Dorothy hummed a cry as faint as a mosquito, a sound evidently caused by her throat constricting; given her self-respect, it couldn’t be a sorrowful cry.

Yet tears did brim at the corners of her eyes, the alluring young girl lifted her cheek, rubbing against the thumb ahead, her red lips gently parting to hold it in her mouth.

Li Ang grabbed the Demon’s Hand.

At that moment, the message Dorothy conveyed to him was absolute attachment, absolute submission. This instant’s emotion broke through certain defenses deep within his heart, and as the blood pumped almost to a vibration, a sharp pain arose in his numb left arm.

Evidently, this was not a sensory return of the left arm, but rather the Curse working more profoundly on his spirituality with Li Ang’s mood.

The thorns on the left arm visibly elongated, bending and twisting together.

[Hint: Detected increase in Demon Power, you can invest Professional Points to guide it into enhancing the Demon’s Hand, thereby halting the Curse’s erosion]

Transform.

Li Ang immediately made the decision, as per the system’s suggestion, pouring many surplus Professional Points after the settlement event into the Demon’s Hand skill, 700 points were promptly drained.

[Hint: Spiritual Asphyxia control direction expansion completed, learned skill [Spiritual Grasp]]

"Phew."

Li Ang let out a long breath.

The mutation of his arm also startled Dorothy, her expression turned anxious, and disregarding any sense of mood, she jumped up to nervously hold Li Ang’s left shoulder, her endless softness rubbing against his left side.

"It’s okay now, really."

Seeing Li Ang quickly "controlled" the transformation of the Demon’s Hand, the young girl breathed a sigh of relief, though it was obvious that the left arm looked even more monstrous.

"We should quickly resolve this issue, right?" the Half-Elf asked.

"Yes, the original plan was to go after building the ship, but a lot of things delayed it, don’t worry, it’s already under control."

With the system backing him, the issue currently doesn’t seem too big, but Li Ang still regretted the Professional Points; now there’s no need to hesitate about investing in the Demon Ability, it was already swallowed.

Hopefully, this move yields good results.

Li Ang grabbed at the void, and a vase ornament added by the Shadow Factory in Dorothy’s room flew up out of nowhere, tracing an arc before landing in his hand.

"Wow, that’s amazing?"

Dorothy, now the first member to witness this trick, saw Li Ang’s relaxed expression and wasn’t too worried or scared anymore and gently caressed his demonized palm.

"It’s okay, haven’t tried it against an enemy, don’t know what kind of strength it has."

The Half-Elf nodded, her iridescent eyes twinkling.

What’s she scheming up now?

"How about using it on me?"

"How would I use it on you? What nonsense."

"Anyway, I won’t die, if it hurts or I get wounded—ouch!"

Li Ang lightly tapped her forehead: "Don’t be so frivolous with uncertain powers."

"Alright then."

The bewitching woman pouted, rubbing her smooth, attractive forehead, then smiled again: "Are you worried about me?"

"Indeed."

At this point, flirts if needs be, Li Ang had already given up on trying to be a gentleman.

"Hehe, then please let your cherished little flower serve you~"

Dorothy merrily knelt down again, embracing her lover’s calf entirely.

After tidying up, Li Ang teased her quite a bit.

Although he made bold claims earlier, having controlled the Demon-Born Flower and enhanced tolerance, fainting still was the end result.

Just this time indeed endured a bit longer than before, not fainting at the initial touch, but at least not until reaching a peak in his control.

The next day, Li Ang’s fleeting warm moments with his girlfriends concluded as Morales brought back news from the Order Sky Knight Corps.

Only one had newly visited the Shadow Factory, a tall blond youth clad in Knight’s Silver Armor.

At his waist hung a narrow, slender Long Sword, its hand guard resembling that of a Thrusting Sword, full of Magic Power, indicating it was a Treasure Artifact.

Being able to wield a Treasure Artifact and seeing the emblem on his armor, his identity was evident—Commander Melegon of the Order Flower Sword Corps, guarding Speriel’s Aerial Realm.

This person held a position on par with Elaphia, though slightly less powerful than the particularly born Weapon Race young lady, he was indeed a top-ranking powerhouse.

[Name: Melegon Sack]

[Race: Human]

[Profession: Cavalry, Tier 9]

[Summoned Creature: Thunder Falcon, Tier 8]

[Energy Source: Cyan Steel Disconnection, Tier 9]

[Equipment: Cyan Steel Disconnection [Treasure Artifact], Tier 9. Order Sky Knight Corps Crafted Armor Set, Tier 7]

[Secret Technique: Comprehensive Secret Technique—Thunderous Breakaway Flash, Thunderous Duel Arena [Domain]]

[Skills: Cavalry [Centaur Unity, Dragon Cavalry Tactics, Siege Assault, Command of Glory], Summoned Beast [Thunderbolt Assault], Treasure Artifact [Steelbreaking Slash], Set [Damage Reduction, Full Attribute Reduction, Continuous Healing]]

[Combat Power Amplification: 56%]

After Morales introduced the youth’s identity, the arriving Great Engineer Loken immediately shook his hand, through an old friend’s introduction, Li Ang also greeted him.

These Order Knight Commanders, even if Li Ang hadn’t met them, due to their being of the same rank as Elaphia, were all somewhat known.

"Curse Artist Li Ang, a pleasure to meet you, I’ve heard of you."

Melegon’s appearance was somewhat effeminate, but his voice was the complete opposite—gruff, masculine in the extreme.

"The chaos of the Holy Speriel Empire has long been reported by the Speaker, previously, we dispatched knights to assist the Flame Corps in resolving their blockade of the route, that was when I heard of your deeds on Spark Island."

"I see." Li Ang nodded to Melegon, somewhat puzzled.

He knew within, once more this was Elaphia intentionally publicizing his name, lending a hand to his achievements and acceptance.

"Upon hearing of the Empire’s plots in the City of the Ship’s Rudder, I immediately brought reinforcements here, your plans I know of, currently, their ship is hovering in the distant clouds, when battle begins, they will arrive swiftly to complete the encirclement."

The cloud Melegon spoke of wasn’t natural mist but Magic Item-produced fog. Order Sky Knights had many multifunctional standardized gear, including substances to drive away aerial Demons or cloud generators for concealing navigation.

Melegon sneered: "I personally came to the island to aid you all, to round up the Imperial influence and corrupted Sky Cavalry members."

This was evidently a steadfast and righteous Order Knight.

Thus, the time to implement the plan had arrived.

The first step in the action was to have Andasu step forward and crash the Flying Airship racers’ gathering.

"Are they still holding practice races?" Li Ang asked.

"We’ve been keeping an eye, they stopped for a day but resumed again." Loken replied. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The day of stopping was likely when the Imperial influence went investigating the previous "Magical Disaster".

Since practice races continued, there’s no issue with the plan, proceeding as scheduled.

Li Ang stored the refreshed Howling Wolf into the Dimensional Rift and returned to the ground with Andasu and Huo Zui Reid.

This operation was significant, all members of the Star Flower Travel Corps along with Morales, core members of the Shadow Factory, and Melegon returned to the ground; they will observe developments from monitoring spots previously scouted by the Shadow Factory members.

As for why Huo Zui Reid tagged along, it was a part of the plan too.

Though Li Ang thought this guy had his motives, his presence indeed brought more trust among those racers.

Since the host they found dared to impersonate his name, they’d naturally know of such a person, having him with Andasu authenticated her "Platinum Ace" identity more convincingly.

Initially planning to disguise as a passing legendary contestant, earlier encounters already revealed her as a Sky Knight, to prevent any incidents, Li Ang too must accompany.

Though intending to infiltrate, he didn’t want Andasu venturing solo into the hazard-laden factory, already intending to disguise as a Maintenance Master follower, now just be the spokesperson for it all.

Approaching the raucous crowd on the broad grounds, a lineup of small racing airships roared their engines, poised amid the screams.

The racers hadn’t boarded yet, constantly turning and waving to the fans, stirring wave after wave of excitement.

Once the atmosphere reached its peak, at the host’s cue, they boarded the small Flying Airships, revving the engines a bit longer, then dashed off the track at the countdown.

The crowd lifted their heads to gaze as the airships ascended in the sky, entering competitive mode, eagerly speculating about today’s race conditions and victors.