Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of leaves, casting dappled patterns on Li Wen’s face.
She opened her eyes, concluding her meditation.
Her magical energy had fully recovered, and after wiping out the mercenary band, she gained an additional 250 experience points.
By her calculations, each mercenary contributed just over two points of experience—pitifully meager.
This was because Li Wen’s overall level had reached Lv5, and with her dual-class status, defeating non-transcendent beings or those without magical power yielded only one or two points.
Sir Wilson’s castle lay ahead in Wilson Town, a place where, according to legend, the Wilson family had resided for generations.
Initially, there was only the castle, with the town later forming around it.
Li Wen had no map; her arrival here relied entirely on Granny Marsha’s guidance. She no longer bothered to ponder what schemes the old fairy might be weaving.
She strode directly into the town.
Wilson’s castle perched on a hillside above the town, but Li Wen had no intention of heading there immediately.
As a hereditary viscount, Sir Wilson could maintain a private army of over a hundred but under a thousand soldiers, along with up to twenty knights and heavy weaponry like crossbows and siege hammers.
Such military might was unmatched in the Black Dragon Territory, save for transcendent beings. Li Wen, naturally, wasn’t intimidated.
But if Wilson was merely an ordinary noble, why would he be collecting corpses?
From the outset, Li Wen had prepared for the possibility that her enemy was a transcendent being.
Since her opponent might be a transcendent, rushing in recklessly was out of the question.
She needed to gather intelligence first.
The residents of Wilson Town weren’t much different from those in Ark Town, being from the same region.
However, compared to Ark Town, the people living under their lord’s protection in Wilson Town seemed to enjoy better living conditions.
Every person Li Wen encountered along the way wore a bright smile.
“Are you preparing for some kind of festival?”
To avoid suspicion, Li Wen had lifted the hood of her Verdant Star Cloak before entering the town, revealing her youthful, charming face.
When she asked questions, even if people didn’t answer, they wouldn’t speak harshly to a face like hers.
“Oh, what an adorable girl…” a middle-aged woman hanging mistletoe on her doorstep exclaimed upon seeing Li Wen. “If you were my daughter, I’d be overjoyed to death.”
You’d better not die, Li Wen thought silently, eyeing the woman’s waist, as thick as a water barrel.
“We’re preparing for a celebration!”
“A celebration?”
“Yes!” the woman continued. “The old lord’s son, young Wilson—oh, I mean, the current Lord Wilson—is holding a grand celebration to mark this year’s bountiful harvest.”
Li Wen found this puzzling. While it was indeed harvest season in the game, was such a grand affair really necessary?
Every household she passed was hanging mistletoe on their doors.
Mistletoe, a plant with sacred properties, was typically used only during significant religious holidays like Holy Spirit Day to invoke blessings.
“It’s a tradition in Wilson Town… You’re not from around here, are you?” the woman said, noticing Li Wen’s confusion.
“I’m from Ark Town, here to find someone.”
“Ark Town? That’s quite a distance… If you’re looking for someone, try asking around at the tavern. Lately, it’s been full of outsiders… They say they’ll do anything for coin,” the woman added, lowering her voice for the last part.
“Thank you.”
Li Wen nodded in gratitude and moved on. For some reason, despite the woman’s constant smile, something felt off.
She was fairly sensitive to others’ emotions, able to roughly discern whether someone harbored goodwill, malice, or pretense.
But this time was different. The woman’s every word seemed genuine, her suggestions kind and practical.
Yet Li Wen detected a faint, fleeting, almost intangible trace of malice that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
It was too strange.
Noting this silently, Li Wen ventured deeper into the town.
***
After she left, three more figures entered Wilson Town.
Moriah, dressed in black priestly robes, was followed by two weary-looking wild mages.
“Don’t worry. I’ve heard Sir Wilson fought in the Battle of Fencewood and is a kind-hearted man. If we ask to borrow a carriage to Leicester, he’s unlikely to refuse.”
The wild mages exchanged glances, feeling helpless.
This wasn’t the first time Moriah had made such promises, but the results…
Moriah was out of options.
The only valuable item he’d carried was a Sunlit Crown coin, which had been incinerated along with Zottes.
Leicester wasn’t far from the Black Dragon Territory, and he could walk the distance, but the two wild mages clearly lacked the stamina for such a journey.
“Excuse me, are you preparing for some kind of festival?” he asked, noticing the mistletoe hanging on doorways, his eyes narrowing.
The middle-aged woman turned, her face breaking into the same familiar smile.
“Oh, what a handsome young man… If you were my son, I’d be overjoyed to death…”
***
Li Wen was unaware of Moriah and his companions’ arrival.
She pulled her hood back up and found a tavern to secure a room.
In her battle with Tilrogzach, her Bone-Eroding Shortsword had been destroyed, unable to withstand the doubled power of her Curse-Free Arcane Light.
Now, she lacked a suitable weapon.
Fortunately, that same battle had yielded a demonic trophy: a Blood-Written Contract.
The demon had used this contract to summon a terrifyingly powerful spear, nearly killing Li Wen.
If she could wield that spear, she wouldn’t need to worry about lacking a weapon for the time being.
[Blood-Written Contract (Spear of the Death Curse)]
[Consumable—Contract (Tilrogzach)—Rare (Purple)]
[A pact sealed in blood ensures its eternal endurance.]
[Sacrifice 50% of your health or kill one person as an offering to summon the Spear of the Death Curse. Duration: 1 day. Cooldown: 1 day. Unusable.]
As long as the contract’s owner was alive, only they could use it.
In anyone else’s hands, it was just a scrap of paper.
Li Wen wasn’t discouraged.
She knew several methods to forcibly alter or even destroy such contracts.
But with her current resources, she lacked the means to do so.
Thus, she returned to her original plan: she needed a suitable weapon to ensure she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage against other transcendent beings.
“Isn’t that simple?” Granny Marsha sneered after Li Wen’s inquiry, flapping her wings with a rustle.
A single black feather fell, transforming into a pitch-black dagger the moment it touched the ground.
“With a bit of magic, this could be a fine weapon. Feel free to use the materials in the pouch.”
With that, Marsha let out a cackle and flew off to who-knows-where.
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