Monster Girl Development Master.

He couldn't even reach Lydia as he had hoped. The sudden shock and turn of events was hard for him to accept. It was absurd. How could a group of ordinary soldiers have magic iron equipment that could unleash abilities, and they even looked exactly the same!

But just as their charge didn't give Lydia much time to think, the positions of the first wave of fallen Icewind mercenaries were quickly taken over by the mercenaries behind them. Driven by inertia, and guided by their still-strong morale and cold-blooded hearts, they resolutely launched their charge.

Lydia's soldiers then raised their rune daggers once more and shouted in unison, "Flame!"

The Flaming Blade reappeared, once again thwarting the Icewind Squad's avalanche-like charge. The increasingly loud wails echoed in the small area, finally shaking the effect of the [Icebound Mind Aura] and halting the remaining Icewind Squad mercenaries who were not running as fast, had not had as much momentum, and were not as hot-blooded.

But they were still too close together.

Lydia swung her dagger for the third time: "Flame!"

"Blazing Flames!!"

Dagan Dara looked up blankly at the hundreds of fiery blades that filled his vision, striking his kinsmen whom he had brought from his homeland, his comrades-in-arms who fought alongside him, turning them into wailing fireballs and charred corpses, their weapons still clean and without a drop of blood.

Overwhelmed by panic and rage, Dagan Dara let out a mournful roar like that of a wounded beast: "Leon—Leon—!!!"

Lydia coldly raised the dagger, unleashing its energy for the fourth time: "Blazing Flames!"

Flaming blades danced, but this time the results were not as dazzling as the previous three. One reason was that the Icewind Mercenaries were no longer as concentrated or as far forward, and the other was that Dagan Dara finally reacted and made a move, creating a huge ice wall in front of them.

However, this meant that the Icewind Legion's charge had to be halted. This is why Dagan Dara was unwilling to take action earlier, as he was still planning to charge until he could no longer withstand the enormous losses.

As he made his move, in order to avoid the Flame Blade's attack, the Icewind Mercenaries changed from a loose formation to a dense formation concentrated around the ice wall and Dagandara. Then they heard a rapid sound of hooves and felt the ground tremble.

On the outermost edge, the Icewind mercenaries who could peek out screamed: "Cavalry!!!"

Question: What would happen to a group of heavy infantry wielding two-handed battle axes when they encounter heavily armored cavalry charging from the flank in a tight formation?

Dagan Dara clearly knew the answer to the question. His eyes snapped open, blood even trickling from the corners of his eyes. The smooth, icy wall rose rapidly from the ground with his roar, blocking the exposed flanks and forcing the Ravenwing Guards to rein in their horses and turn around in a hurry to avoid the pointless death of perishing with the ice wall.

Despite managing to survive, it was clear to everyone that the Icewind Gang had been utterly defeated in just over ten minutes.

Except for Dagandal.

The author says:

作者的话：加速加速~月票33/50，催更票43/50，打赏2200/5000

Chapter 220: The Icewind Gang's Secret Weapon

Dagan Dara was unwilling to accept defeat so easily. His grand offensive, the boasts he made in front of the crowd, and the century-old reputation of the Icewind Legion all made him unwilling to admit defeat so easily! Moreover, even if he wanted to retreat now, he had no chance. With the enemy cavalry approaching, the city's defenders would never dare to risk having the cavalry break through the city gates and open them for them!

Now, there is only one way to salvage this defeat.

That's the secret weapon he brought this time: the latest bloodline technology jointly developed by the White City Federation and the Winter Kingdom, the strongest and invincible weapon of victory!

Originally, this was intended for use during the counterattack on Leon Territory, to deal with the difficult-to-conquer Starry Night City, and also to ensure that the White City Federation could obtain the most lucrative prize. But now, we can't worry about that anymore! If we don't use it now, there will be no future!

With a determined look, Dagan Dara reached into his belt and pulled out a gem about half the size of his palm. It was as white as snowflakes and as pure as solid ice, with countless intricate patterns on it. These patterns were the result of painstaking research and the expending of countless resources by the most outstanding bloodline scholars of the White City Federation and the Winter Kingdom. It was because of this gem that this—the Heart of the Snow Bear—came into being!

The sound of hooves rang out again as the cavalry adjusted their positions, preparing to charge from the other side where the ice wall was not, to annihilate this enemy force that not only refused to surrender but dared to fight back. The sound of arrows from the city walls never ceased, but against the heavily armored cavalry of the Ravenwing Guards and Shadow Raven Knights, this was merely a minor inconvenience.

Dagan Dara gripped the Snow Bear Heart tightly, looked at the Icewind Mercenaries who numbered just over a thousand, his eyes flickered with a final struggle, but quickly turned cold: "I need three hundred suicides."

Although their morale was completely shattered by the attack, under the constant influence of the [Icebound Mind Aura] and with their ingrained obedience, three hundred Icewind mercenaries quickly stepped forward and, in accordance with Dagan Dara's request, offered their lives to the [Heart of the Snow Bear].

The process was swift. By the time the Ravenwing Guardians and Shadow Raven Knights had adjusted their course and launched their charge again, the once snow-white Heart of the Snow Bear had been transformed into a blood-red gem by the blood of three hundred men, and returned to Dagan Dara's hands.

"Forgive me, Father."

Dagan Dara murmured softly, then forcefully plunged the [Heart of the Snow Bear] into the heart of an Icewind mercenary's corpse! After a brief, chilling silence, a beam of icy light burst forth from the [Heart of the Snow Bear], instantly engulfing the entire battlefield and even the whole of Deherim, accompanied by a thick blanket of snow!

This unusual situation set off alarm bells in Lydia's mind. Although winter was approaching, neither Farau nor Leon Territories were cold-weather regions, so it was impossible for it to snow so early, let alone that fleeting icy light ahead! This was likely some kind of ability at work! So she decisively ordered the cavalry to retreat. It wasn't worth risking her elite heavy cavalry for a crippled infantry unit!

Just as she gave the order, she saw the two ice walls that Dagan Dara had created suddenly shatter and disappear, revealing the icy wind behind them, the shimmering [Heart of the Snow Bear], and countless white-haired giant bears, as well as a powerful and imposing bear-eared woman standing among the giant bears!

Monster girl... huh?

Lydia's instincts gave her a sense of unease, but the lingering feeling of unease made her uncertain. However, one thing was certain—she was very strong!

It's at least at the level of a fourth awakening!

And then there are those giant bears… It sounds unbelievable, but Lydia thinks those giant bears have combat power and even intelligence at the level of bloodline beings! It seems there's no way to take down Deherim in one go… What a pity.

Lydia felt a pang of regret, but she acted swiftly and decisively, immediately issuing the order: "Everyone retreat! Forget about the battering ram!"

Because of Lydia's prestige, coupled with the high morale brought by easily defeating the Icewind Legion, the soldiers carried out the retreat order very well, quickly dropping the battering rams that were not far from the city gate and maintaining their formation as they retreated to their main camp in an orderly manner!

Dagan Dara watched this scene with great satisfaction. A smile finally returned to his rugged face. He pointed his thick, radish-like finger at the retreating Leon army and roared in cathartic fury, "Foolish Leon people, face your doom! Witness the power of winter! Pure white servants of the Goddess of Winter, crush those ignorant mortals!!"

As Dagan Dara chanted at length, the [Heart of the Snow Bear] flashed with light. Then, the bear-eared woman, who had been standing there blankly and resembled a monster girl, let out a majestic roar. Countless white bears then launched a charge, a powerful and avalanche-like charge!

In just a few breaths, these polar bears charged into the retreating Leon army, crushing the well-equipped soldiers into flat plates. With a swipe of their paws, several soldiers were sent flying, coughing up blood before they even hit the ground. Those bitten by the bears were even more tragically cut in two; steel armor seemed to them no different from planks of wood.

Even Lydia could barely hold off a dozen or so polar bears. As more polar bears surrounded her, and even the bear-eared woman turned her gaze towards her, she had no choice but to abandon her cover and turn to retreat. Enemies of this caliber were beyond the capabilities of a monster girl who had only recently awakened. Moreover, the bear-eared woman and the scarlet gem both felt very strange to her; she would have to ask Zhuang Sen to deal with this.

The polar bears relentlessly pursued the retreating Leonian army until they reached the center of the battlefield. As if reaching a limit, although they continued to roar and swing their paws at the retreating soldiers, they no longer charged forward as before. Lydia even turned back to test the waters again, confirming that even standing right in front of the bears, even with their paws just a centimeter away from touching her, they showed no intention of advancing further.

It was as if an invisible wall was blocking their way. They didn't know if this distance was real or just an illusion, or if it would truly never change. Also, was the bear-eared woman, who resembled a monster girl, subject to this restriction? And what was the connection between that scarlet gem and this sudden change?

Countless questions swirled in Lydia's mind, but she wasn't in a hurry, because even if she couldn't solve them, she could still turn to her beloved, her master, her Johnsen.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers from the walls of Deherme, Lydia retreated back to her camp.

Chapter 221: I need to sit up and see this, Holy Lance Angel!

"You mean the other side used a gem to create a bear-eared woman who looks like a monster girl, and two thousand white bears with physical attributes at least at the first-level bloodline level?"

Zhuang Sen wrote rapidly on the shared book list, and sat up from Dantalian's arms.

"Yes, with those polar bears that suddenly appear and never seem to die guarding the area, we can't continue our attack. However, because the polar bears have limited range of movement, Deherim can't launch a counterattack either, resulting in a stalemate. But this already puts us at a disadvantage."

Lydia gave Johnson a detailed report on the brief siege of Deherim. She had tried other methods afterward, such as shooting the polar bears from a distance to reduce their numbers by taking advantage of their limited range. However, for every polar bear that died, another one would appear, as if they could be resurrected, and their numbers remained at around two thousand.

Therefore, Lydia had no choice but to go to Johnson and let him decide on the next course of action.

“Interesting. It seems we can’t wait for Her Highness to arrive. Dantalian and I will go take a look.” Zhuang Sen wrote in the shared book. “From your description, I feel that the shape and effect of that gem are somewhat familiar… like a [Nest].

Lydia stared at the familiar handwriting appearing on the paper, paused for a moment, then seemed to be suddenly awakened: "Yes, that's just like a [Nest], but are there any other people who can create [Nests] like you, dear?"

Zhuang Sen: "It's just similar. My lair creates monster girls, not monsters... And that blood-red gem you mentioned also intrigues me, but I'll tell you about it when I get here."

Lydia picked up her pen: "Then I will send the Ravenwing Guards and two squads of Shadow Raven Knights back to meet you. The Farau family has even invited the White City's Guardian Mercenaries, and they may have also invited high-level bloodline assassins."

Zhuang Sen replied, "No need. Dantalian and I are now genuine fourth-awakening bloodline users. Unless they can hire a fifth-level bloodline user as an assassin, any more people coming here will just be courting death. I'd rather they come and deliver the ransom to me. You should be more careful, though, because I haven't found a spare body as tempting as your current one yet."

Seeing Zhuang Sen's final teasing remark, even though she had lost control of her mind due to the distance, Lydia still felt her cheeks burning with shyness, and her hand holding the pen softened considerably: "Then consider it a change of pace, if you don't like it, you can try something else~"

The two chatted for a while before Zhuang Sen interrupted the conversation, saying, "Let's call it a day. I need to go prepare a surprise for you. Don't be surprised when we meet!"

"Hmm?" Lydia replied reluctantly, "Then I'll look forward to it, darling. If it's too easy, I'll have to make up for it elsewhere."

Stay tuned!

Zhuang Sen closed the [Shared Book] and handed it to Lady Liya beside him. He then opened the Monster Girl Encyclopedia and began selecting the evolution option for [Secretary Angel]—yes, this was the surprise Zhuang Sen had mentioned.

Yes, after all this effort, Zhuang Sen has finally raised the [Secretary Angel] bloodline to 100% development, allowing it to evolve again. This means he can finally obtain his first level 5 bloodline that affects him personally! Unfortunately, unlike the [Rankless Angel], which can evolve into any angel bloodline at will, the [Secretary Angel] has limited evolution options, with only two.

One is the [Holy Book Angel], which continues the support route of the [Secretary Angel], possessing all support and healing spells except for the dark ones—of course, it doesn't have any unique ones—and also has holy attack abilities similar to [Holy Spear].

One option is to directly transform, abandoning pen for sword, becoming the "Holy Lance Angel," transforming from a master of support magic into an angel specializing in combat, possessing a series of support and damage spells purely for combat.

To be honest, it's a tough choice. The [Holy Book Angel]'s diverse spells are tempting, but the [Holy Lance Angel]'s unparalleled combat power is also quite dazzling...

However, judging from the current situation, the various magical abilities of the [Holy Book Angel] can be supplemented by rune items and other monster girls, so they are not particularly in urgent need. On the contrary, the [Holy Lance Angel]'s extreme combat power is currently unmatched by any other monster girl, not even the [Holy Lamia] of Dantalian.

Therefore, it is still better to choose [Holy Gun Angel], since those auxiliary spells can be replaced by his other bloodlines and his monster girls!

Having made his decision, Zhuang Sen didn't hesitate any longer. After confirming the materials needed for the evolution once again, he patted Dantalian's ample breasts that were pressing against him: "Darling, hurry up, I've made my choice."

Dantalian took two deep breaths, cooperating with Zhuang Sen to disarm him, and then tidied herself up before arriving at the ritual room.

Zhuang Sen took out the Sacred Ancient Wood and the Blood of a Veteran Warrior required for the [Holy Lance Angel] from the evolution materials he had prepared beforehand, and then opened the system to confirm the evolution of the bloodline.

A familiar warmth appeared, and the petite Zhuang Sen began to grow, becoming taller and larger. His originally baby-like fair and delicate skin began to develop muscle lines, and the feathers that originally had a few red tips turned into pure white. New knowledge and abilities flooded into his mind, replacing some of the abilities of the [Secretary Angel].

[Holy Lance - Guaranteed Hit], [Holy Lance - Starfall], [Holy Lance - Divine Punishment], [Master of the Spear], [Pure Body], [Veteran Warrior], [Heartless Slaughter]... One by one, these powerful abilities solidified, and Zhuang Sen's physique was completely fixed at a robust 1.85-meter tall young man. His streamlined muscles were not abrupt, but rather had beautiful lines, but the power contained within them was destructive. At least Zhuang Sen felt that he could probably kill the previous Kross with a single punch now... Well, this might be due to the illusion caused by the sudden increase in power, but even if it wasn't a single punch, Kross couldn't possibly try to take advantage of him now.

As Zhuang Sen admired his own strength, Dantalian's somewhat disappointed voice rang out: "You've grown into an adult~"

"Compared to you, I'm still a child, and it's not like I can't turn back." Zhuang Sen looked at his wife, who had a thing for young boys, reached out and hugged her slender yet voluptuous waist, and buried his head between her full, soft breasts. Zhuang Sen, who had just been warmed by the current, raised his head again and pressed it between her smooth, white, fleshy thighs, ready to celebrate.

The author says:

Author's Note: Yesterday at work, I suddenly felt sore all over. My right forearm and elbow were incredibly painful when I bent them; I almost thought I had to take the day off. But surprisingly, it got much better last night, so I persevered and finished writing. Then, pushing the plot forward resulted in fewer subscriptions, but not pushing the plot forward isn't an option either, damn it. Monthly tickets: 35/50, Request for Updates: 46/50, Donations: 2400/5000

Chapter 222: The Ambitious Dagan, the Eldest Princess Sets Off

While Zhuang Sen was tirelessly improving himself after acquiring his new form, other people elsewhere were also working hard to deal with their own problems. For example, His Highness Dagan Dara, the current leader of the Icewind Guild, son of the Duke of White City Federation and Duke Dara of the Winter Kingdom, was trying to master the [Heart of the Snow Bear] that he had activated.

The secret treasure [Heart of Winter], provided by the Kingdom of Winter, was researched and obtained by the White City Federation. Its ability is not limited to creating two thousand white bears with the strength of first-level bloodline users. However, to unleash its deeper and stronger abilities, one must pass the test and trial of [Heart of Snow Bear].

Yes, there exists a consciousness, or rather, a soul, within the [Heart of the Snow Bear], though neither has been definitively confirmed—at least not by the White City Federation or the Winter Kingdom. It's neither a consciousness nor a soul, and the latter is too complex. But Dagan Dara isn't a researcher, nor does he care. He only knows that the [Heart of the Snow Bear] possesses the ability to think, and if he wants to unleash its full power, break free from that damned distance limitation, and utterly destroy the Leonian army, he must pass its test!

The test is simple. The first level is to win by being surrounded and attacked by a certain number of polar bears! This certain number depends on the challenger's level. Level 1 bloodline users only need to fight five, Level 2 bloodline users twenty, Level 4 bloodline users one thousand two hundred, and Level 3 bloodline users have a compromise of six hundred.

Dara Dagan spent a day and paid the price of having a kidney pierced and both legs broken to survive. Because the polar bears were so large, only a few could actually attack him at the same time. As long as he controlled them well, six hundred or twelve hundred would be the same.

His injuries were not serious. The Falau family was a holy bloodline skilled in healing. Although the Deherim family did not have any awakened beings at the third awakening level, they had several awakened beings at the first and second awakening levels. Healing such a purely external injury was not difficult.

After passing this test, the polar bears became smarter, and their strength and stamina improved. They even expanded their range of movement, but they still couldn't move around completely freely, so Dagan Dara chose to keep trying.

On the second level, I survived for ten minutes under the Snow Bear Queen's attack.

The Snow Bear Queen is the woman with bear ears. She possesses the strength of a fourth-awakened bloodline, but she will only obey simple commands such as attack, retreat, or capture when the second layer of the seal is released. Otherwise, she will only attack anything that gets close to the Snow Bear Heart after all the white bears have died.

Furthermore, if the second layer of seal is broken, the polar bears' activity range restrictions will be lifted, and their strength will be enhanced again, gaining the ability: [Ice Blade].

Given that Count Leon has clearly revealed his flying and ranged attack capabilities, unlocking the second level is essential to ensure the absolute safety of the [Heart of the Snow Bear] exposed outside the city!

So, as soon as Dagandara recovered from his injuries, he immediately challenged the Snow Bear Queen.

The first time, I held on for a minute, but all four of my limbs broke. If I hadn't shouted "I give up" in time, my neck would have been broken too.

The second time, he held on for three minutes. This time, only his hands were broken, and two kidneys were pulled out. Although he surrendered in time and retrieved the kidneys, he still lay in bed for a whole day under the concentrated treatment of all the [Holy Eagle] bloodlines in Deherim.

The third time, he endured for a full nine minutes, suffering fractures all over his body and a cut to his left eye from a bear's claw, almost blinding him. However, thanks to the arrival of Raine Farau, a 3rd awakened [Holy Eagle] bloodline user, Dagan only had to lie down for half a day this time.

The fourth time, she lasted five minutes. The Snow Bear Queen seemed to be in a bad mood and used all her strength right away, so she spent the whole night recovering.

The fifth time, six minutes.

The sixth time, eight minutes.

The tenth time, nine minutes and fifteen seconds.

Looking at the proud and aloof beautiful figure among the white bears, Dagan Dara, who could almost be renamed Dagan Theseus Dara, felt a surge of admiration and awe despite the pain in his body. After so many challenges and battles, Dagan had already fallen under the Snow Bear Queen's powerful strength, her proud and snow-like personality, and her unparalleled beauty. He was no longer challenging her to break the seal on the white bears' range or to wipe out the Leonians and avenge his humiliation, but simply to receive the Snow Bear Queen's guidance and to fight for the chance to become her equal friend!