Chapter 550: The Moonstone and the Realm’s Elite (1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Link tapped on the envelope that he had received from Gildern. A mild current of Dragon Power flowed out from his hand, undoing the seal on the envelope. He then took out the letter contained inside it.

He recognized Kanorse’s handwriting on the letter. There were three pages in total, detailing what had happened in Orida Fortress since Link left. Kanorse had even used red ink to mark out anything he thought merited Link’s attention.

There were two important things that Kanorse had emphasized with red ink.

The first important matter was that there was a slight change in the equipment used by the scouts of the enemy in the Black Forest. Low-ranking soldiers were still using standard equipment forged by the Dark Elves themselves, but higher-ranking officers with higher combat power had been seen armed with dwarven gear. There were also a few accounts of some of them using magical weapons made by the Yabba people, which included high-precision magical rifles. With such weapons at their disposal, they were even able to kill a high-ranking Level-7 general.

Kanorse figured that the dwarves of the Hengduan Mountain Range were supplying weapons to the Army of Destruction. Kanorse had written quite plainly on the subject of the magical machinery. He hoped that Link would conduct an investigation on the Yabba people currently residing in Ferde in order to make sure that they were not collaborating with Ferde’s enemy.

Link frowned upon reading this. The fact that the enemy had been seen using Yabba weapons troubled him deeply.

It was common knowledge that the Yabba people were currently living in Ferde. The whole continent was aware of this. What was also common knowledge was the fact that Ferde specialized in trade and commerce. The country had been dealing in the trade of clay and gyromagnetic iron. Only recently did it begin exporting magical equipment. Ferde’s wares could be found virtually everywhere.

Anyone would easily put two and two together and come to the conclusion that Ferde might be encouraging the Yabba people to sell their magical equipment to the Army of Destruction just to earn a quick buck.

Despite what he had written, Link could clearly sense Kanorse’s distrust towards the Yabba people. This raised a few red flags for Link.

Perhaps this was the Agatha Nagas’ way of sowing discord among us, thought Link.

The second matter was just as important. A tribe of the Beastmen had left the Golden Plains, traversed the Hengduan Mountain Range and finally entered the Black Forest. Evidently, this meant that they had formed an alliance with the Army of Destruction.

According to the information that Kanorse had received, there was a brutal civil war among the Beastmen in the Golden Plains. A warlord called Avatar was able to finally unify the whole tribe and proclaimed himself the one and true king of the Beastmen. But not everyone agreed to his rule.

Storm Warlord Parmese led his tribe on an exodus all the way up north in order to join the Army of Destruction. There were at least 500,000 people in his tribe, which was a tenth of the total Beastmen population. In Parmese’s tribe, there were more than 50,000 able-bodied Warriors.

The Beastmen were known for their raw strength and fearlessness. With standard military equipment and organization, they were basically a killing machine on the battlefield.

The fact that a Beastman Warlord had joined the ranks of the Army of Darkness was most worrying.

After reading the letter, Link was deep in thought. A few minutes later, Mana flowed out from his hand and ripped the letter to shreds. He then turned to Gildern, who had been standing in a corner all this time, and asked, “What are your thoughts on the Yabba people?”

Gildern pondered for a moment and then said, “Not a bad bunch. They’ve been hard at work making a home for themselves on Blue Stone Isle. They’re also a friendly lot. Never needed to worry about being scammed while doing business with them. They would always lay out all the numbers of a business deal in black and white, telling you what they hope to earn from it, which is usually between five percent to 20 percent. Quite reasonable, if you ask me. They’re also model citizens of Ferde. No Yabba individual has ever been involved in an incident in Ferde. All in all, they’re never the trouble-making kind.”

It was clear that the Yabba people abide by the laws of Ferde to the letter. What this also meant was that they were careful enough not to be on the humans’ bad books.

How could the Yabba people be selling weapons to the Army of Destruction with that mindset at such a critical time? One should bear in mind that there were only ten thousand Yabba people as of now. One misstep could spell the end of their entire race.

Hearing this, Link nodded. “I see. Alright, we’re done here. You can leave now.”

“Thank you.” Gildern immediately left the Mage Tower.

Link rubbed his forehead with a finger as he pondered on what he had read. Suddenly, he had an idea. Activating a Spiritual Transmission spell, he summoned Elin, who had been idling in the Mage Tower.

Ten minutes later, Elin pranced into his room. “Lord, is something the matter?”

“Sit, please,” said Link with a smile.

Elin was a bit nervous. Right now, Link was the Lord of Ferde and a Legendary master whose name was known far and wide across the continent. His every word and action determined the fate of her entire race. Though Link had spoken casually to her, Elin sat straight in one of the chairs in a corner, not daring to act casually in his presence like before.

Link proceeded to tell her everything he had read from Kanorse’s letter. He then said, “Elin, bring this news to your Chancellor. Tell him not to let his guard down and keep a tight leash on the Yabba people.

Elin was taken aback. Her gemstone-like eyes widened. She then asked Link worriedly, “Lord, do you suspect that Blue Stone Isle is illegally exporting their magical weapons?”

Elin was confident that Blue Stone Isle would never do such a thing, but it did not matter what she thought. Link did not trust the Yabba people. This was the sad truth of living under someone else’s roof. No matter how generous their master might seem, they were still no more than guests in his domain.

Seeing the taut smile on her face and her two hands squeezed into fists, Link sighed inwardly. He spoke gently, “I trust you, but the hearts of the common folk can be easily swayed. A thousand miles from here, the Warriors of Orida Fortress have watched their comrades be slaughtered by the same magical weapons being sold from Blue Stone Isle. Tensions are running high there right now. I just don’t want to give the soldiers there any more reason to channel their discontent towards Blue Stone Isle. Do you understand?”

Elin understood what Link had meant. She sighed and nodded at him. “I’ll pass on your message to the Craftsmen’s Guild.”

“You can go now. Tell the Chancellor on my behalf that we’re still friends!”

“I will.” Elin gave Link a bow. She then turned around and left the room.

After a moment of silence, Link decided that he would pay the Golden Plains a visit in the near future.

Link was on good terms with the Glorious Warlord Avatar and the Sky Shattering Warlord Holun. Since the Storm Warlord had joined forces with the Army of Destruction, Link thought he might as well help Orida Fortress receive Avatar’s aid.

Link decided to make this trip to the Golden Plains by himself.

The reason was simple: things had been quite tense between him and the High Elves. With all kinds of spatial spells at his disposal, Link would be able to see things through without much fuss if he were to venture out alone without anyone else holding him down.

Still, this was a risky affair. He was still not at his full strength.

I used up all of my strength when going up against the World Impaler. I probably won’t survive another encounter with Ariel, especially if she brings her friends around next time. I need to become stronger, he thought.

At this, Link took out the moonstone again.

There were many factors affecting a person’s power level. Everyone’s case was different, but the purity of a person’s power was a common factor. Though Link’s power was called Flawless Dragon Power, he had recently begun to feel the effects of the impurity of one’s power.

There were two effects Link had felt. Firstly, his Dragon Power was unable to cope with the strain of his research of higher-level Legendary spells. Secondly, his Dragon Power was now increasing at a noticeably slower rate.

The winds of change were now blowing through the continent of Firuman. Masters were popping up everywhere, but still Link felt that his power had already hit a high point.

As of now, he had a maximum of 17,300 Dragon Power points and 500 Omni Points. In total, he had 17,800 points. To reach Level-12, he needed at least 25,000 Dragon Power points. At his current rate, Link estimated that he would need another two years to reach Level-12.

He could not wait that long.

In the game world, geniuses like Eliard, Ariel, Annie, Kanorse and the others had probably received the realm’s blessing after reaching Legendary. The increase of their power level did not slow down one bit. For example, after reaching Legendary, Eliard was able to hit Level-19 in six years.

Link shuddered at the thought of how fast Eliard had managed to level up.

This was where this piece of moonstone would come in handy.

Chapter 551: Moon Stone and Realm Essence (2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Link’s Moon Stone was the size of a fist. Round and highly translucent, it looked like a pearl. In the water, it also glowed with watery silvery moonlight.

Following the game’s method, Link held the Moon Stone in both palms and started adding red Dragon Power with his left hand.

Buzz. With a soft sound, the watery moonlight around the stone instantly strengthened. After a few seconds, colorless power surged out from the other side and returned to Link’s body through his right hand.

Link sensed the power surging back.

It was very pure and gentle like flowing water. If he sensed closely, its nature was basically the same as Dragon Power. It had all the attributes that Dragon Power had, like fast recovery, strengthening of physical power and endurance, and more. Link tried to manipulate it and found that it was obedient. It would flow wherever his thought went without any delay or inertia.

This feeling was great.

However, there was a shortcoming to this purification. Link had added 1000 Dragon Power points into the Moon Stone, but only 800 points of the colorless power came out. The purification process used up 200 points.

Link was a bit worried that his own power would be reduced by 20% too. However, the amazing feeling of control was too tempting. He decided to just purify everything.

Thus, Link began pouring red Dragon Power into the Moon Stone for the rest of the time, colorless Dragon Power returning to Link’s body. The seconds ticked by as the cycle repeated.

Gradually, the Dragon Power that flowed out of him grew fainter and fainter, becoming more transparent.

Link couldn’t feel anything strange. He just felt that his control was at an unprecedented height. When the power flowed into him, he could almost hear the soft scrape as it flowed through his body. It was also because of that fine scrape that he could almost “see” the fine structure of his body.

In reality, he wasn’t using his eyes but a very detailed sensory. Link could sense his body before, but it was never as clear and beautiful as today.

He “saw” every muscle, vein, and organ in him, as well as his beating heart, the white nerves, and even his brain… Wait, was that the Heart of the Dragon?

Link had modified the Heart of the Dragon before and had seen that it was a lump of dark red energy. Now, it had become a light red. It was fading even now.

He discovered he could clearly see the inner structure of the Heart of the Dragon. It was impossibly detailed. He looked closer, trying to understand the principles within, but it felt like his head would split open after a short while.

Operating his mind at this rate used up too much energy and all this energy came from his blood. Because his blood had to move at a much faster rate, many capillaries in his brain burst.

Link saw this process happen clearly.

I’m really bursting blood vessels. I guess I still can’t completely understand the Heart of the Dragon. A little disappointed, Link looked away.

The red haze around the Heart of the Dragon faded. Seeing this, Link realized, I already have the purest Dragon Power, but Dragon Power isn’t the purest power in the world. This red stuff is actually the impurities restricting my ability to improve.

Link also realized that under the effect of the pure power, his body was also changing. A bit of pain entered his brain, but it wasn’t unbearable. He overlooked it easily and continued purifying.

Slowly, the pain disappeared, replaced by an indescribable joy. Link fell asleep with this joy.

After a while, a familiar voice sounded in his ears. “Hey, wake up.”

It was Celine.

Link shot up and found himself in bed. He was still clutching the Moon Stone. “How long have I been sleeping?”

Worry was written in Celine’s features, but she was relieved now that Link was awake. “You almost died in your sleep,” she muttered. “It’s been five days.”

“Oh, that long?”

Link felt around his body. It felt empty. Bearing down, he could easily “see” inside him. His Heart of the Dragon was completely transparent now. A watery glow lit up from inside out. Like moonlight, it shone in every corner of his body, nurturing the body parts.

It was like there was a moon inside him.

He looked at the Moon Stone. It still looked the same—translucent like a moon. It glowed softly… No, it had changed. There were many fissures inside.

Shocked, Link studied it. Soon, its details popped up.

Moon Stone

Level-19 Astral Meteorite

Current Completeness: 30% (irreparable)

Link winced, feeling disappointed. This was a one-time thing. He’d planned on giving it to Celine and then Eliard and the rest. It seemed that it was only enough for Celine now.

Just as he was feeling sad, his vision flashed with a notification from the game system. Link glanced over at it.

Link Morani (Ferde Lord)

Level-11 Magician

Current Power: Realm Essence (One Realm Essence point equals 2.5 Flawless Dragon Power points)

Power Upper Limit: 7000 points

Current Power Recovery Rate: 100 points per second

Current Power Limit Increase Rate: 100 points per day

(Note: All things in the world are the same in the end.)

It suddenly dawned on Link that the so-called Dragon Power, Natural Power, and Sunlight Power were all different versions of Firuman’s Realm Essence. They just had some impurities. This led to their own attributes but also caused them to have limits.

Now, he had the purest Realm Essence. This was the power from the source.

But how could he use it?

Link pondered and suddenly thought of a basic Natural spell from the High Elves. Called Growth Spell, it helped plants grow.

Before, Link had Dragon Power so he couldn’t cast this spell. He decided to try it now.

Thinking back to the spell’s Mana structure, he used Realm Essence to complete it. One second, two seconds… three seconds later, Link succeeded.

Realm Essence was honestly too obedient; It completely followed his thoughts. Link could use Realm Essence to replicate Mana structures that belonged to Natural magic.

A transparent thumb-sized ball appeared in his palm. He flicked it, and it flew to the potted plant on his windowsill. A vine in the pot instantly started sprouting. A few seconds later, the vine was ten times longer, with many flowers blooming on it.

“Natural magic?” Celine exclaimed softly. She stared at Link. “You turned into an elf?”

Link shook his head and cast the dragon healing spell Essence Vitality ON Celine. Her cheeks turned pink instantly. She looked to Link with clear eyes. “I’m not sick. Why did you cast that spell?”

“How’s the effect?” Link asked.

“Effect?” Celine sat on the bed and stuck her hand under the blankets to caress Link’s body. “It feels great.”

Link got turned on by the touching, and the magic experiment turned into something else. After all the action, Link gave Celine the Moon Stone.

“Take this. It can fully purify the demonic aura from your power,” Link said.

Celine was still in his arms. She played with the Moon Stone and said, “It looks pretty. I’ll try. What do I do after purifying?”

“Your power becomes very pure, but your original power doesn’t disappear. You can use practically every type of spell. You can cast it as long as you know the Mana structure. You saw how I used a Natural spell, right?”

Celine understood now and was intrigued. “Oh, I see.”

Lowering his voice, Link reminded, “Alright, this is a gem that only you know about, understand?”

This was a true treasure, but it wasn’t very complete anymore. In that case, Celine should just use it secretly. There was no reason to attract jealousy.

Celine found it exciting. She hurriedly put away the Moon Stone and looked side to side like a bunny. Finally, she whispered in Link’s ear, “I know. This is our secret.”

Her actions made Link smile.

They cuddled on the bed for a while later. Finally, Link climbed out of bed and collected himself. Then he went to the enchantment room. He was going to the Beastmen’s Golden Plains alone. He had to prepare some equipment.

After experiencing the perfect control of the Realm Essence, he believed that his enchantments would improve greatly.

…

While Link was focused on making an all-new set of magic equipment for himself, Ariel, Elovan, and Milose were getting ready to depart from the Isle of Dawn.

Link had still underestimated the power of the World Tree. After nearly a week of treatment, Ariel’s internal injuries were completely healed. Not only that, her broken legs had healed too. Though her combat was still affected, her power had increased due to this misfortune. She was now close to Level-11.

If Link knew about this, he would definitely sigh and lament about how scary geniuses of the world were.

The Isle of Dawn had also received news of the Golden Plains. Right now, the High Elf queen was giving them her last reminders.

“After arriving at the Golden Plains, remember not to reveal the Isle of Dawn no matter what the results are.”

“Understood, Mother.” This was Ariel.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” This was Elovan and Milose.

“Take this Moonlight Fruit with you. In case anything happens, active the Moonlight spell immediately and return together. Don’t make me worried, understood?”

“Yes, Mother.” Ariel pocketed the Moonlight Fruit carefully.

“Then, go.”

The three rising High Elf stars transformed into a puff of faint green haze and hurried eastward.

Chapter 552: A Sword’s Symphony under a Moonlit Sky

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Mage Tower, the enchantment workshop on the top floor of the main tower

Link had finished a new magical item. The whole process had taken him five days.

It seemed that he had only forged one item. It was a colorless, transparent runestone, which resembled the button of a shirt. Upon a closer look, one could see a milky-white cloud swirling in it.

It was a rare sight to see Link heave a long sigh after working on a simple magical runestone. He sat down, his body relaxing considerably. The five-day ordeal was finally over.

The enchantment workshop was huge, so he was not the only one there. Celine, Eliard, Evelina, Alloa, and Vance were also there with him. They too were hard at work working on the Ethereal Crystal. Before, they only watched from afar as Link worked, fearing that they might interrupt his thought process.

However, they were all curious as to what sort of magical equipment he was working on. When Link was done, they all came over to inspect his creation.

Everyone took a look at the crystal button that Link had placed on the enchantment workbench, but could not make out what it was supposed to be used for.

There was no magical activity within the button. The white cloud inside it resembled the blemishes one would find in normal gemstones. This was not their standard definition of a magical equipment.

No one in Scorched City would probably not bother picking it up if they saw it lying on the ground. Any ordinary passerby would simply mistake it for a heavily blemished crystal.

Eliard grew even more curious about it. Link certainly would not spend the last five days crafting useless knick-knacks. The magical principle behind its conception was simply too profound for them to comprehend at first glance.

This suggested that Link had deepened his understanding of magic even further. Eliard bent over to carefully inspect the button on the workbench, but still could not fathom its purpose. Becoming even more curious, he asked, “Link, why isn’t there any magical activity in it?”

Link was satisfied with his work. It might not seem like much, but it contained everything that he had understood about magic. The button was the highest pinnacle of magical workmanship he could reach at his current level.

Seeing everyone gazing so intently at the crystal, Link smiled at Eliard and said, “Actually, this is a seal, and it’s used for enchantments. There’s no power in it at the moment. It requires a set of magical equipment in order to activate its effect.”

Saying this, Link took out his Dragon King’s Fury sword. He unsheathed it and laid the sword out on the workbench.

Right now, the Dragon King’s Fury sword was Level-13. This was the result of Link constantly nourishing the sword with his Dragon Power. As soon as it left its scabbard, the blade gave off an indescribable aura.

Under the sword’s oppressive aura, the onlooking Magicians took a step back away from it. They did not dare stand too close to it.

Link stood up and picked up the crystal button from the workbench. He then inserted it into a groove in the middle of the sword’s blade. The button slotted into the groove perfectly. Once inside, the sword’s dragon scales began rearranging itself until the crystal merged seamlessly with the blade itself.

Then, something peculiar happened.

Once the button was on the sword, the white cloud inside it began to dissipate until none of it was left in the crystal. The crystal was now transparent. Its surface radiated a soft, watery glow.

The light was as calm as moonlight and as clear as a mountain stream. Some of the Magicians around it could not help but feel drawn to this ethereal glow. The light also seemed to have stilled their thoughts, bringing them a sense of peace and tranquility.

The sensation was akin to taking a walk across a moonlit field without a care in the world.

Suddenly, Eleanor spoke, “There’s something about this light. It seems to have a spell-focusing effect.”

Link smiled and nodded. “Indeed. But that’s trivial in comparison to its true purpose.”

He then picked up the Dragon King’s Fury sword, which was now adorned with the crystal button. As he infused his own power into the sword, a watery glow spread out across the intricate maze of runes on its surface. Countless rune circuits lit up on the Dragon King’s Fury sword. The watery glow streaked through them until it reached the crystal button.

Shortly after, the glow began to intensify. At first, it only illuminated a corner of the workshop. But after a while, the light solidified into a ball which began steadily expanding until it engulfed the whole room. The light was not at all blinding.

After a while, the Dragon King’s Fury sword began absorbing the ball of light. Clear tinkling sounds could be heard from within.

Though no one could see what was happening inside the ball of light, they could feel that the Dragon King’s Fury sword was transforming. They all waited to see its final transformation with bated breath.

The whole process took at least 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes later, the light enveloping the sword gradually began to subside. Slowly, it revealed the sword’s tip. Then came its blade. In the end, the light was completely absorbed by the sword itself.

The appearance of the Dragon King’s Fury sword had changed drastically.

The sword had originally been dark red. Two dragons had been sculpted on its hilt, their wings serving as the sword’s guard. The blade was also covered with dragon scales, making it look primal and oppressive.

But now, the sword had suppressed its oppressive aura. It was now a silver steel sword. The only distinguishing feature on it was the colorless gemstone that Link had placed in the midsection of the blade.

At first glance, the sword now resembled the steel swords ordinary Warriors usually armed themselves with. It did not give off any magical aura. The sword simply gleamed a bit brighter than the others. A plain-looking gemstone was mounted on its blade. The sword was no more elegant than the decorative swords forged by a master blacksmith.

Ordinary folk might mistake it for a normal sword. However, any Magician would be able to tell that the sword was now even more powerful than before.

One might say that the Dragon King’s Fury sword had resembled a feral creature baring its fangs and claws to intimidate its enemies into submission before its transformation. Now, this seemingly ordinary sword had retracted said fangs and claws, giving off an almost imperceptible aura. Though it did not feel as strong as before, there was an immeasurable profoundness to the sword’s new aura. If one were to carefully feel it, one could sense a power capable of rending seas and uprooting mountains within the sword.

As a Legendary master herself, Evelina was able to sense this power most vividly. She stepped forward and gazed unblinkingly at Link’s sword. She then asked, “What special properties does it have?”

“Properties?” Link thought for a moment, then said, “There’s just too many to list out right now, I’m afraid. Let me put it simply: the sword is me right now. Whatever I can do, it can do it as well.”

The rune on the sword had channeled Link’s understanding of this world into it. Link had also worked his Realm Essence on the rune to its fullest extent. In other words, the rune was perfect.

Evelina was stunned. She then sighed and sighed, “Your magic has surpassed even my understanding. I can’t give you a proper evaluation of your sword.”

Just then, a message from the game system flashed before Link.

Player Link has successfully forged a Legendary mid-level rune and receives 200 Omni Points as his reward.

At this stage, he could exchange one Omni Point for one Realm Essence point. It was a reasonable deal.

Rune integration a success. Please rename your magical sword.

Link thought for a moment, then said, “From now on, this sword belongs to me completely. I’ll name it… Ode of a Full Moon.”

When he was finished, Link slowly sheathed his sword. Once the sword was back inside its scabbard, the enchantment workshop darkened considerably. The general air of tranquility in the room had also subsided.

It was as if the moon had sunk behind the mountains. Everyone began to stir from the calm, distant mood that the sword had put everyone in.

All the Magicians in the workshop heaved a wistful sigh.

There was things in this world which might not seem like much at first, but their absence was enough to leave one in a sorrowful disposition as if there was now something important missing in this world.

It seemed that Link’s Ode of a Full Moon sword had such an effect on people.

Once the sword was back in its scabbard, Link received a message concerning the Ode of a Full Moon sword’s true nature.

Ode of a Full Moon

Level-14 Magical Sword

Description: This is a sword fit for a king. You would be hard-pressed to tell exactly what powers this sword possesses, but one thing’s for sure: all your enemies will submit to its power once it leaves its scabbard.

(Note: The sword sings high into the moonlit sky.)

“Everyone, I’ll be leaving for the Golden Plains. I leave Ferde and its matters to your capable hands. Especially you three, Eliard, Vance and Alloa.”

All three of them were Link’s most trustworthy Magicians of the Mage Tower.

Eliard was Link’s best friend and also the most innovative Magician he had ever known. Vance had lifetimes’ worth of experience, while Alloa had a gift for seeking out the absolute truth of things. Together, their strengths compensated for each other’s weaknesses. That should be more than enough to see Ferde through these turbulent times.

Link then gave a Magician’s salute to the three of them. As of now, he was no longer a lord but simply a scholar in pursuit of magical knowledge.

Eliard and the others were aware of Link’s plan. They straightened their backs then solemnly saluted back at him.

Link nodded at Evelina and the others. His eyes finally fell on Celine, who had not spoken a word. He smiled, and Celine smiled back at him. As they looked at each other, a white light engulfed Link, and soon, he was gone from the Mage Tower.

A moment later, he appeared 10,000 feet in the air. This was his latest upgraded version of the Dimensional Jump spell. The maximum distance he could teleport across was now 10,000 feet.

In the air, Link activated Void Walk. His entire body transformed into a streak of light which hurtled through the air towards the Golden Plains.

…

Black Forest, Skeletal Fort

A secret congregation was underway in a secret room; its participants consisted of Nagas, Beastmen, demons and Dark Elves. They were all major players in the Army of Destruction.

The room was dim that no distinguishing features could be seen on the shadowy figures occupying the room.

“Parmese’s tribe has broken off from the rest of his kind. The king of the Beastmen may not take kindly to this.”

“He’s most likely already decided to ally himself with the humans to storm the North. At this rate, the humans’ forces in the South will soon grow even stronger.”

“The Beastmen may appear unified, but they still employ a tribal system. If we remove the king from the equation, whatever semblance of power the Beastmen have will disintegrate into a puff of smoke.”

“Are you talking about assassinating Avatar?”

“Sounds like a great plan, but who’s gonna do it?”

“Me.” The speaker had a small, delicate physique, and there was a long spear behind their back.

“One will not be enough,” a Naga Priest spoke.

“Count me in.” A winged demon stepped forth, a pale blue sword in his hand. It was a fallen angel.

“Alright, anyone else? We need to make this work on our first try. There won’t be any room for error here,” said the Naga Priest.

“I want in. It’s about time I avenge my fallen brethren, anyway,” a low voice rumbled. A slender, muscular figure stepped out from the shadows. It was the Storm Warlord Parmese. He held two swords in his hands that were as slender as a pair of palm leaves.

“The three of you should suffice. But Avatar’s strength is the stuff of legends. I fear this mission may not go smoothly, especially if the king of the Beastmen is expecting assassins being sent his way. I’ll cast transformation spells on the three of you, disguise you as Beastmen…”

The Storm Warlord Parmese interjected, “It’d be best if you could disguise us as humans. Beastmen can distinguish their targets via smell. A simple disguise would not be enough to fool them. On the other hand, we may be able to easily sabotage the humans’ plans if we’re disguised as one of them!”

“Well said. Then we’ll do as you say.”

Chapter 553: Strange Beastmen on the Plains

Golden Plains

The sky and earth were vast; the breeze ruffled the grass, but there were no flocks of animals.

This was a rich and fertile area, but sadly, there were too few Beastmen, and the plains were too big. Most Beastmen didn’t know how to take advantage of the valuable land either, so the Beastmen had to live in such poverty.

Link came to negotiate an alliance with their king this time. They had interacted before, but as leaders, that instance could only be used to reminiscence on the past. An alliance between two races couldn’t rely on past feelings; they only cared about interests.

If they wanted a successful alliance, Link had to be clear about the other’s interests. Thus, he didn’t go straight to Gronhon Capital where the palace was. Instead, he disguised himself as a regular merchant and traveled through every city, observing how they lived.

He was now very familiar with Beastmen and had more bargaining chips now.

Traveling alone like this for a day, Link ran into a human merchant caravan. Since they were all humans and Link was alone, he joined the group after a few words.

Link observed while traveling and also chatted with these well-traveled merchants. He gained more knowledge about the lower class of Firuman too.

As the sky was getting darker, a small creek appeared before them. The caravan leader called for everyone to set up camp there.

There were around 300 people in the caravan made up of a dozen or so groups. The biggest group was called Red Earth Firm. They sold different types of spices to the Beastmen, such as garlic, dragon grass, and herbs. They had more than 20 carts and took up more than half of the caravan. The other groups were between five to a dozen people. There were also some more than that and individuals like Link.

With everyone together, they had strength in numbers. Thus, the caravans didn’t hire mercenaries. The Red Earth Firm didn’t reject outsiders either.

The grass in the plains was mostly up to a grown man’s chest. The grass near the river went over a regular man’s head. If there wasn’t a set path there, they wouldn’t be able to move past at all.

The caravan followed the path to the creek, and the merchants got off their carts. Some unsaddled the horses and brought them to drink and eat by the creek. Others started up fires to prepare dinner. The mercenaries of the Red Earth Firm went to the sides to keep watch. The caravan filled with action.

Link found a place to sit down. He couldn’t reveal his spatial equipment, so he had a bag. He opened it now and took out a piece of bread. Chewing quietly, he planned out the rest of his journey.

They were still at the border of the Golden Plains. There were more than 1000 miles to Gronhon Capital. With the caravan’s current speed, it would take more than one month to go through the dozens of cities.

One month was quite long, but he had to do this to truly understand the Beastmen and come up with an alliance that the king couldn’t reject. Link wouldn’t spend all his time on this too. For example, he was eating now, but things flashed past his eyes. It was the magic book he had with him. He could display it with the game system.

This way, people would think he was spacing out, but he was actually studying magic. Only a small amount of time was spent on observing the Beastmen.

Just as he was focused, he heard footsteps. Someone was walking over. The steps were light; it was a young girl. Link remembered her name quickly—Shallie.

As soon as that thought flashed past, he heard a bright voice say, “Brother Link, you must be thirsty. Come drink some water.”

Link didn’t hide his name. Actually, very few people referred to him by name after he became the lord of Ferde. He was a “master” in Norton, “Lord” in Ferde, and he was known as the “Ferde lord” in other places. Otherwise, he was Lord Morani. Those who called him by his name were mostly all close to him.

The name “Link” was also common throughout Firuman, so he didn’t have to hide it.

After hearing the voice, he looked up to see a teenage girl walk over with a bowl of hot water. It was freshly boiled water, so she walked very slowly.

She was the daughter of a small group’s leader. She looked plain and had many freckles on her skin. Because of all the time outside, her skin was tanned. This made her seem energetic and lively. Her eyes were bright, her figure was lean, and her personality was bold. She wore plain leather armor and seemed to have endless energy every day, bounding around the caravan.

No matter where she went, laughter and chatter followed.

Link stood up to accept the bowl. “Thank you,” he said with a smile.

Shallie’s eyes brightened and curved into crescents. She sat down beside him. “Brother Link, you keep dazing off by yourself. Are you thinking about something?”

Just as Link was about to reply, he felt unfriendly eyes on him. He turned to see Shallie’s father, Olan. He procured magic material and had some fame. He didn’t like it when his daughter was with Link, but he clearly couldn’t control his daughter.

Link gestured at the water bowl to thank Olan. Then he smiled to the girl. “Shallie, your father probably told you before that solo merchants like me are dangerous. You should stay away, right?”

Link had the Song of Tomorrow sword hanging at his waist. Of course, he hadn’t unsheathed it yet, and it looked like a plain metal sword.

Shallie didn’t care. “Oh, he says that but he’s old. I don’t care. Brother Link, you have a sword and walk through the plains alone. You’re good at swordsmanship, right?”

“I’m okay,” Link said, chuckling.

“Can you teach me?” Shallie finally revealed her ulterior motive. She wanted to learn martial arts.

Link burst into laughter. He figured this out at their first meeting. Her eyes brightened whenever she saw someone with a sword. She would often look at the mercenaries of the Red Earth Firm, but they’d killed people before. She was like a scared little deer, only daring to look but not to approach them. Now that the harmless-looking Link was here, she started getting ideas.

“I don’t mind, but you need your father’s permission. He might not allow it.”

It was just some swordsmanship techniques. Shallie had worked hard in bringing him clean water these days. When he finished speaking, he drank all the water and handed the bowl back. “Go ask your father,” he said. “Remember, you can’t just send the message. He must tell me personally.”

Shallie gaped at him. “Huh? That’s too hard. My father will never agree. Can you change to another requirement?”

Link wagged his finger at him. “No. This isn’t up to discussion. Compared to swordsmanship, this is nothing.”

“Fine, I’ll try.” Shallie walked away, both excited and depressed.

Left alone again, Link continued reading again. A few minutes later, a pained cry broke out near the creek.

Then Link saw a mercenary sprint back. His face was covered in blood, and an eyeball had fallen out of his socket. It swung before his face. Grasping his face, he screamed while running. After a few steps, he fell and rolled on the ground. Perhaps he’d given up because he couldn’t get back up. His cries weakened too, and he just panted heavily on the ground.

His companions hurried over to check. A few ran to the creek with their swords too. A short while later, Link could hear the cries of fighting.

The merchants in the caravan waited anxiously. The mercenaries returned with many wounds. Link remembered that the leader was called Miro. He was a Warrior at the pinnacle of Level-4. This was great for a common soldier.

At this time, he held a strange black head in his hand.

Link looked carefully. The head was like a human… No, it was most likely a Beastman. But strangely enough, the skin was dark green. The blood dripping from it was dark green too. The grass didn’t change when the blood dropped onto it, but Link could see that the grass’ vitality was disappearing rapidly.

The blood was poisonous. In fact, it was a slow-acting toxin and hard to notice. It also emanated an indescribable aura.

It felt familiar to Link. It was like…Natural poison, but at closer inspection, it felt different too. In other words, he’d never seen this type of power.

Link also noticed that the Beastman’s eyes were pure black. There were no eye-whites. The rest of his skin had patches of grayish marks like scars after getting burned.

Are there Beastmen like this? Link found it strange. He’d never seen something like this in the game.

A message suddenly flashed past his vision.

Activate Mission: Strange Beastmen

Mission Content: Some strange Beastmen have appeared on the Golden Plains. They seem combative. Investigate why they appeared.

Reward: 50 Omni Points

The reward wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Link chose to accept it.

While everyone in the caravan was observing the head, he slipped to the creek. He had to investigate these Beastmen.

Chapter 554: An Incurable Poison!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Beastman’s headless corpse lay beside the creek. Thick, green blood flowed out of the gash across his neck in rivulets. The rest of his body was covered with terrible scars. Link walked up close and saw that greyish-white hair was growing from the scars like some sort of filament-like fungi.

What was even more astonishing was the fact that while the body was completely deprived of a head, the rest of it was still quite alive. The twitching of its limbs from time to time suggested that it still retained some of its vitality.

As he approached the body, the sense of familiarity that Link had felt before grew even stronger, but still he could not figure out what it meant. Just then, Link heard footsteps behind him. There were other people approaching the scene. It was the mercenaries from the Red Earth Firm. They had probably been dispatched to deal with the corpse.

Link quickly took out a crystal bottle and scooped up some of the dark green blood. He then cast an Invisibility spell, a Levitation spell and a Void Walk spell in quick succession as he retreated from the scene. Without making a sound, Link’s body vanished entirely into thin air.

Once rendered invisible, he walked around in the tall grass and came out from another corner, making it seem as if he had just finished answering a call of nature.

One of the mercenaries headed over to where the caravan had set up camp. He announced in a loud voice, “Gentlemen, there’s been a change in plans. It may not be safe out here tonight, so the caravan leader has advised all of you to stay close to each other.”

The merchants looked at each other, somewhat concerned. This did not sound good. Those who had come with their own horse carriages harnessed their horses to their wagons as they headed towards the Red Earth Firm’s resting area. Those without carriages simply walked alongside their horses. Before long, all 300 people came together, forming a temporary campsite where the horses and other livestock formed an outer circle around the merchants.

Link had also followed the group to the resting area. After a few steps, a man with a greying mustache appeared beside him. It was Shallie’s father, Olan.

He growled at Link, “You’d best keep your distance from my girl, punk!”

Link replied with an amused smile, “I don’t think I was the one who came to her first.”

Olan was at a loss for words. A few seconds later, he said, “My girl’s not right for you. She’s still too young, too innocent. I only have one daughter. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

Link smilingly asked, “Do I really look like the kind of layabout who entices young maidens with sweet words, only to hurt them in the end?”

Olan shook his head. “No, I’m not talking about your character. I’m talking about your swordsmanship. Swordsmanship is the art of murder. It’s either kill or be killed for anyone who practices it.”

Link then asked, “And what if she has a talent for it?”

Olan laughed bitterly. “We’re all just simple folk. How much do you expect to teach her? Even if my daughter is able to make a name for herself with a sword, will she even be a match for a true master? I’d rather she not learn swordsmanship at all if it means putting her in harm’s way. She won’t be involved in that bloody world where all kinds of Legendary masters run rampant. She’ll live out her days as an ordinary person. Sure, it may sound boring, but at least it will be a peaceful life.”

This was the logic of most ordinary folk. It sounded reasonable. Link did not think he would one day hear such a thing from an ordinary merchant. He raised an eyebrow at Olan.

Olan sighed. “Young man, there are two types of heroes in this world: they’re either immortal, or they live very, very short lives. The latter number in the thousands. I don’t want my girl to be some sort of hero.”

It was true. Heroes were notorious for their short lifespans.

Link was finally convinced by Olan. He decided not to teach Shallie much. At most, he would only give her a few pointers. He would only be setting her on a path towards self-destruction if he continued teaching Shallie.

He finally said, “You have my word. I won’t teach her anything else.”

“Thank you, young man.” Olan gave Link a salute, which was usually indicative of a royal upbringing.

Noticing the surprised look Link shot at him, Olan explained to him, “My father was once a knight. When I was young, I always thought he was the strongest there ever was. He died in battle. They never found his body.”

Olan then walked past him. Shallie followed behind her father, visibly crossed by the exchange he had with Link.

Link raised his shoulders, showing that he was left with no choice in the matter. Tears were welling up in Shallie’s eyes. She stormed off with a humph.

Shortly after, the merchants were all grouped together. Under the direction of the mercenaries, a temporary campsite with adequate protection was finally set up. Within the circle formed by the horse carriages and livestock, the merchants began starting fires and laying out their blankets.

Up until now, everything had been quite peaceful.

Link found a quiet corner in the campsite. He plucked a few blades of grass and spread them out on the ground near a bonfire. He then laid out the woolen blanket he had brought with him on the pile of grass.

The sky had darkened considerably. Link lay on his blanket and closed his eyes. On the outside, it seemed as if he was beginning to sleep. In reality, he was reading his magic book.

This was part of his training regimen. He could not afford to relax at such a critical time.

After reading for half an hour, Link heard footsteps heading his way. He decided not to open his eyes. Most of his attention was still on the magic book he was reading. However, he redirected a small portion of his attention to the approaching figure.

It was one of the mercenaries hired by Red Earth Firm. From the footsteps, Link was able to identify to whom they belong. The mercenary was called Arda. He was one of the three handlers of the mercenaries as well as a Level-4 Warrior.

His footsteps finally stopped beside Link. Arda’s voice came next. “Hey, I hear you’re quite good with the sword.”

“Just a bit.” Link nodded. His eyes were still shut.

Arda asked patiently, “Did you also see the Beastman just now?”

Link nodded again.

Arda explained, “There were actually two of them just now. One of them was killed by us. However, the other managed to escape us. We suspect that they were scouts, and it’s possible they may attack us tonight. As it turns out, their blood is quite poisonous. Our leader, Milo and some of our best men were poisoned by the Beastmen’s blood. We need all the help we can get to guard the place tonight.”

Arda probably assumed that Link had a lot of experience surviving the wilderness, considering the fact that he had just traversed the plains on his own before joining the caravans. As the mercenaries were now short on manpower, Arda naturally sought Link out for his help. Of course, Link was not the only one Arda had asked. Those who looked physically competent had also been recruited by him to keep watch tonight.

Incidentally, Link was also curious about the two mysterious Beastmen himself. He nodded at Arda and said, “Alright then, what do you have in mind for me?”

Arda did not expect Link to agree to his request so easily, since he had noticed that Link had been extremely quiet throughout their journey. Relieved by Link’s answer, “It’s like this. We’re kinda short on people on the eastern side. If you don’t mind, could you take the first shift there?”

“No problem.” Link rolled up his woolen blanket and headed towards where Arda had indicated.

Along the way, he observed his surroundings. He noticed the solemn expressions on the mercenaries’ faces. Through the crowd, he could see their brethren who had been poisoned.

Three of them had been poisoned. The mercenary who had been blinded in one eye already had the blood on his face cleaned up, but there was the same greenish hue on the man’s face that Link had also seen on the Beastmen. His body was trembling uncontrollably while his mouth muttered unintelligible gibberish. Beside him lay the mercenaries who had slain the Beastmen. One of them was the leader of the mercenaries, Milo.

Milo’s condition seemed a lot better than the other two. His face was not as green as the other two. He could even move, but from the way he moved, Link could see that his condition was still severe. Milo might only be able to use half of his strength at the moment, but his condition would only worsen if left untreated.

If those two Beastmen were really scouts, there’s a high chance we’ll be ambushed tonight. I can’t really do anything about that now. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens, Link thought.

Right now, he needed to do some research on the poison that had flowed through the Beastmen’s veins.

Link noticed that the place he was assigned was an empty space cleared out among the merchants’ cargo, which shielded him from the night breeze. He was the only one standing guard there tonight. No one would be able to see what Link was up to there. It was an ideal location for him.

Link spread out his blanket on the empty space and sat on it. With one ear strained at the noises from the campsite, Link took out the bottle of blood he had collected back then and began experimenting on the poison contained within.

According to the principles of alchemy, each type of poison had a certain attribute which in turn had a corresponding neutralizing agent. Some poisons had multiple attributes, but with the proper alchemical procedure, Link should be able to identify the type of toxicity in the Beastmen’s blood.

Of course, understanding the nature of the poison itself did not equate to actually finding a cure for it.

The reason why some forms of poison proved difficult to cure is due to the fact that they contained multiple attributes which intersected with one another in a sophisticated manner. As a result, antidotes for these types of poison were usually hard to find. There were even some that had remained incurable for a long time.

One might liken this to a mathematical formula. It might look like an innocuous arrangement of numbers and alphabets to the naked eye. Eventually, to your frustration, you realized that there was absolutely no way to solve it, despite knowing what each of the numbers and alphabets meant.

At that moment, no one was paying any attention to him. Link began his experiments. Ten minutes later, he finally stopped.

There was no sophistication to the poison’s toxicity. Its attributes were clearly laid out. All five elements, which comprised gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, intersected with each other according to a specific order. But the way it was concocted was of some interest to Link. He had gone through 20 different methods of detoxification, none of which had any effect on this particular poison.

This was the first time he had come across such a poison ever since he mastered alchemy. Link was up against a highly skilled poisoner devoid of all sympathy for his victims.

Link frowned slightly. Can it really be incurable? What kind of person would concoct such an insidious poison?

With no cure in sight, those poisoned would surely meet a slow and painful death. Link raised his head up from his hiding spot and looked at the three poisoned mercenaries pitifully.

Before, the leader of the mercenaries was still be able to move. But the poison had spread deep into his body. He now looked even weaker than before.

He seemed to have sensed that his time was up. The mercenaries tending to him now leaned down over his body as he muttered something to them. Link listened to what he said. The man was already making arrangements for his death.

There was no fear or sorrow in the mercenary leader’s voice. It sounded level and impassive, as one would expect from someone who had constant brushes with death in his job.

Link grew even more sympathetic for the man’s plight. What a shame to lose such an excellent mercenary. If only he was infused with Sunlight Power… With his talent, he may even make it beyond Level-8, he thought.

As he lamented on Milo’s condition, there was sudden heavy breathing coming from the campsite, followed by strange groaning sounds. Link quickly located where the sounds were coming from. They had come from the mercenary who had been grievously poisoned the most.

He was taking in huge gulps of air. There was a hissing sound from the depths of his throat. The whites of his eyes were gone, and in their place was complete darkness. White patches of the filament-like fungi began sprouting on his face.

Those were the same symptoms Link had seen on the Beastmen that had been poisoned!

Chapter 555: Pearls Should Be Treasured

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Ah, ah!” The poisoned mercenary convulsed and panted. He puffed out faint green vapor with every breath.

The night wind spread the vapor to all directions.

“Move, move out!” mercenary leader Miro yelled. “This vapor is poisonous!”

Link watched this with shock from afar. Such toxic poison. Not only is it incurable, but it also seems to have some spirit. It turns the victim’s body into a new poison database to create new toxins. You’ll die with just a bit of poison. If the people around the poisoned are ordinary, the entire camp will probably be wiped out.

These thoughts flashed past Link’s mind. He used his mind to quietly cast the Spatial Folding spell.

Instantly, the space around the poisoned mercenary stretched and folded. With every fold, the poison was sucked deeper into space. Then it was broken down into harmless elements by a Spatial Rend so that the poison couldn’t spread.

To the surrounding mercenaries, they only saw the poison spread through the air and then just disappear for some reason.

They obviously wouldn’t think of something as complicated as Spatial Folding. They would just think that the poison had dissipated and wasn’t a threat anymore.

This movement had woken up the rest in the caravan. Many people crowded around, staring in fear at the poisoned mercenary, convulsing and screaming by the campfire.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Is he going to die?”

“Why do I think that he’s survived?”

“Don’t you think that he’s looking more and more like that Beastman?”

There were various comments, but the volume wasn’t high. Still, the feeling of fear spread throughout the camp.

The campfire wavered and flickered. The night wind whistled across the plains. Occasionally, there would be the chilling howls of wolves. The entire atmosphere turned eerie.

Under this fear and confusion, the poisoned mercenary suddenly stopped shaking. Cracking, his joints snapped into place, and he slowly stood up.

By now, other than his body type, he looked completely like the Beastman. He seemingly wasn’t used to his body yet. His joints twisted around, cracking loudly.

“K-kill him!” Arda, third in command of the mercenaries, yelled. “Shoot him!”

The archers had been ready for a long time. Hearing Arda’s orders now, they released their arrows without hesitation.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The poisoned mercenary’s head was shot through with six arrows. He was also forced to the ground by the momentum of the arrows.

Huff. He fell onto the ground and panted heavily. His body kept twisting unnaturally. After struggling for five or six minutes, he finally fell quiet. However, he wasn’t completely dead yet. His limbs would jerk every now and then.

The merchants all held their breaths at this scene. They didn’t dare breathe loudly lest their actions wake up this strange creature.

Sometime later, someone’s eyes moved on to leader Miro and the second in command. At dusk, they had been the two who killed the Beastman with their own hands. They’d been hurt and poisoned. Their skin was green right now. They might turn into that strange mercenary soon.

Slowly, a second and third person turned to look. Finally, everyone was staring at the two.

The mercenary beside Miro retreated subconsciously, but leader Miro grabbed him. “It’s useless, Eyre. We’re dying tonight.”

A Level-4 Warrior, Eyre was the second strongest in the group. It was a loss today.

Miro sighed and took out the sword at his waist. He tossed it at Arda, saying, “Arda, this group is yours now.”

“Leader!” Arda grasped the sword with his hands and fell to his knees. “There’s still hope before we get to the end. We need you!”

Miro had reached his current status by gaining their loyalty and affection. He was also very talented. It wasn’t easy to make a name for oneself in the Golden Plains ruled by the Beastmen.

Seeing that their leader was poisoned and was willing to die, the mercenaries all fell silent. The surrounding merchants were quiet too.

The silence lasted for some seconds before someone yelled, “Stop hesitating! There’s no cure.”

“Kill him! The poison will act up soon, and it’ll be more painful!” someone else yelled.

“He already gave up. Do it now!”

The people were all affected by fear of the unknown. They just wanted to get rid of the threat and couldn’t be bothered by the feelings of the victims.

Many mercenaries grew furious. They took money to kill for others, but this time, they had to kill their leader. He’d also given up on fighting. Faced with this situation, the mercenaries all felt that their future was hopeless. They couldn’t do it.

And now, these regular people were being selfish and didn’t even treat them like people. Anger burned inside of many mercenaries. They wished they could turn their weapons and kill the people who were shouting.

Just as the mercenaries and merchants were at a stalemate, a girl jumped out from the shadows. “No, why should we give up?” she cried. “There must be hope!”

It was Shallie. Behind her, Olan was shocked and caught by surprise.

Shallie strode to the campfire, clenching her fists. Her face was red due to fear and nerves. She trembled too. “And you all, Leader Miro was poisoned while trying to protect us. Now, he’s like this, but instead of trying to help him, you just want him to die, so he doesn’t affect you. You’re all cowards! Selfish!”

The merchants lost their temper.

“Girl, what do you know?!” an unknown person yelled from the crowd.

“Shallie, shut up and get back here!” That was Olan.

“Olan, watch your daughter!”

That was the head of the Red Earth Firm. Middle-aged, slightly fat and tall, he looked authoritative. Walking out of the crowd, he gazed at the poisoned mercenary leader.

“Miro, I’m sorry. After you die, I will double your payment.”

“Thank you.” Miro nodded. With that, he closed his eyes, awaiting death.

Shallie was still by the campfire. Looking at Miro, she asked, “Why are you giving up? You’re so powerful.”

“Little girl, thank you for your good intentions, but I’m not powerful at all.” Miro chuckled bitterly.

“How? Isn’t it just poison?” Shallie said, not giving up. “Every poison has an antidote. Why don’t we try something else—”

Before she could finish, Olan burst out from the crowd and grabbed her back.

Even as she was being pulled, Shallie struggled and cried, “There’s so many of us, but no one has a solution? Miro is such a good man. He was poisoned to save us. Are you just going to watch him die?”

She was right, and many people felt uncomfortable at these words. But the truth was, everyone was helpless against this strange poison.

Nothing could be said now. Miro looked at Arda. “Do it now so I won’t die so horribly.”

Arda clenched his jaw, tears forming in his eyes. After a moment, he grabbed a bow from another mercenary. Knocking the arrow, he slowly pulled the bow back, aiming it at Miro.

Link watched this entire thing from his carriage. In the crowd of ordinary folks, he saw Miro’s wisdom and Shalie’s bravery. It was like two stars appearing in the dark sky.

Humans may be mostly unaccomplished and filled with disgraceful people. However, one or two pearls would always be found in the sand.

Most of the time, pearls would only shine once. Then, they would be assimilated by the sand around them, or be crushed into powder by life. The people couldn’t protect the pearls.

However, it was different this time because Link was there.

No antidote could get rid of the poison. Link didn’t have spells for that either, but this didn’t mean he was powerless. He still had the game system and 700 Omni points.

He hadn’t bought spells in a long while, so he almost forgot about this feature.

Seeing that Arda was about to shoot, Link quickly started buying spell cards. His eyes flew past all the shining cards. Finally, they stopped on one surrounded by countless faint green runes.

Natural Spell: Wild Windstorm

Wild Windstorm

Legendary Natural Spell (Level depends on the spellcaster’s level)

Cost: (10 to 5000) Depends on the target’s physique. The stronger they are, the higher the cost.

Effect: Summon the source energy that is tainted in the target’s body. Strengthen it and drive it out. This spell can eradicate the contamination done by curses and poison.

(Note: The windstorm has arrived and will grow wildly.)

This was a very powerful dispelling spell. Its theory was different from most spells of this type. Instead of targeting the poison itself, it strengthened the target’s vitality until they could drive out the poison naturally.

It was because of this principle that it could be traceless. After using, the poisoned would gradually recover by himself. However, it could dispel practically all poisons and curses in Firuman!

Screech. On the other side, Arda was pulling his bow back to shoot the arrow. At that time, the sky suddenly lit up. Silver light appeared above Miro and Eyre. Like moonlight, the light shone down and poured into the two mercenaries.

Under the “moonlight,” they looked divine and godly.

Soon after, the greenness of their faces faded. Their eyes that had been turning black instantly returned to normal.

Anyone could see that they were okay now.

The crowd was in an uproar. A white later, someone exclaimed, “It’s a miracle! It’s a blessing from the God of Light!”

“They’re blessed by God!”

With that, everyone in the camp fell to their knees, awed by the sight.

At the same time, twenty pairs of black eyes watched this scene from outside the camp. They were the Strange Beastmen who’d come for a sneak attack.

Just as they were about to act, the silver moonlight appeared. Even at a small scale, Legendary power was still impressive. Link’s Realm Essence was especially pure, so people would naturally be frightened by it.

Taken aback, the Beastmen turned and left without hesitation.

Link wasn’t going to follow this merchant caravan anymore. He slipped away and followed the Strange Beastmen.

It’s not easy to come up with this poison. I’d like to see who’s making this mess.

Chapter 556: Things Were Becoming Complicated

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The night wind blew fiercely across the plains. There were clumps of grass as tall as a person—anyone would have a hard time finding their way through the grass.

However, Link was no ordinary person. The poisoned Beastmen who had escaped had left plenty of clues in their wake for him to follow.

From their smell, auras, footprints, to stains of the dark green blood left on the grass, Link could see it all.

Half an hour later, Link finally followed their tracks to a low-lying valley.

The valley was filled with a faint green mist. There was a tree with a thick canopy growing on the valley. Around the tree was a large plot of land, on which stood at least 30 grass huts.

The huts surrounded the tree. There was an empty space in the middle where a bonfire burned bright. However, the fire burned with a peculiar green light, painting its surroundings in an oily green hue.

Through the green light, Link could see a lot of Beastmen either standing or squatting on the empty ground. One of the Beastmen stood out to him. His huge body was covered with white stripes of fur. His eyes also twinkled like a cat’s.

The Beastmen who had escaped were now kneeling before the towering figure of this Beastman, who was holding a knobby hammer-like staff in his hand. He was waving it about as the poisoned Beastman mumbled unintelligible gibberish to him. The latter was speaking in his native tongue. His words were indistinct, and he swallowed from time and time, possibly due to the poison wreaking havoc in his body.

Hidden in a dark corner, Link listened closely to the Beastmen’s words. He was barely able to understand what they were saying.

“No, there’s no such thing as a miracle…” said the tall Beastman.

One of the poisoned Beastman began doing charades before the tall Beastman. He said firmly, “Chief, I saw it with my own eyes. There was a brilliant light in the sky. It shone on the humans, and the poison in their bodies was completely neutralized.”

“No, this must be the work of a Magician,” said the tall Beastman. Seeing that his subordinates were about to insist otherwise, he immediately dismissed them with a heavy wave of his staff. “Enough. This Magician was strong enough to dispel master’s power, very strong. I need to tell master about this.”

Ignoring his subordinates’ further attempts to convince him that what they had seen was an act of god, the tall Beastman turned away and strode towards the largest hut in the valley.

Link, who had listened to their conversation from afar, quickly cast an Invisibility spell on himself. He then noiselessly made his way through the valley.

Poisonous air permeated the valley. Though the place was basically uninhabitable to any other living being, it did not pose a problem to Link.

He stopped his breathing completely and sealed off all the pores on his body, essentially terminating all material and energy exchanges between his body and the outside world. His body was now running only on its internal energy reserves.

Link stealthily circled the valley. After walking 50 feet around the huts, he suddenly stopped. He then stooped down and carefully picked off some mud from the ground. After digging through ten inches of mud, he finally found something. It was a piece of a white rune tablet.

The tablet was big. It had a diameter of more than 20 inches, and magical runes were etched across its surface. Link squatted and took a closer look at it.

It’s a simple detection barrier, but the way these runes were etched… it must have been done by a human Magician, thought Link.

Every race had their own unique style of runecrafting. The Dark Elves’ had a more insidious aspect, the High Elves emphasized intricacy, the dragons’ runes were ancient and cavernous, and the humans preferred minimalism and practicality in their craft.

The runes on the tablet were etched out plainly. Ordinary Magicians might not be able to make out any distinguishing features, but a master like Link, who had already seen much in the realm of magic, was able to identify aspects of the runes that alluded to the race of the Magician who had crafted them.

Link was confident that the rune tablet was made via the Magician’s Hand spell.

“The mastermind behind all this is a human? No, there’s something wrong with this picture.” Link sensed that there were still certain details of this matter that contradicted with each other and that they required further deliberation.

For instance, the poisoning that had happened back then did not seem to be a human’s handiwork. Any human Magician who had wanted to carry out a villainous deed would usually do so with a curse or other form of black magic. Poisons were rarely found in a human Magician’s magical arsenal. Even if a human did resort to using poisons, he or she certainly would not use this kind of poison. This seemed like the kind of thing the High Elves would do.

Things were looking even more complicated. Link was in no hurry to come to any conclusions. He believed that the answer would reveal itself to him in time.

A detection barrier had been set up around the valley, probably as an attempt to keep ordinary Magicians out. However, to Link, the spell was child’s play. He made a slight adjustment to his invisibility spell and strolled casually through the barrier.

The detection barrier did not react to Link’s intrusion. It was as if Link did not exist at all.

Link crept noiselessly towards the biggest grass hut in the valley. Ten seconds later, he stood outside the building. There was a small window on the hut. Link walked towards the window. He then channeled Dragon Power into his ear, which amplified his hearing in an instant.

When he got close enough, Link was able to sense a magic aura coming from within the hut. It was a normal Mana aura, which was around Level-7. The aura belonged to a Level-7 human Magician. He or she was strong, but not strong enough to be able to produce such toxicity in the air. Of course, there was the possibility that the human Magician did not make the poison himself, but rather bought it from a black market. It might have been excavated from an ancient site.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Link. Is he not afraid of the poisoned air in the valley? Does he actually have an antidote for the poison?

Just then, sounds came from inside the grass hut. The tall Beastman and the Magician were now talking.

“This poison is extremely potent. Only masters of tremendous skill could hope to neutralize it, and there aren’t that many that fit that description. You said he wielded a power like moonlight? How strange.” The voice seemed to belong to an older person, but he enunciated every word clearly. He must be the human Magician.

“Master, what should we do now?”

“Let’s not mess with the traveling merchants for now. Gudo and the others have been poisoning the Green Stone Creek for five days. A lot of the people in Mara City downstream have already been poisoned. It’s time we head over to Mara City.”

“Understood.”

Hearing this, Link’s brows furrowed. The poison being carried by the Beastmen was certainly unique. Not only was it difficult to concoct an antidote for the poison, but it was also extremely infectious. They simply needed to poison a hundredth of a city’s population to bring the whole city to its knees. If the water had already been poisoned, it was only a matter of time before the people of Mara City were transformed into these poisoned Beastmen. If these Beastmen were under the Magician’s control, the Magician would bring about a mass poisoning across the Golden Plains never before seen in history.

This was a catastrophe.

Link decided to take matters into his own hands. He pressed a hand against the window. A rush of Realm Essence boiled up from his body.

Space, time, seal!

With a soft hum, Link sealed up both space and time within the grass hut completely with those three words. The hut inside had gone silent.

Link marched straight towards the hut. As he walked, he silently activated a spell that he had recently acquired, Permeate.

Permeate

Support-type Legendary Spell

Description: Gaps exist in everything. The caster is able to phase through these gaps once the spell is activated.

(Note: Permeate through everything.)

Link had mastered the spell to such a degree that one could not even tell exactly when he had cast the spell. His body passed through the wall of the grass hut like air and into the hut’s interior.

Inside the grass hut, there was an ordinary oil lamp. Under its faint flickering light, a human Magician with a mat of white hair was sitting on a chair. There was a magic book beside him. The tall Beastman from before stood before the Magician as he reported on the situation.

Space-time had been frozen by Link inside the hut. The only thing that was still able to move was the teardrop-shaped candlelight in the oil lamp that flickered in the darkness.

Link’s eyes swept the inside of the hut. He then spotted a wooden shelf behind the Magician. Ten crystal bottles were arranged on it, and they contained various kinds of liquids.

Link walked towards it and began examining each bottle. The last bottle he tested contained a pale red liquid. Link soon realized that the liquid was able to neutralize the poison in the air.

“So there is an antidote after all!” exclaimed Link.

He quickly extracted a few drops of the red liquid into a crystal bottle of his own. When he was done, he put everything back where it belonged. Finally, he walked to the human Magician and gave a few taps on him. Realm Essence flowed out from Link and onto the Magician’s skin, forming a well-hidden curse on it.

With this curse in place, Link was able to tell where the Magician was at any given point in time. He could even end the Magician with just a thought if he felt like it.

When he was finished, Link exited the hut and whispered, “Release!”

Space and time inside the hut returned back to their original states. None of its occupants realized what had just happened. They resumed their discussions on Mara City.

Link continued eavesdropping on their discussions outside the hut. He was now aware of all the arrangements they had made across Mara City. Without alerting anyone to his presence, he quietly departed from the hut.

He could feel that there was much more to this than what met the eye. The real mastermind was still out there somewhere. But Link had already gotten what he had come for: the antidote’s recipe. There was no real rush to smoke the mastermind out right now.

Who exactly was pulling the strings behind all this? The thought lingered still in Link’s head.

When Link left the poisoned valley, a mission message appeared across his vision.

Mission: Strange Beastmen completed.

Player has received 50 Omni Points.

New mission triggered: Mara City

Description: Stop the poisoning of Mara City.

Mission Reward: 100 Omni Points.

The reward offered was low as before. The mission did not seem to present a challenge to Link, so he accepted it. After thinking for a bit, he decided to head back to where the caravans were.

Mara City was just 40 miles away, and the caravans were heading there as well. He decided to enter the city as a merchant himself.

Chapter 557: Plague of Mara City

Golden Plains, night

“Someone figured out the poison.”

There was a small thatched cottage in the thick grass. Inside, Ariel, Elovan, and Milose sat facing each other. They had been meditating as Magicians usually did, and the cottage had been quiet. Ariel suddenly broke the silence.

Elovan and Milose didn’t open their eyes, but their expressions changed. “Can you sense who it is?”

“I’m not sure. It’s a strange power, very clean and seemingly a bit gentle… No, it’s reserved. This is a subtle power. I feel that if it is used at full force, it can be terrifying.”

“Do you know where it is?” Elovan asked.

“Near Mara City.”

“Your Highness, should we go check?” Milose asked.

Ariel was silent for a bit. Then she said, “Let’s go see. Bileauquin is not a simple poison. I have to see who solved it… But try not to get into conflict with him. We can’t reveal our identity.”

Whoever could figure out Bileauquin must be at the Legendary level. A fight at that level could destroy the entire area. By then, it would be impossible to stay hidden.

“Understood, Your Highness.” Elovan and Milose nodded at the same time.

As soon as they spoke, faint green light shone around the three sitting on the ground. An instant later, they’d turned into a green haze and shot out of the cottage like lightning.

…

On the other side of the plains, a large line of Beastmen knights with Kero Beasts, unique to the plains, were making their way to Mara City.

The Kero Beast at the head was huge and had a unique color. Rather than the regular grayish-white, it was pure black. A Beastman in fine leather armor sat on its back.

Using the Beastmen’s craftsmanship standards, this leather armor was extremely luxurious. The Beastman was strong, and the black obsidian broadsword on his back was half a man’s height. It was crudely made and had many nicks on the blade. However, it couldn’t affect the murderous aura coming out of the sword.

If a regular person saw this, their eyes would be in pain. They wouldn’t even be able to stare at it directly.

But compared to the Beastman’s own aura, the sword was nothing.

His pure black hair, long and dense, was tied carelessly and hung down his back. When there was wind, his hair would billow like burning black flames. He was very muscular and at least seven feet tall. Muscles bulged on his bare arms, rippling like water whenever he moved. He was very impressive.

Different from the other crude and barbaric Warriors, he sat upright on the Kero Beast. His eyes were closed as if he were resting, and no matter how bumpy the road was, he didn’t move. His presence was like a looming mountain that one couldn’t see the tip of.

This was the new king of the Beastmen: Glorious Warlord Avatar.

Technically, it appeared that he ruled over all tribes of the plains. The fighters of each tribe had submitted to him, recognizing him as the only king. However, the thousands-of-years-old Beastmen tradition was too resilient. Each Beastman was only loyal to their own tribe, and there was no king in their hearts. This would take years to change.

To strengthen his rule, King Avatar established a touring convoy, in addition to the Gronhon Capital. He traveled the cities to show his authority and power.

His next destination was Mara City.

Three in the afternoon, a scout reported, “Your Majesty, there are 30 more miles to Mara City, but it doesn’t seem very stable.”

Avatar wasn’t surprised. He’d run into such things often along the way. Even now, he wasn’t firmly seated on the throne. Many people weren’t willing to surrender to him.

He didn’t fear challenges.

“Explain.” He didn’t even open his eyes.

“Your Majesty, many people are fleeing the city. They say there’s an epidemic…”

“Epidemic?” Shocked, Avatar’s eyes flew open. His eyes were slightly bloody—a change after he entered the Legendary level.

If a strong opponent had appeared in the city, he wouldn’t be scared. He was confident he could fell the opponent with his sword. But this time, the opponent was an invisible disease. He had to be scared.

“Isn’t Grand Shaman Alador there?” Avatar asked. “Is he helpless too?”

“Grand Shaman Alador was assassinated five days ago.”

Avatar was shocked again. This smelled fishy, but the Beastmen lived in the Golden Plains and rarely had conflicts with other races. Who would try to harm them?

Could it be Parmese? Avatar shook his head as soon as he thought of that. He was familiar with Parmese. The man only disagreed with Avatar, but he wouldn’t sacrifice regular Beastmen or kill a Grand Shaman.

Humans? Avatar shook his head again. Humans liked dark magic. The Norton Kingdom in the North was fighting with the Destructive Army while the Syndicate was busy with making an alliance. They also had to be careful of the Isle of Dawn. They had no time to make more enemies.

The Destructive Army? Avatar still shook his head at this. As far as he knew, the Destructive Army and humans were mostly equal. They were far in the North and were busy with the humans. Why would they fight the Beastmen now?

He thought for a while but couldn’t figure out who his enemy was. He could only move past this now. “What kind of plague is it?” he asked.

The scout looked fearful. “I saw some victims. Their skin turned green and became weak. The disease doesn’t spread quickly, but there’s no cure. Even the Shaman’s divine spells don’t work. They can only wait for death.”

“Even the divine spells don’t work?” Avatar furrowed his brows. Suddenly, he flinched. He thought of something terrible. “Are there many people fleeing?”

“Yes. They spread throughout the plains after leaving Mara City.”

Hearing this, Avatar shook. “So cruel!” he uttered.

There was no cure for the plague. They could only wait for death after falling sick. Even worse, these people would only weaken and still have the ability to move for a long time. Many of those who were fleeing were probably sick already. They would bring the plague throughout the entire plains. By then, the entire Golden Plains would be infected.

Avatar didn’t dare imagine the consequences.

After a few seconds, Avatar was about to speak to the scout when he realized there was something wrong. He studied the scout and then looked to the Warriors behind him. He quickly realized that there really was something wrong. His face was slightly green… He was infected!

“You are infected. Leave now!” he ordered.

Stunned, the scout checked himself. Face paling, he stumbled back, eyes filled with despair. He prostrated himself on the ground and looked up at Avatar. “Your Majesty, please help me,” he begged. “Don’t let me die without honor.”

Avatar was only a Warrior. He was helpless against a plague. Faced with the scout’s pleads, he felt uncomfortable. After a long while, he said, “Stay here alone. Don’t give up until the end!”

With that, he jumped off from his Kero Beast. Turning, he said to his Warriors, “Set up camp here. I’m going to Mara City.”

An army couldn’t deal with a plague. If these soldiers went with him, they would just get infected.

The soldiers were all shocked when they heard this. “Your Majesty,” someone said, walking forward. “Mara has already become a city of plagues.”

“That is why I must go alone. The plague can’t hurt me. I will go find those shamans. They’re the first to come into contact with the plague. Even if they don’t have a solution, they can show me the way.”

With that, he turned to the infected scout. “Soldier, don’t give up. I’ll think of something.”

Tears filling his eyes, the scout fell to his knees and choked out, “Your Majesty!”

Avatar took a deep breath; his power started operating. He crossed hundreds of feet with one step as he raced towards Mara City.

As he ran, he thought angrily, The spreader of the plague is evil. They want to destroy my race. If I find them, I’ll make them suffer all the torture in the world.

The furious Avatar didn’t know that three figures were following behind him. It was the Storm Warlord Parmese who had come south.

“That’s Avatar?” a small Naga asked. It was Katyusha with the Spear of Victory.

“It’s him.” The Storm Warlord grasped his lancet as if facing a great enemy.

“He doesn’t seem that powerful.” That came from the Fallen Angel. His weapons were two finely made shurikens. He twirled them as he spoke. The graceful movements went well with his handsome and angelic face.

The Storm Warlord didn’t like him. Cursing him inwardly, he warned out loud, “Don’t underestimate him. He’s the strongest Warrior of our race. You’ll never know how powerful he is until you fight him.”

“Even the strongest Warrior can’t escape from the Spear of Victory.” Katyusha smiled.

Parmese stopped talking. He’d experienced how terrifying the Spear of Victory was. To him, it was undefeatable.

“Anyway, be careful… Where are we going to attack?”

“Mara City.”

“Mara City? There are too many people there.” Parmese was a bit hesitant. Whether they were Magicians or Warriors, Legendary figures always shook the world when they fought. Every ordinary person around them would die.

Katyusha heard his hesitation. “What, you can’t bear it? They’re all Avatar’s people.”

“But…” She was right, and Parmese had left the Golden Plains. However, he never thought to return and massacre the innocent.

The Fallen Angel chuckled coldly. “See, mortals will always be mortals, even if they have extraordinary power.”

“Fine, I’ll do it!” Parmese waved his hand. He would go all out. He looked like a human now, so everything he did would be the humans’ fault.

Chapter 558: Glorious Warlord Avatar

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The caravans slowly made their way across the plains. There was a slight upward slope, so they could see the Mara City from where they were.

The merchants jolted in their carriages along their journey. Their faces wore weary but elated smiles.

They had finally reached the outskirts of Mara City. They should be safe for now. Since last night, the merchants had been on their guards, worried that the poisoned Beastmen might ambush them again. They were finally able to loosen up a bit at the sight of Mara City in the distance.

“Brother Link, why haven’t you said a word?” Shallie squeezed over to Link’s side. She seemed to have put behind her what happened last night.

Link ignored the girl. He stared straight ahead at Mara City and said, “Look, aren’t those Beastmen?” Why are there so many of them leaving the city?”

The others had also noticed this peculiar spectacle. “Yes, how strange.”

Once outside Mara City, most of the Beastmen stampeded towards the Golden Plains. They all seemed to be in a rush to put the city behind as soon as possible as if something terrifying had scared them out of their wits.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Look at that Beastman’s face!”

The merchants were able to see from their caravans that the Beastman’s skin was whiter than the rest, and there was a hint of green on his face. This was one of the symptoms that mercenary leader Milo had exhibited when he was poisoned.

The only difference was that the green on Milo’s face was steadily receding. After basking under the glow of the mysterious moonlight and resting for a night, Milo had recovered considerably. He was now able to walk about like before. On the other hand, the Beastmen were stumbling in their steps. It was obvious the poison was spreading deep inside their bodies.

Everyone took another look at the other Beastmen and saw that most of their faces were now becoming greener. There were even some who were sprouting white patches of fur on their bodies.

“Why are they all poisoned?”

“This is horrifying. Are we still going to Mara City?”

“Do you guys think that it’s an epidemic?” one of them stammered. They could see that it was utter chaos in the city from where they were. There was no semblance of order in it. What kind of poison was capable of turning an entire city upside down?

This did not seem like a simple case of poisoning, but rather an epidemic.

An epidemic could spread and infect an entire population if one was not careful enough. There had been three instances in recorded human history where a plague had reduced the population of a city to zero. Each time, the death count had numbered in the millions. To generations of humans, an epidemic was this faceless, relentless enemy capable of slaughtering millions with no sympathy for its victims.

“Milo, what should we do?” The chief of the Red Earth Firm looked at Milo. After what had happened last night, everyone in the caravans now held the mercenary leader in high esteem, believing him to be blessed by the gods themselves.

This was the first time Milo had encountered such a phenomenon. However, regardless of whether it was an epidemic or something else, he could tell that this was out of their depth. Their best course of action was to keep themselves far away from the city for now.

“I don’t think we should go to Mara City right now. We probably should go round the city… No, there doesn’t seem to be any way to go round it. Look at the Beastmen running off in all directions. No one’s even trying to quarantine them in the city. This plague, or whatever it is, will spread across the Golden Plains. Chief, I fear you won’t be able to do any business here.”

“Are you serious?” The chief swallowed. He thought for a moment before making his decision. Given the choice between profit or life, the chief decided to choose life.

“Let’s go back. We’ll go back to Norton Kingdom,” he shouted.

“Chief, we’ve not even sold a single thing. If we go back now…” someone beside him spoke out. If they were to turn back now, the Red Earth Firm would go bankrupt. Every one of them would be sent home with debt that they would probably not be able to pay off for the rest of their lives.

“Chief, maybe if we go around Mara City…”

“Enough, it’s just a little debt. Debt will not kill you as fast as what awaits you in Mara City! Now let’s go!” The chief did not budge from his decision.

Milo said, “Let’s go back. These spices won’t go bad that soon. You’ll still be able to make some money by selling them back in Norton Kingdom.”

Some of the merchants still seemed to have reservations about this, but the chief’s word was law. In the end, the people of Red Earth Firm began turning back towards Norton Kingdom.

However, only half of the caravans belonged to Red Earth Firm. The rest were independent merchants. After thinking it through, some of them followed Red Earth Firm back on the road, while the rest decided to leave the party and head towards Mara City.

The merchant Olan hesitated for a few minutes. Finally, he chose to turn back. He was still in good shape to take his chances with the epidemic, but that would mean risking her daughter’s safety. He decided that it was best to bring her back safely to Norton Kingdom.

Suddenly, someone shouted. “Do you see that? Someone’s flying!”

Everyone turned around and saw that a black figure was racing through the sky towards Mara City. The figure was actually running rather than flying through the air. Each step propelled the figure across a few hundred feet, which made it seem as if he was really flying.

“How is he able to run so fast?” The figure had already traveled across a few thousand feet. One would have thought that it had teleported across that distance in the blink of an eye. The merchants would not have been able to catch up with its speed if they had not been observing the figure from a far enough distance.

Milo saw it, and the expression on his face changed instantly. “Not good, that’s definitely a master. We’d better hurry. Something big’s about to go down!”

At that moment, no one hesitated. Everyone began turning their horse carriages around and hurriedly headed back towards Norton Kingdom.

In the chaos, a girl’s voice rang out. “Where’s brother Link?”

No one answered her. Everyone was busy running for their lives. Her voice was immediately drowned out in the din.

The carriages’ wheels began clattering across the ground as the merchants desperately tried to put some distance between them and Mara City. In another corner, Link, who had cast an Invisibility spell on himself, walked in the opposite direction towards Mara City, unnoticed by anyone else.

Link was now able to exhibit perfect control of his Realm Essence. He had completely retracted his aura. With the aid of an Invisibility spell, he had blended perfectly into his surroundings.

He recognized the figure which had raced across the sky. It was the newly promoted Beastman King, Avatar. Link did not expect that he would come all the way here, but Link had also sensed other auras beside Avatar’s.

After receiving his Realm Essence, not only was Link able to refine the control of his own power, but he had also become even more sensitive to the auras of others in comparison to other Legendary masters.

One might liken Link’s current senses to a puddle of clear water. A drop of ink would make more of a difference in it than a puddle of muddy water.

He could feel a total of six different Legendary auras up ahead. He even recognized four of them, with whom Link had come into contact before.

“Katyusha, Ariel, Elovan, Milose, a demon, a Beastman, and the Beastman King Avatar. That’s seven Legendary masters. There’s gonna be quite a party in Mara City.”

Link did not feel confident about facing all of them head-on. One slight misstep would mean certain death and the decimation of his very soul.

I’ll need to keep myself well hidden. Watching the seven of them fight it out from the sidelines seemed like an excellent idea.

He wanted to know why these many Legendary master had come together in the Beastmen’s city.

Avatar had reached the outer wall of the city. He stood on the wall and saw that different areas of the city had descended into different degrees of chaos.

There were sounds of crying and roaring all over the city. Avatar saw these strange things running amok in certain parts of the city. Their bodies were green, and covered in white blemishes. Green pus flowed out from them as well. They were rampaging throughout the city, biting and clawing wildly at anyone they saw.

Avatar frowned at this spectacle of madness. Without further delay, he leaped off from the wall and headed towards Mara City’s ancestral altar.

The altar was where the shamans lived. He needed to find a way to stop the epidemic. Otherwise, Mara City and the entire Golden Plains would soon turn into an uninhabitable wasteland.

On his way, Avatar saw countless atrocities being committed by the people in the city. He had seen a father, who was on the brink of death, suddenly sitting upright and biting into his daughter’s neck beside him. There was a mother who had swallowed her infant child whole. Even the soldiers were not immune to the madness. They had slaughtered everyone in their paths as green pus flowed profusely from their pores.

Order had completely collapsed in Mara City. The city itself had become a literal hell on earth.

Avatar began to grow anxious. Anger burned even more fiercely in him as he saw more atrocities being committed along the way. The bloodlust in his eyes intensified.

Whoever the culprit was, he would find them and then tear them to shreds. Avatar would then cook their remains and gobble them all up. This way, they would be digested slowly in his stomach and excreted from his body like the filth they were.

Ten seconds later, he reached the ancestral altar, but what he saw there caused him to lose all hope.

In the altar, an old shaman covered in white spots was feasting on the meat of a younger shaman. The latter was also infected, but he still retained his senses. The young shaman was trying to break free from his aggressor, but it was useless. The other shamans had collapsed on the ground, their faces a sickly green like the rest of the infected.

The ancestral altar was done for.

“How can this be? How can this be?” muttered Avatar despairingly outside the altar.

Just then, a female voice came from behind him. “Oh, how unfortunate, Avatar, that such a tragedy has happened to your city!”

It was Katyusha.

Avatar turned around without warning and pulled out his obsidian sword from his back in a fluid motion.

“Is this your doing?” Avatar glared at Katyusha, his eyes now flashing dangerously. A target that he could channel all his anger and bloodlust into had finally appeared before him.

Battle aura flowed off him in waves. Parts of the ancestral altar began to crumble under the weight of such power.

Katyusha did not expect such a decisive reaction from Avatar. She could not help but take a step back from the sudden rush of power from Avatar’s body.

“Die!”

Without giving Katyusha time to react, Avatar leaped mightily forward. He then swung his sword, directing all his power and bloodlust with the ferocity of a thunderstorm at the Naga.

Katyusha was shocked. Her opponent had moved too swiftly. She could not use her Spear of Victory’s Thorn of Fate in time.

Though the Spear of Victory was a formidable weapon, its wielder was no match for the Beastman King’s lightning speed.

In the face of such an attack, she felt as if she was out in the middle of a stormy sea and a huge wave would break her pitiful raft into pieces at any time.

She had no idea just how terrifying the Beastman King really was.

Chapter 559: Cicada, Praying Mantis, Oriole

Clang!

Avatar’s murderous intent burst out. In a hurry, Katyusha could only raise her spear to block the attack. She was forced backwards, each step burying into the stone tiles. Countless cracks appeared under her feet, spreading out like a spider web.

A shockwave visible to the naked eye rushed out in all directions. The ground shook, the air trembled, and all houses within 1000 feet toppled as if they were made out of jigsaw pieces.

After the attack, a small nick opened up on Avatar’s obsidian broadsword. The material of his Beastman Epic blade couldn’t be compared to Katyusha’s Spear of Victory.

But so what?

Katyusha retreated, and Avatar followed like a shadow. He huffed out a breath. A fast air current rushed out of his throat in a guttural roar.

“Blade of Glory, go!”

Wild power surged into the obsidian broadsword, making it shine with blinding fiery light. Under the red light, the blade doubled in size. It was close to ten feet long and two feet wide. Outside the actual blade, there was a shadow made up of condensed Wild Power.

He brought it down on Katyusha; the power grew more aggressive. His attack was right when Katyusha still hadn’t regained her balance.

The air cracked like thunder as the sword came down. Bolts of bloody lightning appeared around the sword. It was so powerful it could almost cleave the heavens!

Facing this type of attack directly, Katyusha just felt tumbling waves charging at her. There wasn’t even time to breathe. She could only passively block this fatal attack.

This can’t continue. She was very clear.

She had to use this attack to distance herself from the opponent. As long as she was further away and had time to adjust, she could cast the Thorn of Fate and kill this Beastman warlord.

Clang! Katyusha blocked the attack again.

But this didn’t feel right. The opponent had used an instantaneous rend. When she caught it, she felt electric numbness go from her palm to her arm and then to the rest of her body. She almost went slack.

It was fortunate she could stand her ground, let alone use the momentum to retreat.

“Human Warrior, I don’t know why you’re doing this or how many people you have, but you will all die here today!”

Avatar gritted his teeth. His actions didn’t slow down at all, and he didn’t give Katyusha any chance to recover. Taking advantage of when she was powerless, he roared again.

“Die!”

His sword cut upward. The blade was as fast as lightning. If Katyusha was hit by this, she would be hacked into two. Even if she had nine lives, she would be dead.

Avatar had only used three attacks in all his battles. He would kill with three moves!

Even though Katyusha had the Spear of Victory, something close to being a divine spell, once she made a mistake, she wouldn’t find another chance to attack—even though she only needed one-tenth of a second.

Avatar defeated all the brave Beastmen by himself and canceled the tribal system. This all depended on his amazing combat techniques.

In Firuman, he could definitely rank in the top three for combat. No human could compare to him. Kanorse couldn’t do it; the High Elves definitely couldn’t. He could only find an equal opponent in the dragons or demons.

However, Avatar’s might didn’t just come from combat. He also had a spirit that helped him break free from all restraining tradition and change the world.

Perfect combat techniques, a majestic spirit, and surging murderous intent—the three combined to make Katyusha unable to fight back.

Just as Katyusha was about to be halved, a slender figure streaked out from the corner. This person had a lancet in both hands. One went for Avatar’s neck; the other, to his heart.

At the same time, a young man with darker skin, handsome features, and six dark wings charged from another direction. This person had a spinning shuriken in each hand. He put his hands together and the shurikens combined into a blade going for Avatar’s obsidian sword.

This six-winged fallen angel was extremely fast, almost teleporting. He had charged a second later but was even faster than the Storm Warlord Parmese who was known for his speed. He blocked Avatar’s broadsword at the last instant.

Clang! There was the explosion of metal going through stone. Avatar’s sword didn’t stop or continue. It spun midway and blocked Parmese’s attack.

During the block, Avatar’s thoughts whirred. An almost subconscious thought flashed past his mind. No, there are three of them, and they’re all at the Legendary level. My only advantage is that they aren’t working together now. If I don’t end this now, I’ll die.

With this thought, Avatar started moving. There was no hesitation or pause during this entire process.

These were battle instincts—the terrifying talent of the Beastmen!

During battle, Beastmen always had an almost beastly gut instinct. They could always make the correct decision at the critical moment.

In the history of Firuman, Beastmen always ranked high in the records of single challenges. There was the record of a Level-8 Beastman warlord killing and dying with five Dragon Warriors of the same level.

Beastmen were natural Warriors.

The next instant, Avatar activated his fatal trick. He used the reverberations from when his obsidian broadsword clashed against the opponent’s weapon and retracted a bit. During this, his sword suddenly blurred.

The obsidian sword seemed to become illusory as if formed by thousands of shadows. At the same time, the glow around it consolidated. The wild bloody-red power seemed to solidify. It was blinding.

Parmese was the most familiar with Avatar’s power. Seeing all the sword shadows, he was terrified. “Retreat, he’s putting his all in!”

The fallen angel didn’t mind. “What’s there to be scared of… oh, so powerful!”

At the same time, Avatar activated his fatal trick. Wild Power rushed into the sword, and he hacked forward with all his might.

Instantly, sword shadows filled the air within a 15 feet range. Every shadow was bloody red, and the blades dazzled. They seemed to be illusory but contained extreme power.

This was Avatar’s strongest battle skill: Wild Battle

Wild Battle

Level-11 Master Battle Skill

Effect: The user consolidates all power and murderous intent to explode abruptly. Everything within 15 feet will be pulverized!

(Note: The anger of a warlord!)

Shtick, shtick, shtick. Dazzling sword shadows shrouded everything. Within them, Katyusha, the fallen angel, and the Storm Warlord Parmese all suffered the horrible attack.

It had come too quickly and too densely. With nowhere to hide, they could only block with all their might.

Katyusha had just been saved by her companions and wanted to activate the Thorn of Fate. But then she sank into such a desperate situation. She couldn’t do anything other than using everything to retreat.

The fallen angel suffered the densest attacks. He spun his shurikens like crazy so that it created a seamless blockade before him. Even so, countless sword shadows still got past them and hit him.

Parmese was terrified. All will to fight was gone. He’d already retreated beforehand, but this was useless. He was still within range of the attack. Though he put in all his might to block, he was still cut by a sword on his left leg.

Poof, poof, poof. It was the sound of flesh cutting open, accompanied by the metallic smell of blood. The sounds lasted for half a second. Then three bloody figures flew out in different directions.

The three Legendary figures were all hit at least once by Avatar’s attack of full force. They flew out, covered in injuries.

The most badly hurt was the fallen angel. One of his arms had been hacked off, and blood gushed out of his chest. He stumbled back unsteadily and fell. He convulsed on the ground, blood pooling around him.

No matter how powerful the fallen angel’s vitality was, the Legendary power rushing into him was destructive. The fact that he was alive right now was proof of his strong vitality.

As for Katyusha, she was covered in blood. Though she stayed standing, her body shook uncontrollably, barely unable to hold onto the Spear of Victory.

The least injured was Parmese, but he wasn’t well off either. Everywhere was fine except for his left leg. More than half of his leg was missing. The remaining parts were hanging by shreds. The speed that he was proud of was gone now.

However, Avatar wasn’t well off either. Though he wasn’t hurt, this battle technique had used up all his power. Leaning on his sword, he half-knelt on the ground, panting heavily.

He didn’t look at Katyusha or the fallen angel. Instead, he stared at Parmese.

“I didn’t think this would happen. It was okay for you to take the humans north. It was okay to side with the Dark Elves in the Black Forest. But I didn’t think that you would come back to massacre our helpless brethren and with such a lowly method of a plague! Parmese, you are the biggest disgrace to our race!”

Legendary fighters didn’t look at their appearances. Parmese looked like a human now, and regular people wouldn’t be able to tell. However, Avatar instantly knew who he was after attacking.

Parmese instantly refuted Avatar. “I didn’t do the plague! I just came to kill you!”

“Ha, so what? You’ll kill me and let the plague spread through the Golden Plains to kill our entire race. Your soul will be abandoned by our ancestors. It’s such a pity that I can’t kill you with my own hands.”

He’d lost all his power while Parmese only lost one leg. His power wasn’t damaged at all and could easily kill Avatar.

Parmese didn’t want to be responsible for this. He didn’t care what regular Beastmen thought; he didn’t even care what Avatar thought. However, he couldn’t ignore the countless ancestors.

In Beastmen tradition, ancestors were very important. Respect for the ancestors was ingrained in their souls.

“No, I didn’t do the plague. I couldn’t do something like that!” he exclaimed, either to Avatar or the countless ancestors.

“Kill the demon and Naga to prove to the ancestors!” Avatar roared.

Parmese froze. His eyes moved to Katyusha. The fallen angel was disabled and would need at least three months to recover. The only one present who could fight back was Katyusha.

He instinctively gripped his lancet.

“Parmese,” Katyusha said hurriedly. “Your people are still in the Black Forest. Your wife and children are there too. Don’t forget!”

With that, Parmese’s grip loosened again. He didn’t dare meet Avatar’s eyes, but he didn’t speak either. Lowering his head, he ripped his shirt off and tied up the remnants of his leg. Then he hobbled towards the fallen angel.

He picked the badly hurt demon up and went to Katyusha.

“Let’s go.”

“Why won’t you kill him?” Katyusha asked angrily. The Beastman king was too terrifying. If they didn’t kill him now, she wouldn’t be able to kill him again, even if she had the Spear of Victory.

Parmese shook his head. “Now is not the time. Only he can stop the plague in the Golden Plains. He can’t die!”

“What does this have to do with you?” Katyusha was so pissed she could slap this guy right now.

“Shut up!” Parmese didn’t want to speak further. He took out a tonic and poured it down the fallen angel’s throat. Then he carried him away.

Katyusha stared at the Beastman king kneeling on the ground. She wanted to stab him to death, but she was badly hurt and wasn’t confident. She could only follow Parmese away.

Avatar let out a sigh. Pushing against his broadsword, he rose slowly.

He was still alive; he could still find the cure to the plague. Yes, he had to find the cure. Since he couldn’t find it here, he would go to the Dragon Valley and ask the Red Dragon Queen for help.

Yes, the dragons would have the solution. As long as they were willing to help, he would pay them anything.

With that in mind, he prepared to set off. He’d recovered some of his power now. It might not be enough to fight, but he could travel.

But two steps later, his heart leaped. Without thinking, he jumped to the side.

Whoosh. A black vine as thick as his arm snuck out of the ground, piercing towards his heart like a poisonous needle. Avatar dodged it, but the thorn changed direction too, not leaving his chest.

Helpless, Avatar blocked it with his obsidian broadsword.

Clang! The broadsword was easily forced away by the black vine. Avatar was too weak now. He wasn’t the vine’s match.

After that attack, the vine returned. Avatar groaned inwardly. He dodged at the last moment but still couldn’t avoid it entirely. With a poof, it passed through his arm. Extreme pain besieged his mind. He couldn’t help but grunt.

Immediately after, he felt poison spread from the wound. He was familiar with the poison, and he knew this vine. It was from the High Elves!

In that moment, something flashed past his mind. No wonder Parmese refused to admit that he’s responsible for the plague. The actual masterminds are the High Elves!

As soon as he thought this, his vision dimmed, and he felt dizzy.

In the last moment, he saw a white light flash around him. He knew this was from a portal spell, but he found it strange. Is someone saving me? Are the High Elves capturing me?

With that, he fainted.