The Holy Maiden walked over from the desert, two Bai clansmen silently following behind her.
Scimitar Fighters.
The scimitar skills of the Bai clansmen were known throughout the entire continent. Scimitar Fighter was also one of the defining cla.s.ses of the Bai clansmen, just like the Sha"s Battle Gunner.
The two Scimitar Fighters were each holding someone.
They seemed to be prisoners.
They looked st.u.r.dy, but they were now covered with cuts and bruises and their mouths were sealed with rubber tape.
The Holy Maiden stopped on the outskirts of Ka.s.semuir and looked at the people gathered. At the same time, guards from Ka.s.semuir also came to welcome them.
"I already found the White Deer"s murderers. It was these two adventurers."
"As a punishment, I"ll will execute these two people in front of all the outsiders."
The guards nodded.
Everyone moved away, forming a circle.
Many people from the small town watched the scene.
Marvin instinctively felt something wrong.
He pulled Isabelle"s small hand and lightly retreated, escaping to a place where that Holy Maiden"s line of sight couldn"t reach.
This Holy Maiden gave him a strange feeling.
Usually, the Bai Clan"s Holy Maiden served the White Deer Holy Spirit, and she would seldomly roam around in front of everyone. It would usually be the Bai clansmen"s priest who would step forward in public.
Even if the matter was this big, there was no need to make an appearance, was there?
As Marvin was hesitating, a burst of cheers could be heard from the crowd.
Obviously, those st.u.r.dy guys had already been beheaded.
Blood splashed on the ground.
The fury of the Bai clansmen had been lessened and the Holy Maiden suggested removing the state of martial law on Ka.s.semuir.
Groups began to enter the small town one after the other.
The Holy Maiden glanced at the crowd.
Afterwards, she entered the town with small steps and soon disappeared from everyone"s sight.
For the travelers, what happened might have just been a brief interlude.
But for Marvin, this was a major event.
People killing White Deers… This meant that the White Deer Cave was about to open. "Should I join the fray?"
If by any chance he was considered the murderer by the White Deer Holy Spirit, that would certainly be extremely unlucky. But what if he took advantage of the fight between the White Deer Holy Spirit and the murderer to get to that treasure first?
To be honest, Marvin was a bit tempted, but he still had to weigh the risks and the benefits.
"Forget it. This thing feels a bit strange, and I still have to deal with my matters first."
Marvin no longer hesitated. He waited until the Holy Maiden disappeared from sight before entering the small town.
Ka.s.semuir, the brightest Pearl of the Saint Desert.
The most unique buildings of the Bai clansmen were built in this place, specialized cottages built to resist sandstorms, giving the impression of being in a different country.
Each region in Feinan had their own customs. Even if they were both in the south, the desert area felt very different from the East Coast.
The women here were wearing veils, and were usually tightly covered. This was common among the Bai clansmen.
But they did not reject foreigners" strange clothings. Ka.s.semuir was regarded as a forgiving town, unlike some extreme areas in the Saint Desert where outsiders were viewed as fiends.
Marvin brought Isabelle throughout Ka.s.semuir. The two first went to replenish their supplies of food and water.
After walking in the desert for so many days, the young girl was truly exhausted. He let her rest for a day.
The next morning, Marvin carried Isabelle to an alley in the west side of the small town.
At the end of the alley was a small workshop apparently dealing some handicrafts.
The workshop owner was a one-eyed middle-aged man that everyone called One-Eyed Byrd.
"Want to purchase White Deer pottery?" The middle-aged man glanced at the two visitors and called out according to the usual practice.
All kinds of pottery were spread in the room.
Isabelle got interested.
The pottery had all kinds of styles of White Deers, and the decorations were also diverse. This kind of artwork was very rare in the East Coast. It was usually used to carry water, but of course, the ornamental value was a lot higher.
"Do you like those?" Marvin saw curiosity and longing in the eyes of the little girl for the first time.
"If you like them, then pick one."
One-Eyed Byrd indifferently said, "One Wizard gold."
Isabelle"s eyes instantly widened, she began to strongly shake her head.
Though a girl from an impoverished household, she knew what a Wizard gold meant.
How could it be used to buy just good looking pottery?
She felt it wasn"t worth it.
But she was even more surprised by Marvin unhesitantly taking out a Wizard gold and handing it over.
"Pick one," Marvin said while giving her a wink. "This isn"t just buying pottery, it"s a part of the tuition fees."
Hearing this, One-Eyed Byrd suddenly raised his head and seriously looked at Isabelle.
The young girl was somewhat at a loss, so she looked at Marvin and ended up slowly nodding.
Since Lord Marvin already paid, she had to pick the best.
Then, she began to check through all of them, starting from the entrance. Her actions were very serious, spending a lot of time checking each piece of pottery before picking the one she liked the most.
This process took over 20 minutes.
During that time, Marvin and the one-eyed shopkeeper didn"t say a word.
Isabelle carefully held that pot. A leaping White Deer was painted on it.
"This one?" Marvin patted her head.
The young girl nodded. Some excitement could be seen in her eyes.
It was the first time someone gave her such a good-looking gift.
"Take good care of it," Marvin faintly said, "We might not meet for a very long time."
"There will be many things that you"ll have to face alone. Are you confident?"
Isabelle nodded.
Before they left, Marvin had already asked her opinion.
At that time, One-Eyed Byrd said, "Handing such a young girl to the Shadow Valley... That"s cruel."
"Shadow Valley never lacked kids her age, did it?" Marvin looked at him.
"I need to take a look at the Alliance permit," requested Byrd dully.
Marvin quietly took out his proof of ident.i.ty.
"White River Valley"s Baron Marvin, so it turns out to be you."
"Your reputation has spread around the desert recently."
"I didn"t expect you to be even younger than I thought." Byrd looked at Marvin with a surprised expression.
Marvin stayed silent. Rumors about him spread way too fast. The matter of borrowing a huge amount of money to develop new territory attracted countless eyes.
His original Overlord status was enough to make people spread news of his achievements. Now, Marvin was a well-known person throughout East Coast.
Many young men would take Marvin as an example, hoping to become a member of the main forces of the wilderness clearing army by training their martial skills.
Even if they couldn"t become new n.o.bility, they could mix with va.s.sal Knights.
It was said that the reward for Marvin not only included his Viscount t.i.tle, but also the right to confer a t.i.tle upon a subordinate.
The qualification to have two va.s.sals.
But during this wilderness clearing campaign, Marvin didn"t rely too much on other people, so there weren"t many people he could choose from. So for now, he simply set it aside.
After they had a simple negotiation, Marvin finished the first formalities on behalf of Isabelle.
Next was going to the Shadow Valley.
Marvin wasn"t worried about this. One-Eyed Byrd naturally had his ways as an intermediary of the a.s.sa.s.sin Alliance.
Soon, Byrd closed his handicraft shop and brought two camels from the backyard. He lead Marvin and Isabelle and left Ka.s.semuir.
The three rode the camels westward. A long and endless chain of mountains soon appeared in the distance.
These mountains extended all the way across the middle of the Saint Desert, making this area"s terrain even more complicated.
Vegetation was spa.r.s.e on the mountain range.
Two hours later, the group of three stood at the entrance of a valley.
Shadow Valley.
The a.s.sa.s.sin Alliance"s Headquarters.
"Let"s go." Byrd mumbled and rode his camel inside first.
Marvin and Isabelle followed closely behind.
After Byrd showed a pa.s.s, two black clothed men let him go through.
They advanced through the valley, looking at the pretty scenery on both sides.
They saw countless children entangled in a heated battle on the sandy dunes, fighting each other in desperate struggles.
Each of them was holding straight daggers.
Only one child was successful, while the rest died under the daggers.
This was the Apprentice a.s.sa.s.sin"s test.
Marvin had also come here before.
As the Southern Wizard Alliance"s affiliated organization, the a.s.sa.s.sin Alliance was a well-known a.s.sa.s.sin nurturing spot. This place was an a.s.sa.s.sin"s paradise. Regardless of what you wanted to advance to, they would satisfy your needs.
Phantom a.s.sa.s.sin, Ace a.s.sa.s.sin, Blood a.s.sa.s.sin… Many a.s.sa.s.sin advancements could be completed here.
Marvin also advanced to Phantom a.s.sa.s.sin in this place before ultimately walking the road of the Ruler of the Night.
The group of three finally stopped in front of a dome-shaped building.
"We will go in. I"ll take her along to handle the procedures."
"Since this is a candidate recommended by a n.o.ble of the Alliance, she can be excused from the first test and can directly become an Apprentice a.s.sa.s.sin."
"But I can"t guarantee that she will stay alive," Byrd cautioned as he took a glance at Isabelle holding her pottery.
Marvin nodded.
"You can leave. The Shadow Valley isn"t too welcoming towards outsiders," Byrd told Marvin. "If she dies, we will inform you."
"Otherwise you can come see her once tomorrow."
Marvin smiled. "We both know there is another case."
Byrd looking at Marvin in mild surprise and mumbled, "Yeah… If she graduates early, that would be another case."
"Anyways, leave, the guards won"t bear it for too long."
He couldn"t have expected that Marvin would simply laugh and shake his head. "Bringing her here isn"t the only reason I came to the Shadow Valley."
But his next words shocked all the people nearby.
"I want to partic.i.p.ate in the King a.s.sa.s.sin"s challenge."