“Why is it stuck so tightly? This is really annoying.”
Seeing Su Mu prefer to be tossed around inside rather than come out, the Desire Witch grew impatient.
The tendrils clinging to the box began to thrash violently.
In an instant, the fragile cardboard box crumpled, almost revealing the human figure inside.
It wasn’t that Su Mu didn’t want to come out—it was that she simply couldn’t!
Now, Su Mu was restricted by the tendrils pressing against the shell, forced to maintain an awkward posture while struggling to breathe.
The oppressive pressure around her tightened relentlessly, making it harder and harder to catch her breath.
“Enough, let go!”
Seeing this, Lando didn’t hesitate.
She immediately decided to burn a tenth of her Magic Power.
Her previously weak and powerless limbs were instantly filled with overwhelming strength, and from her slender body burst forth an unstoppable force.
She reversed her grip, twisted a tendril, and tore it forcefully toward the center.
The dense mass of tendrils couldn’t withstand her strength; they stretched endlessly until they finally snapped apart.
With the tendrils broken, the violent recoil scattered the roots uncontrollably in all directions, giving Lando enough room to grab the Military Knife and thrust it straight at the shocked Desire Witch.
The Desire Witch hadn’t expected this outcome.
After all, until just now, Lando’s strength and Magic Power had remained at a rather low ebb.
Although she had recovered somewhat, she clearly had the tendrils continuously releasing Nerve Toxin—so why did Lando suddenly have the strength to break free?
The gap in information was too vast.
From the start, Su Mu had successfully dissected the Desire Witch’s abilities, allowing Lando to devise the most confident combat strategy.
But the Desire Witch was completely unaware of why Lando suddenly grew stronger.
Although Lando had shown sudden bursts of power before by burning Magic Power, the Eyes of Ensnarement had effectively blocked her, so the Desire Witch never grasped the depth of her strength.
The brief advantage she gained later only made her careless—
She was the one who had said she was the most indulgent.
When desire rose, she couldn’t even maintain the most basic vigilance in battle.
But as she approached the Desire Witch, Lando frowned and closed her eyes.
In the heat of the moment, she had opened them, but the sharp pain from heightened sensitivity overwhelmed her.
The sensory perception she had organized without relying on sight vanished.
Yet to avoid being ambushed by that insidious ocular technique, she had no choice but to keep her eyes closed, which made her attacks appear weak.
She worried whether she could even land a hit.
After a long whoosh, her strike ultimately grazed past the Desire Witch’s neck, narrowly deflected by a tendril.
Meanwhile, the Desire Witch’s body—once cleansed of toxin—gradually grew heavy and sluggish again.
Seeing Lando’s slightly slowed figure, the Desire Witch had to suppress her scorn.
She had to admit, if that strike had truly landed, it would have cost her control over a third of her tendrils.
Fortunately, the powers of the other concept bodies were still converging.
In about two more minutes, the adorable Xiao Jialan would no longer pose any threat.
Luring, provoking, and watching the flower of desire bloom was equally intoxicating.
‘But after all, she was my daughter… What use was thinking that now?’
Rationality flickered briefly in the Desire Witch’s mind, then was swiftly discarded.
As a thoroughly corrupted witch, all her emotions were drowned in dreams.
Her body outside lived like an empty puppet, and inside the dream she was ruled by overwhelming feelings and the concept she embodied, unable to stay clear-headed.
Moreover, this was only a concept body without independent consciousness, almost entirely driven by “desire.”
Her original will had been eroded to nearly nothing.
“I’m growing stronger, but it seems you’re already in quite a predicament. Want me to ease up on the pressure a little?”
At those words, Lando bit her lip.
This was something Luo Linglan often said, and one of the few phrases that made Luo Jialan feel happy when she heard them.
Luo Jialan’s massage techniques were, of course, learned from Luo Linglan.
This process—after martial training—was how Luo Linglan would routinely relax her muscles and release the built-up Pressure.
Though this was routine for her, for Luo Jialan it was one of the rare moments of kindness from her master.
It wasn’t gourmet, but balanced nutrition, evening relaxation, and utmost protection.
When Luo Jialan was a child, she often caused trouble at school.
Her strength far surpassed her peers, but her stature was unusually small.
This made her an easy target for isolation or teasing.
Inevitably, after enduring enough, Luo Jialan fought back fiercely, leaving a trail of scattered kids lying in the hallway.
Her “martial arts” attacks were measured—always just enough to disable others, never crossing the line, thanks to Luo Linglan’s strict discipline.
Still, such incidents naturally led to parents being called.
So Luo Linglan went to the school.
Standing in front of the angry parents, she blocked the path of Luo Jialan.
“Since she didn’t start it, then there’s nothing wrong with what she did. If no one was injured, I will take her home.”
Some tried to stop Luo Linglan, but one cold glare froze them in place.
They could only watch helplessly as she left with Luo Jialan.
Lando remembered this incident clearly, recalling the details even now—it had become a significant memory.
A flood of thoughts flashed through her mind, but she could only shake her head and push away the distracting memories.
‘Sadly, that version of you exists only in fleeting recollections.’
“Not going to pursue? What are you waiting for?”
Watching the Desire Witch actually hold back, Lando was a little surprised and spoke.
“Dragging this out isn’t bad for me, my dear Xiao Jialan~”
“Tch, don’t call me that so affectionately.”
Lando said in mock displeasure but secretly felt a thrill.
‘I’m waiting for Rage, what about you?’
‘Maybe after fully absorbing that Magic Power, you’ll be strong. But I’m about to—Blow you away in one breath!’
Lando paced back and forth, keeping a neither too close nor too distant space from the Desire Witch, waiting for the violent energy to build in her chest.
Su Mu being treated like that had already filled Lando with fury.
Carrying the Mountain, Chasing the Moon silently activated.
The Ice-Blue Blade formed from her Magic Power gradually retracted, returning to the shape of a steel Military Knife.
The Desire Witch’s aura was reaching its peak, even showing faint signs of approaching B-rank Powerhouse level, but—
Time’s almost up.