Chapter 529: Forced Cooperation

Water flowing…

The Old Witch felt a chill in her heart, but quickly found it laughable.

This brat actually dared to mention the Borderland?

She had lived here for so many years, and even she kept her distance from that sound of flowing water. Even Third Rank wizards wouldn’t actively approach it.

And yet he dared say he would use the Black Tide as a hidden threat?

It sounded utterly absurd—so why was she suddenly compelled to shake her head?

That burning curiosity ultimately triumphed over the Old Witch’s pride.

She gave her head a slight shake.

“Splash…”

A clear sound of flowing water entered her ears.

The Old Witch’s expression changed instantly.

“How… Did you do that?” she asked in disbelief.

There had only ever been cases of wizards being unlucky enough to be polluted by the Black Tide. When has anyone ever heard of someone using it to corrupt another wizard?

Wouldn’t one have to completely contaminated themselves before they could even think of manipulating the Black Tide?

“Trade secret,” Saul replied casually with a term the Old Witch didn’t understand. “Can you let me go now?”

“If you kill me, I’ll make sure you die with me.”

“Are you dead now?” Saul tilted his head.

The Old Witch hesitated for a moment, then glared fiercely at Saul.

But after that glare, the air that had been binding Saul released him.

Apparently feeling that letting Saul go just like that was a bit humiliating, the Old Witch tried to regain her upper hand.

“Don’t forget, my finger’s still on you. If I die, I guarantee you’ll suffer so much you’ll wish you were dead.”

Saul didn’t reply. He was taking deep breaths, recovering from the suffocation just moments earlier.

He walked over and finally got a good look at the Old Witch’s new body.

Her belly was huge, while her limbs were thin and soft, making her look grotesquely deformed.

“You’ve completely abandoned your original body and used synthetic materials for your new one. The cost is that these materials weren’t enough to construct an adult physique, so now you’re stuck in this form—like a deformed infant.”

The Old Witch had no interest in Saul’s theorizing. Ever since she’d heard that water sound in her head, even without moving, she could still faintly hear it flowing by her ears.

Accompanied by that eerie water sound, she gradually felt as though something in her body was slipping out of her control.

The scariest part was—she didn’t even know what was out of her control.

Saul knew what the Old Witch was nervous about and didn’t waste more time. He casually pulled out a robe from his storage, used a Zero Rank spell to shrink it, and tossed it to her.

“Put it on. You may not care, but I find it an eyesore.”

The Old Witch didn’t understand what “eyesore” meant, but she could sense the thick malice behind the phrase.

Besides, she wasn’t exactly comfortable streaking around naked.

Still, she couldn’t help but offer a bit of explanation. “This is only temporary. The perfect body will grow into the shape I need.”

Saul stroked his chin. “Oh? Is that the work of the powdered elf remains?”

He was now even more intrigued by the materials used in this body. A shame the Old Witch hadn’t been willing to use them on him.

“Whatever. Let’s treat this as a test group. The flesh-soul fusion formula hasn’t been fully adapted for my frame yet.”

The “flesh-soul fusion” was a high-level body modification spell used by senior wizards of the Bloodrose Family, where An came from.

It required at least a Second Rank wizard to perform.

Back in the day, the entire Bloodrose Family had only one Second Rank wizard.

And that one wizard never managed to complete the flesh-soul fusion modification, ultimately dying a pitiful death in Hanging Hands Valley.

Saul had taken that existing formula and was now working to revise it.

It was bound to be a massive undertaking.

But thanks to the generous “donation” of materials from the Old Witch, Saul had at least completed improvements to the “flesh” portion of the formula.

To proceed with the “soul” fusion, he still needed a large quantity of souls.

By now, the Old Witch had finally managed to squeeze into the shrunken wizard robe.

With a belly and head equally large, she looked like a snowman built in winter.

“How do you plan to remove the pollution I’m suffering from?”

“Bit by bit.”

“You—!” The Old Witch narrowed her eyes, killing intent flashing. “Do you really think I have no way of dealing with you?”

Saul wiggled his left hand, now with six fingers, signaling her to relax.

“You misunderstand. I’m clearly weaker than you. I only did this so we could speak on equal footing.”

“Hmph!” the Old Witch snorted coldly. “Then how do you propose we speak?”

“Of course we continue with the perfect body project. From your current state, it’s clear the modification formula still needs improvement. I also want to integrate it with my own formula.”

The Old Witch still didn’t get it. “But I can’t help you with the research.”

She had already noticed—Saul, despite being only a First Rank wizard, far surpassed her in knowledge of magic and body modification.

She was useless in that department.

“I know. I have other assistants,” Saul said, referring to his various consciousnesses.

The diary also held veto power.

“Though it’s called the Borderland, most areas here are nominally occupied by three Third Rank wizards. As an outsider and a mere First Rank, I’ll obviously struggle to obtain enough magic materials.”

“But you’re different. You’ve lived here for many years, and you’ve managed to gather so many materials. I imagine you still have a way of collecting more.”

“So you want to control me? Make me your slave? Your experiment?”

“I wouldn’t dare. How about equal exchange? I’ll also help refine this body of yours. Besides, you’re in quite a rush to switch bodies—probably because you need a place to hide.”

This time, the Old Witch hesitated for a long while.

The sound of water occasionally echoed in her ears.

That sound made her restless and uneasy. What terrified her even more was the idea that one day, she might get used to it.

If that day came, she’d likely be close to complete mutation.

“Fine. But first, you must remove the pollution inside me. Otherwise, this cooperation is meaningless. We’ll both end up dead.”

“Deal. But before that, let’s sign a contract. After all, we don’t trust each other.”

Saul raised his hand, and a Fairy Contract appeared in his palm.

“A fairy contract?” the Old Witch immediately identified its alias, then suddenly realized something. “Wait, you actually have a spatial storage artifact? Impossible—I clearly searched your body!”

“Bayton Academy’s latest product. You might want to look into it,” Saul replied with a smile, naturally unwilling to reveal where his storage was hidden. He spread the contract flat on the workbench.

“Shall we?”

…

After signing the cooperation contract, Saul could now count as having a local guide in the Borderland.

Even if this guide had a rather shady reputation, the information she could provide was far more valuable than what the Black Tide Contaminated Claude could offer.

Since the Old Witch was being hunted by two of the three major leaders of the Borderland, they immediately left her “rat hole” after finalizing the contract.

Saul also successfully rescued the coachman, Marsh.

Unfortunately, back when the Old Witch had captured him and the coachman, she had found the carriage too large and conspicuous—so she destroyed it on the spot. As a result, Saul now had no means of transportation during his relocation.

As compensation, Saul confiscated the Old Witch’s Baisec Magic Mirror and that bizarrely fierce flaying stick.

To keep the Old Witch from losing her temper, he used his transparent tentacle—Soul Angling—to extract half the Black Tide pollution from her body.

Instantly, the sound of flowing water in her ears diminished, and the sense of unrest within her faded significantly.

Seeing how easily Saul removed her Black Tide pollution, the Old Witch’s view of him changed once again.

From irritation and resentment to shock mixed with thoughtfulness.

Even her attitude improved significantly.

Now that the Old Witch was cooperating willingly, Saul no longer had to stumble through the Borderland like a headless chicken.

When he mentioned wanting to find a place with abundant souls to begin the next phase of his experiment, the Old Witch immediately suggested a location.

“If you’re not afraid of wraiths, then Lake Rhine is the best place for long-term experimentation,” the Old Witch said, pointing in a direction. “From what I know, the one who controls that place is only a First Rank wizard. You can either take Lake Rhine by force—or use whatever method you prefer… an equal exchange.”

(End of Chapter)

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