Chapter 22: A Domain Lord Who Keeps His Word

Xia Er declined the invitation.

The reason was simple.

It had nothing to do with any so-called "betrayal of faith." He had worked so hard to complete his character transformation and had gathered a whole crowd of laborer players back in the starter village.

The players hadn't yet developed to the point where they could stir up trouble in the central region. If he went over now, who would he have working for him?

Xia Er couldn't accept that.

He took a deep breath, his expression turning gravely serious, and declared with righteous conviction: "I, Xia Er, am willing to stand guard over the Undead Territory until death itself takes me!"

The Priest: ......

Honestly, he had imagined many versions of this conversation, but never in a million years had he expected it to go like this.

Among our utterly wicked Demonic Race, there exists such a man of loyalty and honor?

The Priest was deeply shaken.

Could it be that some adventurer had used a mind-control item on him...?

After a thorough inspection confirmed there were no traces of magic on Xia Er whatsoever, The Priest straightened up with newfound respect.

"I never expected Lord Xia to possess such conviction," he said.

"To be frank with you, Lady Witch has already made preparations to deal with these adventurers. Before long, a [Abyssal Tide] will descend upon the land, and the adventurers' living space will be compressed even further."

"If you remain in the Undead Territory, you will eventually be wiped out."

Xia Er shook his head. "It's fine. I'll manage."

"If the need arises, I'll petition Lady Witch for permission to move to the central region."

As for this so-called "Abyssal Tide" The Priest had mentioned, Xia Er paid it no mind.

Please...

If these were ordinary adventurers, he might have considered making a run for it — but the ones standing before them were players!

Wasn't this just a large-scale event quest?

There was no way it could actually stop them.

Once the Abyssal Tide got farmed like a seasonal event, the players' strength should be just about enough to push into the central region. By then, he could dissolve the Soul Contract and make his move.

Perfect!

Seeing that Xia Er's mind was made up, The Priest said nothing more. "Alright. I hope we'll have the chance to meet again."

With that, The Priest turned to leave — but Xia Er called out to stop him.

"Hold on, Mr. Priest. There's one more thing I'd like to ask you about."

Xia Er spoke up: "Do you happen to know anything about the [Ancient Ruins]?"

It was obvious — if he wanted to learn more about this special dungeon, now was the best opportunity.

Just from the long string of titles floating above the man's head, it was clear this figure was terrifyingly powerful — a late-game boss who should know a thing or two about such matters.

The Priest paused. "Ancient Ruins?"

"Why are you asking about that?"

Xia Er answered honestly: "I need a certain material to strengthen myself, and based on the information I've gathered, it should only exist within the [Ancient Ruins]."

The Priest didn't ask about the source of the information. He replied, "The so-called Ancient Ruins are remnants of a previous age — somewhat similar to a 'domain,' but an independent space unto themselves."

"Each Ancient Ruin contains extremely generous rewards: Inheritances from monsters, Inheritances from adventurers. However, the method to unlock them is quite special — it usually comes down to luck — and certain Ancient Ruins also carry [Restrictions]."

The Priest pondered for a moment. "If I receive any news, I'll come and inform you."

"Many thanks."

He saw The Priest off.

Xia Er let out a long, slow breath.

Thank goodness...

Thank goodness no players had shown up during their conversation just now. If they had, things would have blown up spectacularly.

The Witch of Pride had strictly forbidden any dealings between monsters and adventurers.

Against low-level creatures like goblins, he could still use force to keep them in line — but if a higher-ranked being discovered him fraternizing with adventurers, what awaited him might very well be a permanent ban and a fresh start from scratch.

"I need to optimize how I meet with players a bit. This is far too careless."

Filing that firmly in his mind, Xia Er proceeded according to plan toward the location of the goblin blacksmith.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Even from a distance, the rhythmic sound of hammering iron drifted into his ears.

A massive hammer rose and fell under the goblin blacksmith's vein-bulging little arms, sending sparks flying with every strike.

"Level 35 materials... these really are a pain to forge..."

After a bout of vigorous hammering, the goblin blacksmith wiped the sweat from his brow and lifted the freshly forged staff to examine it.

Using Uriel's skull as the staff's core, melting together those high-grade Magic Crystals to form the shaft, then etching mana-conducting runes along its surface — the goblin had poured every ounce of skill he had into crafting this piece of equipment.

[Equipment: Uriel's Resentment (Purple)]

[Craft: Masterwork]

[Description: Forged from [Uriel's Skull] + [500 High-Grade Crystals]. Greatly increases Spirit Power.]

[Special Bonus: When wearing this equipment and using Undead Summoning, the lingering resentment within the staff will empower one undead to "Elite" rank.]

[Note: Vengeance!!!]

Without a doubt.

This was the pinnacle of the goblin blacksmith's forging career thus far.

Driven by the conviction that "if I don't do a good job, I'll die," he had pushed his [Skilled Blacksmith] status to its limits and produced a piece of equipment of Masterwork quality.

"Not bad at all."

Just as the goblin was basking in self-satisfaction, a sudden familiar voice made him break out in a cold sweat.

The domain lord who had been colluding with human adventurers had appeared near the smithy at some unknown point, smiling pleasantly as he watched.

"Lord Xia Er!"

The goblin snapped to attention immediately and held out the staff with both hands. "The equipment you requested has been forged. Please inspect it."

"I've already seen the stats. I can tell you put your heart into it."

Having already reviewed the data, Xia Er quietly took the staff, feeling the strange power emanating from within, and was quite satisfied.

His original expectation had been "Excellent" quality — at least enough to bring out the full potential of the purple-grade materials. He hadn't expected the goblin to produce "Masterwork."

Sure enough, only pressure could truly unlock a person's potential.

"Here's your payment."

Xia Er tossed over a cloth pouch containing 50 high-grade Magic Crystals — a very fair price.

The goblin blacksmith accepted the pouch with trembling reverence, not even opening it, and spoke in a pleading tone: "Lord Xia Er, I've completed your task."

"May I go now? Of course, I won't breathe a single word about anything that goes on in this domain."

Tsk...

Already on the pirate ship and still trying to jump off, huh.

Xia Er nodded. "Sure."

"As agreed beforehand, I'll personally escort you to the nearest new town."

With that, Xia Er waved his hand, and several Undead Soldiers burst up from the earth, blades raised, glaring menacingly at the goblin.

Goblin: .....