Chapter 673: A Goddess's Dignity? No Longer Needed

And that girl who had transformed from the Desire Mother Tree had absolutely never imagined that this bastard would dare to loop his dirty hand around her, putting on an act like he didn't know any better.

"Let go! Or I'll kill you!"

That girl's tone turned noticeably cold.

Even with the vines between them, even though she was merely a projection of consciousness, this vile act of desecration still made her furious.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Lynn didn't make any unnecessary trouble either. He obediently moved his left hand away.

The Desire Mother Tree gritted her teeth in anger. "The other one!"

"Sorry!"

Lynn put his left hand back in its original position, then obediently moved his right hand away.

"..."

A brief deathly silence.

Gusts of wind blew past, rustling against both of them like they were fused statues.

The Desire Mother Tree lowered her head and took a deep breath.

The hand gripping his leg tightened.

There was simply...

no more...

"tolerating this!!"

Almost in that same instant, the two hands grabbing Lynn's legs suddenly exerted force. Lynn felt the world spin as his entire body flipped three hundred and sixty degrees. That girl, infuriated beyond words, flipped him over her head and slammed him face-first onto the ground before him with lightning speed.

Smack—

Face-first.

But clearly, this still couldn't extinguish that furious girl's anger. She rolled up her sleeves and stalked over, flames of rage surging.

"(Glaring) Stop! I'm telling you, my weak heart can't take this! If you dare abuse me, when that monster inside my head comes out, you won't get away with it!"

"Let it come out then! If I don't teach you this little bastard a lesson today, my fury won't be quelled!"

"Stop!"

"Too late!"

Bang—

A goddess's dignity and all that? No longer needed!

(╬｀皿´#)

Anyway, there were only the two of them in this ghostly place. Beating him half to death wouldn't be seen by anyone!

This was just too much! This son of a bitch—your grandmother had lived this long and had truly never seen such a vile creature before! Give him a little sunshine and he blossoms; give him a pole and he'll climb straight to the sky!

If she didn't beat him to death today, she'd give up being human!

[Ding! Desire Mother Tree's anger toward you: +21]

[Ding! Desire Mother Tree's anger toward you: +31]

And so, in the thick blood mist, this scene unfolded.

A young girl with willow-green hair like cascading branches furiously clenched her fists, hovering over the young man on the ground, beating him with no technique whatsoever—just pure frustration-fueled assault. Fists and kicks, and when that wasn't satisfying enough, she somehow conjured a small stool and started pounding him relentlessly.

Screams echoed one after another.

Skin split and flesh mangled.

If anyone had witnessed this, they would have been utterly shocked, because no matter how you looked at it, this was hardly behavior befitting a goddess—it looked more like a street-fighting girl.

...

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Walk faster!"

That verdant young girl (▼ヘ▼#) held a rattan switch in her hand. A long vine could be seen trailing from her grasp, with the other end tied around both of Lynn's wrists as he staggered ahead.

Crack—

She whipped the ground at Lynn's feet, kicking up dust.

Lynn was ragged and bruised, his face swollen with an exasperated, twitching expression as he glanced back at that still-furious girl.

"She's practically a thug."

Lynn muttered under his breath.

"Who just comes in swinging like a wild flailing turtle fist??"

But as soon as he muttered, another crack rang out at his feet as the rattan whip lashed the ground, followed by the girl's angry shout from behind.

"What are you mumbling about? Walk faster! If you don't hurry up, I'll break your dog legs!"

Lynn's temper flared instantly.

But obviously—

After his series of provocations, the Desire Mother Tree had clearly been riled up by him.

Otherwise, why would she abandon all goddessly restraint and roll up her sleeves to come at him?

Still, the effect was obvious.

After this episode, he had bought himself another significant delay. And judging by the time, the projection of fear should already be descending upon them by now.

(╬｀皿´#)

Lynn put on a defeated, black-faced expression.

Right now, the most important thing was to keep her steady. Before the projection descended, she mustn't sense anything unusual.

"Hurts now, does it? Where did all that arrogance from earlier go? Weren't you asking me to carry you? Come on, I'll carry you!"

Behind him.

That girl swung the rattan in her hand, looking down at the guy ahead with a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes.

Clearly, she was very relaxed.

Perhaps not even she realized that her behavior was starting to look less like the old, cunning, mysterious Desire Mother Tree of the Ancient Gods era, and more like the carefree woodland sprite from three thousand years ago, before her fall.

Lynn's eyes darted around as he calculated the approximate time, then spat out harsh words in the most appropriate way:

"Don't get too cocky. As they say, fortunes change over thirty years. Wait a few centuries, and I'll be the one holding the rattan whip and beating you!"

Crack—

The moment he finished speaking.

Another whip strike hit the ground at his feet, kicking up dust.

"Heh!"

That girl laughed, hoisting the whip over her shoulder, holding the vine that bound him, and tapping her own shoulder with the switch. "You? In a few centuries? That's absolutely laughable. You must have some misunderstanding about a Ancient God's power. Which Fallen One, before their fall, didn't endure thousands of years of hibernation and effort? Do you think you were born into a royal family? You want to reach someone else's finish line in a few hundred years?"

"Instead of wasting time on useless thoughts, you'd be better off figuring out how to latch onto some big shot and beg for scraps like a dog! Heh!"

She swung the rattan in her hand cheerfully, a light, triumphant glint in her eyes.

Hopping along.

Obviously.

After being disgusted enough to abandon all goddessly dignity and beat him to a pulp, she had simply let herself go. After all, there were only her and that shameless bastard in this place. She could do whatever she wanted. Even if she didn't kill him later, no one would believe him if he spread the story.

"Walk faster! Did you not eat dinner or what?!"

The girl barked.

Crack—

The rattan whip struck the ground at Lynn's feet again, making his temper surge.

Lynn closed his eyes, grinding his molars with a creaking sound.

Right now, he was enduring humiliation for a greater purpose.

But if he ever got the chance, he swore he would crush this so-called goddess into submission. He would make her, like someone unwanted, beg pathetically for food, letting her taste what it felt like to be bullied by an iron fist.

Wasn't she the one who loved control?

Then let her experience firsthand what it meant to fall!

(╬｀皿´#)

In his mind, Lynn had already abused her a hundred times over!