Parasitized Again

The next day, at dawn!

A thread 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 file out to see what was happening.

"The Magic Beast that caused havoc 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 stronger than a bull. The tip of his nearly ten-foot refined iron knight's lance held up the head of the Shadow Leopard for all to see.

Golden hair, a crimson cloak, valiant and spirited—he looked like a mighty lion returning victorious from battle.

One could imagine him on the battlefield, raising an enemy commander's head and shouting that he had taken the enemy general's head amid ten thousand troops. What majestic Killing Intent that would be!

With such an admirable 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."

Randy met those crimson beast eyes and could not help shrinking his neck. The Magic Beast was dead beyond doubt, yet fear still gripped his heart.

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

"Then seize the chance and work hard!"

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

When war came, nobles would usually form serf armies, giving serfs a chance to cross the gulf between classes.

Among Count Golden Lion's knights, a small portion came from fallen noble families, but most had serf ancestors.

"..."

"Where are they?"

A merchant delivering marble hauled the stone into the manor.

Yet he could not find the serfs meant to unload it, so he grabbed a guard and asked.

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

The serfs had long discovered that Jeroen Hoven was missing, but his fierce reputation was too overwhelming. None of them dared report it to anyone on their own initiative.

What if he had merely slept in!

A serf who talked too much would definitely be beaten to death by the whip.

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

"Missing? Doesn't that just mean he died without even leaving a corpse behind?"

Jeroen Hoven had been a low-level knight.

First, the serfs could be ruled out. Even if a knight stood still, ordinary people without divine weapons or sharp artifacts could not even pierce his skin.

Next, outsiders could be ruled out. There was no need for outsiders to go through such trouble to destroy a corpse and erase the evidence.

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

Austin frowned slightly. This was nothing new. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Didn't Perez want to avoid going to the battlefield? Send him to take over Tulip Manor."

"..."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

After Jeroen Hoven's death, people came specifically to investigate the cause. However, they found neither a corpse nor any clues.

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

Aside from meditating each day to raise the upper limit of his spiritual power,

Yin Ming spent the rest of his time practicing his second Rank 0 wizard spell. Although its spell-formula circuit was more complex than Wizard's Hand, after three days of constant practice, he could already draw the runes in their entirety.

[Rank 0 Spell: Flesh Strengthening.]

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

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

This Rank 0 wizard spell was completely different from Wizard's Hand.

It possessed no combat power whatsoever. Instead, it used magic power to strengthen physical attributes.

"Pain!"

As a strand of magic power flowed into the rune,

the rune transformed into a cool current that coursed through his limbs and bones, tempering every cell in his body. A sour ache like kneading and crushing spread through every muscle.

His flesh trembled. The cells, tempered anew, became incomparably active, like a baby inside an embryo, rapidly absorbing nutrients and developing once more.

Then, an overwhelmingly intense hunger struck.

Yin Ming hurriedly took out fasting pills. One, two, three...

[Name: Yin Ming (Eno).]

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

[Physique: 8.]

[Magic Power: 6/10.]

[Spiritual Power: 11/11.5.]

[Wizard Spells: Wizard's Hand (Rank 0), Flesh Strengthening (Rank 0).]

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

The first use of Flesh Strengthening produced the best effect.

It consumed 1 point of magic power and 0.5 points of spiritual power, yet granted a permanent increase of 3 points in physique.

As the number of uses increased and his physique gradually approached Rank 1 Extraordinary, Flesh Strengthening would completely lose its effect.

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

As long as he could endure for three seconds and gain enough time to draw the spell-formula runes, that would be enough!

"..."

Cultivation complete!

Yin Ming used Wizard's Hand to seize the last millstone-sized rock. With a hard throw toward Magic Beast Forest, he completed that day's task of clearing away stones.

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

The new manor overseer was named Perez Gagarin, an old knight who had retired from the battlefield.

He handled matters simply, brutally, and viciously, but he was far less diligent than the former Jeroen Hoven.

After making simple assignments, he dumped most matters wholesale onto the serfs. Only those who failed to complete their tasks received a whipping; he cared about nothing else.

Although Perez did not know a single serf and could not call every one of them by name like Jeroen Hoven had,

in Yin Ming's eyes, he was the best manor overseer possible.

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

Aside from meditating and practicing wizard spells, he still had plenty of spare time.

The only regret was that without the soul projection of a Corpse-Dissection Immortal, reading books was nearly impossible.

"..."

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

Green Forest City's largest flower garden was completed.

Golden Lion Castle was festooned with lights and decorations in preparation for the coming grand ceremony.

However, none of that had anything to do with the serfs. After a brief respite, 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 one year of planting, it needed a year of rest to nourish the soil—but the serfs who farmed it never rested.

Yin Ming's strength also grew with time. His spiritual power reached 13 points, while his physique rose to a terrifying 20 points. The strength of his body surpassed that of a low-level knight.

However—the peaceful days only lasted half a month.

"..."

Perez Gagarin's temperament suddenly changed drastically.

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

At the same time, he reinstated the system of rewarding the best serf of the day with a piece of white bread, staging a murder no different from Jeroen Hoven's.

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

Once a Demon Bloodline died,

the demon serving as the source of that bloodline would immediately sense it.

The little black furball 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. Yin Ming had not expected another Demon Bloodline to descend.