Lord of Rot

Based on what Leech knew, Rocket, upon reaching adulthood, would be Extraordinary at best. Its father, the Griffin, was the one who might have been above the Extraordinary level, but that was only a possibility. The Griffin had been severely injured when Leech saw it, and he had never had any direct contact.

"Don’t be afraid," Leech soothed Rocket. "She’s our friend."

Animals have a much keener sense of danger. After seeing the Water Nymph, Rocket was clearly on edge. The golden woman before them was, after all, genuinely above the Extraordinary level.

"Is this Rocket?" the Water Nymph asked. "He’s beautiful."

"That’s right, this is Rocket," Leech nodded. "He’s my most trusted friend. Of course, you’re one of my most trusted friends, too."

The Water Nymph asked, "Can Rocket and I be friends, too?"

She raised her hand, adorned with gold and jewels.

"COO." Rocket hesitantly lowered his head, inching closer to her.

As the golden hand stroked feathers harder than steel, all Leech could hear was a tooth-grinding scrape.

SCRAPE. SCRAPE.

But the two of them seemed to be enjoying the interaction.

Leech jumped off Rocket’s back and asked, "How are those Giant Crabs?"

"They’ve laid their eggs. They’re all under the reef."

"Can you take me there to have a look?"

"Mhm." The Water Nymph flipped over and dove into the water, leaving only the shimmering gold of her back visible on the surface. Leech vaulted back onto Rocket.

Without needing a command, Rocket intelligently spread his wings and gave chase.

After circling more than halfway around the island, they stopped near the shore.

"This is the place," the Water Nymph said. "Some have already hatched."

"COO!" Rocket was growing restless.

Leech understood what Rocket meant. ’If I were him, I’d feel like something was off, too.’

The shallow, reef-strewn beach below had been walled off, just as Leech had previously ordered.

On this side of the wall were thousands upon thousands of crabs!

Every single one was palm-sized.

The sight would give anyone with trypophobia goosebumps all over.

’Newly hatched?’ Leech thought, recalling the size of an adult Giant Crab. Then he realized the term was probably correct. Nearby were unhatched crab eggs, and each one was as large as a chicken egg!

If this horde of crabs were to rush onto the island, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Wait, Rocket, fly a little lower... Are they cannibalizing each other?"

Rocket reluctantly lowered his altitude, allowing Leech to get a better look at the crabs.

A fist-sized crab raised its pincer and snipped off one of its sibling’s legs. Immediately, a dozen other crabs swarmed from all directions, pinning the injured one down and devouring it while it was still alive.

Scenes like this were playing out everywhere.

’That makes sense. Before, this swarm of crabs could move freely, hunt in the sea, and even search for food on the island. But now, they’re all trapped here.’

’What a waste!’

Leech didn’t have the resources to raise tens of thousands of Giant Crabs, but just tossing a portion of them back into the sea would also be a waste.

’We’ll catch them! We’ll catch them all to eat!’

’Rather than letting them kill each other, I might as well catch them all.’

The shells could be ground up to feed the warhorses and the atavistic Demon Chickens and ducks, while the meat could be given to his talented subordinates—all excellent uses.

The crabs could lay tens of thousands of eggs in one go, and with their extremely high hatching and survival rates, they were a perfect source of seafood.

His concern was no longer a lack of crabs to eat, but rather what he would do when he had too many.

"Can you make some of them come ashore?" Leech asked the Water Nymph.

The Water Nymph nodded and began to sing, her voice echoing from the water.

Her voice was filled with a powerful, bewitching force that made Leech’s mind wander. Fortunately, he quickly came to his senses.

And that was without the Water Nymph even targeting him. If she had actually directed her song at him, Leech was certain he would have fallen for it.

"COO~"

Rocket also began to sway his head back and forth.

Leech slapped Rocket on the head. "Don’t listen to this, kid!"

"COO." Rocket sounded aggrieved.

"Come on, let’s go to the island."

"COO."

Rocket carried Leech back into the sky.

After circling once in the sky, they spotted the wooden hut below and landed.

Before the dust kicked up by his wings had even settled, a minor island steward ran over. "Good day, My Lord."

"Get some people to the east side immediately," Leech ordered, pointing. "Bring baskets and burlap sacks. That beach is covered in crabs. Collect every last one of them!"

"Yes, My Lord!" The steward immediately turned to make the arrangements. He even stopped some serfs who were shouldering their hoes, ready for work, and a whole group of them rushed off to collect the crabs.

Leech, still riding Rocket, began to wander around the island.

Even without spreading his wings, Rocket was a king among mounts on the ground; there was absolutely no finer warhorse to be found.

The terrain was rugged and uneven, yet the ride on Rocket’s back was remarkably smooth.

BZZZ~

Bees flew over.

"COO!" Rocket opened his beak.

The eagle’s blood in him urged him to peck at the tiny insects flying before his face.

"Don’t eat random things," Leech quickly stopped him.

There were many bees, but they all circled Leech without daring to approach or attack.

As they ventured deeper, a floral fragrance washed over them.

’This is incredibly fragrant,’ Leech mused. ’Worthy of the name Rapunzel, indeed.’

The Rapunzel plant, used to make a Magic Potion for perfume to cover up body odor, was useless for anything besides its scent. But it was certainly fragrant!

"My Lord!"

Arkke, who was weeding in the flowerbeds, turned his head at the sound. Seeing Leech, his face lit up with pleasant surprise.

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