Carl held a worn pocket watch in his hand with a satisfied smile on his face.

"I was still wondering how to get in when someone brought the key to my door. I didn't lie to him, though. Ordinary people who enter the Dark Market will only be eaten as food, and they can be exchanged for some money."

“Click…”

The pocket watch made a crisp sound, indicating the entrance.

Carl turned around and stepped towards the side wall, his body disappearing as if sinking into the water.

at the same time.

A layer of faint spiritual light emerged from the pocket watch, enveloping him.

To enter the Dark Market, one needs a special token. Every time the market opens, the token will mark the location of the entrance, and this shabby pocket watch is one of the tokens.

A blur before my eyes.

The scene suddenly changed.

It was approaching evening outside and the sky was getting dark.

The light before my eyes was as bright as day, but the light came from the stars in the sky, not the scorching sun.

Star realm!

Yes and no.

Carl could feel that there were still some limitations here, and the wizard's mental power could not easily mobilize the energy of the astral world.

But at the same time, this place no longer belongs to the human world, and certain "laws" and other things are entangled in the flesh.

“Quack…quack…”

"Welcome to the Dark Bazaar!"

A flower shaped like a sunflower poked its slender path out from the side and smiled flatteringly at Carl.

The flower that was originally full of seeds turned into a woman's cheek, with tiny pieces of flesh between her teeth.

Seeing Karl's gaze, the woman immediately stuck out her tongue to lick her teeth, then swallowed the minced meat into her mouth and chewed it carefully.

At its feet, there were some clothes and some bones.

Ogre Flower!

The watcher of the Dark Bazaar.

There are countless lives of this kind hidden in the clusters of flowers around.

After being hungry for a year, they will pick out ordinary people who sneak into the market and eat them to satisfy themselves.

If the young man just now had come in, the thing under the ogre flower's feet would have been his fate.

“Please keep this in mind.”

"The Dark Market does not allow the use of force, otherwise you will be expelled by the power of rules. As for where they went..."

“So far not a single deportee has returned.”

"The six houses on the third street are restricted areas. Of course, you can go in if you really want to, as long as you don't worry about not being able to get out."

"Don't leave the market. No one can guarantee what you will encounter. Maybe it's a blessing from the gods. Quack... quack..."

The ogre flower made a strange frog-like laugh, as if showing off its sense of humor.

"Don't anger the blacksmith Gando, his hammer can easily smash you into a meat pie..."

"He is the only one in this market who can do it."

"Maybe a human?"

"Anyway."

The Ogre Flower lowered his head and said respectfully: "I hope you can gain something at the market."

Carl kept going.

After crossing the dense forest where the ogre flower was located, three forked roads leading to endless directions appeared in front of us.

At the end of every fork in the road there is a street.

A signpost was inserted in the middle with three signs nailed to it.

The sign pointing to the left is engraved with a bright rose flower, which is the symbol of the bloodthirsty rose.

Bloodthirsty Rose!

The other world is an organization similar to the temple.

The leader is said to be a vampire walking in the night, and his origins are related to a fallen god.

They are good at providing weapons that can suck the life force of others, as well as a variety of magical props.

The sign on the right is engraved with a hammer handle, which is the symbol of the blacksmith Gando.

This person is a permanent resident of the Dark Market. No one knows how long he has lived or how powerful he is.

There are even rumors.

The reason why several grand dukes allowed the existence of the Dark Market was because there was a blacksmith named Gando in the market.

The sign in the middle is engraved with stacked books, which is the symbol of a wise man, but that person has long disappeared.

The vampire, the blacksmith, the wise man, they formed the Dark Bazaar, but now only one remains.

After thinking about it, Carl walked towards the road on the right.

He was curious about the blacksmith Gando, a strong man who was supposed to have survived the War of the Gods.

and,

In Boken's memory, the blacksmith Gando was not dangerous.

Not far ahead, a street covered with weeds and lined with deserted houses on both sides came into view.

Some houses have been occupied, and the occupiers have placed all kinds of goods at the doorstep.

"The dark elves from Grand Duke Joe's territory are the darlings of the night and possess a cruel and bloodthirsty nature."

A hunchbacked old man stood behind several bird cages and shouted: "All you need is three thousand kilograms of meat, and they will be yours!"

There were no birds in the cage, but instead there were palm-sized elves. Unlike the elves that represented innocence in the books, the elves in the cage had dark skin, sharp teeth and claws, and they kept attacking the cage.

The wings behind them flapped, leaving afterimages, and they collided back and forth in the cage, not stopping even if they were covered in bruises.

With their revealed speed and sharp claws, they can easily wipe out a war squad once released.

Want to capture alive...

This is only possible if the Great Knight takes action.

"Soul fragment!"

A man hidden in a pitch-black cloak stopped at the door of the house, and in front of him were flying soul fragments.

"A knight-level soul fragment is worth one thousand kilograms of lean meat, and a great knight's soul fragment is worth five thousand kilograms of lean meat."

"A well-tamed mountain goblin giant is as powerful as a peak-level great knight, and is sold for only eight thousand kilograms of meat."

"The special seal, the Burning Hand, is not a super-quality seal, but its power is not bad. The price is..."

“…”

Carl walked forward, his face motionless, but he was secretly frightened in his heart.

It is worthy of being called the Dark Market. There are all kinds of people and everything for sale. It is really eye-opening.

'Lean meat!'

"If you remove the skin, bones, and other parts of an adult wolf, the meat that can be considered as real meat is only about ten pounds."

"One thousand kilograms of lean meat means nearly one hundred adult wolves!"

"It seems that people in other places, not just Archduke Ferdinand's territory, are paying more and more attention to food."

"Lean meat has replaced the Divine Grace Coin as the hard currency in the Dark Market, and it is estimated that the outside world will be the same in a few years."

'but……'

Carl turned his eyes and thought: "Although the people in the market have different auras, most of them are still at the Great Knight stage."

'There aren't many people who truly possess the strength of the first stage, and even fewer who are in the middle stage of the first stage. So far, I haven't encountered anyone in the late stage of the first stage.'

Although people in this world may possess certain rare objects and secret skills, and have the ability to defeat the strong with the weak.

Like Connie.

But he is in the middle stage of the first level and has many wizard skills. He is considered a master in the market.

"when……"

"when!"

The sound of impact brought Carl back to his senses.

At the end of the market, a building that was larger than the other houses was shaking in an orderly manner.

Huh? Not a building!

But a person!

A burly giant over seven meters tall.

The giant had thick hair and was half squatting. He was holding a huge hammer and was forging a weapon.

As he waved his arms and his hair shook, chains as thick as his arms became apparent.

One end of the chain extended beneath the ground, and the other end held him firmly in place, leaving him only enough room to move around and swing his hammer.

He was not half-squatting, but kneeling on the ground.

Blacksmith Gando!

In Carl's perception, the giant in front of him was like a scorching sun, emitting extremely terrifying energy.

Second order?

No! It's most likely level three! "When..."

The pounding sound suddenly stopped.

The hair on the giant's face spread to the sides, revealing a pair of cloudy eyes, staring at Carl.

"Young man, don't spy on me with your weird methods, otherwise... my hammer will fall on you next time."

As he spoke, he raised his arm and slammed it down.

The terrifying roar spread throughout the entire market, the flying sparks shook the earth, and Carl's body couldn't help but tense up.

An extreme feeling of oppression even made it difficult for him to breathe, and even his thoughts stopped for a moment.

Horrible! Terrible! It was just pure power, but it made Carl's heart beat wildly, and even the blood of the abyss trembled.

"Feel sorry."

After calming himself down, he bowed and said, "Respected Gando, please forgive my momentary curiosity."

"Curious?" Gan Duo snorted coldly, his voice echoing like thunder in his ears:

"I don't know how many powerful beings have been killed by these two words, but I don't think you can remember them."

He snorted again.

"I can forge, repair, and upgrade weapons here, and I also sell seals. You can exchange them for great divine grace, soul fragments, or fine meat."

"Great God's grace?" Carl looked up: "What do you want the Great God's grace for, Senior?"

"Of course he's alive." Gando retracted his gaze and stopped paying attention to Carl. He continued to beat the weapon in his hand and muttered:

“It’s all about staying alive!”

Alive?

Karl wanted to ask further questions, but the other party was indifferent and obviously unwilling to talk more.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "What seals are for sale here, senior?"

"Two." Gando kept beating:

"Eagle Eye and Sprint, each of which costs 10,000 kilograms of lean meat or 10 knight-level soul fragments."

"Eagle Eye? Sprint?" Carl frowned. "Senior, these two seals are too common and of very low grade. They don't seem to be worth the price."

"Hmph!" Ganduo snorted, "My seals are of better quality than those outside, and they are fresh. There is a great chance that I can comprehend new abilities from them."

?

Carl was skeptical.

"senior."

He took out a high-quality beast pill and placed it in front of him: "How much lean meat can this thing replace?"

"Beast Pill." Gando actually recognized Beast Pill, glanced at him, and said, "Five hundred pills for one seal."

"...Okay!" Carl gritted his teeth: "I want the Eagle Eye Seal."

With a wave of his hand, he took out all the stock of beast pills in the storage space, and stacked the wooden boxes full of beast pills neatly together.

A large part of these are store supplies. I'm taking them out this time, and I'll have to find a way to replenish them when I go back.

"good."

There was a hint of smile in Gando's voice.

He finally let go of the big hand holding the hammer, reached out into the void, and pulled out a broken corpse.

He tore off a piece of meat from the corpse and threw it down.

"Give!"

"Eagle Eye Seal!"

With a wave of his hand, the corpse disappeared.

Huh? Is this how the seal came about? Carl was stunned.

"What?" Gando held the sledgehammer again: "Surprised?"

"I am indeed a little surprised." Carl came back to his senses, took the strip of meat, and said with a complicated expression: "The seal actually came from someone else's corpse?"

"The corpse of a strong man contains his original power. After simple processing, it can become the seal in your hand." Ganduo said calmly: "After I die, I guess I can also make a seal that increases power."

"You're a little late. I still have a superb seal for sale from decades ago."

Superb seal.

Naturally, it is the corpse of someone who was stronger in life.

No wonder the number of seals produced in the Grand Duke's territory has been decreasing in recent years. It must be because the corpses are running out.

"Heh..." Karl shook his head and asked tentatively:

"Senior, do you have any sacred skills for sale?"

"Holy Skills?" Gando glanced at him. "Those are things that are only useful for those who walk the path of knights. For someone like me... I cultivate my natural talents."

"young people!"

"I know you have a lot of questions, but do you know how I survived that war?"

Without waiting for Karl to speak, he continued:

"Put away your pitiful curiosity and stop spying on certain beings. Only then will you have a slight chance of survival."

"That's why I survived and others died!"

Carl looked at the other person deeply. No matter what, the person in front of him was the first third-level being he had ever met.

And it's not dangerous.

The existence of the third level itself contains many mysteries, not to mention that the other party has survived the War of the Gods.

Even if the other party is indifferent, you should still bother them more in the future.

…………

Leaving the Dark Market, Carl sat cross-legged on the magic flying carpet and rose into the air. He lowered his head and examined the strip of meat in his hand.

It is two fingers long and one finger thick, with a pink and tender texture and very tough to the touch. It is indeed as fresh as Gandho said.

"The seal..."

Shaking his head slightly, he placed the strip of meat in his hand on his face.

The skin on his face immediately cracked, as if the teeth on the tentacles were biting into the strips of flesh and devouring them bit by bit.

The strips of meat squirmed like a living thing, turning into tiny strands of blood that seeped towards where the eyes were.

moment.

Carl's eyes turned blood red.

His pupils began to expand and contract irregularly, and the blood vessels inside them also changed under the influence of the seal.

soon.

Carl closed his eyes and dozed off for a moment, then opened them again. When he focused his sight, the scene a few miles away came into clear view.

The pupils are dilated and the dust in front of the eyes is clearly visible.

"It's somewhat useful, but not very useful. It's almost useless in improving the perception of the legendary knight realm."

"What's more, I have the third-level abyss bloodline."

Shaking his head and about to give up the attempt, Carl raised his eyebrows and looked down at the City of Death.

In his vision, a black mist was swirling under the ground of the City of Death.

This aura was far less condensed than Ganduo's, but it was extremely vast, and it split into countless threads that covered the entire city.

As far as the eye can see.

Almost everyone in the City of Death has a black line connecting them to the black mist below.

The reason why I say almost is because some people don’t have it, or don’t have it yet.

"As long as you live in the City of Death for a period of time, you will never be able to escape it for the rest of your life unless you atone for your sins."

"No wonder there are such rules, so that's how it is!"

Carl suddenly realized:

"This city has a huge barrier. Anyone who enters it will be targeted by the black line. After living in the city for a period of time, the black line will be able to connect people to the core of the barrier."

“No wonder merchants don’t dare to stay in the city for too long. Otherwise, once they are contaminated, not being allowed to leave the city means that the Black Line will reap their lives.”

"City Lord!"

"Daughter of Death!"

"She is using the lives of nearly a million people in the entire city to maintain her strength, but she is still not at the third level."

Carl narrowed his eyes:

"No!"

"Something is consuming her energy. Without these millions of people providing support, her strength will definitely be weakened!"

"Um?"

“Discovered!”

The corners of Carl's eyes suddenly felt hot, and two streams of blood and tears flowed out of his eyes. He immediately flashed and hid directly in the dark market.

The seal is broken!

However, after he entered the Dark Market, the sense of crisis that lingered around him disappeared.

“That was a close call!”

Carl wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and wiped away the blood and tears on his face.

"The state of Maivia, the Daughter of Death, should be the normal state of the strong in this world. Their strength is suppressed and weakened in some way, so they dare not and cannot easily show up, and have been curled up in their own nests for many years."

"This boundary..."

'It's probably the second order!'

'No wonder the strong men in this world rarely take action. Even if they do, they usually do it quickly.'

Carl touched his chin, chose an unoccupied house in the market, and casually hung a sign at the door.

"Purchase of sacred skills and rare items, price negotiable!"

In the next period of time, he planned to take a good look around the Dark Market to see if he could find what he wanted.

We also need to find the temple deacon Lev and Yana who is very likely hiding here.

(End of this chapter)