I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 130 The Bride
Negative Energy Protection Ring

Attribute 1: When worn, you will gain 5 points of negative energy resistance.

Attribute 2: Wearing this will grant you immunity to negative levels.

Value: 1500 gold

The ring isn't very useful; the 5 points of dark resistance are basically only effective against necromancy. However, the immunity to negative levels is somewhat useful, as it prevents you from being affected by certain special touches from ghosts.

DuPont tossed the ring into his spatial bag, picked up the map of the Taras Mountains, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although adventurers' guilds are seen by most people as just places to accept quests and collect money, local guilds naturally have some understanding of the surrounding ecology. Some larger monster tribes and their possible living areas are marked. However, as long as they do not cause trouble, they generally will not launch an extermination campaign in advance.

After all, these things cost money.

With this, DuPont knew which nearby places he could hunt, even without a contract or mission, since the monsters' materials were quite valuable, and things like heads wouldn't rot in the space bag. He could then go to other places to get similar extermination missions, hand in a few more, and collect the money.

After giving the local guild a dressing down, DuPont went to help Deva with her mission. Just when things were about to come to an end, the guild unexpectedly ran into trouble.

“Auditor Terry used the excuse of going to the toilet when the church pastor came to scout the faction, and then disappeared. We suspect he has fled to avoid punishment!” Old Joe’s expression was somewhat sad, but his eyes were excited. This was a good opportunity to clear his name: “Captain Deva, the guild has sent people to look for him. Don’t worry, we want to find him alive or dead.”

Deva was somewhat bewildered, but the thought of almost being captured made her furious. There were actually lurking devil cultists in this guild! If they hadn't been discovered sooner, who knows how many more people would have died in vain? "Guild Master, you are truly wise and righteous. But was the person who escaped a professional? Should we provide security?"

“No need for that.” Old Joe quickly shook his head. This matter absolutely had to be handled by his own people. Otherwise, if they found out from the other party that he was connected to the council, he would be in deep trouble. “That Terry is just a trainee ranger. He doesn’t have much skill in harming people, but he probably has some interests related to those two cultists. We will definitely arrest him soon.”

"Catch them alive if possible." Deva added, "Cult members are like cockroaches. If we find one, there's a good chance there's a whole swarm hiding behind them. We absolutely cannot let them cause any more harm."

Old Joe wiped the sweat from his brow: "We will do our best to complete this task."

The president walked away with a limp, and Deva looked on with a sigh: "Even with his legs like this, he still carried out missions overnight. That's truly a testament to his dedication."

DuPont almost burst out laughing after hearing this, but still kept a straight face and said, "Old Joe's abilities are average, but he's not a bad person. However, since it's an internal matter, let them handle it internally. We'll have the guards patrol more often and try to catch the person as soon as possible."

“The guards are already working so hard, it’s too late to wake them.” Deva suddenly became excited: “What do you say, the two of us drive the Evil Detector to the city gate and stake out the area, see if anyone takes the bait?”

"Huh?" DuPont seemed a little reluctant after hearing this; he had been busy all day and was ready to go to sleep. "Can we even catch them?"

"Don't you know invisibility? You rested once when you came back, so you should be able to continue casting spells, right?" Deva became more and more excited as she thought about it: "Only the north and south gates are open at night, and the others are sealed off. We'll have the south gate heavily patrolled, leaving the north gate less guarded, and then we'll stake out there. If we're lucky, we might just catch them."

"Invisibility doesn't last long anyway," DuPont said, looking exhausted. "I've been through a lot today, and my mage constitution is weak; I'm completely worn out."

Without hesitation, Deva cast a Holy Healing spell: "Alright, let's go together."

Seeing his body regain its vitality, DuPont sighed inwardly, "Let's go."

On the dark streets, an inconspicuous figure scurried about, sweat beading on his forehead. Even the cloak that enhanced his stealth ability offered no reassurance. The ring on his hand could only cast "Impure Movement" once a day, and its duration was nearing its end. Without the blessing of this divine spell, he didn't know if his clumsy stealth skills would be enough to return to the church's sanctuary before being discovered.

Fortunately, thanks to the Immortal Lord's protection, he arrived at the hidden room before being discovered by the patrolling guards. After knocking three long and two short times in a secret code, the door opened, and Terry was somewhat surprised to see him: "Today is not the day of worship, why are you here so late?"

"Something's happened! Randy's been killed!" Terry squeezed into the room. "The guild is now overrun by those bitches' lackeys. They're obviously furious about Randy's actions, and the guild's spies are out in force. They could find us here any minute now."

"What?!" The gatekeeper was also taken aback when he heard this. He quickly led him to the dimly lit basement. As soon as Terry entered, he noticed a faint smell of blood.

A woman with an alluring figure was lying on the altar. She was dressed in a blood-red dress, but her face was extremely pale and there were two blood holes on her neck. Her eyes were glazed over, and her consciousness was obviously in a trance. A rune emitting a dark red light was appearing beneath her.

Beside him, a handsome man was admiring the beautiful scenery before him, but the wine glass in his hand was viscous. The heavy smell of blood in the room made Terry feel nauseous.

Upon seeing the two arrive, the handsome man's expression immediately turned cold: "This is the moment your mistress is born. Didn't I tell you not to disturb me no matter what?"

"Sir, Randy's scheme has been exposed, and that bitch's lackey has gone mad!" Terry said briefly, recounting what had happened at the union: "There are so many people on the streets now, if we don't move soon, something bad will happen to us."

"That good-for-nothing wretch!" the man cursed, but then looked at Terry with some suspicion: "Won't your return with the news arouse their suspicion?"

Terry dared not say that he had returned after detecting evil, so he patted his chest to show his loyalty: "They just thought there were still hidden cultists in the city cooperating. I had already finished get off work when I heard the news, so I rushed over to report it."

"Hmm, this information is very valuable, and it's thanks to your hard work." The man nodded, took out a green gem, and tossed it into Terry's palm: "This is your reward for your loyalty, accept it."

Upon seeing the gem worth a hundred gold pieces, Terry was overjoyed. He bowed to thank his master for the gift, but just as he was putting the gem into his pouch, a rope suddenly swung in front of him and tightly strangled his neck.

Pain and suffocation caused Terry's eyes to bulge. He looked at his master with a puzzled expression, opening his mouth as if to say something, but the guard behind him did not give him a chance to speak. Instead, he exerted even more force, preventing Terry from uttering a single word.

"Foolish! Your visit will only give us away." The man coldly watched the man suffocate and die, and only when the emerald gem fell to the ground did the gatekeeper release his grip: "Sir, shall we throw him into the drain?"

"Are you stupid too?" the man cursed. "Find a good place in half an hour and have him fake a suicide by hanging."

The gatekeeper hesitated after hearing this: "But sir, professionals can definitely tell the difference between strangulation and hanging."

"We just need to use his corpse to distract those lackeys and buy some time. As for whether they believe it or not, what does it matter once I leave?"

As the man spoke, he touched the wound on the woman's neck on the altar, where it was slowly healing. His dark eyes were filled with joy: "It's a pity that the paladin wasn't captured. Otherwise, by transforming such an excellent virgin, we could have created a bride with strength comparable to a viscount."

"Prepare a carriage. After those lackeys are distracted, I'm taking my bride out of the city tonight." The man smiled at the gatekeeper. "Do a good job. After I leave, this place will definitely be quiet, but it can't function without someone in charge. All the businesses here will be your responsibility. But keep a low profile and don't develop any new businesses without my orders."

The gatekeeper was overjoyed: "Yes, sir."

(End of this chapter)