Night Ranger

Chapter 175: Deceiver

p>4th-circle spell – [Expel Equipment]!

A blue light accurately hit Fegan, and his body began to violently shake.

Madeline had a solemn expression. Whether they could get rid of Fegan would depend on the success of this spell.

[Expel Equipment] was a very special spell. Its effect was to make the enemy lose all of his armors and weapons. The effect didn’t seem especially powerful, but when facing Avenger Fegan, this outstandingly equipped melee class holder, it would play a big role.

But this spell was like Dissociation, because it could be completely resisted.

Blue lightning twisted around Fegan’s body as his armor began to make a buzzing sound, seemingly wanting to leave him!

“Impossible!”

But at that time, a large pillar of holy light scattered away the face behind him.

The entire Hall suddenly fell into silence.

Only Collins’ coughing voice was left.

“Fuck off!” he said.

The power of Evil Spirit Overlord Diggles that was attached to Fegan was dispersed by Collins!

His various resistances dropped rapidly.

Fegan alarmingly looked at his armor peeling off bit by bit. He tried to grab his weapon, but under that blue lightning, his greatsword also flew away to the other end of the Hall with a “Clang”, fiercely stabbing itself into a wall!

In a few breaths, Fegan’s armor and weapons were completely stripped off, leaving only an ordinary training uniform!

‘It worked in the end!’

Sweat covered Madeline’s forehead.

If this 4th-circle spell had failed, then she and Collins would have a hard time.

But now, Fegan who had lost his weapon and armors was already trapped!

“Surrender, Avenger,” Madeline softly said. “Make your subordinates surrender and I won’t kill you.”

Surrender?

The unarmed and defenseless Fegan suddenly burst out laughing. “Madeline, you are too naive.”

“I still haven’t avenged my deep hatred with a bloodbath. How could I surrender to you, humans?”

Madeline frowned and said, “You were human in the past.”

“In the past,” Fegan argued, “But ever since that group of ignorants regarded me as a source of plague and sacrificed me to some god, I stopped being human.”

“I’ll take revenge upon all living beings.”

“This is my fate.”

Madeline sighed. She knew quite a bit about Avenger Fegan’s matters. His fall was tragic and pitiful.

But not every pitiful man could be forgiven after committing sins, and Madeline had never been a softhearted person!

“Since that’s the case, then die.” Her expression once again turned extremely grim.

“I have already died once. Lemme tell you how death feels…” Fegan chuckled, “What’s more, Madeline, do you really think that just because you removed my armor I can’t do anything to you?”

As he talked, he body suddenly started undergoing an astonishing transformation.

A pair of wings made up of rotting flesh spread from his back.

His hands turned metallic with the sharpness of daggers!

“I didn’t stay idle these years. I made a few modifications to my body, and I’m quite satisfied with them.”

“What do you think? Lady City Lord?”

Fegan chuckled in a low voice. His body suddenly sped up and his two wings flapped rapidly. He rose up from the ground, frantically flying toward Madeline!

“Careful!” Collins shouted with a pale face.

He also hadn’t expected Fegan to be this crazy with his own body!

A flying melee class was a huge threat to Wizards!

“If I can’t deal with a filthy undead, how could I speak of advancing to become a Legend?”

Madeline’s expression was extremely resolute as she firmly stared at the rushing Fegan, put both hands together in a sign of prayer and began to prepare a spell.

She had no intention of dodging, and in fact, she wanted to directly compete with Fegan!

“Stupid Wizard!”

Fegan flew very quickly and shortly arrived in front of Madeline, ferociously stabbing his sharp hands at her.

…

In a world of decay, on the supreme throne.

“Hateful humans…”

“Silver God, I’ll get rid of you sooner or later!”

“To actually dispel my shadow twice in a day.”

The roars of Evil Spirit Overlord Diggles echoed throughout the entire decaying plateau.

All the Evil Spirits stayed silent. Their shapes were varied, but they all had repulsive appearances.

This place was filled with fumes, filth and large amount of negative energy. But for those Evil Spirits, that was the best nourishment.

“Lord, useless guys like Morris won’t accomplish what you desire.”

“Please send me.”

A huge monster that seemed to be the size of a small hill slowly ambled over from the distance.

His words were neither slow nor fast, but they carried a very powerful pressuring aura.

“It’s not the time,” Diggles coldly said. “I know you want to get merits, but you still haven’t finished absorbing the entire Rotting Sea’s power.”

“If you went to Feinan, it would be too easy to attract the eyes of others. Those Half-Legends or new Legends might not know what to do with you. But there are still many Legends who chose to remain in Feinan.”

“Recently they seem much more active than before. Especially that Inheim who gave no face to a god from Heaven and killed his avatar. If you go, just one punch of that guy would turn you into dust.”

The giant stayed silent for a moment before slowly asking, “Who are you preparing to send!?”

Diggles thought for a moment before suddenly snapping his fingers. “[Deceiver]!”

A graceful woman, beautiful like a fairy, appeared in front of him.

“Lord. Deceiver obeys your order.” Her voice was also very pleasant to hear, giving a wonderful feeling.

Diggles frowned. “Don’t always turn into the Moon Goddess Faniya. Just seeing that bitch makes me upset!”

“Yes Lord.” The woman’s figure suddenly transformed, and her hair turned golden as she transformed into another good looking woman.

“Now it’s the appearance of the Guardian God that you like,” she softly said.

Diggles helplessly rubbed his forehead. “I have an important task for you.”

“Kill that Madeline and Collins?” she asked.

“No, I want you to open the White Deer Cave and establish a Disaster Door,” Diggles grimly said.

“This way, our Evil Spirit army can come pouring into Feinan, even though the Disaster Door would ultimately get closed.”

“But River Shore City and the surrounding areas would definitely end up being destroyed!”

“This is my lesson for them!”

“Remember, before the Disaster Door is set up, you must hide your identity.”

The woman nodded. “Lord, please rest assured.”

“We Shapeshift Sorcerers are the best at transformation, I can very easily disguise myself.”

“But after this task is completed…”

Diggles impatiently waved his hand. “After this task is completed, I’ll free your younger brother. You can go where you want after that.”

“Many thanks Lord.” The woman slightly bowed before disappearing into thin air.

Diggles coldly smiled on the throne.

“Release your younger brother?”

“Such a joke.”

…

Second Hall. The fight between Demon God Enforcers and soldiers was still ongoing.

Even though the Wizard corps was providing support, the knights’ casualties kept increasing.

For each Demon God Enforcer put down, there would be two knights taken down with him!

And even more people received serious injuries.

The battlefield situation was extremely desperate.

The rest of the guards had already brought pikes and surrounded the Demon God Enforcers. This kind of strategy might be a bit safer, but the effect wasn’t especially good.

The morale of River Shore City’s army was extremely low.

“Lady Madeline and Sir Collins have still not dealt with that Fegan.”

“The Demon God Enforcers are too troublesome, we can’t keep this up.”

“Yeah, we are simply throwing our lives away.”

Some people had already begun complaining in the nobles’ private armies.

There were only twenty-two Demon God Enforcers remaining, yet they were pressuring an army of over a hundred men.

This fighting strength was too frightening.

Each of those encirclements had faint signs of collapse.

But at that time, a voice spoke from outside a small team surrounding a Demon God Enforcer. “Step aside.”

“I’ll go.”

Everyone looked back in surprise.

Baron Marvin!

It was him!

They had just witnessed Marvin killing a Demon God Enforcer and couldn’t help but caution, “Baron Marvin, it’s very dangerous alone!”

Marvin unsheathed his daggers and calmly nodded.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll go.”

Everyone was speechless, but a hole opened in the encirclement.

Marvin took a deep breath and suddenly rushed in!

The Demon God Enforcer disdainfully turned his head and raised his oversized greatsword, slashing toward the oncoming Marvin.

“Careful! Lord Marvin!” Someone loudly yelled.

Regardless of their previous attitudes, Marvin had displayed powerful strength and incomparable wisdom, so most of River Shore City’s soldiers regarded Marvin as one of their people.

Seeing Marvin stepping forward during this crisis, facing that powerful Demon God Enforcer alone, they would naturally feel admiration, along with worry.

Many people already had a very favorable opinion of Marvin, even to the point of worship.

They didn’t want Marvin to die under the Demon God Enforcer’s sword!

….

Marvin was like lightning, as his Demon Hunter Steps and Flicker combo let him move forward in an elusive path.

After easily dodging the greatsword, Marvin launched his attack.

Burst! Night Jump!

Marvin jumped on the Demon God Enforcer’s arm, both legs winding around his wrist, and using the momentum to spin.

“Clang!”

Edge Snatch was effective, and the Demon God Enforcer’s big greatsword fell to the ground.

The monster angrily raised his fist, wanting to punch Marvin to death.

But what happened next shocked everyone senseless!

Marvin body started to transform strangely.

He transformed from a thin human into a huge Basilisk twisting around the Demon God Enforcer!

“Bang!”

The Basilisk’s tail whipped against the Demon God Enforcer’s arm, knocking it away.

Then, Marvin’s transformed body coiled, layer after layer, around the Demon God Enforcer!

“Sssss!”

The Basilisk’s tongue came out, before opening his maw and biting the head of the Demon God Enforcer, still covered by a helmet.

Quietly, the four incredibly sharp venomous fangs pierced through the armor and into the Demon God Enforcer’s skull.

[You killed a Demon God Enforcer, gaining 1189 battle exp.]

[You (Basilisk-shape) absorbed a Demon God Enforcer’s soul fire. Battle experience doubled. (2378 exp)]

Chapter 176: Two-Headed Snake Marvin

p>‘Double the experience!?’

This was something Marvin hadn’t expected.

The huge Basilisk tossed away the soul fire he absorbed from the Demon God Enforcer and aimed at the next enemy!

All the onlookers were completely stunned.

The Demon God Enforcer that gave them so much trouble… died like this?

“Help me out!” Marvin hissed with his Basilisk body, “Use any means possible to disarm the Demon God Enforcers, and then I’ll be able to get rid of them.”

“Got it!” Gordian and a few Paladins immediately began arranging themselves.

They formed a small temporary squad and approached the next Demon God Enforcer.

…

Earlier, when Marvin was annoyed at not being able to shift into the Asuran Bear, he suddenly remembered that he had another Shapeshift skill.

That night in the Hidden Granary, he got a Nature Leaf after killing King Cobra.

The spell in the Nature Leaf was [Shapeshift Basilisk]!

Maybe he was in too much of a hurry after getting it, or maybe it was because of Marvin’s subconscious dislike toward the Basilisk’s evil appearance, but he had never considered using this transformation.

But this didn’t mean the spell was bad.

Marvin had immediately checked the details of the spell description.

He was overjoyed after looking it over. After shapeshifting into a Basilisk, Marvin would not only have extremely powerful defensive and constricting abilities, but also his Basilisk fangs with extremely strong piercing.

Marvin went with an experimental approach and used Edge Snatch on the Demon God Enforcer before shapeshifting and trying to kill it.

He hadn’t expected the Basilisk’s fangs to be so sharp, easily piercing through the Enforcer’s skull.

What shocked him even more was that after transforming into a Basilisk, he gained [Soul Absorption] as an innate ability.

His venomous fangs could absorb the enemy’s soul to strengthen his own.

This ability felt like it leaned towards being evil, but using it to deal with Demon God Enforcers was certainly good!

After absorbing the enemy’s soul, Marvin found out that this way of killing them earned him double the experience.

Every Demon God Enforcer suddenly seemed like a very attractive gift of experience to Marvin!

“Let’s go!”

The Two-Headed Snake Marvin rapidly glided across the floor, impatiently pouncing toward the next enemy!

The knights also seemed to have found hope, doing their utmost to cooperate with Marvin.

They might not be able to kill a fully equipped Demon God Enforcer, but by working together, they could still manage to disarm it.

Therefore, the originally fierce battle turned strange in one corner of the hall.

…

“Hu!”

With the aid a few knights, Gordian fiercely swung his holy hammer, disarming the Demon God Enforcer who was caught unprepared.

Marvin immediately rushed in, ferociously pouncing on his prey.

The Basilisk’s shape was really easy to use, and he firmly coiled around the Enforcer in an instant.

The sharp fangs once again dug deep into the Demon God Enforcer’s skull, absorbing his soul fire!

After a short two seconds, the Demon God Enforcer who was trying to resist suddenly died.

The soldiers began to cheer!

The tactic was effective!

Every soldier began cooperating with Marvin.

The Demon God Enforcers were surrounded and the ground was covered in frost, making it impossible for them to break out of the encirclement.

Under the lead of Marvin the Two-Headed Basilisk, River Shore City’s morale rose precipitously!

Now they saw a way to defeat the Demon God Enforcers.

They saw hope!

“Long live Lord Marvin!”

Even such a cheer could be heard from the troops.

‘Pshh!”

Marvin pounced once again, resulting in another Enforcer’s death.

He didn’t pay any attention to the flattery and praises, simply looking for the next prey instead.

His shapeshifting time was very limited.

It would be a shame if he didn’t take the chance to collect more experience.

Marvin hadn’t expected the Basilisk shape to have such an astounding effect. Obviously, he wanted to make full use of it.

….

On the other end of the hall, the fight was also about to conclude.

Avenger Fegan was very strong despite his armor getting stripped. He was still a powerful melee class holder after all.

Being able to still resist the joint attack of Collins and Madeline for this long was already quite impressive.

After all, this was the era where casters had the advantage!

Slice!

As Madeline streaked through the sky on her magic carpet, all sort of markings appeared on her body.

Every mark represented one of the specialties she had activated.

There were all sorts of caster specialties. Compared to those of melee classes, Wizard specialties, when coupled with the spells they picked, usually displayed an even more frightening effect.

Of course, there were also some specialties that were essential. For example, one Madeline had activated, [Mobile Casting].

To be able to precisely aim spells at enemies from a magic carpet moving this quickly, a high level in [Mobile Casting] was the bare minimum.

The Slice spell flew across and severed Fegan’s fleshy wing.

Fegan howled in grief as he fell down unwillingly.

“Clang!””Clang!”

Four swords of light intersected together, nailing Fegan’s body to the ground.

Four [Chosen Paladins] emitting silver light coldly looked at Fegan.

Collins’ complexion had become even paler. Summoning four Chosen Paladins was clearly something too strenuous for him.

The swords of light in their hands had a bonus restraining effect toward the undead. If Fegan acted without thinking, he would be hacked to death by those swords!

“It’s over at last.”

After consecutively casting so many spells, Madeline was also somewhat tired.

She slowly descended and took a glance at the other end of the hall.

She originally thought there would be a bitter struggle, and that her subordinates would be locked in a close fight.

How could she have expected that when she looked over, all the soldiers had already finished their battle!

All the Demon God Enforcers were already dead.

The knights were helping the wounded to the camp while the medics began their own tasks.

Madeline was dumbstruck.

How could this be…?

Even if those Vampires acted, they would still be unable to so quickly suppress thirty Demon God Enforcers, right?

White Gown Collins was also shocked.

The battle on the other side of the hall unexpectedly ended faster than this side’s? He had thought that after getting rid of Fegan, he and Madeline would still have to help the soldiers.

What happened?

Could someone have found a way to handle the Enforcers?

When Collins thought of this, Marvin’s silhouette suddenly flashed in his mind.

‘Could it be him?’ the old fox thought in silence.

…

Madeline relaxed. Regardless of how, that battle ending much faster was a good thing.

Perhaps one of the experts she invited had some real skill.

That’s what she thought.

But Fegan, who was still pinned to the ground by those four Chosen Paladins, suddenly began muttering an incantation.

“Want to run? No way!”

Madeline reacted pretty quickly. She cast Bind in a certain direction by following her Perception!

As expected, Fegan’s silhouette disappeared from the ground and appeared in that direction.

“Bang!”

The Bind successfully caught Fegan’s right hand.

But Fegan bellowed and forcefully severed his arm!

Madeline had caught him, but it was only an arm!

“No good!”

Collins and Madeline hadn’t expected that Fegan could use this kind of spell!

He frantically continued to flee.

A door was slowly opening ahead of him.

The Temporary Teleportation Gate would stay open for at most three seconds. But that time was enough for Fegan to run through and escape from this place.

Would he really get away after all this?

Madeline glanced at Collins.

The latter also bitterly smiled. The Chosen Paladins were already chasing after him, but it was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to catch up!

After using those two spells, they had nothing left to stop Fegan!

“Too cunning… He deliberately made it look like he would rather die fighting than flee.”

“Damn. He actually ran, and he is even faster when fleeing!”

Madeline angrily ground her teeth.

If they let Fegan escape, she wouldn’t be able to relax!

…

Fegan had suffered a serious injury which actually slowed him down somewhat, but he had rushed right for the door.

‘Still managed to escape,’ he thought.

The next second, he started rushing through the gate.

But suddenly a strong force coiled around his body!

It was a snake tail!

“Bang!”

It forcefully pulled him back and raised him up before ruthlessly smashing him against the ground!

The pitiful Fegan suffered a serious injury and then was caught by Marvin, who had been lying in wait.

The Two-Headed Snake pounced on him, and Fegan was simply an arrow at the end of its flight. The throw left him dizzy and unable to resist.

“Sssss!”

Marvin controlled a head, making it ruthlessly bite down.

The venomous fangs pierced through Fegan’s forehead, easily absorbing his soul fire!

Even though he was was the leader of the Demon God Enforcers, he was still unable to change his soul.

As long as his soul fire was absorbed, he would definitely die!

Under the assault of the Two-Headed Basilisk, Avenger Fegan couldn’t even let out a shriek before he was killed by Marvin.

[You killed Fegan the Avenger. You obtained 4786 battle exp.]

[You (Basilisk-shape) absorbed Avenger Fegan’s soul fire. Battle experience doubled. (9572 exp)]

[You have killed a sufficient number of people during the night. You have unlocked the hidden specialty – Night Kill.]

…

A lot of logs flashed in front of Marvin as he relaxed in satisfaction.

But he suddenly felt like he was in danger!

Madeline and Collins both locked onto him!

They looked ready to cast a spell at any time.

“What’s this?”

Madeline and Collins were both somewhat startled. Where did this Two-Headed Basilisk come from?

It wasn’t here before.

“Long live Lord Marvin!”

Many knights’ cheers echoed from behind them at that time!

Madeline was stunned.

What was going on?

Chapter 177: That Man

p>”You still had such a powerful Shapeshift spell?”

“With the ability to restrain Demon God Enforcers!?”

“Why didn’t you say it earlier?”

Late at night, in the tent, Madeline was complaining to Marvin.

When she found out that the Two-Headed Snake was Marvin, she was extremely shocked. Even though a Ranger using spells wasn’t anything inconceivable, Shapeshift Basilisk was something quite rare.

Among the World Tree’s Nature Leaves, few would have a spell able to shapeshift into an evil creature.

What Marvin had was truly rare. But, it was understandable for a Nature Leaf obtained from the Twin Snakes Cult to have an extraordinary spell.

In any case, who knew how many lives were saved by Marvin’s amazing performance?

Everyone was incredibly grateful to him.

Madeline hadn’t cared about that since Marvin’s strength wouldn’t be a threat toward her anyway.

But, she cared about why Marvin hadn’t used this spell earlier!

Marvin could only helplessly admit that he didn’t realize how strong the spell was until the last moment.

Especially its effectiveness against Demon God Enforcers.

This answer left Madeline speechless.

But ultimately, she was very satisfied with the outcome.

The Demon God Enforcers who had always been roaming near River Shore City were completely wiped out, and twenty-three of them had died under Marvin’s hand. Fegan the Avenger also lost his life.

An important goal of the attack on the Scarlet Monastery had already been reached.

The only thing that gave Madeline a bit of a headache was that Marvin had once again achieved great merits!

Fegan was killed by him, and two thirds of the Demon God Enforcers were bitten to death by him.

Marvin’s contribution in the conquest of the Third Hall was at least two thirds!

But the Third Hall was quite impoverished. Besides those armors glued to the Demon God Enforcers, there was no valuable loot.

This group of destitute ghosts didn’t even have a treasure chest to loot. Demon God Enforcers only knew how to kill. Killing them reaped no profits.

Madeline didn’t know what to use to reward Marvin.

But fortunately, Marvin was already very satisfied with the harvest.

Fegan and his subordinates gifted him a huge experience gift.

Thus he didn’t make it awkward for Madeline. He only took the bodies of all the Demon God Enforcers. Another weird request.

But Madeline could understand this request.

Even if the corpses were joined together with their armors, as long as he found a way to melt their bodies, the armors could still be used.

After all, these were armors crafted under the orders of that powerful Lich long ago. Each set of armor was extremely hard, and these thirty sets were enough to assemble a heavy cavalry unit.

These armors were in fact extremely valuable.

But melting the corpses lying inside was a very complicated matter. And rumor was that these armors were enchanted with the Lich’s curse, so that any who wore one would turn into another Demon God Enforcer monster.

Therefore, Madeline didn’t object to Marvin’s request, and the others wouldn’t say anything else.

…

After the Demon God Enforcers were eliminated, the group finally occupied the Third Hall.

They camped just like before. Madeline had twice as many people guarding for the night. She stayed at Marvin’s tent for a very long time.

Besides complaining and distributing loot, she very seriously inquired Marvin about the Fourth Hall.

Never before had Marvin seen her this serious.

It was clear that Madeline cared a lot about it.

Legend… Who didn’t wish to become a Legend? She had already stopped at level 20 for a very long time. Even though she had an abyssal bloodline and her fighting strength was a lot stronger than average level 20 Wizard’s, lifespan was after all very limited. If you missed the optimal age to advance to Legend, trying to break through would be very difficult!

They had captured more than half of the Scarlet Monastery’s five halls.

She was already close to being victorious.

At this crucial moment, she was ready to exhaust every means to achieve victory.

Just for that thing!

…

‘Book of Nalu, Third Page.’

In the tent, lights shone on Madeline’s serious face. Marvin sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, Madeline was looking for items that could let her advance to become a Legend, and the God of Deception’s Book of Nalu was one of them!

Hathaway had the 6th page, and the one underground was the 3rd page.

The 3rd page of the Book of Nalu also had a horrifying prophecy written down.

People could get boundless knowledge from it, letting them advance to Legend rank… Naturally, some would lose their lives.

But Marvin knew that the 3rd page of the Book of Nalu was a lot more dangerous.

Because in reality, each page of the Book of Nalu was a chapter. And every chapter had a unique name.

Book of Nalu – Chapter 6 – Rebirth

Chapter 3 – Destruction

Madeline didn’t get that Destruction chapter in the game, so she never advanced to Legend.

Marvin wasn’t too clear about her fate. After all, he only travelled around River Shore a few times when he was at a low level before farming the Scarlet Monastery, not paying too much attention.

But in the disaster, it was highly likely that a Half-Legend wouldn’t be able to pass the willpower check, dying in an explosion or turning into a monster.

Should he help her get that 3rd page of the Book of Nalu? Marvin sank into a dilemma.

…

“Hey. I am asking you.”

Madeline saw Marvin getting lost in his thoughts, and felt a bit annoyed.

“That man, how much do you know about him?”

Marvin recovered.

He pondered and ultimately said, “In a fight, we are definitely no match for him.”

Madeline frowned. “Collins and I still have trump cards…”

“How many cards could you use?” Marvin sneered, “Unless you can bring the kind of experts that were in my territory that night, you won’t have any chance.”

“Is he really that strong? I only heard some rumors about him.” Madeline’s heart sank.

“The Heavenly Sword Saint…” Marvin sighed, “Ordinary Legends might not be his match!”

“He can even kill gods! Do you think you could get rid of him with ordinary means?”

Madeline was silent for a moment before laughing bitterly. “Regardless of how, I need to try.”

“This is my only chance.”

Her eyes were resolute. Strangely, this Half-Succubus looked extremely pure and holy at that moment.

…

After Madeline left.

Marvin’s sight shifted to Isabelle on the side. The latter looked away guiltily.

“What were you doing during that fight?” Marvin asked.

“… I was hiding in the First Hall.” The girl bowed her head.

“You still don’t know how to lie.” Marvin solemnly looked at Isabelle. “Did you follow me?”

He had a feeling someone was next to him during that battle.

When he searched with his perception, he didn’t find any trace.

And the fight was very stressful, so he couldn’t focus on too many things.

But he remembered afterwards, and his intuition told him that the person at his side was most likely the disobedient Isabelle.

As expected, the little girl raised her head, and after quickly mouthing a few words, she disappeared where she was!

Marvin was dumbstruck!

Strong Invisibility?

Wouldn’t she need a second rank class to get that skill?

He carefully used his perception and found out that he couldn’t find any trace of Isabelle!

Such a powerful ability…

“I can be very safe.”

As the voice spoke, Isabelle once again appeared in front of Marvin.

“This was an ability I recently comprehended. You can rest assured Baron Marvin. This ability doesn’t burn my lifespan.”

Marvin nodded.

As expected of an Innate Assassin…

He checked Isabelle’s levels, only level 4 Thief (Variant). Yet she had that Blink skill and Strong Invisibility.

After becoming a Legend, she would definitely be able to suppress the Shadow Prince’s avatar!

“Rest early, this war might be over tomorrow,” Marvin softly said.

Isabelle nodded and obediently got into her sleeping bag.

And even after Marvin also lied down, his brain was working at full capacity.

That man…

Such a problem.

That underground floor didn’t only have that page of the Book of Nalu. It also had something Marvin wanted.

‘How do we solve this?’

…

The next morning.

River Shore City’s troops finished assembling under Madeline’s orders, and set foot on the path to the Fourth Hall!

Between the Third Hall and the Fourth Hall was a very long path.

That path was filled with all kinds of traps.

This time, the team of rogues was put to use.

When facing the Demon God Enforcers, they simply couldn’t do anything. But clearing the traps in front of them was their specialty

The path took a long time to cross.

It was mainly because even if there were a lot of rogues, there were even more traps.

And there were many different kinds of traps.

Despite Madeline bringing high-level rogues with strong trap removal abilities, by the time they arrived in the Fourth Hall, three rogues had lost their lives.

One was poisoned, and the other two triggered explosive traps.

Everyone silently entered the Fourth Hall.

This was an extremely wide area.

Above them was a vaulted dome with enchanting murals, and four sturdy but delicate pillars supported the ceiling.

A man was sitting in the center of the hall, empty-handed and eyes closed.

He seemed to be asleep.

But when Madeline took a step forward, that man suddenly opened his eyes.

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

His expression was very gentle and he looked quite nice. He looked like the big brother next door.

“Stop there,” he said, “Please don’t go any further.”

“If you do so, it’ll be very difficult for me.”

“He is sleeping very well, please don’t disturb his sleep, okay?”

“I am unwilling to injure you, but if you are thinking of taking another step further… I’ll have no other choice.”

“Because I swore to protect him…”

His sentence was interrupted by another voice.

Marvin suddenly stood out and said, “Protect him?”

“You speak of protecting. Is that why a sword was stabbed into his chest when he was about to become a god?”

Chapter 178: God and Man

p>Everyone was startled.

Others wouldn’t be able to understand Marvin’s words. After all, only a few people knew what was behind that Lich’s ascension to godhood.

But this sentence was clearly aggressive and doubting.

Wouldn’t it make this powerful man go berserk?

Everyone tightly held onto their weapons, ready to battle. They didn’t blame Marvin because, after all, they came here to fight.

…

But that man’s expression was still as gentle as before.

He was silent for a moment and looked at Marvin. “Apparently you heard some stories.”

“But regardless of what they say, I don’t think I made a mistake.”

“I couldn’t just helplessly watch as he turned into a subordinate god of the Slaughter God. The world would have become even more chaotic.”

“Thus, I stopped him.”

“But he was my beloved younger brother.”

“Thus, I’ll protect him.”

“Do you understand?”

He calmly asked Marvin, “Do you have a younger brother?”

To his surprise, Marvin nodded. “I have one. He is 9 years old this year.”

The man nodded back. “Then you should understand what I did.”

“I don’t want to know what you guys came here for. Maybe it’s to eliminate those evil lifeforms? If that’s the case, your goal has already been accomplished. You can leave.”

“Don’t think of taking another step forward, it won’t go well.”

“I failed him once, so I will make it up for a lifetime.”

Everyone was speechless.

That guy in front of them, even if his tone was gentle and he looked calm, his words carried a strong bias.

He was completely crazy!

“The one who stopped the Lich from ascending was his older brother?”

“The Heavenly Sword Saint and the Half God Lich were in fact brothers?”

The knights had a shocked appearance as they quietly chatted about the topic.

Even Madeline and Collins had expressions of surprise on their faces.

It was very clear that among everyone here, only Marvin was already aware of this.

…

This was the story of a pair of brothers becoming enemies.

The Heavenly Sword Saint was rather famous in the Third Era, and his younger brother was a Wizard living in his older brother’s shadow.

Later, because of some unknown conflicts, both sides had a serious disagreement and the younger brother left for the South, leaving the North where they had lived for all their lives.

His character became evil and under the guidance of a power, he became a Lich and established a force in the north of River Shore City.

Of course, River Shore City had yet to be established at that time.

The Scarlet Monastery, which was the core of this force, had been an innocent monastery that was transformed by the Lich.

Of course, at that time, the Universe Magic Pool had yet to be established, and the 2nd Fate Tablet had split up into pieces which had been obtained by a lot of people. Many Legends of that time chose to ascend.

By chance, the Lich also obtained a small piece of the Fate Tablet, but the god status on that piece of the Fate Tablet was a subordinate domain under the Slaughter God. If he ascended, he would obtain the Slaughter God’s blessing and turn into a weak god.

At that time, weak gods could still come and go between heaven and the human world. Thus, many gods with potent divine power would be fond of expanding their own group of subordinate gods.

That way it would be easier to set up their influence in Feinan.

As such, the Lich and other similar people embarked on the path to godhood. He made proper preparations and condensed a divinity with the help of the fragment of Fate Tablet.

The only thing he needed was to be accepted into the god’s troops, officially obtaining his status.

The Slaughter God gave him a task. As long as he completed the task and proved himself, he could become one of his representatives on Feinan.

The mission was to slaughter a city. At that time, each major city had at least a powerful Legend or someone about to ascend protecting it, so massacring a city wasn’t an easy thing to do.

The Lich, anxious to prove himself, made his preparations.

But while he was preparing, the Heavenly Sword Saint already heard the news and came over.

He was clear about his younger brother’s feelings. He only wanted to prove that he wasn’t inferior to his older brother.

He wanted to prove this by ascending.

But the Heavenly Sword Saint didn’t approve of his way of handling things. He loved the living, and he loved peace. Slaughter was the thing he disliked the most.

Thus he gave two fragments of Fate Tablet that he found to his brother.

“You want to ascend? That’s fine.”

“Please change your domain,” he had requested.

Unfortunately, his younger brother didn’t accept his kindness and threw the two Fate Tablet pieces into the stars.

If Marvin wasn’t wrong, the domain of one of those fragments domain was [Luck]!

Thus he was reminded of this story when he met Ding, Kate’s Fortune Fairy.

If the Lich hadn’t thrown away that fragment at that time, Ding the Fortune Fairy wouldn’t have been born.

This was quite a coincidence.

In the end, they both fought.

The Half-God younger brother wasn’t the match of his extremely famous older brother.

In Feinan, gods were only another kind of lifeform. They might generally be more powerful, but humans were the race with the most potential!

The strength of humans didn’t have an upper limit. Becoming a Legend wasn’t the end.

Rumors said that a lot of Legends from the 3rd era didn’t choose the path to ascend, instead choosing continuous practice, the path to strengthen themselves. They might not be very active in Feinan, but they were still there. Their strength was unlike those weak gods!

People like Inheim couldn’t compare. The only one of those Legends Marvin had met was the Great Elven King Nicholas.

He was someone who could face gods with powerful divine power.

Thus, the Heavenly Sword Saint defeating his younger brother wasn’t very surprising.

Ultimately, he thrust his own Legendary Sword [Starry Sky] into his brother’s chest.

He didn’t die from it, only falling into a deep slumber.

Before closing his eyes, the Lich saw his own future and said, “You can’t kill me, Older Brother.”

“When the true calamity arrives, we will meet once again.”

And that man only nodded and replied, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

Thus he stayed in this ice-cold hall, waiting for over a thousand years.

In this thousand something years, Feinan’s order stabilized with the establishment of the Universe Magic Pool.

No one cared if there was a man powerful enough to kill a god quietly sitting in a monastery.

Only some wandering bards would sing about the glory of the 3rd Era in taverns in some distant corners of the continent. They occasionally mentioned that man whose sword split the starry sky in two.

And most people only thought it was fake.

It was only an exaggerated rumor. How could someone genuinely split the sky in two?

…

“Regardless, since we came, we have to try.”

Madeline stood out.

The Heavenly Sword Saint nodded. The next second, countless cyan lights appeared on his body.

These dots of lights finally condensed into bright swords.

A total of twelve swords calmly floated around his body, slowly rotating.

Those watching that scene were stunned.

Even though it wasn’t Marvin’s first time seeing the Heavenly Sword Saint’s skill, looking at these twelve swords also stunned him.

There was indeed a difference between the game and reality!

This guy really was at the peak of swordsmanship. These dots of light were cores of discarded stars he had collected and successfully transformed into Legendary weapons.

In other words, every sword was a Legendary Weapon!

In the game, this Heavenly Sword Saint’s skill was cursed by countless players…

“How is this a world of swords and sorcery, he is fucking using flying swords…”

…

“Three chances,” he simply said.

“I am just sitting here. If you can break through my defense, I’ll let you go to the underground floor to pick out one item.”

His swords weren’t used to kill, but to protect.

Marvin shook his head.

Breaking through was impossible.

Madeline didn’t believe it. She and Collins joined hands and soon, a great amount of Arcane Power and Divine Power filled the Fourth Hall.

…

The ending of the battle between the two Half-Legends and the Legend powerhouse was bound to be hopeless from the start.

Twenty minutes later, Madeline’s face was ashen. She had nearly run out of spells and she couldn’t harm a single hair of that Heavenly Sword Saint!

White Gown Collins was also bitterly smiling.

Unless he used the God Descent Divine Spell, he could even begin to think of competing against this guy.

River Shore City’s knights already didn’t know what to say.

The Vampires and the others were also the same.

Was Madeline strong?

Was Collins strong?

They were very extremely powerful!

Those two were basically at the peak under the Legend rank.

But that man before their eyes was actually sitting there, letting them use spells and Divine Spells to bombard him, with only his barrier of swords!

“Stop.” He still had that gentle expression.

“None of you are my match.” His tone was very peaceful, but his words were extremely arrogant.

But no one dared to disprove him!

That was the truth.

Madeline bit her lip.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know the Fourth Hall had such a powerful old freak protecting it.

But she was unwilling to believe it before personally experiencing it.

It was the Legend rank after all… The Book of Nalu was almost in her sight.

As long as she crossed this mountain, she could obtain an almost eternal lifespan!

A Legend’s lifespan was at least one millennium. Very rarely would anyone hear of Legends dying of old age.

This was the reward of the plane toward those who kept making great efforts to increase their own strength.

…

This mountain, were they really unable to cross it?

The mood of the River Shore City group was depressing.

Madeline sighed, silently turning around.

She was about to order a retreat.

But at that time, a thin person walked past her.

“Giving up so soon?” he asked.

“Let me try.”

Madeline looked at Marvin, full of shock.

The latter quickly walked in front of the Heavenly Sword Saint and seriously looked at him. “Great Sword Saint, I know you are a Legend. I also heard many rumors about you.

“Most of them are about swordsmanship.”

The Heavenly Sword Saint smiled. “Young man, what are you trying to say?”

Marvin pulled two daggers and gently spun them in a circle.

“Nothing much.”

“I want to compete with you in pure technique.”

“I wonder if you dare to accept my challenge.”

_

T/Reminder: The first three Fate Tablets all appeared during the 3rd Era.

Chapter 179: Technique and Competing

p>”There’s no point trying to bait me.”

The Heavenly Sword Saint laughed. “But I’m very fond of you. Crafty young man.”

“I can give you a chance. I’ll suppress my strength to your level and then compare my sword with yours.”

“You said pure technique. If you can receive ten moves, you can take away one item from the underground floor.”

Marvin nodded. “No problem.”

The Heavenly Sword Saint slowly stood up and casually took out a sword, before suddenly stabbing it toward Marvin!

‘It started?’

Everyone took a deep breath.

They watched with their eyes wide open. They had the feeling that the Heavenly Sword Saint’s swordsmanship must be at a high Master level, while Marvin should have Expert Curved Dagger Mastery. The difference between both sides was like that between the sky and the earth. Even if the Heavenly Sword Saint suppressed his own strength, Marvin couldn’t be his match!

But ever since they entered the Scarlet Monastery, in every matter involving Marvin, their judgement had never been correct.

They were looking forward to see whether Marvin could once again create a miracle!

…

The sword stab seemed ordinary, but it gave enormous pressure to Marvin.

He was very stressed. He was far from the relaxed appearance he displayed outwardly.

The Heavenly Sword Saint’s strength really wasn’t something Marvin could withstand. Even though that prideful guy was conceited enough to suppress his strength, his swordsmanship was still there.

There was a gap between Marvin’s Dagger Mastery and that guy’s swordsmanship.

But if it was ten moves, Marvin still had some confidence!

With his Super Reflex bonus, his reaction time, which was already a lot faster than that of ordinary people, was once again improved.

In cases where both sides’ strength didn’t differ too much, reaction speed would influence the outcome.

‘I can’t dodge this sword.’

‘Compared to swordsmanship, dagger techniques are focused on an extreme. Swords can be used to block and defend, but daggers are only used to kill.’

‘It can only be used to attack!’

This kind of thought flashed through Marvin’s mind.

He let a low shout and used the Demon Hunter Steps to rush forward with his curved daggers crossed, and then suddenly shoved upward.

The sword was flicked away.

…

“Eh?” The Heavenly Sword Saint was surprised.

To use this kind of method to break his first move… This was the first time he had seen such a thing.

“Interesting…”

But he didn’t hesitate.

Facing the approaching curved daggers, he only did a light sweep!

Second move.

Marvin could only helplessly move back.

This sweep was too clever. It completely stopped Marvin’s offense and took back the initiative.

Third move, quick thrust!

This was the same as the first move, but after avoiding the sweep, Marvin was in a bit of an awkward position, and he couldn’t reuse his first trick.

‘Perfect…’

Marvin suddenly burst ahead with his left dagger raised, striking the sword’s edge.

“Clang! Woosh!”

Sparks flew.

Marvin’s left curved dagger deflected the sword, creating space for his right dagger.

Shock appeared for the first time on the Heavenly Sword Saint’s face.

He had no choice but to retreat to dodge this move!

In a moment, both sides exchanged six moves!

And after those six moves, they apparently came out even.

This startled everyone from River Shore City, as their admiration of Marvin grew even more!

A 14 year old youth could actually match a freak that lived for more than a thousand years in terms of skill?

What kind of idea was that?

They simply couldn’t understand!

But Marvin knew that his battle experience was in fact stronger, much stronger than that of anyone in this world, including the freaks who lived for countless years, or even gods!

Could this world’s ordinary people PK everywhere? Or farm monsters?

Nope.

Only players could do this.

In order to strengthen his abilities at that time, Marvin fought with a lot of different monsters, tempering his straight dagger skills which had been brought to the point of perfection. It only took him one dangerous move and he was able to kill the Shadow Prince Glynos!

Even though he had changed classes and was now using curved daggers, there were still a lot of points in common between the two types of weapons.

What’s more, weapons were merely one part of the fight.

There were also observation, judgement and reaction.

In these three areas, if Marvin claimed to be second, no one in Feinan would dare claim to be first.

His fighting instinct had already been tempered to a frightening level.

…

Despite this, the fight with the Heavenly Sword Saint made Marvin feel a huge pressure.

The other side’s swordsmanship was already approaching perfection while his own dagger mastery was still far from that realm. He only relied on his experience to fight with the Heavenly Sword Saint!

8th move.

9th move.

10th move.

Both sides stopped. Marvin wiped away a handful of sweat with his shaking hands, giving a polite nod to his opponent.

The Heavenly Sword Saint still seemed gentle, and didn’t show the least bit of shame. He only sighed and said, “Frightening.”

“In a few years, I might not be your match. I thought I already was the top genius in Feinan, but I didn’t expect that I was wrong.”

Marvin forced a smile. He wasn’t a genius. He had just crawled out of countless life and death battles with monsters.

“Go to the underground floor.” The Heavenly Sword Saint pointed to his left. Suddenly, a dark tunnel slowly opened in the corner of the Fourth Hall.

“Remember, you can only take one thing. I know that underground floor like the back of my hand. If you take any more, I’ll kill you.”

Marvin nodded and put away his daggers before quickly walking over.

…

The people from River Shore City were dumbstruck.

That was it?

Both sides only exchanged ten mediocre moves and it was over?

They couldn’t see what was so strong about Marvin’s technique.

Did the Heavenly Sword Saint throw the match?

Some unconvinced people immediately stood up. “Sir Sword Saint, I also want to compare skills with you.”

The Heavenly Sword Saint was still as calm and collected as before. “Sure.”

…

Following the dark tunnel downward, Marvin didn’t look back once, directly ignoring Madeline’s hinting expression.

He naturally knew what she wanted.

In fact, Marvin didn’t even know what to take.

The underground floor had too many valuable things. Half-Legend Items, powerful Magic Scrolls, fierce weapons, precious jewels… These were treasures the Lich plundered during his life. Each item was extremely precious.

Now they were all buried here with him, in the Scarlet Monastery.

The tunnel descended in a spiral. When Marvin stepped on the level ground, Wizard’s fire automatically lit up the hidden room.

Some things were in a mess, while others were arranged carefully.

But they weren’t covered with the single bit of dust from the passage of time.

Marvin walked in the center of the room where a reindeer’s corpse laid down.

He softly caressed the reindeer fur. “Heaven Rainbow Deer… Tsk…”

There was still a large amount of rainbow antler on the corpse. Each gram of the seven colored antler could be used to make a Goblin Bomb.

On his left was a pile of weapons, while on his right were a few bookcases.

Marvin hesitated for a while before finally walking toward the bookcases.

…

In the Fourth Hall.

“Clang!” A weapon fell to the ground. The knight’s forehead was full of perspiration.

A sword was on his throat.

As long as the other side wanted, he could kill him anytime.

But he didn’t do so.

“Eighteenth person…”

Madeline closely held her fists.

Including the Vampires, all of River Shore’s experts in swordsmanship had already crossed swords with the Heavenly Sword Saint.

But they weren’t his match…. Although that might not be the best way to describe it.

They didn’t even last three moves.

In fact, fifteen of them only managed to deal with the first move.

The onlookers were completely silent.

They finally figured out how powerful Marvin was.

The Heavenly Sword Saint’s swordsmanship was flawless. Even if he suppressed his strength and dueled them, they weren’t his match.

This really left people dejected.

“Is there anyone else?”

Madeline looked at the people behind her with an ashen face.

At that moment, she wished she could be a swordsman and fight that guy.

In any case, it would give her more hope than this group of unreliable men.

But she still had hope in her heart.

That boy Marvin was so mysterious, he should know what was the most valuable thing in the underground floor, right?

But even if he got it, would he give it to her… or even just lend it?

Madeline had a headache.

She knew she was smart and could clearly see through people’s hearts, but she found herself unable to see through this 14 year old youth.

This countryside Baron’s mental age was totally different from his real age.

‘Regardless, if he gets the Book of Nalu…’

‘Ah… As long as I can advance to Legend, I’ll do as he wishes!’

Madeline made up her mind.

At that time, a man slowly walked out from among the Blood clansmen.

He was wearing a cloak and his movements were very graceful. “Sir Heavenly Saint, sorry to bother you.”

“I also want to give it a try.”

The Heavenly Sword Saint nodded and simply said, “Sure.”

…

In the second floor, third row of bookcases.

Marvin was extremely familiar with that corner and grabbed a book.

In his previous life, only the first group to clear the Scarlet Monastery could get that chapter of the Book of Nalu. Even if he farmed the instance multiple times, he didn’t get that page of the Book of Nalu.

Even if everyone was unable to defeat the Heavenly Sword Saint, by relying on some tricks they could still divert his attention by sacrificing some team members, letting a few others secretly enter the underground floor.

But the time they had on their hands was very limited.

It wasn’t like today where he could take the time to choose.

Marvin hesitated in front of so many treasures, but he chose that book in the end.

This book’s name was “Ron Kail’s Science of Alchemy.” It was an excellent alchemy book with no other copies left.

And that page of the Book of Nalu was stuck inside.

‘Whatever, better get this thing.’

Marvin reluctantly looked at the numerous treasures, before finally shed his unwillingness and quickly walked up.

He walked through the dark tunnel and when he arrived in the Fourth Hall he heard a stabbing sound.

The Heavenly Sword Saint’s sword pierced the cloaked man’s shoulder.

Everyone looked at him with pity.

Because this Gwyn of the Blood clan had managed to last nine moves.

But they had no time to feel pity for Gwyn, as Marvin appeared, instantly attracting everyone’s attention!

Madeline suddenly rushed toward him, asking him with a voice full of hope,”What did you get?”

Chapter 180: Jealous?

p>Facing everyone’s curious gazes, Marvin coughed.

“It’s a secret.”

Madeline’s eyes opened wide. She wished she could just take out her whip and make that annoying man beg for forgiveness!

But when this kind of thought appeared in her mind, she suddenly felt an acute pain.

Marvin smilingly said, “As long as you don’t do anything to violate the command contract’s rule, it won’t harm you.”

“Right?”

Madeline’s face blanched in distaste.

She suddenly turned and swept her gaze through River Shore City’s army.

They were all silent.

White Gown Collins forced a smile, spreading out his hands.

The Heavenly Sword Saint was sitting there and apart from Marvin, no one could pass him!

“I’ll become a Legend one day!”

Madeline took a deep breath, watching the Heavenly Sword Saint. “I’ll completely clean this place out afterwards!”

That man gently replied, “Sure.”

Madeline wanted to let it all out.

She was very annoyed.

There were very few men she couldn’t handle in River Shore City!

Relying on her intelligence and charm, who knew how many men were bewitched under her skirt.

However, she met two men unmoved by her during the attack on the Scarlet Monastery.

She wasn’t a match for the first one, his strength way to high. And the second one was tricky.

Thinking of this, Madeline angrily ground her teeth.

Everyone looked at her, waiting for her instructions. Marvin was leisurely walking to Isabelle’s side.

“Retreat!”

Madeline held her breath for a long time before finally giving this order while unwillingly taking a glance in the direction of the hidden path as it disappeared.

River Shore City’s army began to slowly leave the Scarlet Monastery.

They still failed to clean out this place after all.

But at least the Demon God Enforcers and other monsters wouldn’t appear near River Shore City anymore. To Madeline and River Shore City’s inhabitants, this could be considered a consolation prize.

…

On a steady carriage, Marvin was leaning on a cushion, relaxing.

Collins still had that calm appearance. Apart from when he was completely helpless facing the Heavenly Sword Saint, most of the time he displayed a calm and relaxed look.

He didn’t even ask what Marvin got from the underground floor.

After a long time, the old fox unhurriedly mentioned, “Regarding that gold mine, when do you intend to exploit it?”

Marvin thought a bit before answering, “Shouldn’t be too long. I’ll reorganize the territory when I go back this time, and then I’ll gather an army…”

“Relying on adventurers I presume.” Collins was blunt, but he was right, Marvin’s territory was extremely lacking in the fighting side.

Marvin calmly said, “Jewel Bay has many experts.”

“They will come as long as they get paid.”

Collins nodded. “Looks like you found a shortcut leading to Jewel Bay?”

“More or less.” Marvin smiled and said, “In short, in at most two weeks I’ll gather them.”

“Good, two weeks later it is,” Collins agreed. “But an Ogre tribe isn’t easy to handle. If there is a certain amount of losses amongst my subordinates, I’ll withdraw from the battlefield.”

“Rest assured, I have a plan,” Marvin said confidently.

That Ogre tribe migrated to that place because they couldn’t survive in the Shrieking Mountain Range.

Ogre Fighters were innately at the 2nd rank, but their fighting strength was extremely fierce. To deal with this tribe of roughly twenty Ogres without a Wizard, they would need at least an army of two hundred.

Using information under appropriate circumstances; this was tactics.

In short, Ogres were a kind of extremely gifted lifeform, but most of them wouldn’t advance very high.

There had been only a few Legend Ogres in all of Feinan’s history. As for Half-Legends, there were surprisingly a lot of them.

‘To develop White River Valley, I need to get rid of that Ogre tribe.’

‘That is the only way to open up the coastline territory.’

‘Once I establish a port, trading with Jewel Bay would be even more convenient.’

‘The White River and the Pine Cone River are also some of the main rivers in the continent. As long as I make use of them appropriately, it would speed up the entire territory’s development.’

‘The key part is still food and manpower…’

In the cart, Marvin was thinking of the next step of his plan.

But at that time, a Teleportation Portal suddenly appeared.

“Do you need me to close it?” Collins asked. “Since we are allies, the fees will be halved.”

Halved? Wouldn’t that be a quarter of the gold mine?

Marvin gave a hollow laugh. “No need.”

Now that he had the command contract in hand, he wasn’t scared of Madeline trying anything bad.

Collins shrugged, allowing the woman to come in through the portal.

“Baron Marvin!”

Madeline approached with a serious expression. “I think we need to have a chat.”

…

Outside River Shore City, Marvin and Madeline took a stroll.

Isabelle looked like a daughter from a previous marriage, walking two steps behind Marvin.

“Your loot, I already sent people from the logistics team to move it to your White River Valley.”

“Apart from this, I still added a few gifts, including food, clothing and some craftsmen your castle town is lacking.”

“I think my sincerity doesn’t need to be said.”

Madeline stopped and looked at Marvin. “Tell me, what did you get in that underground floor?”

Marvin first thanked her.

And then remained silent.

He hadn’t thought of a good way to answer to Madeline’s question.

Her longing to become a Legend, Marvin could naturally see it. But he also knew about the 3rd page of the Book of Nalu.

The Heavenly Sword Saint’s little brother was originally a good and honest person, but because of this page, his mind got twisted, becoming insane.

He ultimately turned into a Lich and tried in vain to ascend to become a subordinate under the Slaughter God.

The book of Nalu was a very frightening thing, and it could transform someone.

If it was the 6th page, Marvin might consider it and hand it over to Madeline for some bargaining chips.

Just like he did for Hathaway.

But this 3rd page…

‘This is [Destruction]…’

Marvin had a bit of a headache.

If Madeline got [Destruction], regardless of whether she died or advanced, neither her death nor her advancement was something Marvin wanted to see.

If she advanced, the command contract would become ineffective. At that time, who knew how many misfortunes he would meet.

If she died, then it would trigger great chaos in River Shore City.

Furthermore, the most frightening outcome wasn’t death, but turning insane… River Shore City and White River Valley were so close. Marvin hoped this force would stay stable.

At least until he was capable of annexing this power, he would keep the status quo. Otherwise it might threaten the safety of White River Valley.

Thus he was caught in a dilemma.

…

“You took away that Book of Nalu, didn’t you?”

Madeline was smart, and guessed from Marvin’s hesitation.

“You are afraid that I’ll take my revenge after advancing to Legend, aren’t you?”

Her voice suddenly became very gentle. “Trust me, it won’t happen.”

“I am yours now.”

“As long as you want.”

Suddenly, the originally extremely seductive succubus looked like a sweet young lady.

Her expression became very pure, even somewhat shy.

“Please, give it to me. All of me is yours.”

“Including River Shore City, everyone will listen to your orders.”

“If you think that’s not enough, we can join hands to open up new lands. River Shore City and White River Valley would do another expedition to open up new towns, and we could get an even higher noble rank from the South Wizard Alliance. Count Marvin? How about this title?”

“All of this is easily obtainable.”

“As long as you give it to me.”

After saying this, she softly held onto Marvin’s shoulder.

Madeline was still a bit taller than Marvin right now.

She had a shy expression on her face. If others saw, their heart would skip a beat.

Marvin only felt it was funny.

Please! You are a Succubus… Acting so pure, is it really suitable?

How could he have expected that she would suddenly kiss him?

Marvin froze.

Command contracts could only restrict harmful behavior, but nothing would restrict intimate behavior.

‘Damn! Did I just get forcefully kissed?’

Marvin was about to struggle, but at that time, he suddenly felt his own lips quickly becoming exceptionally cold.

A mysterious rune appeared on his lips before quietly imprinting onto Madeline’s lips.

The latter’s expression changed.

But it was already too late.

A cold breath came out from his lips, and as Marvin watched in shock, it flew over and froze Madeline!

‘This is…’

Marvin thought of many possibilities, before his mind stopped on one delicate face!

In his memories, on that balcony, that little girl kissing him.

Hathaway!

…

As expected, when Marvin forced a smile while turning around, he was met with the cold young face of Hathaway.

“Are you fond of that Succubus?” she coldly asked.

Marvin shook his head, stuttering, “No I…”

Hathaway interrupted, “Then why did you not kill her, signing a command contract instead?”

Marvin felt speechless. “Why would I want to kill her?”

Hathaway was silent.

She was currently in her 16 year old form. Her temper felt quite different.

But Marvin felt like he had a huge headache.

“This is… Jealousy?” Isabelle on the side curiously asked.

If the little girl hadn’t talked, they wouldn’t have noticed her.

Hathaway took a quick glance at Isabelle and her expression became even more gloomy. “Who is this little girl?”

“Baron Marvin, you are quite the womanizer…”

Marvin took a deep breath and spread his hands, indicating Hathaway to calm down.

Then he considered which words to use before cautiously asking.

“Will every girl I kiss turn into an ice sculpture?”

Chapter 181: Fiancée

p>”You actually care about this?”

Hathaway’s eyebrow twitched, she flipped out once again.

Marvin hurriedly said, “No, no, no… I wanted to know if this could be used as another type of attack.

“Anyway, do you intend to keep her frozen?” Marvin took a glance at the frozen ice sculpture of Madeline and asked.

“Give it.”

Hathaway didn’t say anything else and just extended her hand.

Marvin gave a hollow laugh and hesitated for a second, before finally giving that 3rd page of the Book of Nalu to Hathaway.

Naturally, he kept the extinct alchemy book.

Giving that page of the Book of Nalu to Hathaway was a lot safer than giving it to Madeline.

She had looked at the [Rebirth] 6th page after all and was enlightened from it. There shouldn’t be a problem if she read the 3rd page too.

Her Seer identity could help her see through the God of Deception’s lies. It would be a lot more secure in her safekeeping.

And Hathaway did help Marvin a lot. At the very least, her existence made many of those who coveted White River Valley give up on it.

While his strength wasn’t enough, Marvin didn’t have an issue with holding onto someone’s thigh.

…

Hathaway took the 3rd page and put it away without looking at it.

She coldly snorted and waved her hand, shattering the ice on the side.

“Hathaway!” Madeline was shivering, and upon seeing Hathaway she was shocked and angry.

“This is from Marvin to you, remember your promise.”

“River Shore City is his,” Hathaway coldly reminded.

She threw a yellow piece of parchment to Madeline.

The latter immediately froze.

“This is…”

6th page of the Book of Nalu!

“I’m temporarily lending this to you. With your innate talent and abilities, directly looking at the 3rd page might turn you crazy,” said Hathaway arrogantly.

“Remember what you just said. When you become a Legend, River Shore City and your other forces have to be given to Marvin.”

“Otherwise, the Three Ring Towers will come after you.”

After saying this, she didn’t bother giving Marvin or Madeline another glance and directed her magic carpet to fly away.

Madeline was overjoyed as she held the parchment.

Marvin was completely frozen where he stood.

What the hell just happened?

He was clearly the one working his ass off to get the page of the Book of Nalu and it was claimed by Hathaway. She even decided his own dealings with Madeline on his behalf.

Why did it feel like she was managing his life?

At that time, a small voice echoed besides his ear, “I’m gone, I’m heading back to the Three Ring Towers. Be careful.”

“Also, remember, you are mine…”

…

After Hathaway left, Madeline didn’t stay there much longer.

To become a Legend, she would give up everything right now.

But as for after becoming a Legend… Everything, might be very difficult!

With Madeline’s nature, Marvin actually wasn’t too convinced she would really give him River Shore City.

Those previous things were only said to convince him, all in order to obtain that page of the Book of Nalu.

But regardless, since Hathaway helped him settle this deal, when the time came for Madeline to renege on it, she would be welcomed with the Seer’s fury!

With Hathaway and Shadow Thief Owl’s relation, and Leymann… And Marvin could also be linked to Constantine…

This kind of lineup was certainly not something Madeline, a new Legend, could withstand.

‘If things go well, using White River Valley and River Shore City as support, I might be able to get a huge territory in the south.’

‘Opening up a few territories would create the possibility of establishing a country after the Great Calamity!’

That was what Marvin thought of.

Naturally, things wouldn’t be this simple. He also needed the strength to protect his territory to back it up.

Regarding the Rocky Mountain after the Great Calamity, the reason such a territory that could protect everyone was established was mostly because of the three Fate Sisters’ personal strength.

“Let’s go.”

Marvin brought Isabelle along and returned to White River Valley, concluding this trip to the Scarlet Monastery.

…

It was already nightfall by the time his carriage, the gifts from Madeline, and the logistic team’s loot arrived at the castle.

Anna had already returned. Her advancement quest was a lot simpler than Marvin’s, and with her years of preparations, she successfully advanced to [Sword Dancer], one of the advancement paths for Fighters.

Her specialties were very well suited to swordsmanship.

It was worth mentioning that Marvin had noticed that after natives advanced, their level wouldn’t always be at level 1.

For example, after Anna advanced to [Sword Dancer], she directly reached level 3 Sword Dancer.

She was a Level 5 Fighter – Level 3 Sword Dancer, becoming a Level 8 2nd rank class holder in an instant. This might be related to her comprehension.

In short, Marvin’s Half-Elf butler was also quite talented in swordsmanship.

But she needed to split her attention on White River Valley’s affairs.

…

In the study, after finding out that Wayne was already sleeping, Marvin didn’t bother him.

He briefly asked what had happened in White River Valley during his absence.

Anna’s report was accurate and concise. She was already pretty good at doing something like this.

After all, White River Valley’s Overlord being out of his territory for long periods of time had already become a habit.

Marvin calmly listened to it, and couldn’t help but frown.

This time, Anna left to advance in the nearby Moonlight Forest and brought that guard on the way.

According to Anna, even though that guard successfully went through the Spider Crypt, he was attacked by mounted bandits before arriving at Black Dock Harbor.

Although he luckily survived, his body was seriously hurt. He was about to die in a small village near Black Dock Harbor when Anna found him.

If not for her quickly finding a Priest of the Silver Church in Black Dock Harbor, this guard might have already died.

After that, Anna tried to look for Lola or the Old Tucker, but there hadn’t been any news.

Black Dock Harbor’s guards hadn’t seen that girl.

“That swindler probably ran away with the money,” Anna concluded.

Marvin was noncommittal.

Did she really run away with the money? Marvin didn’t think so.

That talkative girl foolishly asked his own astrological sign before that fight. Could she really be unworthy of his trust?

His intuition told him that Lola might be in trouble.

But in any case, he couldn’t focus on this matter right now.

His energy was limited, he could only protect a portion of the people.

As for other matters, there wasn’t much that needed to be said. With fixed food distribution, the territory’s inhabitants were very motivated to work.

Wayne was naturally gifted to become an Overlord, and everyone loved and respected the Proxy Overlord.

Based on the current situation, White River Valley’s farming households could get some harvest before fall.

This season’s harvest should be more than enough to let them pass the winter and based on their past share, serve as taxes.

Marvin was very satisfied with this.

He wasn’t in lack of something like Wizard gold. Food was the most important matter.

White River Valley’s soil was very infertile. The land on the other side of the river was actually very fertile, but that was in the wilderness. Who knew how many monsters were residing there?

If he wanted to open up new territories, he needed to pay the price.

Even though Marvin wanted to quickly develop his territory, it still needed to be done step by step.

First was the eastern wilderness, since he knew about the eastern side’s situation.

For exterminating the ogres and setting up a harbor, he just had to apply for a wilderness clearing order from the South Wizards Alliance.

That way he could openly recruit qualified people from other regions.

Otherwise, privately using money to lure people from other territories to settle in White River Valley might be seen as a provocation by other Overlords and was quite likely to lead to a war.

With the wilderness clearing order, everything was different.

The South Wizards Alliance was encouraging people to open up new territories. White River Valley for example was a new territory that Marvin’s grandfather cleared after applying for a wilderness clearing order.

Before that, this land was inhabited by a huge amount of gnolls and wild goblins.

…

“The other things are more or less like this.” Anna finished her territory report.

She then added, “But recently there are three people I think you have to personally meet.”

“Guests?” Marvin was surprised.

“Yes. The first guest called himself Fidel and said he was your friend… I arranged for him to be in the basement… He said he loves the atmosphere in the basement. But I feel that he is a bit dangerous,” Anna cautiously said.

She was quite at ease before because of Hathaway residing in the territory.

If anyone wanted to look for trouble, the Legend Wizard would act and would definitely not let that person get away.

Now that Hathaway left, she began to worry about these things.

“Fidel? He came?” Marvin was pleased. ‘Did that guy become bored in the Despair Hills by himself?’

Marvin had obtained the coffins from the Scarlet Monastery and still needed him to help remodel them.

“Be at ease, Fidel really is my friend. There won’t be an issue,” Marvin reassured. “And the other two?”

“One is that man I told you about before.” Anna was mumbling, as if she was trying to hide it.

“What man?” Marvin seemed at loss.

He was really busy recently, did Anna mention a man to him?

“It’s that one, the one who keeps yelling in the castle, saying he wants to marry me…”

“The one who claimed to be the Greatest Alchemist in all History…”

Anna felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“That peacock-like man?” Marvin suddenly understood.

He hadn’t really paid attention to that guy. He’d check later whether he is truly capable or not.

If he wasn’t and still dared to openly harass Anna, he would directly expel him from the Castle.

“Who is the final one?”

“The final one?” Anna’s expression became strange.

“She said she is your fiancée.”

Chapter 182: Third Rank!

p>Fiancée!?

Marvin nearly fell from his chair when he heard this word.

What’s going on?

Since when did he have a fiancée?

“Anna, with circumstances like this… shouldn’t you immediately report it to me?”

Marvin felt a bit odd. “You should know of our family’s circumstances, from my Grandfather to my father, then to Wayne and me.”

“White River Valley didn’t maintain a favorable relationship with other nobles… How could I have a fiancée?”

Anna nodded. “It’s true that it’s like that.”

“But this woman seems somewhat different.”

“Moreover, her words made me unable to drive her out.”

Marvin couldn’t help but frown. “What do you mean?”

Anna took a deep breath while looking at Marvin, before responding, “She said this marriage wasn’t arranged by your father or grandfather. It was actually an arrangement of your great-grandfather.”

“She said your grandfather was the second son of the Lavis Dukedom’s Duke in the North. That year your grandfather left his home to establish White River Valley in the South.”

“But his name still exists in the Cridland’s genealogical record.”

“They had always been looking for him, and they found out about White River Valley just recently.”

“Thus, that fiancée who was arranged for you was in a hurry to meet you and came to White River Valley.”

Marvin was stunned.

Wasn’t this huge news?

Great-grandfather?

The North’s Lavis Dukedom?

Cridland clan?

Hold on… Marvin massaged his temples.

“Young master Marvin? Are you okay?” Anna cautiously asked.

Marvin took a deep breath and said, “I’m good, I was just thinking. How did these things suddenly pop out? Why wasn’t there any rumor about it before?”

“Maybe this is related to your performance in the Battle of the Holy Grail?” Anna solemnly said.

“When I heard that young lady talk about that matter, I was also very surprised. But she even described your grandfather’s appearance.”

“White River Valley is a bit too remote after all, and it is quite far from the dukedom in the North.”

“It was quite normal for them not to find your grandfather.”

Marvin nodded as he tried to recall some information about that dukedom.

…

There were countless cities in the North. And it wasn’t like the South which had one huge Wizard Alliance leading everything.

The North’s cities would frequently battle each other.

Large and small countries could be found throughout the vast lands to the north of the Millenium Mountain Range.

Whether it was the Lavis Dukedom or the Cridland clan, Marvin had heard a bit about their reputation.

This was an ancient country, and even if its domain wasn’t especially large, it had never fallen. Although, that might be because of its superior geographical location.

The Cridland clan was also very mysterious. People said they were a group of people that dealt with devils.

They controlled a mysterious power which didn’t seem to be magic, but there were many Wizards willing to work for them.

In short, they could be considered an influential force in the North.

…

“That young lady also brought some news. She said that your great-grandfather wanted to see you and that if you were willing to follow her back to the North, you would regain your right to inherit Lavis Dukedom.”

“Apparently, based on the current circumstances, you should be among the first six positions in the right of inheritance.”

Anna said this very cautiously. She knew it sounded too absurd.

Marvin was a real Overlord, but compared with a monster like the Lavis Dukedom, a small place like White River Valley was too rural.

This news seemed very suspicious.

But according to what Marvin knew, his grandfather really was born in the North.

Unfortunately, Shadow Thief Owl had already left his territory, or else he could look for him to confirm it.

Making a wild guess was useless right now, so it seemed that he really needed to meet this so-called “Fiancée” tomorrow.

“Oh yeah, did she say her name?” Marvin asked.

Anna nodded, “She said her first name, but not her family name.”

“Her name is very strange, she is called [Bamboo].”

Bamboo?

Strange name.

“Miss Bamboo it is?”

He didn’t know why, but Marvin felt his heart palpitating.

His intuition told him that everything wasn’t as simple as it looked.

…

In the a house inside the castle town at night.

“This White River Valley is really poor.”

A girl wearing an azure dress turned toward a mirror and looked at her dress billowing. She chucked, “What kind of expression do you think Baron Marvin will make when he sees me tomorrow?

A man wearing black clothes was kneeling behind her.

“Lady Bamboo, with your looks, that country bumpkin will definitely become infatuated,” he said.

“But I’m not sure why you want to do this. Isn’t it best to kill him now that the Legend Wizard left?”

“Idiot!” the girl coldly yelled.

“You think our target is only this Marvin?”

“Every person who participated in killing Lord Crimson won’t be able to escape responsibility. We can easily find Legend Wizard Hathaway in the Three Ring Towers, but the others are different. Right now, I still don’t know how this country bumpkin managed to get in touch with four Legends, I need to properly investigate.”

“All those who helped kill Lord Crimson will die.”

The man wearing black clothes slightly bowed his head and hesitated, before asking, “But, despite Dame Azure giving you a lot of Divine Power, you still aren’t a Legend.”

Bamboo cheerfully laughed. “Who said that one needs to be a Legend to kill a Legend?”

“Besides, Dame Azure’s order was only to keep track of these people’s whereabouts.”

“When needed, she will give me more power. Even the World Ending Twin Snakes might send a projection.”

“I think White River Valley is a pretty good place…”

The young lady once again looked at the mirror, her eyes narrowing in a threatening way. “Suitable for a bloodbath and an offering.”

…

Next morning, Marvin was handling some official business in his study.

Wayne woke up earlier than him, this was something really rare. Every since becoming the Proxy Overlord, this small guy was clearly more conscientious than before.

After the two had a brief discussion about the territory’s matters, Anna came over.

“Lord, that young lady requested to meet you once again.” Anna said.

Marvin nodded.

He then suddenly said, “Oh yeah, yesterday I forgot to ask you. This so-called Miss Fiancée, when did she arrive at White River Valley?”

Anna thought and then replied, “More or less after Hathaway’s departure.”

‘So it was like this?’

All kinds of ideas flashed through Marvin’s heart.

A fiancée appearing right after the Legend Wizard’s departure, this was too big of a coincidence, wasn’t it?

Isn’t it acting as if countryside people are fools?

Wayne pulled on Marvin’s sleeve and softly told Marvin, “Brother, I don’t like that woman.”

“I met her. Even though she is very nice to me and her smile looks very nice, I always have this kind of ill feeling.”

Marvin became even more alert.

Currently, only he knew that Wayne was a seer. Not only could seers see the future, they were also extremely gifted. Their innate perception would sometimes be very precise.

Apparently his fiancée came with evil intentions.

“Make her wait in the reception room for fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll go meet her,” Marvin said.

…

Fifteen minutes were enough for Marvin to make some preparations.

After Hathaway left, there wasn’t any high level fighting strength in his territory, so if it really was some frightening enemy, they might be unable to withstand it.

He first took a trip to the old blacksmith Sean.

Only to find out that the old man was dead drunk.

He managed to wake up the old blacksmith with difficulty, and then explained his plan but was cursed as a result.

“Do you think the Demon Hunter is your subordinate, that he would come and go at your whim?”

“He is a great Legend. Helping you kill the Crimson Patriarch last time was already showing you some respect.”

Marvin calmly said, “I only want you to try getting in touch with him. With Hathaway’s recent departure, the territory seems somewhat unsafe.”

“If he is free, he could come and stay here. Taking Endless Ocean along is also a good idea. White River Valley’s beautiful scenery is very suitable for a honeymoon…”

Sean was speechless, he had a whole new level of understanding toward Marvin’s shamelessness.

“I’ll try my best. But don’t have too much expectation.”

Marvin nodded.

…

The next step was to increase his strength.

In the battle of the Scarlet Monastery, Marvin harvested a great amount of experience. Originally, his leveling speed had already slowed down due to constantly leveling.

But the Two Headed Basilisk Shapeshift was perfect to counter the Demon God Enforcers while at the same time giving him double the experience. This made Marvin fiercely farm them.

He opened his interface and found out that his battle exp had already reached 55755 exp!

This would definitely be enough to advance to 3rd rank!

He thought for a bit before quickly beginning to distribute his experience.

It would be very difficult for Marvin to attain a 3rd rank class before he advanced to the Legend Class, Ruler of the Night. Therefore Night Walker and Ranger would be his main classes before level 20.

First, he naturally had to level up his Night Walker class.

After using 25000 exp, Marvin’s Night Walker reached level 4. He obtained 36 skill points, and 80 HP.

Then he used 8000 battle exp to level up his Ranger to level 7. He obtained 24 SP, 48 HP, +1 Attribute Point.

After that, he used 20000 exp and leveled up his Shapeshift Sorcerer subclass twice, making it reach level 4.

The Shapeshift Sorcerer level ups gave a total of 72HP, along with a new spell, [Disguise].

[Disguise]: One daily use. For 20 minutes, you can disguise yourself into any humanoid lifeform (Including Goblins, Dwarves, and other type of small sized humanoid lifeforms.)

The specific effect was that Disguise’s priority was above 100. This was quite a fierce Disguise effect. It had to be known that the Mask of the Deceiver’s disguise only had a priority of 150. Also, the effective duration would increase as he grew in power, and possibly the number of daily uses too.

In any case, Marvin finally reached the 3rd rank!

His total level reached 13! (Level 7 Ranger – Level 4 Night Walker – Level 4 Shapeshift Sorcerer/2 = 13)

He decided to spend his skill points and attribute points later so he would have more time to think about it.

Marvin arranged his equipment and unhurriedly headed to the reception room.

It was time to meet his fiancée.