While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly

This battle didn’t require Ashu and Ymir to inflict significant damage on this Grand Swordmaster.

They only needed to speed up the exhaustion process; victory was just around the corner.

Therefore, Ashu tried his best to attract Demons.

Ashu wasn’t worried that the Grand Swordmaster would ally with the Demons and gain a foothold in the Netherrealm.

Because if that happened, it would mean the Grand Swordmaster had sided with Demons, changing the nature of the conflict entirely. At that point, applying for a Demon Huntress Nun from the Holy Cultivator Guild headquarters would be a natural step.

He just needed to file the report, and plenty of people would approve the request.

Following the plan, the two saw the enemy’s energy nearly drained, then performed a feint before quickly retreating.

By the time Grand Swordmaster Alonso Tiersha realized their intent, it was too late; the two had already used the convenience of being Death Devotees to swiftly return to the mortal world.

"No! Damn it! No!"

The mortal world.

Outside the town of Dadley.

Ashu and Ymir returned unharmed, but they had spent a great deal of stamina to earn that safety.

Fighting a Grand Swordmaster required not only draining the opponent’s stamina but also making sure not to get injured by him—a task demanding the utmost focus.

"Let’s go back to the cave to rest first."

"Okay!"

The two returned to their border cave, where Anna was already waiting with prepared rations.

At this time, dusk was falling. Even though it wasn’t winter yet, the border was quite cold.

If they were mere mortals, survival here would be tough; luckily, all three were cultivators.

Ashu accepted the rations and hot soup Anna handed him, then stepped inside the cave.

While recovering his strength, he also sensed the changes in the Magical Essence.

He hadn’t forgotten Vivita’s warning for a single moment. The Royal Family’s formal invitation was not something he could decline.

Unless he left the Atras Empire.

Unfortunately, he had only just managed to establish his footing here.

Since he was to attend and preside over an Imperial Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony, Ashu’s previous life as a corporate drone made him all too familiar with the situation.

If he compared the Royal Family to a company’s headquarters and himself as the top salesperson in a branch office, he immediately understood the stakes involved.

The benefit was that as long as he performed well, rewards would not be lacking. But promotions? Those were almost impossible.

He could only get some tangible rewards and an unspoken kind of "backing." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Whether someone had backing or not made all the difference in the workplace.

The same was true in this world.

If the "luminous saint" wasn’t supported by the Divine Mother Goddess, what could the "luminous saint" really amount to?

With benefits, of course, came drawbacks.

When the CEO of the company headquarters suddenly invites the top salesperson from a branch, it’s either a random choice or someone’s playing dirty behind the scenes, deliberately putting his name forward.

But no matter which it is, once he arrives, he’s sure to face some sort of initiation or hazing.

There’s a high probability of a hidden possibility: he’s being used as a pawn, and someone intends to use him for something.

What exactly that something is, he can’t figure out yet, but one thing’s certain—if this matter goes wrong, his role as a pawn will likely lead to him being discarded.

To put it bluntly, it could mean a death sentence.

Ashu’s mind just wanted to sing a song titled "We’re All Struggling to Live."

People fear fame as pigs fear fattening; solving one problem just brings countless others.

To solve these troubles, he had no choice but to grow stronger step by step.

With tens of thousands of Divine Points fueling his cultivation, he progressed effortlessly, like a fish in water or a tiger with wings. Just one night of training raised his usual level all the way to mid-level Archmage.

The next day at dawn.

With his recovery skill, Ashu charged his body early, and not only that, he also fully charged Anna.

According to plan, after fully recovering, they could continue to harass the Grand Swordmaster in the Netherrealm.

Ashu washed his face with river water and suddenly came up with a good idea.

Resources in the Netherrealm were extremely scarce. Demons were not like beasts—you could kill and eat a beast, but killing a Demon meant it was gone, turned to ashes.

As for the Restless Souls, they were even more inedible.

Nothing edible to humans could grow on that blood-red land.

So, presumably, the Grand Swordmaster must be both hungry and thirsty right now.

If at this moment, he ’accidentally’ found some food, no matter how cautious he was, he’d probably still be tempted to take a few bites.

And if some laxatives were mixed into that food, it would be very hard to detect. After all, laxatives aren’t deadly poisons; they often have little smell, are hard to notice, and some even carry the aroma of the food itself.

After the Grand Swordmaster ate it, all that would be left would be diarrhea. A real hero struggles to endure three bouts of diarrhea.

Ashu didn’t even need to actively drain his energy; the Grand Swordmaster would just exhaust himself on his own.

So.

While searching for wild game in the morning, Ashu casually found many herbs suitable as laxatives in the mountains. After more than ten years as a farmer, finding medicinal herbs was second nature to him.

Near the border, leaning toward the Kingdom of Ankgarde’s territory, Ashu quickly hunted a deer using Magical Essence.

He removed the deer’s hind legs for the three of them to eat, while the ribs were cut off to be prepared for roasting.

Before long.

The ribs were infused with the laxative potion, giving them a special flavor. If he hadn’t known there was laxative in the meat, Ashu might have even been tempted to take a bite himself.

"Anna, Ymir, you guys eat first. I’ll go deliver some breakfast to the Grand Swordmaster."

Saying that,

Ashu activated "Reaper’s Resolve" mode and, as a Death Devotee, effortlessly entered the Netherrealm.

The vast Netherrealm made it very difficult for mortals to pinpoint entry and exit points.

But this was not difficult for a Death Devotee.

He pinpointed the location of yesterday’s great battle. It was obvious that the Grand Swordmaster had already moved far away from there. Presumably, he had realized he couldn’t let the Demons drain too much of his stamina.

At just that moment, a Demon ran over.

Ashu focused his gaze and saw that the newcomer had the head of a rooster, but a body similar to a human’s.

"Sir? Sir!"

"It’s you." Ashu sighed, thinking the timing was perfect. This rooster-headed Demon was the one he had previously subdued at the Marauder camp.

The rooster-headed Demon looked at Ashu’s transformed figure, eyes betraying undeniable admiration.

Ashu flicked his hand and tossed a large piece of ribs to the rooster-headed Demon.

The latter sniffed the scent of the meat in his hand, drooling from the fragrance.

That meat had no seasoning, only laxatives.

Yet somehow, the laxatives had marinated it into flavor.

"Rooster-head, this meat is not for you to eat," Ashu warned. "Since you’ve come here, it means you sensed a human entered. Take this piece of meat and ’accidentally’ find that human. As for the rest, I suppose I don’t need to tell you what to do."

The rooster-headed Demon held the ribs with both hands, the greasy juices staining his hands. He hurriedly responded, "Okay, okay, Sir!"

After saying that,

Ashu turned and returned to the mortal world.

The rooster-headed Demon watched Ashu leave, then greedily stared at the ribs in his hands.

This was a delicacy from the human world—something he had never tasted even as a Marauder.

"Heh heh, no wonder those guys like to possess humans. The food in the mortal realm is really... sniff, mmm, so delicious!"

The rooster-headed Demon was intoxicated by the ribs in his hands. His eyes darted around to confirm no one was watching, then he couldn’t resist taking a small peck.

That exquisite flavor exploded instantly across his taste buds.

At this moment,

he had not yet realized the effect of the medicine.

"No, no, this is the task the Sir gave me. I can’t be greedy."

The rooster-headed Demon suddenly snapped back to awareness, quickly grabbed the ribs, and set off to track the Grand Swordmaster’s trail.

Back when he was a Marauder, he was already skilled at roaming the vast Netherrealm lands.

Now,

finding a lost Grand Swordmaster was a piece of cake.

In less than half a day,

he found the human’s figure in a canyon.

From what he could see, the Grand Swordmaster showed no obvious fatigue yet—after all, he was a physical cultivator.

But he still couldn’t find food or water, and his eyes had begun to show hints of irritation.

"Damn bastard! When I find a way out, I’ll chop you guys to pieces!" Alonso·Tiersha cursed.

At that moment, a scent of meat wafted through the distant mist.

His sharp senses accurately pinpointed the source.

"What’s this?!"

Alonso·Tiersha’s eyes lit up, immediately struck by the thought of filling his hungry stomach.

He quietly drew his longsword and stealthily moved toward the source.

Today, whether it was Undead, Demons, or cultists trapped in the Netherrealm, he would kill them all and seize their food.

After walking several dozen steps again,

the mist before him began to clear, and he saw a rooster-headed Demon casually strolling while holding a rack of ribs.

Judging by his senses, this rooster-headed Demon was not very powerful, and there was still grease from the meat clinging to his beak.

"Heh heh, after all that searching and no luck, the prize just falls right into my lap!"

A smug smile appeared on Alonso·Tiersha’s face. Such a large rack of ribs surely meant the Demon had hunted for quite some time to get it. He hadn’t eaten it quickly, likely out of consideration for his team.

If that was the case, then the Demons wouldn’t need to waste their mouths.

With this food, he could hold out for quite a while—enough energy to help him find a way out.

"Flashcut Sword Style!"

The Grand Swordmaster reversed his grip on the longsword, his footwork infused with Magical Essence, suddenly erupting forward.

He was like a flash of cold light, passing swiftly through the rooster-headed Demon.

In the sword’s wake, the rooster-headed Demon’s head fell off with a snap, while the Grand Swordmaster’s sword firmly caught the rack of ribs, preventing it from dropping to the ground.

"Sniff... hmm, this Demon’s technique is ordinary, but good enough to eat."

The Grand Swordmaster applied some wrist strength, breaking the meat into several pieces. He traced a sword arc and swallowed one piece.

Ashu’s "diarrhea-inducing meal" for him was naturally only edible at best. In the resource-scarce Netherrealm, making it too delicious would only raise suspicion.