Poor William

The Transverse Mountains at the edge of Hill's territory stretched on without end, towering and majestic. Only the peaks were visible, never the foothills.

While patrolling, he had sensed the aura of powerful Magical Beasts. Hill could not afford to provoke them, but a place with such powerful Magical Beasts was bound to contain rare treasures of heaven and earth, perhaps even a magical crystal mine. It was perfect for Falan to claim and build a Mage Tower. With Falan's abilities, he could certainly build a Legendary Mage Tower. It simply would not be as powerful as those Mage Towers in the capital built atop enormous elemental mines. Compared to the danger of fighting players in the future, Hill considered that price very small.

Adrian looked at Hill and asked, "Why do I feel like you're so afraid of these Undead?"

Hill replied, "What I'm afraid of is the Gods. If they really bring tens of thousands of professionals, it could even lead to a God War!"

Adrian was stunned. "You think the people who come later will all be professionals too?"

"Yes." Hill said calmly, "Grandfather must have thought of that as well, which was why he felt it was necessary to leave!"

Adrian could no longer sit still. He paced several times before saying, "I need to go home. No matter what, I have to tell my father." Hill remembered that Adrian's father was a marquis with the rank of Great Knight. Although his lands were far from the royal capital, he still could not escape the royal family's struggles, especially since Adrian's mother came from a collateral branch of the royal family. Adrian had no inheritance rights, but his father had still paid a great price to send him to Falan's side. Though he had ignored him ever since, by the standards of this society, he was already a very good father. It was perfectly normal for Adrian to worry.

Hill said, "Make it clear to him that the God-blessed people around Prince William are extremely crazy because they cannot die! And I heard that more than tens of thousands of professionals are coming. Tell them to stay in their territory and not do anything unnecessary. Also, for the next few years, the eyes of all the Gods will be fixed on Salar. If they don't want Holy Knights coming to their door, they had better treat ordinary people well."

Adrian nearly went mad. "There's that too! How are they supposed to know where the line is? The best they do for commoners is not raise taxes! And that is only because royal taxes are already high enough! Their only bottom line is not killing people!"

Hill understood that Adrian's family was already considered decent for this era. They might beat commoner slaves to death for offending them, but they had no desire to drive everyone in their territory to death. Many nobles imposed huge additional taxes on top of the royal tax. In fact, the royal taxes were collected through the nobles, and a portion of every payment went to the fief-holding nobles. Unless they were the extravagant and decadent sort, that money was enough for them. But there were always people who felt that commoner slaves were worthless, that dying for them was an honor! Their taxes became so excessive that even Holy Knights came knocking. Yet there were too few Holy Knights, and most of them guarded temples. Where the Gods did not pay attention, there was even more darkness.

Count Perast had not imposed any extra taxes either, because his fief lay near the capital and all the major temples could observe him. But the members of that family were extremely fond of whipping commoners who offended them. Once William returned to the capital with the players, Hill would just wait to hear how they ended up.

Hill told Adrian, "Tell them not to hit people whenever possible. If they need to punish someone, lock them up instead, but absolutely do not starve anyone to death. I remember your father has faith. It would be best to invite a bishop to take a look. Do not stray from your alignment under any circumstances."

Adrian said, "They also revere His Majesty the Knowledge God! The Knowledge God's general believers only need to remain orderly. When I get back, I'll have him invite a bishop to station himself in the territory! Other Gods' Holy Knights will not meddle much in a territory with a temple."

Hill said, "Even then, don't draw attention! The people Prince William brings may be all over Salar. In order to compete for faith, if they see anything happening, they will definitely interfere!"

Adrian sighed. "Taking this chance to change some habits would be good too. Oppressing commoners is nothing glorious. They are considered good among the great nobles, but if their luck turns bad, they should still rein themselves in!"

Hill nodded in agreement. "Perast is definitely going to be unlucky. They're so close to the capital. William's people will certainly go to White Horse City."

Adrian smiled. "Your only consolation?"

Hill replied, "Enough. It's fine to be happy knowing they're going to be unlucky, but you should eat and get some proper rest. Set off for your father's place early tomorrow morning. Explain everything clearly and come back immediately. Grandfather could arrive at any time!"

Adrian waved a hand and returned to his room.

Hill knew Adrian was not terribly anxious because he did not know that the so-called Undead madness he had seen during this period was merely the beginner village's preferential treatment. The players were still busy leveling up, and whenever they had time, they discussed the worldview, the game's backstory, and how to use skills. Players who had just started leveling were merely crazed by their lack of fear of death. Once William released them from his territory, Adrian would have to reshape his understanding of the world. With Falan and Adrian's temperaments, they would not recover for two or three years. That would be madness shocking even to the Gods. Hill wondered which True God had such nerve.

Hill sighed. He had thought life would simply mean hiding at home and grinding levels with his head down.

But he touched his chest. Whether or not this had once been his world, there were always ties that stirred his heart.

People from modern society... Even the repetitive filthy curses in games made him nostalgic. He did not want Falan and the others to come into contact with the players because those people would definitely drive them mad, but he himself wanted to see them. He wanted to very badly.

Hill found himself an excuse. He needed to confirm whether William was an incarnation of a God or a transmigrator with a golden finger. After all, Salar was so close to him!

After Adrian left, Hill asked Liszt to conceal his whereabouts. He secretly told Alice where he was going, then left the territory as well.

He waited near Border City for several days before a merchant caravan finally arrived. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he slipped into a wagon carrying furs. For caravans that crossed national borders year-round, it was easy to avoid attention and sneak into Salar.

Sure enough, the gate guards focused only on counting the wagons and did not inspect them at all.

After entering Salar, he wore mage robes and a hood that concealed his face. He flew the entire way and saw many Mages traveling in the same direction.

Mages had always been deeply interested in the Gods. They secretly researched the Gods' origins and analyzed the source of divine power. The top Legendary Mages had probably all done so.

There was always a saying among Mages: curiosity was the source of a Mage's progress, and also the source of a Mage's fall.

With a new God suddenly appearing, these Mages could no longer remain seated.

It was only the beginning, so the Advanced Magi could still hold themselves back. Once tens of thousands of people appeared, Magi and Legendary Mages would probably emerge as well.

After thinking it over, Hill still felt it would be better to take a look sooner rather than later. He had to see William with his own eyes.

After ten days, Hill finally arrived in William's territory.

He had made such good time only because he flew the entire way. Hill estimated that if those natural disasters set out from here and wanted to arrive in his territory in large numbers, it would take at least half a year. If William still had to fight for the throne, then three years would not be a problem.

That reassured Hill. In three years, even if Falan did not come, Hill could seal his territory off completely and keep it safe.

By then, he would turn the land sloping toward the mountains to the left of the valley entrance into a small Mage town and earn some money from the players.

No more people would be allowed into the valley. He would have the Treants plant the land everywhere except the two manors full of forest. As the tower master, he would occasionally appear in the town. That should ward off most players' curiosity.

He would just let the players regard him as the village chief of a new map. As long as they did not treat him as a major boss, it would be fine.

As for Falan, so long as he was seen as the powerful patron behind the little lord, those players would find every possible way to get quests from Lord Hill. As long as Hill could hold firm, life would go on.

Watching the players in William's territory bustle about building houses and hunting, strange strings of names floating above their heads, Hill silently said, "From now on, I'm a little lord holding hidden quests, with tormenting players as my bottom line and chain quests as my method!"

Hill quietly landed atop a towering tree a thousand meters away from William's Lord's Manor.

As the contractor of a Wood Spirit, his aura easily blended into the tree.

This tree was probably tens of thousands of years old and had already developed spirituality. Hill had just found a branch with a good view and sat down when branches and leaves stretched over to hide him completely. Hill's Elven bloodline allowed him to see the Lord's Manor a thousand meters away with ease.

William truly deserved to be the protagonist of a Western fantasy novel—or perhaps a game. Tall and handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes, he looked exactly like David brought to life.

The strength of a Sky Knight gave him confidence. Unafraid of assassination, William wore a full prince's formal outfit and stood at the entrance of the Lord's Manor for an hour every morning, handing out ten random encounter quests to the players.

Watching these players compete flamboyantly for William's attention every day, Hill laughed until his stomach hurt.

He could now confirm that William was a transmigrator.

Although this Sky Knight always looked cold and composed before the players, the expressions he made after turning away were enough for Hill to make several sets of reaction stickers.

A little girl named Perfect Baldhead charged bravely at the front every day. In a sweet, coquettish voice, she would beg William for a quest. That cute and gentle tone always made William's eye twitch.

Whenever William gave him a quest, he would look at the girl named Xiao Liuliu behind the bald head to cleanse his eyes.

Every time this bald little girl had moved even slightly away from William, she would switch to the rough voice of a burly man and shout, "Wife, hurry up! Brothers, assemble!"

Hill felt that William really wanted to beat him up.

Their group of around ten people seemed to be some kind of guild. They called out to one another, slung arms over shoulders, and laughed noisily.

There was also a girl named Old Auntie who kept saying she wanted to receive a quest from William too. She insisted that Prince William had to call her "Dear Old Auntie." "Aiya, then I could die without regrets!"

Unfortunately, her luck was poor. William never gave her a quest.

Watching the veins twitch behind William's ears as he listened to these conversations, Hill sincerely expressed his sympathy.

There was another group of players whose names all began with Apocalypse. They were all Swordsmen and Knights, tall and powerfully built. They often joined hands in a circle, squeezing scattered players outside it. A Knight named Doomsday Romance led them. Every time, he had to cling to Prince William and talk for half an hour. Even if the prince gave them a quest, they would make sure to remain for the full hour before William pushed everyone aside and returned to the Lord's Manor.

Hill saw William nearly lose his temper several times. Whenever Doomsday Romance spoke, William's hand continuously rested on and rubbed the sword at his waist.