Chapter 370: The Vices of the Aristocracy
Chapter 370: The Vices of the Aristocracy
Inside the fortress bedroom...
"Master~"
Firomina called out sweetly as her exquisite yet aloof face moved closer. Her slender arms had already wrapped around him, and if Phield lowered his head, her fair, perfectly shaped chest would immediately come into view.
"Ahem... Stand up straight."
Phield cleared his throat, trying to speak to her with a serious expression.
"Mmm?"
Firomina simply tilted her head in confusion, completely unable to understand what he meant.
"I almost forgot. You only know a single word, and it’s difficult for you to understand my commands."
Using the same method he employed to control the Corrupted Black Crows, Phield slowly infused Firomina with his spiritual power.
"Let’s see if this works."
A violet flame ignited within her eyes.
Firomina instantly became serious. The soft, innocent expression disappeared from her face, replaced by an icy nobility so overwhelming that few would dare meet her gaze.
"So this is what it feels like to control a Divine Chosen."
Phield felt as though he had entered a dream.
His perception of the world became frighteningly refined. The flow of extraordinary energy around him was crystal clear.
"My head is starting to hurt again. I can’t observe her extraordinary power too closely."
Unlike possessing another body outright, he could directly control her, but the experience felt more like using a shortcut key.
The moment he tried to comprehend the essence of a Divine Chosen’s power, his soul power began burning away at an astonishing rate.
"Firomina, try weaving a divine power garment."
After picturing the outfit in his mind, Phield issued the command and immediately released his control.
The instant his interference disappeared, the girl reverted to her absentminded self.
A sharp pain shot through his head, and Phield rubbed his temples.
"Just observing divine power through her eyes gives me a headache. It’s much easier to simply issue commands through our soul connection."
In the blink of an eye, violet divine power wove itself into a new outfit, replacing Firomina’s oversized robe.
She now wore a white semi modern formal dress trimmed with gold, perfectly balancing elegance and lightness while accentuating her flawless figure.
A hair clip adorned with three violet feathers gathered her bangs, adding a subtle touch of liveliness.
Her flawless snow white feet rested softly inside a pair of high heeled sandals. Delicate anklets decorated her ankles and calves, while a black and violet choker circled her neck.
Ordinarily, such a luxurious combination would make someone appear exceptionally noble.
Yet paired with her innocent, vacant expression, she instead looked like a beautiful defeated girl who had been shackled, broken by endless suffering, and left mentally shattered.
"Tsk... Let’s try a business suit next. Maybe even a swimsuit."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Worthless Lord, we’ve finished reinforcing the fortress defenses. What should we do next?"
Ophelia’s voice came from outside.
"Come in. Little Chubby Dragon, I was just about to discuss that with you."
Rather than feeling annoyed at the interruption, Phield immediately became serious.
"So this is the Divine Chosen of Destruction? She really is... different."
The moment Ophelia stepped inside, she was briefly stunned by Firomina’s appearance.
Unwilling to let the Corrupted side lose face, Ophelia immediately puffed out her chest proudly.
"Hello. Our Corrupted goal is to slaughter every..."
Before she could finish speaking...
Ophelia’s pupils shook violently.
She stared blankly as Firomina clung obediently to Phield’s arm, sticking out the tip of her tongue while gently swaying against him with an innocent expression.
"Hiss..."
Ophelia nearly blacked out.
Looking around in confusion, she asked,
"Where’s the Divine Chosen of Destruction? All I see is the..."
"Ahem."
Phield interrupted her.
"Don’t say nonsense. She is the Divine Chosen of Destruction. She was only just born, so her mind is extremely immature. Once I gradually teach her more, she’ll be able to communicate normally."
"I see."
Ophelia nodded proudly before planting her hands on her hips.
"So among all the Calamity Divine Chosen, us Corrupted are still the smartest."
"Victory."
"Back to business."
Phield’s expression turned serious.
"After Shadow World Sect’s defeat, there’s no way the Empire’s nobles can remain unaware. Their armies will seize this opportunity and join the fighting very soon."
No one understood the greed of the nobility better than Phield.
"They’ll occupy territory on a massive scale, plunder every battlefield they can find, and may even try taking what belongs to us."
"A bunch of sea cockroaches."
Ophelia snorted angrily.
"They refused to send reinforcements when the fighting was at its worst, yet now that the hardest battles are over, suddenly they’re all enthusiastic."
"We have to handle this carefully."
Phield sighed.
"Ophelia, have the corpse army withdraw to Nightfall Domain for now. We absolutely can’t let the nobles catch evidence that we’re controlling Corrupted corpses. As for you, take Little Fox and Alice back to Starnight City as quickly as possible. The city’s defenses are far too weak at the moment."
Using Corrupted corpses as fake miracles could fool ordinary people.
The great noble houses, however, would see through the deception immediately.
"What about you, Worthless Lord?"
"Don’t worry. I know what I’m’m doing."
Phield patted her large fluffy tail before continuing.
"Have Starnight City begin preparing goods for export. We’ve stockpiled enormous quantities of Vigor Elixirs and refined salt. This time, we’re going to make a fortune."
The route from Starnight City to Bull Territory was much shorter than the one leading to Maple Leaf Territory.
Now that the border fortress belonged to them, they no longer had to pay transit fees, making it the perfect opportunity for large scale trade.
"The days of being exploited by Simon are finally over."
After arranging everything for Ophelia, Phield dispatched two cavalry units to raise Nightfall Domain’s banners throughout Ram Territory and several neighboring lands while gathering as many valuable spoils as possible.
Before long, mountains of treasure, including five hundred thousand gold coins secretly hoarded by the Richard family and military equipment that had never been evacuated, were transported to the border fortress.
Everything was packed into crates, ready to be shipped home later.
Unfortunately, the pleasant days of sweeping the battlefield for loot didn’t last long.
On the third day, a vast coalition army of noble forces marched rapidly toward the border fortress under Phield’s control.
The commander of the noble coalition, Count Swaro of Twilight Province, rode atop his warhorse with a puzzled expression.
"How strange. The number of rebels this time is laughably small."
After draining his cup of iced water, he looked around before smacking his lips thoughtfully.
"It’s far too quiet. Most of the territories don’t even have rebel garrisons."
"My lord, we found this banner, but there weren’t any defenders stationed there."
A knight hurried over and respectfully presented the battle damaged black wolf banner of Nightfall Domain to Swaro.
The bloodstained banner radiated an overwhelming aura of slaughter.
"The Ross family banner. Or perhaps the banner of one of its branch families."
As an old established noble, Swaro recognized it immediately.
He let out a mocking laugh.
"What is that stubborn old fool thinking? There’s no way he can’t see that Her Majesty has absolutely no intention of granting the Ross family any new territory."
"No member of the Ross family will ever receive another piece of land."
"They simply aren’t worthy of it."
Another great noble with crimson hair sneered mercilessly.
"The Ross family’s legendary courage disappeared long ago in the embrace of soft women. Every generation they’ve produced since has been nothing but useless trash."