As civilization on the Igudra Continent kept growing and thriving, people’s tastes got broader too. All kinds of odd little fetishes “awakened” among the masses—one of them being a love for legs.

On the surface, Captain Aosufu was strict and righteous, the very picture of a stern commander.

Underneath that? He was exactly that type of guy.

That’s right, Aosufu had a full-blown leg fetish. In the broad sense: he adored beautiful legs. As long as they were good legs, he didn’t care if they were on a man or a woman.

Legs worthy of catching his eye had to be firm, powerful—and also slender, soft, perfectly rounded.

On a man, legs symbolized strength: thick tendons, tanned bronze skin shining with a healthy gloss.

On a girl, beautiful legs could be wrapped in eye-catching white stockings, black stockings, garter belts, thigh-highs and so on. Those long legs wrapped just right could easily make someone’s breathing grow heavy and their mind go astray.

However, when a pair of legs with no upper body at all appeared in front of him…

On every level, that moment completely overturned Aosufu’s understanding of being a “leg man.” He stopped doubting for even a second that he was a perfectly normal person—because he actually started throwing up.

The main charm of legs was contrast.

They set off a man’s agile, powerful build, giving him a solid base and a body packed with explosive strength.

They set off a woman’s graceful curves, making her even more alluring; those long legs under a swaying skirt were the focal point that hooked a man’s gaze.

All that charm needed nice legs to show it off.

But legs that had lost their body had absolutely zero beauty to speak of.

Aosufu’s eyes went wide with rage.

“This is definitely not the kind of beautiful legs I like! Everyone on guard, get ready for battle! I’m cutting that filthy thing into pieces!”

The lower half of the body—just legs—ran frantically, as if trying to escape the sight of Aosufu and the others.

Aosufu snorted coldly and ordered his men to raise their guns.

A burst of rapid gunfire rang out. The legs twisted and swayed, dodging most of the bullets. Even when they were hit, a layer of black water film blocked the shots.

“Out of the way. This disgusting thing that insults the beauty in my heart is mine.”

Aosufu waved his subordinates back. He stared at the pair of legs charging straight at him, drew the broad greatsword at his waist, and rushed to meet it.

“Fire Sigil—Blazing Flame!”

His sigil burned slightly hot.

His own Nature Energy quickly condensed into flames that flooded across the blade. Aosufu raised the greatsword with one hand and hacked down hard. A streak of scorching fire tore away from the edge of the sword.

From between the two thighs, that part which clearly belonged to a man suddenly jerked upright, then sprayed out a jet of black water with terrifying pressure. Since ancient times, water snuffing out fire had been an unchanging truth. Naturally, the flame on Aosufu’s sword was swallowed up by that black stream, and the remaining blaze on the blade was doused as well. The extra splash of water plastered his face…

Aosufu froze for a moment.

He hadn’t expected to experience the legendary “golden shower” in his lifetime.

He wiped the liquid off his face and was so furious he almost started hopping mad.

He forced himself to steady his stance.

“Fire Sigil—Carbon Slash!”

Aosufu ground the words out between his teeth. The sigil on his hand flared wildly, firelight bursting forth again.

The flames that had been extinguished reignited along the blade, burning hotter than before. This time they even overpowered the water, and the flaming sword cleaved straight through that black water film without effort.

Aosufu started hacking away like a madman at that revolting thing causing all the trouble.

Squelch—

The male “symbol” between the legs was chopped clean off and fell to the ground. If Lal knew he’d not only died but got neutered afterward, he’d probably climb back out of hell just to settle the score with Aosufu.

But the one in a rage right now was Aosufu. Even a wild flurry of slashes didn’t calm him down. He simply flung his sword aside, grabbed the two feet of the lower body with both hands, and yanked hard in opposite directions.

Rip— With a tearing sound, the thick legs were ripped cleanly in half.

Aosufu let out a cold chuckle and casually tossed the torn limbs aside.

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, a dark shadow leaped up behind him.

Hiss…

Aosufu suddenly felt a sharp pain right at his chrysanthemum.

He twisted his stiff neck around and looked back—only to see the severed male organ wrapped in a layer of purple-black water film, stabbing into his butt like a dagger.

“Waaah—”

The cavalry around him erupted into an uproar at the sight.

Their captain’s rear just got blown open? Was there… some kind of “deal” going on here?!

The riders whispered among themselves, some snickering, some cracking jokes, some turning away because they really couldn’t bear to watch.

“Damn it! What’re you laughing at? I’ll deal with all of you later!”

Turned into a laughingstock, Aosufu gritted his teeth against the pain in his butt, yanked the thing out, tossed it up low into the air, and then kicked it with all his strength, sending it flying deep into the forest.

Once it hit the ground, the thing immediately darted away and vanished.

“The hell did I do to deserve this? My first time back there is just gone like that!”

Aosufu’s face went a mottled black and red. Clutching his backside, he let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. He didn’t notice at all that a stream of purple-black Netherborn energy seeped in from behind and invaded his body.

“What rotten luck…”

He slapped some medicine on the wound at his rear, then snatched a piece of dry flatbread from a knight who’d laughed at him earlier. Leaning against a tree, he took a vicious bite. After days of eating raw meat he felt sick of it. And this brat had actually kept bread hidden? If he didn’t rob him, who else would he rob?

Ever since he’d started chasing that Silverhaired Maiden, nothing good had happened. First the mass panic at the imperial station, then the collapsed steel bridge. He’d finally managed to disguise himself as a merchant and slip into the Eastern Pearl Empire, only for her to bring in a whole bunch of reinforcements.

Then he lost contact with his vice-captain, and lost the girl’s trail too. He’d sent scouts out, but not a single useful piece of information had come back.

They’d camped wherever they could on the spot, and then they had to run into this kind of freak show.

He felt like a man swallowing bitter herbs with his mouth clamped shut—too much suffering with nowhere to complain.

Aosufu had a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent. The knights of his order kept their voices low, afraid to set him off.

That only made him even madder.

“They’re gonna piss me off to death! This is suffocating! The one in charge of rations, get over here!”

Aosufu finally exploded.

The men resting with him looked at each other. No one wanted to step forward.

“Captain, that’d be me.”

In the end, a skinny knight stood up, forcing himself to answer.

“Fangao? Good. Go get me some birds! I wanna eat bird today!”

“Yes, sir! I’ll go get some birds right away!”

Fangao muttered under his breath, voice small.

“But there aren’t any birds… Why does he want bird, anyway?”

“The boss just got stabbed by a bird. He wants to eat birds for revenge.”

His fellow knight burst out laughing.

“Where am I supposed to find birds for him?”

Fangao’s muttering reached Aosufu’s ears. The captain shot him a glare and pointed up at the sky.

A white-winged figure was flying far above the forest, against the blue sky.

“Look. Isn’t that one?”

“C-Captain, that really isn’t a bird…”

Fangao raised a hand to block the sun and stared, then turned back with an innocent bitter smile.

“If that’s not a bird, what is it, huh? A bird-man? You gonna contradict me too?”

Aosufu laughed angrily.

“It is a bird-man, Captain.”

“What?”

Seeing that Fangao didn’t look like he was lying, Aosufu turned again and looked more closely at the figure flying overhead.

Wasn’t that the Silverhaired Maiden he’d been searching so hard for?

“Talk about just walking right into my hands…”

Aosufu slapped his thigh, so excited he didn’t even bother packing up. He shouted for his men to get moving.

“Hurry it up. Pack your stuff, we’re moving out!”

“Captain, we haven’t finished eating yet!”

The knights cried out in misery.

“Eat what? Eat a ghost!”

Aosufu kicked the chubby knight who’d been grumbling behind him.

“If we let her get away this time, you won’t be eating anything tomorrow either! Quit whining and move!”

…

Verlith had chased the running lower body all the way to this forest, flying overhead the whole time, completely unaware she’d already drawn the attention of Aosufu and his men.

The Voltus Empire knights were chasing on the ground. Naturally they couldn’t follow the exact same route as Verlith.

Where Verlith could fly in a straight line, those poor bastards had to detour a long way around just to keep her in sight.

It wasn’t long before the half-starved knights were gasping for breath.

“Damn it, how can that woman fly so fast?!”

Fangao wiped the sweat off his forehead and complained to the knight beside him, Romis.

“Save your strength. Once we catch her, there’s gonna be one hell of a fight.”

Romis chopped aside a clump of brush blocking the path.

“Yeah, you’re right…”

Fangao sighed and could only join Romis in hacking their way through the undergrowth.

…

Flying over the dense forest, Verlith had actually lost track of the running legs. She circled around aimlessly in the sky, and that in turn drove the knight order to run crazily after her, getting dragged farther and farther away from their camp.

Once the knights had completely left the area, she actually turned back and flew toward the forest where they’d been camping.

Verlith landed roughly where the lower half of the body had disappeared.

She walked around, observing her surroundings.

She could sense a faint Netherborn scent in the air. Knowing she’d found the right place, she searched even more carefully.

Just then, an unnatural rustling in a patch of grass caught her attention.

Suddenly, something long and snake-like shot out.

When she got a clear look, she sucked in a breath. The corner of her mouth twitched.

It was… it was a penis.

And not just that—the Netherborn aura was coming from it.

Hadn’t that Netherborn Elf hidden itself inside Lal’s lower body before?

“I can already see you. Hiding is pointless now, don’t you think?”

The moment Verlith finished speaking—

The organ flared with a shocking surge of Netherborn energy. With a boom, it exploded like a grotesque firework, black blood splattering everywhere.

Verlith seemed to feel a phantom pain between her legs and instinctively squeezed her thighs together, only to realize there was nothing there anymore—she’d long since lost that thing.

She gave a helpless, wry smile.

Still, after tracking it half the day, the Netherborn Elf had finally shown itself.

A mass of purple-black gas slowly gathered into a clump and then gently took form.

The Netherborn Elf that appeared before her had a thick, round, bulky torso, but its four limbs were short like stumps.

Its head was large and round, with barely any visible eyes or ears. Its mouth was huge and frightening, lower canines thick and sharp. Its skin looked very tough. Aside from some sparse black hair on the snout, tail, and around the ears, the rest of its hairless, smooth skin was completely exposed to the air, showing a purple-brown color.

“Could this be…”

Verlith searched her memory for information on this kind of creature.

This Netherborn Elf looked very much like the “Behemoth” recorded in mythic literature.

Behemoth—its name came from a mythical scripture called the Old Testament, a beast described in the Book of Job.

Verses 15 to 18 said:

“This is Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like an ox.

Its strength is in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly.

It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are knit together.

Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron.”

Verse 23 said:

“Behold, if the river is turbulent it is not frightened;

it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.”

Many scholars of mythic literature believed Behemoth was actually based on the hippopotamus, since the text said it lived in water, ate plants, and had a huge mouth. Some others thought Behemoth was a creature similar to an elephant.

In later legends, Behemoth turned into a demon ruling over darkness. Some even believed it was an incarnation of “Satan” from those same myths.

—Of course, those existed only in myth and literature.

In reality, some Netherborn Elves and Tree Spirits did have bodies that resembled mythical monsters, but Verlith knew they were different beings. As for why they looked similar, no one knew. She could only chalk it up as the Tree God’s doing.

Either way, it didn’t shake her resolve to take this Netherborn Elf down.

After tracking it for most of the day, dusk was close. Only faint, scattered light slipped through the dense canopy overhead, nowhere near enough to push back the gloomy shadows between the trees. Darkness and cold seeped through the forest.

“I’ll call you Behemoth, then.”

The Behemoth shrouded in purple‑black Nether Qi let out a sharp “Gawu!” and slammed forward, its body wrapped in an inky film of water.

Verlith frowned and slipped sideways to dodge, but the Behemoth suddenly swerved, ramming straight into her and sending her flying.

If an ordinary person took a hit like that, they’d be dead on the spot. Even an Elven Sorcerer would be in bad shape. But Verlith was no ordinary person.

She had already stepped into her Divine Wind Dance Steps. Borrowing the force of the blow, she flipped backward into the air. Her wings fluttered lightly, her long legs kicked off the ground with agile precision, and the powerful rebound made the trees around them shudder nonstop as leaves scattered down.

Riding that recoil, with her wings boosting her speed, Verlith shot toward the Behemoth. Her right fist drove forward, wrapped in a fierce pressure of wind, hammering straight at it.

“Gawu wu…”

The Behemoth released the black water coating its body and condensed it ahead of itself into a thick, sticky water shield.

With a wet splat, her pink fist, arm and all, sank into the black water shield.

She realized she couldn’t pull her arm back out.

Even an attack launched with so many layers of force had been stopped cold.

“Huh? Using this trick again? Yeah, water can accept and contain everything!”

“But that doesn’t mean you can handle everything that comes your way!”

The Silverhaired Maiden’s eyes suddenly turned incomparably cold. The aura around her shifted in an instant, and a shocking pressure swept across the field.