Hathaway.

Marvin didn't think that he would hear this name in the Wilderness Hall's Autumn Hunting Ground, and furthermore from the mouth of an old monster who had lived for countless years.

At first, he thought that he had misheard. The name mentioned might have only been similar to Hathaway in pronunciation.

So he checked to make sure, and the Winter Assassin confirmed his previous answer.

The witch who turned him into a Wisp was really called Hathaway.

She claimed to be an Anzed and that she was carrying out a very important task, one that was related to the Anzed Witches and their revival. Because it involved the ownership of Cold Light's Grasps, the Winter Assassin unyieldingly refused her request.

So it ended in a battle.

Tragedy struck, and even the Winter Assassin, who was able to ambush Gods, was defeated under the assault of a series of strange Witchcrafts.

Even though the Winter Assassin didn't know much about Witchcraft, he was sure that the most important reason for his defeat was that a certain God was helping the Witch from the dark.

The Winter Assassin didn't know which God it was. After all, his previous [God Ambush] put him on the Gods' blacklist, it could have been anyone.

He was just certain that Hathaway had been helped by an Ancient God because he had heard Ancient God Language during the fight.

Marvin could hear the unwillingness in the Winter Assassin's voice when he talked about that battle.

Using his own words, it was "shady".

As a result of this unfortunate confrontation, he had been cursed for many years. He didn't even know how much time had passed, but it must have been more than 800 years. The Winter Assassin was a figure from the late 3rd Era, after all. There were still many Gods who had yet to ascend when he had been cursed.

The Assassin Alliance he established was still a relatively loose organization at the time. It didn't belong to the South Wizard Alliance and was considered the predecessor of the modern Assassin Alliance.

This showed that this matter had happened a very long time ago.

Marvin was thinking, a deep frown on his face.

The Winter Assassin was most active in the late 3rd Era for about sixty years, and Miss Silvermoon's fall was before that. The Winter Assassin had obtained Cold Light's Grasps due to chance, becoming their new master.

Afterwards, the Anzed Witch snatched Cold Light's Grasps away and put the daggers inside the Wilderness Hall.

This was too fishy.

The last time Marvin saw Hathaway, she claimed to be the Witch Queen.

Marvin had a certain understanding of Witchcraft by now. Hathaway's looping curse was luckily broken thanks to Dark Phoenix, which resulted in her awakening some extraordinary memories. Marvin could more or less understand...

But he couldn't imagine that Hathaway had lived for a millennium.

Maybe, they were two completely different people?

With this doubt in mind, Marvin tried to confirm the appearance of the Witch who turned the Winter Assassin into a Wisp.

But the Winter Assassin couldn't remember what that Witch looked like.

Many memories seemed to have been sealed after he fell to the Witchcraft.

While he could remember things about the fight and his defeat, he couldn't remember any details concerning her appearance.

The Winter Assassin was very depressed about that.

As a Legend active in the late 3rd Era, most people had expected him to ascend, not the wretched Glynos.

He had somehow met a powerful enemy and then been sealed for a millennium. Who wouldn't be depressed after such an event?

...

Since he couldn't confirm Hathaway's appearance, Marvin wasn't able to figure out more about the matter.

He had a faint feeling that there was an even bigger secret behind the Wilderness Hall's opening, waiting to be unravelled.

Wilderness Hall, Miss Silvermoon, Lich, Anzed Witch… There was definitely a rational explanation behind everything. Marvin already had some clues, but he still lacked something to tie them together.

Anyways, since he was already in the Hunting Ground, Marvin would definitely take a look at the Wilderness Hall.

After all, it had already been confirmed that the Wilderness God wasn't the one who opened the Wilderness Hall, but rather a Lich. And from the information obtained back in Holy Light City, Marvin could confirm that Minsk had also entered the Wilderness Hall.

He couldn't forget that his mission in coming to the Crimson Wasteland was to find that guy.

He might also have an unexpected harvest when entering the Wilderness Hall.

Moreover, the Winter Assassin kept telling Marvin that the Cold Light's Grasps were important to him and Isabelle. Marvin wouldn't mind helping out with that.

Although Artifacts were attractive, they were many more.

Cold Light's Grasps were straight daggers, and although Marvin's Ruler of the Night class let him use straight daggers effectively as weapons, his expertise in curved daggers was a lot higher in this life. If he had to choose Artifact-level weapons, Cold Light's Grasps wouldn't be his first choice.

...

In the following days, Marvin and Isabelle didn't encounter any dangers thanks to the guidance of the Winter Assassin.

They didn't meet the Dream Shrine's group. Perhaps Isabelle's previous display really frightened Wayn, so he didn't even dare to come back with help.

Marvin felt very gratified that he could avoid that trouble.

Now that he was teaming up with Isabelle, he finally wasn't alone anymore and could easily handle those monsters.

With the Winter Assassin on the side, those monsters' weak points were glaringly obvious.

They soon had enough Hunter Imprints.

The current Isabelle was not the stubborn and powerless young girl anymore.

She had already become a true Assassin.

In those fights, even though Marvin and the Winter Assassin had convinced her to restrict the use of her innate abilities, she still displayed such a level of prowess that Marvin truly felt fearful.

At such a young age, her Stealth was already reaching the limit and she didn't seem worse than Marvin, who had already been an Assassin in his previous life.

As for skills, the best Assassin in Feinan's history was teaching her, so she naturally wouldn't be lacking.

Marvin felt that if she used her innate talent, he would find it very difficult to evade her assassination, even if he knew it was coming!

Flicker, which ignored all Laws!

It did sound very frightening.

It was also that skill that made the Winter Assassin very envious.

She was now close to her final assessment, and if she completed it, the Winter Assassin would impart his final skill to her.

An outstanding powerhouse like the Winter Assassin still had a skill for her to learn. If it were someone else, they wouldn't have much to teach the Legend Isabelle.

...

After the two gathered enough Hunter Imprints, their next step was to wait.

Wait for the Wilderness Hall to be truly opened.

According to the Winter Assassin's guess, it would take three days at most, within three days, the Hunting Ground would be closed.

At that time, people without enough Hunting Imprints would be stuck inside the space and die.

And those with Imprints would leave this place, for the more dangerous Wilderness Hall.

Just as expected, the second day after the duo gathered enough imprints, a shocking rumbling noise came from the depths of the Autumn Hunting Ground, and a huge, bronze gate appeared.

The Lich's voice echoed once again:

"Being capable of surviving proves that you have the strength to witness history."

"In that case, please come in."

"The Wilderness Hall has been opened. Every great performance needs a few spectators, isn't that so?"

Following the Lich's voice, some silhouettes appeared in succession in the area.

Marvin felt the dense, bloody aura around them.

All those who survived the hunt were very powerful. They quickly disappeared through the bronze gate.

Marvin estimated that almost a hundred Legends had entered the Hunting Ground, but there were now no more than 20 who were still alive.

Even the powerful Dream Shrine had lost two Paladins.

And it had to be known that they had been working together, making it safer and more efficient for them.

Marvin and Isabelle had been hiding near the bronze gates while silently counting the number of people.

There were 16 Legends there with enough Hunter Imprints, or a total of 18 if Marvin and Isabelle were included.

The others died in the Hunting Ground.

Their bodies most likely melted under the acid rain before being absorbed by that frightening space.

During these two days, there had been a downpour of acid rain every four hours, lasting about ten minutes each time.

Marvin had already confirmed that this was an offering and that this was a sacrificial ground.

There was definitely a bigger danger waiting for them behind the bronze gate.

That Lich set up such a large game and definitely wasn't just inviting some spectators.

But they had no other choice. They could only follow the path the Lich laid out for them and slowly walk along it.

...

"Let's go, don't just look."

"I can feel that this gate will close soon, you have five minutes at most." The Winter Assassin urged, "Even if the Lich you talked about has really planned something, do we have another choice?"

Marvin nodded and proceeded through the door with Isabelle.

The space distorted once more.

After their surroundings solidified, they found that they were in a vast temple.

Strange ivy was hanging in the temple.

It seemed different from ordinary plants, having a large amount of barbed tips and a layer of thin, sticky liquid!

The place reeked of blood and had a fanatical atmosphere.

The temple was quite broad. They were in the center, and they could see a red light flickering through the darkness.

They could hear the sound of fighting coming from somewhere in the distance!

– Let's check it out. –

Marvin used a gesture to signal Isabelle.

Isabelle cooperated and went into Stealth.

The duo communicated with the help of the Wisp and quickly rushed over.

...

In a corner of the temple.

A man wearing a black cloak was calmly standing on the side.

There was a thick fog behind him, and in the depths of the fog, a Two-Headed Bone Dragon could faintly be seen...

At his side was a gorgeous Jade Banshee!

'It's really him!'

Now that they had found the mastermind, the situation would be a lot easier to handle.

The soul fire in this guy's eyes was too distinct, it simply screamed [Lich].

The group fighting in front of him was the Dream Shrine's party of Adjudicators!

That previously high-spirited Cleric was now in a sorry state.

They had lost two Paladins in the Hunting Ground. With only four Dream Paladins and Paladin Griffin left, as well as the Cleric himself, it would be very difficult to resist the Lich's attacks… But… that wasn't the Lich's attack!

Marvin's eyes widened.

What was causing them trouble was some cyan ivy!

'This ivy is problematic.'

As Marvin looked at those crawling vines that were surrounding the group and attacking them frantically, he couldn't help but feel rather alarmed.

Each stalk of ivy was frighteningly tough, and didn't break even under the blows from the Paladins' swords, which had been enchanted with Divine Power.

And their barbs were very powerful.

Marvin could sense that the ivy was gradually absorbing the vitality and Divine Power of the victims!

This ability was too frightening.

'Hold on… The entire temple is covered with this kind of ivy… No good!'

Just as Marvin thought of this, it was already too late.

He suddenly felt pain in his abdomen!

Two terrifying stalks of ivy had already coiled around his waist without him noticing!

"Aaah!"

Not far from him, Isabelle also let out a soft cry as she was bound by ivy.

She instinctively wanted to use her innate talent to escape, but Marvin signaled her with his eyes.

Isabelle hesitated but ultimately didn't use her ability and was lifted up by the cyan ivy.

It was the same for Marvin.

The cyan ivy didn't seem to want to kill them. He took a glance to see what that Lich had planned.

It wasn't necessarily advantageous to act now.

It would be better to first examine the enemy's weak point before making a decision.

But upon looking around, Marvin was startled.

The two were dragged into the air by the ivy and kept rising until they reached the ceiling.

At that time, he realized that the ceiling of the temple was filled with people!

These people not only included those Legend powerhouses who had just been fighting in the Hunting Ground. There were also some new faces.

And there were even more dried corpses!

At that time, Marvin's eyelids couldn't stop twitching.

A man with closed eyes and a calm expression was hanging from the ceiling.

Marvin recognized him.

'Half-God Minsk!' he inwardly shouted.

At that time, the Lich's gloomy voice came out from below. "I didn't expect two fishes to escape the net, I almost let you flee."

"It's no use though. Since you entered the Wilderness Hall, your end is inevitable."

"Whether it's an unknown figure or a follower of the mighty Dream God, everyone will become the audience for this show… Of course, no one can avoid turning into fodder."

The Lich let out a low laugh. "I'm quite fair, aren't I?"