Monster Girl Development Master.

But Leah Farau disagreed: "Ange is a typical businesswoman. She wouldn't do something where the risk and reward don't match. We should choose the one with the highest potential reward, or the one that is most emotional and has the biggest grudge against Johnson."

The one who best fits this criterion is Jem Leon, but since he's already a dead man at Johnson's hands, there's no need to consider that.

"Tim Leon?"

This is Leon, who is eleventh in the line of succession. Although he has no grudge against Zhuang Sen, if Zhuang Sen dies, he can enter the top ten. Incidentally, the line of succession also affects the resources that Leon and others receive. For example, the top ten receive one Shadow Raven Bloodline Awakening Potion every year, while the top twenty only receive one every two years.

This is separate and not included in the annual family awakening ceremony.

The same applies to other resources such as money and knowledge; there is a significant gap between the top three and the top ten, and also a significant gap between the top ten and the top twenty.

Zhuang Sen thought for a moment and shook his head in denial: "That guy's relationship with Zhuang Sen is almost like that of a stranger. Zhuang Sen probably won't believe him. Besides, he awakened his mother's second-level bloodline. Unless all the other third-level bloodlines die, it won't be his turn to take over."

Leah Farau didn't give up: "So, Jason Leon?"

He's fifth in the line of succession, and he also went with Jem Leon before. He's the guy who charged at Johnson and was then taken down by Dantalian—a typical reckless brute. His relationship with the previous Johnson was actually passable, though that's probably just the original owner's opinion, since the previous Johnson didn't hesitate at all when he made his move.

"It's possible, but does he have the brains and the ability?"

The original owner's death was peculiar; there were no visible injuries, and it looked like he was asleep, but in reality, all the blood in his body had been drained. The only unusual thing at the scene was the blood-red magic array that filled the room, but no one recognized it. Oh, not counting Zhuang Sen, who appeared suddenly. His appearance was also unusual, but at least it was unrelated to the original owner's death.

Leah Farau also felt that this was asking too much of Jason Leon, and hesitated for a moment.

Zhuang Sen stood up and stretched: "It seems there aren't any particularly suitable candidates right now. We'll just have to check them one by one. Well then, I'll head out now, Mother."

Leah Farau paused for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Be careful, Johnson."

Zhuang Sen waved his hand and left the room.

Go find Dantalian!

Inside the room, Lia Farau looked at Lydia, the loyal guardian knight who had killed many enemies in the previous battle. Unfortunately, not being a bloodline member, she did not have a particularly outstanding performance and did not attract Johnson's attention at all.

Perhaps she should take the initiative to talk to Zhuang Sen?

……

Inside Starry Night City, at the Earl's mansion.

Cross Leon entered the study, his shadow rising at his feet. He turned a vase beside the desk, and the wall, which had been standing quietly, suddenly caved in and then silently sank down, revealing a spiral staircase.

Cross Leon stepped into the darkness, his footsteps drowning out the sound of the walls rising again, growing more and more distant until a cluster of fire appeared in the darkness.

The bright red, blood-like patterns, illuminated by the firelight, intertwined to form an intricate magic circle on the smooth ground. A seemingly ancient stone table stood at the center of the magic circle, but it was piled high with exquisite utensils such as measuring cups and scales, which looked very incongruous.

Clos Leon approached the stone table, his shadow climbing onto it first, a few drops of bright red blood falling into the measuring cup, full of vitality.

The most celebrated ability of the Shadow Raven bloodline is: [Shadow Space].

Clos Leon skillfully completed the task he wanted quickly, and the result both satisfied and surprised him.

"It has absolutely no Shadow Raven bloodline, but it's more suitable than the Shadow Raven bloodline..."

In a whisper, Cross Leon raised his head, his head covered in jet-black feathers and sporting a hard beak: "Johnson..."

Chapter Seventeen: Trouble

Temple of Aranta.

When Johnson arrived, the sun was already high in the sky, and the melodious hymns guided him towards Dantalian. The Church of the Furies held prayers three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—though none of them were mandatory, the clergy usually prayed regularly, and some believers who had free time would also come.

However, it seems like the number of people has decreased.

As Zhuang Sen entered the main hall and observed the praying crowd, he sensed something was amiss. Logically, given the Vengeance Church's recent display of power, there was no reason for the number of believers to have decreased, let alone surged…

The midday prayer lasted only a short time, ending after one hymn.

"Zhuang Sen, why are you only arriving now?"

Having spotted Zhuang Sen earlier, Dantalian handed her work to Loris and quickly approached him. Her voluptuous body, encased in a simple nun's habit, rippled with each step, especially her breasts facing Zhuang Sen. Even the nun's habit, which could change size according to body shape, could not conceal these treasures, and they could only sway up and down with them. The deep valley seemed to swallow them, creating a folded triangle that only Zhuang Sen could see, forcibly outlining the blurry contours of her breasts.

Good afternoon, Priestess Dantalian.

Zhuang Sen gave an exaggerated bow to conceal his gaze.

Having awakened her bloodline, Dantalian naturally received a promotion and is now a priestess, just like Loris. The hierarchy of the Church of Vengeance is quite simple; ordinary people can only serve as nuns or senior nuns, while only those with the right bloodline can continue to become priests, bishops, and even patriarchs or popes.

Dantalian smiled and straightened the fabric at her chest, resuming her posture from when she was directing the prayer. She cooperated by adopting a haughty stance, head held high and chest out: "Good afternoon, Zhuang Sen, are you here to repent?"

To be honest, Dantalian's performance added a touch of aloofness and sanctity to her originally dignified and gentle demeanor. Especially when she was tall and looked down at Zhuang Sen with her eyes half-closed, she exuded an incredibly attractive and domineering aura that made people want to conquer her.

Zhuang Sen felt his heart racing.

Dantalian looked at Zhuang Sen, who had suddenly fallen silent, and her face flushed slightly.

Loris, who was standing to the side, looked at the two of them and couldn't help but sigh. She walked over and said, "Dantrian, the believers are still here."

Can we flirt in a more private place?

The two instinctively looked away, but immediately looked back. When their eyes met, they felt a little shy. However, Zhuang Sen finally reacted and changed the subject before Loris could continue teasing him: "Speaking of which, are there fewer people today?"

Hearing this, Loris lost her joking mood and casually complained, "Yeah, it's all those warmongers and hypocritical women's fault!"

"Ok?"

Zhuang Sen initially thought it was just normal fluctuation, but he didn't expect there to be a real problem. However, Dantalian hadn't told him about it beforehand.

Dantalian noticed Zhuang Sen's questioning gaze and pursed her lips slightly. She knew about this, but felt it wasn't good to trouble Zhuang Sen further, since it had nothing to do with him; it was a religious competition.

Loris didn't think that much about it. They were all allies, so there was no need to hide such things: "The War Church and the Healing Church are causing us trouble. Recently, not only have the number of believers decreased, but the number of commissions has also decreased."

As mentioned before, the Church of Vengeance's main business is mercenaries, while the Church of War, as its name suggests, is inextricably linked to war, naturally creating a business conflict with the Church of Vengeance. Therefore, Zhuang Sen could understand the mention of the Church of War, but hadn't the Church of Compassion and the Church of Vengeance always kept to themselves?

Dantalian answered Zhuang Sen's question: "Because of me, since I have to use my bloodline abilities every day anyway, I simply offer treatments at a low price. I guess the Healing Church considers this malicious competition."

Like the Church of War, the Church of Healing, as its name suggests, primarily focuses on healing and saving lives. However, they rely mainly on various magical potions, not bloodline abilities. And the effects of magical potions are ultimately not as strong or as rapid as bloodline abilities. Therefore, they are naturally not competitive against Dantalian, the Holy Lamia.

But this doesn't explain why the Church of Vengeance is at a disadvantage, unless... unless the Church of Vengeance has been found to have some weakness, and the only recent change in the Church of Vengeance is that it has sided with Zhuang Sen.

Yes, it seems those survivors haven't given up yet.

Zhuang Sen remembered that the Church of War was connected to the dead Jem, and the Church of Healing, as a subordinate to the healer, also had many dealings with Leon. He just didn't know who was involved, or how far these two churches planned to go. After all, they hadn't been so proactive in targeting Zhuang Sen before; it was probably because Zhuang Sen's resounding victories had made them uneasy.

Without much hesitation, Zhuang Sen quickly spoke again: "Is Bishop Rosa available now?"

Dantalian tilted her head slightly, placing one hand on her ample bosom, still hesitant to trouble Zhuang Sen: "His Holiness the Bishop shouldn't have started his afternoon nap yet..."

Loris glared at her good-for-nothing best friend. "Why are you worrying about the bishop right now? Do you think the bishop would refuse to see Lord Zhuang Sen? Besides, Lord Zhuang Sen is clearly planning to help!"

She abruptly interrupted Dantalian: "Lord Johnson, the Bishop will definitely be available. Let's go over there now! Dantalian, if you don't want to go, go back to training."

Zhuang Sen looked at Dantalian, who glared at Loris and silently moved closer to Zhuang Sen.

……

Reception room.

Bishop Rosa looked at Zhuang Sen and his two companions as they filed in and smiled curiously: "Zhuang Sen, what brings you here today?"

For the past few days, Zhuang Sen had been spending all his time with Dantalian.

Zhuang Sen stated his reason without changing his expression, but upon hearing that it was related to the Church of War and the Church of Healing, Bishop Rosa's joking mood vanished: "Loris is right. By the way, their most effective attack now is to say that we will leak information to you, Zhuang Sen, and they will also deliberately design things to force clients to join you, Zhuang Sen, and so on."

As the old lady spoke, a smile returned to her face, but when she saw the undisguised worry on Dantalian's face, it turned into helplessness. She could naturally see what Dantalian was thinking: she felt she had already received too much help from Zhuang Sen and couldn't trouble him any further, while also thinking that she couldn't use the church as leverage to bind Zhuang Sen.

How foolish! They can't even see their own place, or the place of their beloved, and keep such a clear divide between themselves. It's no wonder the relationship can't progress. If you're truly meant to be, you should help each other grow and then continue to support each other—so many people dream of having that opportunity and ability, yet this idiot refuses to use it.

It seems it's time to teach this idiot a lesson.

But that's something for later; it's not appropriate to say that in front of Zhuang Sen.

Zhuang Sen didn't notice that Bishop Rosa was thinking so much; his mind was focused on the important matter at hand: "So that's how it is. So you plan to isolate me, the one who doesn't follow the rules. Looks like you haven't been really hurt yet."

Bishop Rosa temporarily set aside her other thoughts and looked at Zhuang Sen: "You already have a solution?"

Chapter 18: Warming Up

“Of course, that’s what I came here to discuss today—I remember that the Church of War actually makes the most money from arms dealing, right?”

Zhuang Sen's words were straightforward, but Bishop Rosa did not agree directly: "Our church does not have a license to operate arms, and this does not seem to resolve their slander, well, after all, it is not a real slander."

"There's no need to address their slander; we just need to force them to accept reality."

Zhuang Sen didn't think there was a way to resolve this slander, because it was the truth. What he needed to do was to make others knowingly make deals with the Church of Revenge, even if it meant potentially leaking information, or even willingly become his lackeys.

To use an imperfect analogy, it's like "accepting the risks and persisting in the visit."

At that point, it will be the Church of Vengeance that will ask the other churches, "How come you have no connection with Lord Zhuang Sen?"

Bishop Rosa nodded, not pressing for details about how Zhuang Sen had managed to do such a thing. After all, Zhuang Sen was still far from becoming Earl of Leon; his place in the succession line remained tenth, unchanged despite Jem's death. Some saw this as Earl Cross's warning and punishment for Zhuang Sen's misbehavior, and one of the reasons they dared to remain neutral towards him.

Bishop Rosa didn't care whether Johnson could solve the current troubles of the Church of Vengeance. When she chose to side with Johnson, she had already anticipated this situation and could accept it.

A level five bloodline, with the rare divine attribute—the value of this bloodline is more than enough to justify everything the Aranta Temple has invested. And once Dantalian successfully completes its third awakening, all the losses they've suffered now can be recouped tenfold!

This was only because the Patriarch of the Church of Vengeance in the Fallen Star Kingdom was incompetent, and they were afraid that she would turn around and attack Dantalian. Otherwise, the Church of Rosa would have reported it directly and then waited for a large number of reinforcements to come and escort Dantalian to complete her fourth awakening.

Zhuang Sen finally confirmed, "In short, if we can influence the War Church's arms business, things should be much better for the Church, right?"

Bishop Rosa pondered for a moment: "That depends on the extent of the impact, but it will certainly be very helpful."

Neither of them mentioned the Healing Church. Lacking any healing bloodline abilities, relying entirely on potions, they were nothing more than a roadside nuisance. Without the Church of War backing them up, Bishop Rosa could have easily killed them.

"That's good. Dantalian and I are going out for a bit. If all goes well, we'll have good news today."

Zhuang Sen stood up, having been observing and slacking off the whole time. Dantalian, who was focused on her inner turmoil, heard his words and was both pleased and conflicted: "But I have work this afternoon..."

Bishop Rosa interrupted her: "Let Loris do it, Dantalian. Don't upset Lord Johnson."

Zhuang Sen listened to Bishop Rosa's words and was speechless. Why did it make him seem like a wicked nobleman who coerced a pure nun, and Bishop Rosa as a treacherous bishop who aided and abetted the evil?

However, this feeling immediately dissipated as he forced himself to remain calm and took Dantalian's hand.

Dantalian, who had just been struggling with her relationship with Zhuang Sen, suddenly lost all self-doubt, her mind filled only with pure desire. Her golden eyes, which had unknowingly turned into vertical pupils, were fixed on Zhuang Sen, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled his scent. Her plump, fleshy thighs intertwined slightly, suppressing the heat rising in her lower abdomen.

The bloodline nature suppressed by the nun's unwavering will and sacred faith returned like lightning the moment Zhuang Sen took her hand!

Bishop Rosa, noticing this, nodded in satisfaction. "So what if Dantalian is useless? It's fine if Zhuang Sen takes the initiative; Dantalian can't escape Zhuang Sen's grasp anyway."

And so, under the watchful gaze of the bishop, who was like a mother to her, Dantalian, who had entered predatory mode, was led out of the temple by the hand of Johnson. The nuns, warriors, and believers they encountered along the way, seeing this undisguised scene, all showed knowing smiles.

To reiterate, nuns of the Church of the Furies are not prohibited from marrying; they simply cannot continue their nunning activities after marriage.

It wasn't until they left the temple and got into Zhuang Sen's carriage that Dantalian finally got used to the pleasure of being held by Zhuang Sen's hand. Her lower abdomen stopped throbbing with heat, and her throat no longer kept making strange noises.