Chapter 11

"Ugh—ahh!"

After the frenzy, Jordan desperately channeled his power, his muscles bulging to their limit, his blood surging to its peak. This was arguably the moment of his greatest combat strength. However, his massive battle axe was firmly trapped between Tang En’s two fingers, not moving an inch.

As the vortex in Tang En’s right eye appeared, Jordan suddenly felt a strange force linking him to Tang En. It seemed as if a powerful and irresistible will had descended, seeing through him inside and out.

"Actually, it works!"

Tang En closed his right eye. A moment later, when he opened it again, the vortex in his eye had disappeared. A delighted smile spread across his face. In this real world, the skill that was once considered a mere trifle might unleash an incredible and enormous potential.

He had completed a unique hidden quest, earning a reward that permanently bestowed an ancient magic—Talent Steal—on his right eye. Although in Prandar, the term "ancient magic" narrowly referred to time and space magic, broadly it referred to the magic that had been lost before the first Chaos Invasion.

The cooldown time for this spell was 24 hours, but once used, the stolen talent could be used continuously until another talent was stolen.

Unfortunately, since the person from whom the talent was stolen still retained it, it couldn’t be used as a secret killer move.

Even so, if measured by Prandar’s current standards, this ancient magic was undoubtedly at the Legendary Spell level.

"Die!"

Jordan clenched his teeth, the floor beneath his feet cracking under the immense force, the cracks spreading rapidly until the entire restaurant floor shattered.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The intense burst of muscle and blood power caused Jordan’s clothes and armor to explode. Originally, Jordan was just a bit muscular, but now he had transformed into a massive muscle giant, his bulging muscles exposed like the bark of a thousand-year-old tree.

Every breath Jordan took while standing there released a dense and scorching steam, the thick fog enveloping his face, making him look even more mysterious and powerful.

Fiona, just standing nearby, felt an astonishing pressure.

"Deep Frenzy!"

Hog laughed maniacally: "It seems that the great God of Light, Jebirni, doesn’t want you to leave here alive! Tang En! You’re dead!"

Fiona clutched her chest, struggling to breathe, her face full of shock: "This guy actually comprehended Deep Frenzy at this moment!"

"Skill advancement?"

Tang En was slightly surprised. He couldn’t tell if this guy was lucky or unlucky. Although he had awakened a very rare Frenzy talent, it took him over thirty years to reach the Bronze Third Rank. After being hit by Tang En, his talent advanced, turning into Deep Frenzy...

"Boom!"

Jordan swung his axe, the force this time even more terrifying. After entering Deep Frenzy, Jordan’s strength had soared from Bronze Third Rank to Bronze Sixth Rank, an incredibly abnormal increase!

The dining table shattered from the force of the wind alone. Hog and the butler, standing at the door, could clearly feel the cold air currents from the battle axe, as if it were constantly hovering over their necks.

"Clang."

Tang En once again pinched the edge of Jordan’s axe, and the chaotic energy in the room instantly calmed down.

Hog was shocked: "How is this possible!? Jordan is in Deep Frenzy!"

"So what?"

Fiona said proudly: "In front of Lord Tang En, does it matter if a fish’s combat power increases by 100% or 200%?"

"How dare you call me a fish! Die!"

After entering Frenzy, Jordan’s mind was extremely chaotic, easily provoked. Hearing Fiona’s words, he immediately changed his target.

With a forceful effort, "Crack," the giant axe actually split apart!

Then Jordan picked up the half-axe and charged at Fiona, the ground rumbling loudly, as if the entire manor was trembling.

"Whoosh..."

Tang En exhaled a white-hot steam, his skin turning bright red, immense power surging into his limbs.

For Tang En, who was accustomed to using magic, this was a very fresh experience.

"Ah, I see..."

Tang En clenched his fists, feeling the blood vessels in his temples pulsing, his heart swelling with more power, the blood pumping immense strength into his limbs. In his vision, the world seemed to slow down.

It was like he had injected adrenaline.

"Lord Tang En!"

Fiona’s face changed, filled with fear.

At this moment, if she ran away, she would lose face for Tang En!

She gritted her teeth, trusting Tang En, and closed her eyes, standing there resolutely!

"Whoosh—"

With red eyes, Jordan raised his giant axe, leaping into the air, all his blood and energy concentrated at one point. In the next moment, he was about to split Fiona in two—

At that moment, a sharp whistling sound came, and the next moment, half of the axe blade pierced through Jordan’s body, then whistled through the manor, slicing through the sky and disappearing into the distance.

Immediately, the falling Jordan split in two, his body exploding from the middle!

Blood and organs rained down, staining the entire restaurant red.

"Thud."

Jordan’s wide-eyed head fell in front of Hog, who was completely terrified.

"Now, can we talk?"

Tang En walked to Hog’s side with a smile. Although the frenzy had subsided, Hog, who had witnessed his power, no longer dared to underestimate this smiling young man.

"W-What do you want to talk about!?"

"Of course—"

Tang En walked over, patted Hog’s shoulder, and grinned: "—how much are you willing to pay for your life? After all, plotting to kill a noble, especially a lord, is a capital offense..."

Hog’s vision went dark, realizing he faced a huge decision.

How much was his life worth in gold?

How much gold could he come up with?

Even if he satisfied him, would he let him leave with the rest of the gold?

Cold sweat turned into a stream.

"Ah!"

A sharp pain hit Hog. He opened his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief, turning to point at his butler: "You betrayed me!"

The butler’s face was cruel. Without a word, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed Hog’s chest several times, and Hog lost his breath in an instant.

Then the butler dropped the dagger and knelt before Tang En with a fawning expression: "Lord Tang En... no, Lord, I know where all of Hog’s wealth is hidden. Of course, this wealth now belongs to you. I can lead you there."

A traitor?

Tang En felt sympathy for Hog. This guy would probably die with his eyes open.

Although he needed the butler to lead the way, Tang En didn’t like traitors. If he could betray Hog, he could also betray him in the future.

No one likes a traitor.

The butler led Tang En and Fiona to the manor’s treasure room with great confidence, as if he hadn’t betrayed his master, completely ignoring the strange looks from the servants.

"This is Hog’s treasure room. All the gold he has plundered over the years is here. In addition, there is a small vault inside, containing some valuable magic crystals."

The treasure chest was piled with gold, silver, and copper coins, totaling about 100,000 gold coins. There were also a batch of finely crafted armor and weapons, probably intended for his private army, but for some reason, they hadn’t been distributed, and together they were worth at least a few thousand gold coins.

The butler went to the wall, opened a recess, and quickly unlocked the small vault, taking out the magic crystals and some magic gems inside.

These so-called magic crystals and magic gems were of average quality, but considering Ellington’s situation, it was quite impressive that Hog could obtain such items.

The magic crystals, of average quality, could be used to replace one’s own magic power when casting spells. The magic gems could be made into jewelry and sold for a good price.

This was unexpected wealth, and of course, it was also political capital in Tang En’s plan.

With this money, it would be much easier for Ellington to develop.

Tang En was very satisfied.

At this moment, the butler told Tang En an unexpected piece of news.

"Lord, actually, this isn’t all of Hog’s wealth. He has another part hidden in the mountains."

"In the mountains?"

Tang En and Fiona were stunned: "This guy hid his gold?"

"No."

The butler said with a fawning expression: "Actually, the bandits who plundered Ellington were Hog’s private army."

"What!?"

Fiona exclaimed: "Sending his own private army to plunder his own territory, what benefit does he get from this!?"

"Many benefits."

Tang En said with a cold smile: "He can quickly exploit the wealth of the residents, making them unable to leave, and create a chaotic situation in Ellington with rampant bandits, making others lose interest in this place, allowing him to continue ruling as a local tyrant."

Fiona was silent.

Tang En asked: "Do the private army and the bandits outside know each other?"

"Yes, Lord."

The butler lowered his head, his face covered in cold sweat: "Not only that, the captain of the militia, Ronnie, has also been bought by Hog. So every time they prepare to plunder, he deliberately leads the militia to miss the raiding team..."

"Ronnie? That guy..."

Tang En remembered the man who had shown hostility towards him from the first meeting.

Fiona was particularly angry: "Damn! Someone would sell out their own family for a bit of gold! Ronnie deserves to die!"

Tang En looked at Fiona thoughtfully and nodded: "I know what to do, no need for you to say it."