Marvin's appearance startled everyone!
Hubble seemed to be uneasy and he couldn't help but look at the corner of the room.
There stood a man with an embarrassed expression.
Jast.
After Turalyon's death, that guy had jumped at the opportunity to become Hubble's trusted aide. The order to not allow ordinary people into the city had actually come from Hubble. Jast was just dutifully carrying it out for him. But Marvin's appearance had messed up some of Hubble's plans. He wasn't sure about the extent of Marvin and Daniela's relationship, so he had yet to make a decision.
"Mister Marvin."
Hubble chose his words very carefully as he solemnly said, "This is a very official meeting. It concerns the right of inheritance of the Cridland clan…"
Marvin waved his hand in dismissal and addressed the whole room:
"What you mean is, first, you have already made the decision, as everyone here already considers Mister Hubble the heir. Second, I don't have the qualifications to interfere with the clan's internal affairs. Isn't that what you meant?"
An embarrassed expression appeared on Hubble's face. He was quite a scheming and hypocritical person. Regardless of the nature of the matter, he would usually be able to control his facial expressions.
That kind of person would definitely be very troublesome in times of peace.
But in the current chaotic era, such subtlety wasn't as important.
This was also the reason Marvin could act with so little restraint.
In the entire Lavis Dukedom, there was no one besides Daniela that could contend against him.
The others listened to Marvin's words while sneering.
One elder among them stood up and berated, "Since you already know, why are you still asking?"
"What about Daniela? Did she send you?"
"To even dare to leak the location of the clan's secret meeting place, she will receive the clan's punishment!"
The others echoed in assent!
In the secret cave, everyone criticized Daniela relentlessly.
After no less than two minutes, they finally stopped talking shit.
Marvin was still sitting very calmly as he asked with disdain, "Done talking?"
Jast suddenly felt a chill... He had an ominous premonition. He subconsciously took a few steps back, pressing against the wall.
The others didn't seem to have any such feeling.
In their eyes, although Marvin was said to be a hero with the strength of a Legend, he surely wouldn't dare to act recklessly in their territory.
This was the core of the Cridland clan, so how could they be here without any powerhouses keeping watch?!
If Marvin dared to act out, they would make him pay the price for provoking the Cridland clan!
Hubble took a deep breath and looked closely at Marvin. "Mister Marvin, Lavis and White River Valley are close allies. Could it be that you want to destroy this relationship?"
Marvin jeered back, "You all think far too highly of yourselves."
"On what basis can you represent the Cridland clan?"
"To be honest, I am ashamed by the appearance of scum like you in the Cridland clan."
After saying this, Marvin abruptly stood up.
The frightening aura of a Devil burst from his body!
Everyone blanched in fear!
This was the aura of the Molten Archdevil!
During Marvin's mission in the Crimson Wasteland, his Molten bloodline had been stimulated by the Greater Demon Balkh. Even if that bloodline was still weak and no real strength could be released from it, the nature of the aura was already very dreadful.
Everyone was shocked.
"Those of you who said that I don't have the qualifications to participate in the Cridland clan's internal affairs, do you not know what this is?"
He raised an arm and shook his wrist, showing the dazzling appearance of Ancestor's Mystery.
Hubble glanced at Marvin's wrists and couldn't hide his longing and greed.
Only pity remained in Marvin's heart.
"[Ancestor's Mystery]!?"
"Who are you?! Aren't you White River Valley's Marvin?"
"How could you have a Devil bloodline?"
The elders seemed quite shocked.
Marvin really did feel rather sorry for them. These people lacked information. Perhaps the Great Duke simply didn't share his information with them.
Thus, he raised his head and looked at them pridefully as he declared, "I am Diross' descendant, the owner of Ancestor's Mystery."
"The blood of the Cridland clan flows in my veins. When the Great Duke signed the alliance contract with me, this point had already been verified. In other words, I'm also a member of the Cridland clan."
"As for whether I am qualified to speak here, I wonder how many people in Fairhala, or in all of Lavis, have inherited the Cridland bloodline as strongly as I have?"
They looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what to say.
The news Marvin just revealed to them was too shocking.
The Molten Archdevil's bloodline... That wasn't inferior to Daniela's Ice Angel bloodline!
If awakened, he would definitely be an unmatched powerhouse!
Remembering that Marvin already had the strength to slay Gods, they suddenly felt a bit foolish.
Hubble's expression was uneasy as he tried to say something to retort, but Marvin had already decisively continued, "I, Marvin Cridland, on behalf of White River Valley, and on behalf of myself, fully support Daniela as the inheritor to the position of Lavis' Great Duke."
"In my eyes, besides Daniela, no one else has the qualifications to the inheritance."
"I hope that everyone present can take this into consideration."
They were all silent, unsure how to answer.
But at that time, Hubble suddenly spoke up. "They do not need to think about it, this matter has already been decided."
"My younger sister won't refuse my request," he insisted, his tone very resolute.
He looked at Marvin malignantly as he pointed out, "Mister Marvin, although the blood of the Cridland clan also flows in your veins, your grandfather Diross stole the family treasure and had already been expelled by the clan. Thus, your words have no meaning."
"Now, please leave this place immediately!"
"I am the future Great Duke of Lavis. If White River Valley still wants to work together with Lavis, then I must ask that you conduct yourself with dignity!"
Marvin showed a thoughtful smile as he looked at the rest. "Does everyone here think this way?"
He had a strange look in his eyes.
The elders looked at each other in hesitation for a while, but ultimately recalled all of Hubble's tempting promises. One of them said while grinding his teeth, "We can't let a woman become the new Duke!"
"Hubble is the best choice!"
"Even with your support, we will still choose Hubble!"
Marvin suddenly laughed loudly.
They were all baffled. "Why are you laughing?"
Marvin's smiling expression vanished, becoming one of pity. "You know… Daniela told me to give you a chance."
"She is still too soft-hearted."
"In this regard, even the lazy Ivan is more decisive than she is…"
Hubble suddenly paled as he demanded, "What are you planning?"
"Do you want to become an enemy of the Cridland clan?"
But the only response he received was the area plunging into darkness!
In an instant, the entire secret cave was swallowed by shadows!
Advanced Divine Vessel activated!
[Shadow] Domain activated!
Marvin's lazy voice echoed from the darkness:
"I'm just helping with cleaning up some pests."
Then, the aura of death began to rise up in the cave.
Everyone lost the ability to see, and they were thrown into chaos!
Outside the hidden cave, a silhouette was crazily fleeing the mountain!
'That lunatic! He really acted against them!'
Jast was frightened as he kept going as fast as he could.
'I must spread the news! Daniela is simply a murderer!'
As he was stumbling in panic, a young girl appeared on the mountain, just in front of him.
When he noticed her, all he was able to think of was that she seemed somewhat familiar.
The girl raised up her daggers. A pair of daggers that glittered like stars.
This was the last thing Jast saw.
Isabelle silently beheaded him.
A 4th rank Sorcerer was way too weak in front of a Legend Assassin.
In the darkness, some people were gasping for breath, some were fleeing, and some were just screaming bloody murder as they panicked.
But death would still find them.
The killer's movements flowed naturally and without any emotion, accurate and delicate, as if conducting surgery.
After a while, the shadows scattered, leaving only corpses in the meeting area.
Marvin cleaned his daggers while slowly departing from the cave.
Someone would take care of cleaning up the aftermath.
In this world, if a force wanted to maintain its power, it would have to make sure to remove any tumors that sprang up inside.
In the end, Daniela understood that, so she had surreptitiously gathered the Legend powerhouses for a secret meeting. After they were dismissed, they would find out that the Demon army had stealthily attacked the capital once again, killing Hubble and the others.
That group of people would get proper burials.
Then, there would be no one left in the territory to stop the future Ice Empress from gaining her destined radiance.
Lavis was bound to bring about a new era in the North!
Marvin knew that even without him, Daniela would definitely still have acted out of necessity.
But that would have caused her great torment. Doing it for her was equivalent to paying her back.
After all, she had done a lot for him in White River Valley.
Also, by helping her with this, the two would become closer.
"Let's go. The long-distance Teleportation array should have been attuned by now. It's time to go home," Marvin called to Isabelle as he began to walk up the mountain.
The girl nodded in acknowledgement and glanced back.
The city at the bottom of the mountain was still sleeping peacefully. Most of the populace probably wouldn't learn about what had happened that night.
Maybe this was also a kind of happiness.
If Turalyon hadn't died, Daniela may never have discovered her brother's perfidy. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.
The Source of Fire's Order was raging atop the mountain. This rare Sanctuary seemed especially tranquil.
The two entered the array, and Daniela's trusted aide activated it.
The North's night flashed past and ultimately disappeared in the chaotic space.
Darkness was the paradise for Dreams.
During the long nights of these difficult times, most people struggled in their dreams.
A stunning woman arrived outside White River Valley.
Her eyes were very beautiful, glistening like pearls.
"Even the Dream Guardians weren't able to kill you… I won't underestimate you again, Marvin."
"I'll be acting personally now, so you'd better not give me any opportunities." She was smiling to herself as her body slowly merged with the Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary's light, which should have repelled her, surprisingly didn't try to push her out.
In fact, it was slowly ushering her in.
She was holding a smooth feather in her hand.
A/N: The transitional plot is just about finished, the next part of the story will be unfolding!