But at this point, Marvin didn’t bother looking for traitors. His people weren’t fools. The low-level adventurers wouldn’t be able to get a hold of any really important news. They could only listen to Marvin’s orders. And with the Calamity coming up, soon it wouldn’t really matter if they sided with the Alliance.
In short, since these adventurers didn’t leave, they tacitly chose to comply with Marvin’s conscription!
Marvin’s conscription order was very simple.
The adventurers would become part of White River Valley’s forces in times of war.
All of this would be under Gru’s arrangement.
As some of the earliest adventurers to join as Marvin’s followers, the members of the Bramble team were living a lot more comfortably these days. Almost all of them had minor positions of authority.
As for Gru himself, because of his excellent commanding ability, he was promoted to White River Valley’s Head Swordsman.
He was in charge of supervising the adventurers and forming them into army troops.
…
As for the original guard squadron of White River Valley, they were rearranged into the Overlord’s guards, still under Andre’s leadership.
This group of young men was progressing very quickly. Because of the cultivation tanks, most of them were 2nd rank or above, and of these, half were at the 3rd rank!
Although this guard squadron only had a bit over thirty people, they were Marvin’s direct subordinates, his most loyal people.
Apart from that first group, the rest had gone through Anna and Andre’s strict tests. Whether it was moral standing, temperament or loyalty, all of them were top-notch.
And while Marvin wasn’t in the territory, Daniela had continued the expansion of the lands.
Using Marvin’s recruitment order, she had recruited people from across the South to open up more land in the wilderness.
At the time, the Alliance and Marvin had yet to fall out.
This recruitment was financed by the Alliance’s gold, but the trained group of soldiers was under Marvin’s command.
There were about three hundred of these people and most were unattached, or had moved along with their families to White River Valley, becoming residents.
This army’s commander was Anna. Although Anna was busy with governing the territory, the Half-Elf was very gifted.
Marvin was happy to discover that his butler had hurriedly taken a break from work to advance to 3rd rank.
3rd rank might not be much in the coming Era filled with Gods where weaker Legends were no better than dogs, but it still made him pleasantly surprised.
What made Marvin feel moved was that Anna chose a second advancement that would let her better help him manage his territory.
This time she chose [Legion Commander]. He heard that she had paid a high price to an old man in a Half-Elven village to teach her. Almost all her skills and specialties had an effect that would improve the Legion she was commanding.
She completely sacrificed her chance to improve her personal combat abilities and chose to manage the territory and lead the army.
It had to be said that since Marvin came to this world, Anna had always been standing behind him, silently supporting him and making sacrifices.
This Half-Elven girl was also the first person he saw when coming to Feinan.
Recalling the predicament in Fierce Horse Inn, Marvin couldn’t help but be deeply moved, feeling sour.
At that time, Marvin had been weak with a fever and Anna stayed at his side every day, looking at him and saying, “Young Master Marvin, it’ll be better tomorrow. Believe me. I’ll come up with something.”
Anna, who was immersed in a pile of documents, raised her head and glanced at Marvin while he was dazed.
She saw Marvin frowning and thought he was worried about the future situation.
The Half-Elven girl put the documents back on the table and gently reassured, “Young Master Marvin, don’t think too much, the future will definitely improve.”
Marvin froze before smiling. He sincerely showed his appreciation. “Anna, thank you.”
Anna blinked and arranged the remaining documents, apparently wanting to say something, before ultimately carrying the documents in her embrace and smiling at Marvin before leaving the room.
Marvin sighed. He knew what Anna wanted to say, but it was just that the smart girl didn’t voice her thoughts.
She knew he carried too many secrets, and he felt many times that Anna wanted to ask him.
But she never asked.
She had probably guessed some things… or perhaps nothing. But all in all, she was still supporting him with her actions.
Anna was like this, and the others were the same.
…
Marvin massaged his temples. The current White River Valley was very different from how it had been in those times.
Besides the adventurers, the regular army, and the Overlord’s guards, there was still the independent Sha army.
The Sha village was south of the White River. Nominally it was under Marvin’s management, but Constantine was their real leader.
To outsiders, this might seem like a danger to White River Valley, but Marvin trusted Constantine.
Just as Constantine trusted Marvin.
Two days after the war ended, Constantine arrived at White River Valley with another group of Sha clansmen.
He successfully persuaded a Sha tribe to move to White River Valley.
As a result, their numbers in White River Valley had grown to over two thousand, while the number of inhabitants of White River Valley itself reached about three thousand. These numbers definitely couldn’t be compared with those on Earth, his original world, but Marvin knew that Feinan’s population was a lot smaller than Earth’s.
A territory containing five thousand people would already be considered a huge territory.
In many parts of the North, this would be considered on the scale of a Dukedom.
If Marvin wanted to, with the support of Constantine, he could publicly establish one.
But with the impending crisis, he didn’t have that kind of interest.
So in short, there was no disadvantage in having the Shas become part of White River Valley. Many of them were also quite capable in combat.
Although their firearms might not be very powerful, they were certainly more useful in battle than farmers. The only issue was that they weren’t good at cultivating lands. But Marvin had already settled the food issue a long time ago.
The twelve Golden Bulls were the food stores that the Twin Snakes Cult had prepared in order to get through the Great Calamity.
The Golden Bulls had enough food for the current White River Valley to survive for at least two years after the Great Calamity.
And by that time, White River Valley should already be self-sufficient.
Constantine and Marvin had a discussion. This time he not only brought the Shas, but also two of his close friends.
One was the Master Harvester, and the other one was the Potioneering Master.
These two were strong people in the North without a fixed residence. They were enticed by Constantine’s tempting words of how Marvin had many Dragons’ corpses. And just recently, he’d obtained the corpse of the Sea Monster Logenath, making them even more eager to see him in White River Valley.
Marvin treated his guests with courtesy. After all, he even gave excellent treatment to Necromancer Fidel and the Nameless Alchemist, so of course Marvin wouldn’t treat such Masters improperly.
At least in the fields of Alchemy and Harvesting, White River Valley now had its own Masters.
…
Apart from this, Constantine also brought an additional piece of information.
The Legends previously gathered in White River Valley had gone to take care of their own matters, and some Legends with no previous ties might choose to join White River Valley.
The Legend Monk powerhouse Inheim for example!
Many powers had stretched out an olive branch to Inheim, like the North’s Migratory Bird Council. Back then, Mother of Creation had saved Inheim’s life.
But according to Constantine, Inheim would most likely choose White River Valley.
The reason seemed to have something to do with the Great Elven King, but Constantine himself didn’t know the details.
And most of the other powerful Legend forces he was acquainted with would choose to cooperate with Marvin too.
Like the Heavenly Deer Lorant. Marvin had saved his children once and he clearly understood what would happen after the Calamity.
Although the Sage Desert was part of the Alliance, because of the faith of the Bai clans, the Heavenly Deer’s influence played a critical role.
If he wished for it, the Sage Desert would ally with White River Valley. And then there was the three sisters’ Rocky Mountain further west.
If the alliance between them was successful, then a large allied coalition would be appearing in the South.
Marvin was looking forward to this.
The old blacksmith Sean gave him some more news:
O’Brien went north to gather the scattered Night Walkers, and he would bring this group of people who had inherited the Night Monarch’s will back to White River Valley before the Great Calamity!
When Marvin heard this news, his heart started beating extremely quickly!
Uniting all the forces before the Great Calamity was exactly what he wanted.
And this scene was just a step away from being realized.
Despite the Gods revealing their hands, the mortals were unwilling to become their slaves.
This was a war for freedom and dignity.
Although the war had yet to be ignited, the smoke was already rising!
Chapter 408: Eternal Bottle
Chapter 408: Eternal Bottle
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
With the return of Marvin, everything in White River Valley seemed to be back on the right track.
The entire territory had high morale after the victory.
But Marvin still had many things to handle.
An invitation from Lavis Dukedom, for example.
Daniela had stayed in White River Valley for quite a long time now. When Marvin wasn’t there, this future Ice Empress did a lot on his behalf.
Even if her temper was a bit weird, it was at least reasonable.
Although Daniela couldn’t return to the North because of her oath, she still could go elsewhere instead.
But she didn’t. She chose to help Marvin.
Marvin wasn’t the greedy type. He wouldn’t betray her hopes.
He had to make a trip to Lavis Dukedom before the Great Calamity.
Thankfully, he could use Long Distance Teleportation Arrays for this.
Ancestor’s Mystery was bound to Marvin’s soul, so Lavis Dukedom’s people couldn’t peel it off even if they wanted to. Only Marvin could fulfill Daniela’s oath by going to the Dukedom with her. This could be considered as honoring her promise so that she could return to her homeland.
Marvin didn’t intend to keep Daniela forever in White River Valley. It would restrict her abilities.
The distant North was the place where she could best display her talents.
Not to mention, this time, the Lavis Dukedom’s Great Duke personally sent a letter mentioning some secrets about Sorcerer bloodline breakthroughs.
Daniela not being able to advance to Legend wasn’t due to a lack of talent, but due to an issue with Lavis’ heritage.
This problem needed to be settled with the Archdevil’s head.
And Marvin would also benefit from solving the issue.
Because ultimately, both sides were Numan descendants. In fact, if everything that Marvin’s grandfather said was true, then that Great Duke should also be called Grandfather by Marvin. From a bloodline point of view, Daniela was indeed his cousin.
Although Sorcerers’ circles were very complicated, bloodline was very important.
By having close relatives marry, they could guarantee the bloodline’s purity. Especially with a great family inheritance, it was normal to marry within the clan.
As for those groups of Sorcerers from Rocky Mountain, they were Sorcerers that had been expelled, so they didn’t have a complete inheritance.
Marvin also understood the might of Sorcerers. On his journey, if he didn’t have the Shapeshift Sorcerer class, he might have died many times.
This subclass had endless potential. If the people of Lavis Dukedom could really find ways to break through his bloodline shackles and increase his Sorcerer levels, Marvin wouldn’t mind cooperating with them.
In the end, Marvin still wanted to know more about his mysterious “grandfather.”
Ivan had pointed out that if he really became a Lord of Hell later, who knew what his next step would be?
Thinking about this felt strange, making Marvin very uncomfortable. But he had to prepare for everything.
And returning to his grandfather’s clan was the only way.
…
Besides receiving an invitation to Lavis Dukedom, Marvin still had another thing planned before the Great Calamity.
But this matter needed the help of even more Legends.
That was to rescue Hathaway.
Unfortunately, only Constantine and Madeline were in White River Valley, and they were much weaker than Dark Phoenix.
Hathaway sealing herself in the Black Coral Islands had caused Marvin days and nights of torment.
Countless times, he had resisted the urge to go. In fact, right after he advanced to Legend, he had almost gone alone to the Black Coral Islands to try and save her.
But he still endured.
He hadn’t felt that strange sensation in his heart again, so Hathaway should still be fine. Dark Phoenix probably didn’t do anything to her yet.
Thus, he could only stay calm and wait patiently.
He would definitely take a trip to the Black Coral Islands, but he had to gather everyone first!
Two days later, a huge wave of Legends would arrive at White River Valley!
At that time, Marvin’s plan could be put into motion.
…
On the eve of the departure for Lavis Dukedom, Marvin set foot on Sword Harbor 1, with Captain Roberts personally piloting the ship.
They left toward the northeast under the cover of the night.
They sailed through the dense fog under the light of the moon and Marvin reached that island once again.
Pearl Island.
Back then, he had found a cursed pearl. After hijacking the Southie, he came to Pearl Island and exchanged it for a treasure, the Sea Emperor’s Crown.
With that treasure’s help, he saved Ivan and became connected with the Sea Elves.
Although it was a sealed Artifact, sooner or later, it would be freed with a dazzling radiance.
Today, Marvin returned to Pearl Island, and this time, he had the remaining five pearls!
Indeed, during the time he left the territory, Anna and the others had followed Marvin’s request and collected all sorts of strange pearls from around Jewel Bay.
They had spent a huge amount and received seventeen pearls that might meet Marvin’s requirements.
And five among them were the keys to solving the curse of Pearl Island.
Marvin took the five pearls and walked casually along the island.
Staying away from the island’s frightening cursed pearls, Marvin arrived at the small pond from last time.
He threw the five different pearls into the pond and it didn’t take long before the water started moving.
The little fish from last time appeared again and broke through the surface. Then there was an otter, a seal, a crab, a frog, and a seashell.
They all faced Mar
vin and said to him in Common, “We didn’t expect that someone would be able to lift this eternal curse.”
“Are you prepared to receive the wealth of the ancient Pirate King?”
Marvin nodded.
The six small creatures hopped out of the water and suddenly became six people!
They took a few glances at each other and were filled with emotion at the passage of time.
They were all great figures from the past who had been cursed to be sealed in pearls. Now, someone finally broke the curse.
Pearl Island also had a new owner.
The six led Marvin to a door in the depths of the cave.
They pressed their palms in specific spots and the entrance opened!
A fierce gold light burst out from inside as if a powerful energy had erupted!
Marvin could feel the entire island starting to shake.
…
On the peaceful sea, the crew of Sword Harbor 1 was looking toward the island, feeling worried.
Suddenly, the sea began to shake.
Some old sailors were quite superstitious and thought it was Pearl Island’s curse flaring up!
They prayed in low voices.
Only a few people who firmly followed Marvin berated them, “Don’t talk shit, Lord Marvin has never done something he wasn’t certain of…”
But they had yet to finish their words when a strange yellow light shrouded the island.
A rumble came from the seabed and as everyone watched in astonishment, the whole island covered in yellow light… sank!
…
The island sank underwater but the seawater didn’t reach Marvin.
The faint yellow light blocked the seawater as Pearl Island sank all the way to the seabed.
The light darkened somewhat, making it look like there was a huge bubble wrapped around Pearl Island. Those inside could easily breathe.
Marvin knew that with the curse gone, Pearl Island would be a seafloor Sanctuary.
These six people were the followers of the founder of Pearl Island. Because they made some mistakes of varying degrees, Pearl Island’s founder, who was the first Pirate King that stole on behalf of the Sea God, sealed them and cursed the whole island while hiding all his wealth there.
Only by removing the curse could one obtain the gifts.
Night Ranger - Full Series - 735 Chapters Page 239