BXBX NOVEL Chapter 255: Chaos Ground
Marvin quickly moved through the dark damp cave.
He rushed even faster.
This area was close to the surface and adventurers would often come here to clear stuff out, so there shouldn’t be anything that could threaten Marvin.
In fact, that nest of Hook Horrors had more or less been ruling over this area.
Now that they were killed by Marvin, there shouldn’t be any more monsters nearby that were able to threaten him.
Thus, he quickly ran with no restraint.
That Dark Elf didn’t chase.
It might be because Marvin snatched her dagger. A Dark Elf warrior who lost her weapon would not dare to rashly pursue.
In short, Marvin very luckily managed to escape from a Dark Elf scouting party.
After a long time, he reached the exit of the cave.
Fresh air could be felt outside the cave as Marvin rushed out. He had to adapt to the dazzling sunlight.
He closed his eyes, and after a moment he opened them once again.
The area in front of him was an incomparably beautiful fertile land!
Two wriggling rivers flowed down from the north on the smooth plain. A large amount of cultivated fields filled every corner of the plain.
There was a small village under this mountain, and some plain houses were scattered around the fields.
People came and went from the small village.
In the distance, there was a high mountain from which a white steam could be seen drifting all day long.
It was a volcano.
Rocky Mountain.
...
Marvin quietly left the cave. On this mountain there were many similar holes.
Adventurers who wanted to enter apparently had to pay a fee.
But Marvin coming out of this relatively remote cave didn’t interest anyone.
He slightly adjusted himself and used Disguise.
This was the surface, and even if it was a forsaken land disdained by the South Wizard Alliance, it also was on the edge of mankind’s civilization.
Since the events of the Decaying Plateau, Marvin understood that almost all of Feinan now knew him, and that naturally included Rocky Mountain.
In this era where information normally travelled with some difficulty, Marvin’s reputation was extremely high.
Without Disguise, people would instantly recognize him.
In order to make his actions easier he had to change his appearance, so he took that identity he used in River Shore City.
Masked Twin Blades, plus a cloak.
It’s not like his reputation as Masked Twin Blades could have spread this far.
Marvin hurried down the mountain and intended to enter the small town, but he met with trouble.
"What? Protection fees?"
Facing two large guys with nasty gazes, Marvin was a bit surprised by what they wanted.
"Could it be that this isn’t the Three Sisters’ domain?"
The two men were tall, with their upper bodies bare, and they held long blades in their hands. They looked extremely fierce.
Upon hearing Marvin’s sentence, the two men looked at each other and one of them frowned. "You are a subordinate of the Three Sisters?"
...
In the quiet darkness, faint light was emitted from the ceiling of a cave.
Those were gems with radiant properties.
In the entire gloomy Underdark, besides a few luminescent plants, only these gems could guarantee a light source.
"... Lady Tess, these were the results of the investigation."
"Apart for that one accident with Raven, the other groups successfully accomplished their missions," a sweet voice reported.
That was a female Dark Elf whose appearance seemed quite fiery. She seemed to be rejoicing at Raven’s misfortune, even though she was also a captain like her.
‘This time, even if Lady Tess likes you, she shouldn’t be able to find a reason to cover for you, right?’
She couldn’t have expected that Lady Tess, who was shrouded in a cloak, wouldn’t pursue this matter.
She said in a low voice, "A human from the world above was able to get rid of four Hook Horrors, including that variant elite Hook Horror. This kind of expert might not necessarily be someone that a scouting party can take care of. He chose to escape only because he didn’t wish to become our enemy. Raven’s decision to not pursue was correct."
"That human isn’t that important. In any case, we have to start our surprise attack before dawn tomorrow."
"But before that, we need to do a final scouting."
"This time, I’ll only send the most elite experts, two people at most."
Lady Tess’ sight focused on that female Dark Elf who gave a report earlier, and on Raven. "You two, are you prepared?"
The two women successively nodded.
"Go look at Lion, and check whether those humans are really unable to withstand a single blow. Look at their military defenses."
"But do remember, these advanced Shapeshift Scrolls I bestow upon you will only work for six hours."
"You need to carefully handle your work, and you must not alarm the humans’ experts!"
"You know the result of failure!"
Lady Tess clearly used a heavier tone for that last sentence. Raven and the other Drow deeply buried it in their minds.
Lady Tess slowly said, "[Underdark’s Winter] is coming early, and we are already running out of food. Leader Clarke told me to guide our path."
"Those stupid people from the world above would have never expected that we’ve already united under Leader Clarke and found a new path to the surface."
"They are bound to be exterminated, and we will obtain a new life."
Under her enchanting voice, countless red eyes shone in the boundless darkness.
This was the effect of the [Eye of Fear]!
Numerous shadows gathered in the endless darkness.
The Drows were merely a part. There were Quaggoths, Kobolds, Gnolls, Kuo-toas, and a few Duergars!
These lifeforms that always saw each other as mortal enemies were finally united.
A disaster was quietly brewing.
...
The humans on the surface were still unaware.
Even Marvin, was unable to consider the meaning of that scouting party’s proximity to the surface, because of those two idiots before him.
He realized he was in trouble.
When he came to Rocky Mountain in the past, this place had already been unified and had formed a country.
The Three Fate Sisters were the rulers of this place, but it wasn’t the case at the moment!
The current Rocky Mountain, despite the beautiful scenery and the fertile lands, was still occupied by all kinds of powers!
This place was truly a chaos ground; it was the place where people were banished to from the civilized human countries!
For example, after The South Wizard Alliance banished the Sorcerers there, they kept sending people who committed heinous crimes to that place.
Because of the Bai clansmen and the Saint Desert, very few people could cross the desert and return to civilization.
Thus, it became a criminal paradise over time.
Currently, many powers were still rampaging in Rocky Mountain. The group of the Three Sisters actually had some reputation and could contend with the other two big powers, but this was also something recent. Everything was due to the eldest sister, Jessica, awakening her own bloodline and becoming a frightening Fate Sorceress.
In short, the current [Three Sisters] were still a power in development.
Their headquarters was Hope City under the Rocky Mountain, not this small Lion Town.
In fact, this town was currently under the control of a power called [Golden Lion].
The place was close to the Underdark and where the adventurers gathered. The strong mixed with the weak, but under the supervision of Golden Lion, the order was still pretty decent.
As long as one didn’t go out at night.
The small town welcomed all customers and adventurers, and the only people who weren’t welcomed were the Three Sisters’ people.
Thus, after he subconsciously muttered that sentence, all the people in the surroundings looked at him strangely.
Even though the two tall guys didn’t make a move, a group of people soon came out of the town!
These people wore simple and crude equipment, but they rushed over anyways. Among them, a crippled, tall and thin man coldly looked at Marvin. "If you are looking for trouble, I advise that you go somewhere else. Lion doesn’t welcome the Three Sisters’ people."
Marvin inwardly bitterly laughed, and calmly answered, "I’m not a subordinate of the Three Sisters, I’m only a traveler passing by."
"I thought of resupplying in town. Can’t I?"
An expert sized Marvin up for a bit and warned, "It better be like this!"
"If you are a spy from the Three Sisters, our people will beat you into a pulp."
"If you want to enter town, you can. But you have to pay the protection fees."
"Otherwise..."
"Clank!"
Two silvers were directly thrown out by Marvin.
"Enough?" Marvin said in a heavy voice.
The crippled man grabbed the two silvers and coldly replied, "That’s fine."
He immediately got out of the way, and Marvin calmly walked in.
"Get two people to tail him."
"Report to me at all times," the crippled man softly said to his subordinates.
...
Daytime was very short in Rocky Mountain.
Marvin quickly moved through Lion Town. He didn’t stroll around for long before the sky became dark.
As for those failures tailing him, he simply ignored them.
Since he was now a 4th rank expert, Marvin wouldn’t be afraid unless the ones making a move were Legends.
And Lion was a mess made up of bandits without any discipline.
Marvin came to the conclusion that wiping them out might be a problem, but safely escaping wouldn’t be an issue.
Lion was on the border of Rocky Mountain, but it was still somewhat lively.
What Marvin needed to do was to quickly find information about the meteors that had landed.
Thus, he strolled around the business district for a while.
Finally, he found a relatively bustling tavern and went in.
Marvin sat at the counter for a moment and then ordered a cup of the famous local fruit wine, but the wine’s taste was quite sour, so Marvin drank it without enjoying it.
As Marvin sat there, he couldn’t help sizing up the customers approaching the tavern.
At that time, an enticing voice echoed by his ear, "Can I ask you to buy me a drink?"
A hot blonde with blue eyes.
Her clothes exposed a large and enticing bosom, constantly swaying in front of Marvin’s eyes. This was a stunning sight.
Marvin shrugged and took out a few silvers before throwing them on the counter.
"Get us enough to drink."