Chapter 113: Before Dawn

Before it got dark, Sun Fei rode his Big Black Dog back and forth and did quite a few things.

In less than an hour, he seemed like a diligent little bee, busily moving around various parts of Shampoo City, meeting everyone he needed to meet, giving out every necessary command, and arranging every detail that required attention…

When the blood-red sun finally sank behind the endless mountains west of Shampoo City, Sun Fei finished all the preparations he thought were needed, and for the second time that day, he came to the Holy Church cathedral, a place he rarely visited.

In the secret chamber behind the cathedral’s main hall.

The light was already very dim. On the black iron lamp stand to the right of the small door, over a hundred white candles were lit, casting a soft orange glow in the chamber. The atmosphere was a bit heavy. As soon as Sun Fei arrived, he sat beneath the white stone statue of the Holy Father and closed his eyes in contemplation for about half an hour. In front of him, Divine Master Mazzola and Knight Commander Luciano stood with nervous expressions, bowing respectfully. Their foreheads were sweating, but they didn’t dare make a sound.

Finally, Sun Fei opened his eyes.

Rubbing his slightly aching temples, Sun Fei looked at Divine Master Mazzola and Knight Commander Luciano, who both wore ingratiating smiles, and said, “I have a very important matter here that I need you two to handle for me immediately!”

“Your Excellency, please speak. We will do our utmost to serve you!” The two breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t strain yourselves. I just hope you can use the church’s channels to secretly help me purchase a batch of Aura Manuals ranging from One-Star to Three-Star levels, and also Mage’s training notes… Remember, they must include all five elemental Battle Qi attributes and the five major Magic attributes. As for the cost, deduct it directly from the more than 10,000 Magic Stones I deposited with you… Hmm, you can take out 100 stones in advance as a reward for helping me with this task!”

“Your Excellency, we dare not accept! You already rewarded us with 100 Magic Stones last time, which is more than what we both earn in over a year. Besides, serving you is our honor. We really cannot accept any more rewards from you!” Mazzola reacted quickly, prostrating himself at Sun Fei’s feet and saying, “It’s just… according to the laws of the Zenit Empire, a Sixth-Class Vassal State is not allowed to possess Three-Star manuals. Although the church does not fear the Zenit Empire, we cannot openly violate the law… May I ask, for what purpose are you purchasing these Aura Manuals and Magic Notes…”

He genuinely felt he shouldn’t take any more Magic Stones from Sun Fei.

Previously, they had already received 100 Magic Stones from Sun Fei, almost equivalent to two years of their church salaries and all the wealth they could scrape together from the people. Those 100 Magic Stones had already made them anxious. If they reached out for another 100, Mazzola felt that what they would be holding wouldn’t be money, but a death warrant.

That’s why Mazzola ignored Luciano’s constant meaningful glances and hurriedly declined.

This guy, like Prison Warden Oleg, was also a shrewd person.

Sun Fei naturally noticed their furtive behavior, but he had no mind to play games with them. After stating his request, he stood up and headed for the chamber’s exit.

As he walked, he said, “As for the use of the manuals… don’t ask too much. Just secretly purchase the manuals and notes for me… As for the reward of 100 Magic Stones, hmph, I never take back what I say. If you look down on these 100 Magic Stones, then throw them into the Zuli River!”

Divine Master Mazzola was dumbfounded.

“Yes, yes, yes… we’ll accept, we’ll accept!… Your Excellency, rest assured, we will do everything possible to acquire the manuals you need as soon as possible…” That was all he could say.

When Sun Fei reached the chamber’s door, he suddenly seemed to remember something, stopped, turned his head, and asked, “Oh, right, one more thing. Will you two be attending the coronation ceremony tomorrow?”

“Of course! We will represent the Holy Church to offer divine blessings for your coronation ceremony!” How could they not go? In Mazzola and Luciano’s view, the coronation at the Eastern Peak Summit tomorrow was another heaven-sent opportunity to curry favor with Sun Fei.

“Let me give you a small piece of advice: if you want to stay alive, you’d better not go!”

After saying this, Sun Fei left the cathedral directly.

Mazzola and Luciano stood frozen in place, looking at each other in confusion. They didn’t understand what Their Excellency meant by that. Did he not want them to appear at the coronation ceremony, or… Mazzola lowered his head in thought, recalling Sun Fei’s expression when he spoke, and suddenly realized something.

…

After leaving the cathedral, Sun Fei returned directly to the Royal Palace of Shampoo City.

The pitch-black night gradually engulfed Shampoo City. When the Royal Palace was completely silent, and his beautiful fiancée Angela and the blonde loli Gemma were already smiling in sweet dreams, Sun Fei sat alone quietly on the throne in the King’s Hall, waiting for dawn to arrive.

After midnight, Sun Fei gained another four hours to enter the World of Diablo.

He entered Assassin Mode and spent an hour and a half completing the final two tasks of the first map, Rogue Encampment, in Assassin Mode—killing the Countess in the Forgotten Tower, and then slaying the former Flower of the Rogues of the Rogue Continent, the beautiful nun Andariel, who fell from grace after falling in love with the Hell Demon King, in the underground maze of the Monastery.

After completing all this, the Assassin character leveled up to 17.

In Assassin Mode, Sun Fei’s real-world combat power should be around mid Three-Star level. If combined with the Assassin’s elusive skills, he might be able to challenge an early Four-Star expert, though his chances of victory weren’t great. However, escaping with his life would be extremely easy.

Then, Sun Fei exited Assassin Mode and, in front of the 3D holographic screen, selected the last unopened profession—Amazon Warrior. This was another female character in the World of Diablo. Fortunately, after choosing the Amazon Warrior, only his attire changed; he didn’t actually transform into a transvestite.

In the Rogue Continent, under the cover of night, frenzied slaughter began.

Monster after monster fell wailing under the arrows of Sun Fei, the first male Amazon Warrior in history.

Two and a half hours later.

When the daily time limit was reached, Sun Fei exited the Diablo space.

By then, he had completed the first five tasks of Act I, Rogue Encampment, in Amazon Warrior Mode. Only the final task of killing Andariel remained to finish Act I. The ‘male Amazon Warrior Sun Fei’ had also leveled up to 16.

Reaching level 16 in two and a half hours was definitely the fastest leveling speed Sun Fei had achieved since his transmigration. It probably had to do with the profession, as ranged attackers like the Amazon Warrior, who excel with javelins and bows, have more advantages in killing speed compared to melee professions like the Barbarian.

Four hours passed. There were less than three hours left until the first light of dawn appeared in the east, when the sky would turn fish-belly white. This was the darkest moment before the dawn.

Sun Fei made the final preparations for the upcoming grand ceremony.

Meanwhile, a hidden undercurrent lurked within Shampoo City. Most of the city’s lights were extinguished, and the soldiers stationed on the city walls were quietly withdrawn. Except for the Back Mountain restricted area, which was completely silent, if one listened carefully, they could hear dense footsteps and rapid breathing in the streets. People restrained themselves from making noise and, organized by Shampoo City soldiers, secretly began evacuating to the temporary, simple camps set up across the Zuli River during the day.

Although the subjects didn’t understand why they had to leave their homes stealthily like thieves in the middle of the night, this was King Alexander’s order, so they carried it out earnestly. They didn’t cause any trouble for Brook, who was in charge of the evacuation. Brook had even prepared to do a lot of explaining, but it turned out to be completely unnecessary.

Of course, not everyone was obedient.

Some of the city’s major merchants and Nobles, led by Viscount Louis, banded together firmly and righteously refused Brook’s request—or rather, directly defied King Alexander’s command. According to royal law and tradition, they had the right to refuse the king’s order without proper justification. So when Brook reported this to Sun Fei, Sun Fei just smiled indifferently and let the Nobles have their way.

When there were less than two hours until dawn, the Royal Palace also became busy.

Servants and attendants began preparing for the upcoming grand ceremony. Numerous intricate ceremonial utensils and offerings for ancestral Deities were systematically transported to the Eastern Peak Summit. Angela and Gemma also started bustling about. Herald Best stayed in the Royal Palace all night, not sleeping at all, repeatedly making final plans for the upcoming grand ceremony.

At this time, Sun Fei switched to Assassin Mode.

With a slight sway, he silently arrived at the top of the King’s Hall, looking out over the quiet Shampoo City, submerged in endless darkness. The Big Black Dog Black Whirlwind followed Sun Fei like a ghost. Under the round moon in the sky, the man and the dog had an indescribably desolate aura.

The next moment, Sun Fei and Black Whirlwind turned into a wisp of smoke in the vast night, speeding towards the Back Mountain restricted area. In an instant, they arrived at the Underground Grotto Labyrinth. In the stone hall, Sun Fei used the Divine Skill Summoning to call forth the Mercenary Ileena and her sisters. He emptied all the Belt Spaces of his major profession characters and, aside from weapons, prepared ample potions and other necessary items he might need. Then, he summoned Peter Cech and the hundred-strong iron army to his side and assigned them tasks.

The twenty Stone Bridge warriors also received their own tasks. Some of them would accompany Sun Fei to the Eastern Peak Summit to receive the coronation, while others were left in the city to guard the Royal Palace.

After arranging everything, Sun Fei took ten strong men whose skin was still slightly green, returned to the Royal Palace, picked up Angela and Gemma, and rode in the king’s golden carriage. With guards and attendants, they set off for the Eastern Peak Summit.

There was less than an hour and a half until dawn.

Traveling by mountain road would take at least half an hour. As the future king of Shampoo City, according to the ancient traditions of the Azeroth Continent, Sun Fei had to receive the kingdom’s coronation formally and be crowned king when the first ray of eastern light touched the crown.

Therefore, they had to depart early.

…

Meanwhile.

Prison Warden Oleg was also making final preparations in his own residence.

He was personally chosen by Sun Fei as the First Commander to maintain order at the coronation ceremony, so he had to be there. This important responsibility made Oleg both excited and anxious. In fact, after being busy for most of the night, he had only slept fitfully for less than half an hour. If it weren’t for needing ample energy to better serve His Majesty Alexander at the ceremony, Oleg might not have allowed himself any rest at all.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to bring a large entourage of women and servants like Sun Fei, so even if he set off a bit later, he could still reach the Eastern Peak Summit before Sun Fei.

“Hey, Donny, quickly bring me that magic formal attire I spent 100 Gold Coins to acquire three years ago… I want to wear it at His Majesty’s coronation ceremony. I can’t embarrass His Majesty Alexander in front of those damned foreign envoys!”

In the stone hall.

Prison Warden Oleg smiled as he stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his clothes for the final preparations. Without turning his head, he loudly called to his attendant.

“Donny… Donny, you damned fellow, why aren’t you…”

Oleg turned around, seeing the person beside him hadn’t moved, and was about to curse, but he instantly realized something was wrong. This person wasn’t his attendant Donny at all, but a mysterious figure shrouded entirely in a black cloak. His attendant Donny lay on the ground motionless, as if in a deep sleep, showing no response.

Who is this person?

When did he come in?

Oleg felt sheer terror.

After undergoing the transformation with the Hulk Potion, Oleg’s strength had greatly improved. Combined with his previous foundation at the One-Star Level, he was now one of the few experts in Shampoo City. Yet, someone had infiltrated so close to him without him noticing at all. Cold sweat poured down Oleg’s back!

This was a master.

He was no match for him.