Chapter 183 – Arriving at Black Fortress

Sunset City’s defenses were remarkably thorough—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Vector truly cared about this city! Punk had verified this notion more than once.

As the two ascended the city walls in mere strides, Punk and Bloodclaw found themselves face-to-face with two soldiers clad in bronze armor.

In truth, both soldiers were frozen in shock. Who could imagine how it felt to have two living persons suddenly materialize before them during their patrol?

Nevertheless, these soldiers were trained regular troops after all. Almost immediately, the older of the two opened his mouth to shout an alarm—but his reaction speed was no match for two Formal-Level powerhouses.

Bloodclaw acted just in time, before the soldiers could alert anyone.

“Formal-Level Innate Spell—Clan of Blood’s Gaze: Through crimson pupils locking with an opponent’s gaze, one can control or disrupt another’s thoughts.”

The moment the panicked soldiers met Bloodclaw’s gaze, their pupils began dilating as their eyes glazed over. Both seemed to forget what they intended to do, along with any notion of raising an alarm.

“Heh heh heh, excellent. Now obey my command, you fools—you saw nothing here, nothing happened at all. You’re merely conducting routine patrols.”

Energy fluctuations shimmered slowly in Bloodclaw’s pupils as he issued the command.

“That’s right… we saw nothing… just routine patrols…”

Against such potent methods from a Formal-Level expert, these ordinary soldiers stood no chance of resistance. Their perceptions were swiftly overwritten by Bloodclaw. Though this approach couldn’t eliminate all traces, Vector was unlikely to have the leisure to personally inspect every soldier’s memories.

“See? Not bad for an innate ability, eh? Though it’s not my primary specialization, it still helps avoid plenty of trouble—especially with women…”

“Enough. We’re on a schedule. Stop embarrassing yourself with parlor tricks that only work on commoners.”

Despite some merit in Bloodclaw’s handling of the situation, Punk’s disparagement remained utterly unsparing—and not without justification. The Clan of Blood’s Gaze was inherently a powerful innate ability, but Bloodclaw clearly wasn’t an illusion-specialized sorcerer, making him incapable of unleashing its full potential. Left speechless by Punk’s mockery, Bloodclaw could only awkwardly change the subject.

“Well… haha… nobody can master everything, right? And it really does work wonders when attracting women…”

As the chatterbox threatened to ramble on, Punk simply drifted down from the battlements, ignoring him completely.

His payment was already secured—whether Bloodclaw followed meant nothing to him.

But while Punk didn’t care, Bloodclaw certainly did. He’d distinctly caught the sharp glint in Punk’s eyes upon hearing “Docleina Man-eating Tree.” From that moment, Bloodclaw had categorized Punk as “an extremely unstable time bomb.” If not for the immovable nature of the Docleina Man-eating Tree, Bloodclaw would have put as much distance between them as possible.But for now, he could only cautiously follow.

“Hey… Black Robe, wait! I still need to send these two foot soldiers away!”

In Sunset City, the Frost Snow Festival continued its joyous celebrations, with beautiful maidens still dancing gracefully on stage. Yet outside the towering city walls, two swiftly passing figures vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

———————— Dividing Line ————————

Black Fort was situated in the Moderai Basin behind Mis City. Despite its name “Black Fort,” the area was actually a massive encampment where the average building height barely reached five meters. No one knew why the Archmage controlling this “black market”—Silver Staff—had named it Black Fort.

But for all who came here to trade, whether it was called Black Fort or White Fort made no difference. The only thing they cared about was the variety of contraband, smuggled goods, and… high-quality slaves available for purchase.

On this day, even as the entire Dillon Kingdom celebrated the annual Frost Snow Festival, not a trace of festive joy existed within Black Fort. There were no celebratory performances whatsoever, as if no matter what happened in the Dillon Kingdom, Black Fort would remain an immovable behemoth, continuously processing the dark and sinister elements flowing in from across the Kingdom.

On this typically gloomy and frenzied night, as the radiance of Mila and Chikasa had disappeared below the horizon, Black Fort welcomed two new “uninvited guests.”

“So this is Black Fort. It looks like nothing but a gathering of rabble.”

Punk frowned slightly at the sight before him. Admittedly, the actual Black Fort fell far short of his expectations and lacked the imposing atmosphere befitting an underground black market.

The place more closely resembled the pirate taverns from Pirates of the Caribbean—chaotic, filthy, saturated with alcohol and brawls. No one maintained order, nor was there any management to speak of. The entire encampment operated under a policy of complete laissez-faire, with the only apparent rule being that Formal-Level experts were prohibited from using excessively destructive spells that could reduce the place to rubble!

At this moment, Punk thought he understood why the forces of good held such sway in the Dillon Kingdom. Just look at Black Fort—not only could it not compare to the strictly disciplined, rule-bound evil organization of the Red Robes Zhentarim, it couldn’t even measure up to the loosely structured Black Forest Council.

“Surprised, aren’t you? Though this place is chaotic and dangerous, that’s only for those little Apprentices who haven’t even reached Apprentice-Level. For us Formal-Level professionals, there are still some constraints—at least Formal-Level experts have to pay compensation for any damage caused within Black Fort’s boundaries.”

After saying this, Bloodclaw took a deep breath of the blood-tainted air. With a sinister grin, he gazed toward Black Fort’s entrance, where an Apprentice Rank warrior was being dismembered by two cloaked figures. Watching the blood spray from the corpse, Bloodclaw couldn’t help but lightly lick his lips.

“It makes no difference to me. All I need are usable test subjects.”Punk didn’t pause his steps. While subtly slowing his pace as he approached the Black Fort gate, his gaze had already fixed upon the most conspicuous object at the entrance.

There, crookedly pasted at the center of the Black Fort’s dilapidated half-wooden door, was a blood-stained old parchment. Scrawled handwriting declared:

“Traveler in darkness, welcome to the paradise of sin and revelry. Here lies the most fiery wine, here dwell the most enchanting maidens, this is the gathering place of evil. With power, you may obtain everything you desire.

Note: Formal-Level professionals are prohibited from using large-scale destructive spells.

——————Silver Staff”!

(End of Chapter)