Night Ranger

The Book of Nalu, a book full of mysteries.

Each page of the Book of Nalu contained endless possibilities.

It might turn one crazy, but it also might grant one unimaginable benefits.

Marvin kept a cautious attitude toward the Book of Nalu.

This was also the reason didn’t read the 3rd page of the Book of Nalu, [Destruction], when he obtained it.

Because the danger from [Destruction] was far greater than that of [Rebirth].

The Book of Nalu could take over one’s mind and make that person mad. But it was different when that rune appeared in her eyes.

That was a contract.

The rune Marvin just drew on the Book of Nalu represented a law of the God of Deception.

Marvin formed a mysterious resonance with that page of the Book of Nalu. In other words, he temporarily became the owner of the page of [Rebirth].

Thus, he was able to call out Madeline.

Marvin already inferred the ins and outs of the matter: Madeline actually didn’t have the aptitude to advance to Legend. Even with the help of the Book of Nalu, she still couldn’t cross this barrier.

But the woman’s ambitions and desires constantly pushed her to seek the advancement.

Under the pressure of the Heavenly Deer and the Underworld, she made a crazy decision!

She opened the Book of Nalu and made a contract with it.

She would obtain power from the Book of Nalu, and advance to Legend. And the price was half her soul.

That rune was one of the runes for a contract, which Marvin recognized.

Thus he hesitated, but still decisively killed Madeline.

That was the most evil part of Madeline, or in other words, the evil side of River Shore City’s City Lord. And the one remaining in the Book of Nalu was the kind side.

Right, even an evil existence would also have a kind side. And Madeline’s kind side wasn’t small.

Otherwise she wouldn’t be River Shore City’s City Lord.

The Madeline who had been summoned by Marvin from the Book of Nalu had all her previous memories.

There were only two differences.

First, her physical body was attached to the Book of Nalu, so she would have to completely obey Marvin. But from her actions, it looked like she actually liked it.

In a sense, Madeline originally showed some wickedness, like an overbearing queen. And the current Madeline displayed respect and kindness.

She would meekly obey Marvin’s orders and be very delighted to do so.

Second, her strength had somewhat declined.

Even if she was still a Legend, she was probably the weakest Legend Wizard.

She was half dead after all.

Marvin’s actions stemmed from a lack of better options. Madeline had signed a contract with the Book of Nalu after all, which guaranteed her doom.

He was already doing his best to help her.

After all, becoming the owner of the Book of Nalu was risky. Thankfully it was [Rebirth]. He had already passed this chapter’s test, so he dared to become its owner.

If it was [Destruction]... He certainly wouldn’t dare.

Regardless, Madeline’s death and rebirth was actually good news for Marvin.

He could use her to control River Shore City.

Although he had killed Madeline in front of many of River Shore City’s people, they could always explain that they had joined hands to put on a show whose goal was... obviously to handle hidden enemies. As for what the enemy was, they could randomly pick one when the time came.

In any case, no one would dare to go against Madeline’s might in River Shore City, especially since she was the genuine City Lord.

After dealing with this, Marvin saw the extremely lovely Madeline wanting to stick to him and he hurriedly put her back in the Book of Nalu.

This matter... It was better if Hathaway didn’t see it for now.

After all, he didn’t know how to explain it right now.

...

Next day, after everyone woke up. Marvin quickly handled some matters.

First was to give the Time Molt to Owl so the latter could pass it over to Inheim. Marvin had faith in Mother of Creation’s healing abilities. Inheim would surely recover.

And Time Molt was a treasure that all gods coveted. Keeping it was like lighting a fire in the darkness. It was better to hand it over to reliable people.

Second was to give the Red Dragon’s corpse from the Thousand Paper Crane to Constantine.

Constantine’s friend, Master Harvester Wall, was waiting for him in [Wooden Fort], a city in the southern part of the snow field. He apparently had an independent workshop there with ten assistants working for him. Something like harvesting a Dragon required patience and it was better to do something like that in the North’s cold climate.

Marvin trusted Constantine. Since a Master Harvester would take care of it, this Red Dragon’s body would be taken care of perfectly. When the time came, he would get his share.

Constantine hurriedly rushed south when he got the Dragon’s corpse. He would return to White River Valley after dealing with this matter, as per his agreement with Marvin.

After all, the current White River Valley was different from the past.

Following Marvin’s rise in reputation, more and more people started paying attention to this mystical piece of land.

A Legend powerhouse was needed to oversee it.

Daniela clearly wasn’t enough.

And the others would split up to deal with their matters. Legends were also very busy after all.

O’Brien would go eastward, as his fight with the Molten clan wasn’t over. Although he had removed the Molten Overlord’s head, it was said that there was an evil force with equivalent power emerging from a large crevice in the North. He had no choice but to go deal with it.

As for the Azure Matriarch, completely dealing with her in the glacier wasn’t possible, because it was a field where the World Ending Twin Snakes’ power kept flowing. He only managed to rip off a few heads, and they would eventually regrow.

Shadow Thief Owl would go look for Inheim. Endless Ocean needed to report this matter to the Migratory Bird Council.

Lorant and Hathaway would return to the South.

Lorant was very grateful for Marvin’s actions, especially saving his children.

He gave Marvin a badge showing that he was an honored guest of the Bai. He could get the Bai clansmen to help him in the Saint Desert.

Marvin didn’t hold back after getting the badge and directly wore it.

After all, he could certainly use it. The Bai clansmen were numerous and spread through the entire Saint Desert. He might need their help at some point.

Or at the very least, he could take less detours.

Furthermore, most of the people in the Assassin Alliance were Bai clansmen. Even if the Assassin Alliance didn’t have a Legend Powerhouse overseeing it, quite a few Legend Assassins came from of the Assassin Alliance, so there was a bit of a relationship between them.

This network might come in handy in the future.

...

After this short reunion, it was time to leave.

After Marvin bid farewell to everyone, he once again rode Hathaway’s magic carpet, hurrying as fast as lightning toward the White Tower.

Hathaway still ignored the polite White Tower Wizard and directly used the long-distance Teleportation Gate.

The two soon returned to the Ashes Tower.

"Actually, I had something I wanted to talk to you about..."

At the top of the Ashes Tower, Marvin began talking when Hathaway suddenly interrupted him. "There is a very important spell I’ve been studying these days."

"Don’t run around everywhere if you don’t have anything important."

"Okay."

She instantly opened a Teleportation Door and quickly ran away.

Marvin froze, before forcing a smile.

He actually wanted to ask about what Hathaway saw in the 6th page of the Book of Nalu.

He was very concerned about this.

But Hathaway was acting strangely, so he didn’t have the chance to ask.

He could only leave the Ashes Tower alone and return to White River Valley.

...

In the Ashes Tower, Hathaway quietly sitting on the soft sofa.

Her gaze was bright, but somewhat blank.

"He definitely wanted to ask what was the meaning of that kiss, right?"

"I avoided him this time, but how should I answer next time?"

"Ahhhhh... It’s so annoying!"

The 16 years old girl suddenly stood up.

She went to a secret room in the Ashes Tower and lifted a red cloth.

Behind was an old-fashioned painting, and on the painting was a kind old lady.

"Mother..."

A blank expression settled on her face. "Why did the curse of the Anzed Witches have to happen to me?"

"Why can my body only cycle through three different shapes?"

"I thought everything would clear up after I advanced to Legend. But now I am even more lost."

"I can’t see the path ahead..."

Of course, the painting was unable to answer.

After a moment, she silently replaced the red cloth on the painting...

Not noticing the tear drop seeping out of the old lady’s eyes in that last second.

The tear of an Anzed Witch.

...

Marvin hurriedly returned to White River Valley.

After confirming that everyone was in good health, he secretly summoned Madeline and had her return to River Shore City.

Regardless how complicated the process would be, it already wasn’t his problem anymore. He believed that even the kind Madeline would easily be able to regain control of River Shore City.

After staying two days in White River Valley and learning that everything was going well, Marvin once again gave a reason and quietly left.

Anna and the others felt helpless about it.

But they also believed Marvin certainly had his reasons for leaving like that.

The only thing they could do was properly build this territory and carefully protect it while Marvin was away.

...

Three days later, in the Assassin Alliance secret ground.

"Sir, have a nice trip." A black clothed masked man told Marvin, "Sire High Priest already made proper arrangements. You can enter the Dark Hole at any time."

"But by all means, please be careful. The Underdark is a lot more vicious."

Marvin faintly nodded.

He then squeezed into that pitch black cave.

He could faintly hear the roaring voices of monsters living in the depths of the earth!

His blood was boiling!

________________________

T/Reminder: Just in case, Witch is simply the female counterpart of Wizards. It has no negative meaning there. We simply use Wizard as a staple term unless it’s specifically specified Female Wizard in the raw.