Night Ranger

Chapter 142: Night Jump

p>”Woosh!” The dart nailed into the wall of a wooden house.

A silhouette awkwardly rolled away.

Marvin frowned. It was this guy!

Little Tucker!

“Mister Marvin, it’s me…”

The small halfling forced a smile while looking at Marvin. He was almost hit by the dart. If he hadn’t dodged in time, he would have suffered friendly fire.

Marvin was also surprised.

The two halflings should have arrived to Trojan Town way earlier than them.

But even so, the Twin Snakes Cult’s ceremony had happened a while ago. When the two halflings arrived, they should have already found something wrong.

“Why are you here? What about your father?” Marvin asked.

Little Tucker sincerely answered, “Father went to track the scum.”

“Those who killed this town’s innocents. Father said he would find their base and then inform Jewel Bay’s garrison.”

“He made me stay here, to check if there were any other signs.”

Old Tucker is tracking them?

Marvin started thinking fast.

This massacre was apparently different from the past.

Normally, Twin Snakes Cult’s massacres involved slaying and burning, and not leaving anything behind. But this time, Marvin didn’t see any fire.

He only looked at Trojan Town’s granary which had been emptied.

‘Could they also be after the food?’

Light suddenly flashed in Marvin’s mind!

He remembered!

Near Tornado Harbor, there really was an underground base of the Twin Snakes Cult. This base was one of their branches in East Coast. It was mainly filled with a large amount of food.

That was the [Twin Snakes Cult Granary] instance. Marvin had farmed that instance many times!

‘These bastards took advantage of Trojan Town being undefended to loot it, and followed with their massacre…’

‘They carried the food away, which would definitely leave some traces. No wonder Old Tucker decided to track them.’

‘Since it’s like this…’

Marvin silently thought for a moment before making a decision.

He dragged Lola aside and seriously said, “I need you to go to Black Dock Harbor, Little Tucker will protect you. Go and see if you are able to buy food there.”

Lola hesitated. “What about you?”

Marvin took a glance at Little Tucker, “I’ll go find his father.”

The small Halfling didn’t have any particular opinion, and hearing Marvin’s powerful tone, he blankly agreed. And since he had already abandoned Lola once, this time he secretly swore to properly protect her. The two immediately left Trojan town under Marvin’s urging.

Before they left, Marvin gave Lola 20 Wizard golds!

This was no less than 20 thousand silvers. Lola had never seen that much money in all her life, and thus was left staring at it foolishly. Surprisingly, Little Tucker to the side was quite indifferent. He had been living with the old Halfling, so he didn’t have the concept of money.

“White River Valley’s food issue mostly depends on you,” Marvin said seriously.

Lola suddenly felt her nerves straining under the pressure.

After the two left, Marvin also began to move.

He rode on his horse, and without paying much attention to the marks, directly rushed southwest.

Because he already knew the location of the granary.

It was close to the Shrieking Mountain Range but was actually far from the Spider Crypt. After all, one was in the west and the other was in the east.

Marvin and Lola each had an objective. If he could get enough food from the Twin Snakes Cult’s granary, it would be a huge boon. If he couldn’t, then they had to go through the proper channels. Apart from Tornado Harbor, Black Dock Harbor was the closest of the Six Pearl Harbors.

Marvin also thought of using this as a last test for Lola.

He hadn’t been able to completely see through that girl from the start. Sometimes she appeared very simple and innocent, but sometimes she seemed filled with craftiness.

The 20 thousand silvers were the final test. If she could withstand that kind of temptation, Marvin would truly trust her.

…

As the healthy horse rushed along, Marvin reminisced about back when he had farmed that hidden granary.

The granary was a special place because this was the gathering place of the Twin Snakes Followers. Not only were there 500 ordinary followers inside, but there were also 6 2nd rank Clerics and one Cleric wearing a purple gown.

In the Twin Snakes Cult, the strongest were the two Great Patriarchs: the Scarlet Patriarch and the Azure Patriarch. These two were both mighty Legend level powerhouses, and though they were rarely seen, they were immensely powerful. A Night Walker had been killed by the Scarlet Patriarch while tracking him.

Under the two Patriarchs were twelve purple gowned Officers. These twelves Officers each had a poisonous snake name as a codename, such as King Cobra, Black Mamba, and so on. Those twelve Officers were all 3rd rank Clerics.

The World Ending Twin Snakes also really existed. They were godly existences from an old era, but were very brutal, advocating killing and destruction. They were banished to the empty Ethereal Plane by the Wizard God. But they could still partly answer their followers’ prayers.

As long as you massacred, as long as you destroyed, as long as you displayed the World Ending Banner, you would receive the care of the World Ending Twin Snakes.

The Twin Snakes Cult’s Clerics were very troublesome. Their Divine Spells were sinister and ruthless, and they were very pernicious and persistent in nature. It was fine to die in the game, as it was just another death. Injuries were also just injuries. Everything would refresh in a day. But in the real world, Marvin had to be cautious.

He couldn’t let the Clerics’ Divine Spells land on his body!

But this was very difficult.

Even though the Officer guarding the Hidden Granary was regularly replaced, Marvin wasn’t sure how to deal with the Hidden Granary. A 3rd rank Cleric wasn’t to be trifled with.

After all, those guys’ spells and Divine Spells were both fast, and they only had lethal moves.

In addition to the Officer guarding the Hidden Granary, there were at least six 2nd rank Clerics.

Of course, the most troublesome ones in the end were still those followers.

Marvin didn’t know how many followers were currently gathered in the granary, but the more there were, the more troublesome it would be.

Because these followers weren’t true believers of the Twin Snakes Cult. They were actually controlled by the Twin Snakes Clerics.

The Twin Snakes Church would regularly offer sacrifices. And these people under their control would eventually end up as sacrifices.

The most terrible part was that these people would do their best to hinder his progress. They were innocents, and killing his way through would not only alarm the higher ups, but would also be willfully slaughtering innocents.

‘It’s about time to level up.’

Marvin sat on his horse, guiding it while checking his stats panel.

…

The previous series of battles, including the Battle of the Holy Grail, Toshiroya’s group, and the journey through the Shrieking Mountain Range, gave Marvin a great amount of experience.

His current battle exp was at 18770!

He carefully considered before finally choosing to put 12000 exp to level up the Night Walker class.

Thus he was now a level 2 Night Walker and a level 6 Ranger, making a total of 8 levels in his main class line.

He received 36 Night Walker skill points and gained 42 HP. He didn’t get any attribute points because he would get one only when he leveled up a class twice. And there was no particular reward for becoming a level 2 Night Walker.

But Marvin didn’t stop there. He spent 3000 battle exp on Shapeshift Sorcerer!

Thus, his first subclass [Shapeshift Sorcerer] finally leveled up from level 1 to level 2, giving him an additional 18 hp. He didn’t get any new spells or specialties.

But on the other hand, Marvin had reached a total level of 9!

Subclasses were indeed counted in the total, but their levels had to be halved.

(Ranger 6 + Night Walker 2 + Shapeshift Sorcerer 2/2= Total Level 9)

Thus he got another attribute point.

And as usual, this attribute point was put into his dexterity. His dexterity thus reached 23. 25 was not much further.

After two level ups in a row, Marvin’s original health increased from 208 to 268, a great vitality increase.

And his 36 skill points were also properly distributed. 6 points were assigned to [Summon Night Crow], increasing its duration. Marvin felt this scouting skill was very useful. Marvin used his 30 remaining points on a completely new skill, [Night Jump]!

[Night Jump]: For the next three minutes, your jumping ability will substantially increase. Restriction: Only usable during the night.
The increase in the jumping ability and the duration depend on the skill points.

Marvin believed that [Burst + Night Jump] could create an opportunity for him in a fight. He could also use this skill during the day when used with Eternal Night.

Night Walkers didn’t have a lot of skills, but all of them were very useful. Once he got the hidden [Night Killing], Marvin would almost be able to be called a Ruler of a Night!

The last step was to deal with the Ranger points.

Before his level ups just now, Marvin hadn’t used all of his Ranger skill points.

Thus, he still had 45 remaining. And after the series of battles, Marvin’s own skills had some slight increases, such as Stealth reaching 56 points.

After careful consideration of the Hidden Granary’s nature, Marvin put all of it into Stealth.

Although Hide was his own Ranger class’ skill, it was too passive. Marvin currently needed his Stealth to be outstanding!

Thus his Stealth skill instantly broke 100 and reached 101.

After finishing all of this, Marvin felt full of strength!

There wasn’t much battle exp left, only 3770. But with Marvin’s killing speed, quickly reaching the 3rd rank wasn’t an extravagant hope.

…

The horse continued onwards, and soon, the outline of the Shrieking Mountain Range could clearly be seen.

Marvin pulled on the reins because he saw an old friend under a tree.

Old Tucker.

The old Halfling watched Marvin’s arrival, very surprised. He apparently was looking for more traces of the cultists.

Marvin calmly asked, “Found the Twin Snakes Cult’s base?”

Old Tucker looked at Marvin, amazed. “You know about Trojan Town?”

“Not only do I know. I also come from there.” Marvin got down his horse and solemnly declared:

“I’ll cut these bastards down!”

MC Status Window (As of chapter 142)

Name: Marvin

Race: Human/Numan
Astrological Sign: Swimming Fish

—————————-

Attributes:

Strength: 12

Dexterity: 23(?+1)

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 14

Wisdom: 15

Charisma: 14(+1)

—————————-

Lifestyle Classes:

Noble 4 (0/800)

Blacksmith 3 (32/600)

—————————-

Battle Classes:

Ranger Lv6 (0/8000) – Night Walker Lv2 (0/18000)

Shapeshift Sorcerer Lv2 (0/6000)

—————————-

Titles:

Chaotic Battle Expert

Newborn Ranger

Rope Master

—————————-

HP: 268

Experience:

0 (Noble)

3770 (Battle Exp) [Available]

0 (General Exp)

Skill Points:

0 (Ranger)

0 (Night Walker)

Free Attribute Points: 0

—————————-

[Specialties]

Class Specialties:

Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranger)

Reckless Dual Wielder (Ranger)

Nocturnal (Night Walker)

Quick Study (Noble)

Boundless Shapeshifting (Shapeshift Sorcerer)

Personal Specialties:

Versatile

Endurance

Burst

—————————-

[Class Skills]

Noble (Baron):

Dignity (27)

Management (31)

Awareness (16)

Diplomacy (19)

Accounting (28)

Horsemanship (30)

Ranger:

Hide (46+9)

Stealth (101)

Inspect (37)

Climb (20)

Listen (25)

Night Walker:

Eternal Night (50)

Summon Night Crow (16)

Night Jump (30)

Personal Skills:

Hidden Weapon – Darts (25)

Hidden Weapon – Throwing Knives (5)

Hidden Weapon – Flying Needles (5)

Cutthroat (49)

Shadow Step (38)

Edge Snatch (40)

Personal Spells:

1st-circle – Vine Metamorphosis

Shadow Doppelganger (Book of Nalu, Bloodline)

Night Tracking (Blessing of the Night Monarch)

Shapeshift (Human Form)

Charming Looks

Transforming Magic Cube

Shapeshift (Beast Form)

Asuran Bear – Skills:

Intimidating Roar

Shapeshift (Shadow Form)

Shadow – Spells:

Shadow Bind

Shadow Arrow
?

—————————-

[Equipment]

Sika Deer badge

The Curved Daggers, Fangs

Blazing Fury

Ghastly Gloves

Ring of Wishes (Original)

Wishful Ropes

Mark of the Moon

Vanessa’s Gift

Mask of the Deceiver

Magic Holy Grail

Wristband of Gratitude

—————————-

[Contracted]
Wind Fairy (Growing)

—————————-

[Items]

Deepwater Gems – Engineering Blueprints – Gold Bars – Dragon Strength (1/4) – Ancient Book (Unknown/Scarlet Monastery) – Annihilation (Black Jack’s weapons) – Cursed Pearl (Swimming Fish) – Treasure Map (Great Devil Head).

Chapter 143: Hidden Granary

p>”You are too impulsive, lad,” the old Halfling couldn’t help but warn. “I am as angry as you are. But the Twin Snakes Cult has too many people.”

Marvin shook his head and didn’t continue with this topic.

“What have you found?” he asked.

Old Tucker pointed at a location far away in the Shrieking Mountain Range.

“They are hiding inside, but there are too many people. With only the two of us, we aren’t their match,” he said with a grave expression.

“We have to get the East Coast’s guards and at least a 3rd rank Wizard in order to completely eliminate this Twin Snakes Cult tumor that took root in this region.”

“Don’t act recklessly. These guys are many times stronger than you imagine. They aren’t comparable to those stupid spiders.”

Old Tucker was afraid Marvin would be too impetuous.

Marvin appreciated his words of caution, but despite old Tucker’s warnings, he still had to go.

“I do know the means of the Twin Snakes Cult very well. My father died under their plot.”

He considered his words and then added, “Most of the people they are controlling are innocents. Their abilities are very limited, the real threat is those few high level ones.”

Old Tucker nodded. “But regardless, we should still return to Tornado Harbor first.”

“No use.” Marvin shook his head. “Tornado Harbor has just suffered from the Red Dragon Ell’s attack. You should have heard the noise. Now they are already not allowing most people in.”

“I met Little Tucker in Trojan Town, and entrusted him to take my follower Lola to the Black Dock Harbor a little to the north.”

“But those two are quite young after all. If you want to return to the Six Pearl Harbors, it would be better to look for them at Black Dock Harbor.”

Then, the two argued once again. Old Tucker clearly saw that Marvin was preparing to break into the Twin Snakes Cult base and strongly advised against it.

Marvin stated that he had a proper plan and wouldn’t just play with his life recklessly.

Finally, the old Halfling compromised, and went on with his own plan, returning to the Six Pearl Harbors to inform the guards.

He was a Thief after all, not a frontline fighter. Marvin requested that he take care of Lola, and then asked one more thing.

“Do you happen to have an item that would raise dexterity? I have a feeling I’ll need this in the fight against the Twin Snakes Cult followers.”

Of course, Marvin wasn’t just randomly asking.

Old Tucker’s equipment was extremely good. This guy was a robber before he changed his ways. He had robbed for many years without being found, amassing quite a lot of good things.

Since both sides had already established a certain trust, there was no harm in asking whether he could borrow something.

Sure enough, Old Tucker hesitated, before finally taking out a ring and handing it to Marvin.

Marvin took the ring, somewhat pleased.

As expected, Thieves were relatively wealthy!

He had run around for quite a while and had only earned a lot from Black Jack’s body. But one week of robbery in Tornado Harbor would probably get Old Tucker even more than that.

“This Thunder Ring is something I used in my youth. Since you are going to fight the Twin Snakes Cult alone, let’s not talk about borrowing, this ring is yours!”

The old Halfling was rarely generous. Perhaps it was because he acknowledged Marvin’s guts.

‘Well… Seems it’s a backup item, so no wonder he is being so generous.’

Marvin took a glance at those dark rings on the old Halfling’s hands and couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly.

Aren’t those rings a lot better than the Thunder Ring?

But this Thunder Ring was also pretty good. It at least satisfied Marvin’s basic requirement.

[Thunder Ring]

Quality: Uncommon

Effect: Dexterity +1

Requirement: None

…

Uncommon items could adapt to the size of the wearer. Marvin put it on and his dexterity reached 24 points.

He only needed to change his [Rope Master] title to [Chaotic Battle Expert]. That way, when facing the Twin Snakes Cult’s followers, he could reach the 25 dexterity threshold, making him faster and giving him the ability to use Flicker.

Marvin sincerely thanked the old Halfling for giving him the ring and was about to leave when suddenly, the old Halfling took out another item.

It was a faint golden belt.

“A Rock Giant Belt. This is something I fetched from Elizabeth’s stomach.”

The old Halfling’s face stayed the same as he said, “The Red Spider was your kill, so this loot should have been yours. But there was an urgent situation at that time so I collected it on your behalf. Then I forgot about it. Since we met once again, I can return this belt to you.”

The old Halfling maintained a totally straight face as he said that.

‘Damn…’

Marvin took the belt while inwardly mocking, ‘I couldn’t find anything in the Red Spider’s stomach… I had thought it was just bad luck.’

‘I didn’t expect it was taken away by that old Halfling.’

‘This guy looks so upstanding and righteous on the surface but his hands actually itched?’

But regardless, as a Thief, Old Tucker gave back something he stole. It already could be considered as being quite loyal.

Moreover, this belt’s properties were very amazing!

Although it was still an uncommon item, it was one of the best uncommon items.

[Rock Giant Belt]

Quality: Uncommon

Effect: Strength +2

…

This property was simply fierce!

What was Marvin lacking most right now? It was Strength! Dual wielding Rangers originally renounced power to raise attack speed.

His Strength was lacking to the extent that a lot of times, when attacking a large monster, he would break a dagger, or he would need a flip or some other method to stab the enemy vital point!

Those movements weren’t just so Marvin could look handsome… It was just that he really lacked power!

As long as these moves to increase his force were properly chained they would be effective. But if he fought against an expert, this would turn into a deadly weakness.

These two points of Strength were just perfect.

Marvin immediately put on the Rock Giant Belt and his Strength rose from 12 to 14 points.

After gettings his hands on two Uncommon items, Marvin finally bid farewell to the old Halfling and went on alone toward the southwest Shrieking Mountain Range.

…

Nightfall. Marvin stopped in front of a barren hill. The horse apparently sensed something and began to act somewhat scared.

It was a frightening atmosphere, but only the most perceptive and keen animals could detect that with their instincts.

Marvin released the reins, setting the horse free as it rushed toward the northeast.

Thus, he wouldn’t leave too many traces behind.

The hill in front was an important branch of the Twin Snakes Cult in the East Coast, the Hidden Granary.

There was only one entrance to the Hidden Granary, and it was guarded very tightly.

But this was nothing before Marvin’s 101 points of Stealth!

He already found the cave. The outside of the cave seemed absolutely deserted, but it was actually extremely well defended.

Two 2nd rank Clerics were watching the surroundings, alert. They were hiding in the shadow of the cave, not easy for others to find.

And they both had a lazy Osse Dog at their feet.

This kind of dog was relatively rare on the East Coast. It was a creature from the Osse Island in the north. Osse Dogs had a very sharp sense of smell, and most importantly, they had a certain chance of seeing invisible targets.

Thus, this creature was regularly used to guard important entrances.

Marvin looked at the two completely spiritless Osse Dogs and knew that these pitiful little guys had already been numbed by the Twin Snakes Cult’s nauseous breath.

The Twin Snakes Cult Clerics might not know about it, but the Osse Dogs’ sense of smell and sharp eyes were easily stained by filthy things.

This Hidden Granary would make sacrifices each month at regular intervals, making the ghosts of the dead gather there, in this excessively chaotic hill burial.

The Osse Dogs’ perception had clearly already been numbed by this, so they simply couldn’t notice his Stealth.

But even so, Marvin still waited.

Waiting for the darkness.

It was a lot better for a Night Walker to act in the night.

…

The sky was dark.

Marvin’s operation slowly started.

The Hidden Granary belonged to the wilderness, and Ranger’s Stealth wouldn’t be penalized in the wilderness. And there was the Night Walker bonus.

He lightly went through the entrance.

Just as he thought, those two dogs were basically blind, and as for those two Clerics, they didn’t have any good method for Stealth detection.

Marvin successfully infiltrated the Hidden Granary.

He moved very slowly, each step in accordance with the proper movements for Stealth. This was a very valuable experience from his previous Thief life.

During Stealth, footwork was very important. Sometimes, a correct and steady pace could even raise the effectiveness.

There were small braziers burning at regular intervals in the dark cave. There was a design of the World Ending Twin Snakes on the braziers.

As Marvin infiltrated deeper in the Hidden Granary, he passed quite a lot of people blindly walking around.

They had lost their own will and were brainwashed by the Clerics, making them pray everyday to the World Ending Twin Snakes.

If they found an enemy, these followers would crazily attack the intruder.

They were frightening brutes, but they were also innocents.

If the Cleric controlling them was killed, they would be freed.

Thus the Hidden Granary instance didn’t follow typical gameplay!

If a team used the usual approach, killing everything on their way, they would die. Killing these ordinary people wouldn’t give them much experience and would result in a decline in Fame. It would also waste a great amount of time, experience and potions.

The Hidden Granary was basically designed for Stealth experts.

Because this was a special place.

It was a walk in the park for Marvin who was familiar with the game. He still remembered this place’s terrain. He walked for half an hour, passing by ordinary people and 2nd rank Clerics and finally arrived at the entrance of the Officer Cleric’s cave!

The Hidden Granary’s defenses were tight outside, but lax inside. There was only one simple curtain hanging in front of the Officer Cleric’s place, and no defenses.

Marvin lightly went in.

The cave was as big as it was in his memories. In a far corner, a silhouette was whispering.

He seemed to be talking to someone!

Marvin thought of something and moved closer.

Chapter 144: King Cobra

p>The Officer Cleric’s cave was very large and had a lot of hiding places. Even though there were a lot of braziers on the walls, they still left many shadows.

This was very convenient for Marvin’s Stealth.

With his vast experience, Marvin easily sneaked into a relatively safe spot and hid amongst the shadows.

The Cleric Officer had his back facing Marvin and was standing on a protruding platform, apparently talking to someone through a basin.

Marvin knew of this method. This was a kind of long distance communication ability used by the Crimson Patriarch’s faction.

When enough human blood was poured in the basin, it would start a secret Twin Snakes Cult Technique and allow conversation with someone far away.

This secret technique had the same results as communicating via crystal balls, but the materials used were a lot more cruel.

Marvin stayed calm, quietly listening.

…

“I’ve settled your previous task,” the Officer Cleric respectfully said toward the basin.

A light exuded from the basin in response. “You did well. We’ll not only create panic, but also destruction. Food is a very important resource. Our forces were previously under a lot of pressure in the East Coast.”

“Now is a good chance for you to expand your power. You must grasp it.”

The voice suddenly became distorted.

“What happened?” The Officer Cleric was shocked.

Marvin suddenly thought of something!

Only two people could make an Officer Cleric so respectful, and one of them didn’t use the basin to communicate.

That guy he was talking to was definitely the Crimson Patriarch of the Twin Snakes Cult himself!

The Twin Snakes Cult’s two leaders were very mysterious and powerful, and at least at the Legend level. Many people were killed by them, but even many years after the Great Calamity, there still hadn’t been any mention of natives or players who managed to kill them.

Of the two, the Crimson Patriarch was the most active, frequently creating some world-shaking frightening massacre.

And the Azure Leader was a relatively low-key one. A lot of people searched for him, but never found him. The sinister and stealthy acts of the Twin Snakes Cult could be represented by this person.

…

The basin’s communication was apparently cut off for a moment. Marvin hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to endure.

The Crimson Patriarch was a Legend. If Marvin was seen by him, his future would be very bleak. Even though this guy was on Marvin kill list.

The twelve Officers were divided into two groups of six, and the top group of six were 4th rank half-Legend powerhouses. The lower group of six were 3rd rank Clerics.

An Officer from the lower group was protecting East Coast’s Hidden granary. That was the only reason Marvin would dare to try an assassination.

He patiently waited for a moment as the voice of the Crimson Patriarch once again emitted from the basin.

But this time he seemed somewhat in a hurry.

“It’s nothing. Keep plundering, keep slaughtering, make the East Coast aware of the great World Ending Twin Snakes.”

“You’ll soon receive your reward.”

The Officer Cleric seemed somewhat surprised, because the Crimson Patriarch’s voice was odd!

He immediately didn’t dare to stall and said, “I understand. I’ll continue to take advantage of this opportunity to spread news of a second coming of the Ancient Red Dragon Ell. This way, regardless of whether it’s the Six Pearl Harbors, the City of Thousand Sails or Bass Harbor, they won’t dare to relax their strength. There are a lot of small villages with great prospects on the coast.”

“In addition, I report a final thing… I originally planted a pawn, but he was removed by someone.”

“In that place I found a very important secret. I intend to go in person to…”

But suddenly a burst of noise echoed from the basin!

“Pshhr!”

The Crimson Patriarch then roared.

“Next time! Those damned Night Walkers and Druids…” He cursed.

The basin instantly became calm and no sound could be heard. The Crimson Patriarch had cut off the call.

The Officer Cleric was standing there in a daze, subconsciously finishing his sentence.

“…That small territory called White River Valley after a while…”

…

Marvin had listened to the conversation between the two shadows, but those last words rang like thunder in his ears!

White River Valley!

When Miller had returned to White River Valley, he indeed had someone behind him!

Whether it was Toshiroya or the Twin Snakes Cult, they weren’t the final mastermind. There must be a deeper secret.

In that simple castle, regardless if it was that mural left behind by Marvin’s grandfather, or that frightening singing voice in the hidden path, they were both extremely strange.

This gave Marvin a very big headache.

A small White River Valley, why would it attract the sight of these large powers?

Fortunately, the Officer Cleric’s last sentence wasn’t heard by the Crimson Patriarch, or it would have been really troublesome for Marvin!

‘This guy is screwed!’

Marvin stared at the back of that Officer Cleric, his eyes showing an ominous glint.

The person who performed the induction ceremony of putting two snake seeds in Miller’s eyes was definitely him.

‘But then again, my luck isn’t bad. That Officer Cleric was reporting to the Crimson Patriarch and that one was actually in a difficult situation…’

‘From his tone, he is apparently being hunted! And on the hunting side was a Night Walker and a Druid!”

Marvin already knew from the old blacksmith’s mouth that besides him, the other Night Walkers were all experts able to take care of themselves!

A few of them had already advanced to become Legends and were already tracking more powerful forces.

There weren’t many Night Walkers, but they were all elites.

The Night Walker that was killed by the Crimson Patriarch was also a Legend!

Night Walkers would definitely be informed of their foes. They might not necessarily meet but when they did, they were brothers blessed by the Night Monarch.

Logically speaking, the Crimson Patriarch should be killed by Marvin. But it was very clear that someone in the Night Walker’s organization couldn’t repress his anger and hunted the Crimson Patriarch.

And he also called a Druid friend in order to restrain that frightening Twin Snakes Cleric.

To be able to fight against the Crimson Patriarch, it had to be at least a Great Druid.

That fight certain had to be very lively.

Marvin’s thoughts stopped there.

Because at that time, the Officer Cleric turned and came over. Marvin was able to clearly see his face.

Marvin knew that guy!

He didn’t have a name, but everyone called him King Cobra!

…

King Cobra slowly walked down the platform.

He was somewhat in a bad mood. He originally wanted to report a very important matter to the Crimson Patriarch, but he hadn’t expected something like that to happen.

To be fair, he did a good job on the East Coast. Anthony’s death was partly due to his long term plan.

Even though that 3rd rank Wizard brainwashed by the Twin Snakes Cult didn’t manage to complete Anthony’s assassination, and the latter was killed by the Shadow Prince’s dagger, but his plans had greatly contributed to the turmoil in the East Coast and people panicking because of the Twin Snakes Cult.

The Shadow Prince was a god, and ordinary people didn’t know much about that.

But the terror of the Twin Snakes Cult was deeply engraved into people’s hearts. The Twin Snakes Cult had originally been kept under control by Anthony and couldn’t act. Nowadays, the rumor of Anthony being assassinated by someone of the Twin Snakes Cult was spreading among the common people.

He had secretly been supporting this rumor.

The fear and reverence of people toward the Twin Snakes Cult had intensified somewhat. Deep in the empty Ethereal Plane, the World Ending Twin Snakes would become a lot stronger. And they also would free themselves faster from the Wizard God’s seal.

When the time came, the entire world would sink into panic and destruction!

He would also get more rewards.

Unfortunately, today wasn’t the day. The Crimson Patriarch seemed to have ran across some troubles.

He gloomily shook his head.

He suddenly felt something wrong with the shadow on his right side!

King Cobra had a pretty good perception for a 3rd rank Cleric. That shadow on the right side seemed like a hidden Assassin!

‘Someone actually stealthily came in.’

‘Wanting to assassinate me, truly naive.’

‘But it’s time to change those two Oss Dogs at the door.’

King Cobra silently moved forward, before abruptly taking a big step and starting to chant loudly!

[Divine Spell – Summon Venomous Snakes!]

In an instant, countless snakes rushed out from his sleeves, aiming toward that shadow’s location.

The other side apparently noticed something wrong and directly jumped out of the shadow. He jumped really high, almost reaching the ceiling!

This frighteningly powerful jump also startled King Cobra.

An outstanding Assassin.

He immediately used another Divine Spell!

[Divine Spell – Hundred Poisons Infection!]

This was the fiercest of the Divine Spells King Cobra had. The target was unable to dodge and could only be infected by the poison!

As expected, the other side’s agility was directly hampered and was immediately wrapped in snakes after he fell to the ground.

More and more snakes kept throwing themselves at him.

“Haha… Truly courting death.”

A hint a viciousness flashed through King Cobra’s eyes. He would never show mercy to his enemies!

But at that time a cold wind suddenly gushed behind him!

…

The Shadow Doppelganger was really too useful!

It looked exactly the same as Marvin and it was hard to notice it was a fake. It could be used to shift the enemy’s attention during an assassination. It simply was a god-level skill!

When King Cobra’s attention was completely on the doppelganger, Marvin who had been hiding on another side, immediately started his attack.

Burst + Shadow Step!

In an instant, he rushed toward King Cobra’s back.

Both daggers raised up, ruthlessly slashing down!

With the Rock Giant Belt, Marvin was convinced his slash was strong enough and he would definitely behead King Cobra!

“Pshh!”

A muffled sound echoed.

Marvin’s expression changed.

The two daggers had slashed, but they didn’t slash through a neck, instead clashing with black scales!

In an instant, King Cobra turned into a incomparably thick and strange snake!

“Sssss!” His long tongue was slithering. He turned his body and the snake’s head coldly watched Marvin.

“So that’s your true face.”

Chapter 145: Frightening Silver Wire

p>King Cobra’s reaction was faster than Marvin had imagined.

His attention was focused on the Shadow Doppelganger, but he still managed to use his trump card at the last moment, Shapeshift Basilisk!

This was a Divine Spell and it was instant cast, so it could save his life on time.

But Marvin didn’t panic, because he had expected this.

He already guessed that King Cobra wouldn’t be so easily killed. Thus he had prepared another plan!

Marvin was like this. He would plan many tricks for each battle. It was this cautious way of thinking that made him into the strongest expert.

‘It’s also good that this guy turned into a Basilisk. He won’t be able to use Divine Spells now!’

‘Killing a Basilisk is somewhat easier than killing a Cleric on guard!’ Marvin thought.

At that time, at the will of the Basilisk, the previously summoned venomous snakes immediately rushed over!

…

Marvin reacted calmly. Facing the group of snakes, he knew he only had one chance.

After a few seconds, those waves of snakes were about to surround him.

He suddenly pulled out Blazing Fury and used its namesake spell!

[Blazing Fury]!

The ruthless fire spell burnt the snakes, instantly turning them into ashes!

Even that large Basilisk also coiled back with a “Sssss”.

Snakes were very sensitive toward temperature, making Blazing Fury their bane.

Even if the Basilisk was just King Cobra’s transformation, controlled by a human and with human thoughts, it was still unable to restrain the instinctive fear.

And suddenly, Marvin’s second plan had already been set in motion!

…

Flames were still dancing in the cave.

A shadow jumped high up, surprisingly leaping from the ground all the way to the ceiling.

Marvin had used Night Jump, making his jump a lot stronger!

He had a long silver wire in his hand. As he approached the ceiling, Marvin tucked his body in to flip around, and both feet stepped on the ceiling!

Anti-Gravity Steps!

Marvin stuck to the ceiling.

He crouched down against the ceiling, both hands quickly moving, as he tied the silver wire around a special nail and then nailed it into a small crack!

He then kicked off the ceiling, throwing himself toward that Basilisk’s neck.

In an instant, a stretched silver wire was connecting the ceiling and the floor. Both sides were nailed down and it appeared extremely tight.

Marvin’s silhouette was extremely nimble as it jumped around the Basilisk, moving back and forth from the ground to the ceiling!

In a handful of seconds, the fire spell disappeared, leaving practically no snakes behind. And in the cave more than a dozen silver wires had appeared!

These wires were tightly restraining the Basilisk, especially the silver wire Marvin had taken risks to put around the Basilisk’s neck.

Thus, the Basilisk’s movements were extremely restricted. If he thought about moving, that stretched silver wire would ruthlessly cut into his scales, and keep tightening. He would become badly mangled.

The nail securing the silver wire was something prepared beforehand. It had an extremely strong attractive force toward stone. When matched with the silver wire, it was used to trap large monsters.

The only requirement to take advantage of it was for the user to have an extremely high dexterity and jumping ability!

After Marvin advanced to Night Walker, he saw [Night Jump] on the skill list and had thought of using this trick.

Now, the Basilisk was firmly locked in place by Marvin’s frightening silver wire trap.

But he was totally unaware!

Even if he was King Cobra, he didn’t see through Marvin’s strange trick.

In his eyes, these thin silver wires were unable to injure him.

“Are you a clown?” A mocking voice came out of the snake’s mouth.

“I have to say, your moves are exceptionally sharp, but I only need a bit of strength and I can swallow you whole!”

Marvin calmly stood there with a dagger in each hand, making a provoking gesture toward the Basilisk.

The latter suddenly turned angry and opened his bloody maw, ruthlessly throwing himself toward Marvin.

For him, those silver wires would easily break so he didn’t think too much of it!

…

When the Basilisk moved, the whole cave began to shake!

In an instant, his body was covered in countless cutting wires. He tried to rush forward to swallow Marvin, but he kept feeling an intense pain!

He had barely moved once when at least three silver wires cut into the Basilisk’s scales.

And with the movement, the silver wire ruthlessly cut through his scaly skin, scraping his scales away.

In mere seconds, several spots on the Basilisk body had been scraped away. He let out a scared and pained grieving howl. Bloody scales fell to the ground one by one!

“You might be a bit troublesome to handle as a 3rd rank Cleric.”

“But you are nothing more than a huge snake right now.”

“Idiot.”

Marvin sneered and suddenly launched his own assault!

He nimbly moved back and forth between the silver wires, his two daggers ruthlessly cutting that exposed flesh as fast as lightning!

The snakeskin which lost the scales’ protection was unable to endure the fierce attacks!

The Basilisk kept howling in grief, overwhelmed by Marvin’s unrestrained assault! It could only back away instinctively!

But he couldn’t have imagined that this would only speed up his death.

Because there were also countless silver wires behind him, ruthlessly scraping more scales away. Flesh and scales were flying around making the scene in the cave extremely frightening!

Marvin wasn’t the least bit concerned, only focusing on slashing away, his daggers extremely ruthless as they cut the Basilisk’s weak areas.

In a minute, Marvin almost slashed a hundred times!

Reckless Dual Wielder’s frightening property was brilliantly displayed by him!

The lower half of the Basilisk’s body had already been cut into pieces by him!

The upper half wasn’t much better, with only the head remaining on the ground, constantly squirming. With his body already cut like that, he simply couldn’t turn back into his human body!

Marvin’s arms felt numb.

The Basilisk’s vitality was very high, but the strongest part was still his defensive ability! Thankfully, he had that silver wire to scrape off his scales.

Otherwise, today’s fight would have been extremely annoying.

“Sssss!”

The snake’s head on the ground stared at Marvin with extreme rancor. Marvin rushed over, mercilessly raising his dagger to keep slashing!

Suddenly, the Basilisk opened his mouth and used up his last bit of strength at death’s door to spurt out a small poison fog!

Even if Marvin immediately stopped breathing, the poison still spread to his skin. His skin immediately started to blister!

A series of “Poisoned” reminders popped in front of Marvin.

‘Shit!’

Marvin only felt the sky spinning!

He exhausted the last of his strength and thoroughly finished cutting down the Basilisk’s head.

The entire cave was in a mess. Silver wires were everywhere, some snapped because of the Basilisk and some still firmly nailed on the walls.

‘I have to find a way to detoxify immediately!’

Marvin stood up with difficulty and shook his head, trying to stay awake.

This poison mist was still within his calculations. After turning into a Basilisk, King Cobra’s poisoning and cursing abilities had been greatly weakened.

He could still withstand it.

‘I should still be able to support it for a few minutes.’

Marvin ground his teeth, relying on his memory to go to the deepest part of the cave.

There was a hidden cupboard there with an antidote inside.

Marvin groped around for a while before finding that cupboard.

It was fortunate that he had repeatedly farmed the Hidden Granary instance for a Poison Resistance set back then, thus knowing each area like the back of his hand. Otherwise it might have been difficult to find this cupboard while poisoned.

“Bang!”

The hidden cupboard’s door flew open.

‘Third on the left.’

Marvin took a glance and finally found that red-colored potion.

This red potion known as [Extra Grace] was something bestowed by the Crimson Patriarch, and had been made in case their own were accidentally poisoned.

This potion could remove all of the Twin Snakes Cult’s poisons!

Marvin took out the potion and drank roughly a third of it!

The signs of poisoning slowly began to disappear and his skin gradually returned to normal.

He sighed in relief.

Marvin leaned on a wall and slowly sat down, feeling weak.

This fight really used up a lot of stamina!

He was still in a poisoned state. Even though he took the antidote, he still needed half an hour to regain some strength.

But the fight just now had caused a great clamor.

‘There will definitely be some people attracted by the noise!’

Marvin forced himself to focus and hid the snake’s corpse and the silver wires deeper in the cave as fast as he could.

As expected, not long after he finished, someone respectfully asked from outside the cave, “Sir King Cobra, we heard some commotion, has anything happened?”

Marvin’s heart tightened!

Those who came were at least 2nd rank Clerics.

In his current state, he was definitely not their match.

He immediately checked around him and noticed a clean purple gown on the wall!

…

Outside the cave, the two 2nd rank Clerics were somewhat puzzled.

King Cobra rarely ignored them.

They patiently waited for a moment. They then looked at each other and then ground their teeth as they went in.

What they saw was that familiar purple gowned silhouette standing on top of the stone platform. He was in front of a basin.

“Sir…” One of the Clerics cautiously said.

How could he have thought that the person wearing a purple gown would suddenly turn and ferociously look at them!

That expression was very vicious!

The two men were startled and soon noticed the basin was filled with blood!

‘King Cobra was in the middle of communicating with the Crimson Patriarch!’

‘Then the noise we heard might have been coming from…’

The two were suddenly extremely frightened. They repeatedly apologized and hurriedly withdrew from the cave.

And Marvin on the stone platform silently touched his cheek.

‘The Mask of the Deceiver is really useful!’

‘Now, it’s time to loot.’

Chapter 146: Eleven Golden Bulls

p>The Officer’s loot was originally very abundant, but after turning into a Basilisk, his storage item automatically became sealed.

Marvin killed King Cobra while it was in a sealed state, so his good things would naturally disappear in the void.

This made Marvin feel a bit sad. But the Twin Snakes Cult’s Clerics had this kind of character. Only higher ranked Clerics could use mind control skills to make them take out their stuff.

Marvin looted the cave, sweeping away the bottles and pots in the hidden cupboard.

There were many outstanding potions there. Cold Resistance, Fire Resistance, Attribute Increasing, with a total of roughly 20 bottles of all sizes!

This was the biggest harvest!

Potions were usually very rarely seen. Potion-making was a branch of Alchemy, but in this Wizard Era, people able to make potions would also have the talent to become powerful Wizards. Very few were willing to make potions for others.

Together with material limitations, high level Potioneers needed a great amount of money, energy and time. The price remaining constantly high was understandable.

Some potions were able to save your life at the crucial moment. That potion of Dragon Strength Marvin drank before for example, had helped him three times at key points.

And even though these potions he obtained from King Cobra’s hidden cupboard might not be as strong as Dragon Strength, there were a lot of different ones which could be used in many different situations.

This made Marvin very satisfied.

As for the Uncommon items, Marvin found three items which could compare with his equipment, but their effects were very ordinary.

Typical uncommon items already didn’t enter Marvin’s sight. Only items like the Rock Giant Belt could meet his grade, while the rest would just be thrown into his Void Conch after a simple glance.

But what made Marvin pleasantly surprised was that he unexpectedly found a Nature Leaf on the Officer Cleric’s desk!

The Nature Leaf was the only way for Rangers to learn spells. Marvin naturally didn’t hesitate and used it to obtain his second spell!

[Shapeshift Basilisk]: You can transform into a Basilisk for 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, the spell will automatically be lifted. While transformed, it takes 5 seconds to remove the transformation.

This spell could definitely come in handy at some point. It was a 2nd-circle spell after all, so its strength was still very high.

But its use seemed a bit inferior to the Transformation Vine to Marvin, because he could only use it once every day.

But having more spells could only benefit Marvin.

…

Apart from this, Marvin found many other good things in the cave.

But Marvin didn’t dare to touch those things!

Because these items had the Twin Snakes Cult’s brand on them. After what happened in this Hidden Granary, the Crimson Patriarch would definitely investigate in person. If Marvin left any traces, the other side would come look for him.

When the time came, the Crimson Patriarch would deal with Marvin in person. Even if a powerhouse like Ivan was closely following Marvin, he might not escape the Crimson Patriarch’s deadly attacks!

After all, wanting to kill someone was really easy in this world. Especially for the Twin Snakes Cult’s two Patriarchs.

These items included a very good Poison Resistance set, [Fearless]: Set of 6 including Chest piece, Pants, Gloves, Belt, Shoes and Headgear.

Once equipped with that [Fearless] set, one could even resist a Wyvern’s poison cloud.

Marvin looked at it enviously. If he was in the game, he would have directly taken it!

But in this real world, he had to be careful of the retaliation of the Twin Snakes Cult!

‘Really troublesome… These brands aren’t something many people can wash off…’

‘Wash…’

‘Eh?’

Marvin suddenly thought of something!

‘Hold on… I can check…’

He hurriedly opened his data log and looked at a few logs.

Half a minute later, Marvin displayed a pleased smile.

‘I’m somewhat impressed, turned out I have a way!’

‘As expected, every class as its uses. I was too contemptuous.’

Marvin then unhesitantly took the Fearless set into his Void Conch.

He didn’t take much of the rest, as the method he just thought of could only target a few precious items. Even if the other things were pretty good, they were still unworthy of Marvin taking any risks to get them.

After properly clearing King Cobra’s cave, Marvin immediately began the second part of his plan.

…

“Sir King Cobra, may I have your orders?”

Inside the cave, a 2nd rank Cleric respectfully approached and looked at the purple gowned silhouette on the stone platform.

But without waiting for him to finish, a shadow leapt in from the side, suddenly arriving behind him!

Two daggers slashed down!

“Pshh!”

The 2nd rank Cleric didn’t have the reactions of King Cobra, and his head was directly stabbed by Marvin before he could even turn!

‘First one.’

Marvin silently dragged his corpse to the side, checking for a bit and finding an Uncommon Item and a large amount of money. Satisfied, he rushed to the stone platform and pulled on the 2nd cord!

There were six cords hanging there, and each cord was linked to the perception of one of the six Clerics in the Hidden Granary.

King Cobra would usually pull on one of these cords to summon a subordinate.

Marvin killing King Cobra first gave him a great advantage.

He kept following the pattern with the rest of the cords, and in less than an hour, the six 2nd rank Clerics had tragically died in the cave!

Although these guys were 2nd rank Clerics, they weren’t a threat to Marvin at all.

But the loot they yielded was also pretty bad. Apart from a considerable amount of Wizard golds, there were three Uncommon items in total.

And among those three Uncommon Items, only one entered Marvin’s eyes. That was a necklace raising perception, it just happened to replace his already useless [Mark of the Moon].

[Keen Necklace]: Perception +1

Marvin’s perception was average. He could only raise it bit by bit.

…

After the six Clerics died, a huge turmoil swept through the Hidden Granary.

Those mind controlled civilians immediately became clear-headed. They clearly remembered what they did before. Some were unable to accept it and turned crazy or depressed, while many others didn’t think at all and just fled.

The entire granary sank into chaos.

Only Marvin was calm as he left the cave. He didn’t pay attention to those people running all over the place as he went straight for his objective.

If it was the game, his goal would have already been accomplished. The Officer Cleric and the six 2nd rank Clerics were all dead. This instance would have nothing that he would want.

But this was a real world!

This instance was called the [Hidden Granary]!

The thing that Marvin didn’t care about in the past was now the most valuable commodity.

And that was food.

…

In a cave in the depths of the Hidden Granary.

Marvin cautiously avoided a few traps and opened a door.

There was darkness behind the door, but since Marvin had Darksight, he simply didn’t need torches.

This was a relatively wide room with a slowly flowing underground river in the distance.

Surprisingly, there was a tall treehouse on this left!

There was no lock on the treehouse, so Marvin easily entered.

There was no one in the wooden house, only eleven golden bulls.

Indeed! Golden bulls. These eleven golden bulls had a gravity spell added onto them, which made it so that no matter how heavy they were, they would become a lot lighter.

Seeing these eleven golden bulls unscathed, Marvin was overjoyed.

Finally got them!

If anyone else saw these eleven golden bulls, they might merely consider them simple artwork made from molten gold.

But Marvin was different.

He knew that these eleven golden bulls were a product of alchemy!

Each golden bull was seamlessly casted from gold, but could be opened or closed with an incantation.

The inside was filled with a great amount of food!

Marvin had previously farmed the Hidden Granary many times and the golden bull was a rare drop. He simply sold them when he got them.

But this time, these golden bulls would alleviate his territory’s food crisis.

But, how could he take all of these golden bulls away?

Marvin hesitated for a bit before finally coming up with a plan.

His eyes fell on the underground river.

…

At dawn, the sound of horse hooves could be heard approaching the Shrieking Mountain Range.

A garrison from Black Dock Harbor was sent out at the last moment, accompanied by a 3rd rank Wizard.

This was the outcome of Old Tucker using his contacts. Naturally, it was also related to the South Wizard Alliance paying attention to the Twin Snakes Cult’s increasingly more rampant behavior.

“The Twin Snakes Cult’s base is in front?” that 3rd rank Wizard solemnly inquired.

Old Tucker nodded. “No mistake. My Tracking has never gone wrong.”

“You said one youthful noble rashly charged into this base yesterday?”

The Wizard frowned, “Why did you not stop him!?”

“The Twin Snakes Cult’s people are very dangerous, you know that more than me.”

Old Tucker helplessly said, “I’m not very good at convincing people, and that youth was already quite resolute.”

“Courage from ignorance.”

The 3rd rank Wizard harshly said, “I hope he won’t become one of the hostages of the Twin Snakes Cult when we rush inside.”

“Go, let’s go.”

The party followed behind a few roguish classes toward the entrance of the Hidden Granary.

But what surprised them was that they didn’t meet anyone at the entrance!

They would definitely not doubt Old Tucker. The braziers on both sides of the cave indicated that this was really a base of the Twin Snakes Cult!

“What are those damnable evil followers doing?” The 3rd rank Wizard was carefully looking into the depths of the cave.

The party kept moving forward, gradually approaching the center of the Hidden Granary.

…

On the other side, in a pitch black underground river, eleven golden bulls were tied together by two ropes, slowly floating along.

A shadow was lying on the golden bulls’ back. It was Marvin!

Chapter 147: Magical Marvin

p>The lights in the Hidden Granary were flickering. The atmosphere was strange.

This place was completely deserted, without even a bit of movement.

The people who were controlled by the 2nd rank Clerics had all rushed out after their deaths, leaving behind a deserted base for the Black Dock Harbor’s guards.

“What the hell, did that youth leak our imminent attack?”

“Causing them to retreat in advance?”

The 3rd rank Wizard was checking the surroundings, somewhat annoyed.

The entire Hidden Granary felt dead. There wasn’t a single living creature.

The only things they saw were the dead bodies of two Osse Dogs, cut down.

There was nothing else.

“Sir, it looks like there really is nothing.”

A few rogues came back from their scouting and reported.

The 3rd rank Wizard threw an annoyed look at Tucker. The latter’s face turned serious and he shook his head.

“You should trust my skill, Old Friend,” Old Tucker said.

The 3rd rank Wizard immediately reached for his pouch, on guard. Finding that it was still there, he sighed in relief and said, “I naturally know of your skills.”

“Let’s go on ahead.”

But at that time, a rogue suddenly rushed back, startled. “Sir, I found something!”

Three minutes later, everyone arrived at the Officer Cleric’s cave!

There was the Basilisk body and the corpses of six 2nd rank Clerics, along with the traces of a chaotic fight that couldn’t be cleaned up…

Everyone’s faces were filled with shock!

Looking at the traces, it was clear that there had been a big battle here.

However, those six 2nd rank Clerics’ wounds were all deadly.

They were more or less the same blade wounds as those two Osse Dogs.

“This Basilisk should be an Officer Cleric of the Twin Snakes Cult who transformed…”

The 3rd rank Wizard’s face was grave, “To be able to make him turn into a Basilisk and still cut him down into mincemeat… Did a Legend act?”

Old Tucker silently shook his head.

He crouched next to one of the 2nd rank Cleric and carefully examined the signs of death, coming up with a shocking conclusion!

“Hey! Old Friend, would you believe it if I said those guys were single-handedly killed by that noble youth?”

The Wizard sneered, “Isn’t he a Ranger close to 3rd rank?”

“This is impossible.”

But Old Tucker’s tone was very firm. “It’s the same dagger wounds.”

The Wizard froze, he looked at Old Tucker’s extremely serious face and the surprise in his eyes deepened.

He didn’t know much about the relation between Old Tucker and that noble, but he knew Old Tucker would rarely lie.

This Halfling Tracker’s skills were also not to be doubted.

“He has been here,” said Old Tucker while looking at the faint footprints on the ground.

The 3rd rank Wizard stayed silent.

Even if he couldn’t accept it, all the clues led to him!

A “2nd rank noble youth” eliminated a branch of the Twin Snakes Cult by himself!

This was something a lot of 3rd rank class holders couldn’t do.

But that man managed to do it.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Who is he? What’s his name?”

“His name is…” Old Tucker subconsciously answered.

But suddenly, the 3rd rank Wizard abruptly cut him off, “Stop!”

Old Tucker also reacted.

The two glanced at each other and stayed silent.

They realized this name couldn’t be shared, even in private!

There were all kinds of people in the guards and the ability of the Twin Snakes Cult to infiltrate ranks was very strong… What if by chance, there was someone listening?

If they really said that youth’s name, the Crimson Patriarch might try to kill that talented youth while he was still developing!

Even though the 3rd rank Wizard had a harsh mouth, since he was able to become friends with Old Tucker, he definitely wasn’t bad-natured.

He immediately said in a heavy voice, “Search everywhere, check if there is any remnant of the Twin Snakes Cult.”

“If there isn’t, start a fire and burn everything.”

“Announce that this base was taken care of by the Black Dock Harbor’s garrison. The rewards will naturally not be small when we return!”

Everyone silently nodded. They naturally knew the Wizard was protecting that youth by attracting the attention of the Twin Snakes Cult.

Black Dock Harbor didn’t fear the retaliation of the Twin Snakes Cult. They had the support of the South Wizard Alliance, there was no need to worry!

Old Tucker slowly stood up, still rather shocked. But he recalled Marvin killing the Red Spider Elizabeth that had been causing problems for him for a long time, and was somewhat relieved.

There was no shortage of geniuses in this world.

…

The ice-cold underground river was slowly flowing. The endless darkness had finally passed as a ray of light appeared in front of Marvin.

‘Finally!’

Marvin felt pleased, as he continued to lie on a golden bull’s back, following the underground river.

He only took this path once in the game. At that time, he had been running away from a faction’s pursuit. He escaped straight toward River Shore City, and mingled around there for a while, mainly farming the Scarlet Monastery instance.

As for White River Valley, he didn’t pay attention to it at the time. It was only a very small area, which also had no real points of interest.

Now that he thought about it, that underground river was one of the branch rivers flowing into the White River.

But because its origin was relatively desolate, near the Shrieking Mountain Range, no one cared about it.

These golden bulls would arrive straight to White River Valley by following the river!

‘Looks like apart from the Spider Crypt, the river can also be used to return from Jewel Bay.’

Marvin secretly thought.

He sat on the back of the golden bull, floating all the way.

Familiar landscape gradually appeared in front of his eyes. A dense forest, the small stream converging with the White River.

The river had widened greatly. Marvin checked the Wishful Ropes, making sure each golden bull was following him back home.

It was currently early morning. A lot of farmers in White River Valley had started to cultivate the land.

This summer’s wheat yield was extremely important. Even if quite a lot of people were already starving, they still persisted in farming.

If they didn’t cultivate the land properly, they would be unable to harvest in autumn. As for this year’s winter, they would be unable to do anything about it.

A few days ago, Dame Anna told them that Lord Marvin personally left for Jewel Bay to get food and would definitely buy enough food for everyone to last through this winter.

But most people were still doubtful about this.

Even though Lord Marvin seemed different from before.

After recovering White River Valley he was still a recluse, but his decrees had some pretty good effects. The killing under his castle to establish prestige also gradually changed his image, adding some prominence to his original gentle and kindhearted attitude.

And regarding the rumors of Baron Marvin being Masked Twin Blades, they were also more believable.

For most people, the current Marvin was truly looking more like an Overlord able to defend his territory.

But they still didn’t believe Marvin would return with food on time.

Jewel Bay was a distant region after all.

For many farmers, they had lived in White River Valley for all their lives, and the furthest they went was the northern mine.

They heard that a big mountain separated White River Valley from Jewel Bay and that making a trip around it would take at least half a month.

Lord Marvin was fierce, but he wouldn’t be able to cut through the big mountain, would he?

This was what most of the people had on their minds.

…

The aged Old Tom also thought like this.

As one of the ordinary old farmers from White River Valley, he was one of the first generation of farmers to follow Marvin’s grandfather there.

He had a bit more knowledge than the other farmers, since he at least had been to River Shore City.

He knew that unless Marvin became a Wizard like his grandfather and had many mysterious spells, he wouldn’t be able to succeed.

“Unfortunately, the one who truly inherited the Old Lord’s talent seems to be Young Master Wayne and he is still learning magic far away.”

“Looks like we won’t be able to wait for Young Master Wayne’s magic.”

When Old Tom was cultivating in the field, he was smoking a homemade cigar as he talked with his son.

The latter answered with a grunt of agreement and kept focusing on his work.

Old Tom looked at his son’s figure thinning day by day, feeling some pain in his heart. Even if Dame Anna gave out some food everyday, there wasn’t enough to begin with!

After the gnoll invasion, the days had become increasingly more difficult.

He sighed and lifted his head. Suddenly, he noticed a shadow floating on the White River.

‘That’s…’

‘What’s that thing!’

Old Tom couldn’t see what it was and hurriedly called his son.

Little Tom raised his head, surprised, and look at the White River. There was a golden object, and a man standing on it.

After some time, he yelled, “That’s Lord Marvin!”

“Lord Marvin came back!”

…

Lord Marvin came back!

This created a major event in White River Valley!

Soon, all farmers in White River Valley were looking at Marvin, extremely shocked. They spread the news to one another, and in a short time, the originally silent White River Valley became bustling with noise and excitement!

A dozen minutes later, Marvin leisurely stopped on a relatively flat area on the river bank.

“Lord Marvin!”

Countless people stood around. And when they heard the news, the garrison and Anna also rushed over to welcome Marvin.

Especially Anna; she hadn’t thought Marvin would use such an outstanding way of returning to White River Valley!

Didn’t he take Lola with him to buy food in Jewel Bay? Why did he bring so many golden bulls back?

Before Anna could react, Marvin dragged the golden bulls to the shore by pulling on one bull’s head!

Everyone was in an uproar!

Lord Marvin was actually this strong! These bulls looked so heavy but he managed to pull them on the shore on his own!

This was simply too magical!

But many people were still surprised, “Lord Marvin didn’t buy food?”

“These golden bulls, how much did they cost in the end… How much food could be exchanged for one golden bull!”

“But the question is, where could he exchange it?”

Everyone was doubtful.

Marvin dragged one golden bull out and told Anna to get someone to spread a woven mat on the river bank.

Marvin chanted an incantation, and under everyone’s shocked sight, the golden bull slowly opened its mouth.

“Crshhh!”

Golden wheat poured down as if it was raining!

In an instant, the entire river bank became extremely quiet.

“Be at ease.” Marvin faintly smiled. “I came back, no one will go hungry.”

Cheering voices immediately erupted and covered everything else.

The entire White River Valley was in a frenzy!

Chapter 148: Expected and Unexpected

p>In the afternoon, the news of Lord Marvin coming back with eleven golden bulls spread through the entire territory.

According to those who went to look, each golden bull could spew out endless amounts of food.

And Lord Marvin was the only one able to make those bulls spit food by using a mysterious technique.

As if to confirm the rumor, before night fell, each household near the castle received a lot of food from the guards.

That food could last until fall.

As for the few remote farmer households, Marvin announced that they would soon receive their food too.

Soon, the people of White River Valley were all excited.

Such a big food issue was settled by the magical Lord Marvin just like that!

Marvin’s prestige in the territory rose straight up, even surpassing his father’s, and catching up with that of his grandfather, who was a Wizard!

But not everyone was happy about it.

There were always some unstable factors in the territory.

Some people discreetly spread the news out. That evening, some stories of Baron Marvin and the eleven golden bulls were spread through some taverns of River Shore City.

If Old Tucker and that 3rd rank Wizard knew, they might have died from anger.

They had schemed to protect Marvin, but didn’t expect that he would directly swagger back to his territory with the golden bulls.

Even if doing so could increase the territory’s morale, it would also leave clues to track down!

The other Officer Cleric might not know about the eleven golden bulls’ origins, but the Crimson Patriarch definitely knew.

Because these eleven golden bulls were enchanted by King Cobra on his orders.

Once this news reached his ear, Marvin and the entire White River Valley would fall into a huge crisis!

Naturally, ordinary people wouldn’t know this.

Even Anna and the garrison’s members were deeply impressed by Marvin’s amazing performance and didn’t think too much about it.

But it was different for Marvin.

…

Late at night, in the study.

Marvin silently took out a special candle and very carefully lit it.

The candle gently burned and the glow formed a vague pattern.

A few chaotic noises were emitted.

After a while, an impatient voice was transmitted from it.

“Why did you look for me this quickly? Is something up?”

This was the voice of the old blacksmith.

Like the Twin Snakes Cult, the Night Walker organization also had their own communication method.

This special candle was very precious, and could allow one to communicate with the chosen Night Walker from long distance.

Marvin composed himself and said, “Obviously I have good reason for looking for you.”

“In fact, it’s about the Crimson Patriarch.”

“I have a plan, I need your help.”

The old blacksmith was silent for a moment before saying, “Talk.”

“I need you to contact that Night Walker chasing the Crimson Patriarch!”

Marvin calmly said, “I already have a plan ready, but I need the strength of the organization.”

…

Ten minutes later, Marvin’s candle burned out.

When he was in the underground river this morning, Marvin had carefully thought about this problem.

Should he secretly carry those eleven golden bulls back to White River Valley, or do it out in the open?

The latter would surely attract the attention of the Twin Snakes Cult.

And since Marvin transmigrated, he was always careful about fighting with this kind of large evil power openly.

He had also carefully considered when he took away that Fearless set.

But while he was floating on the underground river, he recalled the conversation between King Cobra and the Crimson Patriarch!

At that time, the Crimson Patriarch seemed to be hunted down by a Night Walker.

Marvin suddenly realized that the current him wasn’t that loner from the game anymore. He had actually forgotten that his current self was no longer that unsociable Ruler of the Night.

The current Marvin was a Night Walker with an organization, and he also had quite a few friends.

Even if his strength was a bit lacking, the forces he could mobilize were sufficient to bury the Crimson Patriarch!

He carefully thought it through for a very long time before making a bold decision!

And that was to openly bring the eleven golden bulls back into his territory.

Thus, the news would soon spread. The Crimson Patriarch would definitely come to White River Valley.

Marvin knew that based on the Crimson Patriarch’s level of ability, even if that Legend Night Walker and Legend Druid teamed up, they wouldn’t be able to catch him. If he was unable to beat them, he would definitely run away.

If the Crimson Patriarch escaped, that Night Walker would definitely be very annoyed.

With all this in mind, Marvin came forth with his daring plan!

Use himself and White River Valley as a bait.

Force the Crimson Patriarch to make a move.

This plan was very bold, but worth trying. If it succeeded, Marvin’s status among the Night Walkers would definitely rise.

And he would also solve a huge hidden danger, and receive a lot of benefits.

If he failed… Then what awaited Marvin and White River Valley would be the Twin Snakes Cult’s vicious retaliations.

But Marvin was confident that if everything went according to his plan, that nearly immortal Crimson Patriarch who was complained about by countless players would certainly lose his life in White River Valley.

‘After all, he still doesn’t have that thing yet,’ Marvin secretly thought.

…

The next day, Marvin sent a trusted guard to Black Dock Harbor to find Lola, telling him of the Spider Crypt’s path.

The others kept going from house to house to distribute the wheat from the first golden bull to the territory’s inhabitants.

Marvin roughly estimated that a single golden bull stored enough wheat for White River Valley to last more than a year!

But he didn’t intend to give all that to the farmers yet, only giving them enough food to last through the winter.

Only by doing so would he increase their motivation to work. Marvin’s territory wouldn’t raise useless people.

He only left one golden bull in the castle’s granary.

He put the remaining 10 in the secret path below the castle, so no one should know about them.

…

The next day, in the evening, a carriage arrived in White River Valley.

Under the castle, Marvin was there to welcome them in person.

There were four people in the carriage. The first to come down was the old blacksmith Sean.

The old man scowled and stopped to say, “You don’t want to live Brat!?”

“Using yourself as a bait? That’s your idea!?”

After his outburst he directly walked toward the castle, not looking back.

Marvin was stunned.

The second person to come down was a handsome middle aged man. He looked at Marvin and extended his hand while displaying a calm smile.

“I am Constantine. Even though it’s the first time we’ve met, I have to say, you are really qualified to become my brother!”

“I was still annoyed at failing to catch that Crimson Patriarch last night, but then I heard such good news.”

“You are very brave. Be at ease, we will definitely succeed.”

Marvin nodded.

He naturally knew that this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man was one of the three most powerful people in the Night Walker organization!

A Legend Night Walker!

It was said that his level was approaching 30, level 10 Ranger and level 18 Night Walker. His level was higher than that of the Elven Prince Ivan.

This middle-aged man was the most important person in the attack on the Crimson Patriarch.

The third person was a Great Druid.

But what surprised Marvin was that this Great Druid was actually a woman.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” She seemed very courteous. “I am Endless Ocean, but you can call me Nicole.”

Endless Ocean!

Surprise flashed through Marvin’s eyes. It was actually one of the future Four Legend Druids of the north, Endless Ocean!

This was a pleasant surprise. Marvin hadn’t been to the north much and also hadn’t met many Druids. Nevertheless, Endless Ocean’s reputation was still very amazing.

However, she became famous in battle because she eliminated a god’s avatar on the Thunder Mountain. That was obviously after the Great Calamity.

The current Endless Ocean should still be a very low-key Great Druid.

‘But her strength should already be more or less what it was at that time! For the Crimson Patriarch to manage to escape from that kind of line-up, he really must have had many life saving things.’

Marvin sighed in his heart. Fortunately he had made proper preparations and also knew some things about the Crimson Patriarch.

…

The fourth person was Sean’s daughter, Jane.

“Father is just a bit worried about you. He told me a lot of things last night. I wasn’t able to react at all.”

Jane softly continued, “I always felt curious about father’s mysterious background. In fact, I should thank you. If not for you doing something so amazing, he would have never told me anything.”

“Well, I actually don’t know how troublesome that bad guy is, but with Uncle Constantine making a move, it must definitely be a super strong bad guy.”

“I hope your plan will succeed!”

Marvin nodded and got some people to find a good place for the carriage and went inside the castle with the four.

But suddenly, Constantine and Endless Ocean stopped walking at the same time!

They abruptly turned and looked far into the distance.

Marvin heart sank, this… Could the Crimson Patriarch already be there?

He wouldn’t be that fast, right?

It had only been a day since information started spreading, it couldn’t have spread to Jewel Bay yet!

He also subconsciously turned to look.

Far in the distance, two carriages were quickly approaching.

Farmers were curiously raising their heads to look at the carriages as they worked.

White River Valley was rarely this lively. It had so many people paying a visit today!

…

The carriage stopped under the castle.

“Wayne! Why did you come back!?”

This was something outside of Marvin’s calculations.

“What? Don’t tell me we aren’t welcome?” A familiar sweet voice of a woman echoed from the carriage.

Marvin froze for a moment.

That woman leisurely stepped out from the cart, showing a surprised expression. “Oh, you have a lot of guests today!”

Ashes Tower’s Master, Hathaway!

The corner of Marvin’s eye faintly twitched. Hathaway’s presence in this place meant one thing for certain.

She had already advanced to Legend!

‘I didn’t expect the Book of Nalu to be this effective!’

Marvin was extremely amazed.

But what happened next shocked him even more.

There were two other people coming out from the carriage.

Marvin also knew these two people!

He was left completely speechless.

Legend Monk Inheim!

Along with that Shadow Thief who had fought the Red Dragon back in Tornado Harbor!

Chapter 149: Gathering of Legends!

p>Marvin stared blankly at the group!

What was going on today? No less than five powerful Legends gathered in the small White River Valley!

Druid, Night Walker, Wizard, Monk, Shadow Thief!

Add Ivan to this lineup and they could even slaughter a god!

And not just a god’s avatar, but a true god!

Of course, it would be some of the weaker gods.

This group of amazing Legends appeared in White River Valley. It really astounded Marvin too much.

…

Both sides also discovered one another.

As Hathaway’s group had come uninvited, Constantine’s group felt somewhat weird.

“You invited others?” He walked over and asked Marvin, surprised.

He looked at Marvin with a strange expression.

A small countryside Lord could actually invite those three powerhouses!

Among those three Legends, he wasn’t too familiar with Hathaway because she had recently advanced. But Inheim and that Shadow Thief were relatively active Legends in the south.

Even if these experts didn’t meet each other, they would still know of the myths about the others.

In the Legend realm, they could recognize the subjects of those myths by looking at them.

“You should be the distinguished Inheim who keeps chasing after the Shadow Prince’s avatar?”

“This person should be [Owl] who fought against the Ancient Red Dragon Ell a few days ago?”

“And that lady is…”

Constantine looked toward Hathaway but was actually unable to come up with a name.

“I am Hathaway, Ashes Tower’s Master.” Hathaway gently raised her chin. “I recently advanced to Legend rank.”

“The day before yesterday to be exact.”

Constantine displayed an expression of understanding. “Turns out you recently advanced, no wonder I didn’t hear about you.”

At that time, Inheim who had kept quiet suddenly took a step forward and addressed Constantine, “[Demon Hunter] Constantine. I heard rumors about you.”

“And this lady is a powerful Druid, you should be [Endless Ocean] I presume. [Eternal Tree] mentioned you. He said that you are the Druid with the greatest chance of becoming one of the most powerful of our time.”

Everyone gathered and started chatting for a while, leaving Marvin to the side.

Marvin actually felt pretty awkward. He couldn’t just butt in the discussion between those Legends.

Every Legend had some pride. When they met someone who was on an equal footing, they would answer with an attitude befitting their status.

They continued chatting for a moment before realizing something.

Their gazes all focused on Marvin.

It would be a lie to say that Marvin wasn’t under a lot of pressure when being stared at by five Legends.

He coughed, “Honored Legends… To tell the truth, I didn’t expect White River Valley to welcome so many outstanding powerhouses today.”

“Everyone certainly has something to say, or to ask.”

“But we should put the discussion off for now.”

Constantine nodded and entered the castle first with Endless Ocean.

And Hathaway looked at Inheim and that Shadow Thief called “Owl”. Seeing them nod, she followed Marvin in.

From seeing that, Marvin guessed that Hathaway didn’t have much authority within that group.

She had to consult Inheim and Owl first.

‘What happened, to make Hathaway suddenly pay a visit?’

Marvin’s brain was filled with questions. He brought the five outstanding guests to an unused living room.

A grand discussion slowly started.

…

“So your target is the Crimson Patriarch? That leader from the Twin Snakes Cult?”

In the conference room, Marvin had started first and explained his own plan on behalf of Constantine’s side.

After listening, the Shadow Thief Owl laughed. “I heard you two joined hands and still let that snake escape, tsk…”

He had a malicious gaze, even carrying a hint of provocation.

Constantine and Endless Ocean looked very calm.

“The Crimson Patriarch is very sly. A lot of people try to kill him and end up failing. I don’t want any interference with this plan.”

Constantine gently added, “The lives of Baron Marvin’s entire family and territory are being used as bait. I don’t want this plan of ours to get ruined.”

Owl sneered, “You think we came to this damnable area to join you in playing house?”

“What does the Crimson Patriarch even count as…”

But Inheim suddenly interrupted and said, “Mister Owl, the Demon Hunter and Endless Ocean aren’t our enemies.”

“We only have one enemy, and that is the Shadow Prince. Please stay clear on this point.”

Owl dully shrugged.

It could be seen that he was quite respectful of Inheim, and even somewhat afraid!

Inheim was able to beat the Shadow Prince’s avatar like a dog when he was wearing the Void Boots, let alone a mere Legend Shadow Thief.

“The Shadow Prince?”

Hearing this, Marvin had a premonition.

“That’s right, the Shadow Prince!”

Hathaway looked at Marvin, smiling, “Are you surprised?”

“In at most two weeks, the Shadow Prince’s new avatar will finish forming. He would set off from the God Realm and go through the Universe Magic Pool to arrive in Feinan.”

“And all we have to do is to kill him after he descends, while he hasn’t completely adapted to Feinan’s restrictions yet!”

Inheim supplemented, “More than just killing.”

“If it was only killing, I could do that by myself, but we need to do more.”

‘Hold on!’

Marvin reacted immediately. “You mean, the Shadow Prince’s avatar will descend in…”

“White River Valley?”

He looked at the three with an disbelieving look.

Is there really such luck?

The Shadow Thief Owl looked at Marvin as if he was looking at an idiot. “What else?”

“Do you think I would come to this lousy place? A territory without a high-class brothel?”

…

It was quiet in the conference room for a moment.

A long three hour discussion ensued.

Marvin almost felt like collapsing from exhaustion at the end.

The information from Hathaway’s sudden visit was really too important.

But in the end, Marvin was far more pleasantly surprised than shocked!

According to the forecast of the Great Druid, [Eternal Tree], the Shadow Prince’s new avatar would descend in White River Valley!

And Inheim who had kept chasing the Shadow Prince was weary of the repetition, so he thought of a new plan.

Thus he looked for Hathaway and Owl to coordinate with him.

In any case, the three would inevitably live in the castle as guests for the next two weeks.

This meant that White River Valley would have no less than five Legends standing guard there!

Five Legends!

What kind of situation was that?

Marvin had originally prepared a series of plans to kill the Crimson Patriarch, afraid that Endless Ocean and Constantine wouldn’t manage to take care of that snake.

But now…

He suddenly somewhat sympathized with the Crimson Patriarch!

Because the five Legends had reached a unanimous agreement.

Since they were all gathered together, they could also act together. Regardless of whether it was the Crimson Patriarch or the Shadow Prince, as long as they didn’t appear together, the five would be able to join forces to deal with them.

Five Legends!

There might not be a stronger lineup in all of East Coast!

…

Marvin was standing on the castle’s highest balcony, overlooking the distant White River.

After the end of the meeting, Inheim took out four protective talismans and gifted them to the other Legends. These protective talismans were said to have been personally crafted by Eternal Tree and could be used to hide one’s aura.

Originally, if it was only to handle the Crimson Patriarch, they could have hidden their auras with their own power.

But the crafty Shadow Prince wasn’t as easy to deceive.

Hathaway and the others made proper preparations for this plan.

The previous attempt on her life left a huge shadow on Hathaway’s heart.

If not for Marvin’s timely warning, she might have died under the Shadow Prince’s attack.

But she had now reached the Legend rank thanks to the Book of Nalu and naturally wanted to settle that problem.

“I heard you stole eleven golden bulls from the Twin Snakes Cult’s Hidden Granary, but I only saw one.” A voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

“This is the room of the Lord of this castle.”

Marvin didn’t turn and continued, “Only the Overlord and his lady can come in.”

“Is it?” Hathaway walked over and leaned on the railing next to Marvin.

Marvin took a glance… and his eyes couldn’t help but twitch.

‘Hathaway, this woman… She actually changed to that six year old appearance again!’

She was wearing a simple dress that looked pleasant, but her voice sounded abnormally mature.

“Eh? I forgot the voice change.” Hathaway suddenly also noticed that point. The last word sounded extremely cute.

Marvin began to have a headache.

This Ashes Tower’s Master could definitely be described as weird.

He didn’t know why she came here!

“Thank you,” Hathaway quietly said.

Marvin shook his head. “You also helped me quite a lot.”

“No, I wouldn’t have been able to advance that quickly without the Book of Nalu.”

Hathaway’s expression was hard to decipher. “You saw me when I was most frightened.”

“If it were an ordinary person, I would have thrown a [Mind Wipe].”

Hearing this, Marvin felt his blood run cold.

But the next second, Hathaway suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed Marvin.

Marvin froze where he stood.

“Like it?” she asked.

Marvin blankly nodded, his brain vacant.

Hathaway turned around and left, her laughter echoing like a silver bell, “Such a small girl kissed you and you enjoyed it that much, I didn’t expect you to be a lolicon!”

“Unfortunately you have to remember that I kissed you, not the other way around.”

“If you want to be the active one… You’ll have to quickly become a Legend.”

Hathaway’s small silhouette disappeared in a shadow of the castle.

Marvin still hadn’t reacted. That kiss felt like an illusion.

He even feebly looked at his logs, but there was no [You have been kissed for the first time] kind of idiotic message.

“First time you got intimate with a girl? Little Marvin?”

A lazy voice echoed behind him.

Marvin suddenly turned. He didn’t know since when, but the Shadow Thief was also leaning on the railing, happily laughing at Marvin.

“Chasing after a Seer is quite straining, don’t you think?”