Chapter 173: Turmoil in the Tavern

In the early morning, with a gentle breeze and sunlight shining over the land, Rod felt refreshed after practicing sword moves in the courtyard. It had been a long time since he had exercised in the morning, and such practice truly invigorated him.
“Hehe, kid, not bad! You’ve improved a lot since we last met!” Sognar’s familiar voice came from behind.
Turning around, Rod saw Lilith, Sognar, Lucy, and others there, including Ada and Eirwen, who were watching him with smirked expressions. Since they all lived in this courtyard, Rod’s morning exercises were naturally not hidden from their eyes.
“Not bad, quite energetic! How about practicing with your sister?” Lilith took on a fierce demeanor once again, her long, silver-white sword reappearing in her hand as she smiled at Rod.
“Ahem… um… I think it’s not necessary. Hehe, Sognar, go ahead! I think he’s been holding back lately—he’ll like it!” Seeing Sognar’s gleeful expression, Rod smirked slyly, shifting the blame onto him.
Recalling the horrible life in the Void Space, and how Lilith would smirk after tormenting him, Rod trembled inwardly. He certainly didn’t want to fight this pervert and risk getting hurt. Though this guy could control himself, serious injuries might be avoided, but minor ones were inevitable.
“Rod, you bastard! Damn it… um… Lilith, hehe, I think I don’t need to. I’ve already started practicing and am just resting now. I’ve had enough exercise—no need!” The smirk vanished from Sognar’s face as he glared fiercely at Rod and started cursing.
He stopped mid-sentence, gave Lilith a pitiful look, and then turned to Rod with a sinister tone, “I’m not like some people who are endlessly energetic and never rest. Who knows what they’ve been up to behind our backs? We need to drain his energy properly so he can’t cause trouble in the world!”
That look and expression left Lilith and Lucy, who were unaware, confused, while Rod’s expression froze, his eyes flickering. Eirwen and Ada beside him also looked extremely awkward.
Those words undoubtedly revealed one thing: perhaps this guy had discovered what happened last night.

“Cough cough cough… Um… I think it’s not necessary anymore. Hehe… I think we should go for a walk. Dark Moon City is a great place; we haven’t explored it yet after being here for so long. Wait a moment, I’ll go in and change my clothes!” With that, Rod fled in a hurry. Staying any longer meant he didn’t know what kind of things Sognar might say. He secretly thought that bastard must have been spying on him last night; otherwise, how could he have known those things? After Rod left, Lilith and Lucy looked puzzled, while Ada and Eirwen blushed slightly, avoiding Sognar’s mocking expression as if they hadn’t seen anything. A moment later, the group gathered in the hall. It was said that the Dragon Clan’s elders and their party would set off today to return to the Dragon Clan’s habitat to prepare for possible changes. Only two members of the Black Phoenix Clan stayed behind to protect Lucy’s safety, and the two elders also planned to leave Dark Moon City today. As for the members of the Demon Clan’s opposition, they had already returned to their own territory the previous night—after all, this was their domain. Soon, only Rod and a few others remained in the large mansion. Thus, the mansion seemed rather deserted at that moment. It was a world of difference compared to the hustle and bustle of the day before. What puzzled Rod was that Lucy didn’t seem to intend to leave, and even Princesses Ada and Eirwen seemed to plan to stay for a while. Watching Eirwen’s playful glances from time to time, Rod thought he couldn’t stand it anymore. Staying with this girl would surely lead to trouble sooner or later. On the other hand, Sognar and Lilith seemed particularly excited about this situation. Lilith had essentially become the leader of the group, with the women obeying her commands without question! Sognar also sided with Lilith, leaving Rod alone to fight his way through. The group stepped onto the streets, enjoying the hustle and bustle of Dark Moon City for the first time in peace. Rod seemed somewhat excited. Today’s Dark Moon City was much better than when the trade fair started or during the trials of the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle Clan a few days ago. Although the streets were busy with people coming and going, there wasn’t yet a crowd. The sounds of vendors calling out and selling goods filled the air, with merchants and warriors flowing back and forth, and all kinds of things on display.

Especially some things that are rare on the mainland were all displayed here one by one, giving Rod the impression that nothing here was valuable. Not to mention Essence Cores, even those magical beast materials and weapons were incredibly cheap. Many things that were considered rare treasures on the mainland were here in abundance at low prices, dazzling everyone.

If not for the lack of enough Essence Cores, Rod really wanted to collect all these items. Just because he didn’t need them didn’t mean others didn’t—especially Nightingale and the others still needed them.

In just one morning, Rod even outshone the girls, buying more items than all of them combined, which made Sognar look at him with utter disdain!

By noon, the group felt a bit tired and, led by Aida, went to the best hotel in Dark Moon City.

Their arrival naturally became the focus again. Rod was already used to this. Throughout the morning, wherever the girls went, they guaranteed 100% attention—everyone’s gaze was fixed on them, and they caused a stir wherever they went. Especially inside the hotel.

As soon as they entered, the originally noisy hotel suddenly became quiet, creating a strangely eerie atmosphere.

Rod was extremely frustrated. He wanted these girls to cover up a bit. They not only refused his kindness but also dressed up flamboyantly, inviting trouble upon themselves. Especially Aida and Eileen—both were well-known figures in Dark Moon City. Didn’t they know to hide a little? He couldn’t understand what they were thinking.

“Hey… aren’t those two demon princesses?” After a while, whispers started.

“Yes, and that one seems to be from the Black Phoenix clan. Why are the three of them together?”

“Who’s that woman? I don’t think our Dark Source has such beautiful women, right?” Meanwhile, Lilith’s appearance, no less striking than the girls’, also attracted attention. In fact, in some ways, she even surpassed them—her maturity and charm made her the most eye-catching figure among all the newcomers.

Instead of being annoyed, Lilith was smug, smiling at the murmurs around her, which sent chills down Rod and Sognar’s spines.

I guess if those guys knew Lilith’s strength and temper, they wouldn’t act like this. Meanwhile, both of them were secretly surprised by Lilith’s performance, thinking that she probably hadn’t really been trapped in the Void Space for a thousand years before being released, causing her to develop extreme hunger and become desperate for food.

At the same time, Sognar and Rod, sitting beside these four beauties, seemed to have become a thorn in everyone’s side. Constantly facing envious and provocative looks from all directions, Rod was inwardly suffering, while Sognar, whether truly foolish or pretending to be so, showed no reaction at all—probably only someone with thick skin could ignore such things.

After the meal, Rod and Sognar exchanged glances, drenched in sweat, having endured great hardship. Imagine having hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed on you at once—it’s impossible to stay calm. Even if Sognar hadn’t felt anything at first, he was now starting to feel uncomfortable.

His burly figure kept shifting around, which was quite amusing.

“Hey, beauties, come up and have a drink with us!” Finally, after nearly half an hour of silence, a rough voice came from upstairs. Soon after, a burly man appeared before everyone.

Instantly, the entire hotel fell into deathly silence again, with everyone’s gaze fixed on that man.

“Hehe, not bad—four girls, each one is great. I like them! Come on, have a drink with me!” His eyes lit up again as he looked at the four women. He jumped down from the second floor and approached Lilith. After him, three more men came down from upstairs, all burly and radiating intense murderous intent.

The strong killing aura made Rod and Sognar exchange a glance, becoming alert—it was obvious this guy wasn’t good news.

“I like this girl. Divide the rest among yourselves. I’m lucky today, hahaha… Coming to Dark Moon City wasn’t in vain—there are indeed many beauties!” He walked up to Lilith without hesitation and sat down. The man who spoke first laughed heartily; he must be the leader of this group.

The other three men were slightly stunned by their leader’s words but quickly showed ecstasy, ready to move forward.

The hotel was utterly silent—so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling could be heard. Everyone stared in shock at these four natives who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Did these guys not even know what death meant?

Not to mention that the identity of that mature woman was unknown, and there were two men around her who didn’t seem to be ordinary. With Princess Ada and Princess Eileen, plus Lucy from the Black Phoenix clan, how many people in the entire Dark Source wouldn’t know these three? How dare these guys be so provocative? Don’t they realize that with just a word from these three women, they would be torn to pieces in this Dark Moon City? For a moment, everyone cast pitying looks at those guys.