Chapter 5: Writing a Letter

Inside the gloomy castle.

Xia Er was sitting in the study, writing a letter.

He held a quill pen, his expression unusually serious.

"Dear Lady Witch,"

"The number of adventurers has surged dramatically of late. The Undead Territory you entrusted to my care has come under attack — over fifty adventurers in total, all of whom have been eliminated."

"Based on the information I have gathered, these adventurers are progressing at an alarming rate and are exceedingly cunning. They continue to harass the territories under the Demonic Race's jurisdiction."

"I am deeply concerned for your safety, and have written this letter expressly to urge Lady Witch to take heed."

"Signed: Your most loyal servant — Undead Archmage, Xia Er."

The quill scratched steadily against the rough parchment, producing a soft swish swish sound. After a short while, the letter was finally finished. Xia Er set down the pen with satisfaction, lifted the paper, and waved it through the air to let it dry.

Hmm.

Not bad.

The writing was nothing special, but the content was sufficiently simp-like — it should be enough to get his face known in front of the Witch.

He rolled up the parchment, walked to the edge of the study, and blew a short whistle. Before long, a jet-black raven glided over and took the letter in its beak.

"Deliver this to the [Terminal Demon City], and hand it to Lady Witch."

Upon receiving its destination, the raven nodded as if it understood, and in the next instant — whoosh — it dissolved into a shadow and vanished into thin air.

Xia Er had spent a long time racking his brain over the Soul Contract problem.

Brute force was out of the question. The Witch was a tier-one combatant, and he had no idea how long it would take him to catch up to her level — by then it would be far too late. As for simply sending gifts... the Witch had so many Domain Lords under her command that she probably wouldn't even know who he was.

After much deliberation, Xia Er ultimately decided to play the simp.

By writing letters continuously, he would build up his presence in the Witch's eyes while subtly showcasing his own capabilities. Given enough time, an opportunity for direct contact would naturally arise.

"Speaking of which, where are my dear players right now..."

Xia Er leaned back in his chair and opened the Oracle Forum, intending to check on the players' current movements.

After the total-wipe battle, the post that had guided Mage players to grind souls in the Undead Territory had been absolutely roasted.

Hordes of dead players flooded the comment section, furiously cursing the original poster's family, and warning everyone to steer clear — this was absolutely not a place for new players.

That simply wouldn't do...

If you players stop coming, where am I supposed to get my experience points? How am I supposed to get stronger?

Just as he was mulling this over, a burning sensation appeared in the palm of his hand.

Xia Er opened his palm and looked — a Succubus brand was forming on it.

"This is..."

"Avril?"

As a Domain Lord, Xia Er had also signed Soul Contracts with his four lieutenants. They could transmit messages through brands, but it was generally only used in truly urgent situations.

Something was wrong.

Xia Er's brow furrowed deeply. A gray mist billowed out and enveloped his entire body, and like a gust of wind, he swept out of the castle and flew toward Avril's jurisdiction.

* * *

Slash!

Accompanied by a sharp sound of cleaving air, a greatsword swung down. The white light wrapped around it condensed into a blade edge and sliced clean across Avril's arm, leaving a wound that cut to the bone.

"Damn it..."

"Where did you even come from?!"

She fixed a cold gaze on the group before her — a five-person adventurer party standing in formation.

Unlike the rabble from the previous batch, these adventurers were far more powerful and possessed well-honed combat techniques. Somehow they had slipped into the Undead Territory without a single Undead Soldier spotting them along the way — it was deeply unsettling.

Li Shen couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement beside her: "Didn't expect it — a bug from the last version still works now."

"Strange. They changed the monsters in the territory but never patched this skip route."

A player with the ID [Fengxue Liushuang] laughed it off: "Who knows what the devs are thinking."

"Let's just deal with this lieutenant and go straight to the boss to get the drop back. I still have more grinding to do."

This party was the group of beta players Li Shen had called together in the voice channel.

Every one of them had completed their job advancement, with an average level approaching twenty. Even in a one-on-one situation, they could take down a lieutenant through pure mechanics alone — their combat strength was formidable.

In order to reach the Undead Archmage as quickly as possible, they had tracked down a boss-rush route from the beta that bypassed the Undead Soldiers entirely. All they needed to do was eliminate the lieutenant Avril on this side, and they could head straight to the castle to challenge the boss.

"Healer, give me a speed buff."

The words had barely left his mouth when a chanted spell descended upon him. Feeling his body become instantly lighter, Li Shen raised his greatsword and, like a gale, closed the distance to Avril in an instant.

"Die!"

A powerful, forceful thrust drove straight through Avril's abdomen, leaving her health bar nearly empty.

Just as Li Shen pulled his sword back to deliver the finishing blow, a curtain of gray mist swept in and instantly obscured everyone's vision.

In the next moment, the mist dispersed. Avril's figure had vanished to a spot dozens of meters away, and standing beside her was a lean, slender man bearing an enormous health bar above his head.

[Undead Archmage — Xia Er]

"Fuck!"

"How the hell are you here again?!"

Ignoring the players' curses, Xia Er turned to Avril, his tone exasperated: "Didn't I tell you to report to me immediately whenever you encounter adventurers?"

Avril looked somewhat remorseful: "I'm sorry, Lord Xia Er. I thought I could handle them on my own — I didn't expect them to be so much stronger than the previous adventurers..."

Xia Er said sternly: "I'll say it once more — from now on, the moment you spot adventurers in the territory, report to me first. Don't try to handle it alone."

At that, Avril's voice suddenly turned timid: "Lord Xia Er saying that... does that mean you were worried about me getting hurt...?"

Xia Er: ...

The words he had been about to say got stuck in his throat.

Is there any chance...

that I was actually worried about you stealing the players' kills?

After a long silence, Xia Er said helplessly: "Something like that. Either way, step aside for now."

"I'll deal with these guys."

Watching the Undead Archmage walk toward them at a measured pace, Li Shen locked his gaze onto the ring on his hand: "Just as I thought — it's on you!"

Fengxue Liushuang watched the scene with some surprise: "They really did change things. I remember this boss never used to leave the manor before."

"But this works out even better — he's walking right into our hands, which saves us some time."