm, it would be too impolite to refuse again! She reverted to her unicorn form. "Alright!"

Gerus gently explored her shoulders with both hands, searching for the broken bone. She quickly found the break and deftly reset the bone. Then, a blue and white light emanated from the priest's hands, nourishing the wound.

"What do you plan to do with these girls?" Qi Luo asked.

“Take them to Dawn Territory,” Iser replied, who was checking on the kidnapped girls. “They can be taken in there.”

"Dawn Territory?" Qi Luo asked in confusion, as there was no territory with that name on the map of the Ice Plains.

“It used to be called the Martyrshire Territory,” Gerus explained. “Their lord has ‘converted’ to the Light.”

The territory of Matijuxia was quite large, and its lord, Matijuxia, was a fallen count. It was about a hundred kilometers away from here. Qiluo recalled the distribution of power in the Ice Plains.

It had clearly become a stronghold of the Temple of Light, but the inhabitants all bore the magical mark of their respective lords—

"Wouldn't taking away another lord's people without permission make you an enemy of the North?" Qi Luo asked.

“There was a system of vagrants in the Dominion Covenant a hundred years ago,” Gerus explained. “When a vagrant set foot on another lord’s land, the lord could, with the vagrant’s consent, forcibly buy him from the former lord for a fee of thirty silver coins.”

Thirty silver coins from a hundred years ago are now worth less than the price of a commoner. However, this system is so ancient that no one would know about it unless the priestess mentioned it.

"Could a lord who is being forced to buy something really agree to it?" the unicorn asked doubtfully.

“Of course I would agree,” Gerus replied. “The Church sent a thousand elite clergy to the North to convey God’s grace to these lost lords!”

Although the truth behind it was that the covenant party of the Temple of Light exiled the commoner elites, this was a family scandal. In front of outsiders, Jelus still wanted to gild the church's image.

Such a large and powerful group of commoner elites and clergy are certainly not content to remain in obscurity!
(End of this chapter)