Opportunity

"Lord Negary?" Noah stood not far from Negary and asked with slight confusion.

"You're puzzled?" Beneath the shadow of the great tree, white bones of living creatures littered the ground. They were the food supplied to the crows and himself over the years, and quite a few were human. Negary sat upon a throne piled high from countless bones.

"Yes, I have doubts about your actions." Noah spoke seriously. This would have been impossible for the Noah of the past. Back then, he would only have obeyed every one of Negary's orders, but now he asked in confusion, "You have no dormant period. Although your soul body is temporarily shattered, under my nourishment, you should recover very soon."

"It seems that after becoming one with me, you have gained further liberation." Sitting upon the Bone Throne, Negary propped his right index finger against his temple. Several dozen crows flew in from afar and tossed a corpse before him.

"Nozades." Calling out the corpse's name, Negary crooked the fingers of his left hand. The Black Crow Pathogen within the corpse erupted from its body, then gradually merged into Negary's own.

The great tree behind him shifted from utter stillness to violent motion in an instant. Hundreds upon thousands of crows shot out from it, wrapping around Nozades's corpse. In only a few seconds, a fresh skeleton had been made.

The black torrent returned to the tree, and everything became utterly quiet again. Negary crooked his finger once more, and the skeleton's skull fell into his hand under the effect of Interference Force. He selected a spot on the throne, finally choosing a place on one of its steps, and set the skull there.

Negary settled back into his seat, leaning his head against his right index finger again. However, he used too much force, and the finger pierced straight into his head. A wisp of Vitality Qi slowly drifted away. Negary withdrew his finger from his head, and several tiny black tentacles at the wound linked together, quickly repairing it. Then, some white mucus seeped out, drying into ghastly pale skin.

"It seems this body still has quite a few flaws." Negary felt no regret. Flaws were only to be expected. What he needed to consider was how to mend them bit by bit.

This body could also be considered one of Negary's research results. By combining dozens of pathogens with Vitality Qi, he had formed this Pathogen Body. Its physical capabilities were immensely powerful; even Crow Men could not compare to it.

It also possessed all kinds of abilities. For instance, his nails were formed from a special pathogen, one that enjoyed devouring metal. When gathered together, they were as sharp and sturdy as blades and swords.

Then there was the layer of white mucus-like pathogen that formed his skin. It could create an interference layer. After Noah's testing, his psychic senses had been unable to detect Negary while he was wrapped in that layer.

Furthermore, Negary's soul body resided within it, so neither his Interference Force nor Perception Field was restricted. His control over the crows was not hindered either. Most importantly, this body reduced the consumption of Vitality Qi to an extremely low level. Even exposure to sunlight would not accelerate that consumption. This was the protective layer Negary had created for his own soul body.

Unfortunately, it was not yet entirely successful. His control over his strength was unstable, and sometimes his own power would injure himself. Perhaps obtaining a Breathing Method would solve that problem.

"Nozades still managed to probe quite a few of Chris's hidden cards." After absorbing Nozades's Black Crow Pathogen, Negary spoke slowly. In the past, he could only absorb a living being's Vitality Qi and Soul Qi immediately after its death.

But pathogens such as the Black Crow Pathogen made up for this shortcoming. After a Crow Man died, the Vitality Qi and Soul Qi leaking away from it would be absorbed and preserved by the Black Crow Pathogen implanted within its body. Negary could slowly absorb that Vitality Qi and Soul Qi afterward.

"Noah, if Chris learned that I was in this so-called dormant period, what do you think he would do?" Negary asked Noah beside him.

"Their mission would no longer be simply to rescue Isabella and her daughter. He would want to defeat me, and once he discovered his own inadequacies, he would seek help." Without waiting for Noah's answer, Negary gave it himself. "That help might be the bishop and knights of the Divine Grace Church who will soon arrive. It might be the Interkami Kingdom's response force, or the spies of the Kingdom of Roas. There are far, far too many forces involved."

"To develop Reastmia, we accepted too many outside forces along the way. As a result, quite a few things throughout Rea have gradually slipped beyond our control. Even with the Spread Pathogen, that is still a force that cannot see the light of day."

"This is an opportunity—an opportunity to clear out the forces within Rea, while extending our tentacles farther afield. Likewise, these tangled forces need an opportunity, and I have given them one. I have made them think they can only eradicate me by joining together."

"Chris is a talented man. Wouldn't he make the perfect leader for this joint operation?" Negary said slowly.

"So you handed the Scale-kin over to Adre in order to put pressure on those people. Aren't you afraid Chris will be killed by the Scale-kin?" Noah understood Negary's plan and showed concern for Chris.

"If he cannot even manage that, then he cannot become the leader of those forces. If he dies, then he dies." Negary spoke without the slightest concern.

Dessa and Chris had already moved their battle to another street. Chris had to admit that this woman was difficult to deal with.

Her rapier was exceptionally precise, and coupled with her inhuman speed of attack, it forced Chris to devote his full strength to dealing with her assaults. Even so, several wounds had appeared on his body, blood flowing continuously from them.

"Pant, pant, pant..." Dessa gasped for breath. Her opponent was indeed a legendary ranger. With the Breathing Method as his foundation, his abilities were comprehensive in every respect. She had relied on her physical prowess and the advantage of her weapon to press the attack again and again, yet had only dealt him a few insignificant wounds. If this continued, she would very likely lose.

"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Dessa stopped attacking, opened her mouth, and bit down directly on the back of her right hand. Blood and black Black Crow Pathogen flowed out together, staining the rapier.

"They're all like this. What terrifying charisma you have, Negary." Chris sighed. Not long ago, Negary's ominous Rhythm had vanished completely, as though it had concealed itself. This made Chris realize that he could not drag things out any longer, or he would miss his best chance to defeat Negary.

But am I really enough on my own? Chris looked at Dessa opposite him, unable to stop the thought from surfacing. Every subordinate loyal to Negary was extraordinarily powerful and impossible to predict. Just how strong was Negary himself?

Perhaps I should find some help?