Reforged Chapter 41: Deathmatch Cage

With a Soul Power of 86 and integrity at 71%, that was Duke's current situation.

Reluctantly, Duke had no choice but to accept reality.

The frustrating part was that in order to prevent his most precious secret from being discovered so soon, he had to endure another painful death. Just moments ago, dying 11 times hadn't bothered him, but now that he had calmed down, he realized how painful death truly was.

What was even more tragic was that he had to pointlessly die one more time.

Duke cursed in his mind: Sargeras, oh no, I mean Sagras, it's all your fault! Whether you did it this time or not, I'm blaming you anyway.

But what Duke found most unbearable were the records in the system log.

"Due to your consecutive deaths within a short period of time, you have triggered a negative soul state—Wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. After resurrection, your spell power will increase by 20%, your attack speed by 30%, your evasion rate will drop to 0, your defense will decrease by 30%, and your willpower will increase by 200%. You will become immune to most mental magic or special effects."

After a bunch of irrelevant information, a more eye-catching red message prompt appeared.

"Since you were killed ten times consecutively by the Fel-infused elite creature—Gnoll Chieftain Hogger, you have triggered the madness effect 'Deathmatch Cage'! You lose self-awareness and automatically designate Hogger as a must-kill enemy. You will resurrect repeatedly and attack Hogger with every means possible until you successfully kill him."

"'Deathmatch Cage': After triggering this effect, each time you resurrect, your maximum health and mana will temporarily decrease by 10% from your previous death, and your spell power will increase by 10%, as well as your attack speed. This effect will continue until you kill your target or your humanity is completely lost."

After reading this information, Duke was speechless.

It seemed that dying consecutively would turn him into a berserker-like existence, but this was an even more insane presence—like a desperate gambler!

Either he would make a miraculous comeback and defeat his opponent.

Or he would degenerate into a ghoul and be completely finished!

Of course, Duke didn't forget the words 'Seven Deadly Sins'. Wrath, pride, envy... just thinking about these traits made him feel like he had the makings of a demon lord!

If it weren't for the fact that there wasn't a single normal girl in the Scourge, an undead army, and that joining them would further damage his looks, Duke would have seriously considered joining the Scourge and seizing the position of Lich King.

Now, the system spirit couldn't determine how strong Fel-infused Hogger was, but based on the game, Hogger was, at most, an elite creature in a beginner's area. How strong could he become after being infused with Fel energy?

But then again, could he be stronger than those vile dragons, Old Gods, or the big bosses of the Burning Legion?

Suddenly, Duke realized the road ahead was long and arduous!

Right! The wind tonight was slightly noisy!

As Duke pondered these questions, unbeknownst to him, the effects of his integrity loss began to show.

...

Humans are very sensitive creatures.

Despite Duke's words of reassurance, the faint air of indifference he exuded after the loss of his integrity left Marco and the others, whose minds were already on edge, increasingly uneasy.

They exchanged glances, each understanding the other's thoughts: It seemed that this secret was quite important to Lord Marcus.

Not the most important, but still significant.

In that moment, they had already assessed the degree of secrecy surrounding Duke's ancestral [Mirror Image] ability.

After a great battle, it was natural to clean up the battlefield. This heavy task, of course, didn't fall upon Duke.

Reviving continuously also brought about unusual fatigue. Not only physically, but also due to the soul's deficiency, Duke felt somewhat languid.

Duke went to rest early.

The next morning, as dawn broke, the battlefield from the night before had been mostly cleaned up. The gnoll encased in ice had thawed, and their large bodies would be left for vultures once completely thawed.

Marco respectfully approached the carriage to report, "The kingdom of Stormwind has a standard bounty on gnoll; a pair of adult gnoll claws is worth 10 silver coins. However, for gnoll of this size, the bounty is likely higher. The most crucial part is Hogger's claws, which have independent bounties in not just Stormwind City, but also in at least five towns within Elwynn Forest. Lord Marcus, how would you like to proceed?"

Duke's indifferent eyes shifted, "What do you think should be done?"

Swept by Duke's slightly fierce gaze, Marco believed Duke was testing him and promptly answered with the solution he'd long pondered, "If you trust me, I'll leave my son here and take two men to transport Hogger's head and claws back to Stormwind City. I can guarantee that within a week, news of your defeat of Hogger will echo throughout half of the Stormwind Kingdom!"

Leaving his son behind was a form of hostage exchange.

Duke, however, didn't care. He was thinking about something else: Last time, he gained reputation with Northshire Abbey and seemingly restored one point of integrity. How much reputation would he gain from defeating Hogger, especially a demonic Hogger?

It didn't matter; even restoring one point was worthwhile.

Every little bit counts.

"Marco, here's what we'll do. I won't need your mercenary group to protect me any longer. I have more important tasks for you."

"Just say the word!" Marco excitedly replied.

"Several days ago, a lookout post was attacked by Hogger and his minions. So, not only will you publicize my achievements, but I also want you to give half of the bounties you collect to the injured and the widows of the victims as consolation."

Marco instantly understood and asked, "And after everything is settled? We all owe you our lives, and we're more than willing to serve you."

Duke thought for a moment; his plan indeed required someone to run errands.

"After everything is done, meet me in Moonbrook. I'll be back in no more than two weeks."

"Understood."

Duke had already learned that Moonbrook, at this time, wasn't the desolate town controlled by the Defias Brotherhood and filled with bandits and thugs as it would be in the future.

As a frontier settlement in the kingdom of Stormwind, the town had over a thousand residents, a lord, and a baron who had formed a militia of a hundred men as necessary armed forces.

Perhaps this was the precursor to the People's Militia of Westfall in the future.

Duke's goal wasn't there, though. He set his sights on the coastline north of Westfall. There, he would find a multitude of... murlocs!