Chapter 179 179 – The Workload

Mason's wife covered her husband's eyes with her hands. However, realizing that her son also saw that indecent thing, she moved to close Mason Jr's eyes, making her husband look at Lacey again.

"I will not see her!!!" Mason looked away but glanced at the naked woman.

"She ran like a wild boar!" One of Velvet's bodyguards shouted, too overwhelmed to catch up with Lacey. "She even beat us who have gone through crazy training! Holy shit!!!"

Zroc was still tailing behind them, laughing so hard he almost choked. Meanwhile, Robyn was increasingly falling behind due to exhaustion.

The people in the empty lot gasped at Lacey's arrival. Several men cheered with joy. Some even came forward to take a closer look at the woman's breasts which were jiggling like crazy.

Velvet took a deep breath. The center of her eye flashed an orange light as if something was burning there. She didn't want to use her dragon power for something like this, but she had no other choice.

The dragon lady's speed increased drastically, and she tackled Lacey until they both fell.

"Relax, lady!" Velvet tried to lock Lacey in, but the naked woman writhed wildly to break free. "This is for your well-being!!!"

"Let me go!!! I want to be free without the clothes that constrain me!!!" The naked lady screamed.

Velvet's bodyguards immediately took hold of Lacey's body parts, but they were too overwhelmed.

"What the fuck!? Her energy is like a troll!!!" One of the bodyguards looked like she was holding her urge to poop because Lacey was too strong.

And instead of helping, Zroc rolled on the ground, still laughing. Robyn was about to help, but she fell to her knees and threw up instead.

"We help them!!!" Szur gave the order, then ran to Lacey with the succubi and shapeshifters following.

However, although many individuals were already holding her, Lacey only got stronger. Some of them were even pushed backward by the woman's brute force.

After a moment of struggle, Velvet managed to wrap her arm around Lacey's neck from behind.

Lacey tried to let go of the prophet's hand. But Velvet mustered all her strength. Gradually, Lacey's movements slowed, her eyes began to close, and a few moments later, she finally lost consciousness.

Velvet and the others finally released Lacey's body and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bring anything that can cover her body!" Szur asked the crowd.

Mason hurriedly took off his coat and draped it over Lacey. The bodyguards, Velvet, succubi, and shapeshifters wore uniforms that couldn't be removed immediately after all.

Some of the men grumbled in disappointment at the loss of the spectacle.

"She's dead!!!" Zroc was still laughing. He even jumped up and down for joy. "She died naked!!!"

Szur approached his subordinate.

"She stripped after eating devil's grains, Sir Szur!" That mare just kept on laughing. "If only you saw it from the start, you…."

Slowly, Zroc's laughter subsided before it disappeared completely. His boss looked at him with a sharp gaze and an intense killing aura.

"So, you knew this from the start and didn't stop it? And you're laughing at this?" Szur growled. "Didn't I say we should live in harmony with other kinds of individuals, helping them in troubles and calamities? Why did you let her embarrass herself like that?"

No, Szur didn't care if naked people were running around. He might even laugh too.

This is an excellent chance to make a good impression on these potential new residents, especially for a creature that looks scary like him.

"I guess this is a violation." The mare general sighed, looking at Robyn, who seemed so tense. "We have to report it to Lord Vorn. Ooh, and I'm not sure he'll like that."

Zroc could only lower his head and be silent.

***

[Vorn's POV]

"This is so good." I munched on the devil's grains cake cooked by skeleton B. Even though the texture wasn't pleasant, that thing had the right sweet, sour, savory, and salty levels. This is very different from ordinary cakes, which are usually dominated by a sweet flavor.

Ayre, sitting near me in the generals' meeting room, looks at the umpteenth paper we examine. "After a month or so we announced about the formation of the empire of Vorn, the rebellion of the Ascaind country's supporters is still quite strong, my lord. I think we should increase our army size."

I massaged my forehead. "We can't."

"Why?"

I gave her another piece of paper, and she read it for a moment. "Ah, even though we have a lot of new territories, and the devil's grains are successful, our resources are still lacking, huh?"

"The distribution from the new territories is slow due to the distance, and we still need to expand our land to plant more devil's grains. Even then, we still have to wait for the harvest." I sighed. "If we blindly increase soldiers, they won't have a proper place. The bwisters have worked hard to build dorms, but they have their limit. We can't increase their number for the same reason; we're still short of food."

Ayre held my hand. "You are very considerate, my lord. Is that also what keeps you taking in the refugees?"

"Perhaps soon I will close the door on them." I leaned back in the chair. "After a while, we will have difficulty providing shelter and food for them."

Basically, the reason I accepted them was to fill in the vacant jobs here, such as raising livestock, sewing, farming, and so on.

Ayre was silent for a moment. "Did you know there might be a way to get more troops for nothing?"

"I'm listening." I raised an eyebrow.

"Every city and village has a cemetery, right?"

I rubbed my chin, thinking about the shapeshifter general's words. "Good idea. We can make them crawl inside the ground and get out from a faraway place. After that, we'll remove the attributes on their bodies, so they don't get recognized. Maybe we destroy the faces that are still intact. That way, no one will complain…. Damn, why didn't I think of this earlier? Thank you, Ay…."

I was stunned to see her left cheek look like it would melt.

"Ah…." She held that part of her face, reshaping it as before. "It's nothing, my lord."

I stroked her face gently. "You're too exhausted, aren't you? From manufacturing my armor, taking care of the shapeshifters, giving opinions for other research, making parts for Nate, and being my adviser too…. All of that is so taxing on your body and mind."

She held my hand. "Don't worry about me, your highness. I'm doing all of this for our great cause."

I paused, looking at her face decorated with a faint smile. "Well, maybe it's time I got a new adviser. It's to lighten your workload."

"But…"

"Wait a minute, Ayre." I cut her off because there was an incoming call. "What's the matter, Szur?"

"Sorry to bother you, my lord. But there is an offense you must address now."

I massaged my forehead again. The bigger the population of this place, the more twists and turns occur. I don't know how often I have had to hold 'trials' for things that harm others.

Maybe my own workload also becomes too heavy. I can't even get to the front lines in the battles against the rebels.