Night Ranger - Full Series - 735 Chapters
Page 327
She learnt Astrology and Divination magic from some ancient books, but she always stayed hidden at home. After all, the Shadow Shrine would have kept watch on her if her power had been exposed, and it would have gotten her family involved too.
Now that the Shadow Shrine was gone, she gradually revealed her strength.
To Marvin, Rachel was the most promising one among them.
And those two brothers weren’t bad either. They were born in the Lyon clan and were captains of guard teams in the royal city. They had outstanding strength and great potential.
Marvin estimated that these three would be able to break through to the Legend Realm in at most a year if they followed him to Feinan!
This duration seemed ridiculous, but they were peak powerhouses of the entire Arborea plane.
As they had been at the boundary of the restrictions of the plane’s laws for a long time, just like Aragon had been, they would easily break through once they reached Feinan.
After making his decision, Marvin comforted the others, saying that there would still be an opportunity in the future.
Afterwards, he set foot in the Teleportation Array back to Feinan with the food that Queen Nana prepared for him, and his three vassals followed a few steps behind him.
Chapter 570: Setting Off! To the Underdark!
Chapter 570: Setting Off! To the Underdark!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Marvin finally had enough food for his territory after his trip to Arborea.
That solved the biggest hidden danger to White River Valley.
During the three days, White River Valley had continued to develop rapidly.
As soon as his three vassals entered Feinan, they felt the shackles suppressing them disappear.
They could feel their strength increasing quickly!
After a few moments, one of the Lyon brothers instantly rose to level 19.
At that time, they all looked at Marvin with gazes full of gratitude.
If not for Marvin, they wouldn’t have gained this chance to advance!
Marvin was also very satisfied with their improvement.
White River Valley was currently lacking in high-end military power. If these three could grow stronger, they might be able to shore up that shortcoming.
The Lyon brothers were sent to Sword Harbor by Marvin.
He assigned them the duty of patrolling the area south of Sword Harbor, which bordered the wilderness and put a lot of pressure on the hunting teams. They frequently met large groups of monstrous beasts, which caused them significant problems.
With these two experts joining, the burden on the hunting teams should be reduced by quite a lot.
As for the Lyon brothers, this was exactly what they had been looking for.
Marvin didn’t restrict their actions as long as they did their jobs. Furthermore, he gave them a chance to temper themselves. They only felt gratitude toward him.
As for the Astrologer, Rachel, Marvin made plans for her to be at Anna’s side.
Astrologers had a very special way of advancing, and they didn’t need to kill anything. As their knowledge and comprehension increased, they would naturally level up.
Rachel was born into the nobility of Arborea and possessed very good administrative abilities. Marvin had Anna test this woman carefully.
If she was useful, then she would be nurtured for an appropriate role. After all, Sword Harbor was still lacking management staff!
There were no doubts regarding the loyalty of the three vassals because they had each signed a Vassal Contract with Marvin. There were relatively few restrictions, but if they went against them, Marvin could make their souls collapse with just a thought.
…
After spending some days travelling around his territory and handling the most important internal issues, Marvin considered the reorganization of his territory complete for the time being.
At that time, he thought to himself that being a good Overlord was truly quite troublesome.
Even with so many helpers, he still had so many things that he needed to deal with.
He couldn’t imagine what White River Valley would be like if he didn’t have Anna, Lola, and the others to support him.
It was definitely thanks to their great efforts that the Sanctuary was currently thriving.
But regardless, it was impossible for Marvin to take it easy for long.
Over the course of the five days, the eldest sister of Rocky Mountain had already gradually ramped up her entreaties as she urged him over and over again. She had made an explicit ultimatum the previous evening. If Marvin didn’t leave with her, she would set off by herself.
Marvin forced a smile. He was sure that Jessica’s hurry was partially due to her quick-tempered nature, but he also knew that the situation was probably really critical.
Otherwise, a powerhouse like Jessica wouldn’t be so anxious about it.
Marvin prepared for the trip by taking some useful things from the Sanctuary’s warehouse and then he set foot on the Teleportation Array to Rocky Mountain.
In the current period of the Great Calamity, because of the great amount of Chaos Magic pouring in, many long distance Teleportation Arrays became nonfunctional.
White River Valley currently had three working long distance Teleportation Arrays, two of which had been set up in Madeline’s Wizard Tower while the last one was set up inside the castle. The first two led to the North’s Lavis and Rocky Mountain in the southwest, while the last one naturally led to the Ashes Plains.
In fact, the most notable place that they still lacked a Teleportation Array for was another alliance the Thousand Leaves Forest, which was also the one closest in distance.
Madeline was apparently researching that issue. It could be a problem with Thousand Leaves Forest, but Ivan hadn’t sent any bad news, so Marvin could only suppose that it was caused by interference from the Chaos Magic Power.
After Madeline helped him through the Array, Marvin opened his eyes to see Jessica’s enraged face just in front of him.
Rocky Mountain.
“If you came a few hours later, I would have already set off,” Jessica grumbled, seeming to be in quite a bad temper.
Marvin froze for a bit at the sudden proximity, before looking into the distance. He couldn’t help holding his breath when he realized what he was seeing!
Countless creatures from the Underdark were packed outside limits of the light of Order.
This time, it was even more exaggerated than during the attack from the Black Dragon’s army!
There were almost three times as many creatures from the Underdark as there had been during that siege on Rocky Mountain.
“What happened?” Marvin blurted out.
He had guessed that the situation was likely very serious, but he hadn’t expected it to be so ridiculous!
“They have been attracted by the light of Order.”
A familiar voice echoed behind Marvin.
Kate.
Marvin turned and noticed that Kate seemed a bit weak. The girl had lost a noticeable amount of weight since the last time he saw her.
It was clear that they had been under a huge amount of pressure during this disaster.
Especially for a place like Rocky Mountain, which seemed remote but had danger lurking on many sides. Not only were they facing the attacks from the Underdark, but as far as Marvin knew, there were two other forces eyeing this place, the Dark clan and the Wild.
The invasion of the Dark clan and the Wild happened three years later in the game and was the result of several Gods’ schemes.
But perhaps it would happen early this time after all the changes that had manifested since Marvin’s appearance.
He would have to put off looking into it until later.
From what Marvin could see, the situation in the Underdark was far worse than he had imagined!
“Can’t your powers drive them away?”
Marvin fo
und the situation rather queer, as he knew that the Underdark’s lifeforms weren’t brainless.
The power of Order gave no benefits to them, and ordinary hostile lifeforms that tried to forcefully enter the light of Order would be directly obliterated!
But they were still advancing to attack Rocky Mountain anyways!
This was quite strange.
“You haven’t noticed it yet?” Jessica coldly pointed at that dense army of creatures from the Underdark and pointed out, “They had already turned into monsters.”
“From the information I’ve managed to get, a major change took place at the Eternal Frozen Spring. Only by solving that root issue would we have a chance of forcing these monsters to withdraw.”
“Thus, I have to take a trip to the Underdark, and I need your help.”
Marvin took a deep breath, nodding silently.
With so many monsters from the Underdark being controlled to do the same thing, this might really be related to the Dark Specters from the Eternal Frozen Spring.
It was time to take a real trip to the Underdark.
Last time, he only crossed through the Underdark as a shortcut. This time, he would go deep into the Underdark with Jessica!
He thought of the powerful and dangerous monsters he had met there in the game, the extremely precious treasures, and the Artifact!
Marvin’s blood was boiling!
Chapter 571: Underdark Winter (1)
Chapter 571: Underdark Winter (1)
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Two silhouettes were quickly heading deeper into a dark cave.
It wasn’t the first time for either of them to be entering the Underdark, but compared to Marvin, Jessica was clearly not as familiar with the place.
The terrain of Rocky Mountain and the surrounding areas was very complicated. Not only was it widely varied, but it was also littered with caves. She had frequently gone to the Underdark before to train.
But that was only the upper layer of the Underdark.
She had never been to the true Underdark.
Thus, she invited Marvin to go with her to navigate. Otherwise, with the Fate Sorcerer’s proud temper, she definitely wouldn’t accept anyone’s help.
This was also due to the current situation being too critical.
The three sisters managed to establish a completely new order in Rocky Mountain after triumphing over many great difficulties, but then they suddenly met with such a frightening encirclement.
If they couldn’t settle this issue, then that unending flow of monsters would swallow Hope City sooner or later!
Kate couldn’t leave Hope City.
She was the key to guarding the Source of Fire’s Order, and furthermore, with her unique Protection Power, she could help the Source expel the dark lifeforms.
This was the reason that Hope City had been able to hold on for so long.
Marvin could tell that Kate had become pale and haggard because she had to keep using her Fate Power.
This situation couldn’t be allowed to persist. She couldn’t contend against all the Underdark’s monsters alone. Jessica had gathered a large amount of information before finding clues that pointed toward the Eternal Frozen Spring.
As one of Hope City’s founders, Jessica definitely wouldn’t sit still and wait for their impending doom.
Marvin could understand her anxiety. If White River Valley had encountered this kind of trouble, it would have given him a huge headache.
It could only be said that Rocky Mountain was in a really awkward location. Even in the game, it had suffered repeated major assaults. It was a place well known for having many missions.
There were no Golden Children now, no players participating. It would be many times harder for the three sisters to hold off the enemies on their own.
As a close ally, Marvin wouldn’t just sit and watch.
After browsing the map of the Gloom Area that had been found by Jessica, the two quietly set off.
With the combined efforts of the two Legend powerhouses, it wasn’t hard for them to avoid a few transformed monsters.
These lifeforms weren’t very strong individually, but a sufficiently large number of them could cause some problems.
They entered from a tunnel entrance inside Hope City. As they progressed, they avoided several monsters coming up from the ground and continued into the darkness.
Along the way, they calmly studied the number and the quality of the monsters.
What worried Jessica was that the number of monsters coming out was more or less constant, but their overall strength was continuously increasing.
These monsters all had a distinctive feature. Their eyes were all completely white.
There were no impurities in those eyes, and they looked like snow.
This was the characteristic of Dark Specters!
‘What extent did the Dark Specters expand to in this area?’
Marvin and Jessica glanced at each other with some apprehension.
The two kept going further down very carefully. By relying on Marvin’s previous experiences and his memory, they managed to avoid many dangers. Eventually, after about three hours, they reached the city of the Underdark that was closest to Rocky Mountain.
Marvin faintly recalled that this town was called [Blightsow]. It was a city established by the Duergar, the Gray Dwarves.
There were many mines in the surroundings of Blightsow, which attracted many Duergar to settle there. The Duergar didn’t welcome Drows or Bugbears, but were surprisingly okay with allowing the other races of the Underdark in, provided they could pay the fees to enter the city.
But as Marvin and Jessica bypassed a cave and reached a high platform, they both went silent when they looked at the city of Brightsow below them.
Brightsow had already turned into a ghost town!
A very tall building, a large city wall, crisscrossed streets… Everything was the same as Marvin remembered.
The only difference was that no one was there!
“Did the Duergar all move?” Marvin asked rhetorically. He found this rather hard to believe.
“Let’s go! Let’s enter the city and check it out!” Jessica proposed decisively.
The two had very high Perception and Marvin had Darksight. Jessica was using her Fate Power to open her Night Eye so that she could also see freely in the Underdark.
Since the city looked like a ghost town from their vantage point, the two decided that they didn’t need to hide themselves.
They directly jumped from the platform!
Jessica dropped like a meteor in the center of the area enclosed by Brightsow’s city walls.
A low sound echoed in the sky as Marvin turned into a Royal Griffin so that he could investigate the city from above.
“We’ll split up!”
The two had the same idea and went separate ways to start looking for clues in Brightsow.
…
Marvin spread his wings, hovering stably for a bit before starting to slowly descend.
He flew over the street, his eyes burning like torches. But he didn’t see a single living being no matter where he looked.
Duergar buildings had very recognizable characteristics. They tended to be short but imposing. They were experts in the fields of architecture and forging. If not for them generally being too sinister, Marvin would have been interested in inviting a few Duergar to settle in White River Valley.
But the strength of that group of Dwarves couldn’t be underestimated.
In the end, what could have happened to make them give up on the city they had been living in for a few hundred years?
Marvin had a vague idea.
‘The Butterfly Effect… Does it really have to be so serious?’
‘The Dragon God’s Wrath started ahead of time, and now, even the [Underdark Winter] also shifted to an earlier date.’
Marvin forced a smile.
The [Underdark Winter]… This name not o
nly represented an extremely harsh climate that started before the Great Calamity, but it was also the first large-scale storyline quest!
But in his memories, the [Underdark Winter] happened after the [Rocky Mountain Defense] quest!
Here, the Dark Clan’s invasion had yet to begin. Instead, there was a problem with the Eternal Frozen Spring, catching Marvin a bit unprepared.
His previous experiences and memories had already been losing their effectiveness, making it more and more dubious to continue depending on them.
He needed to make his own judgements.
At that moment, Marvin noticed a Duergar staggering around!
The Dwarf was holding a barrel of alcohol that was about his own size!
‘A person?’
Marvin was pleased and dismissed his Shapechange skill as he landed on the streets below.
The Duergar was drinking noisily from the barrel and didn’t even notice Marvin approaching.
“Gulp gulp!”
A great amount of alcohol was sloshing around in his stomach.
He was muddle-headed, unable to stop.
Marvin frowned faintly before activating his Domain, [Slaughter]!
He didn’t use his advanced False Divine Vessel to activate his Domain, only using his Legend power to activate it.
This was sufficient.
As the power from the aura of the Slaughter Domain washed over the originally drunk Duergar, he suddenly shuddered and nearly fell down!
Marvin stared coldly at him and said, “Answer a few questions for me.”
Chapter 572: Underdark Winter (2)
Chapter 572: Underdark Winter (2)
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The Duergar was extremely frightened, but he only showed a look of confusion when he heard Marvin’s request.
He couldn’t understand Marvin!
Marvin felt a bit embarrassed.
He used Common, but while Common was spoken quite widely on the surface, those that lived in the Underdark generally used a lingua franca of their own, which he hadn’t ever learned before.
Luckily, although he didn’t know how to speak it, Jessica was pretty proficient in it, as she had been fighting in the Underdark for quite a while.