Chapter 86:

“Ah” A low groan sounded from inside the tent, and Maxim, who had been unconscious for an entire day, finally opened his eyes after the intertwining nightmares receded. The loyal servant’s body was covered in sweat, even soaking through the linen undershirt, but as his consciousness awakened, the wounds that should have existed on his body had already healed considerably. At the very least, it would no longer affect his movements. This abnormal self-healing came from the hidden potential that began to be unleashed from his physical body after completing the Black Iron trial, truly allowing this tempered body to shed its mediocrity and begin to step into the ranks of transcendent power. For a warrior, this was only the most insignificant change. The entire journey through the Black Iron realm was about unleashing one’s individual potential, and after all of one’s personal potential had been fully excavated, they would naturally enter the strength trials of the White Silver Body. In the next stage, there would naturally be new and more difficult goals to achieve, but that was not something a Black Iron-level warrior needed to consider. The system of power levels summarized by the elves was not just a few random cool and edgy names, each stage had things that must be accomplished at that stage. “It seems you’ve recovered well.” Just as Maxim sat up from the bed, Murphy’s voice suddenly came from the shadows of the tent, causing the loyal servant to immediately stand up. But as the blade cut through the wind, an exquisite, sturdy, spirit-tempered and ebony-adorned tomb ritual black blade was handed to him. Maxim’s eyes narrowed slightly. He immediately recognized this black blade as Jed’s sidearm, with Jed’s personal emblem still on the hilt, so it could be called the “Jed’s Blade” for now. But this blade was now in Lord Murphy’s hands, so... “Jed and I have come to an agreement, Maxim, although the process was not ‘pleasant’.” Murphy’s figure stepped out from the boundary of the shadows, and he said to Maxim in a gentle tone: “From now on, you no longer need to worry about being entangled by the past, and can finally open your arms to embrace a new and unrestrained life. I should congratulate you, loyal one.” “I too feel joy for this, Lord Murphy, and I congratulate you on your brilliant victory as well!” Maxim accepted the tomb guard’s ritual black blade with an open heart and without psychological burden. He had already paid back what belonged to Jed. He looked at Lord Murphy standing before him with an elegant smile and demeanor, and then sensed from the change in Murphy’s aura that he too had just gone through a trial like Maxim’s and emerged victorious. Combined with the relic belonging to Jed in his hand, it wasn’t hard to deduce who Murphy had chosen as the target for his Trial of Strength. Befitting of Lord Murphy! Maxim marveled inwardly. To use a Silver-realm enemy as a stepping stone to enter a new realm, compared to the small victory he had achieved, it was hardly worth mentioning. “Perhaps I should also fulfill my promise to you.” Standing at the boundary of the shadows, Murphy looked at the【1/3】blood covenant number on his character card and said to Maxim: “I have gained new power and can transform you into a midnight being like myself, leading you to tread the path of eternity. But I hope you can wait a little longer, Maxim. The weakness stemming from Tris’s bloodline has still not been properly resolved. But I think, after we tread the Blood Vulture Halls and thoroughly eliminate those lurking in the darkness, this trivial problem will also be resolved.” He paused, emphasizing as he spoke to the silent Maxim: “I want to give you the best, for your deeds deserve the best!” “Of course, my lord, I obey your will.” Maxim bowed his body and said in a deep voice: “I have already entrusted my soul, persona, and will to you. My fate should also be decided by you, and all I need to do is to keep swinging my sword for you, cutting down those enemies obstructing your great cause. Nothing more.” “I have no doubt about this.” Murphy smiled, clasping his hands behind his back as he said to the servant he trusted most, second only to Tris: “Now, get dressed and come with me to the city. I need to create my own tomb badge, and you will assist and learn the process. That way, once you complete the initial embrace and become one of us, you can immediately receive that boon of midnight power.” “It is my honor, my lord.” Maxim smiled in the darkness. After Murphy left, he immediately got up and changed out of the soaked linen robe, deftly donning the padded armor underneath. As he was about to put on the tattered chainmail, he noticed a set of cleaned tomb guard’s leather armor laid out on the table in the tent. This was clearly also part of Jed’s “inheritance”. Representing the high-quality spirit garment that the tailors and artisans of the Blood Vulture Clan could produce, the luxurious and obscure Blood Vulture crest was spread all over the armor. Thinking about it this way, it seemed even Murphy felt his “kinsmen” had gone too far with their desires. “Let’s go!” The vampire nimbly jumped into the vertical shaft leading to the sewers, with Maxim following closely behind. The two landed steadily in the dim passage after dropping nearly five meters, and guided by the aura of death, proceeded one after the other toward the area ahead without a single point of light. “Poof” Maxim took out a small gas lantern containing tinder and lit the torches placed on both sides of the ancient sewer walls along the way. They walked in this narrow, dark place, still able to hear the sound of flowing water. “The underground water system is still active, that’s good news.” Murphy walked in the darkness without feeling fear, instead having a sense of reassurance. Ignoring the foul smell around him, he said to the alert Maxim gripping his sword behind him: “Although Tris and the young lady have explained to me that the Astral shadows in the outer city are not enough to pollute the groundwater, it still puts me at ease to ensure that my subjects will not have to worry about fetching water in our future base of operations.” “They should be grateful for your concern.” Maxim responded: “I have not seen any esteemed vampire care about such trivial matters. This alone proves that you will certainly be a wise ruler, my lord. You possess a benevolence that other vampires lack. It is a supreme virtue.” “Hmm, I’m now confirmed that the first potential unleashed in you was indeed your silver tongue, Maxim. Perhaps after we establish our power, I should give you the nickname ‘Smooth-Talking Max’. In the following decades, this nickname might just become a term specifically referring to flatterers in the Transia region.” Murphy snorted, causing the trailing Maxim to laugh deeply once more. But then, as they passed through the narrow passage and entered the area where the aura of death was concentrated, Murphy and Maxim almost simultaneously drew their weapons. Before their eyes was clearly a three-dimensional rectangular space that had been excavated by human effort over a long period of time, similar to a large “underground black market” area, with nearly a hundred corpses strewn about haphazardly. Their deaths were tragic, both men and women. There were even some teenagers. Their attire didn’t resemble the gangsters who would wander and gather in the sewers. They were just ordinary civilians who had taken refuge in the sewers after the Kadman City disaster. But they had failed to escape death. “Spawns of despair and Astral beasts, my lord.” Maxim went forward to examine the mangled bodies that had crawled out farthest, resting his spirit poison blade as he said in a low voice: “These people must have emanated too much despair in the darkness, attracting those monsters. This narrow space left them with nowhere to escape, only to face a desperate slaughter here. As for those beasts...perhaps alligators? Or some kind of amphibian.” “It’s no longer here.” Murphy’s vampire senses allowed him to discern more details in the darkness. He said: “It left at least three days ago. There’s no trace of its presence within my perception range. Perhaps the great fire that burned the surface drove it into hiding deeper underground, or it may have already returned to the Astral Realm.” His gaze swept over the corpses in this three-dimensional area, seeing the despair on the decaying faces, and after a few seconds, he shook his head and said: “How tragic, we were a step too late.” “This is not your fault, my lord. You and your warriors have done enough.” Maxim immediately reassured: “They fled into the sewers, and were difficult to locate under the cover of the Astral shadows.” “No, Maxim, I’m not as fragile as you think.” Murphy shook his head, his tone low as he said: “I’m thinking about how many bodies like this are in the entire sewer system? Three thousand? Five thousand? No, originally there were at least a hundred thousand people living in the outer city, but we only rescued over a thousand. Excluding those unlucky masses swept into the Astral Realm, the number of people who died in the sewers is bound to be high enough to make you despair. What I’m worried about now is that as the Astral energy fades, the spirit energy in this place will recover. Just imagine the death horrors that could be spawned by so many tragic deaths, it makes one’s hair stand on end. Each person is a potential ghoul, and Kadman City had countless locations used by gangs for hiding bodies from their crimes.” He sighed, looking toward the maze-like underground tunnels before them. Gripping his sword, he said: “A ghoul nest and resentful spirit tomb shrouding the entire outer city is forming. Just the number of ghouls alone is conservatively estimated to be no less than ten thousand. I dare say, Maxim, the sewers beneath our territory will absolutely become the largest and most terrifying lair of evil spirits ever formed on this continent. Afterward, ah, my warriors will likely be quite busy.”