Chapter 48 Empty AmbitionThe lake water was indeed icy cold, as the female knight had rightly warned.But that wasn't the real issue;Leoric had anticipated the chill of the lake water at night, mentally prepared for it—the real problem was that he had been tossed into the lake while clutching his clean clothes meant for post-bath change.Would he have to run back to the tent dripping wet? Or run naked?The lake was quite a distance from the tent, and though it was the middle of the night, running naked didn't seem appropriate either;Leoric was quite shy. So, running back in wet clothes? But the lake water was already cold, and rushing through a bath without a change of dry clothes, followed by the night breeze, would surely make him sick...After much hesitation, he chose to run naked. Fortunately, the desert was deserted at this hour, andLeoric sprinted back to the tent, shivering uncontrollably, his teeth chattering. He quickly donned another set of clothes from his pack, even wrapping a cloak around himself. Sitting cross-legged, he focused on his qi for a long while, until his body gradually warmed up."This is outrageous!" he muttered.But it was just a random complaint. Peeking at someone's naked body for half a day and receiving punishment as mild as a dip in the lake was quite a fair deal. He couldn't expect them to throw themselves at him or anything.However, she was truly stunning...Lying in bed,Leoric's mind kept flashing back to the female knight's naked, moonlit body, unforgettable. Unlike any girl he had ever seen, her body exuded a robust health and power, akin to a female leopard. Even from afar, one could feel the youthful vigor emanating from her.To recap, Freya represented petite, delicate, and purity; Leovena combined heroism with charm; while this female knight emanated more of a valiant and masculine aura. This was perhaps tied to their backgrounds—Freya was a sheltered aristocrat, Leovena a civilian orphan who grew up independently, and the female knight a seasoned warrior.Leoric's heart itched uncontrollably, imagining himself subduing such a valiant and beautiful woman. He wondered what expression her always calm and indifferent face would wear then. Men were like that, the more valiant and masculine a woman was, the more irresistible the urge to conquer her became. That's probably why so many erotic novels featured female policemen.Leoric had always been a "sister-complex"—not quite the same as a lolicon, but generally, between an older sister type and a loli, he leaned more towards the former. Of course, "older sister" and "loli" couldn't be defined by age alone, but by aura. If he had encountered a Freya-like loli, it would have been different, but for this big sister type, he always lacked self-control."No way, I have to get her somehow. Such a fine piece of ass, if I miss this opportunity, I'd be doing myself a disservice... No, it's not just about getting her, I have to keep her by my side, to soothe and entertain me during the journey, hehehe..."Though he couldn't see his own eyes, they must have been glowing like a hungry wolf's. However, ambitious thoughts were easy to come by, and empty boasts were even easier, but if one couldn't back them up, they were just empty talk, inviting ridicule.Leoric racked his brains but couldn't come up with a plan. If he forced himself on her, he'd surely be beheaded in one swift move; drugging her was also difficult, as they hardly had any contact opportunities and didn't eat together, not to mention she was always accompanied by three priests. It seemed his only hope was for her to fall in love with him and throw herself at him—but that seemed unlikely, especially after he had been caught peeping on her bath and left such a bad impression.Having exhausted all possible methods,Leoric still couldn't come up with a good idea. She wasn't alone, her martial skills were formidable, and she was clearly no novice. She was simply impeccable.If he had enough time, perhaps he could slowly look for an opportunity; but they were about to reach Escaro, and soon after, they would part ways in the desert. Where was the opportunity then? Oh right, he didn't even know where they were heading. If they were going the same way, that would be perfect.But on second thought, even if they were on the same path, they might not accept him as a companion. Now, trapped in the desert, they had no choice but to stick together. Once out of the desert, they would go their separate ways. Would the female knight allow a pervert who had peeked on her bath to follow her?Unable to sleep,Leoric tossed and turned all night without coming up with a plan. He stuffed the wet clothes into a bundle and shoved them into his pack. The only minor inconvenience was that some of the magical materials in his wizard's robe had also gotten wet and were unusable. Fortunately, he had backups in his pack, so it wasn't a big deal.Before he knew it, dawn had broken. Outside the tent, the Bedai people began stirring, preparing to set off.The group trudged through the desert, braving the scorching sun.Leoric felt dizzy, probably due to catching a chill the previous night and now being baked by the sun. The desert's drastic temperature changes were too much for his frail body to handle. He was never physically strong, and though he had a rudimentary foundation in internal martial arts, it seemed to have stagnated, unable to advance further.He could only conclude that he was indeed a natural martial arts idiot, with an underdeveloped occipital bone.Feeling his forehead, he detected a slight fever. "Oh no, please don't let me get sick," he thought. Being away from home, without friends or family to take care of him, getting sick would be disastrous.All in all, it was that female knight's fault. Someday, he would definitely get back at her in bed... Wait, he remembered, among the low-level spells he specialized in, there was one called Animate Rope, which could animate a rope or rope-like object, like a rolled-up piece of clothing. When he saw it in the library, he immediately thought it was perfect for SM and copied it into his spellbook, but he never got around to learning it. Someday, he would definitely master it and use it on the female knight, hehehe...Daydreaming about tying up the female knight with ropes, the slight feverish sensation seemed to disappear. But in the end, it was all just fantasy. Without actually getting her into bed, all his tricks would be useless.Damn, thinking about the real obstacles made his head ache again...They didn't find an oasis today and had to camp in the desert, but everyone was in a good mood. Tomorrow afternoon, they would reach Escaro City, and the Bedai would return home, whileLeoric and the others would escape their ordeal.As they set up camp,Leoric meditated and adjusted his qi in his tent, then cast a Light spell and pulled out his spellbook to study. Over the past half-month, the journey had been too arduous for him to focus on honing his magical abilities, so he hadn't made any progress or learned any new spells. Remembering the Animate Rope spell on the way, he decided to learn it now. Even if he couldn't use it in bed for now, he could at least use it to tie up enemies in battle... Wait, he seemed to have gotten the use backwards; Animate Rope wasn't originally intended for SM...Oops! The wizard who invented this spell, rest his soul, must be furious in heaven.Speaking of Change School magic, which focused on altering objects' forms, there were indeed many spells that could be used in bed. Like Enlarge Person, Reduce Person, Animate Rope... There was also Bear's Endurance, which could temporarily enhance one's constitution; Bull's Strength, which could temporarily increase strength; Cat's Grace, which could speed up movements; Owl's Insight, which could sharpen senses; and higher-level spells like Haste, Dragon's Strength, and Greater Enlarge Person... Damn, they were all so lewd.Leoric now wondered if his choice of specializing in Change School magic was influenced by these reasons. Although he didn't seem to have considered this aspect when making the choice, maybe it was a subconscious calling..."I'm really evil," he thought satisfiedly.Animate Rope was a very low-level spell, manageable even for fourth-year students.Leoric just hadn't gotten around to learning it yet. With his current abilities, it didn't take him long to grasp the essentials.It was already deep into the night, around two or three in the morning.Leoric felt refreshed and had no intention of sleeping. After reading his spellbook for a while, he reviewed all the spells he had mastered before. Standing up and stretching, he decided to take a stroll outside. After all, he hadn't seen the desert nightscape in so many days. Last night, he had rushed out in a hurry to bathe and ran back naked, shivering, so he hadn't had the mind to appreciate the night view.The moonlight was as bright as frost in late autumn, illuminating the boundless desert like a snowy wasteland. The night wind was icy cold, and the temperature had dropped significantly.Leoric tightened his cloak and wandered around.After strolling aimlessly for a while, he unconsciously approached the campsite of the three priests and the female knight. Their tents were all dark, indicating they were asleep.Leoric was about to turn back when a figure caught his eye at the corner of his vision.Dressed in silver armor, she was clearly visible even in the dead of night, especially with the bright moonlight. By her silhouette, it was the female knight who had thrownLeoric into the lake last night.Leoric felt a twinge of fear but was also curious. Since they weren't camping by a lake tonight and there was no place to bathe, what was she doing outside at this hour?

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