After all, people were very self-centered in this era. No one would follow a protector that didn’t have enough strength.
Even if said protector was a God.
What was worth mentioning was that compared to the game, the respect of the current natives in Feinan toward the Gods had been weakened quite a bit, even without the players, the Golden Children.
They even had a faint hatred of the Gods.
In the game’s history, this hatred had been toned down by the constant fear for survival and the temptation of faith, and gradually, because of their desire for salvation, they slowly forgot who caused the disaster in the first place.
They started believing in Gods and contributing their Faith, thus allowing the Gods to become stronger.
But it was different this time.
With the advent of the world-shaking disaster, countless heroes stood out.
They were mortals.
Everyone who saw that scene had been emotionally moved.
The Great Elven King left Feinan! The Cloud Monk left Feinan! The North Guardian left Feinan!
There was also that nameless youth who had turned into an Astral Beast, silently protecting their land, Feinan.
Heroes fought for them above Feinan, and meanwhile, on the ground, Dark Phoenix’s ascension also attracted the attention of countless people.
White River Valley, the Night Walkers, the Great Druids, the Sea Elves, the Old Alliance of the Seven Orders, the North’s Valkyrie, Rocky Mountain…
These heroes of mankind went all-out to protect this land.
Passion was contagious.
And so was courage.
After Dark Phoenix’s death, people saw that even a God could also be killed. Thus the Gods lost a lot of respect with the people of Feinan, and that hatred became more intense.
And Eric’s death… They remembered that youth’s appearance, but they didn’t lose hope or become dispirited. The memory of him fighting for them turned into the courage that they strove for.
This all created some unconscious changes, which Marvin was happy with.
Mortals’ minds were something wonderful. Sometimes they would be easily played by conspiracies, while sometimes they would seem stubborn and difficult to manipulate.
Marvin knew that to truly influence the course of this world and change the past history, he would have to start from this.
He couldn’t withstand the God Realms and other planes by himself.
He needed all of Feinan to stand up alongside White River Valley.
Of course, personal strength would also help along the way.
As Marvin got stronger, the load he was carrying on his shoulders became heavier.
He was being watched by many people, and the Dream God would soon come after him, the evil intent from the Dream World would soon arrive.
Not mentioning the other Gods he had offended.
The slumbering, or perhaps hibernating, Shadow Prince, the low-key Black Dragon God, the three Great Gods whose standings were unknown…
This was the power of the God Realm!
Marvin didn’t forget about the Negative Energy Plane’s Hartson, now called Tidomas, who was still concerned about him. If not for Louise sending him to the Elemental Plane of Water, who knows what price Marvin would have had to pay to avoid Tidomas’ pursuit?
He still had Tidomas’ Divine Source in his hand!
Thinking about it, Marvin had quite a few enemies. In fact, apart from Hell’s forces, whose attitude toward him was a bit uncertain, the other three forces had completely been offended by him.
The Universe Magic Pool would be breached sooner or later, and all Marvin could do before then was to increase his own strength. To an unreachable level.
And having suitable weapons was crucial for that.
To Marvin, Sodom’s Blades were naturally the first choice. In his memories, there were at least three locations in Feinan where Artifact-level curved daggers were hidden.
The attributes of these Artifacts weren’t as powerful as those of Sodom’s Blades, which cemented his decision.
But he hadn’t thought that after finding Sodom’s Blades, he would learn that an acquaintance would actually be involved.
…
‘That woman…’
‘Butterfly?’
When he recognized the figure in his mind as that strange Elf, Marvin’s expression became rather strange.
In the Chromatic Dragon Temple, he had found out about Butterfly’s status as a High Elf.
She was the first one crowned as the High Elven Queen in the 2nd Era!
And she was the most loyal subordinate of the Night Monarch.
The immortality of High Elves was well known, but Marvin hadn’t thought that the aloof High Elven Queen actually had some connection with the tyrant of the Underdark.
‘You know her?’
The Spirit inside Sodom’s Blades noticed Marvin’s sudden change of mood.
‘Yeah.’ Marvin nodded.
He should be considered familiar with Butterfly, right? After she recovered her memory in the Temple, who knew what this person would do? However, it had been arranged by Professor, so it should be beneficial for Feinan, and the mortals having another powerhouse at the level of the Plane Guardians wasn’t too bad either.
She should be close to Thousand Leaves Forest at the moment. At least, the last time he saw her, it looked like she was heading to the Night Monarch’s underground realm. So Marvin knew where to start his search.
Thinking of this, Marvin solemnly promised, ‘I’ll definitely get that thing, that seed, and hand it over to her.’
The Spirit was silent for a moment before giving off a faint, happy feeling. ‘Since that’s the case… these daggers are in your hands.’
‘I’ll slumber for now, unless something especially urgent happens. You can only use a part of the power in my blades until you fulfill your promise.’
‘The seed is on my corpse. There is a bag beside the Ruler’s Blood Jade. You can take it.’
It seemed like the Spirit’s voice started weakening after Marvin made his promise. It ultimately disappeared from Marvin’s mind.
This pair of cold curved daggers was finally in Marvin’s hands.
Chapter 596: Contract Stone
Chapter 596: Contract Stone
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Saydis felt that everything that had just happened was far beyond what anyone could have predicted.
He had raised Black Knight Sangore as his chess piece to act out the will of the Extreme Evil Hell in Feinan.
Saydis controlled the Black Knight’s soul very firmly, using his pawn to do things in Feinan that he couldn’t do himself.
Such as debt collection.
Saydis would never forget the time when he went to ask for his remuneration and ended up being humiliated by the Bloody Emperor, almost losing his life. That was when the entire Underdark Empire was celebrating wantonly, and countless eyes witnessed his embarrassment. He originally thought that the Bloody Emperor would comply with the contract they had signed, but instead, the brutal ruler made a shocking move.
He went against the contract and offended all of Hell.
But for so many years, what confused Saydis the most was how the Bloody Emperor had managed to dodge the contract.
Thus, he had ordered the Black Knight to go into the Emperor’s tomb, in part to clarify this.
But the outcome was detrimental to him.
When the Black Knight’s body was crushed, Saydis, as the owner of his soul, felt it immediately.
Saydis narrowed his eyes in thought.
He wasn’t so surprised about the Black Knight dying inside the tomb. This only proved that the hateful swindler had left some more cards behind.
At worst, he would have to use a few more chess pieces to try the tomb.
But when Marvin came out of the tomb safe and sound along with three others, Saydis lost his calm
veneer!
‘How could it be?’
‘That guy actually succeeded?’
‘Sangore had that hidden trump card, the Book of Nalu, as well as my supporting contract. Even if he couldn’t withstand the Spirit of the Bloody Emperor, he still should have been able to get away… Could it be…’
‘The Black Knight was killed by Marvin?’
This information was a bit hard to believe.
In Saydis’ eyes, although Marvin wasn’t too bad, he felt that Marvin drew his strength from way too many different sources. A noble Devil like Saydis was very disdainful of all the sprawling abilities Marvin possessed, coming from all kinds of directions and diluting the purity of his power.
He didn’t believe that the Black Knight could lose to Marvin.
But the reality was right there before his eyes.
Marvin took out a petrified heart and gently handed it over to Blackhand, not even giving Saydis a glance.
Blackhand Bard smiled, about to receive it.
But suddenly, Saydis reacted and yelled in a loud voice, “Mister Marvin!”
“Please wait a moment!”
Marvin smiled as he turned to look. “What is it, Sir Saydis?”
Saydis chuckled, temporarily throwing the shock and disbelief to the back of his mind.
He was a very realistic person.
He looked at the petrified heart in Marvin’s hand. There was only one possibility, which was that he had completely taken care of the Bloody Emperor’s Spirit.
Not only was the Bloody Emperor considered a hateful existence by Saydis, but it went even further than that: to the Nine Hells’ Devils, regardless of how many excuses Saydis used, he was the first Devil to ever be cheated like that by a Human. This was the biggest humiliation.
The Extreme Evil Lord had been seriously injured during the fight over the fragments of the 3rd Fate Tablet, and he was now an arrow at the end of its flight.
Devils were very ambitious, and those in the Extreme Evil Hell were all like vultures, silently watching the silhouette on the throne getting weaker day by day.
Saydis, as the 2nd son of that lord, was the same.
But he didn’t have much support in the Extreme Evil Hell.
With Saydis’ wily tricks and great strength, he should have been a top contender to become the successor. But the matter of being tricked by the Bloody Emperor all those years ago was something that could never be erased.
To inherit that throne as well as the power that came with it, he had to wash away his humiliation!
In other words, he had to carry out the terms of his contract with the Bloody Emperor!
He had to obtain that swindler’s soul! This was extremely important to him!
…
Given the situation, even though his previous relationship with Marvin wasn’t especially harmonious, he had a sudden change of attitude.
He pulled himself together and gave a broad grin. “I’m willing to pay a high price to purchase the contract stone you got from the Bloody Emperor’s corpse.”
Marvin’s eyebrows rose up in surprise, pretending not to understand. “Stone? What stone? Are you talking about this?”
“But this is the petrified heart, not the contract stone. It’s something the Scorched Hell asked for in advance. This was also why they were willing to help me enter Devil Town.” Marvin’s acting looked rather convincing.
Trying to deceive Saydis was generally not a very advisable move. After all, with his understanding of Devils, he could tell how much Saydis longed for the contract stone.
But unfortunately for that Devil, Marvin couldn’t give it to him.
That contract stone was the key to Marvin finishing the task that the Spirit had entrusted him with. Only by handing it to Butterfly would Marvin be able to obtain the approval of Sodom’s Blades.
At the same time, he might be able to learn about what had happened that year in the Underdark Empire.
Thus, he was already prepared to hide it from Saydis.
Upon seeing Marvin’s sincere expression, Saydis could only frown. “No stone?” he asked.
Marvin bluntly spread his hands out and repeated, “No stone.”
Saydis sighed and said in a low voice, “Since that’s the case… Your performance amazed me. That was a powerful Spirit, and not only did you come back alive, but you also managed to obtain a lot of benefits from it. Don’t be in a hurry to deny it, I can feel that pair of dangerous weapons. It’s regretful that there was no stone, but I am a very reasonable Devil.”
“If one day… yes let us say that, suppose one day, you suddenly remember obtaining some stone during your adventure in the tomb. If so, please contact me.”
“I’m willing to pay a high price, a price you can’t even imagine, and also to promise the friendship of the Extreme Evil Hell.”
After saying these words, Saydis’ silhouette slowly disappeared.
A pitch-black rune remained in Marvin’s hands.
Marvin weighed the rune in his hand before putting it away.
Although Saydis was definitely not a good person, many different kinds of friends could be found in different places. In this era, who could guarantee that they would always have it smooth, and never need more allies?
Perhaps one day, he would really need that black rune.
After Saydis left, everyone there let out a sigh of relief.
The powerful Devil emitted a lot of pressure on everyone around him, even in a place like Devil Town.
Marvin gave Blackhand the petrified heart, which he had promised him before entering the tomb, and Blackhand left for the Scorched Hell.
Like Saydis, Blackhand Bard left him a new way of contacting the Scorched Hell.
Marvin looked at the black rune in his storage as well as the blood-red stone he was now holding, looking pensive.
The biggest harvest, besides Sodom’s Blades and the page of the Book of Nalu, was those two things.
These two objects represented two powers of the Nine Hells.
Given the current complicated state of Feinan, these two things would come in handy sooner or later.
There was no doubt about it.
…
After leaving Devil Town, Marvin parted ways with the other three.
Those three would follow the same route they had used to come to Devil Town, cross a tunnel to reach the other shore, leave the Underdark for White River Valley, and then report to Madeline and follow her arrangements.
As for Marvin, he would follow the rugged path and head west.
‘It’s time to pay a visit to the traitorous Witch.’
He glanced at the swamp, a grin appearing on his face.
Chapter 597: Post-Godly Dexterity
Chapter 597: Post-Godly Dexterity
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The Rotten Mushroom Swamp was the Underdark’s southernmost domain.
Because of the Snake Witch, most people who went there on their own would never come back.
The Snake Witch had set traps everywhere and then retreated to live in a cabin in the middle of the swamp, spending all her time researching how to remove the curse from the Witch Queen.
Unfortunately, she might never have the chance to remove that curse.
Because today, Marvin was coming to visit!
…
Marvin had never been a person who liked to slaughter aimlessly, but a villain like the Snake Witch was different.
That woman was considered a viper in the annals of Feinan’s history.
Because she failed to seize the power of the Witch Queen, she defected and divulged the location of the Anzeds’ headquarters to their enemies, making the Anzed Witches suffer heavy losses. Afterward, she entered the Underdark and tried to take over a force so that she could at least rule over something. But because the man she was supporting was also having contact with other women, she used the poison that she was so proficient with to kill that man, and made the en
tire city fall into fear of poison and disease.
At least 3000 innocents died because of her actions.
As it was recorded, that year, over three hundred nobles were poisoned to death in [Mottled City], and as for the lowly commoners and slaves, there were too many of them to properly count.
Even though it had been a famous city of the Underdark, Mottled City was unable to recover, continuing to decline over time.
Ultimately, the city became a ghost town, and the people who once lived there went far away, many migrating to the Rosen Strongholds.
This was all caused by the Snake Witch’s vicious attack.
And when the Witch Queen came to make her pay for her actions, she tried to collude with a being from an external plane, but her attempts were seen through.
The aberration had been banished to the Astral Plane’s Void, and she was cursed.
She still had her alluring appearance, but once she left the Swamp, she would become extremely ugly.
If the sun shone upon her, her skin would begin to fester.
And because of the curse, no one would like her. Everyone would feel an indescribable loathsome feeling when seeing her face.
This was the punishment that the Witch Queen had given her.
For a millennium, the Snake Witch had been living in seclusion in the shadows.
The power of hatred was formidable, and she also wanted to remove the previous Witch Queen’s curse.
Some players in the game had mentioned that it was possible to choose to assist with the Snake Witch’s revenge.
But that quest would normally only be taken by evil-aligned players, because if successful, the Anzeds’ wrath would soon descend upon them.
And the Snake Witch would also launch a series of revenge plans herself.
Unfortunately for her, in the game, the quest had been broken by a group of players.
They received a counter mission from the Anzed Witches to find out the specific circumstances of the Snake Witch, and once they arrived at the swamp, they killed her.
Marvin had found out about the Snake Witch when news of this quest had been revealed.
That woman was very powerful. In fact, if she didn’t have such a malicious character, her extreme talent could have made her a very helpful person.
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