That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Roland hadn't expected to see Luca here, even though he had recognized the sound of the blood core rupturing as coming from Austin.

but……

Just half a month later, how did this former necromancer, a professional who was still struggling to escape in the cemetery, and a member of the Shadow Order, become a breeding ground for blood cores?

Luca generously told him the answer.

"It's all thanks to that bitch you caught," Luca's eyes were as cold as a venomous snake. "After she was sent back by the association, more than half of the people at the Dharma Assembly died in less than two days."

Daphne?

Roland was slightly taken aback, then nodded in satisfaction.

The association is indeed very efficient; they said they would wipe out the Shadow Cult, and they've already got results so quickly.

"In that case, it seems you're lucky to have escaped with your life." He looked down at Luca, his tone slightly sarcastic.

Luca snorted coldly, stood up, the chains on his hands and feet rattling, and stared at his former "ghoul material" through the fence.

"I should thank not Lady Luck, but that greedy big shot in your town."

Roland frowned: "What do you mean?"

Although he had already guessed some of it, he still wanted to confirm it through Luca's words.

So Luca leaned against the railing and slowly recounted the whole story to him.

The Shadow Assembly is a very loose organization, and its members rarely contact each other.

Therefore, when he received the notice of the emergency gathering that day, he immediately became suspicious and chose to flee.

As expected, the gathering was essentially a trap set by the Association through Daphne, which resulted in the immediate killing of half of the Shadow Order members.

But that wasn't all. The association, in conjunction with the official professionals of the Church of Orthodox God, was doing everything in its power to hunt down those who had slipped through the net, like Luca.

He was arrested.

But he wasn't arrested by the association—that might have been easier for him—he was arrested by the Balance Church.

Unlike the madmen of the Church of the Sun, the Church of Balance believes in "natural cycles" and "animism." Although they also hate evil beings like necromancers, their methods are much gentler.

Instead of killing Luca outright, they used special methods to eliminate his supernatural powers and sent him back to Broken Rock Town, hoping he would convert to Christianity and join the Church of Balance.

That's naturally impossible.

Besides Luca's own ideological issues, there's also the fact that... other people in town have their eyes on this former necromancer.

—That important figure who cultivated the blood core.

"I don't know what methods he used," Luca said calmly, "but he bribed the guards of the Church of Balance to get me out, hoping to obtain the magical knowledge in my head."

"Did you tell him?" Roland asked.

"Hmph... Of course not, that's what I have to live on."

Luca was a smart man; he only told the important figure some of the details, keeping the core information to see if there was still a chance to regain his power.

But he miscalculated.

That big shot rescued not only the necromancer, but also Austin.

“Auston was my former follower, and he was captured with me,” Luca said, a dark glint in his eyes and a hint of anger in his voice. “After that idiot was released, he immediately switched sides with that man.”

"He said everything he should and shouldn't have said, and then after hearing about the blood core, he offered a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Roland asked.

Luca revealed his pale teeth, his smile full of eeriness: "He said that using my body to nurture it might cultivate an even more powerful blood core."

"Before that, he will try his best to squeeze every last drop of knowledge out of me and give all his strength to his new master."

Roland understood.

No wonder he saw Luca here and heard Austin's voice when the blood core shattered. It seems that Austin has already become that big shot's subordinate.

This behavior aligns with his understanding of necromancers.

After a brief moment of thought, he slowly asked, "Do you think that if I tell the association about this, I can get rid of that important figure?"

The association's strength exceeded his expectations, and his first instinct was naturally to continue relying on their power.

But the result disappointed him.

Luca shook his head and said coldly, "You think the association doesn't know about the blood core? In essence, they still can't touch that person."

Roland fell silent for a moment.

Due to its own positioning, the association does indeed have significant limitations in some aspects, especially in the handling of officials.

There is only one condition for getting the association to take action.

That is, events like the Shadow Assembly have seriously affected the safety of a large number of adventurers and hindered the normal operation of the association.

Otherwise, even if a commission is issued to officials of the kingdom, the association will refuse it.

He has to solve this problem on his own.

Fortunately, based on Luca's description, he had a rough idea of ​​the man's identity and only needed to consider how to deal with him.

However, there was still one thing he couldn't understand.

How did Austin regain his strength?

Roland looked at Luca's wounds: "Logically speaking, he should have lost all his power like you, but that wasn't the case just now."

Luca scoffed, "You overestimate him. Only those at the professional level are qualified to have their power annihilated. He's not worthy."

"In that case..." Roland narrowed his eyes slightly, a sudden inspiration flashing within him. "How about we make a deal?"

Luca looked at him but didn't reply.

But Roland didn't need him to respond, continuing on his own: "Do you want to escape from that man? Do you want Austin to pay the price?"

Luca's eyes flickered. "Go on."

He knew Roland was fooling him, but this was an opportunity, and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Roland leaned forward half a step, gazing at Luca inside the fence: "You just said your blood core is almost ready, right?"

Luca understood his meaning instantly.

"...You want to use me as bait?"

He wasn't angry. After a brief moment of thought, he slowly nodded: "It's feasible."

Roland smiled.

Dealing with smart people is that easy.

No further explanation or bargaining was needed; a few glances between the two sealed the fate of the matter.

Roland turned around and casually stabbed the scarred man with his longsword into his chest, where the man's ears had stood up.

Scarface stared at the sword blade, which was more than halfway embedded in the ground, opened his mouth, but said nothing, and collapsed to the ground.

The people on both sides watched Roland silently. They had heard the conversation, but remained silent in tacit agreement, dozens of eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Roland's gaze swept over these people.

Some of them did it voluntarily, some were forced, but without exception, they all wanted to live.

There was no choice before, but Roland has come now.

"I will give you a choice."

He said.