Chapter 122: The End of the Poisoned Thorns

Donald thought for a long time and believed that, given the Ansel family’s reputation and their relationship with Ferdinand, they would not do something untrustworthy like abandoning allies after achieving their goals. That was why he had involved them in this operation.
However, Donald was not accustomed to relying his life and fortune on others, so he secretly made some preparations, hoping they wouldn’t be needed.
After dinner, Donald and the two others stayed at the marquis’s estate overnight.
Master Messel continued to familiarize himself with the powerful spells of levels seven and eight that could be mastered with silver, while Kelthas strived to build up his strength in preparation for the upcoming mission.
As for Donald, he took out the three magic metals in his possession and pondered over them.
Half an hour later, he used the family emblem crafted by Master Bosai as a template to create three new family emblems through the Truth Book coins.
These were not ordinary emblems but powerful magical artifacts. Donald imitated the ancient legendary magic books—magi-exclusive devices capable of storing spells of corresponding levels—and turned the three family emblems into magic storage devices in the form of emblems.
Compared to disposable scrolls, these devices, which could store spells repeatedly, were much more convenient. Moreover, as long as it was a spell known to the Truth Book, even if Donald hadn’t learned it himself, he could cast it through these emblems at full strength.
However, since Donald had never seen a real magic book, the spell matrices within the emblems were designed based on the Truth Book’s reference to Silver Moon coins and Banai magic coins, allowing only one spell to be stored per emblem.
The bronze emblem was made primarily of copper, with 30% magic gold, enabling it to withstand the sword attacks of silver-level warriors and could store spells up to level six.
The second, silver emblem was made up of 50% magic metal, strong enough that even gold-level warriors could not easily destroy it, and could store all spells up to level eight.
The final, gold emblem used the most premium materials—90% of it consisted of refined gold, secret silver, and blue-patterned gold—using the Truth Book’s calculations to determine the optimal proportions. It had the strength to store spells of level nine and pseudo-legendary spells. It could be considered Donald’s most powerful equipment at the moment.
Yet, the highest-level spells Donald had encountered so far were only level five, and the only level-nine spell was the Shattering Art from that Silver Moon coin. None of these spells were suitable for storage in the three emblems.

The Truth Book’s skill list contained many suitable spells, and if certain hero ultimate abilities were fully utilized, they could be just as powerful as level eight or nine spells. Considering the dangers of this mission, Donald chose three spells and stored them in three family emblems. The bronze emblem held the Magic Shield of the Naga Sea Witch—a defensive skill that could absorb 100% of all external damage. As long as his mana wasn’t depleted, the shield’s protection would remain, effectively preventing instant death from sudden attacks. With enough mana-restoring equipment and potions, Donald believed even a Gold-tier warrior couldn’t break through his defense in a short time. The silver emblem contained the Orc Prophet’s Lightning Chain. Among all magical attacks, lightning was the fastest and most unexpected. As a spell that combined single-target and area-of-effect capabilities, the Lightning Chain was far more powerful than ordinary spells like Lightning Balls or Lightning Shields, and it didn’t require a casting time—its speed was unmatched even by war spells like Lightning Storm Cloud. In terms of single-target damage, the Lightning Chain could rival a normal level seven single-target spell. Any target hit first who was below Gold tier and without protective gear would almost certainly die. Although the subsequent strikes would weaken over time, they could still inflict serious injuries on Silver-tier warriors. For the final gold emblem, Donald selected the Shadow Hunter’s ultimate ability, Voodoo. Once unleashed, all allies around the caster would be protected by a powerful force, becoming invincible—this could turn the tide of battle at critical moments and secure victory for their side. As for himself, who would be the target, Donald felt that with the Magic Shield and his companions’ protection, he could hold out long enough to eliminate the enemies. The next day, during breakfast, the Ansel family announced the number of people they could send on this mission. In addition to Edwina and Ferdinand, there were three Silver Swordsmen—two of them were mid-Silver tier experts, and one was a top-tier Silver expert. To Donald’s surprise, Vincent, the Gold-tier Sword Saint, wasn’t on the list. But then he thought that given the unstable situation in the kingdom, the Ansel territory likely needed its marquis to stay behind. Moreover, their side’s highest-ranked member was only a Silver mage, so having Vincent, a Gold-tier Sword Saint, join would seem like using strength to overwhelm the weaker side.

Moreover, since they were exploring the ruins of the Archmage Lord, the survival skills of the Golden Sword Saint might not be as high as those of a Silver Mage, nor would he necessarily gain benefits suitable for himself, so it was better to stay in the territory. Even if the Golden Sword Saint did not intervene, Donald felt that his own side was slightly weaker in comparison. If it weren’t for the assassins hired by Macbeth to create trouble, Donald had planned to bring Chris and the other two along, as they were heading to dangerous places like the Two-Legged Dragon Swamp and ancient ruins—more hands wouldn’t hurt. However, the destructive power of a single Silver assassin could be astonishing, so several Silver-level strongmen needed to be stationed in the territory, leaving only those three to guard it. Fortunately, his teacher had reached a high level of Silver strength beyond his expectations; with years of experience and powerful magical heritage, it was relatively easy for him to deal with a couple of ordinary Silver-level strongmen. As for Donald himself, if he revealed his true strength, he would be no match for any Silver-level strongman, plus Kaelthas, who could unleash peak Bronze-level power. As a hero class, he was invincible among those of his rank, whether in the game or in this world. Thus, their team was quite strong, not much inferior to the Ansel family’s. That’s why Donald hated that Silver assassin so much; he brought this up during yesterday’s discussion of the plan. Edwina, as the Ansel family’s strategist, immediately came up with an idea that could eliminate the threat posed by the assassin. Donald, who had been struggling to get rid of that annoying assassin, immediately praised her plan after hearing it. After breakfast, Donald left the manor alone and headed toward the commercial district of Plum City. After arriving in Plum City the previous day, Viper, who had been suffering all along, was finally able to stay in an inn, take a hot bath, and get a good night’s sleep. Plum City was much larger than the towns they had passed along the way, and Viper was confident that even if he blended in with the crowd, seven or eight Silver-level strongmen wouldn’t be able to find him. That’s why he felt safe enough to rest overnight. Early the next morning, he sneaked into an attic in a house near the manor and watched the manor’s activities from afar. When he saw his target leave, he quietly followed him unnoticed.

Viper originally thought that, for safety reasons, the target would only stroll around in Bauhinia City, so he kept looking for the best opportunity to approach and assassinate him. However, to his surprise, after browsing a few shops, the target hired a carriage to leave through the city gates.

“What’s this guy up to?”

Puzzled, Viper followed the target’s carriage from a distance to the outskirts of the city and then took a narrow path westward.

In just the time it took to eat a meal, the carriage arrived at a village several miles outside the city.

The carriage stopped in front of a brewery at the entrance of the village. Donald got off the carriage and greeted the shopkeeper with a smile.

Hidden not far behind, Viper thought to himself, “What’s he doing? Could it be that the wine here is so famous that he came all the way out of the city just to buy it?” The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, he had observed carefully that there were no hidden followers within a few miles, and there were no warriors above the Black Iron rank around the target. It probably wasn’t a trap set for him.

Viper believed the target might rely on some kind of instant teleportation ability and thought that since it was daylight, he wouldn’t fear an assassination attempt.

But how could a Bronze Mage know the tactics of a Silver Assassin? He guessed that such spells couldn’t be cast repeatedly. So as long as he could withstand the target’s spell attacks, he had at least an 80% chance of successfully assassinating the target and completing the mission.

Thinking of the torment Donald had inflicted on him throughout his journey from North County to the Northwest Province, Viper wanted to tear him apart slowly. Gritting his teeth, he said to himself, “I’m going all in! Even if I fail, that little mage won’t be able to stop me!”

Unbeknownst to the Silver Assassin, Donald was indeed after the wine from this village.

This village produced a type of beer that was very famous throughout the Northwest Province and even in the capital, Kosovo. Its golden hue, like amber, gave it a purity unmatched by ordinary beers, and its bubbles were clear without any floating foam, earning it the name “Golden Beer.”

This refreshing and fruity, sweet wine was similar to the champagne Donald had tasted in his past life. Visually, it was also extremely pleasing—served in transparent crystal glasses, it truly resembled the beauty of “Lanling wine in tulip cups, amber light in jade bowls.”

So after tasting this Golden Beer during dinner, Donald asked about its source and planned to buy more to see if he could develop new wines.

Donald was generous and of noble birth, so he bought up all the inventory of the workshop for half a year in one go. Perhaps he found something to his satisfaction, as he left the carriage and driver at the village entrance, carrying a small bottle of fine wine by himself. He went to the grassland outside the village, spread out a precious blanket made of the fur of a fifth-level magical beast, and sat down to pour himself a drink and enjoy it. After a few drinks, Donald’s face turned slightly red. Looking at his drunken state, it seemed he was on the verge of telling the assassin, “I’m alone now, and I’ve lowered my guard—come and assassinate me!” The blue sky was like a vast expanse, the white clouds like a bed, and the morning sun cast a soft golden glow on the grassland. Just as Donald was fully immersed in this pleasant environment and seemed completely relaxed, a shadow crept in from the other end of the village entrance, slowly approaching the grassland. Sensing a breeze behind him, Donald, still slightly drunk, reacted quickly. At the critical moment, before the blade could reach him, he immediately used his teleportation spell and disappeared from that spot. However, the Silver Assassin laughed afterward, as the target, either due to nervousness or drunkenness, didn’t teleport far but instead ended up back at the carriage at the village entrance. Seeing this, Poison Sting let out a vicious laugh, transformed into a streak of dark light, and rushed toward the village entrance at lightning speed. With just twenty or thirty steps to cover, his secret technique allowed him to reach there in the blink of an eye. He could almost imagine the target dying under his poisoned dagger. At that moment, the driver who had been resting in front of the carriage suddenly lifted his straw hat, revealing a stern and imposing face.