Deadmeat Saga

That night-

To increase the relative safety of the household, Gerhart brought all the servants and blessed them. With this blessing, they reached the standard of weak S-rank adventurers, being level 60, with all their stats at S-grade, and having ten tier 5 talents according to roles.

In this way, the servants had some protection ability. Although Gerhart conveniently forgot about something- His servants were now too overpowered! Even if they couldn't beat the likes of Ma Yang(Post Corruption), they likely wouldn't die like chickens and dogs, being able to retreat. And they could mop the floor with almost any A-rank adventurer. It was an extravagance even the three major superpowers rarely had!

With the abundant energy at his disposal, Gerhart focused on Havre, his top fighter. With a hundred million points, he gave the 100% Golden Marrow. When that happened, her other unevolved talents suddenly became evolvable, so Gerhart evolved Boundless Agility, Absolute Dexterity, and Majestic Aura to Beginner, with only the Domain of Blades remaining. He then raised her level to 60 before stopping.

 

Energy: 1,815m -> 285m

 

With this added layer of protection, Gerhart was not worried about the manor, so he had a good sleep after a round of merry-making.

On this note, Qold, an initial S-rank Greater Succubus, was evolving toward the Succubus Queen, a powerful S-rank monster. However, since he didn't repeat the other day's debauchery with Stella, she only reached 13% of the way. But that was fine. There was no need to rush things.

On the other hand, Stella started edging toward an evolution called the Kingdom Slime Girl. But the progress was much slower than the Empress Slime Girl. It would take Gerhart several thousand shots to raise her to that level. It would likely take upgrading the Epitome of Masculinity to the Intermediate level to reach a more reasonable time frame.

After waking up, Gerhart took Hope, To-Meri, and Qold to the other dungeon city, Xoirora, leaving Havre to guard the manor. Perhaps because the horses were too fast, Hope said they were not monitored minutes after riding away.

With no need to take detours, the horses traveled at full speed, passing a dozen towns before reaching Xoirora within an hour.

As they didn't plan to stay for long, Gerhart had To-Meri and Qold search for talents while he and Hope crushed the dungeon.

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Two beauties walked through the city, attracting lustful eyes wherever they went. After a quick check in the slave market, the two beauties dejectedly left with no haul, wandering about the city for two hours.

"Finding talents here is like finding a needle in a haystack. How did you find someone before?" Qold complained.

"I dunno? Ray and I just walked here and there, and boom, we found someone." To-Meri explained.

"Blind luck?" Qold asked.

"Blind luck." To-Meri nodded.

"Have you ever tried guiding that luck? You can try flipping a coin or rolling dice before making decisions." Qold pointed out.

"I didn't try that before. Any dice?" To-Meri asked.

"Look, sweety. I have many vices, but gambling is not one of them. I am more surprised someone as lucky as you don't gamble." Qold said.

"Who would play with someone that always wins?" To-Meri rhetorically asked.

"Touche." Qold nodded.

The two ladies then headed to a nearby merchant and bought a pair of six-sided dice for a Silver Coin before gambling where to search. After a series of rolls, the dice led them to a specific location.

"Shantytown, of course." To-Meri pursed her lips as she looked at the dreary section of the city.

Shantytown had many broken-down buildings and pitched lean-tos against overcrowded buildings. The people here were even more miserable than in the slums, who at least had some decency and hygiene. The stench in the summer reeked to the high heavens. This place was downright foul! Even if someone here sought to sell themselves as slaves, no one would take them. Some of them are slaves abandoned by their owners to a miserably long death sentence.

Typically, the two women would selectively avoid it until they searched the whole city, which is impossible in a day. Luckily, the Shantytown in this city was small, with only about 300 inhabitants, so it wasn't too hard to look.

"Let's get this over with quickly. This place is worse than the regular goblin zone." Qold said with undisguised disgust. 

From her point of view, even the slave-like regular goblins lived better lives than this. Because of this, many people from Shantytown left the city to become bandits.

"Agreed." To-Meri nodded and walked with Havre through the Shantytown.

The two women started walking through the uneven streets in obvious disrepair, smelling like a mixture of rancid sweat, human waste, and rotten meat while analyzing everyone they saw. The talents of the people in the Shantytown were at the bottom, with the occasional drug addict, cripple, helpless elderly, poorly-equipped thugs, or street urchins.

"Nya... If I didn't have weapons, those thugs would have likely attacked us by now." To-Meri, who wore armor and had a pair of scimitars, said while looking at the thugs looking at them as if weighing their chances.

"Oh, I am sure they would. If lucky, they would strip us naked before running. If we are unlucky, they would- You know what I mean." Qold gave the thugs a nasty glare, causing them to flinch and turn away.

People tend to learn that the more beautiful a person is, the more likely he is strong. For two women who stuck out like sore thumbs in this place, either they were ignorant idiots or powerful enough to look down on all of them. Even the desperados didn't take their chances.

While To-Meri and Qold scanned everyone equally, a young street urchin mustered up his courage and walked up to them.

"Misses... This place is dangerous. I think you should leave." A boy who appeared about twelve said, his hair and skin caked with grime and his cheeks sunken. He had some bruises and had a poor knife caked with dry blood as a sidearm, perhaps the reason why he survived in this area.

"Oh?" Qold raised an eyebrow and quickly analyzed the boy. Upon seeing his status, her eyes glinted. "Brave boy. Are you worried about us sisters?" She teasingly asked while leaning over.

The boy flinched back, feeling taken aback by Qold's seductive beauty. "I... Erm..."

"Qold, stop teasing the boy." To-Meri chastised, already looking over his status. The boy might look twelve but was fourteen, likely with stagnant growth. She smiled at the street urchin and asked, "Did you warn us to get some food or spare change?"

"I-If you can spare some, I would be grateful. My sister is sick, and I need to feed her..." The boy averted his eyes, intimidated by To-Meri's beauty.

"Sister, hah? How about you show her to us? We can afford to heal her." Qold smiled.

"Erm... I don't know..." The boy hesitated.

He would usually reject them if he wasn't desperate and the two women were so pretty.

"Clean." To-Meri suddenly chanted, the grime covering the boy dissipating.

"Thank you, miss..." The boy looked at his clean hands and clothes and said.

"Just a small trick. What is your name, boy? I am To-Meri, by the way." To-Meri kindly said.

"I-I'm Anthemius." The boy timidly said.

"Can you show us your sister, Anthemius? Even if we can't treat her, I promise to give you enough food for the day." Qold smiled and promised.

"... Okay." The boy nodded and led the two women.

They soon arrived at a dilapidated shack, barely enough to house a human being from the elements. When the two women entered, they saw a skinny young woman lying on the dirt, covered in a dirty blanket. Her arms, legs, and lower body were filled with black gangrene, eating at her flesh.

Qold and To-Meri's faces looked grim. It didn't take a doctor to know that, in normal circumstances, this woman would soon die.

"Since when did it start?" To-Meri asked.

"It started two days ago. My sister suddenly lost consciousness last night. The temples won't heal her because we have no money. It happened so fast- I don't know what to do." Anthemius said with a pained look.

"Fast progression necrotizing fasciitis, hah? And she suffered Sepsis Shock for over twelve hours. She only has three hours left." The two women noted the woman's status.

"Don't worry, Anthemius. I will heal her." To-Meri said, casting a cleaning spell on the woman.

"A-Are you a priest?" Anthemius asked with a hint of doubt. The woman before him looked like a female adventurer, not a priest.

"I am a priest of a loving god." To-Meri smiled. "Do you have any piece of wood I can use? It is important."

"Yes, here." Anthemius anxiously handed several planks lying in the shack for emergency repairs. He didn't know what the woman planned to do with it, but he still gave it.

"This will do..." To-Meri muttered and meaningfully turned to Qold.

Qold nodded and exited the shack to keep watch.

"What you will see will be a bit freaky, so don't panic," To-Meri reassured before placing her hands on the planks, her eyes shining with silver light.

Under Anthemius's astonished gaze, the planks melded like mud, forming a strange statue of a majestic man who looked like a savior of the needy and the shackled.

To-Meri and the core members were already Envoys. She had this ability but never had the chance to use it.

"W-What is this? Is this your god? Which god is it?" Anthemius blinked, not well-versed in the divine.

"Like I said, he is a special god. Now watch." To-Meri grinned and secretly channeled some of her energy into the smallish statue.

The energy capacity of this statue was pathetically low, barely a few dozen units of energy, but it was enough to convert and heal a regular woman. After filling the statue, To-Meri placed a hand on the young woman's head, her eyes flashing silver light as she used her Domination ability on the unconscious woman, wiping any subconscious resistance before converting her. When she finished, she didn't hesitate and immediately started healing her.

The time it took to heal her was fast yet slow, taking dozens of minutes due to the small statue's size and quality. However, the black gangrene and pus-covered wounds magically receded and healed under Anthemius's gleaming eyes. He didn't dare say anything, almost forgetting to breathe as he watched his sister slowly regain color, her breathing stable.

"She is healed. She only needs a bit of rest, clean water, and food." To-Meri smiled.

"This... is incredible." Anthemius's eyes turned watery.

"This is the gift of my god. I am just a conduit of his power." To-Meri humbly said.

Anthemius suddenly knelt. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Don't misunderstand, this isn't for free." To-Meri suddenly turned deep.

"I-I don't have money, but if there is anything I can do..." Anthemius trembled.

"Oh, there is. You and your sister only need to become my master's servants." To-Meri said.

"Servants?" Anthemius blinked.

"Yes, servants. You will work for my lord from now on. Of course, you must bathe, eat well, rest well, dress appropriately, receive education, and receive a proper salary. My master needs to keep up his good reputation." To-Meri seriously said.

Anthemius's mind went blank before he immediately nodded, full of joy!

"Yes! We will be your master's servants!" Anthemius teared up.

How could he not understand that he got fished from the gutters?! It was an act of charity while keeping his dignity as a human being! He would be an idiot if he didn't accept it!

"Good! Oh, and by the way, would you like to convert to my religion while we are at it?" To-Meri smiled and asked. "I see a lot of potential in you. If you convert, you will be very powerful."

"Hah?" Anthemius thought he misheard her when suddenly-

"Your money or your lives!"

"Hehehe... they have nice bodies."

"Let's play with them before selling them."

They heard the rough voices of men outside as Anthemius's expression changed. "Oh no... They're here!"

Without saying anything, Anthemius drew his dagger as he vigilantly eyed six thugs wielding makeshift weapons facing Qold.

"Stay back, you fiends!" Anthemius pointed his dagger at the thugs, a crazed glint in his eyes.

These lovely ladies cured his sister and were about to fish them from the gutters, so how could he allow these crooks to destroy his future? He would fight them to the death if he had to!

"Kill the brat." The thugs cast a dismissive glance at him.

But just then-

"Okay, you can fuck off to your hideout and fuck each other to death." Qold glared at them, her eyes shining.

The six men froze, becoming dazed. "Yes..."

Like mindless dolls, they left.

"W-What was that?" Anthemius gapped in amazement, lowering his knife.

"Just a small trick." Qold winked at Anthemius.

"Amazing..." Anthemius muttered, realizing the two women were indeed powerhouses. His hopes for the future rose sharply.

What he didn't know was that, several days later, six men were found dead in their hideout, having fucked each other until they died from exhaustion. But no one investigated it since no one cared about Shantytown.

After To-Meri retracted the power from the statue, they carried the sister with them and headed to a nearby decent inn to lay her down and get clean water, food, and clothes for the siblings.

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Exiting the dungeon, Gerhart looked at his gains.

 

Energy: 285m -> 1,284m

Earth Dragon Power -> Ancient Earth Dragon Power(2%)

 

With this new energy, it slightly relieved Gerhart's pressure. And the Heavens Reward the Righteous talent also activated, giving another 100m points to strengthen one of Gerhart's talents. The increase was minimal, but every bit made Gerhart stronger.

Hope led them to where she sensed To-Meri and Qold, leading them to an inn, where Qold waited by the entrance.

"Qold, how did it go?" Gerhart asked.

"Very well! We have two talents. Come and see." Qold smiled and led them.

With anticipation in his heart, Gerhart followed Qold upstairs to a double room, where a weak and malnourished young woman rested. Beside her was a boy and To-Meri taking care of her.

"Master!" To-Meri exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"Master!" The boy copied her, bowing.

"Oh? Raise your head." Gerhart said as he checked their talents.

But when he saw their talents, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

 

Anthemius's talents: Initial Shadow Monarch(Unawakened)

Flora's(The sister's) talents: Initial Aspect of Life(Awakening), ???(Developing)