Lord of Rot

Guy Marvin was in a good mood.

’I found some interesting little things this time.’

He hadn’t been able to make any trades for a long time since the last gathering.

His luck was good; he’d managed to buy two little magical trinkets.

’My luck has been quite good lately.’

After leaving the Black Market, Guy Marvin planned to go back and use his methods to take direct control of Lady Jie Lin.

He was hell-bent on acquiring Longship Castle. Once he married Lady Jie Lin, there were numerous ways to become its Baron. The simplest, of course, was to have her bear his child. He wouldn’t need to control Longship Castle for long—he’d leave as soon as he’d achieved his goal.

The only problem was that Caster lurking in the shadows. They were also eyeing Longship Castle, and it seemed Lady Jie Lin had a good relationship with them.

’No matter. I’ll interrogate her when I get back. I’m sure she’ll tell me everything.’

Guy Marvin walked a short distance before he suddenly felt something was off.

He realized someone was following him.

’Could it be that someone saw me buy those magical trinkets?’

These kinds of magical trinkets did have some small, trick-like uses, but surely not enough to make some noble drop all pretenses over them.

There was only one other possibility. When he bought the items, someone else must have recognized their value but was a step too slow. Now they wanted to kill him for them.

”Heh, interesting!”

Guy Marvin sneered. Plenty of little rats had targeted him, ever since his rise to power. It seemed those rats would never understand they were provoking a lion.

’Iron Stone City isn’t a good place to make a move. I’ll lure the rat out. Since they were able to get into the Black Market, they must have some other valuables. It would be even better if they were the heir to some domain.’

He acted without restraint. So what if they were a noble? That just meant more to gain. He’d killed countless nobles, yet not a single one had ever managed to track him down.

Meanwhile, Leech, who was tailing Guy Marvin, was marveling to himself.

’This Lucky Potion is way too effective!’

Just moments ago, when he’d spotted the mysterious Caster, Leech had been racking his brain about how to lure them out of Iron Stone City. He never expected his target would be so considerate as to leave on their own.

’These 10 Jinri were well spent!’

Just being able to encounter the Caster lurking around Longship Castle here, rather than having to face him in his own entrenched territory, was enough to make Leech feel the money was well spent. And that wasn’t even mentioning his target was practically courting death by willingly walking out of Iron Stone City.

His luck was simply off the charts.

Leech was even considering discussing a long-term partnership with that female Hunter.

’So this is what it feels like to have godly luck?’

Having your wishes come true—there was no better feeling.

At the same time, he telepathically contacted Aina and the Red-haired Earthling. The two Corpse Ghosts donned their prepared black robes and slipped out through the window.

Carrot and Little Joel, standing guard outside the door, had no idea the room was now empty.

After leaving Iron Stone City and walking some distance toward Pig Spine Valley, Guy Marvin stopped in front of a pile of rubble.

There were animal droppings on the ground, along with the bleached bones of some unknown creature.

Many lives had ended here, yet no one ever came to collect the bodies. This meant that after he killed his target and took their things, he could leave without any trouble.

’My lucky streak continues,’ Guy mused with a smile as he waited quietly.

After a moment, that feeling of being watched returned.

”Come on out, little rat!” Guy said. ”I’ve already spotted you.”

Leech emerged from behind a tree with Corpse Ghost Aina and the Red-haired Earthling, though he’d never intended to hide his presence in the first place.

”A noble?”

Guy’s eyes fell on Leech, who was carrying a cane. His clothes bespoke his status.

Bringing two women along... could he be one of those brainless, second-rate noble sons looking to pick a fight?

’Perfect, though!’

Guy spread his arms and spun around on the spot.

Then, he suddenly threw his mouth wide open.

”AAAAH!!”

A shriek.

The sound wave, wrapped in wind, formed a visible ripple that blasted toward Leech and his two companions.

Leech’s lips moved, chanting.

Stoneskin!

A stone-like skin covered his body. He crossed his arms and moved in front of the two Corpse Ghosts. One of his Corpse Ghosts was a poison-user, the other an agile type; only he could be considered half a tank, at best.

The shockwave struck his clothes.

RRRIP!

His clothes were torn to shreds.

The Wind Blades, like little knives, chaotically hacked at the stony surface of Leech’s skin. Although they managed to cut through it, they only left faint marks on his body. His skin was broken, but it didn’t seem to bleed.

The concussive force was stronger than its direct damage; Leech was pushed back a fair distance.

Moreover, his ears were ringing, and his mind felt dull and heavy.

Seeing his opponent about to open his mouth for another shriek,

Leech stared at him.

”Deterrence!”

’It was an inheritance from the Dragon Ore Gem—a magical, single-target EMP.’

”Aaa... ugh.” The sound died in his throat.

Guy Marvin’s body went rigid and he fell backward.

The Red-haired Earthling and Aina charged forward from the left and right, closing the distance in a single breath.

”Ugh...” Guy Marvin came to his senses.

”Deterrence!”

The second cast followed immediately. This was Leech’s first true face-to-face battle against another Caster, and he was being extremely cautious. The hard crowd-control had to be maintained.

Guy Marvin once again fell into a daze.

At that moment, the Red-haired Earthling was the first to reach him, its strangely-scaled claws swiping down, aiming straight for his throat.

But a hand, moving even faster, grabbed the Red-haired Earthling’s neck.

This time, Guy Marvin recovered a little faster, and he easily subdued the Red-haired Earthling.

To be able to overpower the Red-haired Earthling in strength, he had to be a Transcendent.

Leech hadn’t expected to meet someone else besides himself who practiced both magic and martial arts.

Aina had also charged in, delivering a sweeping side kick to Guy Marvin’s wrist. The dull thud sounded like a hammer hitting a wall.

THUD!

Kicked away, his opponent was clearly not a combat-type Transcendent. The Red-haired Earthling flipped twice in mid-air before landing gracefully like a cat.

”Ah!” He seized the opportunity to shriek, blasting Aina away. Countless tiny wounds appeared on her body, but with her Extraordinary healing ability, they vanished in an instant.

”Two Transcendents, and one unawakened Transcendent...” Guy Marvin said, leaping to his feet. ”And you’re a Caster, too. I admit, I’m no match for the three of you. You just want these little trinkets, don’t you? You can have them.”

If you can’t win, don’t fight.

Guy Marvin was extremely decisive. He took out the two magical trinkets he had bought.

”Besides, if we really fight, you’ll definitely get hurt too.”

Conflict stems from personal interest. As long as he gave up his interest, there was no need to keep fighting.

It wasn’t like they had some deep-seated grudge against each other.

But the only answer he received was another cast of Deterrence from Leech.

Guy Marvin fell into a daze once more.

And this time, he didn’t wake up. The Red-haired Earthling was closest to him, its claws easily tearing open his throat.

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

His Extraordinary ability was different from Aina’s; he couldn’t heal himself.

THUD!

The corpse fell limply to the ground.

’Whew, fighting a Transcendent is as dangerous as they say,’ Leech thought, reviewing the battle. ’Aside from me being a bit of a coward and staying in the back like a Caster instead of tanking, we pretty much had him suppressed the whole time.’

’As the ”Command Tower,” it’s perfectly normal for me to play it safe.’

’If I died, wouldn’t the Corpse Ghosts lose their Commander?’

’Without me, they would just rot.’

Leech walked over and picked up the two trinkets. He was surprised to find they were two wondrous items.

He bent down and picked up the still-warm corpse.

’I’ll take it back and make it into a Corpse Ghost while it’s still fresh.’

’This is prime material, a Caster and a Transcendent. It absolutely cannot be wasted.’

’That Lucky Potion... my luck is seriously exploding.’