Chapter 59: Madam Edestrein's First Step Back Then

You are a real son of a bitch, and a genius at that.

Johan desperately wanted to say those words.

However, Nina wouldn't understand the humor, so saying it would be pointless.

Still, Nina remained a fascinating woman.

Initially, he had simply thought that the allure of a mature, beautiful married woman, coupled with the rich and fertile soil of Red Hazel Town which nurtured such full and voluptuous women, was already enough to win his favor.

Who could have imagined that after her awakening, she would cast aside the traditional, virtuous-wife persona and display such innate creativity in certain matters? Even someone as well-traveled and experienced as Johan couldn't help but admire her in secret.

In truth, as a doctor in his past life, Johan had seen plenty of people who played too hard, too wildly, and entirely without boundaries, to the point of winding up in the hospital.

Innovations like the ones Nina came up with were actually quite normal—they were wonderful things worth promoting and appreciating, great for enhancing mutual experience.

As for those who ended up in the hospital, they merely made one marvel at the boundless diversity of biological existence. There were people rushed into the hospital with their water broken, answering questions with stammering hesitation, followed by three disheveled men trailing behind—among whom the husband might or might not be present.

Ah, there were numerous scenarios.

Or patients who had various implements retrieved from their bodies, each one causing a faint prickle of pain or a chill just to think about.

Glass bottles, steel pipes, toothbrushes, needles, balls—those were considered normal. Once, Johan had been shaken for an entire night when someone had a sharp-nosed viper—a five-step snake—extracted from their abdomen!

That creature had a very straightforward and well-known moniker: the Five-Step Snake.

A single bite from it meant continuous, unstoppable bleeding; platelets and the coagulation system were completely useless against it.

Yet somehow, this person hadn't died. Presumably, even the viper felt utterly disgusted and couldn't even manage to open its jaws.

It must have felt that staying alive inside this person was more toxic than its own venom, and that using him to poison the world was better than biting him, lest the snake itself die of poisoning.

The patient had claimed that his home toilet was clogged, so he went outside to defecate in the wild, and the snake seized the opportunity to crawl right in.

Who could possibly believe that?

Believe it or not, it no longer mattered.

At any rate, even while maintaining many of his professional habits from his doctor days, Johan was immensely glad that he no longer had to witness the staggering diversity of humanity.

"Isn't it wonderful? And so much fun?" Nina asked, her body completely limp as she lay against his chest, her fingertips tracing back and forth across his powerful muscles with a coquettish tone.

In truth, she was quite sensible and didn't pester him incessantly; she had merely invited him to experience her newly invented magical experimental props for a little while.

Whether these magical experimental props could activate Johan's state attributes and grant buffs like [Attack Speed Doubled] depended entirely on the usage process and the feedback Nina provided.

Combined with the blessing of two Cleansing Spells and the enhanced magical affinity left behind after the disruption of the Barrier Spell, Nina's performance allowed Johan to fully appreciate the novel pleasures brought by her newly invented magical experimental props.

"Good. We'll make one for Irene as well." On almost all occasions, Johan would respectfully refer to her as Madam Ordos; only when the two of them were doing magical experimental research with Johan together would he use her girlhood pet name, Irene.

Every time he called her Irene, she would become as fond of acting spoiled as Nina was when called "baby," turning all the more soft and enchanting.

"It's quite simple. I'll make one later, I'm sure Irene will like it too," Nina said happily. Then she crawled up onto Johan, raised her head, and looked over at Talisha lying on the floor. "What about her?"

"You stupid woman! If you want to act like a cheap slut, love being a man's plaything, enjoy being enslaved by him, and like being led around on a leash, that's your own business! Don't you dare drag me into this!"

Shocked and furious, Talisha shouted almost hysterically.

She was thoroughly clear on the affairs between Nina, Madam Ordos, and Johan; many scenes that had shattered her worldview were still fresh in her mind.

When they were earnestly conducting their magical experimental research and had no spare attention for Talisha, she would inevitably fall into deep thought, wondering if the three of them had been possessed by some lustful, evil dark soul—otherwise, how could there possibly be so much joy in such acts that they found it endlessly intoxicating?

If it were Talisha, she wouldn't have the slightest interest in it whatsoever!

Unless it was a family alliance where she bore the burden of giving birth to a child carrying both of their bloodlines, she would only perform the act with her husband under sheer compulsion.

The process would undoubtedly be like a ritual—solemn and earnest, with both parties dressed as neatly as possible, exposing only the necessary parts to each other, and finishing the task with the speed of lightning.

As for the redundant movements Johan and the others indulged in, such as kissing—what utter nonsense.

Just how disgusting the act of kissing was hardly required detailed explanation, right?

And now, this Nina actually wanted to add those things to Talisha! This was a dangerous signal, meaning she was attempting to drag Talisha into their fold as well!

Talisha would rather die than submit!

"Heh, look at what you're wearing around your neck. What's the difference between that and adding a couple of chains and clamps? Or what—has it been a few days since your last whipping, and your skin is starting to itch for it?"

Nina sneered, reaching out a hand to grab the whip in the bedside drawer. But it was slightly out of reach, and she didn't want to leave Johan's side, so she gave up.

"If you truly dare to do that to me, I will shatter my body and die on the spot!" Talisha declared, casting a glance at Johan, who seemed to be paying her no attention whatsoever, as she loudly expressed her determination.

"What does shattering the body and dying mean?" Nina whispered to Johan. She guessed it probably meant suicide, but she didn't understand and couldn't be certain.

"Some magical beasts, right before they die, will detonate the residual magic within their bodies to cause an explosion. Talisha can't mobilize even a single shred of magic within her body right now, though," Johan explained.

"Why? Can't she surrender?" Nina was feeling that life was limitlessly wonderful; every single moment, as long as she was by Mr. Johan's side, her entire body—front and back, inside and out—overflowed with a sense of happiness.

Yet, as soon as she said it, she could somewhat understand the self-detonation of magical beasts. For instance, if she were forced right now to return to Barbarov's side to be the mayor's wife, she would rather detonate herself as well.

"The vast majority do surrender, but there are always those truly unyielding souls who choose to self-detonate. First, to avoid falling into enemy hands, becoming research materials for magical experiments, or suffering brutal torture and humiliation. Second, to drag an enemy down with them before death; the close-range power of a self-detonation is immense, and the flesh and blood of certain magical beasts are extremely toxic—even brushing against a tiny bit can cause severe injury." Johan's theoretical knowledge was still quite rich.

This came from his teacher's travelogues.

The self-detonation that Jormungandr remembered most vividly was performed by a Necromancer named the Demon King of Mount Pescara—necromancers did not consider themselves magical beasts, but traditional mages classified them as such.

At the time, the Demon King of Mount Pescara was leading a group of little skeletons in magical experiments (Note: not the kind Johan frequently conducted). Utilizing the characteristic that little skeletons required no living quarters or sustenance and could repeatedly execute commands, it had developed a magical botanical plantation.

Jormungandr had urgently needed a highly toxic medicinal herb at the time to concoct a potion to poison a giant soft-shelled turtle water monster lurking in the tranquil Blue Thought Lake. However, the Demon King of Mount Pescara was unwilling to accept Jormungandr's trade, and believing that Jormungandr might pollute the lake water, it attacked her.

In the end, the Demon King of Mount Pescara unleashed a necromancer's ultimate magic—the descent of the Great Ten-Thousand-Year Skeleton Emperor Roosevelt—yet still proved no match for Jormungandr.

That Demon King of Mount Pescara, whom Jormungandr later praised in her travelogues as a genius necromancer, chose to self-detonate, with astonishing power.

Its magical power leveled everything within a radius of several kilometers, and its residual flesh and blood transformed into extremely fine particles, drifting in the air and absorbed by water vapor, resulting in a rain of poison that left the land barren of even a single blade of grass.

As for its bones, they flew like ranged weapons, streaking like fiery meteors toward Jormungandr. She dodged them one by one, but a skull fragment still struck a giant soft-shelled turtle water monster that had surfaced to watch the spectacle. k
Later, it was said that the corpses of aquatic life in the Blue Thought Lake floated all across the surface of the entire lake, reeking to high heaven.

Ultimately, the kingdom had to issue a quest, recruiting adventurers to clean up the lake surface. Jormungandr disguised herself among the cleaning crew and worked there for three years with all food and drink provided, though it eventually triggered the clichéd framed-plotline, which she skipped recording.

"Talisha won't self-detonate," Johan finally reassured Nina, whose expression carried a hint of hesitation. He knew Nina was wondering: if she whipped Talisha from time to time, what would happen if Talisha went and self-detonated?

Only then did Nina set her mind at ease.

Talisha's wolf face turned burning red. She suspected Johan was implying that even if she could mobilize her magic, she wouldn't have the stomach to shatter her body and die—that she lacked that kind of courage.

This filled Talisha with suffocating gloom. First, she indeed had no way to self-detonate right now; second, she certainly couldn't just blow herself up to prove her courage!

That damned Johan! Time and time again, he managed to infuriate Talisha and subject her to profound humiliation!

"Talisha, the biography of Lady Edestrilia that I asked you to write—is it finished?" Johan asked with concern.

Most members of the Ordos family had received a basic education in literacy, but not a single person in this family loved reading, meaning there were simply no historical texts in the estate to consult.

"How do you expect me to write it?" Talisha asked viciously, her eyes tightly shut.

This was her way of showing she feared nothing, while also countering Johan's insult regarding her lack of courage. Look—even in a situation where she could be killed at any moment, she still dared to bare her teeth at him without the slightest fear!

"It's already written. Would you like me to read it to you?" Nina chimed in.

Talisha hadn't actually written it herself; since Johan wouldn't allow her to recover her strength, she had simply dictated it while Nina was responsible for recording.

During the past two days, whenever Johan wasn't playing with Nina and Madam Ordos, Nina had been busy with this very task.

"Good. Baby is such a good girl," Johan praised, patting her bottom.

Nina happily wiggled her waist, shaking it so violently that Talisha, positioned behind them, felt dizzy and nauseous, unable to bear the sight.

A woman standing over one meter seventy tall, yet possessing such a massive backside—it was completely uncoordinated. In terms of aesthetic beauty, Talisha's own figure was far superior. She had already noticed on numerous occasions that Johan would intentionally or unintentionally brush against that part of her body, clearly taking advantage of her to some degree.

Talisha was firmly resolved never to use honey-trap tactics. After all, she was a military officer of hero-grade caliber, possessing the firmest willpower and the readiness for grim sacrifice.

Nina fetched a thick pile of handwritten manuscripts. She had truly put her heart into this.

Her literacy still fell short of Talisha's, so on many occasions she had been forced to consult Madam Ordos or compel Talisha to explain things to her.

Johan glanced at her manuscript and couldn't help laughing.

No wonder she had proactively volunteered to read it to him; the handwriting was crooked and slanted, filled with smudges and corrections, and contained quite a few typos.

Nina's cheeks flushed slightly. She pulled the quilt up to cover both of them, then rested her head on his arm and began to read.

The life of Lady Edestrilia was truly legendary and great.

In the twilight years of the Sakura Roland Empire, the once brilliant and dazzling imperial Golden-Flame Renault family—which had birthed so many wise and martial emperors—had fallen into decay and corruption.

Meanwhile, the overseas nations had successfully developed black holes, acquired magic crystals, and invented numerous magical weapons. At the same time, their magitech industry was highly developed, and their national strength was growing by the day.

Following the invasion by the overseas nations, the Sakura Roland Empire was defeated with crushing momentum and forced to sign numerous unequal treaties.

Most fatally, the overseas nations gained the right to exploit the "black holes" within the Sakura Roland Empire. These black holes, which were completely useless to the empire itself, further accelerated its disintegration and demise, widening the gap in national strength between it and the overseas nations.

Besieged by internal troubles and external invasions, local uprisings and resistance movements within the country grew increasingly frequent. The prominent clans, already harboring ambitions, either entrenched themselves with private armies or colluded with the overseas nations. The Sakura Roland Empire struggled desperately, yet it only made the lives of ordinary citizens increasingly agonizing.

They either died of starvation or died on the battlefield.

It was precisely when the empire's fate was exhausted that Edestrilia appeared in Red Hazel Town—to be precise, back then, this place was merely a small hamlet consisting of a few dozen households.

Johan couldn't help thinking how coincidental it was—after leaving Yharn-Taris Island and venturing deep into the mainland, the very first human settlement he had reached was Red Hazel Town. Could it be that when his teacher left, she had taken a similar route?

Since Edestrilia had coincidentally done the same, Johan decided to raise the probability that his teacher was Edestrilia to "seventy percent."

"Talisha says that Lady Edestrilia took the first step of her legendary life right here in our Red Hazel Town, which was wiping out a foreign black hole and ordinary mineral survey team locally."

Nina spoke as though remembering something. "When I was little, I heard my grandmother say that our Ordos family rose to prominence around that time."

Johan nodded. So there was such a historical connection after all.

He had long felt that it didn't quite make sense for an ordinary force like the Ordos family to occupy a prime location like Red Hazel Town.

The fact that it hadn't attracted the covetous eyes of the Clement family until now apparently had some connection to what Edestrilia had done here back then.

Seeing that Nina was actually unfamiliar with the history of her own family's rise, Talisha thought she was utterly foolish.

Unable to hold back a cold sneer, she explained, "That was no ordinary survey team. It included a military force equipped with hundreds of magic-bullet guns, and they even possessed several magitech cannons. Your ancestor, Rufast Ordos, promptly delivered the intelligence to Lady Edestrilia while bravely infiltrating the survey team to help her annihilate the entire detachment."

"So it was precisely because of this brave deed by Rufast and his connection to Lady Edestrilia that many prominent clans felt constrained by propriety and were too embarrassed to seize the land by force... Of course, after enduring for over a hundred years, the most shameless clan of all has finally made the first move."

Johan smiled and cast a sidelong glance at Talisha. "What was the name of this family again? The one that most respects and worships Lady Edestrilia as their idol... Ah, Talisha—Talisha Clement, what do you call them?"

Talisha's wolf face turned red, her rounded and adorable wolf muzzle parting slightly to reveal the tip of her small tongue. Then, she shamefacedly closed her eyes and could no longer utter a single word.

She was forced to admit that if Johan were to seize this moment to strip away her uniform or do to her collar what he had done to Nina by attaching magical experimental props, she would undoubtedly only be able to whimper in timid fear, completely devoid of the face or self-respect needed to resist such humiliation and punishment.