[Why are these elementals acting like they’ve been charmed?]
[Mass-scale charm on this level—what kind of ability is that?]
…
[Elemental Affinity? Bullshit! I’ve seen that skill before. It doesn’t do THIS!]
…
[Boss, I’m not cursing you, I’m just too shocked…]
[Wait, Boss… don’t… don’t tear… AAAAAH!]
…
The yellow-skinned book curled its two pages, rubbing the half-torn page.
Good thing it wasn’t completely ripped off—just a little pain.
“You said you’ve seen this talent before?” Lin Jun asked through Little Pig.
[Yes yes!]
[It just slightly boosts spells and stops elementals from attacking on sight.]
[Useful, but nowhere near THIS!]
“Then what do you think causes the difference?”
[Maybe this woman has something else special about her?]
The yellow-skinned book looked uncertain.
What was special about Pink Puchi?
If anything, her mother probably had some succubus blood.
Only “some” because if her mother were a full succubus, Inanna would definitely show obvious succubus traits.
In reality, aside from rare pink hair and eyes, Inanna was no different from other humans.
Most importantly, her panel said human.
So her main bloodline was human.
The most likely scenario: her mother was a half-demon with human and succubus blood.
But that still didn’t explain why her [Elemental Affinity] was so ridiculously strong.
Succubus charm had zero effect on elementals. Succubus blood shouldn’t boost this talent at all.
Lin Jun wasn’t desperate to figure it out.
If the answer was within reach, he wouldn’t mind satisfying his curiosity.
But playing a long detective game just for this? Pass.
Even if he found out, it might not help. He had too much on his plate. Pink Puchi worked fine as-is.
Pink Puchi was really, really useful!
Pink Overlord had merely shown up, and these Frost Spirits that never gave up against Puchis instantly turned into simps, bowing without shame.
Lin Jun was so jealous…
But one question remained: would the elemental lord be affected too?
The elemental lord was holed up in the massive spiral building that took up a fifth of the entire ruin.
The interior was complex, filled with high-tier Frost Spirits, and the temperature was absurdly low.
Scout Puchis couldn’t stay long without heating themselves, and once heated, temperature-sensitive Frost Spirits quickly detected them. Lin Jun still hadn’t seen the elemental lord’s true appearance.
But one thing was certain.
This elemental lord in the ruin was probably not a colossal monster like the storm elemental lord.
To be safe, Lin Jun arranged a luxurious escort for Pink Puchi.
Norris led the entire Jida squad as close protection. No. 10 and No. 4 (freshly given a new body) flanked left and right.
Little Pig brought an elite Puchi master team in the rear, ready to sacrifice Puchis on-site to summon behemoth Puchis if needed.
With this setup, Pink Puchi shouldn’t die unless instantly killed.
If she died even with this… then it was probably fate.
In that case, Lin Jun would reluctantly step up and become the second-generation elemental succubus.
…
Meanwhile, Empire, Ulbik Territory.
A marquisate consisting of one castle and three surrounding cities, ruled by blood-clan Marquis Cassinar Ulbik.
Ulbik was in the northern Empire but still a distance from the border.
The spreading cold had only formed thin ice on nearby rivers; far from forcing demon migration.
Natural disasters of this level didn’t bother Cassinar.
As a two-dynasty veteran blood-clan who had lived through imperial changes, though not particularly strong, he had deep foundations.
Unlike some upstart nobles with zero resilience.
Moreover, his mind was no longer on his territory.
“Double backup constant-temperature items, repair materials in case the teleport array is damaged, concentrated blood crystals, mana potions, healing potions, bloodthirst potions… mana interference dust, one-way holy light scrolls…”
A low voice echoed in the secret chamber as withered fingers checked the supplies prepared for this operation.
Cassinar’s steward was doing the final inventory while several blood-clan stood behind him.
Each had their specialties: arrays, scouting, delaying enemies…
Most importantly, they were his trusted blood descendants—zero risk of betrayal.
He would take them to find the blood-clan treasure marked on the treasure map scroll, while the steward guarded the teleport array here to prevent accidents blocking return.
The scroll’s origin was extraordinary.
It had belonged to the previous blood-clan grand duke—the leader of blood-clan when the Demon King was still active.
After the previous grand duke died from wounds caused by that terrifying Hero, Cassinar found this scroll in a secret manor he accidentally learned about.
Honestly, he didn’t know exactly what treasure the scroll pointed to, but anything the previous grand duke hid so carefully had to be extraordinary.
It recorded a teleport coordinate. Cassinar found it, but the array had long been damaged—only traces proved it once existed.
After the civil war between blood-clan and werewolves ended and Emperor Mortis took the throne, the victors redivided the Empire’s spoils.
He seized the chance to claim the land near the teleport array—now Ulbik Territory.
Afterward, he tried repairing the array, but the result disappointed him.
The problem wasn’t just on this side; the destination array was damaged too.
He should have realized—this was probably why the previous grand duke hid the scroll so deeply.
Over centuries, he tried activating the array every few decades. From activation levels, the other side’s array was damaged but not destroyed; the core structure should still be intact. Only the final confirmation runes were broken.
Like part of a connection password had been changed.
In theory, adjusting this side’s array could re-link.
But in reality, each failed activation cost a fortune.
At first he nearly went bankrupt…
Later, though he still tried every ten-plus years out of obsession, rationally he had almost given up.
Until recently, he heard of the foxkin Kiro, who had gained a reputation for wisdom in the neighboring territory.
A non-recognized race making a name in the Empire was proof of ability.
It had been fifteen years since the last attempt. Cassinar had his steward invite Kiro for a talk.
He didn’t mention the treasure scroll, only showed the part needing decryption as usual, treating it like a bet with the foxkin and his lizardman attendant.
Even if unsatisfied, he would treat him courteously.
One of the Empire’s rare honest men—this was his public face; thick face, black heart was his survival method.
But he never expected the foxkin, worthy of his wise reputation, to actually succeed!
(End of Chapter)
