to
Chapter 334: That person is not to be trusted
When Liam, Derek, and Mia left the palace, the Chancellor and his guards followed them out as well leaving behind the King alone and in peace.
The young King had a strange expression as he stood up and walked back to his chamber from the garden.
But suddenly, as soon as he entered the room, a grey cloaked figure materialized in front of him as if he was appearing out of thin air.
The King, however, was not surprised on seeing this.
"What is it, Rava?" He asked, his voice strangely sweet like nectar instead of the normal hoarse tone.
Responding to him, the grey cloaked figure bowed politely and then answered. "Your highness, that person is not to be trusted."
"Hmmm? Why do you say that?" The King removed his crown, letting loose long cascading soft strands of purple hair.
He also removed a layer of skin from his face, which looked like a mask, revealing a peerlessly beautiful appearance.
Now, instead of the young King, an elegant beautiful woman was standing in the room.
"He…" The grey cloaked figure stammered as if he couldn't keep a straight face any longer. He looked down and only then continued.
"I can smell greed and bloodlust on him. I can also smell something else, different energy. Something sinister surrounds him. I can sense it."
"Hmmmm…" The woman tousled her hair and flopped down onto the bed.
The man talking to her was her personal guard, who had stood by her side since her childhood.
Therefore, she trusted him and heeded his counsel. But even if he had not pointed it out, she could intuitively tell that the new Duke was up to no good.
Just like every other man around her, this man also wanted something from her.
"They are all the same." The King or rather the young woman muttered and hugged her pillow tightly.
"They are all watching me and waiting for me to fail. They want to take everything away from me, Rava."
Support us at 𝒃𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝙤𝙢.
The grey cloaked figure clenched his fists, but he remained silent. He then watched as the woman fell asleep, too tired and worn out.
Meanwhile…
Mia looked at Derek, who was silently walking beside Liam or rather a step behind him like a faithful bodyguard.
He was calm and composed, as if what just happened had nothing to do with him.
He only reacted when Liam asked him something, and he also only spoke when spoken to.
Mia sighed softly. She couldn't be like this.
Though she was not as bad as Alex who thirsted for knowing all of Liam's deep dark secrets, she did want to know some things to plan better.
Sometimes working with Liam was like walking around with one's eyes blindfolded. She had no idea what was going to happen when.
Just when she was mulling over inwardly whether to ask the guy, she unknowingly bumped into something.
She looked up to see that Liam had stopped walking, and she had mistakenly bumped into him.
"Sorry," Mia said, trying to remain as calm and composed as possible.
"What? Are you thinking about something deeply?" Liam chuckled. "How is Alex doing? Is she fine?"
He guessed that she was probably worried about this so he asked her.
"Oh! I forgot!" Mia blurted out. "Alex just logged back in a few minutes ago. Give me a second. I want to give her a quick call."
"Already?" Liam was surprised. "Ok, take your time. Also, tell her to rest properly. It is important to keep mental health."
"Especially her mental health," Liam added not so loudly, chuckling to himself.
Mia nodded and then stepped aside. Meanwhile, Liam had a conversation with Derek that he had been meaning to.
"How are your mother and sisters doing now? Was the surgery successful?"
"Yes, Mr. Liam. Everything went smoothly. I am extremely grateful for your help. I will-"
Liam chuckled and stopped him then and there. He already knew what the guy was going to say.
Alright. That's enough. I have many times asked you to stop thanking me. You won't listen to me?"
Hearing this, Derek immediately became stiff and his expression turned serious. Liam quickly again interrupted him.
"Relax. I was just joking. By the way, are you able to play the game now? Or do you need more time?"
"No, Mr. Liam. I can play now. I have finished doing all the necessary duties."
"Ok, in that case, from now onwards, we will be working very hard. Actually, there is something else that I need to tell you."
"Derek, what do you think about this game?" Liam asked.
This was not something he should be breaking to anyone in the middle of the road but he had no other choice.
After seeing Alex and everything that happened recently, many should already be apprehensive about continuing to play.
So he did not plan on hiding things from everyone for much longer. It was about time everyone knew the truth.
"Derek, listen to me carefully. What I am about to say is something that might sound crazy but you have to try and believe me."
"This world is going to change soon…"
Liam then patiently explained things as much as he could while at the same time trying his best not to overwhelm the guy.
Even if it was Derek, he knew that this would be a little too much to digest.
But surprisingly, he reacted slightly better than expected. "Are you worried?" Liam asked.
Derek shook his head. "I trust you." He gave a short and curt reply, which however, said volumes.
Liam was stunned for a moment, before breaking into a smile.
"Ok. That's good. You should prepare your family's passport and other government necessities as soon as possible."
"It is best if you move soon to my location. Obtaining documents might give a little bit of issue but there is nothing money can't solve."
"Also, you need to get gaming capsules for your other family members. Let them log in and play the game."
"Do you have a problem with any of this?"
"No, Sir." Derek nodded.
Chapter 335: Crimson Abyss
When Mia finished her conversation with Alex, she returned to find Liam and Derek standing in silence. However, the two seem to be deeply engrossed in their thoughts.
"Did something happen?" Mia asked.
And Liam shook his head. "Nothing. I have some work."
"How about you finish the guild registration process, and Derek, you can buy some consumables for everyone. We can meet up with the rest of the team outside the city in 5 hours."
"Be sure to rest well." Liam quickly spoke and then started to walk, but Mia hesitantly called after him.
"Liam, wait. Alex wants to talk to you."
"Hmmm? Aren't we meeting in 5 hours? We can talk then." He did not turn to face her and simply answered with his back facing her.
"Ok." Mia did not look disappointed. "And, what about the guild name?"
Liam again paused for a moment.
He then opened his mouth and slowly mumbled, "Crimson Abyss." He said the two words that were at the top of his mind for some reason.
"Wouldn't it be better just to keep the name 'Heavenly Retribution'?" Mia asked.
Someone else might have mistaken her words, but Liam knew the thought behind her question so he did not mind it.
"You want to keep my identity hidden?" He asked her.
"Yes, it can be a trump card in crisis."
"It is not possible. When we do what we are about to do, the whole world will look at us anyway. There is no point in keeping a low profile." Liam chuckled.
What he didn't say was that this game would never allow anyone to develop that peacefully.
When a person took a step forward, a dozen others would be waiting right there to push him back. That was how this game was designed.
Or rather, that was how life typically was…
"Let's just use the publicity to recruit more numbers."
Mia nodded in agreement, while Derek as usual looked like he did not care. Afterward, the three of them walked away.
The other two went to complete their allotted tasks, and Liam directly walked over to an inn to log out for a bit.
He stepped out of the game capsule in his room and stretched his limbs. "Damn. I need some sleep."
He dragged himself over to the bed and fell asleep like a log.
Meanwhile… in the tavern where everyone was resting…
"Sis Yue!" One little girl chewed the meat in her mouth fiercely.
She was not little, but when compared to the two women seated adjacent to her, she seemed far too young and undeveloped in certain areas.
Mei Mei nudged Shen Yue again, "Sis Yue, did you see that? Brother, logged out! Quick! Quick! This is your chance!"
"Chance for?" Shen Yue was confused.
"Don't act like you don't understand, sis Yue! You are right now too lacking! You are far too lagging behind! Do you understand?"
Mei Mei pointed her finger and spoke passionately.
"I don't want those two vixens to eat my brother alive! I would rather have a vixen like you eat him up!" She blurted out, slurring her words.
Shen Yue instantly became red. She knew that the girl was probably talking without thinking about the meaning of her words, but nevertheless…
An image floated in her mind, and she became very embarrassed.
"What is the use of being shy here, sis Yue? Just log out! Listen to me, just log out!"
"Ummm…" Shen Yue was speechless. She couldn't bring herself to be this shameless and stoop to that level.
He must be sleeping. Let's not disturb him." She silently sipped her drink and looked at the woman with the red hair sitting opposite them.
Alex had already logged back into the game, and she had been reticent ever since she walked into the tavern.
Shen Yue wanted to ask if she was okay but decided against it, giving the person some space.
Soon Mia messaged everyone the plan and that they were to meet in 5 hours.
Half the group logged out while the other half scattered to do random things. Some of them even headed over to the PVP tower to grind there.
Shen Yue and Mei Mei also busied themselves, the former honing her cooking skills while the latter honing her eating skills.
Soon a couple of hours passed, and Liam logged back in.
He did not want to sleep through the entire 5 hours as he had a few things to do before the meet-up.
He walked down the city's streets and stopped by a food vendor. Once again, he purchased a bunch of chickens and rabbits.
Liam then walked out of the city and settled in a comfortable spot cracking his knuckles. "Time to begin."
He took out the small fox from his cloak, placed her on the side, and finally began his grind.
He grabbed a chicken and twisted its neck, starting the forging process from scratch.
Though he was currently in the Xion realm, he decided to do this because using mana this way also helped him train his mana control and manipulation.
Unlike his nether manipulation skills, his mana manipulation was somewhat lacking.
Doing this took care of several aspects of his training, so Liam wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued barraging the small soul bead with a dozen tiny mana hammers.
While Liam was busy practicing and increasing the size of his chicken ghost army, the small fox on the side yawned lazily.
She opened her little mouth, revealing her sharp silver fangs. Surprisingly, in front of her, there was a cage of rabbits.
Kyuuuu! Luna grinned. She was hungry, and this was her favorite meat. She did not wait for anything and immediately pounced.
How could the small rattling metal cage contain the might of a celestial beast? It immediately gave away, and all the rabbits shrieked and shattered.
As Luna sprang forward to play the chase, catch, and eat game, she finally noticed Liam being busy and working hard.
She immediately screeched to a halt, looking around guiltily. The thought that maybe the rabbits weren't meant for her dawned on her slowly.
But she had already eaten 3 of them! Oh no!
Her big round blue eyes bulged in panic, and the next instant, her small figure blurred.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Only a white blur could be seen as she ran around and caught all the rabbits who escaped.
But instead of tossing them into her gullet, she shoved them back into the broken cage.
No use. The cage was utterly destroyed.
Kyuuu! Hisss! She threatened the bunnies not to escape, and they silently shivered. However, the main problem still remained…
She had already eaten 3, and Liam would surely notice it!
She looked around and sniffed, suddenly an inspiration striking her.
She ran a few yards to their right, where a group of dire wolves snarled and walked around proudly, claiming their territory.
Kyuuu! This will do! Luna grinned.
Chapter 336: You need some spanking
After a few minutes, Liam took a deep breath and looked at the finished forged soul bead.
This soul bead looked more polished than the original one, and it shone like a diamond.
He injected a jolt of mana into it, and the chicken sprang alive as if it was never dead.
It flapped its spectral wings and screeched, ready to dive into battle.
Luna hopped over, her three tails swaying in the air, and looked at the chicken with her big eyes.
Kyuuu?
She cocked her head to the side, wondering what this strange bird was.
The chicken as well repeated the same set of motions, cocking its head to the other side and staring at the fox.
The two looked comical, and Liam chuckled at the sight.
However, the next second, Luna unexpectedly raised her paw.
Liam saw this, and he instantly knew what was going to happen.
Luna was about to smack the chicken hard!
"Damn it. No. I just forged this undead." Liam broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly grabbed her. "No, Luna. Stop."
He pulled her by her scruff and held the fox, dangling her mid-air.
"I think you need some spanking. Do you know just how much trouble you have caused me lately?"
Kyuuuu…
[Master, sorry]
Liam was surprised. Luna only very rarely used their mental connection to speak.
He checked the fox from top to bottom to see if she was okay.
"Are you alright?" He asked her again.
[Yes, Master]
The fox squiggled her nose and stared at Liam with a sheepish grin.
"Hmmm?"
Liam was confused as to why the little thing was putting on such an expression when he casually turned to the side and saw the mangled cage.
I think you should take a look at 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝘯𝑒𝑡
There were a few drops of blood here and there and the number of rabbits had reduced.
More importantly, instead of the rabbits, three dire wolves were squeezed into the same cage, all looking beaten up and worn out.
This was probably the only time when rabbits and wolves sat next to each other as if they were best friends.
"So this is why…" Liam shook his head helplessly and chuckled. He placed the naughty fox down, his gaze on the dire wolves.
He suddenly had the impulse to try forging the soul bead of a higher beast.
By now, he had already practiced a lot with chickens and rabbits. Perhaps it was time to try bigger beasts?
Liam walked over and grabbed one of the dire wolves, swiftly ending its life with a throat grasp.
Though it wasn't a chicken or rabbit, this dire wolf was just a Level 5 beast so it did not put up any fight.
And as soon as he killed it, the familiar aura emerged.
Liam dropped the corpse and stared at the small bluish white soul bead that popped out of the dire wolf.
He immediately willed the mana circulating in his body and the air, to surround this small bead.
"Start," Liam mumbled to himself and manipulated the mana to form big hammers. He then started slowly forging…
A few minutes passed, and soon, almost an hour flew by.
Meanwhile, standing on the side, Luna kicked a rock while sulking.
Kyuuu…
She was completely ignored and it was all the wolf's fault!
She stared at the remaining two wolves with animosity but seeing that her Master was busy she silently ran around and kept herself busy.
A few more minutes later, a loud howl resounded, and she instantly ran back, worrying that Liam was in danger.
She saw a strange spectral dire wolf standing in front of Liam very much resembling the chicken.
At first, she was wary of it, but then she looked at the chicken and then the dire wolf, and she cautiously walked over to Liam.
"Huff. Huff. Huff. What were you up to all this time?" Liam panted and grabbed her again, worrying about the dire wolf's health.
This was the first time he managed to accomplish this, and he did not want the final forged beast to become cannon fodder.
Huff… Liam flopped back onto the fresh green grass of the forest in tiredness, still holding the fox close to his chest.
"YESSS!" He shouted with a big, content grin on his face. The forging this time had been challenging but in the end, it was a big success.
This would be the beginning of forging a solid undead army that would always travel with him and become a part of his strength.
More work was needed, but he could already see the path ahead of him. He was no longer walking in darkness.
"Again!" Liam did a fist pump in the air, placed the fox on the side, and then grabbed another dire wolf from the cage.
YELP!
This beast as well let out its last breath as he executed another throat grasp.
Luna blinked in amazement. She slowly understood what was going on, and she was thoroughly amazed.
This time she did not run around and sat near Liam, watching him work from beginning to end.
Her big blue worshipping eyes did not move anywhere from him. She was very careful not to disturb him and sat very quietly.
Ding! Another hour later, yet another dire wolf popped up!
Liam was now completely exhausted, but he still had a big smile on his face. Seeing the two wolves side by side was very satisfying.
This was the result of his hard work.
Just as he was admiring the spectral beasts, another notification as well popped out.
Ding. You have now acquired 30% of the legacy]
"Alright. Next one." Liam suddenly felt refreshed.
He closed his eyes and adjusted his mental condition for a few minutes before once again starting to forge the third dire wolf.
Luna took this as her cue and turned to look at the remaining innocent dire wolves roaming around in the prairie.
Kyuuuu! She instantly looked very serious as if she meant business and pounced towards the wolves, baring her fangs.
In front of her, the pack of wolves might as well have been sheep that needed protection.
Chapter 337: l received a new quest
"Sis Yue, does something look off today?" Mei Mei rubbed her nose and asked.
"What do you mean? Your brother being late?" Shen Yue replied, her eyes searching for the familiar figure in the distance.
"Nah.. he is always late. I am not talking about that. I am talking about…"
She clicked her tongue and looked to her right at a certain redhead who was silently standing.
"Shouldn't she be throwing a fit by now? Look at how she is silently standing." Mei Mei covered her mouth and whispered.
"Shhhh." Shen Yue quickly silenced her. "I think she is still hurt, maybe. Who knows what she went through… don't poke her today."
"Ah… ah… Sis Yue, I am not that bad. I know. I won't be rude to her. All I am saying is… she seems to have changed."
"Mmm." Shen Yue silently nodded.
"Trauma often changes people, but only time can tell if it is for good or not." She murmured under her breath.
Everyone had already assembled near the entrance of the royal city and was waiting for the last person to arrive.
Liam was almost an hour late this time, but no one complained. After the last battle, no one dared to doubt him any longer.
Rather they were waiting in anticipation and preparing themselves mentally for what was about to come.
If what they were going to do was anything like the first mission… just the thought of it made their blood boil.
Minutes ticked by, and soon another hour passed when Liam finally arrived. He walked in with a shameless smile on his face.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting."
Everyone instinctively turned to give Alex a glance, but surprisingly, she remained silent and calm.
She was not gnashing her teeth and raising her eyebrows, ready to start a fight. It was almost kind of unsettling.
Please don't poke the bear! Even Mia was worried about Alex's silence so she quickly cleared her throat and spoke first. "Liam, what is the plan now?"
"Mmmm… What else? We created our guild and now we have to make it popular. Pretty simple." He flashed another smile.
For some reason, this sent chills down everyone's spines. What was going to happen now? Everyone was curious and nervous at the same time.
"Why are you all looking at me like this? You guys… We are just going to run a few dungeons…" Liam chuckled.
"Oh." Everyone collectively nodded in understanding with a small sigh of relief, but the next second Liam added.
"Let's run all the dungeons between Level 30 and Level 40."
"..."
Derek was the first one to react as he silently nodded and walked over to stand next to Liam.
Please visit 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝑚 for the latest chapters.
Mia as well helplessly smiled. It looked like nothing they would do here onwards would be simple. However, that was for the best.
She also walked over to stand next to Liam in silence.
But the others couldn't digest this lofty goal so easily.
Level 30 to Level 40 dungeons… something that every guild in the game right now was fighting tooth and nail for.
They were going to attempt those?
Not that there weren't many powerful players in their group, but running dungeons and defeating field elites were very different.
It would be like fighting the dark elf generals all over again, except now they wouldn't have the support of the demon army to focus blast dps and melt them down like butter.
The number of members in their fledging guild was also too pathetic. This was really not going to be easy. Might even involve several team wipes.
However, seeing that the three most powerful members of their groups had already made their decision, the rest could only gulp nervously and follow.
Only Mei Mei was humming and skipping as she walked as if she was going on a tour to see some beautiful scenery and eat good food, not caring about a single thing.
Perhaps because of that… she was the first one to notice the reappearance of a certain someone.
"Brother!" Mei Mei quickly ran over to Liam as soon as she saw the white fluffy tail popping out of his cloak.
"Brother, is this Luna? She is alright now?"
She was jumping in place, unable to control herself. It had been far too since she hugged the cute little fox.
Liam chuckled. He knew he couldn't hide her for too long. He grabbed the little fox and mercilessly handed the beast over to her.
Mei Mei's eyes became twice their size when she saw the new evolved appearance of the fox and the three tails.
"Kyaaaa! So soft~~" She hugged the thing, squeezing it tightly, while Luna looked pitifully back at Liam.
"Sorry, you are on your own." Liam shrugged and turned to look at Mia. "We will start with the 'Twilight' dungeon. That should be the closest right?"
"Have you guys run that dungeon before, or is this the first time?"
"We tried it once before but we were not successful. That dungeon is one of the few that hasn't been conquered yet." Mia replied.
The group started chatting and moving to the first dungeon when suddenly Alex opened her mouth and called out, "Liam, I need to talk with you."
Everyone immediately quieted down, obviously paying attention to the two, but Alex soon added. "Privately."
"If it's to thank me, you don't have to." Liam curled his lips upwards. This side of the tyrannical redhead was very amusing.
"No, it's not that," Alex answered, her temper still in check.
Seeing this, Liam was curious. "Ok, let's go then." Liam increased his speed and stopped at some distance away from the group.
Alex followed him to the same spot, though her speed was visibly less than his.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Liam asked. He was not smiling any longer.
Alex also did not waste time exchanging any unnecessary words. She directly got to the point.
"I received a new quest."