This is not extortion, but cooperation!

Lying in Raven's hand was a leather belt, three fingers wide and about one point three meters long.

It was a dull black all over, absorbing all light around it, weightless in his palm, and utterly unremarkable to look at.

But in Raven's eyes at this moment, it was exquisite beyond compare.

Under the gaze of the Eye of Truth, the belt radiated a cerulean glow, intricate magical runes etched across its surface—dense as rushing water in some places, scattered like starlight in others.

The belt had been pressed beneath that set of Enchanted Plate Armor, which was why Raven's Eye of Truth hadn't spotted it earlier.

This kind of special magical equipment could only be activated through Dou Qi or mana, but Eric had taught Raven a unique method that allowed even an ordinary person to use it.

Raven gripped a Demon Core and pressed it against the belt. The crimson energy within the core seeped into the belt, which emitted a faint, misty white glow. An image of a spacious, orderly space imprinted itself on Raven's mind.

Spatial Equipment.

This was exactly what Anderson had used to catch Raven off guard, nearly turning the tables and killing him!

The space was about one meter long and two meters high, mostly empty, with only a bag of gold coins sitting in the corner.

"Careful, steady!" Raven swallowed, placed his free hand on the belt, imagined grabbing the coin bag, and yanked upward sharply.

The next moment, he felt a weight in his hand, and the bag full of gold coins landed on the table with a thud.

Success!

Even though he was fifty years old across both lives combined, Raven acted like a kid with a new toy. He grasped that elusive sensation, sending the bag in and out, in and out, over a dozen times before stopping.

"Incredible!" Without bothering to count the coins in the bag, Raven was already daydreaming about the belt's potential.

In his view, Anderson's idea of just stashing gold inside was utterly unimaginative!

One meter by two meters—that's two cubic meters of space. If arranged properly, it could hold at least twenty loaded crossbows!

And if he equipped those crossbows with Enchanted Crossbow Bolts, firing them in rotation, even Eric as he was now—Raven was confident he could turn him into a pincushion!

Now that's what you call a humanoid turret!

"Too bad this Spatial Equipment can't hold living people." Raven sighed regretfully. "Otherwise, I'd stuff Eric in there and let him out at a critical moment—that'd definitely give someone a scare!"

After letting his imagination run wild, Raven roughly counted the gold coins. There were one hundred and twenty-seven in total. Considering Anderson's strength and team size, it wasn't much.

But factoring in the cost of his full gear, Raven felt better about it.

"I need to get the crossbows sorted out soon. I'll use this gold and have Eric handle it..." Raven muttered as he fastened the belt around his waist. Then he froze, staring at the Demon Core on the table.

Inside the core, the finger-thick crimson glow had shrunk by about a third.

Raven nodded. "So that means I was consuming the energy in the Demon Core just now, using it as fuel for this Spatial Belt."

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

Earlier, using the Eye of Truth in battle had caused a massive drain on his stamina and mental energy—that was also a form of energy consumption.

He also recalled that when he killed Donald back then, a surge of power had flowed into his brow, awakening the Eye of Truth.

At the time, Donald had been transformed through a ritual into a Demonic Beast in all but name, and the source of his power should have been a Demon Core.

"Could it be that I accidentally shattered his Demon Core, and that's how the Eye of Truth awakened? If so..."

Gripping the Demon Core in his hand, Raven didn't hesitate. He slammed it against the windowsill!

The core shattered against the sill, bursting into a cloud of crystal-like diamond dust. Through the Eye of Truth, Raven clearly saw the crimson energy within explode outward, turning into a hazy mist.

"This is..." Raven lowered his head and touched his brow.

At that moment, his brow pulsed like a beating heart, revealing an almost instinctive craving!

"Come, come, come..."

Raven's mind gradually calmed. The crimson mist floating in the air seemed drawn by something, suddenly moving as one, surging toward Raven's brow.

The moment the mist touched his skin, Raven felt a deeply contradictory sensation.

A refreshing coolness like a gentle breeze, and an indescribable heat!

The heat radiated from his brow, making his scalp tingle, then spread through his blood vessels and skin.

He leaned close to the bronze mirror and saw blood vessels bulging across his skin, looking both hideous and terrifying, eerily similar to Donald after he had shed his cocoon.

But soon, as the heat subsided, the blood vessels receded, leaving no visible change.

"Strange..." Raven had no idea what was happening to his body. He shook his head, and a series of crackling sounds like popping beans rang out.

He froze for a moment, then began moving his body. He felt his blood flow smoother than ever, as if he'd just had a full-body massage from the inside out!

"Could it be that the energy in these Demon Cores can strengthen my body?" Raven clenched his fist, feeling stronger than he ever had before.

He picked up his Hand Crossbow, loaded a bolt, hooked four fingers onto the bowstring, and began to draw it.

With a creaking sound, the string went from a straight line to a V-shape. Raven's eyes lit up with surprise.

What used to require bracing the crossbow against his knee to draw quickly could now be done with just four fingers—it wasn't fast, but it was something the old Raven could never have managed!

"Let me try again?" Raven licked his lips and smashed the second Demon Core without hesitation.

Just like before, the dark red mist was drawn into his brow. But this time, the heat was overwhelmingly intense, making Raven feel like a fire was burning on his head!

He leaned toward the mirror and saw that beneath his once-pale skin, every blood vessel—even the tiniest capillaries—had bulged out, like the roots of an old tree coiled in the soil, or like countless writhing worms.

Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead, sliding down his skin; at this moment, Raven could even feel each droplet tracing its path.

Afraid he might burst a blood vessel, Raven stood motionless before the mirror until half an hour passed and the scorching sensation fully faded.

"Hoo... too much is as bad as too little." Raven shook his head. "I can't do this again anytime soon."

He stretched his body, then froze.

Through the mirror, he could clearly see his muscles pressing a perfect outline against his coat.

"Huh? The effect's this obvious?" Raven unfastened his clothes and was instantly stunned by the sight.

To be honest, the old Raven was no scrawny weakling either, but he was only strong by ordinary standards. Now, he was completely transformed.

His chest was firm and compact, not overly bulky like a gym fanatic, but rather like a long-distance runner—well-proportioned muscles, sleek and powerful lines, eight-pack abs sharply defined, enough to drive any woman wild.

He drew the rapier from his waist, flicked his wrist to stand it upright, then lightly pinched it between two fingers, twirling the three-jin blade like a wooden stick.

"Demon Cores can do this?" Raven sheathed the rapier and slowly shook his head. "No, this must be the effect of the Eye of Truth."

He had only absorbed two first-tier Demon Cores, one of which was partially depleted, yet his strength had increased by at least fifty percent. And he wasn't even a Transcendent yet. Once he became a Knight or Mage and absorbed more, better cores...

The future was bright!

After all, Demon Cores were far cheaper than enchanted gear or potions!

A smirk curled at the corner of his mouth as Raven grabbed his coin purse. The bag, which had felt somewhat heavy before, now seemed light as a feather.

Just as he was about to stow it away, his palm brushed against something beneath it, and he felt a rather peculiar texture.

Opening it, a sly grin spread across Raven's face. "Heh heh, Hyde Slate. I was planning to come find you in a couple of days, but I didn't expect you'd deliver such a big gift right into my hands."

Time trickled by. The sun withdrew its radiance, and the silver moon's light spilled across the earth. A carriage drawn by a Blood-Eyed Warhorse rolled out of Eagle Fortress, arriving at the door of the Eagle's Wing Inn in Shining Gold Town.

Raven straightened his collar, tucked a wooden box under his arm, and stepped out of the carriage, saying to Eric, the driver, "Wait for me here."

"As you command, my lord!"

Raven nodded and pushed open the tavern door. It was as quiet as last time, but the bald owner's face was far uglier than before.

"I'm here for Master Hyde's own good," Raven said calmly. "If you don't want to see your master stripped of his inheritance rights, you'd best not provoke me."

A man in a brown cloak, upon hearing this, pushed his half-drawn sword back into its scabbard.

"Take me to him."

The brown cloak said nothing and walked ahead of Raven.

Same room, same setup. Raven pushed the door open directly and sat down on the bench, just a shoulder's width from Hyde.

Hyde's face darkened. He ran his fingers through his center-parted hair. "Baron Raven, is this how you show your submission to me?!"

"Submission?" Raven raised an eyebrow and tossed the box onto the table. "Mr. Hyde Slate, it seems you've misjudged the current situation."

"I'm here to negotiate terms."

Hyde let out a sneer, his slender fingers pressing against the sword at his waist. "And what makes a petty baron like you think you can negotiate with me?"

"This." Raven snapped open the wooden box and turned it toward Hyde.

A thick stench of blood, mixed with a hint of rot, instantly filled the room.

"How dare you!"

"Protect the lord!"

Two Enchanted Longswords pressed against Raven's neck. He smirked dismissively, reached for an apple from the fruit plate on the table, and took a loud bite. "Mr. Hyde, can't you even keep your own men in line?"

Hyde's brow twitched. He turned his head to see Raven chewing the apple with gusto, red skin and white flesh sticking to his teeth and tongue, like a Magic Beast gnawing on a throbbing heart!

"Stand down." Hyde's lips twitched.

The two guards hesitated. "But my lord—"

"I said stand down!" Hyde roared from his throat in fury.

The guards sheathed their swords and vanished into the shadows.

Hyde's chest heaved violently. He didn't want to look, but his gaze was locked onto the contents of the wooden box.

Inside was Anderson's head!

His hair was dry and tangled like weeds, blood from his seven orifices smeared across his pale face like a cruel, grotesque painting. His bloodshot eyes bulged wide, and a finger-thick hole in his forehead oozed brain matter!

A severed head wouldn't frighten Hyde. What truly chilled him was the letter beside it—a bloodstained letter bearing his own wax seal!

"What do you want...?" Hyde asked darkly.

"That depends on Lord Hyde's sincerity," Raven said with a smile. "Colluding with bandits from the Bloody Highlands to attack an Imperial Baron's territory—how truly heartbreaking."

"I think I need something shiny to mend my wounded heart!"

"In short, you want money. Got it." Hyde sneered. "Three thousand gold coins. Enough to buy your silence, right?"

Raven reached into the box and picked up the letter. "Lord Hyde, I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation. This is your personal letter, stamped with your private seal. If it were to land on Mr. Minsk's desk... what do you think would happen?"

Minsk Slate, first heir of the Slate Family, current centurion of the Iron Legion, a fourth-tier Iron Knight, and Hyde's elder brother, was known for his unwavering impartiality.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the relationship between Hyde and Minsk was notoriously terrible. Once this leverage was seized, Minsk would spare no effort in pushing Hyde out of the line of succession.

"...How dare you!" Hyde's blustering gaze landed on Lord Raven's face. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you right here?"

"You don't have the guts for that, or else why wouldn't the commission have demanded my head?" Raven said with a smile. "Besides, this letter is just a copy I scribbled down on the spot. The original is already ready to race off to Monen City."

Hyde took a deep breath, feeling a heavy sense of defeat.

Damn that Anderson—what a rising star of the Bloody Highlands. Two First-tier Transcendents, sixteen battle-hardened Bandits, and they couldn't even handle Raven with his mere thirty-odd peasant soldiers!

And now, on top of that, he'd left behind his own letter, making him lose face in front of this damned Lowlife, this Little Bee!

Hyde rubbed his fingers together. "What exactly do you want!?"

"Eight thousand gold coins." Raven spoke calmly. "Beyond that, I need you to cooperate with me and help me take back Shining Gold Town."

Hyde's hair stood on end, and he shrieked without a shred of dignity: "This is blackmail!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, calm down!" Raven took a bottle of Red Wine from the table and poured it into the glass in front of Hyde. "This isn't blackmail—it's the start of a great friendship, the beginning of a mutually beneficial cooperation."

"You know, my background isn't great. Territory, power—none of that matters to me. What I've always cared about is money!" Raven slung an arm around Hyde's shoulder, coaxing him in a low voice. "But a few thousand gold coins are far too little for me. Not enough to make me give up my territory."

"You're still young, and I, well, I'm a member of the Griffith Family."

"You also know that the Griffith Family carries a bloodline curse—none of its members live past forty. And I'm already twenty now. I need money, a lot of it, to lift this lingering shadow."

Hyde's mouth twitched as he half-believed Raven's words. "What does that have to do with taking back Shining Gold Town?"

"Of course it does. Shining Gold Town is a goose that lays golden eggs. I've got at least twenty years left to live, and in those twenty years, Shining Gold Town can contribute over ten thousand gold coins."

"You put up the money and help me reclaim Shining Gold Town, and I'll draw up a document. When I turn forty, whether I've passed away or not, I'll hand over the title of Baron of Eagle Territory to you."

Pouring himself another glass of Red Wine, Raven concluded: "I get the gold I want, and you get a complete Eagle Territory in your prime. Isn't that a good deal for both sides?"

Hyde was tempted.

His goal had always been a piece of land, but he couldn't bear to give up the luxurious life in Monen City. Now, Raven's proposal had indeed struck a nerve.

"Eight thousand gold coins is too much. I can't come up with that." Hyde said. "Six thousand is my limit."

Raven smiled and patted Hyde on the shoulder. "I'm not a hard man to deal with. Since Lord Hyde has said so, of course I'll take the favor."

He raised his glass and clinked it against the one in front of Hyde. "Six thousand it is, then. Besides that, I also need you to do me a favor!"

Hyde's lingering anger hadn't faded, but he downed his glass in one gulp. "Don't get your hopes up. The resources I can call on within the family are quite limited."

"Of course, I just need a little cooperation from you."

A dozen minutes later, Raven carried a large chest back into the carriage. When the chest was loaded, the carriage wheels visibly sank a few inches.

He sat down inside and let out a long sigh. "Kids are just kids. Easy to deal with."

"Lord Raven, are we heading straight back to Eagle Fortress, or should we take a stroll around Shining Gold Town?" Eric asked.

"Neither." Raven twisted his neck. "Head east, to Snow Maple Fortress. I have business with Viscount John."

Eric was taken aback. "But... isn't it too abrupt to visit without an appointment?"

Raven said, "That's exactly the effect I want. Don't ask too many questions. Let's go!"

After a brief pause, the carriage wheels began to turn.

Raven leaned back against the carriage wall and sighed:

"Just finished playing the big shot for a bit, now it's time to play the humble one!"