“It's a pity. Unlog the fourth Blood Vortex and cultivating Angel’s Thorn pletely draihe life force of Addison and Winterburn. It seems I’ll least aen days of effort to finalize the Agility Rune.”

  “However, there’s actually a better choice than Swiftstep Teique or Spider Teique!”

  The first page of the Vampiric Scroll〢〨 recorded the foundational Vampiric Secret Art, Bloodfme Aura.

  On the sed page was the record of the Bloodfme Shapeshifting Art.

  As the name implied, the Bloodfme Shapeshifting Art did not actually allow for shapeshifting but only transformed the user into a bzing form of bloodfme!

  Charlot didn’t particurly care about turning into various animals or different human appearances. What truly mattered was that by transf into bloodfme, he could hover and drift in the air. It was not quite flying, but it was more than suffit for travel.

  ...

  During the midday break, Charlot was summoned by Lord Leo. The first thing Leo said sent a chill through Charlot’s entire body: “Byron and the Bck Phoenix Dynasty have signed an alliahis time, the goal is to lure the restorationists of South Seraph to assassinate Grand Duke Ferdinand!”

  “Thus igniting the fmes of war!”

  Charlot faced the Evil God directly. His soul shattered and reassembled, awakening memories from his two lifetimes. As clear as if it had happened yesterday, Charlot Meburg recalled the knowledge he had learned in his early years. Naturally, he was well aware of the historical enmity between South Seraph and the Behemoth Principality.

  To put it briefly, South Seraph had beeing the Fars Empire’s invasion and was on the verge of victory when the Behemoth Principality stabbed them in the back, leading to their downfall.

  It had been nearly two turies since South Seraph was destroyed. While its people had growively pliant uhe Empire’s rule, they still harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Behemoth Principality.

  A certain rumor had spread over the years: one drunken patron in a tavern loudly procimed, “I’m from the Behemoth Principality…” only to be beaten to death by an angry mob of South Seraph natives.

  Such was the depth of hatred betweewo nations.

  If the restorationists of South Seraph assassinated Grand Duke Ferdinand, the royal family of the Fars Empire would iably seek vengeahe restorationists would stand no ce against the full might of the Empire’s army and would be forced to seek external aid...

  The slight flutter of a butterfly’s wings could trigger a cataclysmi.

  Sometimes, however, storms were orchestrated.

  Although Charlot was a transmigrator with no loyalty to the Fars Empire, the thought of war breaking out—and the tless is who would perish—still left him deeply uled.

  Before his transmigration, he had lived in a try that had enjoyed decades of peace. Having experienced such tranquility, he fully uood the preciousness of pead the horrors of war.

  In a low voice, he said, “I have not received this directive.”

  Lord Leo replied, “Your rank is too low to be privy to the full scope of this pn. It’s no surprise.”

  “However, you must fully cooperate with my as.”

  “If this mission succeeds, I transfer you to my and and guarantee you a promotion by at least one rank.”

  Charlot expressed his gratitude respectfully, but inwardly, he thought to himself: I must find a way to sabotage Byron’s pn.

  How absurd that, as a fugitive, I’m actually pting helping the Fars Empire maintain peace.

  Lord Leo, satisfied with Charlot’s attitude, gave a few more instrus before waving him away to prepare for their move.

  ...

  The team moved quickly, traveling for over two days before reag Machubi.

  Though the a Orgdom fortress had been sacked by the Sherlock Dynasty and buro the ground, even in ruins it retained an imposing grandeur.

  The architecture of the Orgdom was moal in scale, with each building t dozens of meters high. The fortress gates were especially colossal, and even after turies of destru, they still inspired awe.

  Charlot, though fatigued, volunteered to ihe area personally.

  Whether it was his adventurer subordinates or Lord Leo himself, everyone saw Charlot as a reliable figure.

  To the adventurers, their “leader” was ceous and hands-on in critical moments. To Lord Leo, this potential subordinate was diligent and unafraid of hard work—prime material for a personal attendant.

  Charlot alone knew his true purpose: to verify the results of his ret resear the first page of Agmirs Labyrinth.

  Holding a magical alchemical staff in one hand and his Magnum Mauler iher, Charlot strode fidently into Machubi. Once he passed through the colpsed fortress gates, which obscured the view from outside, he swiftly stowed away both ons arieved his diary. Flipping to the page on Agmirs Labyrinth, he pced the diary on the ground and muttered a soft intation.

  Nothing happened.

  Just as Charlot began to feel disappointed, believing he had made an error in his research, a surge of sciousness rippled through him: Charlot Meburg has discovered the ruins of Machubi, fulfilling the ditions to establish the first byrinth. Machubi is undergoing byrinth transformation.

  Charlot watched as the first page of Agmirs Labyrinth vanished before his eyes. He immediately sensed an intangible force emanating from the diary, spreading outward inch by ind infiltrating the a ruins of the Orgdom’s fortress.

  The transformation began with the fortress gate behind him, which served as the focal point. From there, it spread deeper into Machubi. The same sciousness rippled through him again: The byrinth transformation of Machubi will take eighteen days to plete. During this time, you must not leave this location.

  Taking a deep breath, Charlot pocketed the diary auro the fortress gate. Standing within, he called out, “There’s no danger here. I even found a area suitable for setting up a camp to await Grand Duke Ferdinand’s arrival.”

  Lord Leo gave a faint smile. “Excellent!”

  Though he had heard rumors about Machubi’s haunted past, his fidence as a high-ranking Transde him unshaken. Apanied by two attendants, he stepped into the ruined fortress without hesitation.

  Charlot immediately sensed another notification: Three NPCs added to the byrinth. Transformatiress increased by 1.5%.

  He was both astonished and thrilled. This ued development was certainly a boon!

  The adventurers followed suit, entering the ruined fortress. Notifications tio flood in:

  Fifteen NPCs added. Transformatiress increased by 0.8%...Twenty-one NPCs added. Transformatiress increased by 1.3%...Thirty-four NPCs added. Transformatiress increased by 3.3%...Total NPCs: 136. Transformatiress increased by 16.5%.

  Exhaling deeply, Charlot finally felt assured that his research had been correct.

  The a Orgdom fortress was massive, once housing an army of 270,000 soldiers at its peak. Though only partially transformed, the byrinth’s 20% pletion was enough to trap anyone who ventured inside.

  Lord Leo, a high-ranking Transdent, instinctively grew cautious. His heightened awareness led him to survey the surroundings carefully, but he found nothing amiss.

  What he couldn’t possibly realize was that the danger wasn’t lurking—it had already enveloped them.