While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly

Ashu shot a glare at the rooster-headed Demon.

Answering his questions wasn’t optional.

Realizing his mistake, the Demon dropped to his knees and quickly answered, "Greater Demon Shava’s camp is very, very far from here. We’re basically on the outer fringe of his territory. Even back then, he could suppress all the Demons in his domain on his own. And I’ve heard he was recently promoted—his power now must be..."

At this point, the rooster-headed Demon sneaked a fearful glance at Vivita, then continued, "...must be on par with her."

Ashu frowned deeply at that.

Ymir’s face turned even gloomier.

Vivita’s strength was clear to see—she had wiped out the entire Marauder camp with ease.

And now they were being told that Shava was on the same level as her. Worse yet, he wasn’t some lone wolf. The fact that others paid him tribute meant he was good at building a following.

If he were to keep Vivita occupied personally, who could say how strong the rest of his subordinates might be?

Now, Ashu was faced with two choices.

One: return to the human world, undergo three months of grueling cultivation, and try to reach a sufficient level of power before the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony—then come back to hunt down Kakarim.

Or two: stay in the Netherrealm, dig deeper into Ymir’s potential, and rely on the system’s Critical Return to obtain more power tied to Death.

At that moment—

Vivita spoke. "Ashu, given the situation, we have to report this to headquarters and request reinforcements."

Ashu’s eyes lit up.

As someone who wasn’t formally part of the Cultivator Guild, that option had honestly never even occurred to him.

"Can we request another Demon Huntress Nun?"

"I don’t know. We’ll see after I submit the request."

"So are we logging off now—oh, no, I mean, are we going back now?"

Vivita nodded. "Mm."

Ashu turned to Ymir and asked, "We’re planning to return to the human world. What about you?"

At that, Ymir finally snapped out of her gloomy daze. She looked around and replied, "There’s no path to the human world from here. Where are you guys going to return from?"

Ashu gave Ymir a meaningful look. As expected, this girl who had long walked the line between life and death had a perspective different from most.

He replied, "We don’t need a road. And you—right now, you’re no match for the Greater Demon Shava. Staying here won’t accomplish anything. Why not come with us?"

Ymir shook her head and said, "No, I’ll wait here for you. But you better bring reinforcements quickly."

She still had hope.

As long as she clung to these powerhouses and they called in more help, there was a chance she could snatch her scythe back from that Greater Demon.

Ashu could tell from her tone exactly what she was planning.

Letting her benefit from the situation wasn’t a problem—the real question was, could it be turned to their advantage?

So he asked, "If you get your scythe back, will your strength increase?"

The moment Ymir heard that, her face lit up with excitement. "Of course! If I can get my scythe back, my power will multiply several times over! You probably won’t even be able to beat me then!"

Hearing this—

Ashu turned to the rooster-headed Demon. "Is she telling the truth?"

Ymir bragging about herself wasn’t exactly the most reliable source. But the Marauders had taken her artifact—they’d be in a better position to judge its true value.

The rooster-headed Demon looked at Ymir, then at Ashu.

"Sir... do you want the polite version, or...?"

"Spit it out."

"If that little b—uh, if she gets her scythe back, then I’m afraid you wouldn’t be a match for her, sir." the rooster-headed Demon said, trembling with fear, worried Ashu would punish him for the blunt answer.

But Ashu didn’t seem the least bit upset. Instead, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

From the look of it, Ymir’s situation seemed to mirror Anna’s—

Both of them had lost their original power and could regain it under certain conditions.

And if a single scythe could make Ymir stronger than he was now, then after a Critical Return from the system, Ashu’s power would grow tenfold.

In that case, helping Ymir retrieve her scythe definitely belonged on the quest list.

...

After marking the location, Ashu and Vivita swiftly returned to the human world.

Vivita immediately began drafting a report to headquarters.

Meanwhile, Ashu took the time to eat, rest, and get his body back into optimal shape.

Then the two of them returned to the Netherrealm through the Gate of Heaven.

...

"Whoa, big bro, big sis, you’re back already?" Ymir hurried over to greet them.

Ashu glanced around and noticed the Demons were nowhere in sight. He asked, "Where are they?"

"Rooster-head Demon took them to the castle to get treated," Ymir replied.

Just as they were talking, the rooster-headed Demon came running back in a hurry.

"Here’s the plan," Ashu began laying it out. "We need to mark an area near Greater Demon Shava’s territory and establish a base there. On one hand, that’ll make it easier to observe our target. On the other, once reinforcements arrive, we can immediately launch a blitz attack. So right now, I need someone familiar with the terrain to lead us to a suitable location."

The rooster-headed Demon instantly thumped his chest. "Sir, I know the route pretty well. I’ll take you. As long as we don’t actively provoke anyone, I have ways to conceal our movements."

"Good. You’re up."

There weren’t any other Demons around to choose from anyway. In times like this, the ones who seize the opportunity are the ones who win. He was the first to answer Ashu’s question, while the other Demons were still hesitating—he had already taken his shot.

The rooster-headed Demon went on, "Sir, Greater Demon Shava’s territory is very far from here. And there are a lot of unknowns along the way. So we’ll need at least three days of travel. Too fast or too slow, and we’ll risk being discovered."

"You guys in the Netherrealm don’t have any kind of transportation?" Ashu looked at the rooster-headed Demon, trying to spot wings or something useful. But this guy had nothing but a chicken head.

Ever since arriving in the Netherrealm, Ashu had spent most of his time just getting from place to place.

Endless wastelands, limited visibility—travel here was several times more exhausting than in the human world.

Even using Flight Magic, the mental fatigue didn’t go away.

And now, they were talking about three whole days of travel? Ashu felt seriously stressed.

The rooster-headed Demon mulled over Ashu’s complaint. Opportunity was for the prepared, after all—and then he suddenly remembered something. A while back, by pure chance, he’d once come across a herd of Hellfire Steeds galloping across the blood-red plains.

"Sir, if you don’t mind, actually... there is something," the rooster-headed Demon said, pointing off in one direction. In this fog-filled world, it was impossible to tell which direction was which. "This way leads to Greater Demon Shava’s camp. But if we veer slightly left, there’s a chance we’ll run into a herd of flaming Hellfire Steeds. With your strength, taming one shouldn’t be a problem."

Ashu hadn’t actually meant to suggest riding anything. He’d just made a passing comment—but the rooster-headed Demon had latched onto it like a lifeline.

"Then we’ll check along the way," he replied.

Ymir glanced down at Ashu’s crotch and muttered under her breath, "Wow... you’re really something. You can ride a flaming Hellfire Steed?"

Ashu heard her muttering and smiled faintly, but didn’t say anything.

If they really did run into one, he’d just follow the same process he’d used to tame the Cidi Devotee—and make the Hellfire Steed a battle mount of the Cidi sect.

If not, well, it would just be a detour.

But three days of travel sounded incredibly boring.

Before long, Ashu found himself unable to resist the temptation to fool around with Vivita in the Netherrealm wilderness. He wasn’t even sure whether to call it a dream or some sort of spiritual entanglement.

If the two of them climaxed here... would their bodies in the human world react?

If he ended up with a soaked crotch and Anna happened to notice—that would be so awkward.

Fortunately.

During a break, Ashu returned to the human world to check—and his body showed no reaction at all.

It was as if, after his soul left, his body had entered some kind of Undead state.

On the second day of travel.

The group—three people and one Demon—was about to cross a river of lava when suddenly, a fiery creature burst out from the molten flow.

Ashu narrowed his eyes to get a better look—and saw that the creature had four flaming hooves and remarkable speed, able to dash through the air as if galloping on invisible ground.

"That’s a Hellfire Steed," the rooster-headed Demon quickly explained. Even as he spoke, he was already shifting into a combat stance, ready to assist Ashu in capturing it.

"Kinda badass," Ashu muttered.

The moment he saw the Hellfire Steed’s imposing, majestic form, he couldn’t resist making a move.

He immediately used his refined Magical Essence control to condense a blade out of thin air. The blade flew in parallel, tracking the Hellfire Steed’s movement.

Then, under Ashu’s precise manipulation, the blade deftly etched a Cidi sigil into the air.

Once it was completed, Ashu activated high-speed Flight Magic, chasing the Hellfire Steed head-on.

Just as it looked like the beast was about to ram into him, he unleashed Cidi Hypnosis.

The Hellfire Steed, having relatively low mental resistance, succumbed in an instant.

It stopped accelerating, and Ashu took a few steps back to help absorb the impact of its forward momentum.

"Too bad," Ashu mused to himself, "as a Bishop of the Holy Cultivator Guild’s branch, I can’t ride such a flashy hell mount in the human world."

"Guess I’ll just have to visit the Netherrealm more often."

With that, he swung himself up onto the Hellfire Steed’s back.

The beast, now fully under hypnosis, seemed almost intelligent. Sensing Ashu was about to mount, it voluntarily extinguished the flames on its back.

Only the flames on its hooves and mane remained.

The wild steed had no reins, so Ashu had to craft them out of condensed Magical Essence—which, fortunately, was immune to fire.

"You two want to give it a try?" Ashu looked at Vivita and Ymir, offering.

Vivita declined immediately. "I can’t ride a hellborn mount. Our powers are incompatible—it would panic."

Compared to Vivita’s refusal, Ymir was far more enthusiastic.

As soon as she saw that the flames on the Hellfire Steed’s back could be extinguished, she darted over without hesitation.freёnovelkiss.com