Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Lindsay looked thoughtfully at the gold coins in the Ark of the Sacred Reliquary, then at the healers brought by Ryusha, and nodded slightly.

“I can persuade the believers to try it, but could the price be lowered? Even in Sochi, ordinary people aren’t that wealthy…”

“Of course,” Liu Xia nodded. “But you’ll still need to come in person for those wealthy people. After all, the money given to Archbishop Randall isn’t enough; I’ll have to pay out of my own pocket.”

After saying that, Liuxia made arrangements for everyone and told Lindsay to rest well, leaving the nun to ponder in her mind.

The sun had set, and Sochi was under curfew, with only the construction sites around the cathedral still brightly lit. Hetia had recruited enough laborers to work day and night, solving their livelihood problems. Meanwhile, Megan and her patrols maintained order around the cathedral…

Melanie followed lightly behind Ryūka, a smile playing on her lips, and said:

"Making magicians do architect's work, and having them research agricultural and livestock production—you've really got something else going for you. But it's true, applying magic to these areas yields unexpectedly good results!"

"I thought you would complain, after all, mages are all very arrogant."

"At first, they complained a bit, but after I took the lead in doing the work, they stopped complaining. After all, even the great mage didn't mind, so they had no excuse."

"At first, they complained a bit, but after I took the lead in doing the work, they stopped complaining. After all, even the great mage didn't mind, so they had no excuse."

Melanie chuckled softly. She seemed to understand why Ryūka frequently appeared on the front lines, and she also understood that Ryūka's current achievements were not solely due to his powerful strength.

As she spoke, Liuxia felt her suddenly hug her from behind, her soft body pressed tightly against hers, her breath hot and passionate.

"This month's worth of enhancements belongs to Hetia, so your attempts to please me won't work."

Liu Xia chuckled softly, feeling Melanie's restless hands rubbing against her body, and gently spat a kiss near her ear:

"Who wants your upgrade? I did all the hard work for you all day, I just want some compensation~ In the last game, I won points that I exchanged for a 'date' opportunity~"

"Do you want a proper 'date'? It's late at night, and we're on the street."

As Ryūka was speaking, a layer of ice suddenly condensed around him, quickly sealing him and Melanie inside. In the narrow space, Melanie turned herself around, slid down her body, and squatted between his legs.

"If I say so, then it is."

Aren't you afraid of being discovered?

Melanie rolled her eyes at him and began to play her instrument and sing, the slight chill in the air contrasting sharply with the sorceress's warm, moist lips. Ryuka couldn't help but recall the night he'd taken Melanie's virginity; it was also in the corridor of the hot spring resort, where they had hidden in ice to escape Atina and the others.

"Looks like some people have developed a taste for excitement, huh?"

Through the ice, Ryusha heard a patrol approaching on the street, and the heavy hoofbeats of the lead horse indicated that Megan was leading the way.

With a wicked grin, he pulled Melanie up from the ground, pressed her back against the ice, ripped open the magician's robe with a tearing sound, and plunged himself into her wet body as the patrol approached.

"Hmm~"

Melanie tried to cover her mouth, but a sound still escaped. This alerted the patrol team that something seemed to be lurking in the dark alley.

Under the cover of night, the ice blocks resembled enormous boxes, their true form only revealed by the reflection of the torches as they drew near. They cautiously reported to Megan:

"Ms. Megan! Something's not right here!"

Melanie held her breath, hoping that Ryusha would use a silencing barrier, but the boy just kept whipping, making the water splash and splash, which made Melanie feel both bitter and excited.

While she used her magic to secretly thicken the ice layer, hoping to drown out the shameful sounds, she trembled all over as Ryūka skillfully manipulated her, her thighs clenching together with a frenzied intensity.

She felt the sounds outside getting closer and closer. Megan and the patrol surrounded the huge block of ice. Tension, shame, excitement, and Ryusha behind her made her feel incredibly happy.

Megan understood the situation the moment she noticed. She smiled knowingly and waved for the patrol to continue their night watch. She stayed behind, pretending that the people around her hadn't left.

"Cough, it seems something's not right. Get ready, I'm going to split this open."

Megan deliberately said this to make Melanie inside nervous, but Ryusha could tell through the ice that there was no one else outside. She thought Megan was just deliberately bullying Melanie, so she became even more unrestrained.

"Wait, wait... Megan, she... Ha~ Stop it~ She's going to, she's going to mess this up..."

"Isn't this what you wanted? Now you're worried about being found out?"

Are you kidding me! Fun is fun! Melanie doesn't want to actually be found out!

Clang! Under the fierce slash, Melanie, bracing herself against Ryusha's impact, channeled her magic to resist, preventing Megan from making a breakthrough. But the sound of the blow seemed to strike a sensitive spot, causing her to tremble and lose consciousness.

"Cough cough, it's pretty tough. I'm getting serious now. It'll start here and end here. Set up your magic guns, and fire if anything goes wrong!"

Megan outside raised her axe again, drawing a line on the ice to warn Ryūka inside. Ryūka gleefully held Melanie down and unleashed his full power, narrowly dodging the slash. But Melanie beneath him was terrified. What was this? She was being stabbed in the back, and now she had to take axe and bullets from the front?

But the endless pleasure made her unable to resist at all. She could only shake her thighs, squeezing out the clear spring in waves, while feeling the fierce battle aura sounds coming from outside.

Are you kidding me?! Megan! Are you serious?! No, no... this is too dangerous! And too exciting!

boom!

As Megan unleashed her fierce battle aura attack, Melanie, who had just reached her peak again a few seconds later, only had time to roll her eyes and use her ice mask and ice shield to cover her face and body so as not to be exposed.

After that, she could only cling to Ryūka, twitching and trembling incessantly.

"Two suspects have been identified."

Upon seeing Megan's wicked grin and realizing she was all alone, Melanie immediately understood she'd been tricked and bullied. She rolled her eyes in embarrassment and anger, forcefully freeing herself from Ryusha with a "pop," staggering a couple of steps, and said to Megan and Ryusha:

"Fine, you two... Megan! Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving!"

She then tried to pull Megan into the fun, but Megan, seeing Ryūka's gesture, laughed and dodged, walking away: "I still have to patrol, this is Master's duty~ Miss Melanie~ You just enjoy yourself~"

Chapter 4 An Encounter at the City Gate

After settling matters in Sochi, Ryusha planned to return to the mountains east of Linhu Territory. Hinatil was still asleep, and Ryusha needed to make some preparations before she awoke.

"Six kinds of local plants, seven kinds of animal blood, an altar decorated with gold and sapphires—are you sure these are enough to 'communicate with spirits'?"

In her mind, Yu nodded. The various reforms in Sochi City brought Ruka faith and support, which awakened her and gave her the power to communicate with Ruka. Ruka then packed her things, shouldered them, and prepared to set off.

He was somewhat skeptical. These things, even gold and sapphires, weren't difficult to obtain; even a small landowner could do it. Not to mention the different plants and animal blood—pigs, horses, cattle, sheep—any farmer could collect them. But Yu said that this would allow him to communicate with the local 'spirits' and confirm their existence.

Ryūka didn't want to fight Sinatiel under that strange pressure again; it would be too disadvantageous. But Yu said this was the power she received from the Holy See, turning the surroundings into her domain, even within Ryūka's territory. To counter this, Ryūka needed to gain further recognition from this land, which meant finding the local 'spirit' was essential.

"Of course, there is another way: to directly use the power of a stronger being to fight against that woman..."

Inside the hall, Yu tapped on the stone slabs covered with purplish-black cracks. She felt a sense of familiarity and danger, but there was no doubt that there was power within them far exceeding that of Liu Xia.

But she was just joking.

"However, that would be tantamount to you becoming an apostle of other 'godhoods,' and you would slowly lose your own will, becoming completely convinced of the master behind that power. The same goes for Chloe. Helping her out in exchange for some power is fine, but don't go too far down the path of becoming a divine messenger. Unless you'd rather serve under other gods than establish your own sect..."

Listening to Yu's words, Ryuka couldn't help but recall her first experience of 'demonic transformation,' and she truly became unlike herself. That impulsive, violent, and rampant feeling was addictive, just like the description of 'cruel witches' in epics. Therefore, Ryuka had been avoiding excessive violence or witnessing cruel scenes ever since, lest her mind be affected.

He had experienced this feeling not only when he was demonized, but also during moments of unrestrained pleasure, anger, and even after using the K18 potion. (The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated.)

Ryuka couldn't help but imagine that if Chloe was, in some way, a god to slaves, prostitutes, and the like, then could there be other gods who embodied emotions like 'anger, pleasure, and cruelty'? Because there just happened to be such a powerful being associated with these emotions—the legendary 'cruel witch'.

"Do you think gods can completely disappear? Like Chloe, who slept for hundreds of years after losing her faith, they seem pretty resilient... What about that so-called 'cruel witch,' the most powerful heretic from a thousand years ago according to the Church? Does she still exist in some way?"

Ryuka couldn't help but wonder if Bell, the progenitor of all witches, was also some kind of deity, then were the witches born from her corpse, and all their descendants, another form of 'divine messenger' or follower, only that the witches themselves didn't know it?

But if the truth is not as written in the epic, that the cruel witch was destroyed by King Kranal, but still exists in some form, like Chloe waiting to awaken again, then is the power I obtained from Kania some kind of trap?

Yu seemed to understand what Ryuka was worried about: "I can't say for sure, but there's one thing in my memory... that is, gods can't exist in the mortal world once they reach a certain level, and divine messengers must be 'devout' when they use their power, and they can't even overstep their bounds in name. Otherwise, wouldn't the world's order be in chaos?"

Ryūka understood her meaning: the cruel witch had indeed existed in this world, and because she was arrogant, conceited, and self-centered, she could not possibly be a god or a divine messenger. However, both Yu and Chloe felt a pressure comparable to that of a god from the witch's power within them, which was puzzling.

For now, we can only take precautions and minimize the use of forces other than the Leader's Token. Therefore, when facing Hinatil, Ryūka must be fully prepared.

Before dawn, Ryusha packed her things and left the room. Last night, she had a fierce battle with Melanie and Hetia after returning to the castle. The two, who usually loved to bicker, were now sleeping peacefully together in bed, seemingly quite exhausted from her antics.

Now that Ryūka can communicate with Hetia at any time through the Consciousness Hall, he can leave the base camp with more peace of mind, let them focus on the construction of the territory, and go out to act on his own.

They rode to the city gate, but it wasn't time to open it yet; even the pedestrians entering and leaving the city hadn't lined up. The soldiers held firm to the city's defenses, and upon seeing Liuxia, they saluted, gathered together, and pulled the heavy bolts, causing the massive city gate to slowly lift with a creaking sound.

"Looks like I've arrived just in time."

Just as the city gate was slightly raised, a somewhat broken Ottoman voice suddenly came from behind Ryuga. This made Ryuga tense up; even if the voice sounded clear and pleasant, it couldn't be taken lightly if someone could appear behind him unnoticed.

Turning around, he saw a barbarian woman behind him. Although her skin was snow-white and her features looked no different from those of an Ottoman, the thick black eyeshadow around her eyes, the blue tattoos on her face, and the strange ornaments she wore clearly indicated her origin.

"A shaman? Is he a member of Lord Weston Oliveira's clan?"

Liu Xia asked warily, not surprised that the Snowfield Barbarians would appear in his territory, after all, there was already a noble of barbarian origin in Sochi Territory.

"Yes, Your Excellency. Paruru Oliveira is at your service."

Ryuka watched as Paruru placed her right hand on her chest, holding a staff, and slowly bowed to him.

“You know me? Oliveira… Miss, Lord Weston is your…”

“Father, Your Excellency the Governor. He described you to me. I never expected to meet you here.”

Looking at the sly smile on Paruru's face, Ryusha didn't believe her words at all. A coincidence? It was still dark, and there wasn't even a single person queuing at the city gate, yet this strikingly dressed young girl had silently appeared behind him, without him noticing, or even the city guards facing him.

Seeing Paruru smiling at him with her wild eyes covered in black eyeshadow, and then taking a closer look at the slender waist peeking out from under her exquisitely tailored animal skin cloak, Ryuka couldn't help but laugh.

A beautiful girl, a sudden appearance, a chance encounter—if these things are coincidences, then Ryuka can only say that there are more coincidences than anything else.

But if it's not a coincidence, such a deliberate encounter should raise one's guard extremely high.

Chapter 5 Young people should be petty.

"Miss Oliveira, you've come to the city gate so early. Are you returning to your territory? Why are there no carriages or attendants? Are you waiting for someone?"

"Just call me Paruru."

Paruru smiled amiably, her eyes narrowing as she stared unabashedly at Ryūka:

"I'm not going back to my territory, so I'm all alone. But I am indeed waiting for someone, someone who is going the same way as me..."

"Oh?" Paruru's words made Ryuka raise an eyebrow. It seemed as if the other party had been waiting for him on purpose, and even said it was on the way.

How did she know where she was going?

"So, Your Excellency, would you be willing to give me a ride?"

Faced with Paruru's smile, Ryuka calmly asked:

How did you know we were going the same way?

But the shaman girl in front of him didn't speak. She just beckoned with her finger and uttered a few obscure syllables. Ryuka's horse walked towards her uncontrollably.

This surprised Ryuga quite a bit. He didn't sense any magical fluctuations; the other party wasn't using magic or witchcraft. Ryuga, however, couldn't control his tamed warhorse no matter what he did. Although unwilling, Ryuga refused to be led by the nose by this woman, and stubbornly used his witch's abilities to control the warhorse.

As the warhorse neighed and raised its hooves, nearly kicking Paruru in the face, Ryuga watched her without changing her expression or backing down an inch, as if she knew that she was just trying to scare her.

The shaman girl sighed softly, stepped forward to Ryūka's side, gently stroked the horse's neck, looked up at Ryūka, and said:

"If you don't want to refuse, then just do it. Why make things difficult for this poor little guy? It's not a good thing to impose your will on others."

This woman...she knows she's in control of the horse.

Ryuka stared at Paruru's unwavering gaze. Her repeated actions made Ryuka feel that Paruru was mysterious and dangerous, but not malicious.

"Weren't you just forcibly controlling it?"

"Control?" Paruru chuckled softly, gently stroking the warhorse's neck as if it were a child. "I was just talking to it, asking it to come over."

She gave a sly smile, as if showing off, and looked at Ryūka with eyes that seemed to pierce his soul: "I'm a shaman, is it surprising that I can communicate with animals?"

Ryuka smiled and said, "I thought your shamans were more skilled in witchcraft and divination, but now it seems they are more like the Druids in the magic world."

"All things share the same origin and are one. Magic comes from humans learning from other races, while shamanic magic is humans' own exploration of the power of nature, which is the skill of communicating with the 'spirit'."

Paruru's words piqued Ryuka's interest. From what she said, humans originally didn't know magic. But that's not the case now. On the contrary, shamanic magic is a mysterious technique used only by barbarians, and the Ottus have fought against them for hundreds of years without understanding its mysteries.

And...she just said 'spirit'...

Ryūka glanced at the soldiers beside her, who were completely bewildered by the situation and conversation. This girl had been incredibly mysterious from the moment she appeared. Although they were quite confident in their governor's abilities, they couldn't help but be wary of Paruru, waiting for Ryūka's command.

It seems this isn't the right place to continue... Ryuka gestured with her chin towards Paruru:

"Come on up, Miss Paruru. If you say it's on my way, then it's on my way."

Paruru giggled and stretched out a fair hand to Ryuka, as if she wanted Ryuka to help her onto the horse.

"I've heard that people in Otto are very particular about etiquette towards ladies?"

But I'm not an Ottoman... Ryuka thought to herself, but still pulled her back. The early spring morning was a bit chilly, and the girl's small hands were a little cold. Ryuka made way for the stirrups and pulled Paruru behind her.

The saddle swayed gently, and the staff in Paruru's hand was somewhat in the way. Moreover, she seemed to be deliberately maintaining a distance between the two of them, leaving a gap between her body and Ryuka.

"I don't care if you fall," Liu Xia said with a smirk. With a flick of the reins, she channeled her fighting spirit into her warhorse using her knightly riding skills. With this powerful boost, the warhorse charged out of the city at an unparalleled speed.

"Oh! Slow down!"

Paruru gasped, nearly losing her balance and being thrown off. She swayed and clung to Ryuga, secretly rolling her eyes at him as she thought about the scandalous stories she'd heard.

After regaining her balance, she chuckled again: "I thought the dignified Governor of Otus would be more magnanimous, but it seems he's no different from the young men of the tribe."

Regardless of what Paruru said, the soft touch and the unknown, peculiar fragrance emanating from her made Ryusha feel extremely comfortable. The scent was like a mixture of herbs and incense, carrying a unique aroma from the north.