《Empress' Evolution》25. Debt VIII
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"What is going on here?"
The simple question of the Ogre Champion Elder was more than enough to show his confusion and his emotions on how chaotic this whole thing was.
Lilith who had blood all over her body saw the Ogre Champion and snapped out of her play mode. She used 500 MP to summon water and dowsed herself with it to cleanse the blood off her body.
"It is nothing you should worry about, Eve come back here there's more training to come. By the end of the day, I want you to be a peerless Ogress, you're going to be the banner of the Ogress."
While Lilith was talking the other three Ogres came out of the Portal, all of them were drenched in blood. The Ogre Champion was baffled at the sight and seeing Lilith dragging a crying Eve away, the Elder could only come and ask the new arrivals to make ins and outs of the situation.
"The Priestess told us to bath in the blood of the Gnolls to hide our scent, don't worry Elder we are fine. But Sister Eve has been slightly traumatized after the Priestess had her enter bathe in blood and gore and then told her to be the spearhead against a small group of Gnolls and almost died. She'll be fine... the Priestess said she's going to be fine."
Killa was the one who explained the situation.
The Elder nodded his head, as he watched Eve cry without restraints.
He then turned to Killa and asked him, "So, what is the situation inside the dungeon? Did you encounter any bumps?"
"Bumps? Oh no, we were lucky to have the Priestess with us and give out the orders we need to follow. She managed to make our hunt efficient. She also bravely goes and assists the others when they need it. Her control of magic is amazing and just like the Legends, she holds powers I cannot begin to understand."
"I can attest to that, I have been saved by the Priestess three times already," Scarface said.
"As for me, it's four." Luck added.
From the tone of the three, the Ogre Champion could see just how much respect Lilith gained from them in such a short amount of time. It amazed him.
Killa was the only epic-tier in the group and he was not some weak coward either. But the respect he showed towards Lilith was enough to make even the Ogre Champion look at Lilith with surprise. In the end, the baffled Ogre Champion could only nod his head to what was being said.
With Eve in her right hand, Lilith dragged the hesitant Ogress away. She then turned to the Ogre Champion as she passed him by...
"I'll be leaving now, tell the Chief to collect carcasses of the Gnolls inside, they tasted good so collect them all. Also, let him know that this one right here passed and I'll be drilling some useful information known as "courage" to her head. Also, tell some more Ogres to tail us, we'll be clearing more Scourge Dungeons after this one."
"NOOOO!"
The traumatized Eve yelled out, her previous eagerness to hunt daemons disappeared and was replaced with fear, not towards the daemons but towards Lilith's harsh and extreme methods.
Lilith's five-men group left for another dungeon, leaving the Ogre Champion to watch their backs for a few seconds before coming back to his senses. He entered the portal to confirm the situation and as he walked the bloodied path the group of the Priestess took, his face began to change.
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He counted the number of bodies and by the time he reached the end of the dungeon where the five-meter Gnoll King, the number of daemons he had come across was already 57, and from the looks of the aftermath of fights and how they acted earlier, the Priestess and her crew should have slaughtered them all.
From the aftermath alone and how the entire crew acted uninjured, only a single conclusion came to mind, a flawless victory.
When he exited the Scourge Dungeon, he dragged the Gnoll King with him. He walked back to the Ogre Village with a bewildered expression and told the Chief what he had seen. The Chief stepped out of his dwelling and looked at the Gnoll King's carcass.
'Oh yeah, I'm going to say this now, when the moon goes red I'll be the one to step forward and take your position.'
Remembering Lilith's words the Berserker felt quite a pressure and with it was excitement. The power of the Priestess was more than what he had thought, "She's going to be quite the contender."
===
"Priestess, we have defeated the Garams."
"Good work, how's Eve's performance this time? Is she still crying?"
"She's beginning to have sharper movements."
Lilith smiled after hearing that and then went to kill the dying Garams.
Garams were daemons that have tough scales but little to no attacking prowess, it was like her Nightmare Dragonkin but without the poison.
Also, they looked like overgrown armadillos of the past so it could easily be said that their speed was rather low. The only trouble they posed was that they multiply quickly and have to be wiped out quickly before they could initiate a Dungeon Break.
[Level up]
'Finally, what level am I now? 37? This is quite efficient, I want to continue, but, they are at their limits and it is about time I returned.'
[Name: Lilith
Lv. 37
Class: Two Horns
HP: 5440/5440
MP: 6940/6940
STR: 77
DEF: 82
VIT: 272
AGT: 82
MAG: 347
PER: 102
Free Points: 0]
'My stats have increased considerably, but that is only for the Two Horns though. The Leopard and the Dragonkin are still stuck at 28. I need to make it climb sooner or later.'
Evolving was impossible if the other two don't keep up with the Two Horns. It was rather annoying but it was a means to keep her "abnormal state being" in this world or so she presumed, well, it didn't really matter all that much because Lilith had no plans on letting any of her forms become useless.
'It would be best to show them my other forms and get it over with else it turns to a headache later.'
"Oh, come here, I'm going to show you something." Lilith's voice echoed and reached the ears of the other four. Even Eve who was sprawled on the ground tried her best to get up and looked at their Priestess with curiosity.
"What is it, Priestess?"
They were all curious to see what it was and without turning back, Lilith already knew that they were looking at her. She then transformed into a Yellow Leopard before quickly shifting to a Black Winged-Lizard!
"Did you see that? I reckoned I let you four know that those two are also my forms. The levels are different, but it is still me."
When Lilith turned her head to look at the four daemons and somehow, she was disappointed.
"It's a shapeshifting ability. It's like the Shifters we fought three years ago, that was a good challenge. The Tribe had a brawl after being too angry at each other."
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"Yeah, I remember that the Chief and the Elders really went all-out trying to best one another..."
Their conversation was just like that. Lilith looked at them and only sighed. In the end, it didn't really have anything to do with her because she was not a part of it so she let them continue with their story.
They left the dungeon talking with one another whilst Lilith began to think. She now had a total of 53,400 SP, it was a lot of funds for her to spend. She began to drool thinking about the possibility of buying more bombs.
"Congratulations on returning safely, Priestess."
"Take care of the meat inside."
"Yes."
Killa instructed an Ogre who willingly followed. Lilith did not listen and merely waved her hand after hearing the word Priestess. The meat of the Garams would be later brought back to the Village.
By the time they returned to the Ogre Tribe, the sun had already set and the moon was hanging low in the sky. Lilith returned to the Ogre Village and there, she saw a lot of drying pelt and meat being butchered.
The Ogresses were mostly the ones doing the butchering.
"The Priestess has returned!"
"It is another victory for the Priestess."
The Ogres of the village celebrated as Lilith's return signified another victory for the Ogre. When Eve and the rest saw their kin celebrating them, all four puffed their chest, especially Eve, who now see the merit of following Lilith and surviving her training.
Lilith ignored the four and went to enter the Chief Berserker's dwelling.
Inside, only the Chief was there, sharpening his blade. When the covers of his dwelling were lifted, he raised his head and saw Lilith.
"So you have returned, is it another flawless victory?"
"No, Eve got injured on the shoulders, Scarface got pushed back and Luck was almost crushed, so it's no flawless victory."
"Oh, but that's admirable considering your team is not that well put together just yet."
"I understand that, but a single injury can turn the tide of the battle, I don't like such variables." Lilith said these big words and the Chief just nodded his head acting as if he could understand.
Standing near the entrance, Lilith continued her words, "I'll be leaving the village for a week, I'll come back after some time."
"Do you really think I'll let you go just like that?"
"Don't worry, I'll take at least Killa with me. I won't go to the other races."
The Chief only smiled after hearing her casual remark. This little loli had too much free will. But she understood what he wants from her.
The Chief shrugged his shoulders and went back to sharpening his blade.
After Lilith came out of the dwelling she was met with another peal of cheers but she escaped that place and went over to Killa who was eating the thigh of a Gnoll. Lilith kicked his leg to get his attention.
"Come on, we're leaving. The Chief asked you to escort me somewhere."
"But we just returned, Priestess."
Is what Killa wanted to say but he got up and did what Lilith told him to. He felt aggrieved, but he did say he'll repay her with his body and Ogres does not go back on their words.
He was just about to place the Gnoll Meat when Lilith suddenly spoke.
"You don't have to leave that. You know what, take as much as possible, we'll be eating on the way."
Killa celebrated and when Lilith sat on his shoulders, the two of them were eating. They ate as they walked.
"Huh? Where's the Priestess and Brother Killa going?" Eve, Scarface, and Luck who just happened to be together caught sight of Lilith and Killa heading out.
"I'm going somewhere."
"Can we go too? We're the personal guards of the Priestess!" Scarface said whilst flexing his muscle.
Lilith turned to Eve and asked a simple question, "Did the other Ogres fed him that idea?"
"Yes." she said whilst blushing.
Sighing, Lilith watched as Scarface continued flexing with pride and in the end, she let them come with her. More Ogres meant more protection also, more hands to carry Gnoll meat.
All five of them were eating merrily while moving.
Their destination, the mysterious mansion in the neutral area.
It was like a leisure stroll at night. Lilith was even ranking her favorite food since becoming a daemon. The Gnoll meat was on top, she compared it to high-quality beef.
"Where are we going, Priestess?" Eve asked as they moved.
"Back to my old dwelling." she casually answered.
They sped up and by the time they reached the neutral area, the others were already wishing to sleep. But, Lilith had them continue moving, and finally, when they reached the mountain, where the illusion was placed, everyone stopped and flinched at Lilith’s orders to continue.
"It's a mountain, Priestess."
"So?"
"But..."
"Just charge through it, trust me."
"Ugh."
Lilith and her fateful 'bodyguards' hesitated but with Killa spearheading the charge, the group found the courage to charge towards the solid mountain.
They expected a painful and intimate meeting with the mountain, thankfully, no such thing happened and when they opened their eyes, they saw it, an old and dilapidated mansion.
"We're unscathed!"
The four celebrated the surprising event.
"You can now rest."
The four of them ignored everything else and as soon as Lilith said that they jumped high up to the air landed on the overgrown grass and slept without regards to how they looked.
They were all too tired to care and have questions.
Lilith ignored them and entered the mansion, and went straight to the Guest Hall where, upon entry found two cocoons.
'Just a little bit more.'
Sitting in front of one of the white cocoons, Lilith ate what little Gnoll Meat she had left.
The moon at this time was hanging low and seemed big and by the time midnight struck, the white cocoon turned blue.
The aura of death exploded and just as the cocoon did, a thick scent of blood wafted over to Lilith and the cocoon made of mana turned to multiple strands of blue light.
A silver-haired beauty touched the ground and was on her knees. The strands of light moved and entered her body. Upon merging with her, her naked body was slowly covered by a black cloak. The curtain had turned to become her new clothing.
The silver-haired beauty took a deep breath she raised her head and looked a Lilith who got a good view of her face.
Her beauty was even more impressive than before. Her silver hair seemed to glow with the moonlight.
While on her knee, she called out to Lilith...
"Boss, I have completed my evolution."
"That is good." Lilith smiled.
Dhampy had come out of her cocoon as a Blood Lord.
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