Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 354: Empress Catherine?!

"What are you doing?" Noan sighed.

"Ah! Master!"

"Master, Violette doesn't want to follow your plan." Maisy immediately spoke up, startling Violette.

"You... what the hell are you saying?" Violette hurried to explain: "Master, don't listen to that milk cow's nonsense, I'm only trying to help you deal with those miserable lords."

"Huh! Helping the Master?" Maisy scoffed: "You killing so many lords is 'helping the Master'?"

"What do you even know?" Violette shouted back. "They are not loyal to the Master and plan to rebel. Killing them early would be better."

"If we let them live, they'll become ticking time bombs, causing countless troubles for us later."

"Ah!" Maisy laughed. "But we can use them for other things. You must understand that manpower in this world is very limited — if a person dies, they're gone, and we may very well face Rank C lords in the next wave."

"Then we should kill those bastards even more!" Violette barked. "Only then can we safely develop and strengthen the army — only then can we unite and fight."

Noan heard them and could guess what was happening. He sighed: "Alright! I roughly understand what's going on. Violette, you are not wrong."

Violette heard that and tossed her chin toward Maisy, smiling triumphantly.

"However..." Noan continued, "killing too many is not good. We need labor. Even if they lose their status as lords, they can still be useful."

"Maisy, you're right. For a group of people who can no longer fight, we don't need to kill them. Let them work for us; in dangerous times, they can act as our shield."

Maisy glanced at Violette, curled her lip, her face full of triumph while Violette looked irritated, grinding her teeth.

"Alright! You've done very well. From now on, stabilize them and determine the numbers. I don't want any fish slipping through this net, understand?"

"We understand, Master." Maisy and Violette answered in unison.

Noan nodded, speaking softly: "Get to work. When the numbers are stable, come see me."

After saying that, Maisy and Violette didn't leave immediately; they looked at him with greedy eyes and smiles that made him shudder.

Of course he knew what they wanted, but right now he had many things to deal with, so he politely declined.

Maisy and Violette left disappointed, but Noan still gave them a chance tonight to keep them happy.

Zhisse crawled onto his shoulder, chirping happily: "Krit! Krit!"

"Zhisse... have you been well?" Noan asked with a smile, gently rubbing its head.

"Krit! Krit!" Zhisse said, waving its two front legs as if to show it was very happy.

But the second Zhisse did not feel that way. Previously she had been able to control Zhisse's body, but recently she could no longer control it.

After many useless attempts, she finally conserved her strength and waited for another opportunity.

'Tsk! Disgusting. Does he plan to sleep with every woman?' the second Zhisse thought in disgust. 'Ah! When will I get out of this situation. I don't want to continue like this.'

Lately, besides weaving cloth and making many outfits, Zhisse had done nothing else.

To the point that the second Zhisse thought Zhisse had become a vegetarian spider.

But aside from those tasks, what else could she do?

Those Skeletons were unbelievably strong, wiping out enemies as easily as slicing cake.

Besides them there were Vylyss, Malrik and Drakhan — beings whose strength drove her to despair.

'Ah! Speaking of Vylyss, I haven't found her recently...' the second Zhisse mumbled inwardly. 'Could she be on a mission somewhere else?'

Noan played with Zhisse, but his gaze seemed to see through the truth that another soul dwelled within Zhisse.

Still, he wasn't overly worried. Zhisse could not betray him, and Zhisse was not stronger than him.

If he wanted, Zhisse would certainly die instantly.

However... one thing puzzled him: Zhisse was an insect. If the Insect Queen appeared, would the contract between him and Zhisse be broken?

'It seems I have no choice but to cooperate with Aldric. After all, he has goodwill and holds many more secrets.'

Noan sighed; at present there were too many things he didn't know. Acting recklessly might lead him into dangers he couldn't imagine.

By now he had stepped into the boundary of taboos. One wrong step and he would fall into a bottomless pit.

Noan thought of something and murmured, "Perhaps I should meet her for a bit."

Having said that, he immediately vanished.

...

Inside a vast cavern, Noan stood before a familiar stone door and spoke softly: "Carlotta, I've come again."

Silence...

Noan sighed. He knew Carlotta's temperament well; she had probably heard him but simply didn't want to meet him.

He pondered for a moment, then said: "Dwarf!"

BAM!

"ACK!" At that moment, an invisible hand seized him and dragged him violently through countless layers of space.

In the blink of an eye, he realized he was standing in an ice cavern, though the surroundings were slightly different from the last time he had been here.

All around were intricately carved walls of ice, transforming the place into an ice palace brimming with artistry.

"This is..."

"Beautiful, isn't it?!" A feminine voice rang out, cutting him off, dripping with arrogance as though looking down on all creation.

Noan turned toward the woman and smiled: "We meet again."

Carlotta sat on a block of ice, gazing at him with boredom and a cold smile. "Ah! Yes, we meet again, Noan. It seems you have many things you want to ask me, don't you?"

Noan shrugged. "That's right, but… could you perhaps change the way we meet?"

Carlotta also shrugged and replied: "I'm sorry, hahaha… you know, I can't leave this place."

Noan frowned, glancing at her with suspicion. "Are you telling the truth? Then why did I see you somewhere else?"

"Hahaha… you misunderstood. That was only a projection of my will, not me."

"Your will? Then next time I can just meet your will, no need to come here. It's really troublesome, you—"

Whoosh!

Before he could finish, Carlotta appeared right before him, swung her leg up, and then—

BAM!

The kick was so powerful that Noan's abdomen exploded, blood splattering across the ground, painting a horrific scene straight out of a horror film.

But moments later, Noan resurrected. He sighed: "If you don't want to, you could just say so. Why hit me?"

"Huh! You should know your place. Here, you have no right to make demands of me." Carlotta's voice was laced with icy disdain.

Noan shuddered, grimacing. "Ah! I get it, but—"

BAM!

Before he could finish, his body exploded again. After resurrecting, he glanced at Carlotta. Seeing her smile sent a chill through his heart.

"Could you perhaps—"

"Kneel!"

"You…" Noan gritted his teeth, his face twisted in anger.

"Not kneeling?"

Thud!

Noan sighed. After all, she was the one who had forged the blood pact with him—he couldn't resist.

"Hahaha… how obedient~" Carlotta mocked, pressing her foot on Noan's thigh and gently lifting his face with her hand.

Noan sighed: "Couldn't you let me take the initiative just once?"

"Huh! My status is higher than yours, why would you be the one to take the lead?" Carlotta sneered.

"Because I'm a man."

SLAP!

Carlotta slapped him hard, his head snapping back and killing him instantly.

But seconds later, he resurrected again, exhaling in exhaustion: "Fine! Do whatever you want."

"That's better! Hahaha…" Carlotta covered her mouth and laughed. "Do you want to see something interesting?"

"Interesting?" Noan frowned, confused.

Carlotta didn't answer right away. She waved her hand.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Ice crystals suddenly gathered in midair, slowly forming into a massive sheet of ice like a mirror.

Noan's eyes widened when he saw it display the image of a red-haired woman, her figure overwhelmingly alluring, her face filled with arrogance and the aura of a queen, compelling anyone who looked at her to kneel.

"Empress Catherine?!"