Seize the Initiative (Please Recommend)

As the standouts among goblinoid creatures.

Bear Goblins possessed far greater size and much sturdier builds than goblins.

Their claws were razor-sharp, enough to tear out the innards and intestines of most prey with their bare hands.

Because of their massive size, they looked somewhat clumsy.

But in truth, they were remarkably agile.

Among low-tier monsters, Bear Goblins were absolutely considered formidable.

Ordinary Adventurers might not even be a match for a Bear Goblin one-on-one.

Not to mention that there were as many as six Bear Goblins guarding Sang Qi's house.

Roger even maliciously suspected that there might be one or two inside her house as well.

So he definitely could not act rashly.

When it came to hunting, patience was the most important thing.

Roger believed that Sang Qi would leave the house eventually.

Sure enough, by evening that day, there was movement inside the cottage.

Witch Sang Qi emerged from the door and hurried toward White Moon City.

Before leaving, she summoned four Bear Goblins to serve as her bodyguards.

She left two behind to guard the house.

Watching Sang Qi's retreating figure, Roger pondered briefly before following her.

Sang Qi and the Bear Goblins moved quickly, covering a great distance in the blink of an eye.

"This really is the direction of White Moon City."

"Sang Qi is in contact with the Gray Dwarves?"

Under the cover of Shadow Cloak, Roger tailed them from neither too near nor too far away.

Before long.

Sang Qi's group passed a Gray Dwarf outpost.

Though the Gray Dwarves looked wary, they ultimately let her through.

However, a minor conflict arose during the process.

The Gray Dwarves apparently did not want to let the Bear Goblins into their city, but Sang Qi insisted on bringing her followers.

The two sides argued.

In the end, Sang Qi won.

Faced with the Bear Goblins' powerful pectorals, the Gray Dwarves chose to back down.

Roger followed Sang Qi all the way to the outskirts of White Moon City.

On an open platform, Sang Qi met with a Gray Dwarf clad in crescent-colored robes.

Roger recognized those robes.

When he had entered the Temple District while killing the Great Prophet, many Gray Dwarves there had worn robes like those.

"So this guy is from the Temple District."

Roger watched them from afar, forming a guess.

Very soon.

Sang Qi and the Gray Dwarf from the Temple District broke into a fierce argument.

Roger did not understand Underground Common Tongue and could only barely make out phrases like "pay more," "we," "contract," "White Moon City," "invaders," and "give up."

The argument grew increasingly heated.

After a while, perhaps tired of arguing, Sang Qi took several steps back and waved her hand.

Her Bear Goblins swarmed forward and surrounded the Gray Dwarf.

Faced with the Bear Goblins' powerful pectorals, the Gray Dwarf from the Temple District also chose to back down.

Reluctantly, he took a small bag of gemstones from his pocket.

Sang Qi took the gemstones and left smugly.

Roger did not emerge from the shadows until they had left White Moon City.

"This woman actually dared to take Gray Dwarf money to buy my life."

"The Gray Dwarves are one thing. After all, they're my good brothers. I can forgive them."

"But this woman can't be spared."

Roger snorted and chose to make a move—

He cast "Hunter's Mark" on Sang Qi in his field of vision.

Then he ran off into the distance.

The next few days were the most leisurely Roger had experienced since crossing over.

Every day, he practiced martial arts in the dojo.

When he got tired, he spent time bonding with White Raven's Crown.

When he got hungry, he went to the underground river and caught a few trout to fill his stomach.

His days were exceptionally pleasant.

Five days later.

Roger went outside Sang Qi's cabin and voluntarily removed the "Hunter's Mark" from her.

Not long afterward, Sang Qi listlessly ran out of the house.

She wandered around the Stalagmite Forest near the cabin a few times.

Roger continued following her from neither too far nor too close.

From beginning to end, he never made a move.

Only when Sang Qi was about to return home did he repeat the same trick, placing a weightless "Hunter's Mark" on her.

Before Sang Qi could roar for the Bear Goblins to come seize him, Roger activated Ladder Cloud Steps.

He had already vanished without a trace.

Inside the cabin.

Sang Qi was on the verge of collapse.

Five days ago.

The moment Hunter's Mark struck her, she knew someone had set their sights on her! The target was likely that agile ranger.

At first, she had not thought much of it.

Her cabin could not be called impregnable, but the terrain was favorable, and Bear Goblins stood guard.

Even if someone used the advantage of invisibility to approach the cabin, what awaited them would be a string of meticulously arranged magical traps! No one would be willing to fight a mage on a mage's turf.

Unless he was an idiot.

Sang Qi had prepared to wait for the rabbit by the tree stump, expecting the other party to deliver himself to her.

Who knew Hunter's Mark would prove far more effective than she had expected! Weakness was one thing.

The fear effect attached to Hunter's Mark had greatly affected both her mind and mental state.

From time to time, she could feel that instinctive fear originating from her bloodline.

Even within the safety of her cabin.

She often suffered hallucinations.

It was as if she could see a pair of eyes somewhere in the unseen, coldly watching her! The feeling was unbearably agonizing for Sang Qi.

She began suffering from severe insomnia.

Even after taking sleeping potions, she would still experience palpitations, terror, and similar symptoms in her dreams.

She tried many methods to counter Hunter's Mark.

But the thing clung to her like maggots on bone; it simply could not be removed.

Only then did Sang Qi realize she had gotten herself into serious trouble!

Amid her regret, she began devising ways to strike back.

On the fifth day.

Sang Qi noticed that oppressive sensation had disappeared.

An idea came to her, and she prepared to use herself as bait to lure the enemy out of the darkness.

Although five days of torment had left Sang Qi's mental state and mind far worse than before, she still retained her basic intelligence and judgment.

She brought only one Bear Goblin with her and circled through the Stalagmite Forest several times.

She believed that ranger was watching her somewhere nearby.

As long as the other party made a move.

The Magic Scrolls she had prepared in advance and the concealed traps she had set would be enough to deal the enemy a crushing blow.

But strangely, her opponent did not appear as expected.

Sang Qi was somewhat surprised.

But at least that unsettling sensation had vanished.

She had plenty of time to take revenge on that elusive ranger.

So she breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to go home for a good night's sleep.

However, the instant she reached her doorstep—

Hunter's Mark, which had tormented her for five days, descended upon her once more.

This completely disrupted Sang Qi's plans and drove her into the abyss of despair.

She looked at the haggard face in the mirror.

Her skin, already contaminated by magic, had been covered in blotches and ominous patterns.

Now, set against her waxen complexion, it looked even more like a cheap oil painting with its colors smeared together.

Unable to control herself, she let out a piercing scream.

Outside the house, a Bear Goblin dully ran over and knocked on the door.

Yet this only pushed Sang Qi's breakdown to its peak! She lost control and began smashing things frantically.

Only after a long while did she finally stop, her face dark.

She ran into the back kitchen.

She mixed herself a sedative potion rich in toxins and drank it.

Only after a long time did she drift into a shallow sleep.

Before long, she was jolted awake by a nightmare.

"Five days and it'll be over."

"Five days and it'll be over..."

She comforted herself like that, then forced herself back to sleep.

The long, torturous five days passed with great difficulty.

Sang Qi, gaunt and withered, waited for Hunter's Mark to disappear.

But even by the morning of the sixth day, the throbbing that came from her bloodline and the suffocating pressure had never left her.

"Ah...!!!!!"

Within the little house, the witch's broken cries rang out.

And so another two days passed.

Clear Spring Sect's training grounds.

Roger sat upright and composed.

Waves of cool, refreshing sensations flowed from White Raven's Crown.

In the status panel:

"Qi Fate Synchronization complete"

"You have become the master of White Raven's Crown"

"You have gained a new specialty—Seize the Initiative"