Night Ranger

Chapter 550: Lavis

Lavis, the famous dukedom of the North, was also among the few places able to ignite a Source of Fire Order during the first moments of the disaster.

But unfortunately, even though the Source of Fire’s Order blessed their people and protected them from the influence of Chaos Magic Power, the terrifying Demons were still covetously looking at that territory.

Perhaps it was the bloodline of Lavis’ royal family that attracted the Demons’ attention.

In any case, back when Marvin was handling Dark Phoenix, an Abyss Door had opened above the capital of Lavis Dukedom.

Countless Demons rushed down and the battlefield became very chaotic.

When Marvin left for Jade City, he originally wanted to take a look. He was quite close to Daniela, after all. Even though he believed in the strength of the Ice Empress, his appearance in this world had already caused too many changes.

Diggles died earlier, Glynos’ God Realm exploded, and even the enigmatic Truth Goddess had been resurrected.

Who knew what else could happen?

Thus, as soon as the trip to the Crimson Wasteland ended, Marvin refused Old Ent’s mission to go to the Green Sea Paradise and started heading toward Lavis.

On the way, an uneasy feeling grew in his mind.

Isabelle was quite good at reading expressions and body language, so she noticed that Marvin didn’t look well, but she didn’t say anything and simply increased her pace.

…

Aside from places like the still peaceful White River Valley, this world’s population suffered considerably from the Great Calamity!

Marvin and Isabelle witnessed too many tragedies on the way.

The Supreme Jungle was still fine since it had a Source of Fire’s Order, so there were very few animals or plants that had transformed into monsters, and those that did were quickly eradicated by the Great Druids.

But once they left the Supreme Jungle territory, it felt like purgatory!

The Lavis Dukedom was only three territories away from the Supreme Jungle.

But these three territories were already filled with corpses.

They walked on the main roads through these lands and only saw countless corpses.

The territories were dyed red with blood, but ironically, it was now the beginning of spring in the North.

There were no snowstorms to conceal everything. The effects of the Great Calamity on mankind were clearly displayed before the two.

Isabelle had heard about everything that happened to Feinan back when she was in the Crimson Wasteland, but she hadn’t been able to picture how miserable Feinan had become without seeing it herself!

Those with no Sanctuary to rely on fell prey to the Chaos Magic Power.

Her eyes were filled with anger.

In the distant, lush hills, white and tender sprouts were growing from the trees’ branches. This should have been the most beautiful stretch of the North’s springtime.

Farmers should be working in small groups to till the land in the new year. The nobles would hurry toward the outskirts, riding horses or hiking.

But this had all disappeared.

Only corpses remained. Countless unmoving bodies.

Flocks of crows flew over from the stormy coast in the northwest. They smelt the blood from this place and were wantonly enjoying their sumptuous feast.

They passed through mountains of corpses and seas of blood while killing some Wizard Monsters on the way.

Just like in his previous life, Marvin noticed that some of the Wizard Monsters had started evolving after reaping a great many lives.

This was terrible.

Only the Wizards’ wills had been destroyed by the effects of Chaos Magic Power, while their strength didn’t decline. Only those with steady and powerful wills were able to resist the Chaos Magic Power’s enticement.

But that just happened to be in line with the core nature of Magic, Chaos! Because of this, in the upcoming days, these Wizards Monsters would keep becoming stronger!

Chaos was a hot spring that brewed sins. This was a vicious circle, but no one could stop it.

Thinking of this, Marvin suddenly recalled a theory regarding Chaos…

All spells originated from magic, and magic itself originated from Chaos.

The Universe’s most basic and pure power came from the Astral Sea and the bottomless Abyss. The former represented the Power of Order, defending the laws of the Universe. The latter stood for the Chaos Power that assailed the laws.

In ancient times, it hadn’t been for no reason that Wizards were seen as heretics.

Many later schools of thought that specialized in Magic Theory came to the conclusion that the more people there were that could use Magic, the more Feinan would tend toward Chaos.

This was the same for the entire Universe.

Chaos meant expansion. And endless expansion would lead to an unimaginable explosion!

These theories had been touched upon when Marvin hunted Wizard Monsters in his previous life.

At that time, he had already felt that this point of view was quite interesting.

After transmigrating to this world and noticing these Wizard Monsters becoming stronger, Marvin’s heart grew cold when he recalled those memories.

When Lance created the Universe Magic Pool, was it really to maintain the world’s order?

Was he able to see this world’s final destination from his point of view?

Something like Chaos, was it really something that Order could resist?

After the Universe Magic Pool was created, the 3rd Era ended. The New Gods rose up and the Wizard Era neared.

Feinan had become incredibly powerful during the Wizard Rule Era, but the end of the 4th era was also because of these powerful Wizards.

Mankind was close to extinction. Chaos Magic Power was released in one breath, just like a wild beast coming out of its cage, affecting the entire world.

The Abyss’ Demons already had their eyes burning red, itching to kill their way in. The Ancient Angels, now Archdevils, were also quite interested in the 4th Fate Tablet. The previous prophecy of the Evil Spirit Sea was still ringing in people’s ears, and more filthy negative energy kept brewing. Only a few more years and that most frightening monster would be born. Even the God Realms that symbolized Order would lose their bottom line.

They started breaking the rules.

This world became extremely fickle. Anyone who chose power wouldn’t go down peacefully.

As for the innocents that were affected, they were ordinary people.

Their lives were as insignificant as those of ants.

Within a week of the start of the disaster, Feinan’s population had been reduced by two-thirds.

The remaining third were mostly hidden in Sanctuaries, while a few were hiding in far-removed villages. They lived desperate lives, wondering when all this would end.

Marvin’s mood became quite heavy.

…

They spent a good half a day’s time to pass through the three territories.

Marvin used his own flight technique along with his Royal Griffin shape, while Isabelle used a spell she had learnt from the Winter Assassin. These made the long travel not so difficult.

Both of them competed in their long-range speed, and Marvin found out with some shame that Isabelle flew faster than him once she used an additional special technique.

This was heaven-defying!

Marvin could only look at her in envy.

In this world, there would always be some geniuses. Unfortunately, this kind of secret technique couldn’t be used when in combat. Otherwise, it would clearly be beyond Godly Dexterity and allow her to kill anyone.

The Winter Assassin had been quite smart and competent. If he hadn’t been unjustly attacked, he would likely have become the Shadow Prince.

“Finally!”

At the entrance of a forest, weeds and brush on the sides were growing wildly, but they still couldn’t conceal the stone tablet.

[Lavis – Sorcerer Dukedom]

There was a line of much smaller text below: [The truth is not something visible to the naked eye.]

Marvin understood the meaning of that sentence. Lavis Dukedom had a lot more inhabitants than Rocky Mountain. The only difference was that Rocky Mountain’s Sorcerers had been exiled by the South Wizard Alliance while the Lavis Dukedom had been established by the Cridland clan on their own.

Strength was everything, so the other lands to the north recognized the strength of Lavis Dukedom, but they still regarded them as monsters.

Marvin himself was a Sorcerer, so he knew this was only a bloodline power.

This proved that ignorance was the biggest flaw.

“Let’s go…”

The two of them entered the forest.

A burst of warm aura suddenly greeted them, a rather peculiar feeling.

[Power of Order].

Entering a territory covered by the Power of Order from a land filled with Chaos Power gave an intense feeling.

Anxious minds would suddenly calm down.

Even Marvin and Isabelle felt this way, let alone other people.

They walked along the forest path and entered Lavis’ boundary.

It was called a Dukedom, but in fact, compared to the numerous city-states in the North, Lavis Dukedom wasn’t very large.

Marvin once estimated that even counting all of Lavis that was centered around the capital set up on the snowy mountain, it still wasn’t as large as White River Valley.

After all, after including Sword Harbor and River Shore City, the size of Marvin’s territory was very impressive.

If the South Wizard Alliance were still there, he’d have the title of Marquis at the very least. And his territory would be enough to establish a Dukedom in the North, maybe even a Kingdom.

…

They advanced on the road into the Dukedom, still seeing some corpses on the way, but it was far better than the state of the three previous territories!

These were corpses of Demons.

They went through a few villages, but there was already not a soul in sight in these villages.

This would have been simply unthinkable before this disaster had happened.

Marvin and Isabelle went through four territories in the North and had yet to find a living Human.

But this kind of situation wasn’t too surprising post-Calamity.

It was only when they reached the capital that they found some life.

To Marvin’s dismay, they met not only a group of refugees, but also a small troop of Demons near them.

At the lead was a sinister Horned Demon. He seemed very strong and was currently saying something in Common.

As for the group of refugees, they looked like they were in despair.

Isabelle looked questioningly at Marvin.

The latter indifferently told her, “You deal with it.”

Chapter 551: Chaos

This small squad of Demons wasn’t very powerful. They looked like they were all at the second rank.

Their leader, the Horned Demon, was a bit better, at the 3rd rank.

From their circumstances, they had probably suffered a loss while attacking the capital.

Marvin didn’t feel like taking care of such small fries, but it would be a simple matter to do so.

The refugees were shocked to see a shadow leap out of nowhere and scatter the Demons just like an autumn wind sweeping across fallen leaves.

Using Cold Light’s Grasps to kill these Demons was just like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut: it was overkill.

In just seconds, the heads of all the Demons had fallen on the ground and only Isabelle was left calmly standing there.

Everyone froze there like they were unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Finally, after no less than five seconds, someone managed to react and he immediately knelt down, loudly thanking her for saving their lives.

The corner of Isabelle’s mouth twitched faintly. Looking at her, it was obvious that she wasn’t very good at dealing with that kind of matter.

Fortunately, Marvin calmly walked over from the main road to address them.

“Who are you guys?” he asked.

Someone in the group of refugees firmly answered, “We are going to take refuge in the capital.”

“The Great Duke released the latest decree, everyone within the Dukedom has to gather there…”

“We heard that the Demon army had already been repelled, but our luck wasn’t too good, and we ended up meeting some on the road. Thanks a lot for helping us,” he said, looking back at Isabelle.

They could see that neither Marvin nor Isabelle were ordinary people.

Marvin lowered his head. They noticed that this youth looked familiar, but they couldn’t quite him.

“Since that’s the case, you can follow behind us,” Marvin offered.

In any case, the capital wasn’t far from here, and Marvin didn’t mind slowing down for a while.

The refugees couldn’t thank them enough.

They gathered their things back up and rushed toward the capital, following behind Marvin and Isabelle.

They found out from these refugees that the previous evening, the bloody battle that had gone on for five days had finally come to an end.

The encouraging news was that Lady Daniela personally closed the Abyss Gate, and most Demons were expelled.

But there were still a few within the borders of the Dukedom.

And the discouraging news was that Lavis Dukedom’s power had fallen to an unprecedentedly low point. Apart from the Demons, there were still forces harboring evil intentions in the surroundings.

They still needed to consider the threat from these other sources, and thus, the Great Duke had issued a decree to gather everyone in the territory.

Putting more people in the capital and its surroundings would help preserve and consolidate their strength.

This kind of choice was undoubtedly correct.

Lavis didn’t lack food at all. The Great Duke had incredible foresight.

A year before the Great Calamity struck, before Marvin had even transmigrated, he had already started storing up additional reserves of food. At that time, his actions had made the bordering countries nervous, thinking these were war preparations, but they eventually relaxed. Apart from purchasing food, Lavis didn’t make any other unusual movements.

Now, anyone could tell in hindsight that the action back then was very sensible.

After the Great Calamity, it became very difficult to grow crops. Food had turned into a hard currency.

In many places, people would fight for just a piece of bread.

And a bag of wheat was enough to make some small forces go all-out.

…

‘Looks like Lavis’ fortune is quite good, getting through the first period is hard, but then it becomes a great opportunity to develop freely,’ Marvin thought silently.

The North was very vast. As long as Daniela did the same as she did in the game, Lavis would definitely develop into a very frightening and influential country.

After the bloodbaths caused by the Wizards, the Sorcerers would be welcomed in the spring that followed.

They assumed the status of the Wizards and became the new nobles. In Marvin’s memories, at least one quarter of the North eventually belonged to Lavis.

But at that time, Lavis wasn’t a Dukedom anymore. It had become a true Kingdom!

And like Rocky Mountain, the Sorceres of Lavis were also a formidable force and were worth befriending.

As Marvin was thinking, the capital’s city wall appeared in front of them.

The refugees suddenly got excited.

When they saw the wall, they saw the hope of survival.

Some of them even wept softly.

…

On the cold city walls, guards were keeping watch.

Although it was the beginning of spring, the capital was built on a snowy mountain so it was still about as cold as before.

The Sorcerer on duty was wearing a black gown, looking gloomily at the batches of refugees surrounding the walls.

He felt a bit irritated.

“Look at all these groups of wastes who only know how to cry!”

“The Great Duke’s conscription decree isn’t for this trash. The young and the able aren’t bad, but what can those old bones even do?”

He kept mumbling to himself, and the clerk to the side showed a strange expression.

“Sir Jast, the Duchess’ decree…”

The Sorcerer immediately snapped, “Duchess? Who gave her that title?”

“The Elder Council has yet to make the final decision! That woman is just temporarily in charge of a few simple government affairs. My job is to defend the city, I have the right to act after examining the situation!”

The clerk turned into a yes-man and didn’t dare to say anything further.

But a bit of sorrow flickered across his face.

Even after winning the war against the Demon army, the capital was still not at peace.

Those pitiful refugees had come at the call of the Great Duke’s decree, but because of Jast’s decision, they could only linger outside the city.

Jast believed that they would only be a burden if they were allowed to enter the capital. He only allowed the fit youth, the others were left to their own devices in the surroundings, to let them perish on their own.

He had put this practice into effect this very morning. Because the war had just ended, the inside of the capital was in chaos, and the management of the city’s defenses had also been temporarily reassigned.

Jast was one of Sir Turalyon’s followers, so he disliked the fact that Daniela was now in charge.

Daniela had stayed in White River Valley for a while, and it was said that she was engaged with White River Valley’s Sir Marvin. In the eyes of many people, she couldn’t succeed the Great Duke’s position. Thus, at that time, at least 70% of the capital had been in the hands of Turalyon.

Including Jast, a 4th Rank Sorcerer. He had made great efforts when the Demon army attacked the city, so he had risen to be in charge of the city’s defenses.

But regarding the Great Duke’s new decree, he was implementing it differently.

The clerk could only shake his head in silence.

At that time, a guard rushed over from below. “Sir, there is a new group of refugees that is about to reach the city. There seems to be some militia among them.”

Jast had a satisfied expression. “Good, we’ll go take a look. If it’s militia, it’s okay to train them and get rid of the useless ones among them.”

…

Meanwhile, Marvin and Isabelle took the group of refugees and slowly approached the wall of the capital city.

But they were surprised to find that there were small groups of refugees gathered outside the city walls.

The group of refugees following Marvin became worried and unsure.

“What’s going on?” Marvin was puzzled.

At that time, a gap opened between the city gates.

Chapter 552: Entering the City

The moment the city gates opened, the refugees who had been lingering around the wall madly rushed over!

“Let us in! We received the Great Duke’s decree to leave our homes to come to the capital! How can you not let us in?”

“There are Demons outside, how can you leave us out here?!”

“Let us in quickly!”

The refugees began yelling their complaints.

Marvin narrowed his eyes, Isabelle was expressionless, and the people behind them paled.

They were all disconcerted by the implications!

What was going on? Could something have happened in the capital for them to no longer welcome refugees?

“Milord?” Isabelle softly prompted.

“Let’s just watch for now,” Marvin suggested.

After going through the fight with the Demon army, Lavis’ defenses had been tightened. But these refugees were ordinary people. It was rather strange that they weren’t being allowed inside.

…

The guards responsible for guarding the gates likely didn’t expect that these refugees would burst out like that. Several soldiers with shields were even pushed out of the way!

A gap appeared in the city gates. The refugees cheered, ready to rush in.

But at that time, a deep and vicious sound echoed from inside the gates!

“Halt!”

This wasn’t shouted in Common, sounding more like an ancient language. Although it was only one word, it was very intimidating.

In an instant, the bodies of all the ordinary people went stiff.

Fear filled their eyes. They wanted to rush into the city, but they couldn’t move.

Many people had unwilling expressions on their faces.

They were so close!

Just as they were about to manage to get into the city, a roar repelled them!

“Halt!” That man let out a deep roar once again.

The refugees gathered in front of the gate felt their legs turn soft as they fell to the ground. Some even began to crawl away eerily.

As even the guards watched in fear, a black-gowned man slowly appeared on the city wall.

His gaze was filled with contempt as he chastised, “A mere group of ants. On what basis do you think you can enter the city?”

“Don’t you know your own status?”

“Peasants? Peddlers? Masons… Masons actually might be a bit useful, my house got damaged, so if you can repair it, I’ll let you enter the city.”

He glanced around, speaking very coldly.

The others all had sorrowful expressions. They wanted to say something, but they were intimidated by his powerful presence and lost the ability to speak!

Marvin frowned.

To even use an intimidation spell just to deal with a group of commoners…

That Sorcerer was being rather excessive.

Daniela’s subordinate?

He felt that it was wrong.

“Let’s go check.”

He didn’t consult with the others and started walking over.

The group he had been leading froze in place, having seen what just happened.

That black-gowned man clearly had some authority, and he didn’t let anyone in. Could that youth have a way to get inside?

These were all people who had left their homes. If the capital didn’t shelter them, who knew how many would survive the night!

But after thinking of Isabelle’s fighting strength again, they all looked at each other for a moment before following.

…

Just outside the city, the mason who had been chosen was sorting his things, feeling overjoyed. He pulled the hands of two girls, an older one and a younger one, preparing to get in.

Who would have thought that the black-gowned man would suddenly shout, “Stop!”

The Mason’s face immediately became uneasy, “What is it, sir?”

“When did I say that you were allowed to bring in other people?” Jast coldly snorted. “Only you, the others are trash with no qualifications.”

The mason’s face reddened. He shivered, suppressed by Jast’s powerful intimidation magic, he remained speechless for a long time.

Jast coldly ignored him and looked across the rest of the crowd. After glancing at everyone, he spat on the ground, “I thought there were useful people here. Trash like you can’t contribute to the capital, so why should we protect you?”

“What qualifications do you have to enter the city?”

But at that time, the mason who was between the group of refugees and the gates suddenly yelled, “They aren’t trash!”

Jast frowned, his gaze as venomous as a viper as he glared at the mason.

The poor mason said with clenched teeth, “They are my daughters…”

“Dad, I’m scared…” A girl wearing shabby clothes was hugging the mason’s thigh, a look of fear on her face.

The older one had a worried expression. She had long brown hair and seemed to be unsure what to do.

Jast looked at them coldly and muttered, “Very well.”

“Get lost then!”

The mason led his two daughters along and turned to leave.

Everyone seemed angry, but no one dared to say anything.

The guards looked at each other in dismay, but remained silent.

Jast’s performance during the siege was clear to everyone. If not for him killing a few Greater Demons, the city might have already been breached.

Such outstanding military services had earned him this position. Even if these weak soldiers had sympathy for the refugees, what could they do?

After all, they also had precarious lives.

…

“What’s going on?”

A group of militiamen came out from the crowd.

At the lead was a sturdy and buff man carrying a greatsword. “Sir, the decree we received doesn’t seem to be like what you’re suggesting.”

“Then you understood it wrong,” Jast said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “You are useful to the Dukedom, you can come in.”

The militia leader nodded. “Then the villagers we escorted…”

“Absolutely not!” Jast impatiently snarled, “How many times do I need to repeat myself before it’s understood?”

“It is a very precarious time right now, and I am completely in charge of the city’s defenses. If I say no, it’s no.”

“I don’t know what sort of decree you received, but here, people who can only waste food supplies aren’t qualified to enter the city!”

A few members of the militia were fired up, they had relatives among these refugees, “Then we won’t enter either!”

“The Great Duke’s decree was clear, everyone has to enter the capital to take refuge. Everyone!”

“Yeah! Without that decree, we wouldn’t have left our hometown to come here!”

Jast angrily shouted, “You are military personnel!”

“You have to obey my order!”

[Absolute Dominance]!

This was a 3rd-circle spell. It would unconditionally overwhelm the wills of ordinary people!

The militiamen lowered their heads, and as all the other stared in shock, they obediently followed Jast’s wishes and entered the city.

Even if their relatives called out to them, they didn’t seem to be able to hear anything!

Jast wore a pleased smile.

But at that time, a carefree voice echoed beside his ear.

“Step aside, we want to get in.”

Chapter 553: Fame

Jast was stunned.

Even after all he’d said, someone still dared to act recklessly!

He squinted and watched that thin youth walking out from the crowd with a girl of similar age.

A group of refugees followed behind them. Their eyes were full of hope, but as Jast’s nasty gaze settled on them, that hope became fear.

“Where did this child come from?” Jast frowned. “The capital doesn’t welcome trash with no fighting power!”

“This is the last time I’ll say this. Go back to wherever you came from! I don’t care what decree you are talking about. I have the final word here!”

“Guards! Drive them away!”

“Close the gates!”

After giving out these orders, Jast glanced at Marvin with disgust.

That kid made him feel uncomfortable. Although he was quite young, even if he didn’t kill him, he still had to teach him a lesson.

Otherwise, those commoners might really dare to rebel!

Thinking of this, he extended his finger and chanted something in a low voice.

“Woosh!”

A black halo suddenly appeared, pressing against Marvin’s body!

[Halo of Fear]!

This halo could make an adult scared witless, let alone a mere youth!

Jast smiled, feeling pleased with himself. He was ready to watch this youth make a fool of himself while intimidating the others.

Even sitting on the wall and looking down at the refugees moving about below made him feel quite annoyed.

It would be better to drive them away.

…

The refugees were full of despair.

The only militia group they could count on had been confounded by Jast’s spell. What could that youth do?

He was soon completely enveloped by the Fear Halo, and they didn’t have the heart to watch.

But the next second, the halo left Marvin’s body, with the latter showing no reaction.

He was still slowly walking forward.

‘That kid is strange!’ Jast was startled.

As far as he could tell, this was clearly an ordinary youth.

But he was not affected by the Fear Halo at all.

‘Could it just be luck?’

Jast felt puzzled. This wasn’t impossible, as charm-type spells had a small chance of spontaneous failure. If that youth’s willpower was firm, that really was a possibility.

But if that was the case, the youth wasn’t a waste like he had thought. He was at least worth training.

Regardless, in the current situation, Jast couldn’t let him enter the city.

At his order, the guards started closing the gates.

The others’ eyes widened as they watched Marvin steadily walking over.

Jast sneered, even if he could resist one spell, could he resist a second one?

Thus, he cast a second spell, unwilling to give up.

But Marvin was still unaffected!

This time, Jast went pale. He loudly yelled, “Everyone, careful!”

“This kid might be a Demon!”

This time, not only did the guards look at the youth as if they were facing a powerful enemy, but even the refugees looked at Marvin with fear!

Only the group that had been saved by Marvin and Isabel didn’t believe Jast’s words. Such a joke… if Marvin was a Demon, why would he be with Isabelle, who had killed a group of Demons?

“Thud!”

The guards hurriedly closed the gates.

And the alarm also sounded on the city walls. A squadron of city guards hurriedly rushed over.

Jast wiped his sweat. He didn’t know why this seemingly powerless kid was giving him such pressure.

The youth hadn’t even made a move, but Jast now felt like there was a kind of overbearing aura smothering him.

Isabelle was silently following behind Marvin, and soon, the two stopped a short distance in front of the gates.

“Jast? What happened?”

The leader of a small group of Sorcerers finally arrived, a very sexy woman.

They had heard the alarm, which was only to be used for dangerous abnormal situations.

Jast’s expression was strange. He pointed at Marvin and warned, “This kid might be a Demon!”

“Everyone, attack with me!”

Hearing the word “Demon”, the Sorcerers’ expressions became grave.

The bloody battle at the capital had lasted till yesterday evening. Lavis’ Sorcerers could be said to have deep enmity with Demons!

It was to the point that they subconsciously got ready to attack without even thinking further!

The atmosphere became extremely tense, as the Sorcerers all took a closer look at Marvin. If he did something unusual, there would be tens of spells rushing at him!

Sorcerers had many instant spells, and although the power might be weaker, the speed would definitely be shocking.

The captain of the team of Sorcerers was confident that this Demon would be blasted to pieces!

But at that time, in front of the city gates, Marvin raised his head and asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“We only want to get in.”

Jast immediately cursed, “Don’t think that you’ll be able to infiltrate the capital by disguising as a Human! No Demon shall enter under my watch!”

After saying that, he prepared to use a powerful spell!

Suddenly, a shout rang out from next to him. “Stop!”

It was the captain of the Sorcerer team.

Jast frowned. Although this team was nominally under his command, they were, in fact, Daniela’s people. He wasn’t fond of them.

But they were the ones on duty.

“Are you going against your orders?” Jast pretended to be angry, but actually was secretly delighted.

This would be a good excuse to exchange this group of people with his own.

The captain of the Sorcerer team gave Jast a cold look as she chastised, “Sir Jast, you are too nervous. That person below isn’t a Demon.”

Jast froze. He suddenly realized that the other members of the Sorcerer team were looking at him as if he was a complete moron!

This felt very discomfiting. He subconsciously looked down again.

This time, he could see Marvin’s appearance clearly.

A very handsome and delicate youth.

He looked a bit familiar.

Jast’s mind was foggy, as he tried to recall who it was.

The mocking voice of the Sorcerer team’s captain rang out again, “If it the Elder Council learns that you actually tried to attack the famous [Plane Destroyer], [God Slayer], and Feinan’s Hero, Marvin of White River Valley, what do you think will happen?”

The captain’s voice was clear and easily audible. All the people outside the city heard her words too!

An uproar broke out!

God Slayer Marvin!

If someone asked who was most famous in Feinan right now, most people’s first choice would be the Great Elven King!

The three Plane Guardians and Astral Beast Eric dared to fight the Gods, there was no doubt about it. Among them, the Great Elven King was the most famous, as the other three didn’t have much of a reputation.

And below those four, although stories about the North’s Valkyrie and Rocky Mountain’s three sisters had begun spreading, the most famous was still White River Valley’s Overlord!

Plane Destroyer, Dragon Slayer, God Slayer… There were too many titles for just one person!

At the start of the Great Calamity, he was the first one to ignite the Source of Fire’s Order. At that time, his appearance had already left a deep mark in everyone’s minds!

He was the first to stand up against the attacks of the boundless Chaos Magic Power and bring Order back into the world.

Although it was just a bit, it did give hope to Feinan’s inhabitants, just like the four powerhouses who went to fight the Gods.

It gave them the hope to keep on living!

On Marvin’s interface, his Fame tab was bursting from his past actions, especially the world section!

It wasn’t just Feinan continent, either. Rumors about Marvin were spreading even in the Dead Area and other places.

He was the Hero of this era!

He was impressively famous!

…

Everyone present was watching Marvin silently, a warm flame burning in their eyes.

That was the flame of hope.

Jast’s throat became parched.

He looked at Marvin, and his figure overlapped with an image in his mind!

No wonder the youth had seemed vaguely familiar…

Jast suddenly became startled. Before he could react, Marvin already asked again, “Can we enter, now?”

The Sorcerer team’s people nodded frantically.

Such a joke! Who didn’t know about the deep relationship between Marvin and Lady Daniela? Who would dare to keep the gates locked?

Only someone that was utterly brainless would do that!

The city gates were opened immediately!

Marvin took the lead and headed toward the entrance. As he reached the threshold, he turned toward the rest of the refugees and beckoned, “Come in, no one can go against the Great Duke’s decree and no one can drive you away.”

The refugees were in disbelief as looked up at Jast.

The latter was clearly unwilling. He clenched his teeth and struggled to say, “Even if you are Sir Marvin, you can’t interfere with the matters of the capital’s defenses… You may be White River Valley’s Overlord, but you don’t have the final say in Lavis!”

The flicker of hope that had been sparked in the refugees was suddenly extinguished!

The members of the Sorcerer team also seemed rather upset. They hadn’t heard about Jast refusing to accept refugees and hadn’t expected him to be so daring. He was openly disobeying the Great Duke’s decree! But the city’s defenses were indeed temporarily in his hands. It could be risky to get involved.

They were also a bit embarrassed.

Marvin was glaring daggers. That Sorcerer was truly too stupid.

“You are currently in charge of the defenses of Lavis’ capital?”

The latter twitched, feeling startled, and subconsciously nodded, just as Marvin used Night Boundary to appear at the Sorcerer’s side.

The next second, Jast was only able to see darkness as he felt a pain in the back of his head…

“Sadly, the one in charge of the defenses of the capital is unwell. It seems that the Great Duke will have to choose a replacement.”

These were the last words Jast heard before falling unconscious. Despite the fact that he was rapidly losing consciousness, these words almost made him puke blood!

Jast fell to the ground, but his guards didn’t dare to say anything. The guards were also looking at Marvin with their eyes full of fanatical worship!

Marvin turned and looked at the people standing outside the city and calmly proclaimed, “Now, no one will stop you from entering the city.”

Cheers burst out in front of the city.

The foggy atmosphere had been swept clean, and the city gates’ surroundings became extremely lively.

The leader of the Sorcerer team forced a smile, and she chose to ignore the fallen Jast.

“Sir Marvin, I’ve already sent news of your arrival. The Great Duke is very happy about your visit. She has already made preparations to meet you.”

Marvin blanked out.

He noticed that the other side had used the pronoun “she”!

Chapter 554: Unforeseen Event

When Marvin entered the parlor and saw Daniela sitting in the first seat, his suspicions were confirmed.

In fact, in terms of Feinan’s time, the two of them hadn’t met for more than a week, while for Marvin, a month had passed.

Daniela had changed a lot, and it felt like she now had the natural air of a ruler.

Her eyes were deep, and although she had a weary expression, she smiled genuinely at Marvin’s arrival.

Marvin felt rather touched.

The two chatted for a while, and Marvin became aware that the current Fairhala 1 </anno> was different from before.

The Demon army’s attack on the capital took countless innocents’ lives, along those of many important powerhouses!

Fallen Angel Turalyon, who the Elder Council and many others had considered the most promising inheritor of the Great Duke’s position… had died in battle!

And the Great Duke himself disappeared into the depths of the Astral Plane with two Greater Demons.

There was no further news of him so far.

Daniela could only silently watch these scenes as she protected the Source of Fire’s Order.

When they finally repelled the Demon army, Lavis’ people found out that the price they had paid was unimaginable!

But the days would continue to pass.

Daniela relied on her own power and prestige to inherit the Great Duke’s position.

But barely a night had passed before an unforeseen event took place.

…

“I truly didn’t think that even in such dire times, someone would jump out to fight against me.”

“There was still someone that coveted the throne of Lavis.”

“This is the worst time for there to be infighting over the leadership of the Dukedom.”

Everyone had been sent out from the parlor. Marvin had suggested that Isabelle go rest while he caught up with Daniela.

Only the two of them remained.

The future Ice Empress finally showed a helpless and emotional side.

She forced a smile and looked at Marvin, murmuring, “Do you believe it?”

“If Turalyon had still wanted the throne now, I would have given him the position. He ran the capital for all those years, so I know he would be qualified to inherit the right to rule over Lavis. There were also many people that favored him… But that person is someone else!”

Marvin was moved. It seemed like quite a lot had happened while he was gone.

Turalyon died in battle, which was really regretful.

Whatever their differences, Daniela and Turalyon had been the two most sparkling stars of the Cridland clan.

After Marvin helped the Great Duke extract the Divine Source, the two of them simultaneously leveled to the Legend rank. With one being an Ice Angel and the other a Fallen Angel, they were two geniuses born at the same time.

With these two people guarding Lavis, this Sorcerer country might have ended up unifying the North one day!

But according to Daniela, Turalyon had used a large number of forbidden skills to protect the capital and the people.

He fought countless Demons, and more than a thousand died at his hands!

Over a thousand!

What kind of concept was that?! These weren’t ordinary enemies, they were fierce Demons who had come from the Abyss Gate!

Turalyon had depleted his strength fighting them off.

Last time he was here, Marvin didn’t have an especially good opinion of that scheming man. Perhaps it was because of him having a rather strong impression of Daniela. But now, he could only feel respect for that man who had given his all while protecting his homeland.

In contrast, it was the actions of another one that made Daniela feel shocked and bitterly disappointed.

“Hubble, my older brother. He wasn’t here the last time you came.” Daniela smiled bitterly as she confided, “I always thought that he was the nicest person to me in the world. He is my older brother, and we were always so close. I trusted him, and he knew all my secrets.”

“But that man gathered all the elders last night and actually tried to snatch my right to inherit the Great Duke’s position!”

“And he used a ridiculous reason, saying that I wasn’t qualified because I am a woman!”

After saying that, Daniela’s expression became rather severe. “I don’t know how he convinced those elders, but this morning they already sent someone to tell me that I am only a temporary proxy. The real Great Duke needs to be elected by them! This is the Cridland clan’s decision!”

“And they actually demanded that I give them a drop of Divine Source to help my older brother advance to Legend rank!”

“All this after only a single night! The Demons only just retreated and they already intend to seize power.”

Daniela continued in an exhausted tone, “Most people in the city were Turalyon’s trusted people. They are actually more willing to believe in Hubble, someone with no leadership experience, than in me.”

“What are their heads filled with?!”

Marvin remained silent.

He quietly listened, neither agreeing nor refuting, only acting as a good listener.

Daniela clearly had been suffered from being under too much pressure. In this short period of time, she did her best in the war against Demons and had lost some of her relatives in the fighting. The one she had always considered the most hateful had actually been competing with her fairly. He just had a rather abrasive personality. And the most unbelievable part was that the one who wanted to snatch her position was the one she’d always had the most faith in!

She even started to doubt the course of her own life!

He had hidden so well for so many years!

She only saw love from his eyes all this time, but didn’t notice the envy and malice hidden within them.

“Shortly before he died, Turalyon assured me once more that seven years ago, he truly wasn’t the one who poisoned me,” Daniela muttered.

This had some frightening implications.

Marvin sighed and gently grabbed Daniela’s hand.

That hand was extremely icy, like she was seriously ill.

“I’ll support you whatever happens,” Marvin said conscientiously. “Believe me, no one deserves that position more than you do.”

“The people of Lavis need you, not a power-hungry mortal.”

Daniela’s expression showed a trace of pain and confusion, “I know… But I don’t know what to do now.”

Marvin gently patted the back of her hand. “We all have to face the dark side of the world…”

“Sooner is better than later.”

“Sometimes, we are forced to make a choice, even if what we decide on is bad. But in contrast, the other options are even worse.”

“You are the most talented girl I’ve seen, and the fame of the Cridlands will be brought to greater heights in your hands. Lavis will grow in power, even becoming the hegemon of the North!”

“I think this is what your father, Turalyon, and those dead warriors would have wanted to see.”

Marvin finally concluded, “Compared to this, the rest isn’t as important.”

Daniela nodded with a complicated expression.

“They notified me that tonight, they will carry out another meeting. Hubble and I have to attend. At that time, they will vote to decide on the new Great Duke.”

Marvin smiled. “Tonight?”

“Good, I’ll take the chance to join in on the fun. After all…”

“I am also a Cridland!”

Chapter 555: Siblings

The discussion between Marvin and Daniela laster for no less than two hours.

When the door to the parlor finally opened, the maid waiting outside the room took a curious glance.

Daniela’s complexion was terrible, and she even seemed to be having trouble smiling. Marvin, on the contrary, was completely calm.

“Your proposal, I’ll consider it… Let me think about it,” Daniela said.

Marvin shrugged.

He had already done something like that once, so he didn’t have any issues with it.

He nodded as he responded, “You can notify me before it officially starts. I know it will be hard for you to make a firm decision about this, but sometimes, we have to force ourselves to make a choice.”

“Okay, I’ll go to the [Black Room]. A month has passed, after all.”

Daniela nodded, and the two left the parlor to head into the depths of the castle.

Before the Great Duke disappeared, he gave Daniela all the castle’s permissions to Daniela, and thus she was currently the only one in all of Lavis who could freely enter and exit every corner of the castle.

The Black Room was the place that Marvin and the Great Duke used to extract the Divine Source. It was also the core of the entire Cridland clan.

After entering the Black Room, he immediately took out Ancestor’s Mystery as well as the Archdevil’s head.

After doing everything exactly as the Great Duke had shown him, Marvin was also able to put the squeeze on the pitiful Archdevil.

In the evening, he walked out of the Black Room, feeling somewhat tired. However, excitement could be seen in his eyes.

He had successfully wrung out three drops of Divine Source!

Divine Source was very precious. Marvin’s advanced Divine Vessel had been able to evolve successfully after he absorbed the Divine Source of the Wilderness God’s avatar. Before that, the Divine Source he obtained had been given to the Book of Nalu. Now that he could use it himself, he wouldn’t waste something so valuable on that strange book.

He injected the two drops of Divine Source into the advanced Divine Vessel. But it didn’t seem to give any sort of reaction.

He checked his interface, and saw that the information on his Divine Vessel’s cultivation was very clear:

[Advanced Divine Vessel (One advancement) (13% fusion)]

[Advancement requirement: Divine Source 2/10]

…

Seeing the numbers, Marvin couldn’t help but sigh.

The advanced Divine Vessel was simply a bottomless pit. Wanting to cultivate that thing would be a huge consumption of resources!

He wasn’t feeding it just any common stuff! This was Divine Source! There was no need to explain how precious Divine Source was. Marvin might not be able to get Divine Source every time he killed a Divine Servant.

In contrast, the Comprehension points, which he needed to level up as a Ruler of the Night, were a lot easier to get!

But he wasn’t discouraged.

He knew that this was practically the only way to break through his bodily limitations.

After cultivating the advanced Divine Vessel by giving it enough Divine Source, the Divine Vessel would eventually upgrade far enough to cause a chain reaction. At that time, Marvin might be able to break through his body’s limitations. Not only would his attributes break through the 30 point limit, but he would also obtain new and very useful abilities.

This was what the Fairy had told him.

Even though the Migratory Bird Council had offered another method to break through the limits, Marvin felt that relying on an Ultimate Shapechange to break through the body’s limits wasn’t reliable enough. Although turning into a Bronze Dragon like Sky Fury could admittedly give him a Bronze Dragon’s attributes, overcoming the weakness of the Human body, it was still only a type of Shapechange, so he couldn’t break the shackles of mankind and let him use his own abilities with the enhanced attributes.

People like Blade Master Kangen or the Cloud Monk strove to break through via the Martial Path, which was also another possible method, but Marvin didn’t have enough time. In fact, he doubted whether he could ever fathom the most advanced levels of the Martial Path. Thus, despite the fact that he practiced his Desperation style, he didn’t put much hope on that path.

‘Among all these paths, the most suitable for me is definitely cultivating the Divine Vessel.’

‘Divine Source might be very precious to others, but I can get 1 to 2 drops every month. In the future, there will likely be many conflicts between me and the Gods, so I’ll make up the rest with the Divine Source from the Divine Servants.’

Marvin knew that he was walking on a path that opposed the Gods.

In the future, he wouldn’t be the one exterminated. It would be the countless Apostles and Divine Servants.

This was a conflict of interests, ideals, and faith. No one could stop this from happening.

…

When he left the Black Room, Daniela was still deliberating.

He looked at the sky and smiled. “The meeting you talked about will soon begin.”

Daniela sighed, “He is my older brother.”

“Please give him a chance…”

Marvin nodded.

He then disappeared into the darkness.

As Daniela watched Marvin leave, the blank expression on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by toughness.

She returned to her study and began to handle the relevant government affairs.

As for tonight’s meeting, she wouldn’t participate.

Someone would go in her stead.

…

In a hidden cave of the snowy mountain.

Under the light of a candle, shadows were unsettled.

This was a secret meeting place of the Cridland clan and was also where the Elder Council held its meetings.

In Lavis’ political system, the Elder Council was mostly used to place checks on the ruler’s power.

The Cridland clan’s Elder Council was mostly composed of old and influential men.

Unfortunately, the people of Lavis didn’t know about the Elder Council. They only knew that Lavis’ power was in the hands of the Great Duke!

This was because the Sorcerers valued power very highly.

The Great Duke had been incredibly powerful, to the point that the Elder Council couldn’t restrict him at all and was only decoration.

During the Great Duke’s time, every decision had been made by him alone. As a formality, he would let this group of elders give advice, but everyone knew that the Great Duke didn’t let them interfere with his own decisions. They very discreetly retreated behind the scenes.

But now, times had changed.

Turalyon died, and the Great Duke disappeared.

The Elder Council, after being reminded by a certain ambitious person, suddenly discovered that they had some status now!

They couldn’t restrict the power of the Great Duke before, but was there an issue if it was the young Daniela with her shallow foundations?

At Hubble’s instigation, the Elder Council members became excited overnight.

They had a meeting and made a secret decision:

They would choose Hubble as the new Great Duke, as he was closer to the council’s members. As for Daniela, she was a woman, after all. Moreover, she had a very good relationship with Hubble. They believed that even if she was unwilling, she wouldn’t go against her older brother.

They also thought of a good way to comfort Daniela. They could just ask Hubble to arrange an empty position for her.

That woman was quite powerful, so it would be worth keeping her around.

In the depths of the cave, the six elders were sitting upright. There were a few other people standing to the side, including Hubble, who was wearing a long gown.

“Daniela still hasn’t arrived? It’s already time!”

An elder looked at the hourglass nearby and suddenly yelled, “That child doesn’t understand rules at all!”

Hubble smiled faintly. “No need to worry, my younger sister might have been delayed by an official matter.”

“Hmpf… The Great Duke didn’t appoint an heir before he left,” the elder spat resentfully. “What kind of matter could she be busy with now? Our clan’s internal affairs have yet to be settled. She truly doesn’t know what is good for her!”

“She and Turalyon were indeed the few heirs designated by the Great Duke, but now, whether it is the Elder Council or the many clans and officers inside the city, they support Hubble as the heir to the Great Duke. She was quite clever, taking advantage of the war regulations to take the Great Duke’s position just after the fighting ended. It seems that she didn’t put us in her eyes.”

A few elders were whispering to each other, growing more dissatisfied as time passed.

Hubble smiled, seeming quite pleased with himself.

He understood Daniela. His younger sister was very clever and was also a talented person, but she had a fatal weakness: she trusted him too much.

The two were siblings, but Daniela had always been eye-catching since she was born, leaving him to only play a supportive role all the time.

Although he had been putting on a mask in front of her, Daniela never suspected him after all these years. Even when that poisoning happened seven years ago, Hubble had been a possible suspect, but Daniela directly refused to consider that he might be the culprit. Ultimately, that left Turalyon as the most likely perpetrator.

That matter had enraged the Great Duke, and Daniela was guarded even more tightly afterwards. Hubble didn’t dare to try again, afraid that he might be discovered.

Over time, the envy in his heart festered and became ever more twisted.

He envied her gift… the two were obviously siblings, so why would there be such a huge gap?

He had the bloodline of the noble Blackpearl Python. His birth had drawn great admiration in the family.

But after the Ice Angel was born, he was immediately given the cold shoulder.

This disparity made him feel like collapsing.

Especially since after Turalyon revealed his Fallen Angel bloodline, he lost any chance of standing out in the future.

He could only retreat behind the scenes and keep playing the role of the gentle older brother.

It’s just that he always worked in the dark, so that one day, if an opportunity appeared, he would be able to seize it.

It seemed that fate hadn’t abandoned him!

‘This is my opportunity!’

‘Daniela definitely won’t refuse my request! I’ll have her become my aide. She is my younger sister, she should do this much!’

Hubble’s eyes were full of his thirst for power.

Outside the hidden cave, gentle footsteps could be heard.

“You finally arrived, my dear younger sister…” Hubble happily welcomed.

But his smile suddenly froze.

“Why is it you?”

Marvin calmly entered the cave and sat on the chair, laughing as he looked at Hubble. “Of course it is me, my dear older brother 1 .”

Chapter 556: Surgery

Marvin’s appearance startled everyone!

Hubble seemed to be uneasy and he couldn’t help but look at the corner of the room.

There stood a man with an embarrassed expression.

Jast.

After Turalyon’s death, that guy had jumped at the opportunity to become Hubble’s trusted aide. The order to not allow ordinary people into the city had actually come from Hubble. Jast was just dutifully carrying it out for him. But Marvin’s appearance had messed up some of Hubble’s plans. He wasn’t sure about the extent of Marvin and Daniela’s relationship, so he had yet to make a decision.

“Mister Marvin.”

Hubble chose his words very carefully as he solemnly said, “This is a very official meeting. It concerns the right of inheritance of the Cridland clan…”

Marvin waved his hand in dismissal and addressed the whole room:

“What you mean is, first, you have already made the decision, as everyone here already considers Mister Hubble the heir. Second, I don’t have the qualifications to interfere with the clan’s internal affairs. Isn’t that what you meant?”

An embarrassed expression appeared on Hubble’s face. He was quite a scheming and hypocritical person. Regardless of the nature of the matter, he would usually be able to control his facial expressions.

That kind of person would definitely be very troublesome in times of peace.

But in the current chaotic era, such subtlety wasn’t as important.

This was also the reason Marvin could act with so little restraint.

In the entire Lavis Dukedom, there was no one besides Daniela that could contend against him.

…

The others listened to Marvin’s words while sneering.

One elder among them stood up and berated, “Since you already know, why are you still asking?”

“What about Daniela? Did she send you?”

“To even dare to leak the location of the clan’s secret meeting place, she will receive the clan’s punishment!”

The others echoed in assent!

In the secret cave, everyone criticized Daniela relentlessly.

After no less than two minutes, they finally stopped talking shit.

Marvin was still sitting very calmly as he asked with disdain, “Done talking?”

Jast suddenly felt a chill… He had an ominous premonition. He subconsciously took a few steps back, pressing against the wall.

The others didn’t seem to have any such feeling.

In their eyes, although Marvin was said to be a hero with the strength of a Legend, he surely wouldn’t dare to act recklessly in their territory.

This was the core of the Cridland clan, so how could they be here without any powerhouses keeping watch?!

If Marvin dared to act out, they would make him pay the price for provoking the Cridland clan!

Hubble took a deep breath and looked closely at Marvin. “Mister Marvin, Lavis and White River Valley are close allies. Could it be that you want to destroy this relationship?”

Marvin jeered back, “You all think far too highly of yourselves.”

“On what basis can you represent the Cridland clan?”

“To be honest, I am ashamed by the appearance of scum like you in the Cridland clan.”

After saying this, Marvin abruptly stood up.

The frightening aura of a Devil burst from his body!

Everyone blanched in fear!

This was the aura of the Molten Archdevil!

During Marvin’s mission in the Crimson Wasteland, his Molten bloodline had been stimulated by the Greater Demon Balkh. Even if that bloodline was still weak and no real strength could be released from it, the nature of the aura was already very dreadful.

Everyone was shocked.

“Those of you who said that I don’t have the qualifications to participate in the Cridland clan’s internal affairs, do you not know what this is?”

He raised an arm and shook his wrist, showing the dazzling appearance of Ancestor’s Mystery.

Hubble glanced at Marvin’s wrists and couldn’t hide his longing and greed.

Only pity remained in Marvin’s heart.

“[Ancestor’s Mystery]!?”

“Who are you?! Aren’t you White River Valley’s Marvin?”

“How could you have a Devil bloodline?”

The elders seemed quite shocked.

Marvin really did feel rather sorry for them. These people lacked information. Perhaps the Great Duke simply didn’t share his information with them.

Thus, he raised his head and looked at them pridefully as he declared, “I am Diross’ descendant, the owner of Ancestor’s Mystery.”

“The blood of the Cridland clan flows in my veins. When the Great Duke signed the alliance contract with me, this point had already been verified. In other words, I’m also a member of the Cridland clan.”

“As for whether I am qualified to speak here, I wonder how many people in Fairhala, or in all of Lavis, have inherited the Cridland bloodline as strongly as I have?”

They looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what to say.

The news Marvin just revealed to them was too shocking.

The Molten Archdevil’s bloodline… That wasn’t inferior to Daniela’s Ice Angel bloodline!

If awakened, he would definitely be an unmatched powerhouse!

Remembering that Marvin already had the strength to slay Gods, they suddenly felt a bit foolish.

Hubble’s expression was uneasy as he tried to say something to retort, but Marvin had already decisively continued, “I, Marvin Cridland, on behalf of White River Valley, and on behalf of myself, fully support Daniela as the inheritor to the position of Lavis’ Great Duke.”

“In my eyes, besides Daniela, no one else he has the qualifications to the inheritance.”

“I hope that everyone present can take this into consideration.”

They were all silent, unsure how to answer.

But at that time, Hubble suddenly spoke up. “They do not need to think about it, this matter has already been decided.”

“My younger sister won’t refuse my request,” he insisted, his tone very resolute.

He looked at Marvin malignantly as he pointed out, “Mister Marvin, although the blood of the Cridland clan also flows in your veins, your grandfather Diross stole the family treasure and had already been expelled by the clan. Thus, your words have no meaning.”

“Now, please leave this place immediately!”

“I am the future Great Duke of Lavis. If White River Valley still wants to work together with Lavis, then I must ask that you conduct yourself with dignity!”

Marvin showed a thoughtful smile as he looked at the rest. “Does everyone here think this way?”

He had a strange look in his eyes.

The elders looked at each other in hesitation for a while, but ultimately recalled all of Hubble’s tempting promises. One of them said while grinding his teeth, “We can’t let a woman become the new Duke!”

“Hubble is the best choice!”

“Even with your support, we will still choose Hubble!”

Marvin suddenly laughed loudly.

They were all baffled. “Why are you laughing?”

Marvin’s smiling expression vanished, becoming one of pity. “You know… Daniela told me to give you a chance.”

“She is still too soft-hearted.”

“In this regard, even the lazy Ivan is more decisive than she is…”

Hubble suddenly paled as he demanded, “What are you planning?”

“Do you want to become an enemy of the Cridland clan?”

But the only response he received was the area plunging into darkness!

In an instant, the entire secret cave was swallowed by shadows!

Advanced Divine Vessel activated!

[Shadow] Domain activated!

Marvin’s lazy voice echoed from the darkness:

“I’m just helping with cleaning up some pests.”

Then, the aura of death began to rise up in the cave.

Everyone lost the ability to see, and they were thrown into chaos!

…

Outside the hidden cave, a silhouette was crazily fleeing the mountain!

‘That lunatic! He really acted against them!’

Jast was frightened as he kept going as fast as he could.

‘I must spread the news! Daniela is simply a murderer!’

As he was stumbling in panic, a young girl appeared on the mountain, just in front of him.

When he noticed her, all he was able to think of was that she seemed somewhat familiar.

The girl raised up her daggers. A pair of daggers that glittered like stars.

This was the last thing Jast saw.

Isabelle silently beheaded him.

A 4th rank Sorcerer was way too weak in front of a Legend Assassin.

…

In the darkness, some people were gasping for breath, some were fleeing, and some were just screaming bloody murder as they panicked.

But death would still find them.

The killer’s movements flowed naturally and without any emotion, accurate and delicate, as if conducting surgery.

After a while, the shadows scattered, leaving only corpses in the meeting area.

Marvin cleaned his daggers while slowly departing from the cave.

Someone would take care of cleaning up the aftermath.

In this world, if a force wanted to maintain its power, it would have to make sure to remove any tumors that sprang up inside.

In the end, Daniela understood that, so she had surreptitiously gathered the Legend powerhouses for a secret meeting. After they were dismissed, they would find out that the Demon army had stealthily attacked the capital once again, killing Hubble and the others.

That group of people would get proper burials.

Then, there would be no one left in the territory to stop the future Ice Empress from gaining her destined radiance.

Lavis was bound to bring about a new era in the North!

Marvin knew that even without him, Daniela would definitely still have acted out of necessity.

But that would have caused her great torment. Doing it for her was equivalent to paying her back.

After all, she had done a lot for him in White River Valley.

Also, by helping her with this, the two would become closer.

“Let’s go. The long-distance Teleportation array should have been attuned by now. It’s time to go home,” Marvin called to Isabelle as he began to walk up the mountain.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement and glanced back.

The city at the bottom of the mountain was still sleeping peacefully. Most of the populace probably wouldn’t learn about what had happened that night.

Maybe this was also a kind of happiness.

If Turalyon hadn’t died, Daniela may never have discovered her brother’s perfidy. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.

The Source of Fire’s Order was raging atop the mountain. This rare Sanctuary seemed especially tranquil.

The two entered the array, and Daniela’s trusted aide activated it.

The North’s night flashed past and ultimately disappeared in the chaotic space.

…

Darkness was the paradise for Dreams.

During the long nights of these difficult times, most people struggled in their dreams.

A stunning woman arrived outside White River Valley.

Her eyes were very beautiful, glistening like pearls.

“Even the Dream Guardians weren’t able to kill you… I won’t underestimate you again, Marvin.”

“I’ll be acting personally now, so you’d better not give me any opportunities.” She was smiling to herself as her body slowly merged with the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary’s light, which should have repelled her, surprisingly didn’t try to push her out.

In fact, it was slowly ushering her in.

She was holding a smooth feather in her hand.

…

A/N: The transitional plot is just about finished, the next part of the story will be unfolding!

Chapter 557: Past Life!

During Marvin’s absence, White River Valley was still running smoothly.

In fact, even though he had experienced such a long and challenging trip, from the point of view of those in the Sanctuary, he had only been gone for about four days.

When Marvin arrived at the Wizard Tower next to River Shore City, Madeline immediately came out to greet him.

The Succubus City Lord was very surprised. After all, Marvin returned so soon after departing.

But she didn’t find it odd to see the girl that he brought back with him.

Since it was late in the night, Marvin didn’t wake Anna and the others, who were already asleep, instead returning to White River Valley on Madeline’s magic carpet.

On the way, Isabelle remained silent. She had changed greatly, and Madeline also wasn’t the same Madeline as before. The two didn’t talk to each other at all as they travelled.

Marvin only asked about what had happened after he left, and Madeline dutifully answered, methodically summarizing everything.

Thanks to the foundations laid by Daniela, the entire Sanctuary was in good working condition, including River Shore City, the Valley itself, as well as the newly established Sword Harbor.

Under the protection of the Dark Knights, Marvin’s new orders were implemented strictly, and no talent in White River Valley was wasted. The able were armed and sent to hunt in small teams, killing some small monsters every day, reducing the pressure on the Sanctuary.

As for the refugees whose fighting capabilities were lacking, some of them also started joining the training camp on their own.

Marvin had arranged for the instructors to receive very significant rewards. They gained twice as many contribution points as a regular warrior each week, spurring them to go all-out with the soldiers’ training regimens. In four days, the first training camp was already one-third done. Many people joining the militia were in their primes and already possessed the most basic fighting abilities.

Marvin did not expect them to become experts. It would be good enough as long as they could cooperate to get rid of some monsters in the Sanctuary’s surroundings.

At the same time, he also knew that these people would grow a lot faster when hunting than when waiting in the safety of the Sanctuary.

From this it could be seen that although they didn’t have the Essence Absorption System, when under pressure, it was easier to trigger their potential.

…

Having top-tier forces wasn’t something White River Valley was concerned about. What Marvin needed right now for the territory was to strengthen its most basic powers, including the militia and the hunting squadrons, as well as to create a knight troop. As for the last matter, before Marvin made the final decision, potential recruits were screened by the knights from River Shore City.

After all, River Shore City’s defenses had a better foundation in this field. After a fair amount of education and training, they would become the core of White River Valley’s power.

On Sword Harbor’s side, it was still at a rudimentary stage for now.

Many fishermen gathered there and started building some small fishing boats.

Because the Chaos Magic Power permeated the sea very slowly, the surface was still peaceful. Some people were able to go out to fish in the past few days, which was good news.

In any case, the people there didn’t lose hope and just settle for eking out a living while waiting to die. They had recovered their yearning for life. These were the people Marvin wished to protect.

…

This was the current situation regarding the manpower in his lands.

Then there were the matters of food and weapons. Marvin’s trip to Steel City had fulfilled the latter need to some extent.

They had reached an agreement with the people from Morrigan’s Heart. The soldiers were willing to sell weapons to White River Valley.

But they wanted to barter rather than be paid in gold, with food as their main request.

Before leaving, Marvin had said that they couldn’t use force to coerce these upright soldiers. Under the great efforts of Madeline and Lola, both sides made several offers back and forth, but due to White River Valley also needing to keep a reserve of food, they didn’t have enough to exchange for as many weapons as they needed.

With White River Valley’s growing population and all the people that were joining the militia or hunting squads, if they couldn’t provide enough weapons, these people would have to train empty-handed.

This was a possible problem that Marvin had thought of before leaving for the Supreme Jungle.

‘It seems that it’s time to head for Arborea,’ Marvin decided.

He already had a solution.

There was a lot of food in the twelve golden bulls, but that didn’t solve the root of the problem.

The grains of the season had just started being cultivated. White River Valley’s sprawling land and the areas along the river would have to wait till autumn for this year’s harvest. But before that, they still needed to pass the days.

Thus, the only way to have enough food to trade some away was to buy from Arborea.

Marvin’s trip to Arborea had convinced him that it was a very suitable plane for growing food. If the Shadow Prince hadn’t squeezed the inhabitants for faith so thoroughly, they might have already become very prosperous.

And Arborea’s current ruler could be considered Marvin’s close acquaintance. Her older brother, Prince Aragon, was in Sword Harbor and would break through the Legend Realm anytime. The only troublesome part was that with Marvin’s current level of strength, he couldn’t enter Arborea!

Arborea was a Secondary Plane that could only sustain beings of up to level 18. Marvin was now level 22 and would be rejected by Arborea’s will.

He believed that unless he figured out a way to bypass the problem, he could only send someone else.

But he was worried that the person he sent wouldn’t be able to succeed. It wasn’t that Marvin had no one to trust, but this was an interplanar deal. It involved too many factors. He would feel uncomfortable about it if he didn’t go in person.

Moreover, there were various other matters that needed attending to.

There had been some change in the western Deathly Silent Hills.

A few days ago, the traces of some Dwarves seemed to have appeared in Jewel Bay, to the north, according to some scouts.

And furthermore, while he was away, the Adventurer Camp had expanded further. A group of adventurers found an anomaly to the south.

One thing after the other… Even though Madeline was clear and concise, Marvin still felt a headache coming on.

While he wasn’t there, most of the matters were handled by Anna, but Marvin still had to take care of the most important ones. They were piling up waiting for him.

“Being an Overlord isn’t such a good thing. So many things are happening these days.”

Marvin couldn’t help but rub his temples on the trip back.

As they arrived, Madeline showed a teasing smile. “How will Master deal with these matters?”

Marvin sternly answered, “These matters can only be resolved one by one.”

“The most important thing now is to get some good rest.”

After saying this, he ignored Madeline’s surprised expression as he jumped down from the magic carpet with Isabelle following just after, and entered the castle.

After casually finding a servant and having her take Isabelle to a room, Marvin returned to his own room.

As he lay down on the soft bed, a wave of fatigue surged up.

He had been adventuring outside for all this time and had been tensed up for so long.

But he could relax now that he was back in his Sanctuary.

The radiating Source of Fire’s Order made him feel very comfortable. He felt at ease with the Eye of Justice and the Dark Knights protecting his territory.

Marvin wasn’t normally someone who would easily feel secure.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so meticulous when accomplishing everything.

In this chaotic world, each night was so nerve-wracking.

The events of the Crimson Wilderness had put him through so much pressure.

He had earned himself a nice, long rest.

His eyelids became heavier, and slowly drooped shut.

He was so tired, he didn’t notice that just as he closed his eyes, a barefooted woman with fair skin appeared in his bedroom.

There was a feather between her ring and index fingers.

“Sleep tight.”

“You deserve to have a beautiful dream. After all, it is too tiring for someone to support a Sanctuary all on their own,” Ambella softly cooed.

Marvin, who had still been frowning, suddenly relaxed.

He fell asleep.

It felt like a thousand years passed.

When he woke up from the embrace of oblivion, noisy voices could be heard next to him!

“Low Light Vision +10 Necklace of Whispers, huge sale!”

“Recruiting specialists for the [Hidden Granary] instance! Assassins and Rangers not needed, we’ll be gathering around the pillar to heal!”

“Carrying newbies, 5000 credits to go from level 1 to 5. Can also help with advancement missions!”

Marvin fell into a daze.

‘Where… is this?’