My inventory is full of monster materials.

Chapter 124 Unexpected Twist

Two contracts, one black and one white, were laid out in front of Mark.

The contract on the right is made of off-white parchment, its rough texture exuding an aura of holiness and purity. In the center is printed a magnificent gold scale pattern, which is the familiar contract of justice.

The contract on the left was made of silk brocade, with black background and red characters, dark and dull, exuding a gloomy and cold aura.

This is a shadow contract?!

Why does it look so familiar?

Mark remembered that the black scroll he had seized from Zeffer was extremely similar to the one in front of him in terms of color, material, and even its sinister aura.

Is there any connection between the two?

However, now was not the time to let his mind wander, so Mark quickly gathered his thoughts and focused on the present moment.

Fair Contract...Shadow Contract...

Or perhaps we should simply refuse to sign either one.

Mark looked up, his gaze sweeping over Eugene and Walter, trying to glean some clues from their expressions.

Eugene was leaning back in his chair, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips, a playful smile on his lips, looking completely confident.

Walter stood expressionless in the main seat, his hands behind his back, as if whatever Mark chose was none of his business.

The reactions of these two people, just like the contract, were starkly contrasting.

After a moment's thought, Mark quickly ruled out the Shadow Pact.

He instinctively felt that the Shadow Contract was no benevolent entity, and that signing it might leave unpredictable hidden dangers.

Immediately afterward, Mark hesitated for a few seconds between a fair contract and not signing one, then abandoned the latter.

If Mark doesn't sign the contract, he will inevitably anger both of them, and the consequences will be unpredictable.

Of course, the main reason Mark chose the fair contract was that the fair contract was genuine.

Mark has come into contact with the Fair Contract more than once and can clearly feel the divine power of order surrounding it.

Furthermore, the terms of the contract are reasonable, stipulating that neither party will infringe upon the other's rights after the transaction is completed.

The only thing Mark couldn't quite understand was why Eugene, as the "victim" of this deal, would voluntarily offer a contract that benefited the enemy.

Perhaps, as he said, this is a crucial moment, and he doesn't want to create any further complications.

Mark convinced himself of this.

Without further hesitation, he gathered a wisp of magic at his fingertips and pressed it directly onto the Contract of Justice.

At the same time, the golden scale pattern on the contract instantly lit up.

Above Mark and Eugene's heads, a magnificent and intricate golden scale appeared simultaneously, and an invisible force of constraint quietly descended.

Contract reached!

Seeing this, Eugene, who was sitting across from him at the long table, burst into laughter, revealing a kind of triumphant satisfaction.

"Good! He's a straightforward person!"

Walter, on the other hand, shook his head, a hint of regret in his eyes.

"I hope you won't regret your current choice."

1

regret?"

Mark was completely baffled, but he ignored everyone else's reactions and quickly took out his mithril dimensional bag, sweeping away all the trade gold bars and shadow crystals on the table.

With the ransom in hand, running away is the best option.

Mark didn't want to stay a moment longer and straightened up to stare at the two of them.

"Is there anything else?"

Eugene was exceptionally generous and gestured for Mark to proceed.

Walter remained silent, his eyelids slightly lowered, too lazy to utter another word.

Mark gripped the dimensional bag tightly, faced the two men, and cautiously took a few steps back until he reached the doorway. Then, he suddenly turned and disappeared.

The door closed slowly on its own.

Eugene's smile faded, replaced by smugness, as he looked at Walter and shouted.

"Walter, no one even looks down on your 'shadow'."

"

In response to the mockery, Walter did not back down and coldly laughed.

"I'll see how long you can maintain your ego in the 'Abyss'."

After leaving the movie site, Mark was filled with doubts. Eugene's straightforwardness and Walter's indifference both hinted at something amiss.

Regardless, the deal is done.

Mark now only wants to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

But just a few steps down the stone steps, Mark caught a glimpse of a tall figure approaching from the left. Passersby instinctively moved aside, a heavy sense of oppression washing over them.

It was a body over two meters tall, covered in dark gray rusted armor, with completely black eyes without a trace of white, and surrounded by an aura of decay.

Mark's heart sank, and he turned to his right, but exactly the same black-armored warrior walked towards him.

Two burly men stood on either side, like two loaves of bread sandwiched between them.

Mark was so angry he laughed.

He shouldn't have had any expectations of rotten people.

They couldn't wait to get going right after signing the contract.

Eugene was clearly aiming to breach the contract, but Mark couldn't afford to disregard his own life just because the other party was fully responsible.

Without a second thought, he snapped his fingers, causing ripples to spread across the space, and his figure vanished from the spot.

The two black-armored warriors missed their target and froze on the spot, their eyes looking around blankly, not yet realizing that their target had escaped.

Mark appeared silently on the noisy street five meters away, then quickly put on a white mask and activated his talent "Shape-shifting Creature".

In an instant, Mark's body shrank to half a person's height, and his eyes became shifty and cunning.

If Henry and the others were there, they would recognize that Mark's current appearance is that of Cole, the halfling thief who died long ago.

Even after doing all this, Mark still felt uneasy, so he activated "Ghostly Shuttle," transforming into a ghost and rising up in a wide black robe, sweeping through the crowd and heading straight for the entrance to the black market.

However, before he had drifted far, Mark, in his ghostly form, suddenly stopped in mid-air, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.

This black market was originally an extension of the sewers. The once interconnected passageways were all blocked by the forces controlled by the black market, turning it into an underground air-raid shelter.

In other words, the black market now only has one entrance and exit.

At this moment, several tall, black-armored warriors were pacing around the entrance, scrutinizing the crowds coming and going.

Marx's mind raced as he quickly devised a plan to escape.

The entrances and exits of the black market were crowded with people.

While "ghost travel" can move freely like a ghost, it cannot penetrate living beings or penetrate hundreds of meters of soil to reach the ground.

The "Flash" spell is flexible and versatile, but its use requires that the landing point be an unoccupied space.

In summary, Mark can only pass through the entrance and exit normally.

With this thought in mind, Mark took a deep breath, deactivated his ghost form, pulled his black robe and hood even lower, and tried to blend into the crowd and leave quietly.

But the black-armored warriors seemed to receive some kind of signal, turning their heads in unison, their thick arms savagely pushing aside the passersby blocking their way, and heading straight for the group.

Mark immediately noticed something was wrong.

Even though they've changed their appearance, why are they still able to lock onto them?

Without thinking twice, Mark used "Flash" several times before the black-armored warriors could surround him, and hid in a secluded alley.

"Huff~ Huff~"

Mark leaned against the cold alley wall, panting heavily, his chest heaving.

Frequent use of the 3rd Ring "Flash" spell has greatly depleted Mark's mana. If it weren't for the support of his golden talent "Mana Furnace," Mark would probably be exhausted by now.

What should we do now?

Simply running away is not the solution; sooner or later, you'll run out of magic power.

Why was my whereabouts exposed?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Mark's mind, and Walter's reminder suddenly echoed in his ears.

"With so many gold bars, the inspection should be done quickly. Raise any objections as soon as possible, as Yingwang will not be responsible for any issues afterwards."

"It's a gold bar!"

Startled, Mark quickly pulled out his mithril dimensional bag, flipped it over, and with a clattering sound, golden bars poured out.

Mark frowned and quickly examined the documents. Time was of the essence; there was no time to search them one by one, so he had to take them all at once.

Mark unleashed his magic, conjuring a pair of large, fan-shaped blue magical hands that gathered all the gold bars together and squeezed them tightly.

Pure gold is inherently softer than other metals, and with the added strength of a professional mage, he simply kneaded piles of gold bars into a ball like dough.

Just then, a gold bar in the pile of gold unfurled its body, supporting six legs and a bunch of golden wings. It shook its whole body and tried to take off and escape!

But the next second, an ice crystal arrow shot out and blasted the golden insect into a solid mass.

Mark picked up the ice block, examined the insects inside carefully, and then suddenly realized what was going on.

Treasure Bug!

A zero-tier monster adept at disguising itself as gold and silver jewelry.

It turns out that Eugene had already mixed this "tracker" into the gold bars, which is why he was able to locate them so accurately every time.

Mark crushed the ice block in his hand, his face so dark it looked like it was about to drip water.

The black-armored warriors are quite strong, at least at the professional level, and there are at least seven or eight O-level warriors if not ten.

The disparity in combat strength between the two sides is too great.

Mark smiled broadly.

Why did he have to confront others head-on?

Once he activates his ghostly state, he can go wherever he wants and can easily maneuver around the black market, stalling for time.

From the previous negotiations, Mark noticed that Eugene seemed very impatient and valued time a lot, so he deliberately did the opposite, waiting until the other party lost patience.

Having made up his mind, Mark transformed back into a semi-transparent ghost and lay dormant as he blended into the surrounding darkness.

Just then, Mark's body suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light, which pierced through his black robe and shot straight into the underground dome.

In the light, Mark was surprised to find that the "shapeshifting creature" had been deactivated, his body gradually grew taller, his skin turned white, and he returned to his original appearance.

But what shocked Mark the most was not the change in himself, but the light itself.

"A fair trial! I clearly haven't violated the fair contract, so why am I being judged? Could it be..."

Before he finished speaking, a golden pillar of light suddenly rose from the other end of the black market. The pillar of light carried a sharp, holy aura and was moving rapidly toward Mark.

Passersby in the black market were also drawn to this scene.

Clang! Clang!

The heavy clanging of armor shattered the noise as a group of ten black-armored warriors, wielding rusted longswords, forcefully pushed through the crowd and surrounded Mark in perfect unison.

Eugene, dressed in a black priest's robe embroidered with runes, slowly walked out of the crowd with a mocking and smug smile on his face, as if everything was under his control.

"Found you. So this is what you really are."

Under the pressure of a fair trial, both parties will reveal their truest selves.

In other words, Mark can no longer use "Shape-shifting Creatures" or even "Ghost Travel".

Mark instantly understood, and a surge of anger welled up inside him.

It turns out that Eugene initially intended to use the divine power of the just trial to limit his own state.

But there was one thing Mark couldn't understand: didn't Eugene know that triggering a fair trial was tantamount to courting death?

Among the onlookers were many knowledgeable individuals who, upon seeing the scene before them, exclaimed in surprise, and a cacophony of discussion erupted instantly.

"It was a fair trial! Someone violated a fair contract!"

"Every fair trial inevitably results in death; this is going to be interesting."

"The betting has started! Let's see who loses first!"

Amid the clamor of discussion, Mark suppressed his anger and doubt, looked at Eugene in a deep voice, and asked, word by word.

"I don't understand, are you willing to die just to capture me?"

"die?"

Eugene seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He pointed to the golden scale phantom that was gradually taking shape between the two pillars of light, his tone both mocking and arrogant.

Why should I die?

"ha?"

Mark was completely stunned. For a moment, he even doubted whether he had broken the contract.

But the next second, the facts provided the answer.

The golden pillar of light above Eugene's head vanished into thin air, and the golden scales, having lost one end of their support, crashed heavily down onto Eugene's head.

A crisp "hammering" sound rang out in the air, as if it were the judgment of a goddess.

Immediately afterwards, the golden scales transformed into a massive golden sword, its blade engraved with sacred runes, its tip pointing directly at Eugene on the ground.

The crowd fell silent instantly, everyone holding their breath, waiting to see Eugene be tried and executed.

But Eugene remained completely calm. He slowly raised his hand, picked up the black bird beak pendant hanging on his chest, and loudly recited the inscription.

"Night, please hide me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of enormous, illusory, jet-black wings suddenly sprouted from Eugene's back, slowly unfolding like the night sky and completely enveloping his body.

A few seconds later, Eugene walked out slowly, and the golden giant sword that was hanging in mid-air seemed to have lost its target and trembled, and did not fall for a long time.

Everyone gasped, their faces filled with shock.

"How is this possible?! The trial has failed?"

"Has something deceived the goddess?"

Mark was also speechless, stunned by the sight before him.

What exactly is it that can protect Eugene from judgment under the divine power of a just trial?

Mark's gaze unconsciously fell on the bird beak pendant on Eugene's chest, and suddenly, a bold idea popped into his head.

Having enjoyed the awe-inspiring gazes of the crowd, Eugene's expression suddenly turned sinister, and he gave a stern order.

"Go, kill him!"

Upon hearing the sound, the ten black-armored warriors around him moved, drawing their rusted longswords and approaching Mark step by step.

"flash!"

Mark silently recited the command, his figure blurring as he broke through the black-armored warriors' encirclement and went straight to Eugene, reaching out to grab the bird beak pendant on his chest.

But the moment Mark's fingers touched the pendant, the leather cord on it suddenly came to life, like a nimble black snake, tightly binding Mark's arm.

Eugene's lips curled into a cold smile.

It's ridiculous. As a sorcerer who follows the 'Abyss' path and deals with dark forces year-round, how could he not have prepared a way to deal with a sneak attack?

With a thought, Eugene activated "Dark Tentacles," and several jet-black shadow tentacles surged from his palm, lashing out at Mark.

Mark shuddered, writhing in excruciating pain, but he still gripped the pendant tightly, refusing to let go.

At the same time, he shouted wildly in his heart.

【equipment】