Night.
On a certain country road south of Ma’en City.
Vivian leaned against a withered tree.
A piece of grass root was held between her teeth as she wore a deeply contemplative expression.
‘I think I’m lost…’
She lifted her head, looking at a massive satellite in the night sky.
Its surface was pockmarked with craters.
The locals called it the Pockmarked Star because it looked like a person with a face full of pockmarks.
She had agreed with Nolan that he would scout the warehouse first, and Vivian would follow at night.
Well, now Vivian had come out of the south gate, but she couldn’t find any Black Pig Village, let alone a hay warehouse.
It was the middle of the night, and there wasn’t even anyone on the road to ask for directions.
She could only find a cool spot to wait, bored, counting the stars in the sky.
Getting anxious was useless.
Better to wait here and pray for Nolan.
Once they started fighting, if anyone bled, Vivian could track the target by the scent of blood.
Then.
A refreshing night breeze blew from afar.
It gently lifted a stray lock of hair by her forehead and carried with it an unusual scent.
Vivian’s nostrils flared as she took a deep breath of the incoming wind.
Sensing that familiar smell within it.
“Finally.”
A red light flashed in the depths of her eyes, and then she slowly closed them.
When she opened them again.
A dark red trajectory appeared in mid-air.
Even under the dim shroud of the night sky, the trajectory was still clearly visible.
Poof.
Vivian’s petite body burst apart, transforming into a swarm of bats with glowing red eyes.
A slightly larger bat from the swarm grabbed a tree branch.
Then it followed the flock, flying into the distant night.
—
Not far outside the city, in an abandoned hunter’s cabin.
BOOM!
The wooden door of the cabin was blown open by a tremendous impact.
A fox-girl with a large tail drew a graceful parabola in the air as she was flung out from inside the cabin.
Splat-thump.
She landed flat on the ground with a wet sound, rolling twice.
“Marco, you’re a huge asshole!!”
Feilin scrambled to her feet, making a friendly gesture towards the doorway.
Her large ears stood tall, their tips red with anger.
Her whole body was covered in blood plasma, her tail sticky and matted.
She looked like she had taken a dip in a pool of blood.
“What the hell is wrong with you!”
She clenched her fists, trembling slightly.
Not long before.
Feilin had happily brought her entire stock of blood bags to the agreed-upon trading spot with Marco.
Just as she was about to make a killing.
Marco suddenly betrayed her!
He used blood magic to detonate the subordinates who had come with her.
If another person hadn’t pushed her aside in time, she would have been dead or severely injured.
“Boss, are you okay? What happened?”
Gavin, who had been left outside on lookout duty, rushed over, hastily checking on Feilin’s condition.
Of Feilin’s three-person thief crew, only Gavin remained.
The other two—one was detonated by Marco, and the other died shielding her.
“That spineless Marco actually ambushed me!”
Feilin wiped her face and flicked the blood plasma from her hand onto the ground.
She couldn’t understand…
Why did Marco suddenly ambush her?
Was it because the blood bags I sold were too expensive, and he didn’t want to pay?
If they’re expensive, you can haggle! Who kills someone over expensive goods!
This is such bullshit!
Feilin’s flat chest heaved violently; she was clearly furious.
“I’m never dealing with you insane blood mages again.”
“If I don’t get revenge for this, I swear I’ll never eat dried squid again!” She pointed at the doorway and vowed.
Two of her subordinates were dead, and she was almost blown up herself.
She had originally planned to flee Ma’en City after getting the money, but now she had a new goal.
Run?
With a sea of blood and hatred, why would I run?
If I don’t avenge this, I swear I’ll never eat fish!
“Big Tail Rat, at this point, is there still a need to pretend to be a victim?”
“Are you trying to win my pitifully scant sympathy?”
“You’d be better off finding yourself a nicer grave, so you don’t come back as a Living Corpse to bother me later.”
A thin figure walked out from the cabin.
He wore a blood-red mage robe, and a sphere of blood hovered before him.
“How am I not the victim? You’re the one who ambushed me for no reason!” Feilin said.
“You betrayed me first, Big Tail Rat.”
Marco’s gaze sharpened, staring intently at Feilin.
“Which eye of yours saw me betray you!”
“To protect our transaction info, I got beaten until I was crawling on the ground.”
“Even after that, I didn’t say a word, and you dare say I sold you out!”
Feilin was so angry she was practically steaming, quickly retorting.
“Don’t think I don’t know. You already had your companions lying in ambush nearby.”
“Planning to ambush me during our transaction.”
“Not a bad plan. Pity I saw through it and struck first.”
Marco put on a regretful expression, but a faint, barely concealed smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“What are you talking about?” Feilin blinked in confusion.
“That vampire Vivian, the church’s Nolan, and my old classmate Derek.”
“These companions of yours are nearby, am I right?” Marco said with a smile.
Feilin’s eyes widened. She turned her head to look at Gavin beside her.
“Did we have such a plan?”
Marco’s seemingly logical nonsense had confused even her.
Did I really betray Marco?
Her head felt dizzy…
“Uh… no, I don’t think so,” Gavin replied hesitantly.
“Since your companions are unwilling to show themselves, I’ll deal with you first.” Marco raised his hand and plunged it into the blood sphere.
The blood sphere began to churn and boil like boiling water.
The blood sphere evaporated completely, transforming into a mist of blood that spread across the entire battlefield.
Marco’s figure gradually disappeared into the blood mist.
“Hmph, fight it is then. I’m not someone to be trifled with.”
Feilin flipped her palm, and two green dice appeared in her hand.
The two dice rolled nimbly back and forth between her fingers.
A dark green light spread over her entire body, even covering her tail.
The divine art of the Goddess of Luck—Turn of Fortune!
Reversing one’s misfortune and luck.
If a lucky person activates it, they become unlucky.
But if one is already unlucky, activating it turns them into a lucky person.
Yesterday, to dodge Vivian’s punch.
Feilin had used up all her luck. She had become the unluckiest person in the world.
Now, activating Turn of Fortune…
Feilin would instantly reverse into a blessed one of the Goddess of Luck!
“Today is my lucky day.”
She parted her lips slightly, softly uttering the words.
Then she threw the dice in her hand onto the ground.
Click-clack.
The dice rolled a few times.
A dark green rune appeared out of thin air. The final dice roll showed a 20.
Suddenly.
The night breeze gradually grew violent.
A massive storm swept across the entire battlefield!
Marco’s blood mist was instantly blown away without a trace.
The tall, thin figure was forced to reveal himself from the blood mist.
He was standing beside a large tree.
He shot several thin blood threads from his fingers, anchoring himself to the tree to avoid being blown away by the storm.
Marco stared at Feilin, who was conveniently in the eye of the storm, a flash of confusion in his eyes.
“What kind of power is this?”
Isn’t this fox a thief? How does she have an ability similar to a mage’s?
The fierce wind slowly subsided.
The storm, carrying the blood mist, blew away into the distant night.