Free Web NovelChapter 462: The Traitor
"My lord, save us!"
Following their elder’s lead, the villagers all turned toward Marcus with desperate hope in their eyes, some looking ready to drop to their knees on the spot.
They were calling him ’my lord.’ Marcus had to admit, hearing that felt pretty good. Looking at a crowd of people treating him with that much respect was strangely satisfying. No wonder so many people enjoyed becoming officials.
Having authority over others definitely had its appeal. What surprised him most was that the title of Golden Wolf Guardian actually seemed to carry real weight.
"Everyone, don’t worry. I came here specifically to deal with the Soul Vase Ghost." Marcus straightened in the saddle and spoke with calm authority, doing his best to look like someone who knew exactly what he was doing. Then he turned his attention toward the battle still raging nearby between the system Warrior and the ghost. "Elder, what’s happening over there?"
"My lord." The elder quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Yesterday, we found a blue wine jar in the collapsed area behind the mountain. Inside it was the sealed soul of a Mythic Beast, the Twin-Winged Ice Owl. We hoped to find a suitable water-attuned bird so the Ice Owl’s soul could possess it and become the guardian Mythic Beast of our village. But when we opened the jar, the powerful soul energy attracted the Soul Vase Ghost from Black Ghost Peak."
The elder pointed toward a dark mountain peak north of the village. As he recalled everything that had happened, grief crept into his voice.
"My lord, ever since the Soul Vase Ghost arrived to steal the Ice Owl’s soul, it has severely injured five of our strongest Warriors and more than twenty members of our militia. It used the Soul Vase to extract their souls, condemning them to eternal death with no chance of rebirth. Then, because it claimed that human flesh tasted good, it devoured the bodies of the fallen."
The elder’s eyes reddened. "My lord, our people didn’t even leave behind remains. Not a drop of blood was left. Please, you must avenge them."
"Damn. That’s brutal." Marcus stared at the Soul Vase Ghost, his expression hardening. "Don’t worry. You’ll get justice."
Outwardly, he remained calm. Internally, however, he was far less confident. ’Can I actually beat that thing?’ He really had no interest in ending up like those villagers.
The system Warrior fighting the ghost was already being pushed into a corner. The man looked exhausted as he desperately defended himself against wave after wave of attacks. Despite all his efforts, he had barely managed to move more than ten meters from where the fight began. That Warrior was almost certainly above Level 50 and had already completed his second class advancement. Marcus was only Level 49. He hadn’t even completed his first advancement trial yet.
"Who is that guy? Why is he here?" freewebnσvel.cѳm
After explaining the Soul Vase Ghost, the elder’s expression darkened as he looked toward the embattled Warrior. "My lord, that Warrior over there is another person I beg you to punish."
Marcus blinked. "What did he do?" The Soul Vase Ghost alone was already enough trouble. Now there was apparently another target involved.
Fortunately, the elder immediately began explaining. Marcus couldn’t help but admire the villagers a little. They were completely powerless compared to both the ghost and the Warrior, yet they were still standing nearby watching the battle instead of fleeing.
"My lord, his name is Evan. He’s an adventurer. He’s visited the dangerous areas around our village several times before and occasionally rested here, so we knew him. About half an hour ago, after the Soul Vase Ghost had already slaughtered our militia, Evan arrived. We urged him to leave for his own safety, but he insisted he could handle the ghost. He proposed using the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul as bait while he launched a surprise attack."
Pain flashed across the elder’s face. "My lord, we believed him. We thought he had come to save us. Three of our bravest young villagers carried the wine jar containing the Ice Owl’s soul to lure the ghost away. While the ghost focused on the bait, Evan was supposed to strike from hiding. We even lent him our village’s treasured Mythic Artifact, the Boomerang Wind Sword, to increase his chances of success."
The elder paused, struggling to continue. "But then everything went wrong."
Around him, the villagers glared at Evan with undisguised hatred.
"Evan’s ambush failed. Once he realized he couldn’t defeat the ghost, greed took over. He snatched the Ice Owl’s soul from the three villagers, took our Boomerang Wind Sword, and abandoned them. Then he ran."
"Damn. So he’s a traitor." Marcus looked toward the Warrior. That was low. The villagers had trusted him, risked their lives to help him, and even handed over their treasured artifact. The moment things became dangerous, he repaid them by stealing everything and fleeing. No wonder the villagers hated him. No wonder the Soul Vase Ghost was pursuing him so relentlessly. He was carrying the Ice Owl’s soul.
"My lord, please punish that traitor Evan. Avenge our people and recover our village’s Mythic Artifact, the Boomerang Wind Sword. It may not be a Divine Artifact, but it has been passed down through generations. We cannot lose it." The elder’s voice trembled.
At that moment, a system notification appeared before Marcus.
Ding!
[Stonehaven, due to your Level 50 Trial Mission, you have triggered a Hidden Quest: Hunt the Traitor, Evan. Recover the village’s Boomerang Wind Sword. Failure will earn the villagers’ contempt. Success will earn their gratitude and acceptance. Do you accept?]
"Accept." Marcus didn’t hesitate for even a second.
If he could kill the Soul Vase Ghost, then Evan shouldn’t be a problem. After all, the man had already proven he couldn’t defeat the ghost himself. More importantly, Marcus despised people like this. Failing was one thing. Betraying the people who trusted you was another. The moment Evan stole from the villagers and abandoned them, he had crossed a line.
So this was one of the hidden quests attached to the Special Hard Level 50 trial. A dangerous challenge, but one that came with additional rewards. That explained why such absurd Luck was required to trigger it in the first place. Different indeed. Dominion was fair after all.
Now that he understood the situation and had accepted the quest, Marcus stopped wasting time. He nudged Blackie forward and shot into the air, flying past the gathered villagers and racing toward the battlefield fifty meters ahead, where Evan and the Soul Vase Ghost were still locked in combat.
It was time to begin the trial.
