Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

"Silly girl, I almost didn't recognize you in your new clothes."

Richard climbed into the carriage, sat down next to Sally, and unabashedly reached out to ruffle her neatly combed white hair.

Sally froze when the young master praised her so directly.

She first lowered her head subconsciously, her fingers tightly twisting the hem of her dress, and even her neck turned a light red.

Immediately afterwards, the blush spread rapidly to her cheeks, and even the tips of her ears turned bright red. Her whole body seemed to be steamed by heat, and white smoke was almost visible coming out of her head.

She dared not look up at Richard, only managing to utter a barely audible mutter from her throat:

"Young...Young Master...please don't..."

Her voice was soft and trembling, and she was so shy that she almost curled up.

Yekalin leaned against the car door, watching the interaction between the master and servant inside with a half-smile, without saying a word to disturb them.

"Go to school and study hard, make progress every day."

Richard put away his joking expression and said the same phrase he was tired of hearing on Earth, his tone very serious.

Then, as if remembering something, he continued with a serious expression:

"If someone bullies you, don't be afraid! Just say Cassandra's name. If that doesn't work, then say Ekaterina. If the other party is particularly powerful, then mention Asdallen, or Julia and Louis."

Seeing the young master's serious instructions, the maid could only nod vigorously.

Richard was pleased with her expression and then added:

"You must understand, we shouldn't provoke trouble, but we also shouldn't be afraid of it. If someone bullies you and you choose to swallow your anger, it's me who will lose face! Remember that?"

"I'll remember you, young master..."

"If you haven't improved by the time you graduate and come back, I won't let you off the hook. After all, you're mine..."

Upon hearing this, Sally abruptly raised her head, her eyes slightly reddening, but she stubbornly held back and nodded vigorously:

"Yes, young master, I will definitely try my best! But... if someone really bullies me, can I come back?"

Richard frowned slightly:

"Why did you come back? To call for reinforcements? I've brought you back two duchesses and princes and princesses as your backers. If you can't make something of yourself, you'll be letting these people down."

Sally bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

Yekaterin simply couldn't bear to disturb this ambitious master and servant couple.

"Are you going to school or to war? This is just registration; school hasn't even started yet! Don't worry, I've asked Lady Cassan Isabella to take care of her. If anything goes wrong, it'll be a disgrace to both of us..."

Richard smiled and patted Sally on the shoulder before turning to Yekaterin.

"I know, it's just that I'm worried..."

The duchess rolled her eyes at him and swatted his restless hand away: "You'd be better off worrying about yourself. Are you really planning to provoke a fifth-tier insect beast?"

Richard wasn't annoyed. He took Yekaterin's hand again: "Having a fifth-tier insect beast safe and sound in the North is keeping me up at night, isn't it? Finding out its strength and weaknesses as soon as possible will benefit us all."

Yekalin knew she couldn't persuade him otherwise: "You decide what to do, but the most important thing is to be safe!"

"Yeah, you too. Be careful on the road. There's bound to be a lot of trouble in New Rome... don't overwork yourself."

Richard played with the person's fingers, feeling their coolness, and warmed them in his own palm.

Yekalin snorted lightly, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly: "Do you need to tell me? Mind your own business, and don't get involved in any more strange things."

Then, she paused, a barely perceptible softening flashing in her eyes:

Go early and come back early.

Richard nodded, raised an eyebrow, and nimbly jumped off the carriage.

"Don't worry, don't worry. That tentacle couldn't touch me before. Now that I'm at level two, it's even less likely to catch me!"

Richard helped Yekaterin into the carriage.

Then, he waved into the car window, and Sally quickly leaned over the window and waved her arm vigorously.

The bell rang.

Surrounded by a guard, the White Night Star Horse slowly took small steps, its wheels rolling across the road with a rhythmic sound, gradually moving away from the fountain square and heading towards the tunnel.

Richard stood there, watching the carriage disappear around the street corner, before turning around and speaking loudly to Govy and the gathering team who were waiting nearby:

"Let's set off too."

His gaze turned north, to the snow-covered forests, the secret-hiding lands of the mushroom people, and the source of power he needed to acquire.

A new wilderness exploration is about to begin.

……

According to Govi, the team arrived at the Mushroom Forest.

These so-called mushroom worms parasitize trees. Their roots can decompose lignocellulose, and in just a few years, they can completely drain a tree.

Over the past few decades, the Mushroom Forest in the Northern Snowfield has expanded from a small area to a scattered forest spanning tens of kilometers for unknown reasons.

If no one stops it, the entire forest of the northern snowfields will probably turn into white dead trees in a few decades.

The destructive harvesting of mushroom worms by the pioneers actually slowed down this process.

And it was precisely for this reason that Richard could prepare supplies and set fire to the forest with a clear conscience...

Returning to this place, we found a dense forest of spore-bearing larvae.

The ground was covered with insect eggs, piled up like a thick snowflake. The once sturdy tree trunks had been completely decomposed by the mycelium, leaving them hollow inside. Each step on them produced a crisp cracking sound, making them unsuitable even for firewood.

I don't know if Richard was just lucky, or if something was guiding him.

They quickly found the four-colored giant mushroom they had encountered before.

From a distance, the mushroom cap was still covered by a thick layer of spores and insect eggs. It looked undulating, as if it were breathing powerfully.

"So? What do you want to do?"

The usually taciturn Govi ​​finally uttered her first words after emerging from seclusion.

Richard glanced at the 100 cattle and horsemen of the third rank behind him.

This trip was not for collecting evolved species, so they only brought these combat troops. Each of them carried a bulging bag on their back.

Thinking about what was inside the bulge, Richard grinned and glanced at Goldie: "Hehe, you'll find out soon enough..."

"Playing tricks." Govi ​​glanced at him as well. She scrambled her feet across the spore eggs on the ground, trying to clear a clean space to sit down and rest.

Suddenly, without warning.

Beneath the excavated earth lay a white corpse!

The corpse's facial features were completely covered by bacteria of all sizes, and its body was embedded in the soil. Without close inspection, it appeared to have blended seamlessly into its environment.

And Gowe's foot was right next to the corpse's face.

The corpse bit down without warning!

It bit into the ankle of the boot that Gowei was wearing.

"Holy shit, that scared the hell out of me!"

Given the toughness of Govi's skin, the corpse was naturally impossible to bite through, but that didn't stop it from giving her a fright.

I had originally intended to maintain the persona of a fully-fledged fourth-tier powerhouse. But after this battle, that persona has been completely shattered...