Parasitized Again

The next day, at dawn!

A shaft of golden morning light spilled down, but Jeroen Hoven's whip did not crack on time. For the first time, he lost his race against the sun—and he would never have another chance to turn the tables!

For the first time, the serfs of Tulip Manor slept in. Only when they heard waves of commotion outside did they emerge one after another to see what was happening.

"The Magic Beast that caused trouble yesterday is dead. Everyone can work in peace!"

Adams Arthur wore silver-white armor and rode a scaled horse with Magic Beast blood, broader and sturdier than an ox. A Refined Iron knight's lance nearly a zhang long held the Shadow Leopard's head aloft at its tip for all to see.

Golden hair, a scarlet cloak, and heroic bearing—he looked like a triumphant lion returning from battle.

One could imagine him on the battlefield, raising an enemy commander's head and shouting as he took the general's head amid ten thousand troops. What awe-inspiring Killing Intent that would be.

With such an impressive elder brother as an example, it was no wonder Little Hank did not want to study Wizard Script and instead dreamed of becoming a knight.

"What a huge leopard head! That's right, it's the Magic Beast that attacked the manor yesterday."

When Randy met those crimson beast eyes, he could not help shrinking his neck. The Magic Beast was dead beyond death, yet fear still welled uncontrollably in his heart.

"Only a lord knight could kill a giant beast like this. If I could be this impressive one day, even dying on the spot would be worth it." Jack's face was full of admiration.

"Then seize the opportunity and work hard!"

It was not entirely impossible for a serf to become a knight.

When war came, nobles usually formed serf armies, giving serfs a chance to leap across the social divide.

Among Count Golden Lion's knights, a small number descended from fallen nobles, but most had serfs for ancestors.

"..."

"Where are they?"

The merchants transporting marble hauled the stone into the manor.

But when they could not find any serfs to unload it, they caught a guard and questioned him.

The guard was utterly baffled and hurried to Tulip Manor. After making a circuit, he found no trace of Jeroen Hoven.

The serfs had long noticed Jeroen Hoven's disappearance, but his vicious reputation was too overwhelming. None of them dared report it to anyone.

What if he had merely overslept?

Any serf who talked too much would definitely be whipped to death.

After several twists and turns, Austin Haydn, the steward of Golden Lion Castle, finally discovered that Jeroen Hoven had vanished yesterday!

"Vanished? Didn't that just mean he was dead, without even a corpse left behind?"

Jeroen Hoven had been a Low Knight.

First, the serfs could be ruled out. Even if a knight stood still, without some divine weapon in their hands, ordinary people could not even pierce a knight's skin.

Next, outside enemies could be ruled out. Outsiders had no reason to go to such lengths to destroy the corpse and erase all traces.

So either he had the misfortune of dying in a Magic Beast's jaws, or he had offended another knight and been secretly assassinated!

Austin frowned slightly. Such matters were nothing new. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Didn't Perez not want to go to the battlefield? Have him take over Tulip Manor."

"..."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

After Jeroen Hoven's death, someone came specifically to investigate the cause, but neither a corpse nor any clues were found.

They hastily pinned the blame on a Magic Beast. In the end, the Shadow Leopard, which had died with grievances still unavenged, bore everything.

Every day, aside from meditating to increase his mental power limit,

Yin Ming began cultivating his second Zero-Ring Wizardry. Although its ritual circuit was more complicated than Wizard's Hand, after three days of constant practice, he could already draw the runes in their entirety.

[Zero-Ring Spell: Flesh Strengthening.]

Compared with knights, wizards' bodies were simply too frail.

To make up for this weakness, Yin Ming chose Flesh Strengthening as his second wizardry.

This Zero-Ring Wizardry was entirely different from Wizard's Hand.

It possessed no combat power whatsoever. Instead, it used magic power to strengthen the body's attributes.

"Pain!"

As a thread of magic power flowed into the runes,

the runes transformed into a cool current that coursed through his limbs and bones, tempering every cell in his body. All his muscles ached as though they were being kneaded and crushed.

His flesh trembled. The tempered cells became incomparably active, like a baby in the womb, rapidly absorbing nutrients and developing anew.

Then, an incomparably intense hunger struck.

Yin Ming hurriedly took out Grain-Repelling Pills. One, two, three...

[Name: Yin Ming (Eno).]

[Lifespan: 17/99 (less than one year deducted).]

[Constitution: 8.]

[Magic Power: 6/10.]

[Mental Power: 11/11.5.]

[Wizardry: Wizard's Hand (Zero Ring), Flesh Strengthening (Zero Ring).]

[Items: Purification Law Fragment (Divine), Quasit Blood (Extraordinary), Abyssal Energy Crystal Fragment (Extraordinary).]

The first use of Flesh Strengthening had the best effect.

It consumed 1 point of magic power and 0.5 points of mental power, yet permanently increased his Constitution by 3 points.

As the number of uses increased and his Constitution gradually approached First-Ring Extraordinary, Flesh Strengthening would completely lose its effect.

Fortunately, Yin Ming did not have high requirements for his Constitution. He did not seek to become strong enough to withstand a knight head-on.

As long as he could hold out for three seconds and gain enough time to draw the Ritual Runes, that would be enough!

"..."

Cultivation complete!

Yin Ming used Wizard's Hand to lift the final millstone-sized rock. With a forceful throw toward the Magic Beast Forest, he completed the day's stone-clearing task.

"Done! Getting rid of that old dog Hoven really was the right choice."

The new manor overseer's full name was Perez Gagarin, an old knight who had retired from the battlefield.

He acted simply, brutally, and ruthlessly, yet he was far less diligent than the previous Jeroen Hoven.

After roughly assigning most matters, he dumped them all onto the serfs. Only those who failed to finish their tasks received a lashing; he ignored everything else.

Although Perez did not know a single serf by name, unlike Jeroen Hoven, who could call every person by name,

in Yin Ming's eyes, he was the finest manor overseer imaginable.

Each time, Yin Ming only needed to choose a secluded spot and could finish, in half an hour, the work that took other serfs an entire day.

Besides meditation and wizardry cultivation, he still had an abundance of spare time.

The only regret was that without the Corpse-Liberation Immortal leaving his body, reading was nearly impossible.

"..."

[Landon Duchy Calendar: October 27, Year 22.]

Green Forest City's largest flower garden was completed.

Golden Lion Castle was adorned with lanterns and colored banners as it prepared for the coming grand ceremony.

Yet none of this had anything to do with the serfs. After a brief rest, they had to prepare for the coming winter plowing. Cold-resistant black rye would be planted in November and harvested in June of the following year.

The land was rotated—after being planted for one year, it needed another year of rest to replenish itself—but the serfs who worked it never rested.

Yin Ming's strength also grew with time. His mental power reached 13 points, while his Constitution rose to a terrifying 20 points, giving him physical strength beyond that of a Low Knight.

However—the peaceful days lasted only half a month.

"..."

Perez Gagarin's temperament suddenly changed drastically.

He began squeezing the serfs to the utmost, increasing their daily workload.

At the same time, he restored the system of rewarding the day's best serf with a loaf of white bread, staging murders no different from those under Jeroen Hoven.

"This guy... has been parasitized by a Demon Bloodline too!"

When a Demon Bloodline died,

the demon at the source of that bloodline would immediately sense it.

Little Black Fur Ball had been dead for over half a month, yet the Abyssal Quasit had made no move. It was as cautious and suspicious as the rumors claimed. Yet unexpectedly, a Demon Bloodline had descended once more.