Lord of Rot

Betty’s alchemy workshop.

"It’s useful?"

Leech glanced at the item on the table, then at the short-statured Betty, who was engrossed in her research.

He didn’t know if it was because she’d been locked underground for too long and had become withdrawn, or if she just got completely absorbed whenever she delved into alchemy in her workshop. Leech had been standing here for quite a while, but she hadn’t paid him any attention.

"Hm?" Betty turned, tilting her head and looking at Leech in confusion. Her expression clearly said: ’When did you get here?’

"You forgot. I brought this," Leech said, pointing to the iron pipe on the table.

Betty had already been measuring it for a long time, and had even made four or five sketches, but she still hadn’t acknowledged Leech.

She asked in surprise, "You brought this?"

"Yes, I brought it," Leech replied with a resigned nod. ’You’re a real genius,’ he thought sarcastically.

"It’ll meet the standard," she said with a nod. "This iron pipe you brought can withstand a more powerful blast."

The iron pipe was forged by Chuina after she became an Extraordinary blacksmith. With her great strength, ability to control temperature, and wealth of forging techniques, she was a natural-born blacksmith.

Leech watched as Betty poured a mixed powder from a container.

"This is the newest Magic Gunpowder I’ve developed. By adding powdered rock-crystal from the volcano, I’ve halved the amount of gunpowder needed while still retaining four-fifths of the original power."

"So unscientific," Leech lamented.

The powdered rock-crystal wasn’t anything particularly special; it was a local specialty of Lu Leiyi.

It was said to be related to the Magic Environment, appearing in volcanic regions. It was a mineral with a strong, pungent odor whose main use was as an insect repellent. If you tried to use it to repel insects in the summer, you’d pass out before the bugs did.

He’d heard it was also helpful in the bedroom, but if you ate it, you were more likely to experience your whole body stiffening up rather than just one specific part.

Adding a little bit of powder halved the total amount of gunpowder needed, yet the power was almost the same as before. While it wasn’t scientific, it was very magical.

Betty said, "If that blacksmith can consistently maintain this level of quality, I’d like her to work exclusively for me."

Only materials forged by an Extraordinary blacksmith could satisfy the designs she’d had in mind for a long time.

From Leech’s perspective, the things Chuina forged were indeed closer to an industrial standard—an industrial standard of incredibly high strength, at that.

If the technology allowed, Chuina could probably hammer out a spaceship with her bare hands one day.

This world was definitely a sphere. There was no doubt about it. The tides, the moon in the sky, and the changing seasons so similar to Earth all proved it.

Betty explained, "I heard your idea before, and I feel that the long-range... ’sniping’? Is that the word? Sniping sounds very interesting."

Leech had previously mentioned some conceptual weapons offhandedly, like sniper rifles, pistols, and so on.

He didn’t know how to build a gun from scratch, but he’d played video games, so he could describe a vague, general concept. Plus, they already had the foundation of the Flintlock Gun, so it wasn’t like they were starting from zero.

As a Divine Favored, Baron Porcupine could dream of knowledge granted by a Divine Spirit. But because he was a mortal, he couldn’t see that knowledge clearly and could only describe it vaguely. Besides, it’s impossible for people to remember their dreams perfectly, so it was all perfectly reasonable!

"Alright," Leech said. "I’ll have her move here to work with you."

"Mm," Betty replied, turning away.

Seeing that she had started her research again, Leech didn’t linger. Otherwise, half a day could pass, and when Betty turned around and saw him, she would definitely ask: ’When did you get here?’

As he left Betty’s alchemy workshop, a familiar spiritual fluctuation suddenly contacted him.

It was the Water Nymph!

After being out of contact for so long, she had finally returned.

"Have you learned anything new?" Leech used his Spiritual Power to communicate with the Water Nymph as he walked from the alchemy workshop’s path toward the headland grotto.

A biting sea wind slapped him in the face, and he hunched his neck.

The Water Nymph replied, "Yes. I encountered many interesting ships and many interesting things."

"Did they see you?"

A golden beauty floating in the sea... he believed no one could resist that temptation.

"I stayed underwater the whole time," the Water Nymph said.

Leech, who was walking toward Pigtail Bay, suddenly stopped.

A flood of memories suddenly appeared in his mind.

The Water Nymph was directly showing Leech her experiences from the past while!

The vision began as she left Pigtail Bay. Most of the time was spent in the ocean, the view hazy.

The light on the seabed was dim, and visibility was very low.

But she could discern directions through sound.

Leech recalled how during the battle, Guy had displayed a bat-like sonar ability. Since Corpse Ghost Guy’s abilities came from the Water Nymph, her own should be even more powerful and complete.

She was like an underwater radar, capturing all sorts of signals on the ocean floor.

He didn’t know how long she had traveled forward. The sea was pitch-black; no light could penetrate it.

A singing voice caught the Water Nymph’s attention, and she swam quickly toward the surface.

On the surface, there was only the reflection of the moonlight.

The Water Nymph poked half her head out of the water and watched the person singing.

A Minstrel sat on the deck, playing a Lute. His melodious song captured the Water Nymph’s interest.

A group of people was jeering and cheering, and the environment on the ship looked quite pleasant.

But through the Water Nymph’s eyes, Leech saw the banner on the ship.

"The Monkey Banner!"

It was a ship from Shanzhang Castle, but he had never heard of Shanzhang Castle having a fleet.

At most, they would follow Waterfall Land’s routes for inland shipping.

The closest ports to Monkey Territory were East Port and Thunder City at the Giant’s Foot. Both regions were ridiculously far away. It would take one or two months on horseback just to get there from Shanzhang Castle. Developing a fleet was no different from being the admiral of a prairie navy.

Speaking of which, Leech and the Monkey Clan seemed to have a strange affinity when it came to the sea.

Previously, an heir of the Monkey Clan, La Bill, was captured by pirates. He then led the pirates ashore to plunder Porcupine Territory.

And now, he’d run into them again.

’What’s their objective?’ Leech wondered.

If he had the chance, he wouldn’t mind making things difficult for the Monkey Clan.

The Water Nymph satisfied Leech’s curiosity—not because she recognized the family crest, of course. She had no interest in nobles or power struggles; she was only interested in the singing Minstrel.

For the next few days, the Water Nymph followed the Monkey Clan’s ship.

During the day, she would hide on the seabed, only surfacing at night to listen to the singing.

Leech fast-forwarded through this part of the memory. He could understand the Water Nymph’s pursuit of song and beauty, but frankly, the Minstrel’s singing was mediocre. The lyrics were empty, and he seemed to mumble, making him difficult to listen to.

’Then again,’ Leech thought, ’maybe it’s not that the Water Nymph’s taste has gotten worse. Maybe she’s just looking for some unlucky fool to drag into the water and drown. That makes a lot more sense.’

Finally, the Monkey Clan’s ship stopped at a very small island.

The ship docked, and several people disembarked. From the memories of Guy and the stone golem Corpse Ghost Nils, Leech recognized them as members of a branch family of the Monkey Clan.

’What’s on that island? What are they looking for?’

For the Monkey Clan to be willing to waste so much time at sea, something was clearly up.

If it had been anyone else, Leech might not have cared. But since it was the Monkey Clan, his thoughts couldn’t help but turn mischievous.

At the end of the memory, the Monkey Clan seemed to have found nothing. They boarded their ship and left, cursing and swearing.

The Water Nymph followed the ship for a while longer, but when she didn’t hear any more singing, she disappointedly swam back to Porcupine Territory.

Leech reviewed the memories as he walked. By the time he reached the seaside reefs, he had just finished watching them.

The Water Nymph emerged halfway from the sea, her curvaceous body, seemingly forged from gold, unreservedly displaying its beauty to Leech.

"If you run into them again, you can follow them and see what they’re looking for," Leech said.

The Water Nymph nodded. "I understand."

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