Chapter 208: A Flood of Messages

“Hiss…”

The Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent continued venting its fury upon the barren mountain below, tearing stone and earth apart in a violent display that did little to calm its rage. As the dust settled, it noticed the Double-Headed Raven King, turning away as if preparing to leave.

“Where are you going?” the serpent demanded irritably.

“Back to Black Raven Demon Valley,” the Raven King replied flatly. “I will enter secluded retreat.”

Without another word, he spread his wings and departed. He had already sworn to himself that he would not emerge again until he had fully mastered the Black Raven Firmament and the Dark Thunder World. The string of humiliating defeats had shaken him to the core, leaving his pride fractured and his spirit dangerously close to collapse.

“Hiss… you wretched knight,” the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent snarled as it watched him go. “The next time I see you, I’ll kill you back to level zero.”

With no other choice, the serpent turned back toward the Demon Clan’s territory. Today had been an unmitigated disgrace. A low-level knight had escaped from its grasp, and worse still, the Divine Artifact, the Dragon-Horse Lyre, was now lost beyond recovery. The blow to its reputation was immense.

Marcus had already been added to the serpent’s personal kill list. What it did not know was that Marcus harbored ambitions of his own. Far from fear, he felt a fierce, simmering excitement at the thought of their next encounter, eagerly anticipating the day he could sever all six of its heads and feed them to his Shadow-Stained Gryphon King.

—

Elsewhere, Sienna, the Maiden of the Water Moon Cult, was tracing the path of her Wind-Patterned Fox through her Water Moon Divine Arts, desperately searching for any lingering trace of Marcus. Her expression twisted in disbelief as she watched her beloved pet reduced to nothing but dazzling explosions under the Crystal Cannons of Dragon’s Peak Citadel, its life extinguished in an instant as Marcus’s trail vanished completely.

“Despicable thief. Vile knight.”

Her voice trembled with fury as she muttered to herself, pacing back and forth.

“I’ll make him my retainer.”

She paused, scowling.

“No. That’s too good for him. And what right do those lowly men have to serve at my side? Being a retainer means staying with me every day, and I refuse to tolerate that. I’ll make him my pet instead.”

Her eyes gleamed as the thought took shape.

“He dared to harm my adorable Wind-Patterned Fox. He’ll be my compensation. He’ll only appear when I summon him, and when I don’t, he’ll stay hidden. Yes… I’ll make him my pet.”

Sienna seethed in place, barely restraining herself. If the Water Moon Cult were not sworn enemies of Dragon’s Peak Citadel, she would have already stormed the city to hunt Marcus down herself.

“Just you wait, despicable thief,” she whispered coldly. “The next time I find you, I’ll use my Seduction on you. You’ll hand over the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna’s treasures, that dark Nightmare mount, and every precious item you own. You’ll give them all to me, obediently.”

Lost in her fantasies of punishment, Sienna had no idea that the next time she used Seduction on Marcus, it would alter the trajectory of her life in ways she could never have imagined.

—

“Achoo!”

“Achoo!”

“Achoo!”

Marcus sneezed repeatedly just as he finished organizing the equipment he had brought back from the Mist Veil Palace.

“Someone’s cursing me,” he muttered, rubbing his nose.

Before him lay the full spread of his haul, an overwhelming display of gleaming weapons, armor, and rare items. As he took it all in, a wave of happiness nearly knocked him over. The gains from the Mist Veil Palace were nothing short of staggering.

Unfortunately, the Divine Artifact, the Dragon-Horse Lyre, was a quest item. Not only was he unable to use it, but he would also need to return it to Pegasus Knight Mare. It was a shame. If he could wield the lyre himself, enemy knights in future guild wars would be rendered almost completely useless.

He quickly organized his priorities. First, he would turn in the lyre, complete the Dragon’s Crest quest, and collect the reward. After that, he would have everything appraised properly.

He wondered briefly whether his sister had managed to find the wandering Elven emissary and learn her level twenty skills. Opening his private messages to contact Amber and Lily, he was caught completely off guard.

The message list was overflowing.

While he had been inside the Mist Veil Palace, the seal had cut off all communication. Lily and Amber, knowing this, had only sent a few brief updates on their progress. Two other contacts, however, had been sending messages relentlessly, almost every twenty minutes.

“Marcus, it’s Anya.”

“Marcus, did you get my message?”

It was Anya Lynn. After discovering she was also playing Dominion, Marcus had told her to look for him in-game. His timing could not have been worse. He had entered the Mist Veil Palace immediately afterward, leaving her messages unanswered.

“Hey, you brat, are you there?”

“You jerk, are you there?”

“Marcus, don’t you go chasing after other girls.”

Those messages belonged to someone named Wind’s Witch, which could only mean Chloe.

On top of that, Old Vine had left him a message requesting a meeting at the Old Vine Auction House, claiming he had something important to discuss. Marcus frowned slightly. Whatever it was, it could wait until after he finished the Dragon’s Crest quest.

Reading through the messages, a quiet warmth spread through him. Lily and Amber were expected, but Anya’s sheer number of messages made it clear she was genuinely eager to see him. Even Chloe’s scolding felt oddly comforting. Perhaps he had simply grown accustomed to her sharp tone. After all, he was probably the only person she cared enough about to scold so persistently.

A genuine smile crossed his face.

They should all get together. He had struck it rich in the Mist Veil Palace, and that deserved a proper celebration at a high-end restaurant. Walking in with four distinctively beautiful women at his side would turn heads and likely become the talk of Dominion.

“Bro, the Mist Veil Palace is open! Did you finish the quest? Were you the one who broke the seal?”

Just as he was about to message Lily and Amber, they contacted him first, having already seen the server-wide announcement.

“Of course,” Marcus replied. “Where are you two? Did you finish your quest?”

“We found the wandering Elven emissary,” Amber answered. “She teleported us into a sealed space. We have to kill some monsters and collect materials. We’re almost done.”

So they were inside a sealed instance. There was nothing he could do to help.

Both Amber and Lily were already equipped with full sets of level twenty top-tier gear, and Lily was even wearing his old Skeleton Set. A level twenty quest would pose no real danger to them.

“Alright, hurry back when you’re done,” Marcus said. “I’ll show you what I got from the Mist Veil Palace.”

“Be careful,” he added.

“Okay, bro.”

“Mhm, Marcus. We’ll be back soon.”

It was a shame. He would not be able to introduce Amber and Lily to Anya and Chloe just yet. He had been looking forward to showing off a little, but that opportunity would have to wait.

After closing the chat, Marcus sent a message to Anya. Sharing his excitement with her and Chloe would be just as nice.

“Anya, it’s Marcus. I was in a quest where messages were blocked. I’m back now.”

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