GP

Chapter 619 No rest for the wicked

Liam waited for some sort of notification to pop out but nothing of that sort happened. The only thing he was sure of was the fact that the dungeon in that area was really gone. He even spent a few more minutes to confirm this and combed through the area but the truth was the truth.

The elves all looked at him curiously wondering what happened to make him anxious. Liam did not share the news with them so they were still in the dark as a disappearing dungeon was something they wouldn't even think of in their wildest dreams.

For everyone in this world, the dungeons were a fact. For Liam as well it had been the same, that is until now.

The guy scratched his head and stood in a daze. Seriously! How did this happen? He hadn't even run the adventure mode and the nightmare mode. Heck, he had planned to absorb more fire essence to improve his affinity to the element and boost his attacks.

But he hadn't had a chance to make any of that happen. The damn dungeon had disappeared on him before that!

Liam bitterly smiled as he took out the stone tablet from his inventory space and stared at it. Was there some way to get the dungeon back? Come on. Show me the path!

But nope. He could spend days staring at that thing and nothing would ever show up. That's not how the damned stone tablet worked.

Liam lifted his head to look at the spot where the majestic mountain peak had previously been. A few days ago, he had stolen some meager amount of mana and for that, a damn lunatic was behind his life.

And now he had swallowed a whole dungeon. What was going to happen to him?

Liam clenched his fists as he tossed the tablet back into his inventory space. He stared at the empty spot for a while and then let out a deep sigh.

There were definitely going to be repercussions for this but the truth was that no matter what the repercussions, he had to see this through. The treasure in his hands was definitely not ordinary and there were only a few more days left before everything changed.

At this last moment, he couldn't really afford to put something like this in the backseat. At the same time, he had to reach the elves first crossing the barbarians. Both of them were equally important.

Liam thought about it for a moment and then made up his mind. Right now he was going to focus on leveling up and as for the stone tablet, his next target would be a Level 80 or Level 90 or perhaps a Level 100 dungeon.

Instead of raiding the smaller insignificant dungeons and making them disappear, in the process raising several red flags, it would be more useful for him to experiment with a higher-level dungeon directly.

The essence he could obtain from it would also be a lot higher. A level 60 dungeon could only give him so much before dying. A higher-level dungeon should give him so much more.

"Ok. I will do this." Liam made a decision and turned around to leave when suddenly a little rabbit popped out of him, twinkling in the darkness of the night.

"Hmmm? What is this now?" Liam only had a chance to barely open and close his mouth when the rabbit returned back to him and dropped a crystal on his palm before disappearing again.

"This…" He was speechless. He had only just now somewhat made up his mind and suddenly a new curve ball was thrown his way.

Liam stared at the crystal with apprehension. He still did not know what it was but he was not an idiot. The coincidence just now was too much to ignore.

The crystal in his hand was very similar to the crystals he had with him previously and it appeared right after the dungeon disappeared.

His mind spun as he quickly put two and two together. The crystal that appeared with the disappearance of the tower, the crystal he had found in the Gu family's secret residence, and now the crystal that popped up after the dungeon vanished! All three of them were probably of the same type!

"Maybe a power source for the tower or the dungeon? Or maybe…"

Liam snapped himself out of this trance as his thoughts began to run wild. He still concretely did not know what these crystals were and how they could be used if at all.

He needed to stop wasting time. This stone tablet and these crystals, he would get to them soon enough but for now, he needed to focus on the concrete thing that lay ahead of him.

Liam tossed the crystal as well into his inventory space and summoned his group of soul minions. "Let's move. Kill everything in your path." As if fleeing from the scene of the crime, the group was quickly gone from the area.

The elves were alarmed as they saw that the undead army in front of them had gained even more power and momentum as they massacred their way through the forest.

Liam also did not remain idle and his sword shone under the brilliance of the moonlight. There were so many frustrating unknowns at the moment but the thing that was constantly going to be by his side was his strength.

So he dashed forward as he cut his way through the beasts of the forests slowly and steadily improving his strength. His next target would be another Level 60 dungeon Swamp Mire.

This had the same mechanics as the previous dungeon where all the mobs rushed toward the intruders at the same time.

So to make the best use of his legendary items, Liam chose this dungeon. Also, these dungeon runs were very fast so it was ideal for him to level up without wasting time.

Liam ran into the dungeon and summoned his underlings. In a second, several pairs of eyes popped out of the dirty swamp. He was surrounded on all sides by crocodiles. "Here we go again."

Chapter 620 Long Time No See

Lyana watched the person in front of her with rapt attention. She did not know what had changed after the last dungeon but she could definitely sense frustration, a sort of impatience in his movements.

He was going in and out of the swamp dungeon continuously without a single second of break. His strength was also accordingly increasing at a steady pace. At this rate, he was going to…

Lyana gulped. She couldn't comprehend this sort of speed. Little did she know that the human she was admiring had very different thoughts.

"Slow. Too slow." Liam spat out the nasty swamp taste from his mouth. The speed at which he was going was simply not enough. At this rate, he was going to…

Liam shook his head. "This is very slow. I cannot afford to simply grind levels at this pace." He was no longer in the beginning stages of the game. So he was wasting crucial time.

This especially left a sour taste in his mouth because he knew of a way through which he could level much faster, much much faster. And yet to not use that cheat method… was frustrating.

A couple more hours passed by just like that when suddenly two huge birds appeared, flapping their wings and hovering in the sky right above where the elves were seated.

Lyana immediately became alert. The other elves also looked around to see where they could possibly run to and escape this calamity.

However, before they could take any steps, a man jumped down without any warning. Now the elves became even more terrified. Were they caught by some greedy human?

But unexpectedly, this human suddenly bowed in front of them. Well not exactly to them, behind them, Liam walked over to the group. "Thanks for making the trip." He nodded at Asura, examining the guy.

True to his name, the guy had once again exploded in his power level. He was now at Level 48. It was almost as if he was power-leveling just like Liam, but without his army of minions. So, this was pure hard work.

"Take care of these guys. I will be back in a day or two." Liam grinned as he patted him. When his follower was so explosively growing, he simply should not lag behind. It was time to make the trip.

Asura obediently nodded, but the elves had no idea what was going on. Where he was he leaving? Who was this new person?

However, Liam was not inclined to share any more details with them. As long as his precious quest NPCs remained safe, that was good enough.

He smiled and then clicked the bright reddish-black option on his system interface. Immediately a portal opened up in front of him. It was time to head back to the nether realm and get done with this damn leveling quest.

Lyana and the other elves stared in absolute shock as Liam stepped inside the portal and disappeared. Along with him, the injured fox and one of the birds disappeared as well leaving behind only the new guy.

Just what was happening?

…

…

…

On the other side…

Screee… Talon hissed at the sting of the nether rich air.

"Sorry, bud. Are you alright?" Liam on the other hand felt very refreshed.

Hearing him, the bird hurriedly shook his head. He just needed a minute to get used to the air because he hadn't been here in a while. He was happy to be here, to serve his master again.

"Ok then. Let's go when you are ready." Liam smiled, making the bird even more flustered as if he did not want to show his weakness to his master.

They had teleported to the outskirts of the Thol city like usual and Talon quickly gave him a ride to the city garrison building, arriving at the top of the red tower in just under a minute.

"Good boy. Good job." Liam gave the bird a few pieces of meat, then walked into the familiar place. As if the demons sensed his arrival, instantly a group appeared in front of him.

Everyone looked at him with expectant eyes wondering what was going to happen now. After the juicy first victory, their leader had completely disappeared, only to reappear now after several days. Everyone was almost yearning for another fight at this point.

Liam chuckled at their very obvious faces, "So what have you guys been up to? Shall we do another rift battle?"

Instantly all the demons started rejoicing. Everyone except Hiruyu left, scurrying away to make the necessary preparations. Hiruyu stayed behind to fill Liam with all the details.

While these two were discussing various things, another person also quietly appeared, followed by nine other figures. These were none other than Liam's ten brides.

Immediately Liam felt a headache coming as he remembered all the mess he had left behind in the nether realm, even inside his garrison.

These ten were the least of his concern, what he was worried about was the other two… the mysterious demonic nymphs.

As if he could read Liam's thoughts, Hiruyu helplessly smiled and informed him. "Leader, they are not back yet."

"Hmmm? That's good then." He sighed in relief. Though he was somewhat looking forward to the essence crystals they collected, this was also not bad. Now he could level in peace.

Liam dismissed everyone as he started making his own preparations as well. However, one person still remained.

"My Lord." The dark elf beast kin Yessika Elavarkeya stayed behind waiting for a personal audience with Liam.

The last time he had seen her, the woman's level was 121 but now she was at 125. That was an admittedly impressive leveling speed. She was also in some sort of trouble and had personally requested him for an elixir so he wondered what happened to that.

How is your situation? Did you take care of your business?" Liam asked her.

"Yes, my Lord." The dark elf hurriedly nodded. She seemed happy that the City Lord remembered her.

"Alright then. You can leave now and prepare for the rift battle. We will be starting in a couple of hours. I will take some rest." Liam smiled.

"My Lord, please allow me." Unexpectedly, the dark elf lightly bowed and started disrobing in front of him right then and there, revealing her seductive alluring figure.

Huh? Liam was speechless.

The elf did not stop until she disrobed all the way and knelt down with her head on the ground as if she was offering herself to Liam like a sacrifice, her naked body laid out in front of him.

Cough. Cough. What is this? Did the two nymphs give some sort of lecture to the other women in his garrison while he was away?

"Ahem. Can you get up?"

Chapter 621 Attack! Kill !

Liam looked at the beautiful naked woman in front of him and let out a sigh. "Get up." He said to the kneeling figure and chuckled helplessly. The invitation wasn't too bad but he had work to do.

"How about we save this for the celebration afterward?" He gave a polite reply to the dark elf without humiliating her too much.

"I am honored, my Lord." The elf nodded and started putting her clothes back on. "I will put my life on the line and obtain this victory for you at all costs." She gave a passionate declaration before bowing and quietly disappearing from the room.

Liam nodded, "I guess the elixir might have helped her a lot." He watched the spot where the woman had been kneeling down just seconds ago and clicked his tongue.

"Too bad I have to leave these people behind. If there was some way I could take them with me… it will be a huge boost…"

However, that was a far-fetched dream so he did not dwell much on it. His focus was on the rift battle that would soon happen. Meanwhile, he took out his cauldron and started making another batch of various potions.

Right now, Liam held the notable alchemist title in the Kingdom so several other cities had given him some herbs as tributes.

Hiruyu brought over the ones he needed and he started making a few batches of fire-resistance potions, health potions, and mana potions, refilling the reserve he had used recently in the dungeon runs.

Soon all the demons assembled and Liam as well walked out to the main square of the city. Around him, the entire garrison had assembled, all the units, squads, and platoons.

It was an awe-inspiring scene and no matter how many times he saw this scene he would never get used to this. He sucked in a big breath and looked at Hiriyu, "Start the formation."

The demon nodded and tore up the war scroll. Immediately, the entire place was covered with glittering runes and the next instant everyone was teleported.

"This is more like it." Liam hummed at the sight of the familiar notifications and the generous experience point rewards.

Though this was extremely enticing, he did not want to touch these rift battles for one and only reason, he did not want to affect the outcome of this war.

However, with the addition of the mysterious stone tablet and the unknown crystal cores, things changed. He needed more time to properly figure out these unique treasures, the time he couldn't waste with simple mindless grinding.

Taking another deep breath, Liam looked at the rocky mountainous area they had teleported to and shouted loudly, "Let's win this." He immediately summoned his army of soul minions and sprang forward in stealth to meet the opponents.

Ahead of them like clockwork, a group of human beings arrived. From the looks of it all belonged to the same guild as they had their guild outfit on.

All the players also seemed extremely happy. These days a lot of guilds were easily clearing the rift battles and many had set up camps in the nether realm to explore the new world.

So everyone was in high spirits, confidence shining on their faces, not having a single doubt about their inevitable victory.

"Attack! Kill the demons! Let's take down these monsters!" Liam heard the energetic shouts from the front lines, amidst the loud cheers. He grinned. "Let's start." He gave the command on their side too.

With this sort of limited terrain, there wasn't really any special battle tactic. It was going to be a simple head-on fight. Buffs and debuffs flew on both sides along with several attacks and just like that the fight started with a bang.

This time the humans seemed to have more tricks up their sleeves. Liam was sure he had seen many players around Level 38 and Level 40 and yet on their side, the demons' levels were all squished down to 30.

At the same time, the explosive potions also seemed to be at work as he saw several large figures charging forward to the demon's side, each of them having a dedicated healer team.

Not just this, but Liam also caught sight of some fortifying spell scrolls and aoe spell scrolls being used that unleashed all sorts of attacks on groups of demons. These were powerful skills that possibly couldn't be learned by these low-level players without some additional help.

Compared to the first rift battle, this one was a lot more organized and structured. Either the guild had spent a lot of gold coins or the divine temple was handing out these boosts like candies.

In any other rift battles, perhaps they could have won but unfortunately…

Liam ignored the aoe attack scrolls that were bringing down the health of the demons. He asked the guys to move out of the area when targeted. Other than that there wasn't much they could do.

The lack of healers was their glaring weakness but many demons had a special skill called life drain which aided in regaining some of their health back.

Meanwhile, not wanting to fall behind, Liam dashed forward to put in motion their one and only strategy, their overwhelming offense.

The idea was very straightforward and simple. He just needed to take down as many players as he could. Liam dashed ahead to one cluster where the two groups were fighting and unsheathed his sword.

This specific bunch was one of the Level 40 group and the players seemed to be having a lot of fun bullying the Level 30 demons. However, the moment Liam stepped into the ring the winds changed.

"Fuck! Level 54? What is happening? How is this guy level 54?"

Everyone immediately became alarmed, but before they could do anything about it, one by one all the players in the group started falling down. They couldn't even properly see this new enemy. All they could see was the sword that flashed here and there.

Chapter 622 out of his mind

With Liam going all out, the small group was entirely decimated without leaving a single player behind and he did not stop with that.

He immediately moved to the next group and started unleashing all of his attacks one after the other, killing everyone in his path without showing the slightest hesitation.

All the players who were happily bullying the level adjusted demons, fell in shock, unable to stand against the one person whose level couldn't be touched by the divine buffs. Liam was the loophole in this battle and he made proper use of his strength.

All of his summons, the undead minions retained their original level as well. Both in the previous battle and this battle this was the same.

Judging from this, it was obvious that the level adjustment didn't affect the players, and since Liam was also a player he still remained at Level 54. The only difference was that he was a player on the other side.

Liam grinned as he started massacring everyone in sight one after the other. To him, everyone from the opponent team might as well be experience point balloons. The faster he took them down, the faster he would obtain the rewards.

That too the demons already had the numbers on their side so as soon as they received a small help from him, they immediately began to take charge even though their level was lower.

Liam particularly targeted the players who had taken the enhancement potions and the healers of the team who had the weakest defense. He used this tactic repeatedly and mercilessly until only a handful of players remained.

"What the hell man? What is this rift battle? This is not how things are supposed to go."

"We paid a huge price for that stupid guide and now randomly there is a level 54 demon. Where the hell did this guy come from?"

"I am also fighting with strange high level spirits. Are these even demons?"

All the players were extremely confused as they died one after the other. For every other guild, this battle had gone smoothly but for them, this sudden anomaly had popped up out of nowhere.

Soon the last of the players fell down on the ground lifelessly. Until that last moment, there was unwillingness in their eyes as no one had expected this outcome. The rift battle that was supposed to be easy now had turned out to be impossible just for them.

Not long after this, while everyone was still hurriedly collecting the fallen loot, the runic symbols started appearing in the air around them and the garrison group was teleported back to the city square.

Liam also promptly received compensation for his hard work.

[Ding. You have conquered the spatial rift]

[Ding. You have been rewarded 10 million experience points]

[Ding. You have leveled up. You are now level 55]

There it was!F

He was Level 55!

He had only spent a few hours and he was already one level higher. This way was definitely a lot smoother than the good old grinding method.

All the demons around him as well loudly cheered and celebrated, everyone praising the garrison leader. They were already stunned silly by the first rift battle they had participated in a while ago but shockingly, this rift battle was even faster than that!

In the beginning, the news of other garrisons losing out to the humans had made them a little nervous but after this battle, no one had any more doubts left. Even if all the other garrisons lost their fight, they would still win!

The entire city erupted into celebrations and Liam chuckled helplessly retiring back to his private room. Hiriyu alone followed him thinking that something was amiss.

And when Liam finally addressed the demon, he became utterly speechless.

"Ask everyone to rest and relax. We will be participating in another rift battle in a few hours." Liam's words struck the demon like lightning as he stood still, trying to grasp the meaning of this.

What were rift battles? They were life and death battles that were fought with the entire city on the line but now their leader was talking as if it was just another walk around the city border?

If it was anyone else, then the demon would have assumed that the garrison leader had gone crazy, but this was Liam. So the demon gulped nervously.

"My Lord…" Hiriyu nervously mumbled.

Liam immediately looked at the demon, locking his cold gaze onto the poor guy. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to our city. It's better if we finish this soon." He explained with a stern voice.

The demon saw the resoluteness on Liam's face and could tell that this decision was serious and was not going to change. So he quietly bowed and scurried away to make the necessary preparations.

And so… a few minutes later… a loud announcement rang throughout the entire city. It was another war call. They were going to run another rift battle on the same day!

Instantly, the entire Thol city erupted into chaos and commotion. No one could believe what they were hearing.

Many were excited but some were shocked and skeptical and some were even outright against the idea. The reward from a right battle was good but it was not worth it for them to risk their lives.

Hiriyu quickly relayed this information back to Liam hoping that this would change his mind. "So it looks like this time we will be participating with fewer numbers. Hmm… that's alright." Liam casually nodded.

The demon had not expected this. It seems that their leader was still stubborn. Where was this going to lead them? However, he personally believed in this leader so after informing Liam, Hiryu left quickly to continue the preparations.

Liam alone stood in the room silently and stared at the distance. Perhaps they needed some potion boost as well. He took out his cauldron and started making some potions to compensate for this small loss of numbers.

Chapter 623 Madness

After a couple of hours, the entire Thol city once again assembled at the main square, some of the demons to spectate and some to actually take part in the rift battle.

The entire place was in an uproar with hushed murmurs and whispers spreading like wildfire. The morale was at an all-time low and the high spirits of the first battle were nowhere to be seen.

Everyone looked nervous and unsure of how things were going to go. Liam smiled as he observed this and walked over, but he did not give any rousing or morale-boosting speech.

Instead, he calmly waved at Hiriyu, and the demon and a couple of others brought over three sacks, making clinking noises. When they opened the sacks, they saw that the inside was full of glass bottles, more specifically potion bottles!

The demons' eyes went wide like saucers. Potions in general were considered luxury items available only for the privileged few. But here their garrison leader was distributing these as if they were meat jerky.

Liam did not stop with that. He also asked everyone to switch out their gear and change into better items. Every rift battle came along with a huge loot and he did not hold back and invested this loot to improve everyone's gear.

All the demons were instantly overjoyed. With these many abundant resources suddenly it made sense for everyone to participate in a rift battle again.

"Damn, I mistook our leader. Maybe it was an order from the King."

"Yes, Yes. Our leader wouldn't do this without any reason. We need to give it our all and win this fight! Hiyaaaa!"

The spirits that were down just a few seconds ago were quickly coming back up to full gear. Liam chuckled and signaled Hiriyu to start the rift battle.

Mayhem ensued as once again the guild in the opposition was completely destroyed. Level 30 demons equipped with rage potions and health potions were not easy to handle and Liam's level was once again not nerfed.

Him being almost ten levels above everyone else and with his already enhanced stats that were head and shoulders above the average player base, the opposition was utterly demolished and the battle once again swiftly ended without any surprises.

The demons were utterly dumbfounded. The battle this time had gone even more smoothly than the previous time when there had been more soldiers.

What was happening? Since when were rift battles this easy?

As everyone was teleported back to Thol city after the successful raid, all the demons gaped at their leader in awe. No, it was not the rift battle that was easy. Their leader was simply too fearsome.

The entire city rejoiced and once again began their celebrations. This time they were letting loose even harder because in the history of their world no other garrison had ever managed to achieve such a feat.

Two rift battles back to back and astounding victories in both? This was a first!

Liam watched everyone jumping around and silently called Hiriyu with a casual expression. "My Lord…" The demon for some reason had a bad feeling. It couldn't possibly be, right?

However, Liam smiled and casually spoke the words the demon dreaded. "Tell everyone to once again be ready in three hours. We will be running another rift battle."

Hiriyu was utterly speechless. Yessika who was standing behind him had a similarly stunned expression. She had walked over to the city lord to offer herself again but hearing this she was shocked to the core.

Another rift battle? They were going to run back to back three rift battles? This was no longer impressive. It was simply insane.

Liam smiled helplessly. He very well understood their thoughts but he was in a time crunch so he had to break a few eggs here and there. He looked at Yessika as if he just had an idea and called the dark elf over, "Good, you are here. I need you. Come." He then quickly walked to the private room.

The elf gulped and followed. She was happy to serve the city lord however he wanted but the guy was clearly a beast and she did not have any experience in these matters. So she couldn't help but become nervous.

She clutched her robe and walked into the private room when she again received another shock. Inside the room, there was a total of six cauldrons lined up in order. All of them were filled to the brim and all of them were lit!

"Don't just stand there. Come forward and follow my instructions carefully."

The dark elf blinked her almond eyes and stood in a daze. Only when one of the cauldrons hissed loudly, she snapped out of her trance and got to work.

Liam once again started to prepare a new set of potions becoming very busy. However, this time he also took out some of the body cleansing elixirs he had prepared earlier.

He had only given some to Mia for their guild's use. He had saved the rest in case he needed them in the future for some sort of quick exchange but now seemed to be as good as any time.

He called over the rest of his wives and handed over the potions to three among the nine of them giving a significant boost to their strength. He also called over his personal unit and two of the platoon leaders he was familiar with and distributed five more potions. This left him with only five more potions which he saved for later use.

"Alright. Now we are ready. Let's start the next round." Liam grinned.

His level 55 bar was almost full. One more attempt and he would reach Level 56!

"Damn. This is too sweet. I am cruising through right now." Giving a glance at Luna who was resting, he returned to the city square along with the others to once again start the show.

Madness descended on Thol city as all the demons cheered loudly for their lunatic garrison leader!

Chapter 624 Zooming through!

The next several hours might as well be a blur because Liam barely remembered anything. With continuous potion brewing and the rift battles without any break, he was fully exhausted.

However, at this moment even with all the exhaustion, he still sat back on his throne with a big satisfied grin. In front of him, the system screen blinked the number 60.

After an entire day of continuous grind, thanks to the rift battles, he had finally reached Level 60.

In front of him, the main platoon leaders, garrison officials, Liam's personal unit, and his ten wives stood nervously. No one was sure what was going to happen right now.

In the beginning, it was simply a feat of strength, a test for their perseverance but now they were no longer sure. How many more rift battles would they participate in? Just the thought of it made them all shudder.

However, the next second Liam stood up, his body slightly swaying. "Ask everyone to rest properly. You have all done well." He gave a small smile and thumbs up to the group and walked over to another room and collapsed on the bed.

He had an intoxicated expression on his face as he fell into a deep sleep. All the demons dumbfoundedly stared at this, their leader's blank sleeping face. He seemed to be at peace as he snored loudly.

Hiriyu was the first to react as he quickly adjusted Liam's position on the bed and then closed the door to stand outside as a guard.

The others saw this and then quietly dispersed, all of them heading over to take some rest as well. After an entire day of back-to-back battles, everyone was dead tired.

That night, the city became eerily quiet as most of the demons at the moment were silently slumbering with alcohol jugs in one hand and women in the other hand.

Meanwhile, back at the Xion realm, the entire player base was once again in an uproar. The top ranker of the realm had suddenly gone from Level 50 to Level 60 all in the span of a couple of days.

Here they were struggling to progress from Level 43 to Level 44 dragging their asses but one person alone was screwing with the pace of the game.

At this rate, he was going to be at Level 100 while everyone else was at Level 50? This was bullshit! All the major guilds were outraged. Moreover, there was nothing they could do about it.

The entire damn guild was keeping quiet about this secret leveling method. No one knew how Liam was doing this. At this time, something unusual happened.

One of the guilds from another Kingdom covertly contacted a guild from the Gresh Kingdom.

Coincidentally both of them had participated in the infamous PVP tower tournament. One side had the six winged lion mount and the other side possessed the formidable drakes.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, inside one of the inns in the divine city, Mia and Alex stared at their guild rooster in astonishment. These past few days they had been extremely blessed in that both Mia and Alex had managed to find their own chain of unique quests.

What Liam said was correct. They hung around the divine city relentlessly and finally managed to fish out these unique quests.

However, after Rey's frantic message and them checking the leaderboard, they realized that the students would never be able to outdo the master.

Level 60! That bastard actually managed to reach Level 60!" Alex flopped back onto the bed with her mouth open wide.

They had been working day and night but still, their levels were like snails. No matter what they did, they barely moved. But this guy.... in a single day...

Next to her, Mia silently looked out of the window without any expression on her face. It was impossible to see what thoughts were running inside her brain.

Alex sighed on seeing her puzzle of a sister and jumped off of the bed. "That's it. I also need to reach Level 50. Mia, I am leaving for that quest. Good luck with yours."

"Hmph. When I come back…. I will also be Level 60!" She resolutely did a fist pump before jogging out of the inn. It was good that she did not wait for a response from Mia as the girl was still staring out the window.

But after a few minutes, she also picked up a few things from the room and started heading out. She walked towards the main divine temple, to the floor at the peak of the temple.

She clenched her fist and stepped inside the big empty room with only a single person standing inside. "You are back?" The person lifted her head and spoke, revealing a peerlessly beautiful face.

Even Mia paled when she stood next to this figure. She was like an angel descended from the heavens whom everyone would worship if they had a chance to meet. She was the embodiment of kindness, virtue, and purity.

And now this woman walked over to Mia with a warm smile on her face. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am ready."

The mysterious woman smiled and as soon as Mia closed her mouth, she started speaking something in a strange language.

Strange runes started spreading across the room and the woman who was just now standing there suddenly vanished into pixels of light.

And along with her Mia's figure as well disappeared. The entire room was now deserted, only surrounded by lavish wall adornments and golden furnishings.

When Mia opened her eyes again, she found herself in an entirely different place. Just like when she arrived first at the nether realm, she received a notification this time also.

...

...

...

Mia curiously looked at the set of notifications in front of her.

Chapter 625 Clap Clap Clap

When Liam woke up it was already the next day. Huff. He let out a breath of relief and the first thing he did was summon the system interface.

Name: Liam

Level: 60

There it was, blinking vividly. It was 48 hours of hard work and it was worth it. He was finally ready for the elves and to make the trip across the land of barbarians.

Unfortunately by this method, his summons were still a tier lower when compared to him but that would be rectified soon.

The barbarians had huge numbers on their side. This was why they were feared by both the elves and the humans but Liam was counting on this same thing to level up his minions during this journey.

"Alright. Time to head back." Liam stood up, his hand swiping away the system screen in front of him when he suddenly noticed a flashing message.

"Hmmm?" Liam opened it.

"I know you are in the nether realm. The meeting you requested can be arranged." It was a message from Kouske.

Heh? Liam couldn't help but smile at this message, not because he heard the reply that he hadn't expected but because there was something weird about it.

First, they agreed to a meeting.

And second, they wanted to meet on his turf, where he was strongest.

"Hmmm… Are they planning something?" Liam chuckled, getting out of bed. "It doesn't matter. Either way, I am doing this." He knew he was taking a risk but he had to do this.

And from this interaction, he knew that the other party was most probably in the nether realm at the moment. However, he was not going to meet with them through traditional means.

He had another plan. This guy had stayed in the dark for too long now. So it was time to lure him out into the light.

He sent a reply to Kouske asking for coordinates and time for the meeting but shortly afterward, he called for Hiriyu and set some things in motion.

…

…

…

In other parts of the nether realm…

Suddenly something interesting started to happen in a small demon settlement, quite a distance away from Thol city. Hushed murmurs and whispers about the sighting of a treasure started quietly spreading.

It looked like this news was tightly kept under wraps for a long time but since today was the day an expedition was leaving from the demon settlement to hunt for this treasure, a lot of tongues started wagging and the cat was out of the bag.

In one of the settlements, Kouske and Barret were standing next to a black cladded figure.

"I am sure of it, sir. This is what I have heard and I also confirmed it. They are leaving in a couple of hours so if we leave now, we should be able to get there before them and obtain the treasure." Kouske said.

After two seconds of silence, the black cladded figure flashed his eyes open and nodded, "I agree. We should leave now." He had a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on. Even though inside the game, no one's physical inability was translated, this person was still wearing glasses.

Kouske was immediately shocked. "Brother, you are coming?" Barret, standing next to him also looked similarly shocked. The big boss seldom came with them on these kinds of trips so what was happening now?

"Is there some danger?" He nervously added.

However, the black cladded figure only shook his head, "No. On the contrary, this will be a very fortuitous encounter."

Once again the two of them were shocked but the next second they revealed excited expressions wondering what this fortuitous encounter might be. If their brother said something, then it was 100% set in stone. So they were already looking forward to it.

Just as the group of players prepared to leave, suddenly Kouske remembered something which gave him a bad aftertaste in the mouth. "Right. That guy messaged me again. He is asking for the date, time, and coordinates. What should I tell him?"

The black-cladded figure immediately came to a halt. He remained silent for a couple of seconds without saying anything else. Everyone else also quietly waited as they were already used to this behavior of their leader.

Though the person randomly pressed brakes like this, afterward he usually said something mind-blowing. So they had no problem waiting for it.

However, seconds quickly turned to minutes as the person still remained silent. After a few minutes, he sat cross-legged down on the ground and started to meditate.

Of course, Kouske expected no less because the person in question here was their worst enemy, their biggest opponent. Not only was he strong but he also had a twisted personality. So this much was to be expected.

And thus, the complicated silence continued, and finally after half an hour, the black-clad figure once again opened his eyes. Unexpectedly, there was still doubt in his eyes.

"I can't see anything clearly now. Let's first head out and I will try to think about this later with a clear head." The guy adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses again and muttered.

"Ok, sir." Kouske completely agreed with him. They were about to do something important now. So it was best to think about this nuisance and deal with him later. The treasure was the most important at the moment.

As for Liam, the meeting he had requested was strange, but that could easily wait for later. Since they had lost two of their core team members thanks to the damned guy, they were now in a hurry to gather more strength and support.

The group then made some preparations, silently left the area, and started their treasure hunt. This secret treasure was definitely going to be theirs.

Kouske was a calm and cool-headed person but after suffering so many losses against Liam continuously, he couldn't help but imagine the expression on the hateful guy's face when they finally meet!

How would he react to this new treasure in their hands? Did he think that they were so easy to trample upon? This was just the beginning.

A couple of hours later, the group arrived at the spot where the treasure is supposed to be. This area was the 'plagued lands' with overgrown, disease-infested rotten forests and slowly dying beasts, all afflicted with the same disease.

Just the air in the surroundings made everyone want to puke their guts out. This trip was not going to be a picnic. However, no one cared about that.

Along with Kouske and Barret, the other players started busily looking around for any clues or special NPCs while the silent leader of the group walked alone to a corner by himself and sat down in a cross-legged position.

"Why are we even searching? Look there. Sir has started his business. He will soon let us know the exact location and whatnot." One of the players lazily yawned.

"He He. You are right. There is no need for us to work hard. The big boss is awesome after all." Another one agreed.

Seeing the group happily chatting and gossiping, Kouske frowned. He walked over to the group and sternly looked at the lazy bums.

Seeing him everyone quickly became silent but it was too late. "So you don't want to do any work and simply want to hang around for the reward?" Kouske gave them a stern lecture.

He then went back to searching. Others also started doing their work properly and cleared some of the mobs from the area searching for the possibility of an elite.

Unfortunately, they couldn't get more information about this treasure. The details they had were very vague. The only thing they were sure of is the area.

And if it was a treasure, it was usually either dropped by an Elite or perhaps looted from a treasure chest. So everyone peeled their eyes open and searched the zone.

Soon another hour silently passed by and everyone had already combed the area from top to bottom. Everyone grumbled as this was turning out to be a waste of time.

Even Kouske was beginning to wonder about the validity of this tip. Perhaps the demons were mistaken about the treasure in this region?

He looked towards the person who still had his eyes closed and continued to meditate. He then hesitantly walked towards him.

He did not want to disturb him but at the same time, he wanted to give the update. At this stage of the game, time was money so they couldn't afford to waste their time here.

"Sir, we have looked everywhere. There are no traces of treasure in this zone." Kouske said in a low voice. He then patiently waited for an answer, without knowing if he would get any.

Surprisingly the next second itself, the black-cladded figure shook his head. "No." He answered simply. "I am not wrong. The fortuitous encounter we have come for is right here."

Just as he finished speaking, suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud clapping sound echoed.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP

A person slowly materialized out of thin air.

Chapter 626 Black

CLAP CLAP CLAP.

CLAP CLAP CLAP.

"I have to hand it to you. You are indeed something special. This is the first time I am seeing anything like this," Liam smiled.

Seeing the familiar face and the familiar voice materializing, Kouske, Barret, and all the other players were in utter shock. How the hell did this guy show up here?

They had gathered this information with great difficulty and paying a good price, so how could this guy also possibly come here to the exact same location at the exact same time?

However, that did not matter at the moment. What mattered was…

Without wasting any second, Kouske immediately summoned the humongous death knight and Barret unleashed some sort of aura. The other players also started chanting something making the necessary preparations.

Every single one of the players gathered in the area seemed to be ready to shoot Liam at sight and kill him as if he was the most wanted criminal.

However, before anything like that could happen, unexpectedly one person raised his hand, ceasing any and all efforts.

"That's enough." The black-cladded figure muttered.

His words brought an uncomfortable silence to the place, no one daring to say anything else afterward. They could only silently glare at the bastard who was still continuing to smile as if he were mocking them.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Listen to your leader now. He knows I am not here to cause any trouble." Liam shrugged with a chuckle and walked forward casually.

His words, his mannerisms, his smile, everything was inflammatory but the others could only grit their teeth and bear with it. Not a single person dared to open their mouth.

"I am impressed," Liam muttered and squatted down in front of the black-cladded figure. He still couldn't see the face clearly but he could see the gold-rimmed glasses.

"Hello. We finally meet?"

"Hmmm…"

"A man of few words?"

"My words are expensive. Just like my time. I don't like others wasting it."

"Then I will come straight to the point." Liam chuckled. "You wanted to see me and I am here. In return, I need something from you. "

Hearing the shameless guy, Kouske could no longer refrain himself so he ended up shouting loudly. "What the hell are you blabbering? Who wanted to see whom? You were the one who was begging to meet with us!"

The guy not only broke up their team but now dared to show up in front of their whole group and talk so haughtily? Unbelievable!

However, Liam once again simply laughed it off.

"Shhh. Small fries should keep quiet when the adults are talking. We can do this later after the meeting is over? I would love to talk to you! Remember? Our last conversation? It was fun, right?"

"Bastard!" Kouske was livid.

Liam smiled and turned towards the black-cladded figure again who was staring at him strangely through the gold-rimmed glasses.

"I need information about one of my guild members. I need to know where he might be at the moment. Can you get that for me?"

"Hmmm?"

"In return, I will owe you one."

Finally, even the silent person couldn't keep a straight face. Hearing him, the guy lifted his head up and looked back at him through the gold-rimmed glasses. "Heh. Your words are worthless."

Yes. You are a snake! Do you think we are fools to trust the words of a snake?" Kouske clenched his hands in anger, but the next second he snapped his mouth shut as Liam turned and looked at him, his cold gaze gripping the guy.

He then silently turned back to look at the seated person in front of him. He was finally able to see his face.

"Be that as it may… but…" Liam smirked and added, "Didn't you already divine a good fortune here? So the information I have… it should be useful to you right?"

"Hmmm…."

"No matter how I look at it, you are the one benefitting from this exchange. So why not go with it? Isn't that what is good for you?"

This time the person did not respond anything back immediately. He looked at Liam as if he was thinking about something deeply.

Seeing the two grown guys stare at each other in pin-drop silence, everyone gulped nervously. The silence was almost deafening. Only the whooshing sounds of the wind could be heard.

Their heart was beating loudly and even the sweat trickling down could be felt vividly. Just what was going to happen? No one knew what either of them was thinking.

The tension in the air was palpable. A big battle could break out at any given instant so everyone held their breath watching this scene playing out in front of them.

Was their big boss going to accept this madman's proposal or reject it?

Just when the tension was at the highest point suddenly someone laughed and this time it was not Liam. "You seem very nervous. You are talking a lot. So this must be really important for you hmm?"

The black-cladded figure stood up. He pinched his gold-rimmed glass to his nose, making sure to let Liam know that he had the upper hand in this conversation.

"Ok. I will agree. Just this once."

Liam didn't say anything. He remained silent. Seeing this the other party laughed again, "Well, I can't do it right now. I need time."

Liam nodded.

"I will send you a message in three days' time."

"Ok."

The two of them then glanced at each other before Liam abruptly entered stealth.

"Hey!" Kouske immediately became alarmed and tried to search for his presence and the others also prepared to locate him. However, the big boss shook his head. "No need."

"Sir! This… I cannot accept this. He has caused us a lot of loss. How could we allow him to freely walk in and walk out like this? I am sorry. I just cannot."

"Ha Ha Ha. Do you think that I didn't consider that option? If we had been hostile to him today, then we would have been the ones to lose."

Kouske was shocked. If the big boss personally said this then it had to be true so he did not doubt that part. What he couldn't believe was… just how did he become so strong so soon?

"Fuck! If only I could also become that stupid garrison leader." Kouske sighed. Unlike others who were left wondering, he knew that the secret to Liam's success lay there.

But what was the use of knowing this… he was still not able to do anything. While grumbling about this, suddenly he realized something. "Sir, he left. That means the treasure is still ours for the taking."

Everyone also realized the same thing and revealed relieved expressions but when he said it out like that something felt off. It took them a couple of seconds for the truth to settle in. Everyone looked at their big boss who silently smiled.

"Damn it." Kouske spat out in rage. They had all been played right from the beginning. The guy had orchestrated everything. "So should we just leave?"

The black-cladded figure again nodded with a smile. He walked forward to put a hand on Kouske and patted him.

"Don't get so worked up. If you get emotional, you will make mistakes. Don't you know that? Hmmm? Aren't you a calm person?"

"I know, Sir. I am sorry." Kouske put his head down in embarrassment. "It's just that when he is involved..."

"Ha Ha Ha. That is true. He is indeed an infuriating person, but…"

"Huh?"

"If you knew… what I know… you will feel only pity for him."

Kouske's eyes widened in confusion. What was he talking about?

The big boss smiled. "You know how I sense dangerous situations."

"Yes, sir. The color grey?"

"Right. But, do you know how that person's future looks?"

Kouske gulped. He really wanted to know how it looked. Was it white? That was the aura of a blessed person. Seeing how lucky he usually was, that was probably the color. Or maybe perhaps golden? That was the aura of a ruler.

But unexpectedly... the words he heard next were...

"It's black. Solid pitch-black without a single shade of white or even grey. Heh. So relax."

"What?!"

The guy patted Kouske again and then climbed onto his mount. "We don't have to do anything at all. Not even lift a finger. That person is doomed with or without our intervention."

"In fact, there is nothing anyone can do to help him. He is just a walking corpse. He might as well be dead already."

Kouske gulped. His brother's premonitions were not a joke. So if he says this… then it means that Liam was indeed doomed.

"Sir… Are you going to warn him?"

"Why? He didn't ask me about himself. He asked me about Derek. So that's all the answer that I owe him."

Kouske silently nodded in deep contemplation.

Just what was going to happen that his future was so irredeemable? Knowing Liam so far, the guy was definitely going to piss off someone even more terrifying?

No matter what it was, it was none of their concern.

Kouske closed his eyes and let out a deep breath of relief. There was a small smile on his face as he couldn't help but enjoy this misery that awaited his enemy.

The group then quietly left the area without lingering there any longer and wasting their time. After all, they had other big things planned in the nether realm before the war between the two worlds come to an end.