In the pitch-black swamp, the Weapon Master stumbled forward, his steps uneven.
The wounds across his body had already scabbed over thanks to his robust physical constitution, but blood continued to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
Injuries to muscle and skin could heal quickly, but internal organs that were constantly under strain were not so easily repaired.
Moreover, he was not only afflicted by a weakening spell but also severely poisoned.
“Hey, the one who just helped me! Can you show yourself?”
The Weapon Master knew that he couldn't shake off the lizardmen on his own.
His only hope now lay in the entity that had just lent him a hand.
He knew better than anyone else that there was no way anyone was coming to rescue him.
The Black Dragon King's minions would never allow anyone to enter the Death Swamp to coordinate a rescue.
So...
‘Who on earth is it?’
The Weapon Master stared into the shadows ahead, only to see a pitch-black giant wolf, about four meters long, step out from the darkness.
A Shadow Wolf King?
No, why would a Shadow Wolf King appear in the Death Swamp?
“Are you of the Golden Race? Do you know the Sacred Circle Knight, Evelyn?”
The Shadow Wolf King spoke in human tongue, but the information in its words instantly put the Weapon Master on guard.
“How do you know that Evelyn has the Golden Bloodline?”
“She told me, and she has already awakened her Golden Eye.”
The alert expression did not fade from the Weapon Master's aged face.
“Oh? Evelyn has actually awakened her Golden Eye? She indeed did not fail the Golden Bloodline flowing within her.”
The Weapon Master showed a relieved smile.
“So, are you a relative of Evelyn?”
Zoe looked at the elderly man before him. That eye of his was undoubtedly a Golden Eye.
But the man's other eye was not blue, but brown.
“Although now is not the time to discuss this, I can only tell you that Evelyn and I share no blood relation.”
“Nor am I of the Golden Race. As for this Golden Eye, Evelyn's father entrusted it to me.”
The aged man seemed to recall some distant memory. A flash of nostalgia passed over his face, but it was quickly replaced by gravity.
“My name is Ethan. I am a blacksmith.”
Ethan?
Zoe felt as if he had heard this name somewhere before.
Was he the weapon artisan master under whom his first-life foster father had studied when traveling to the Kingdom of Eldoria in his youth?
The famous legendary one-eyed blacksmith from the western part of the Kingdom of Eldoria?
“The Black Dragon King sent his minions to attack my convoy as I was returning to my country, abducting me and forcing me to forge a spear for him.”
“It is an extremely dangerous weapon, possessing the power to store mana, absorb life and souls, and convert mana.”
As Ethan spoke, he reached for the rod-shaped object wrapped in black cloth on his back.
“When the spear was initially being forged, it was divided into four parts.”
“They were later supposed to be melted and cast into one. To stop the Black Dragon King, I took one of the sections and fled into the Death Swamp.”
Ethan's words left Zoe somewhat puzzled.
“Why?”
Zoe felt that for a Quasi-Demon King like the Black Dragon King to possess such a weapon wasn't particularly strange.
The weapon didn't sound that terrifying either.
“The Black Dragon King named the spear the Dragon Heart Spike. He entered subspace, bit off a world fragment, and used Dragon Flame and hellfire to ignite charcoal made from World Tree branches to forge it in four separate sessions.”
“Among the materials, he even sacrificed one of his own adult dragon offspring.”
“The Dragon Heart Spike is filled with the world's negative energy, making its holder paranoid and polluting the material plane.”
“And the Black Dragon King has an even more terrifying ambition. He wants to use the most brutal method to become the first new True Demon King in hundreds of years.”
Ethan's next words instantly made Zoe perk up.
“This involves several ways to ascend to a True Demon King.”
This was forbidden knowledge that Zoe had never had any opportunity to encounter.
“To ascend to a Quasi-Demon King, whether human or monster, one must satisfy three requirements.”
“First, accumulate an extremely massive amount of mana. This usually requires the total amount of mana accumulated by a High-tier Mage without casting any spells for three hundred years.”
“Second, master an ability of grade A or above, known as a God Skill.”
“Third, aptitude. This is decided at birth and is almost impossible to alter afterward.”
Ethan spoke of the method to ascend to a Quasi-Demon King.
This was also the way humans, elves, and other intelligent creatures ascended to the Legendary rank.
“As for ascending to a True Demon King, the conditions are even more stringent.”
“First, accumulate an unimaginably vast amount of mana, roughly equivalent to the total amount of mana accumulated by a Quasi-Demon King without consuming any mana for a thousand years.”
“Second, create a God Skill of one's own and thoroughly master it.”
“Third, aptitude.”
Of course, no matter the method of ascension, raising one's strength to the limit of one's current level goes without saying; it was a default prerequisite.
“Although the Black Dragon King's power has reached the peak of Quasi-Demon King, he has no possibility of creating his own God Skill.”
“Therefore, he plans to choose an even bloodier path to ascension.”
“To usher in an era of mana depletion.”
“He needs to gather an immense amount of mana to forcibly ascend to a True Demon King. The mana consumed will plunge half of the magical world into an era of mana depletion for a century.”
“The Death Swamp and the surrounding cities will turn into a wasteland. For a hundred years, life will become unsustainable for half of the magical world.”
“The Dragon Heart Spike is the vessel he intends to use to contain the mana required for his ascension.”
“So, I must stop him.”
Every creature in the Death Swamp would have its mana drained in the aftermath of the Black Dragon King's ascension, turning the area into a wasteland.
“Thank you for lending me a hand earlier.”
“I will flee toward the east, doing my best to bring the Dragon Heart Spike to the human world to either seal it or destroy it.”
“However, it's highly likely I will fail. The Black Dragon King won't allow me to escape alive. I suggest you flee toward the west, getting as far away from the Death Swamp as possible.”
“If you can, try your best to pass this information to the human nations in the west.”
As Ethan spoke, he unfastened the gold mask from his waist and handed it to Zoe.
“This is the mask Evelyn's father wore in life. It is a legacy of the Golden Race.”
“If you have the chance in the future, I hope you can personally deliver it to Evelyn's hands.”
Zoe took the mask and subconsciously cast appraisal on it.
[Twelve-Seat Masks: Number Nine] A legacy of the Golden Race. It has the effect of masking one's appearance and resisting detection and mental attacks, but requires the Golden Eye to activate its power. It seems to hide some sort of secret.
Entrusting the gold mask to Zoe, the old man spoke no further. Although heavily injured, he still dashed resolutely toward the east, pulling away from Zoe.
Zoe risking himself to save Ethan had already made Ethan deeply grateful.
In return, he shared some intelligence with Zoe, along with the information regarding the dangers of the Death Swamp.
Unwilling to drag Zoe down, once he finished delivering the details and leaving what was essentially his final testament, he departed without hesitation to prevent the pursuers from being drawn to Zoe.
Rate on N.U.
