Genetic Ascension

Chapter 454: Drawbacks

At that moment, three demon village armies were making their way toward Lucius’ city. A pig demon village, a wolfman village, and a gnoll village.

They seemed to be moving independently, approaching from different directions. But there was no doubt about what their destination was.

…

Sylas had only just stood up when he received a message. It was only the second time he had received such a message, and it was from none other than Lucius.

‘Return, huh? It seems that I was right.’

The counterattack had started.

Sylas thought for a moment before he took a peek.

—

[Leg 005]

[Your city has been targeted by an underlying dark current. Face off against the assault of Pig Demon Village 122, Gnoll Village 297, and Wolfman Village 011. Survive for three days]

—

‘Interesting…’

Sylas thought about it for a moment. However, if Lucius couldn’t deal with this, he would truly be too incompetent.

“Let’s go. We’re heading to the System City.”

**

Orciuius City.

If it wasn’t broken, Sylas had no intention of fixing it. The only question was how his previous noble title would affect things here.

And the answer was none at all.

Noble status was based on two factors: System City and Territory. Within the same Territory, his Barony Title might hold a small bit of weight. But outside of that Territory, it plummeted until it was worth nothing at all.

In this city, he might as well be a homeless man by the side of the road.

He entered the city smoothly and bought a territory, directly becoming a Citizen. Unfortunately, he didn’t get promoted to Baron immediately like he wanted, but that much was fine. He had already expected this.

What he didn’t expect was to gain something else entirely.

—

[Your Merit has been acknowledged by Orciulius City.]

[Your status has been elevated]

[You have been directly conferred the Title of Earl]

[You have been awarded 100,000 Hero Points]

—

Sylas’ gaze flickered.

He remembered when he first entered Guiz City, he had been practically ushered in as a “Hero.” In fact, that was the exact word the guard at the gate used to acknowledge him.

He also noticed that the home he bought was even cheaper than before. He had gotten a 50% discount the first time in Guiz City, but this time it was 90% off. The cost was barely 5000 coins for a dingy place that should have cost at least 50,000.

This experience made him realize just how much he was truly underestimating the weight of his Merits. It made all of this comically easy.

Just to get a Viscount Title back in Guiz City, it would cost 1,000 Hero Points. To make it to Earl, it would likely cost a hundred times that with ease.

But he had gotten the Title for free and 100,000 Hero Points on top of that to spend as he pleased.

—

[Title Unlocked]

[Title: Earl of Orciulius]

[You now have a stake in the territory of Orciulius City, and your power should reflect that]

[+40% to ALL stats while within 50 kilometers of Orciulius City]

—

This time, when he walked into the military encampment near the core of the city, he didn’t receive the same disdain. It was like his Merits were too overwhelming to ignore any longer.

‘I can gain a Colonel position in exchange for just 10,000 Hero Points…’

Sylas hadn’t expected the sudden influx of Hero Points, and he wondered if he should change his plans. But in the end, he shook his head. He would stick with his original plan.

First, he accepted a Captain Title, found the military missions list, scanned through them, picked one, then directly left.

The sudden appearance of an unknown Earl didn’t escape Rolland’s attention. But by then, Sylas was gone.

**

Lucius stared off into the distance with a solemn expression. He had sent a message to Sylas for him to return, but he wasn’t banking on it. He would be a fool to trust his life to such a variable.

However, as the enemies approached from the distance, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of darkness in his heart. Sylas truly didn’t take him very seriously at all.

The Multi Quest wasn’t unfair. There were a good few hours before the armies appeared along their first line of scouting. But Sylas was still nowhere to be seen.

The only reason Lucius hadn’t lost his temper completely was because he knew that Sylas had actually done quite a lot in this period.

Leg 004 changed before it was even completed, changing from stopping the Ravenclaws from gaining an advantage, to destroying their checkpoints. There was only one person who could be responsible for such a thing.

Sylas.

Lucius took a breath. They didn’t need to defeat the army; they just needed to last for three days. That would be enough.

This should be the way of the system finding balance. Otherwise, they might truly be out of luck.

These weren’t normal demon villages. They were all powerful, having Level 30s at their helms. They couldn’t be underestimated in the slightest.

Lucius’ protection plan was already finished. If Sylas came, good. If not, that was fine as well. He was prepared.

But that was when something astonishing happened.

Just as the Grimblades were prepared for battle, the pig demons froze and their City Lord let out a howl.

The pig demons seemed furious about something, and their power seemed to plummet for an inexplicable reason.

The battle began, but then the scene repeated itself. The wolfmen were the next to take a hit.

And then, hours after that, it was the turn of the gnolls.

Distracted and seemingly weakened, the demons weren’t just repelled by Lucius; they were crushed.

Lucius didn’t understand what was happening at first, but then the reality sunk in.

Their villages… they had to have been destroyed.

Demons were special. They were spawned from thin air, and they were the only example of City Lords that could freely leave their cities before reaching a certain village Grade.

But… that came with its own drawbacks.