Lord of Rot

It was too much of a hassle to cook today. He decided it was better to just gnaw on jerky and drink water, and wait until he returned to Iron Wall Castle for a proper meal.

That night, lying in a room that had belonged to an ascetic monk, Leech sent his consciousness out with his corpse bird to survey Iron Valley.

'Lilac Village is clean, and I've cleared out all the vine corpses along the road northeast to Beechwood Mountain Village. Once I take care of Beechwood Mountain Village and the corpses north of it, I'll finally be able to rest easy.'

To the north of Iron Valley lay impassable mountain ranges; Beechwood Mountain Village was its northernmost settlement.

Leech shifted his perspective, first checking on Iron Wall Castle.

The corpse bird folded its wings and landed on a windowsill of the inner keep, where it saw the maid, Alice, diligently wiping a table.

'Hmm, I have to introduce maid uniforms to Iron Wall Castle!'

The young maid was a very diligent worker, but she was wearing her own coarse linen clothes and frayed cloth shoes. That had to change.

As he scanned the area, he noticed more guards had been posted outside the granary. He figured the recent food shortages must have given some people dishonest ideas.

The biggest problem had been solved. Once the cleanup was complete, Iron Valley could return to normal.

The smaller issues would then be easily resolved.

Finally, he turned his sight to the southernmost settlement, Hazelnut Village. He saw that Lacy and his group had arrived and successfully helped the village eliminate the surrounding vine corpses. They were now loading barrels of oil onto a cart, apparently preparing to send them to Iron Wall Castle.

Leech stretched, then had a chat with the Water Nymph about the situation in the High Magic Land.

He was relieved to confirm that the crabs hadn't invaded the island. That place was his personal testing ground. The success of this first planting would determine whether he could pursue a future of magical agriculture.

Leech hadn't had a single good night's rest since arriving in Iron Valley.

Now that he could finally relax, he was about to have a good dream...

"Wood Escape!"

The demon fox Zang Ma, hands clasped together and clad in the Pisces Golden Saint Clothes, unleashed Deep Forest Emergence on Leech.

"Hmph!" Leech sneered. "Jupiter Power, Make Up!"

His eyes snapped open.

Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, he let out a long breath.

"Phew... What a chaotic brawl inside my head." He sat up and rubbed his temples, which were throbbing with a dull ache. 'It must be the after-effects of that massive explosion.'

Or maybe it was just that bizarre dream.

He pushed the door open and stepped out of the room, only to be taken aback by the scene before him.

Ah Yamei and Aina had changed into nuns' habits, while Rabbit and Guy were dressed in the attire of priests.

Their clothes had been torn to shreds in the previous battle.

'The Corpse Ghosts' ability to learn allows them to integrate perfectly into the human world,' Leech thought.

He hadn't taught them how to dress, yet the Corpse Ghosts had learned on their own to find clean clothes and change into them.

The Corpse Ghosts were effectively becoming a new species, one that was trying its utmost to imitate humanity.

And Leech was the creator of this species.

"Nice outfits," he commented with a nod of approval.

The Corpse Ghosts smiled back at him. It was clear they didn't have much of a concept of beauty or ugliness; they still had a long way to go before they could truly act human.

Leech rummaged through his luggage for food and began to gnaw on a piece of tough jerky. He mentally moved his plan to return to Iron Wall Castle up by a day, deciding it was worth traveling through the night.

These days of marching and fighting were too harsh. Baron Leech, accustomed to a life of comfort, found it deeply unpleasant.

On the way to Beechwood Mountain Village, Leech communicated with the Corpse Ghosts in Mandarin. Their spoken fluency was already quite good.

This language from the Otherworld would become the native tongue of the Corpse Ghosts.

"Guy," Leech said, "you won't be returning to Iron Wall Castle with me. Go straight back to Longship Castle and tell Lady Jie Lin to be prepared. Actually, hold on. First, write a letter to the Monkey Territory and inquire about the situation."

There was no way to hide the fact that Guy had brought the soldiers meant to garrison Longship Castle to Iron Valley instead.

However, after this period of intense recovery and development, Waterfall Land should have regained some of its strength. Besides, with Leech's new territory right next door, he wasn't afraid of a potential conflict with the Monkey Clan.

'If only I could stall for more time,' he thought.

Leech desperately needed time. The longer he could delay things, the more time he would have to build up his own strength.

Guy nodded.

"Rabbit, you go back with Guy." Leech had originally planned to keep the speed-type Corpse Ghost with him, but then he remembered Rabbit had once been part of the Monkey Clan. To avoid any potential complications, it was better to send him with Guy. If a fight did break out, two Extraordinary beings were better than one.

After leaving the monastery, they headed west down a gentle slope.

The vine corpses started to become more numerous in the surrounding area.

Rounding a bend in the path, a completely deserted village came into view.

At the entrance to the village stood a massive, dead tree.

Its trunk was gnarled and broken, revealing an interior that had been completely hollowed out by insects.

Dozens of corpses hung from its bare, sprawling branches.

Burlap sacks covered their heads, but from their clothing, it was clear they were all women.

A gust of wind swept through, causing the desiccated bodies to sway gently.

'A witch hunt.'

Leech instantly knew what had happened here.

The Black King had once promoted a campaign of witch hunts, and it seemed one had been carried out right here in Beechwood Mountain Village.

The Corpse Ghosts went to clear out any that could still move.

Meanwhile, Leech controlled a corpse to take down all the women hanging from the tree. Only a great fire could grant them true peace.

He took a turn about the village and noticed something strange.

'It's called Beechwood Mountain Village, but there are hardly any trees.'

It looked like a massive fire had swept through the outskirts of the village. Wild grasses grew everywhere, along with small saplings, but there were no old trees to be seen.

As he walked on, Leech felt that something was off.

'Wait a minute... this grass looks familiar.'

He stared at the large patch of strange grass before him, and a distant memory was triggered.

He racked his brain, and after a long moment, it came to him.

'The Corpse Demon Giant Lizard!'

The Giant Lizard had once been an ordinary lizard that had reached its growth limit. It had followed a woman in search of food and noticed her picking and eating a certain type of herb.

After a great fire destroyed its home, it migrated from that forest to the swamps of Pig Head Mountain.

From then on, the Giant Lizard's growth had surpassed its natural limits.

'This is the grass!'

Leech crouched down, examining the herbs covering the ground to be absolutely certain.

'If it can make a lizard break its growth limit and become a Giant Lizard, what would happen if a person ate it? Could they become a giant? This is a much more plausible method than trying to cultivate people on the island in the High Magic Land.'

In Leech's eyes, this field of grass was a priceless treasure.

While it might not be on par with an Extraordinary Magic Potion that could turn a normal creature into an Extraordinary one, its effects were still terrifying. Leech was confident that this field of grass was large enough to feed a dozen people as if it were a common vegetable.

He dug up a few plants, intending to test them on some animals—and people—as soon as he got back to Iron Wall Castle. After all, the grass seemed incredibly hardy. A massive fire had once burned here, and now it had all grown back.

This was the true prize of the expedition!

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