Night Ranger - Chapter 583-591
“A rogue?”
“I hadn’t thought that the one who ran away last time was a Ranger.”
As he saw Marvin disappear, the Black Knight became filled with killing intent. “This time, I’ll definitely grab him myself and steal his Divine item!”
“You two, follow me!”
The warhorse raised its head and broke into a gallop, the hooves echoing noisily.
As for the two called upon, the Legend Wizard and the Legend Temple Raider, they each had their own methods to keep up with him.
But the Tomb Raider didn’t move.
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He stood there, his eyes darting around furtively.
The Black Knight’s cold voice suddenly echoed close by. “If you dare escape, I’ll rip out your muscles.”
“You know what I can do.”
…
The Legend Powerhouses kept rushing forward across the underground wasteland.
The Black Knight felt somewhat disdainful of the Ranger in front of him because the fool apparently hadn’t researched the Divine Book very thoroughly.
He wanted to use Stealth to flee someone who also held the Book of Nalu. Wasn’t that a dream?
‘Could he be unaware that the two pages of the Book of Nalu would react to each other when they are close enough?’
In Sangore’s eyes, it was a laughable joke that the rogue was trying to escape while using Stealth.
He effortlessly kept track of Marvin’s location and continued chasing after him.
But he felt somewhat strange. What was that guy doing near Devil Town?
If that guy was here for Sodom’s Blades, then there was no reason to avoid Devil Town and keep fleeing toward the east.
There was only one entrance to Devil Town!
And that was the place being guarded by the Tomb Raider.
Moreover, Black Knight Sangore wasn’t someone that trusted others too much, always preferring to believe in his own strength.
After being taught a lesson by the Cloud Monk in the Dead Area, he put in a lot of effort trying to increase his own strength so that he would be one day be able to defeat that repulsive Monk.
But before his strength could reach the level he needed, that fool went to defend the Universe Magic Pool.
Facing the Gods… It sounded quite hot-blooded, didn’t it?
But to a Half-Human Half-Devil like Sangore, such an action seemed extremely stupid.
This kind of person simply didn’t deserve long life and such formidable strength.
‘This world is about to face enormous changes.’
‘Power and talent are everything. Only the weak believe that this is a disaster. In the eyes of the strong, this is an opportunity!’
The Black Knight took out a long whip and sped up.
Marvin was extremely fast, but he wasn’t a warhorse.
The pursuit went on for ten kilometers, and just before Sangore’s group caught up to him, he suddenly turned around and showed a crafty smile to Sangore and the others.
The next second, his silhouette suddenly disappeared again!
Sangore paled, abruptly turning his horse.
“We must return!”
…
Earlier on, before Marvin showed his face to Sangore and the others, he had spent some time to stealthily arrange a small-scale Teleportation Array!
This Magic Tool was extremely expensive and most of them were used by Wizards only in extreme emergencies.
Even before the Great Calamity, the number of these items that were produced by the Craftsman Tower didn’t exceed two digits.
It was surprisingly expensive.
Madeline had once bought a pair as a back-up.
As a result, it now gave Marvin a small advantage.
Before this trip to the Underdark, he had considered the numerous powerhouses there and the unfathomable strength of the Final Ghost Mother… In fact, without the Demon Subduing Sword, which would naturally be able to restrain her, that Plane Guardian-level monster in the Eternal Frozen Spring that had lived for countless years would be impossible to defeat.
Thus, Marvin took some useful items from the warehouses with him, including these two magic items.
He would only use them when they were critically needed.
Marvin hadn’t expected that before even meeting the Dark Specter Clan, he would meet Black Knight Sangore.
If Sangore was alone, Marvin definitely wouldn’t be so extravagant. He had absolute confidence in his own strength.
But the Black Knight had three companions!
Especially because of that Wizard, Marvin didn’t dare to fight them face to face.
The Temple Raider would simply rely on speed to contend with him. Generally, Temple Raiders were specialized in speed, it definitely wasn’t out of the question for them to have Godly Dexterity.
As for the Black Knight, he had the power of Devils and he was very powerful. Nobody knew how many had perished to his spear, and with the Wizard eyeing him like he was prey, even Marvin didn’t dare to attack from the front.
He was targeting Sodom’s Blades in Devil Town, not the Black Knight’s neck.
If he could attract Sangore’s attention and draw him away, Marvin would be able to easily get inside!
Meeting Sangore after getting his hands on Sodom’s Blades would be a lot easier for Marvin.
And the situation really went as he had planned.
The Black Knight realized that he had been tricked as he blankly watched Marvin teleport away.
It would be already too late by the time they returned!
…
On the hill, Marvin’s silhouette suddenly appeared and turned into a frightening Griffin!
Although the pitiful Tomb Raider was extremely nimble, with the terrain lacking cover, how could he resist a Royal Griffin?
Although he fled as fast as he could and used high level footwork in order to dodge Marvin’s claws, he eventually was caught in the Griffin’s claws and lifted high in the air!
After catching the Tomb Raider, the Griffin let out a clear whistle. Marvin flapped his wings flew in front of Devil Town!
“Bang!”
The Tomb Raider was throw in front of the City Wall.
Before he could recover, a dagger was already at his neck!
“I know you aren’t one of Sangore’s people, so rest assured… If there is no problem, I won’t kill you.”
Marvin spoke quickly because he could already sense Sangore approaching from the distance.
The Legend Wizard had been somewhat careless. Without a Teleportation Gate installed here, even if she opened a Teleportation Door to try to close the distance, it still wouldn’t be enough!
Marvin had at least thirty seconds before they’d be back at the entrance to Devil Town.
For a Ruler of the Night, thirty seconds would be enough to do a lot of things, such as negotiating. “However, I need your help,” he continued.
“Help me open the entrance of the Blood Emperor’s tomb, and I’ll let you go. How about it?”
The Tomb Raider looked bitterly at the curved dagger on his neck. In this situation, he knew that if he dared to hesitate for a second too long, his head would fall to the ground.
“Okay,” he agreed.
He didn’t feel any qualms about the betrayal. It was a matter of who was forcing him. At least the youth here seemed more normal than Black Knight Sangore.
Marvin quickly rushed in front of Devil Town and took out the key before inserting it.
The entrance opened.
A light yellow mist came out, irritating their noses. But the two of them were Legend powerhouses, so this kind of small hindrance wasn’t a major deal to them.
“Let’s go in!” Marvin urged.
The Tomb Raider helplessly took the lead in, followed closely by Marvin.
But when they entered, they saw a Watcher gazing at them attentively!
It made them feel a slight chill!
After Marvin entered Devil Town, the entrance immediately closed!
“Bang!”
The Black Knight’s group didn’t have time to get close before they were blocked outside by the door.
Marvin wasn’t surprised by this because he already knew that the entrance to Devil Town would only be opened for a short moment. Only the holder of the key could smoothly go in.
Sangore angrily punched the thick city gate and roared, “He had the key!”
“He killed Stang and snatched my key. His goal is definitely the Bloody Emperor!”
The Wizard also had an unsightly expression as she asked, “What should we do now?”
The Black Knight was silent for a moment before a cold laughter suddenly erupted from his body.
“Your laughter is tiresome, Saydis,” Sangore muttered, apparently unsurprised.
A pure-blooded Devil appeared in front of them.
“Seems like you’ve encountered another problem, my friend.” Saydis had a smile plastered across his face, and although he looked like a Devil, he gave off a likable feeling.
“Don’t look at me like that, every time you meet some trouble, I offer you a solution, don’t I?”
“I’m the one who helped you survive until now and become this powerful.”
Sangore sneered, “Don’t make yourself look like a philanthropist! You obtained many things from me.”
“Of course, of course. Fair trade is the basis of cooperation.” Saydis licked his lips. “You know the strength of Sodom’s Blades. If that boy gets his hands on them… I’ll let you in on a little secret. You and he both have the bloodline and status of someone of the Nine Hells. His bloodline is even nobler than yours, so he might have an easier time receiving the acknowledgement of the Bloody Emperor and inheriting his legacy.”
The Black Knight shook at the revelation. “He doesn’t have a Devilish aura!”
Saydis shrugged and said with an air of mystery, “Diross, the Lord of the [Scorched Hell], is his grandfather. The Molten Archdevil’s bloodline flows in his body. You must be slow to not have noticed this. If he obtains that slaughterer’s inheritance this time, he will also gain the power of the Lord of the 3rd Hell.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to be his opponent then?”
The Black Knight remained silent with a serious expression on his face.
Saydis’ tone was full of temptation as he whispered, “Just like I was able to tell you the location of the Bloody Emperor’s tomb, I can also help you enter Devil Town!”
The Black Knight dryly answered, “But I don’t have anything suitable to trade with you anymore.”
“You took my soul and everything I have already. What did you take a fancy to this time?”
Saydis laughed mischievously as his gaze fell onto the Legend Wizard to the side. “Eh, Sangore, you pitiful Black Knight. Since you already know you’ve lost everything, why do you still care about the obsessions of mortals?”
“Why do you still cling to your origins as a mortal?”
“You shouldn’t do so, and you aren’t fit for romance.”
“Give her soul to me, and I’ll send you to Devil Town.”
Sangore didn’t speak for a while. The Wizard’s expression changed as she yelled, “We can still enter Devil Town without you!”
She looked at the Black Knight on his horse, the man she foolishly fell in love with a century ago.
And she saw the tip of that spear approaching.
A Devil’s laughter rang out just in front of the entrance to Devil Town, echoing sweetly like a bell.
It was a terrifying sound.
…
Marvin was cautiously walking forward.
Many Watchers were staring at them.
Marvin couldn’t help but feel fidgety when he looked at that sole eye.
In an instant, he like his heart was being plunged into the depths of despair!
He was too tired to live, it would be better to die.
Death would solve everything.
These ideas seemed to echo in his heart.
‘[Suicidal Curse]…’
Marvin took a deep breath.
His eyes regained their shine.
His willpower had already reached a frighteningly high level, and thus, the Suicidal Curse that would have been able to destroy most Legend powerhouses couldn’t overcome him.
The pitiful Tomb Raider instantly got hit by the curse, but thankfully, Marvin reacted quickly and used a black cloth to cover his eyes.
Otherwise, he might have already killed himself.
Marvin had the Tomb Raider follow along behind him.
‘Devil Town… Devil Town…’
‘Could it be that the Bloody Emperor was related to the Devils?’
These kinds of doubts rose up in Marvin’s heart.
The eyes made him think of one of the Archdevils of the Nine Hells!
The Eye Tyrant Archdevil.
An Archdevil of the Nine Hells, one of the most powerful existences of the entire Universe. These Watchers felt very similar to that Archdevil.
For the Bloody Emperor to put his tomb in such a town, he might have had some sort of relationship with Devils.
This hadn’t been mentioned in the post.
Marvin was on high alert because the guide had left out many details. It was human nature to hide the most important parts that could benefit oneself.
But Marvin felt that Devils were still better than Demons and Evil Spirits.
Devils had their own sets of rules. They had a crazy obsession with contracts and agreements.
Marvin had had many dealings with Devils in the game, and he even had some sort of relationship with them in this life, as he was carrying the bloodline of the Nine Hells.
As long as he found the entrance to the tomb, getting Sodom’s Blades shouldn’t be an issue.
But they ran into some trouble as they progressed.
The Tomb Raider was obviously very experienced with breaking into tombs. His knowledge of graves and tombs was extensive.
He had deeply researched the famous historical tombs, and Devil Town was also included.
Marvin needed his help to find the entrance to the Tomb.
But he couldn’t open his eyes. Although he was a Legend, his willpower was clearly not high enough to resist them. He might die anytime if he tried to meet these Watchers’ gazes.
After thinking for a bit, Marvin came up with a possible solution.
He described the terrain in front of him to the Tomb Raider.
After he was done listening, that guy analyzed the path with his skills.
Although this method was quite slow and might have some inaccuracies, it was also the best they could come up with at the moment.
Relying on the Tomb Raider’s understanding of tombs, the two men slowly went deeper into Devil Town.
They soon reached the center of the town.
Instead of the short houses that were near the entrance, they were surrounded by much taller buildings now. The Watchers were also much fewer in number here.
But the unease in Marvin’s heart didn’t lessen.
These buildings had strange shapes and felt even more startling than those Watchers.
Even though he was blindfolded, the Tomb Raider also sensed the terror of this place.
He softly muttered, “I keep having this ominous feeling.”
“I feel as if someone has been secretly spying on us. But not those eyes.”
“I feel… as if this town is alive!”
Speedy
In fact, Marvin also had that strange feeling as they were moving through the town!
Devil Town was filled with strange buildings and Watchers, but there were no traces of anyone else, no constructs or guardians.
But Marvin’s Perception somehow led him to think that this place was like a bustling market!
His ears were picking up something that gave him an indistinct feeling.
He didn’t know enough about Devil Town.
“Let’s hurry…”
He instinctively had a bad feeling.
The Black Knight wouldn’t give up so easily. He might know about Devil Town’s districts, and that the main gate wasn’t the only way to enter Devil Town.
After all, this was a real world, not a game.
There was only one confirmed way of entering in the game, but in reality, there were always multiple paths.
…
At Marvin’s insistence, the Tomb Raider had no choice but to clench his teeth and force himself to keep walking.
But the advantage of reaching the center of the town was that he didn’t need to cover his eyes and follow Marvin anymore.
Even if this was the case, he still didn’t think about fleeing.
As he walked forward, he could clearly feel a burning gaze on his back.
The youth’s eyes were very calm, sometimes even gentle, but when he leaked a bit of emotion, that hidden suffocating aura of slaughter would show up.
The Tomb Raider had already experienced it first hand.
He absolutely couldn’t provoke this kind of person.
This youth might have killed even more people than the Black Knight had.
He also didn’t doubt Marvin’s words. If he dared to try to escape, his head would fall!
He had always been a very cowardly person. Despite his impressive talent, as he approached the Legend Realm as a nameless Thief, he had chosen a class he was interested in, Tomb Raider, rather than a fierce combat-focused class.
He stubbornly considered himself a Thief, a Tomb Raider, and not a Legend powerhouse.
He had no intention of fighting other Legends.
Throughout the years, he met several Legends on the same level as him, and all of these encounters ending up with him escaping stealthily.
Fortunately, Legend powerhouses were pretty rare on Feinan before the disaster.
His life was quite comfortable.
When facing people who had yet to become Legends, he would have an overwhelming advantage despite his killing techniques being pitifully clumsy.
He was very satisfied with that.
But good things don’t last forever.
He wasn’t able to hide this time.
He had gained some fame. The Black Knight came prepared and caught him easily.
In fact, he was now wearing two bracelets on his wrists that suppressed his escape skills.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to keep his cooperation after catching him.
The only thing he wanted to do now was to quickly satisfy these powerhouses and hope that they would mercifully let him go. At least the youth seemed less unreasonable than Sangore.
Run away?
He could run fast, but, running out of Devil Town? Outrunning a Royal Griffin?
Thus, despite not being in the best condition and feeling quite scared, he still firmly carried out Marvin’s requests.
Step by step, he slowly proceeded with his duty as a Tomb Raider.
…
As Marvin watched all of this, he felt that it was a bit unusual.
At the beginning, he had focused most of his attention on that guy, thinking that it would be unlikely for the Thief to be cooperative.
Who could have thought that this guy would actually be very obliging?!
The way he was trying so hard to find a good path made it seem as if he was a loyal subordinate.
Marvin had an odd expression when seeing his efforts.
Originally, he had assumed that the Tomb Raider would act as if he was working, while trying to find a way to flee.
But as time passed, it became more and more apparent…
That guy was very conscientious.
Marvin felt somewhat speechless.
‘I suppose he is aware of his position as a captive…’
Marvin was very satisfied with the Tomb Raider’s work.
Although they were both rogues, the Tomb Raider was highly specialized for this work. Since Devil Town was built by the Bloody Emperor, he must have gone to great lengths to protect his tomb.
It would be much easier to find the entrance of the tomb with such a person’s help.
As the Tomb Raider was cautiously observing the terrain, Marvin couldn’t help but ask, “What’s your name?”
“Me? In my childhood, my friends called me [Speedy]. They gave me that nickname because I was pretty fast at the time.”
“Afterwards, they called me [Flying Thief]. When you think about it, it’s a very strange thing for a nameless orphan to become a Legend,” the Tomb Raider answered calmly as he continued his work.
‘Speedy…’ The corner of Marvin’s mouth twitched faintly.
The guy before him was small, looked dull, and seemed very honest.
But that was just his outer appearance.
When he moved, it was possible to notice his shrewd eyes and dexterous hands.
That guy was definitely a very talented Thief.
‘He is actually an orphan who fumbled his way into the Legend Realm.’ Marvin was speechless.
At the same time, he also couldn’t help becoming a bit interested in that Tomb Raider’s story.
As they progressed, the two started chatting, disregarding the strangeness of doing so in such a location. The one being coerced and the one in charge looked like two friends having a normal discussion.
This feeling also helped gradually dispel the uneasiness caused by the strangeness of Devil Town.
After hearing all of Speedy’s sincere and simple story, Marvin fell completely silent.
A fatherless and motherless good-for-nothing went through constant challenges on the streets, working as a small-time Thief, recklessly entering a famous tomb, and advancing to the Legend Realm as a Tomb Raider. Such an experience truly would leave others speechless.
How gifted was he?
Although most Legends had to make their major breakthroughs on their own, most had some instruction from others at some point. However, this guy before his eyes had never been taught by anyone.
He had been a Legend for fifty years, and besides occasionally plundering a tomb, he mostly hid beside wine cellars and fireplaces, enjoying the life given by his status and abilities as a Legend.
He didn’t seem to want much.
But when the Great Calamity fell upon Feinan, everything he was familiar with was destroyed, and he hid himself away.
Unfortunately, Black Knight Sangore caught him.
He had been resigned to his fate to follow the orders of the Black Knight.
Now, Marvin had caught him. He didn’t want to arouse any suspicions and answered Marvin’s questions as completely as he could.
Marvin suddenly felt a bit ashamed.
The way he forced Speedy to help him find the entrance, what was the difference between him and Sangore?
But he kept his expression the same, and the busy Thief didn’t notice anything.
The latter finished checking a path, and quickly rushed over to dutifully report:
“Same as before, these roads are also safe.”
“However, I am very surprised. Why do you and Sangore think I need to check these roads?”
“In my opinion, there isn’t a tomb at all.”
“This is a city!”
Marvin shook when he heard the Tomb Raider’s report!
He suddenly understood what was going on with his Perception!
It truly wasn’t a tomb.
It was a special town!
Devil Town… Devil Town!
The were no details about Devil Town in the post. Thinking about it now, that may have been one of the most important parts that was deliberately omitted by the poster.
His words had been misleading all along.
He made people think that this town was built by the Bloody Emperor to protect his resting place.
In fact, over the years, Devil Town did prevent a lot of problems for the Bloody Emperor.
But that didn’t mean that he had been the one who established Devil Town.
‘It’s possible that… Devil Town had existed long before the Bloody Emperor!’
‘And he only put the entrance to his tomb here!’
Marvin silently thought through the possibilities.
If it was the case, then everything could be explained!
He was about to say something, when suddenly, a few shadows appeared at the end of the path!
Black Knight Sangore!
Speedy’s face darkened as he felt alarmed. He looked at Marvin and quickly asked, “How about we run?”
“We are heavily outnumbered…”
…
It was worrying that the Black Knight was able to pursue them into Devil Town.
Marvin had used a teleportation tool in order to shake off the pursuit of this enemy that was fighting over Sodom’s Blades with him.
Who would have thought that he would appear so suddenly?
Moreover, what drew Marvin’s attention the most was the person next to Sangore.
The person looked rather pretty, with feminine features despite being male.
A Greater Devil!
Marvin could feel the aura coming from his body.
Devil Town… Black Knight… Greater Devil.
Marvin had a faint, inexplicably feeling in the back of his mind.
When he saw Marvin, the fury in the Black Knight’s eyes was visible!
If not for this devious pest, would he have needed to pay such a disastrous price to enter Devil Town?
The eyes of the Legend Wizard behind him were already blank. Only enmity and other instincts remained.
Sangore had offered her soul to Saydis.
That was the only payment Saydis was willing to accept in exchange for sending them into Devil Town.
Thus, there was now another person bound to Sangore’s Book of Nalu. But this time, most of the soul had been taken away by Saydis, causing the Legend Wizard’s strength to decrease substantially, leaving her at the bottom of the Legend realm.
At the same time, the capable woman who had always followed him had disappeared, and in her stead, he gained a wooden puppet that obeyed all his orders.
Such a decision was hard for Black Knight Sangore to accept, but in order to get stronger, he had already decided to give up everything.
He walked a path of no return.
Relatives, friends, righteousness, emotions… Even his own soul… He traded everything for power.
He knew that sooner or later, he would die at the hands of that smiling Greater Devil. They had always been doing this, tricking people by luring them in.
First, they would give some benefits and only have the target pay an insignificant price, slowly drawing in the prey.
If Sangore didn’t have the Book of Nalu, he might have already been swallowed by Saydis.
Even so, every time he faced Saydis, he would still feel worried.
After all, this was the second son of the Extreme Evil Lord! The 2nd heir of the Extreme Evil Purgatory.
But Sangore had always been saving his strength silently.
He was different from the others who were tempted by Devils, because he had the help of an Artifact.
He believed that he could resist the Devil’s corruption and keep getting stronger until one day, he would take everything back from the Devils.
Everything!
With all this in mind, Sangore’s eyes became more resolute.
He tightly gripped the spear in his hand, boldly pointing it at Marvin.
The Tomb Raider’s expression worsened. He was scared and wanted to run, but didn’t dare to run!
Sangore was very powerful, but Marvin was just as frightening!
He was at loss and could only look worriedly at Marvin.
But he didn’t see any confusion in Marvin’s eyes.
Even in these circumstances, the youth was still calm.
If it wasn’t just an act, then Marvin was truly worth of the Tomb Raider’s respect.
…
Facing the Black Knight’s Spear, Marvin didn’t even draw his daggers.
This wasn’t because of overconfidence, but rather because he wanted to clarify something.
“Devil Town, Devil Town…”
“This place is one of the first cities established in Feinan by the Devils, right?” Marvin suddenly asked.
His eyes were focused on Saydis.
Saydis smiled at Marvin. “You are quite clever.”
“If you want, I can make a deal with you.”
Despite Sangore’s sudden murderous expression, Saydis continued chatting cheerfully with Marvin. “I can tell you the exact location of Sodom’s Blades.”
Marvin sneered back, “Sorry, I don’t have any interest in dealing with Devils for the time being.”
“Hypocrite.” Saydis wasn’t angry, though, and continued with an amiable grin. “If it wasn’t from dealing with Devils, where do you think those bloodlines in your body come from?”
“As an heir of the Nine Hells, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Myths will always be myths. It is already quite good to be able to inherit the family’s power.”
“What you want to do will meet endless resistance. Restoring the glory of the Ancient Angels is almost impossible.”
Saydis’ tone carried a hint of ridicule as he concluded, “Many Greater Devils failed on that road when they otherwise could have walked very far.”
“Some matters are impossible.”
Marvin was speechless.
He made sure to look completely calm on the surface, but he was quite puzzled by the Devil’s words.
‘What nonsense is that guy talking about?’
‘What myth? What inheritance? ‘
‘How come I can’t understand what he’s talking about?’
If he hadn’t had been so good at looking unperturbed, Marvin’s expression would have been quite a sight.
But Saydis seemed to think that Marvin’s silence was a rejection of his advice. The Greater Devil indifferently muttered, “With your abilities, finding Sodom’s Blades is just a fantasy.”
“Without a proper guide… could it be that you plan on relying on a Tomb Raider to find Sodom’s Blades?”
“Haha, truly funny. In that case, see you later, Sir Marvin.”
“Oh, by the way, I am called Saydis.”
The Greater Devil winked at him and then waved his hand.
The group instantly disappeared.
Marvin took a deep breath.
That guy knew his name…
He seemed pretty knowledgeable about Devil Town…
He knew about his bloodline…
All this knowledge couldn’t be explained simply by the fact that Saydis was a Greater Devil.
That Saydis guy definitely had a very frightening background.
But at that time, the Tomb Raider laughed bitterly and asked Marvin, “If we take Devil Town’s name at face value, wouldn’t that mean that a lot of Devils will appear?”
Marvin froze as a tall silhouette appeared at the entrance of the street.
Scorched Hell, Supreme Throne.
“My lord, Blackhand already set off for Devil Town… to get in touch with Young Master.” A Fallen Angel with black wings gave his report to the supreme existence on the throne.
“No need to call him Young Master. He might not necessarily recognize me as his grandfather.”
Diross’ deep voice echoed, “He will become Feinan’s hero. The Scorched Hell isn’t affiliated with him.”
The Fallen Angel wanted to say something, but hesitated.
He didn’t understand what kind of agreement that exceptional man had reached with the former Scorched Lord in order to gain his entire inheritance and all his forces. And since Diross supposedly decided to discard everything in the mortal world, why would he still treat this heir so favorably?
Moreover, he generously gifted the best bloodline of the missing Molten Archdevil and kept defending the boy secretly.
This was a great challenge for the Scorched Hell.
Especially last time, when Marvin entered the Temple of the Wilderness God, Diross almost made a move.
That kid was a troublesome one. His ability to stir up trouble was comparable to that of Demons.
He was standing against the Gods, a Demon Lord of the Abyss, the Overlords of the Negative Energy Plane.
But this wasn’t such a big issue.
After all, the Nine Hells, as one of the four major powers of the Universe, was already contending with the other three anyways.
But… it seemed like he was also about to become enemies with the Devils.
That guy was prepared to face everyone!
He had no feud with any particular Devil at this time, but from what the Fallen Angel had seen, the boy would kill his way to the Nine Hells sooner or later.
The kid was simply fearless and follow customs.
With all these thoughts swimming through his mind, the Fallen Angel eventually asked, “Since that’s the case, why did you send Blackhand to help him?”
Diross thought about it before slowly responding, “It was for two reasons.”
“First, this world needs some unruly ones. Marvin is outstanding, and he is the one that Lance chose to correct that [Wrong Future]. I hate Gods, but I don’t dislike Lance. I don’t think there will be too many uncertain variables in that guy’s calculations. Don’t look at all those Gods itching to deal with him, those are minor characters. Of the truly powerful ones, did you see any of them actually attack Marvin?”
“The most simple case would be the God of Dawn and Protection in the Nightmare Boundary. As long as he wanted, Marvin would have been annihilated, but he didn’t act.”
“That’s because, even if he is a New God, he is also one of the three Gods who came back from the Primal Chaos Fringe. He knows what he should do and what he shouldn’t.”
The Fallen Angel questioned with a doubtful expression, “So, attacking the Universe Magic Pool is something that he should do?”
Diross gave him a meaningful look as he asked rhetorically, “If Lance hadn’t hinted for them to do it, who would have dared to attack the Universe Magic Pool?”
The Fallen Angel immediately froze in place.
As a Greater Devil, to be able to have such a position, he naturally had outstanding strength and scheming ability.
He faintly felt that some of the things that Lord Diross told him today might be deeply involved with the future of the Universe!
As he was trying to think of all the implications, Diross suddenly changed topics. “The second reason… is very simple.”
“He is my grandson.”
“Until he is directly at war with Hell, whoever dares to make a move on him won’t be able to escape from the Scorched Hell.”
“I couldn’t get rid of that old guy before and hadn’t been careful enough, but now, I am the Scorched Lord. Hmpf!”
Viciousness flashed in Diross’ eyes as he asked ominously, “Have the coordinates of the Dream God’s God Realm been found?”
The Fallen Angel hurriedly told him, “No, the Dream God is a very crafty guy. It’s very difficult to find his God Realm. But we found one of the Secondary Planes that he controls…”
Diross sneered, “What are we waiting for? Let’s attack!”
His voice spread through the entire Scorched Hell!
In an instant, over a hundred thousand Devils were getting ready for battle!
Two Teleportation Doors appeared on a field.
The Scorched Hell’s Devil Army split in two and filed into both portals.
The Fallen Angel was a bit worried. “Attacking the Supreme Jungle and the Dream God’s Secondary Plane at the same time, isn’t it a bit too risky?”
Despite his aide’s worry, the man on the throne only said indifferently, “Killing a group of people that are about to die, where is the risk in that?”
…
Devil Town.
Marvin looked at the Devil Horseman with some shock.
Blackhand Bard.
He still remembered this name.
When Marvin used the Hell Corps Contract before, he had summoned him and a few Devil Horsemen, who helped Marvin to kill Balkh.
But this time, he had appeared before Marvin without being summoned.
This made Marvin feel a bit strange.
“My Lord already completed the last ordeal.”
Blackhand explained in a somewhat dull voice, “He knows about you competing with Saydis over Sodom’s Blades, so he sent me to help you.”
“With Saydis?”
Marvin astutely noticed Blackhand’s wording.
‘Isn’t Black Knight Sangore the one going after them?’
“We don’t have much time.”
“If you still want to fight over Sodom’s Blades, we have to talk on the way.”
Blackhand waved his hand and a low humming sound echoed.
Suddenly, Marvin and the Tomb Raider at his side saw huge changes in their surroundings.
The entire Devil Town suddenly turned from an absolutely empty town to an extremely lively one!
Devils were walking through the streets, and it looked like it was thriving!
But these Devils seemed to turn a blind eye to Marvin.
Marvin looked at all this, feeling stunned.
Devil Town, Saydis, his grandfather… This was only a trip to the Underdark, so how come it suddenly became so complicated?
But he decided to trust Blackhand this time.
Marvin believed that Blackhand had no reason to be working with Saydis to deceive him.
Although he was a Devil, Blackhand had the aura of the Scorched Hell, while Saydis did not.
They had different inheritances, so it was very unlikely for them to conspire together.
Thus, he followed Blackhand and quickly went through this completely new Devil Town.
The Tomb Raider clenched his teeth and followed closely behind.
And on the way, Blackhand told Marvin some very secret information.
After Marvin heard it all, he remained silent for a while before finally smiling bitterly.
‘Devil Town is really a town for Devils to live in.’
‘The Bloody Emperor also signed a contract with the Devils. I would never have expected that he had fallen into Devils’ trap…’
‘My grandfather truly became the Scorched Hell’s Lord, going from being a Human to becoming one of the peak powerhouses of the Universe.’
‘Furthermore, Blackhand said that he already started a war against the Dream God… What does it mean?’
‘Did he really send an army of Devils to the Dream God’s realms for me?’
The doubts in Marvin’s mind deepened.
He suddenly asked, “What is the [Myth] that Saydis talked about?”
Marvin was surprised about Blackhand appearing right after Saydis left.
Marvin didn’t have a good enough understanding of the Nine Hells. How exactly did Diross become the Lord of the Scorched Hell?
That was still a mystery to him.
But this didn’t stop him from accepting Blackhand’s help.
Marvin judged that if Diross wanted Sodom’s Blades, then few people in the Universe would be able to compete with him.
When Marvin summoned Blackhand before, he was still a middle ranked Devil Horseman, but now he was already a Greater Devil. This definitely was related to the Lord of the Scorched Hell supporting him.
It was a bit odd for Diross to dispatch Blackhand to help Marvin get Sodom’s Blades, and after all that happened, Marvin tended to see hints of conspiracy and weirdness everywhere. But he still accepted Blackhand’s aid.
That man was his grandfather, after all.
…
Walking through the bustling Devil Town was a different kind of experience.
Despite Marvin already knowing that these Devils in Devil Town were mirages from the past, he still felt curious about them.
It was said that Devil Town had been a stronghold of the Nine Hells in Feinan.
They used it as a springboard to attempt an invasion.
Of course, this was a few eras ago. Later on, the Devils were repelled, and this town became empty.
Even so, Devil Town was still full of the aura of Devils, as if they had never left.
Some from the core bloodlines of the Nine Hells still had a few special ways to circumvent the Universe Magic Pool and reach Devil Town through the “back door”.
But the Devils who could reach Devil Town in these ways weren’t particularly strong.
The upper limit that could make it through would be a Greater Devil. Like Blackhand Bard was now.
But Saydis was different.
The Saydis in Devil Town was only an avatar!
That guy was actually the second heir of the Extreme Evil Lord.
His strength was unfathomable. Compared with other Devils who preferred to gain achievements in the Crimson Wasteland or the Bloody Battlefield, this 2nd heir was more fond of wandering the mortal realm.
His avatars were everywhere.
Blackhand acknowledged that he wasn’t a match for Saydis, but fortunately, Devil Town had a rule.
[Those with Devil bloodlines cannot harm each other in Devil Town].
The rule was similar to the firm laws of the God Realms. It was said that the nine Archdevils set down the rule when establishing Devil Town. After all, the Nine Hells had still been working together to face the God Realms.
Many years later, the rule still existed.
This was why a fight didn’t break out between the two sides when Marvin met Saydis and the Black Knight.
They knew that Marvin had the bloodline of a Devil, and that they wouldn’t be able to resist Devil Town’s will in order to make an aggressive move against him inside.
This town’s will was considered an iron law. Devils couldn’t overcome it and thus, they could only choose to rush ahead for the Bloody Emperor’s tomb.
But Blackhand didn’t seem to be worried about not being able to complete his mission. He walked steadily, without increasing his pace.
‘Sodom’s Blades shouldn’t be that easy to take.’
‘That posted guide had a lot of issues. That guy was probably just showing off his equipment and unwilling to write about the details,’ Marvin thought.
They walked through the seemingly limitless town.
Marvin slowly formulated a guess as to why Blackhand wasn’t in a hurry.
He needed to tell Marvin all of the relevant information before they got there.
Information that concerned not only Devil Town, but also Sodom’s Blades, the Bloody Emperor himself, and the Extreme Evil Lord’s second son, who had appeared next to the Black Knight.
Saydis.
This name had already been known in the 3rd era.
That time was the time of the almighty God Lance, but this second son of the Extreme Evil Lord relied on his wits to walk among the powerhouses of the 3rd Era.
It was said that even in the current God Realms, there were many people who had a decent relationship with Saydis.
Saydis had helped those Gods in the 3rd Era. As a Devil might have put it, it was an investment.
That guy was very crafty and very insightful. The people he chose to gain favor with were all full of potential.
But when investing in such things, there would be always times when it didn’t pay off, even for a powerful Devil.
In fact, this could be the most important reason that Saydis was in Devil Town today.
“No one knows the details of the deal between Saydis and the Bloody Emperor,” Blackhand continued. “The only thing certain is that at the time of his greatest need, this violent ruler of the Underdark accepted Saydis’ help and they signed a contract. According to the contract’s terms, after the Bloody Emperor became the ruler of the Underdark, Saydis would receive the return on his investment.”
“But in reality…” Blackhand stretched out this sentence, and his normally cold voice had some fluctuations. “When Saydis proudly visited to demand his due, he was almost killed by the Bloody Emperor!”
“News of this shocking event spread throughout the Nine Hells. Many people rejoiced. After all, everyone was jealous about Saydis’ insight and his ability to make decisive investments that worked out so often. But there were also many doubts. How did the Bloody Emperor go against a Devil’s contract?”
“To this day, there is no one that has found a clear answer. The Bloody Emperor successfully went against his words and made the second heir of an Archdevil suffer a loss. Afterwards, Saydis rarely appeared in Feinan.”
“His movements became a lot more unobtrusive. Some people said that the contract between Saydis and the Bloody Emperor had a very big loophole, to the point that even after the sudden death of the Bloody Emperor, Saydis still didn’t dare to go and claim his payment.”
Marvin silently analyzed everything that Blackhand told him.
These were lore secrets that he’d never heard about before.
He was already somewhat grateful to Diross for dispatching Blackhand to help him. If Marvin hadn’t learned of that information, he might have run into some trouble later on.
Regardless, any information about the possible loophole was very well-hidden.
Although he had no plans to fight Saydis, it was always good to know the details of such matters in advance.
Marvin was most concerned about the contract between the Bloody Emperor and Saydis.
It was nearly impossible to trick a Devil to such an extent!
Furthermore, that Devil wasn’t a minor one, but rather the second son of the Extreme Evil Lord!
If the Bloody Emperor forcefully breached the terms of the contract, then not just Saydis, but even Saydis’ father would have made a move to defend the image of the Extreme Evil Hell.
In spite of this, before the strange death of the Bloody Emperor, nobody saw any traces of action regarding this from the Devils of the Extreme Evil Hell.
After learning of all this, Marvin couldn’t help but feel more curious about that tyrant who died so many years ago.
He was a man who tricked a Devil…
He also narrowed his eyes as he considered a possibility:
‘Saydis has been secretly helping Black Knight Sangore. His reappearance in Devil Town after so many years might not only be because of the deal with the Black Knight.’
‘He came back to settle his accounts with the corpse of the Bloody Emperor!’
‘This trip has higher stakes than I anticipated.’
…
After learning about Saydis’ past and Devil Town’s origins from Blackhand, Marvin had a lot of questions.
With the information he got, combined with some memories of his past life, he had some plans in mind.
As for the question he was the most curious about, Blackhand didn’t provide an answer.
What was the myth Saydis had talked about?
The Greater Devil sincerely said that this question involved a secret of the Nine Hells, and if Marvin agreed to become a member of the Nine Hells, then his grandfather Diross would naturally tell him his secret.
But if he declined, then it would be better for him not to know this secret.
Hearing Blackhand’s answer, Marvin looked at the Greater Devil with a hint of curiosity. “Could it be that you didn’t come to recruit me?
Blackhand shook his head and explained, “I’m only responsible for completing the task given by my Lord.”
“My Lord believes that Sodom’s Blades are very suitable for you, so he sent me to help you, and that’s it.”
“As for recruiting, I think my Lord has another candidate in mind. Of course, he surely hopes that you’ll join us.”
“But he won’t force you.”
“I’m not too clear about the rest.”
After saying this, Blackhand suddenly pointed straight ahead. “The entrance to the Bloody Emperor’s Tomb is there.”
Marvin followed the direction of his finger.
Unsurprisingly, a familiar silhouette was slowly pacing around outside the Tomb’s entrance.
Upon seeing the arrival of Marvin and Blackhand, the other party smiled genially. “Turns out you didn’t want to deal with me because you had another business associate.”
“A mere lower-class Devil… How come you made such a wrong choice? I can guarantee that I am able to give you more than he can… A lot more.”
Blackhand stiffened as he looked at Saydis, but he didn’t speak.
The relations between the Nine Hells were complicated. He was only a newly promoted Guardian of the Scorched Hell Lord, so he wouldn’t start a conflict with the second son of another Lord.
Saydis looked at Blackhand and then looked back at Marvin once again. Those green eyes seemed to see through everything. “Hold on, you are still not part of Hell… Seems like I evaluated you incorrectly before, you still aren’t a qualified heir of Hell… Fascinating. Your bloodline… Hehe.”
Marvin listened calmly, as he wasn’t worried anyway. He wanted to hear a lot more useful things from Saydis’ mouth.
But the other side suddenly turned and asked, “Do you want to get involved in the grudges between me and that cheat?”
Blackhand calmly responded, “Sir Saydis, I’m only a guide. Mister Marvin here is very interested in Sodom’s Blades, so I am responsible for bringing him there.”
“I don’t know about anything else.”
Saydis let out a hollow laugh, apparently not believing this. He turned back to Marvin and asked, “What did you give him?”
Marvin spread out his empty hands, hinting that he didn’t pay anything.
Saydis seemed shocked for a moment before he smiled weirdly at Marvin. “Free service?”
“Mister Marvin, I don’t how deep your understanding of the Devils’ world is…”
“But there is one thing I think you should be aware of. There is no such thing as free service in the word of the Devils.”
“Everything has a price…”
Saydis smiled meaningfully as he warned, “You should be a bit careful.”
Saydis was clearly hinting at something, but Marvin wouldn’t lost trust in Blackhand just because of his instigation.
His attitude toward Devils had always been different from what he felt about other evil forces. And there was a reason for that.
Although Devils were hateful and evil, they had principles.
They were malicious and tended to be hypocrites, but they followed rules.
Even if it was dark and dirty on the surface, everything would be fair.
Devils would rarely attack others wantonly. To them, it was a matter of face… Unless it had to do with their feud with Demons.
They preferred using contracts and agreements, playing with people’s hearts, and ultimately luring them to corruption.
Marvin knew that when dealing with Devils, as long he kept in mind his principles and his bottom line while avoiding their attempts to influence him, everything would be relatively controllable.
He knew that the Devil World had no such thing as free service, so even if the other side was his grandfather, Marvin wouldn’t completely lower his guard.
This was what needed to be understood when dealing with Devils.
…
He smiled at Saydis and said, “Thanks for the reminder.”
He then glanced at the timid Tomb Raider. “Are you able to go in?”
The entrance of the Tomb was in front of them, and it seemed like an ordinary flight of steps.
But actually, Devils couldn’t enter this space.
The Bloody Emperor’s Tomb rejected Pure-blooded Devils from entering. This had been designed by that tyrant when he built the tomb.
It wasn’t known how he did it, but Blackhand and Saydis couldn’t go in.
Thus, Saydis could only entrust Sangore to help him collect his debt. Marvin decided that he wasn’t too interested in what the debt was.
The only ones there that could enter the Tomb were Marvin and the Tomb Raider.
He was asking Speedy for his opinion.
The Tomb Raider froze before showing an expression of curiosity. “Although I’m very afraid of dying, since we already came this far, let’s go check it out.”
“I also want to know what’s different about the tomb of the famous tyrant of the Underdark.”
Marvin nodded.
He had threatened the Tomb Raider before, but that was due to a lack of better options, while at the same time, he had initially been worried that the Tomb Raider might try to rejoin the Black Knight. He needed a decent guide to help him find the entrance to the Tomb, but who would have thought that Blackhand would suddenly appear and offer his help?
Now that he had found the entrance to the Tomb, there was no need for the Tomb Raider to go if he didn’t want to.
With Marvin’s strength, he naturally wasn’t worried about how much the Tomb Raider could help.
And if he dared to take Sodom’s Blades, it wouldn’t be easy for him to leave Devil Town.
The two immediately entered the Tomb.
Saydis only looked at their backs without doing anything.
The entrance to the tomb was still considered part of Devil Town, so he couldn’t do anything to harm Marvin there. But the inside of the tomb was another place.
…
The steps were dark and steep. Even though they were two very agile rogues, the ground still felt slippery.
Marvin didn’t know how far Sangore had gotten, but they tried to proceed quickly.
Speedy was still dutifully carrying out his tasks, as always.
He walked over, displaying his remarkable ability to find traps and other things.
There were many hidden mechanisms that he managed to detect from far away.
This was his specialty.
Marvin, who was also a rogue Legend, was far from his level when it came to this. Although Marvin could have avoided those mechanisms and traps on his own, it wouldn’t have been as easy.
Thinking of this, Marvin took a deep look at Speedy.
‘Having a Tomb Raider in the territory seems like it would be… good?’
…
“These footprints and traces were left four minutes ago, they shouldn’t be too far away now.”
“There are three people.”
At the end of the flight of stairs was a narrow stone room.
There were three doors in the stone room. They could be opened easily, and behind each door was a pitch-black tunnel.
Speedy inspected the ground and told Marvin, “They walked down that path without any hesitation.”
He pointed at the tunnel on the right.
“That is a trick,” Marvin said.
Speedy froze, but Marvin didn’t wait for him to say any more before going through the tunnel on the left.
Most of the discussion with Blackhand hadn’t been hidden from the Tomb Raider, except two things that Blackhand had stealthily told Marvin.
One of them was about this stone room.
There was a path that forked into three different directions. But only one of the paths led to the tyrant’s Tomb.
Compared to the “clues” that the Black Knight deliberately left for him, Marvin believed more in the path suggested by Blackhand.
On the whole way so far, the Black Knight hadn’t left any obvious traces, so why would there be such clear footprints at this fork?
With such an obvious ruse, it might have been thought up by idiots who’d had their souls taken by Devils.
As for whether Blackhand’s information was right or wrong… If Diross really wanted to harm Marvin, Marvin would have died countless times already.
The two rushed through the left tunnel.
Contrary to Marvin’s expectations, the Bloody Emperor’s Tomb wasn’t as luxurious as he imagined.
This was simply a common underground place.
Whether it was the construction or the architecture, it was all simple and rather disappointing.
The deeper they went, the less they encountered any traps.
‘Was that Bloody Emperor so confident?’
‘He didn’t even put any monsters or constructs here to guard his tomb?’
Marvin felt strange. He had visited a few monarchs’ tombs before, and they were very dangerous areas. Moreover, they were filled with monsters and guardians, and the paths were extremely complex.
But the Bloody Emperor’s Tomb was clearly not like that.
They soon reached the end of the tunnel.
They could faintly hear the sound of a fierce battle underway.
The Tomb Raider’s expression changed into one of fear.
“Hey, this is the first time I’ve seen a Legend like this,” Marvin laughed. “Being able to become a Legend despite being so averse to combat could be considered quite exceptional.”
The Tomb Raider scratched his head awkwardly before sincerely muttering, “In fact, I didn’t dare to stay with those two Devils.”
“I’m interested in this tomb, of course, but Black Knight Sangore is my nightmare. I don’t want to get close to him.”
Marvin asked with a strange expression, “Then why did you dare to stay at my side?”
The Tomb Raider honestly answered, “I was listening, they called you Mister Marvin.”
“Your disguise is quite amazing, and you look completely like a Drow Fighter, but those two Devils wouldn’t acknowledge the wrong person.”
“There is currently no other well-known Marvin in Feinan, right?”
“If you really are White River Valley’s Overlord, then I can definitely trust you.”
It hadn’t really occurred to Marvin that he might be able to gain the Tomb Raider’s trust just because of his identity.
But he felt that having a Tomb Raider’s help would be fairly useful.
White River Valley was currently thriving, but it needed all kinds of talents.
But now wasn’t the time to use his reputation to try to recruit someone.
Black Knight Sangore was the biggest problem at the moment.
“You can stay there, or you can try to look for a place to hide. I’ll go on ahead.”
After saying those words, he quickly used Stealth and ran into the room.
…
At the end of the tunnel was a room that wasn’t very wide.
Shadows were intertwining in the room, which made Marvin frown.
Just as expected, Black Knight Sangore was still a step ahead. But he had met a powerful obstacle there.
It was a green Nine-Headed Hydra!
The Hydra’s body was fused with a huge stone gate, and each of the nine heads was coming out of its own emplacement on the wall.
The stone gate was tightly secured, and it seemed like they would have to get rid of the monster to reach the other side.
‘Blackhand said that the Bloody Emperor’s corpse is behind that gate.’
‘It’s even been said that the tyrant didn’t use a coffin or other things to bury his body. There should be only a corpse and the Bloody Throne.’
Marvin calmly analyzed the situation in front of him while remaining in Stealth.
Sangore held his spear out and a dark power kept bursting from his hands.
The Temple Raider was only cheering… The room was too narrow and wasn’t suitable for him to join the fight.
But Marvin was somewhat surprised that the Legend Wizard wasn’t really participating either, only standing in a safe corner and occasionally sending a few negative spells at the Hydra.
‘This isn’t normal… Even if a Hydra has a Legend Template, it doesn’t necessarily have high resistance to magic.
It was a monster with a thick skin and cutting it was definitely hard, so it would be a lot easier with the aid of a caster.
Before Marvin decided what else to do, he used [Earth Perception].
He instantly understood.
‘No soul?’
Marvin sneered as he looked at the Legend Wizard and Sangore. After making sure it wasn’t a trap, he made a move.
But his target wasn’t the Black Knight. It was the stone gate!
The Hydra’s nine heads were entangled with Sangore, so they weren’t able to react to Marvin’s sneaky attempt to reach the gate.
Just before Marvin reached the stone gate, his silhouette became fully visible.
As the Black Knight roared angrily, Marvin leapt at the seemingly closed stone gate and was about to crash right into it!
But the shocking part was that the door seemed non-existent and Marvin went right through!
Everything happened so suddenly that even the Hydra didn’t have time to react, let alone the Black Knight, who was stuck in a ferocious fight with the Hydra’s heads!
“How could it be!?”
“That door was just an illusion?”
The Black Knight waved his spear and charged straight at the gate while letting out a roar.
…
On the other side of the stone gate, Marvin was still keeping his guard up.
It seemed that the guide from the forum wasn’t entirely useless in the end.
At least that guy had written about the link between the gate mechanism and the Hydra.
The stone gate was just a trick. With enough Dexterity, one could just charge in after using a pet to attract the Hydra’s attention.
But behind the stone gate was a truly severe test.
With a heavy expression on his face, Marvin glanced at the Bloody Throne, which was standing atop a pile of bones not too far away.
In fact, after Marvin passed through the gate, the first thing he looked at was that throne.
It felt like it was the most attractive treasure in the world, and even though the throne only looked like a lump of iron covered in thorns, it had a mysterious aura.
A large pile of bones could be seen under the throne.
Marvin took a step forward, stepping on one of the bones.
“Crack!”
The sound of the bone shattering echoed in the room.
These skeletons had remained here for who knew how many years. It was already a miracle that they hadn’t crumbled away, so they easily shattered when Marvin stepped on them.
In fact, Marvin wasn’t purposefully shattering the bones.
The floor of the entire room was covered in a thick layer of bones!
There was no place for anyone to walk around.
That tyrant had no intention of letting others disturb his rest.
And after crossing through the gate Marvin noticed that everything happening on the other side seemed to have nothing to do with the room he was in.
At least, Marvin couldn’t hear any sounds of fighting.
The Black Knight wouldn’t catch up for a bit.
In the entire room, only the sounds of Marvin’s feet shattering the bones could be heard.
Otherwise, everything was so quiet that it felt eerie.
Some might hesitate at this, but with Marvin’s willpower and courage, he would hardly be bothered.
Marvin’s goal was very simple. He wanted Sodom’s Blades.
And to get them, he would have to find the Bloody Emperor’s corpse.
But Marvin was wondering, ‘So where is the Bloody Emperor’s corpse?’
He saw too many skeletons in this place and saw weapons that were covered in dust, but nothing special entered his eyes.
The Monk skill, [Earth Perception], seemed to be extremely restricted in this space. Marvin could only rely on his own eyes to check everything.
That forum post hadn’t explained how to obtain Sodom’s Blades and had only mentioned that the Bloody Throne was the key.
Thus, Marvin approached the Bloody Throne.
The back of the Bloody Throne was facing Marvin, and as he looked at it, a strange thought appeared in his mind. ‘Wasn’t it said that the Bloody Emperor’s corpse was in the same place as the Bloody Throne?’
‘Why can’t I see him?’
He had an idea about this as he went past a pile of bones and curved around to the throne’s side.
A shallow path through the bones was left in his wake.
A path of bone fragments.
Suddenly, Marvin stopped!
His eyes focused on the throne!
His expression became somewhat amazed.
‘This… is the Bloody Emperor?’
He really saw a corpse on the throne!
But that corpse was a little too unusual.
It was outside Marvin’s expectations.
It simply had never occurred to him that the only tyrant to unify the Underdark might actually be a very short man.
He was definitely a Human from the Underdark, but he was extremely short, not even reaching 150cm.
This shock lasted a few seconds before Marvin laughed to himself shortly after, ‘Who said the Bloody Emperor was a tall man?’
‘Who decided that a short person couldn’t become the tyrant over an empire?’
He was certain that the short corpse half-leaning on the throne was the Bloody Emperor.
Because he noticed not only that pair of dark and dusty curved daggers, but also a blood jade.
[Ruler’s Blood Jade]. This was the item used to prove the inheritance of the ruler’s status. It was said that a frightening secret was hidden inside.
Unfortunately, the Underdark had always been chaotic, and after the Bloody Emperor’s death, the empire immediately collapsed. The Underdark once again sank into unrest and became divided.
Without thinking any further, Marvin reached out and grabbed Sodom’s Blades.
He had some respect for the tyrant’s might, but time was pressing so he couldn’t dawdle.
Black Knight Sangore shouldn’t be far behind.
His hand grasped the handle of a dagger, but when he was about to pull it back… a withered hand grabbed Marvin’s wrist.
Marvin was startled!
‘There was still something else?’
…
“The Scorched Hell is a wonderful place.”
Outside the Tomb’s entrance, Saydis was casually saying, “I heard that your master’s head had been cut off by someone many years ago and that he has now retrieved it.”
Blackhand frowned.
Saydis may have still been just probing before, but that line was naked provocation.
Archdevil Diross was one of the nine Ancient Angels who founded the Nine Hells. His strength couldn’t be underestimated. But that scandal was the taboo of the Scorched Hell.
In this world, few people knew that Diross’ head had been captured and used by a clan on Feinan.
In those years, the Nine Hells had allied together. Otherwise, during the years with no Archdevils being born, they would have already been conquered.
Now, Diross had returned.
But very few knew that the current Diross wasn’t the powerful Angel that had been the founder of the Scorched Hell.
Saydis knew of this, of course.
He already found out this secret of the Scorched Hell from his father’s mouth and rarely showed respect to the Scorched Hell’s Devils. As for this lowly Devil before him, he disdained even looking at him.
Part of it was his impatience due to not being able to enter the tomb. That damn liar had made preparations against Devils, so if he rashly entered, he might end up remaining inside forever.
Thus, he could only wait outside with that lowly Devil.
And furthermore, he couldn’t even harm this minion because they were in Devil Town. Saydis was in a very bad mood, so he spoke words of ridicule and scorn.
Compared to Saydis, Blackhand seemed a lot calmer. “Sir Saydis’ opinion will be passed on to my Lord.”
Saydis glared at him. “Using Diross to threaten me? Who do you think you are!”
Blackhand indifferently said, “I wouldn’t dare.”
Saydis sneered, “Although I don’t know what you are planning, not many people know that cheat as well as I do!”
“Are Sodom’s Blades that good? You think he just died and left nothing behind to protect them?”
Blackhand was silent. The other side wasn’t wrong. If there was someone in this world who understood the Bloody Emperor the most, it was definitely Saydis.
“What did he leave behind?” Blackhand asked somewhat stiffly.
Saydis paused before mischievously laughing, “His spirit.”
…
‘His spirit? Or is it something else!?’
In fact, when this idea popped into Marvin’s mind, he immediately felt that it was impossible!
The spirit wasn’t something that one could leave behind.
In the long rivers of history, some powerful ones were able to obtain the Plane Will’s approval and be qualified to request for their spirit to be able to keep living in another way, letting it escape the grasp of the Underworld. But this was a very challenging matter.
Marvin’s body had a spirit inheritance attached to him!
But that was the mighty Night Monarch!
That was the one who led mankind and other races to leave the Wilderness and establish order in the ancient times. That was a true monarch.
The Bloody Emperor was very powerful, but he hadn’t been strong enough to leave his spirit behind. There was no doubt about it.
However, Marvin saw the corpse starting to swell, and some dark flesh began appearing out of nowhere, slowly filling the spaces between the bones.
The grip of the hand that had caught Marvin was gradually strengthening. He had no choice but to accept this!
This wasn’t just a corpse becoming animated!
But it was an even more terrifying spirit!
At this split second, apart from torrents of curses toward the one who wrote the post in the forum, all kinds of speculations as to how the Bloody Emperor had left his spirit behind appeared in his mind.
Because it was already a reality!
He pulled his hand away and his silhouette flickered among the piles of bones!
His instincts told him to stay as far as possible from the throne!
Although his Perception seemed to be weakened substantially inside this room, that feeling of danger was like a tide rising up and threatening his mind.
Spiritual possession of a body wasn’t resurrection. It was only a part of a spirit attaching itself to a physical body.
Marvin had known that the tyrant wouldn’t have let him get the Artifact easily, but if he had known that the test was to face Sodom’s spirit, he would have rather not entered this frightening place!
He knew about the power of a spirit.
Back when he wasn’t even a Legend yet, he was able to kill Madeline thanks to the help of the Night Monarch’s spirit imprint!
Although there was also the matter of the sudden attack and catching her off guard, the frightening power from the spirit left a deep impression in Marvin’s mind.
That was only a part of the spirit of the Night Monarch, a remnant, nothing more. Most of his strength was left in the stone tablet in that underground location.
The power for the Night Walker advancements was actually a continuous flow supplied by the spirit of the Night Monarch.
And now, Marvin would have to face a spirit that was most likely at full strength.
Back in the 3rd Era, that guy had been known as a sovereign that could slaughter Gods!
Thinking of this, a chilling feeling appeared in Marvin’s mind, and he turned to escape!
His speed was like lightning, and in a blink, he was just in front of the stone gate!
Only one more step and he could escape.
But that step wasn’t crossed.
A bloody light appeared out of nowhere, and Marvin’s body stopped, because in that split second, the area in front of him disintegrated!
Sharp blades ripped apart space itself and brushed past Marvin’s face, and a cut appeared on his face!
Blood flew, followed by a sharp pain.
Marvin hurriedly retreated.
That short withered corpse was holding the daggers, mumbling something as it unhesitantly attacked!
Marvin smiled bitterly, but his will was still firm.
He turned and drew his [Azure Leaf] daggers, meeting the enemy head-on.
“Ting! Clang! Peng!”
After three clashes, Marvin didn’t dare to believe what he saw…
The Great Elven King’s dagger…
Shattered!
When the attacks approached, Marvin didn’t have much choice so he subconsciously met the blows with his dagger.
But in that split second, when the two curved daggers touched each other, he felt his wrist give way!
A bad feeling rose up in his heart.
As he looked with his shocked eyes, the dagger that had been gifted to him by the Great Elven King a while back… shattered!
“Crash!”
A Legendary curved dagger broke into five pieces.
Despite Marvin reacting extremely quickly and dodging continuously, he couldn’t completely avoid the fierce attacks from Sodom’s Blades.
A thin wound appeared at his waist, with blood flowing steadily out of it.
Marvin was holding a dagger in one hand, a grave expression on his face.
This was one of the most troublesome enemies he’d met since he transmigrated!
The animated corpse simply didn’t give him any room to breathe, the vicious attacks seemed mechanical, almost unconscious, but extremely accurate.
In a mere three exchanges, Marvin’s forehead and waist were hurt, and his most suitable weapon had broken.
He hadn’t expected Azure Leaf to break. This was a Legendary item that the Great Elven King had used for a long time!
Ever since he got them, Marvin’s equipment advantage had let him crush other powerhouses, but now he could only smile bitterly because he was on the receiving end of the situation.
Worthy of Sodom’s Blades.
In the hands of its owner’s Spirit, despite the fact that the Bloody Emperor hadn’t recovered his full strength of those years, dealing Marvin was easy enough.
He could feel the frightening power buried deep within the corpse.
The other side had been smiling strangely all along, its throat issuing some rumbling sounds.
At this time, Marvin finally realized that he wasn’t that guy’s opponent at all!
Even if he used Ruler’s Wrath, even if he took out all his hidden cards, he still wouldn’t be able to defeat this overwhelming foe!
The Bloody Emperor was someone who slew Gods!
Even though the enemy was a Spirit, a Legend powerhouse still couldn’t come close to his level of power.
‘Such a powerful mortal body despite it being a corpse…’
Marvin shook his head, still dodging frantically.
He couldn’t defeat him and he couldn’t escape. He could only dodge.
There seemed to be plenty of room for him to dodge around, as the area was quite spacious. Moreover, in these kinds of situations, the one trying to get away would have the advantage. But Marvin wasn’t optimistic.
Because in those short exchanges, he found out that despite being in a withered corpse, the Bloody Emperor’s Spirit actually broke through the boundary of Godly Dexterity!
The speed and reaction speed Marvin was so proud of was nothing in front of that corpse.
He could only dodge, and he only barely managed to keep doing so.
He didn’t dare to parry with the remaining Azure Leaf.
If he didn’t do it perfectly, the remaining dagger would also disintegrate and he would die tragically.
This short one-minute melee battle made Marvin pay a disastrous price!
He felt like he had never been in such a terrible situation since he transmigrated.
Because never before had he met an opponent who suppressed him in everything!
Even when he faced Shadow Prince Glynos, they had fought in Arborea, where the latter had been suppressed to level 18, making it possible for Marvin to cope with it.
But that short monster was faster than him, stronger than him, and more familiar with this room than him. Furthermore, the Blood Emperor had very deep fighting experience, driving Marvin into a desperate situation.
When he fought with the so-called experts, Marvin relied on his rich PK experience.
But there was no experience advantage when facing this existence.
Countless people also died under the Bloody Emperor’s hands, and unlike other monarchs, he had personally hacked all those people to death with his own daggers! He had gone through countless life-and-death battles and won!
It was said that Sodom’s Blades were originally white, but after killing so many enemies, they turned red from the blood of the dead.
When it came to Blade Techniques, Marvin couldn’t get any advantage either.
And clearly, Sodom’s Blades were far superior to Marvin’s Azure Leaf.
Sodom’s Blades were an Artifact, and even though the Spirit couldn’t fully utilize all the abilities of the Artifact, it still wasn’t something Marvin’s daggers could contend against.
Marvin knew that if this foe had been able to take advantage of all of the power of Sodom’s Blades, he would have already died.
A Spirit wasn’t truly a soul.
This was only a piece of the Emperor’s soul with fighting abilities. It was completely following its instincts. If someone attempted to steal the blades, the Spirit would kill that person.
And as long as that person wasn’t dead, it would continue to attack.
Unluckily, Marvin had drawn its ire.
While dodging the small man’s attacks, he glanced at the stone door.
‘If I had known, I would have let the Black Knight explore this room first!’
Fleeing now was very difficult.
Although the Spirit didn’t have the ability to think, the Bloody Emperor’s instincts were still there.
It wouldn’t let Marvin reach the exit easily.
As time passed, it became harder and harder for Marvin to keep away from the attacks.
He was covered in blood.
Small wounds would appear on his body, before becoming scars soon after thanks to his high recovery ability. But a lot of the time, these wounds would be opened again before they recovered.
These wounds weren’t serious, and each one on its own wouldn’t even worry an ordinary person.
But with all of them together, it added up to be quite considerable damage!
Marvin sight went scarlet, with countless warnings appearing on his interface.
In just three minutes, not only had he been pressured constantly and forced to only run away, but he also suffered 237 small cuts!
He didn’t let Sodom’s Blades injure him directly.
But every attack would be followed by a cold chill that would cut through the void.
And fragments of the void would indirectly harm Marvin’s body.
This was something he couldn’t escape.
He knew that this was one of the attributes of Sodom’s Blades!
[Special Effect – Void Shattering: Every time the blade is swung, there is a 100% chance of causing the void around it to shatter and send fragments at the enemy.]
When he saw that description on the forum, Marvin was very envious of the owner of those blades.
That special effect was too powerful, particularly the 100% trigger chance, which meant that every parrying skill would lose its importance in front of these blades.
Even if one could withstand the blades themselves, the void fragments would inexorably cause injuries!
These fragments were just like knives, gradually cutting apart the enemy’s flesh.
Sooner or later, the enemy would die of blood loss!
…
‘What should I do?’
The big question appeared in Marvin’s mind.
The space for him to dodge in this room was rapidly decreasing.
The places where void fragments had been cut away wouldn’t recover so quickly, leaving dangerous areas behind.
With his Perception, Marvin could sense fewer and fewer places that he could dodge to.
“Rumble!” The corpse’s throat rumbled again, the strange smile on its face becoming more intense.
Sodom’s Blades were filled with a scarlet light as they fiercely slashed over once more.
Suddenly, Marvin had a thought.
‘A Spirit…’
‘If it is a true Spirit, then why didn’t it appear before?’
‘Is the Spirit residing somewhere here?’
Countless thoughts flashed through Marvin’s mind as the curved daggers rushed at him.
For some reason, he didn’t retreat this time, and instead, he welcomed them!
