Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Everyone who has come into contact with the demon seed has developed this symptom?"

"Yes, at least they all have something in common: they have previously fought against demons."

"It was done by witches, and they've lost their minds. There's no need to investigate further; everything will disappear once we kill the witches."

Rhodes glanced around, observing the soldiers lying in the tents, entangled in [resentment], and spoke calmly.

But he couldn't understand it.

He really didn't understand what Cecilia was thinking with this move.

There are two main reasons why witches can hide and do evil.

First, they acted discreetly, making it difficult for the military to track their movements.

Secondly, they don't kill many people most of the time, so although they are a threat, there's no need to risk eliminating them.

Moreover, for them, polluting such a small number of people and causing problems with the order of the capital, and possibly preventing the divine sacrifice from continuing, was something they absolutely did not want.

But that's what they did.

A witch couldn't possibly be truly mentally unstable.

This means that the witch and Cecilia believe that doing so would be more beneficial than harmful to them.

It would be more tempting to them than the possibility of affecting the divine ritual.

Rod couldn't find out where this "benefit" was.

There aren't many people involved in hunting demons to begin with, at least not enough to limit their combat power, so why bother polluting them?

Rhodes frowned, unable to figure out Cecilia's purpose.

That's it,

Since Cecilia can pollute, he can remove that pollution.

First, he can absorb it with the [Thorn Crown]. Second, he can use the power of the Soul Seed to change the soldiers' willpower.

Of course, there is another method—

"Shirley, what do you think about the soldiers outside?"

"Shirley?" Shirley pointed to herself. "Shirley doesn't know, but I feel like it'll take about ten seconds."

"..." Rhodes paused for a moment, then reached out and gently flicked her forehead. "Okay."

"Oh dear, sir, could you please stop flicking my forehead every time you praise me? It makes me feel like a child." Shirley shook her head and gently rubbed her forehead.

At this moment, Axel walked up to the tent and stopped.

He watched Rhodes and the girl's conversation without interrupting until they reached the tent, at which point he spoke:

“Then I’ll trouble you to give it a try. He’s in here.” Axel lifted the insulating fabric of the tent, revealing the dry and warm space inside.

The tent was not ventilated, and a heated stone in the center was suspended in mid-air, illuminating the surrounding environment.

At the very back was a bed lying horizontally, on which lay a boy who looked to be about sixteen years old.

The boy had medium-length hair and his body was not as robust as his father's; on the contrary, he appeared somewhat frail.

If it were a first impression, Rhodes thought the boy was somewhat similar to the elder he had seen in [Carmen], both being thin and frail.

Are all magicians in this state?

Unable to know the truth, Rhodes simply walked up to Stellan, bent down, and placed his hand on his forehead—

Instantly, strands of resentment peeled off his body, gathering on his forehead, and were continuously absorbed by Rhodes.

"How is it, Rhodes?"

Axel walked up to Strand and looked at his son with a weary expression.

For him, he never imagined that his son could fight on the battlefield like him, nor did he expect to achieve any merit.

He simply hoped that Stellan could grow up safely and, once the empire was stable, could fulfill his inner desires.

Therefore, when he learned of the problems that had occurred at the military headquarters in the early morning, his anxiety reached its peak.

It just so happens that Valerie communicated that Rhodes would be coming; otherwise, he would probably still be in a terrible state by now.

Now, everything depends on Rhodes.

Although he didn't have the highest hopes, at least what he wanted to see was his son getting up safely.

But the amazing thing is—

While he was still lost in thought about those random things, Rod withdrew his hand and flicked it gently.

"All right."

"Next, we will treat all the infected people in the military."

"Shirley, prepare to resolve this."

"Yes, sir!"

Chapter 180 Shirley's Soul Tide

Extremely efficient; the entire process, from the moment Rhodes entered, took less than a minute.

While Axel was still hoping Rhodes could solve the problem, he had already finished.

Axel was in a state of confusion, his limbs stiffening.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'already healed'? You only touched it, didn't you?"

"The pollution is only this much, General."

"That's not how it works. Soul corruption... You have to enter my consciousness first, then use your willpower to influence my son, and then..."

"Times have changed, General. There are now quick ways to eliminate them."

Rodben's steps to stand were halted by Axel, who offered a brief explanation.

Before Axel could say anything in response, his son Strand had already uttered a muffled sound—

"Um……"

The boy lay on the bed, frowning, his fingers twitching from discomfort, but after a moment he opened his eyes.

As if his head had been raped, Stellan felt dizzy and disoriented until he sat up and leaned against the bed, rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Hmm? Father? And...?"

A group of girls were following a boy they had never seen before.

“Sterlan!” Axel’s eyes widened instantly. He took a step forward and appeared in front of Stellan in an instant, bending down and hugging him tightly.

"Huh? What's wrong, Father? Did I sleep too long today?"

"No...it was just a little incident."

It was indeed a minor incident. At least in Stellan's eyes, it was just a nightmare that he had, and when he woke up, there was a bunch of people surrounding him, and even his father looked like he was about to die.

Rhodes was unconcerned to see the father and son living in harmony; they had other things to do.

Axel's mission was complete, but their own mission was far from finished.

Cecilia and her group were planning to corrupt these soldiers, so they naturally had to remove the corruption. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if Cecilia and her group became even stronger because of this oversight.

For Shirley, a soul-type [composite twisted monster], extracting the [resentment] from her soul is as simple as separating a carrot from a radish.

Rhodes ruffled Shirley's hair and said softly, "Let's go. You're in charge of the soldiers outside."

“Mmm.” Shirley was naturally happy to be of use, but she was still a little curious and asked, “The commander is as nosy as ever, even though the commission didn’t include this requirement.”

"What do you mean by being nosy, Shirley? This is a side quest, and there will be a reward."

“You said the same thing before.” Shirley feigned incomprehension, offering no further retort, but instead obediently lifted the curtain and walked out of the tent with Rhodes.

The other girls also came out, and even Axel, who had just been immersed in the deep affection between father and son, hesitated for a few seconds before coming out as well.

Axel's gaze was complex, filled with shock and awe as she looked at Rhodes' figure.

The soul seed of the Chivenlance family is inherently more terrifying than other soul seeds...

This treatment was done in less than ten seconds?

He couldn't believe it, but that was the truth.

He had indeed underestimated this future emperor who had been raised in their empire since childhood.

"Rhodes, what else do you want to do?"

He remained silent for half a second before hesitantly speaking.

Rhodes gazed at the cluster of dark tents and spoke:

"It's too complicated to explain, so let's just get the job done, then you'll understand."

"Shirley, let's do it."

Rod flicked his finger, issuing the instruction.

“Alright, the goal is to purify the souls of all those who have been corrupted, right, sir!” Shirley bowed and winked. “Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s dig out that dragon head that’s hiding here!”

"Shirley, it's time to fight!"

click-

In an instant, a soft sound rang out, and tentacles twisted wildly on her skin, her entire body surging forth with power.

This is the energy of the [Soul Tide], the ultimate power that has been upgraded seven times, bursting forth at this moment.

Waves of energy emanated from Shirley's body and simultaneously traveled through the brains of all humans.

At the same time, these tentacles wove into a huge sphere in front of Shirley, and as they turned into a transparent glass color, they separated from Shirley's body and floated hundreds of meters in the air.

The glass sphere instantly expanded tens of thousands of times, and countless tentacles crawled out from it again, frantically attacking the crowd—

At this moment, the entire tent area of ​​the military camp was shrouded by the monster with tens of thousands of tentacles in the sky, and everyone who had a soul problem had their brain pierced by the tentacles.

"Disappear!"

Shirley's body flashed with seven-colored light, and the skin of the dragon head on the outside finally cracked and tore, revealing her true appearance.