Chapter 304: The Baron’s Death, Triggering a Special Territory Event (5600)

"Hehe… Hehehe… Old man, you're finally dead!"

"It's been so many days, I was terrified you'd wake up again, and terrified my actions would be exposed. Every night I was so scared I couldn't sleep!"

"Now, you're finally dead, and I don't have to be afraid anymore!"

"As long as I wait for the envoy from the main city to witness it tomorrow, I will be the new Baron!"

Then, Fitz Walker curled up under the covers, constantly emitting suppressed laughter…

…

…

Cao Xing's mouth curled into an arc.

"It actually succeeded."

"This way, this kid is the real Baron, possessing great power!"

There are many benefits to becoming a Baron.

First, is having absolute control over the civilians within his territory.

A Baron can decide their life, death, and where they go. In other words, he can assign them wherever he wants.

Every Baron's territory is not small, governing many villages, with a very large number of civilians inside.

And with Cao Xing's status, if he asks Fitz Walker to continuously send more civilians to him, he naturally wouldn't be able to refuse.

This way, he essentially solves the big problem of insufficient population!

Plus the training barracks, he could even realize a troop-spamming mode!

Thinking of this, Cao Xing almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

Of course, the benefits of controlling a Baron don't stop there.

The resources in every Baron's hands are terrifying.

They have long been collecting various land taxes, head taxes, trade taxes, etc., within their territories.

Although a portion of the tax revenue is used to develop armed forces and land construction, the Baron himself must have kept a large amount of wealth.

Food, money, and even precious resources like Mithril and gems, must have reached a terrifying level.

He was just worrying about how to get a large amount of food.

When the time comes, Cao Xing can have this kid take him to the Lords Manor to loot it thoroughly!

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, this is too comfortable!"

At this moment, he glanced at his backpack.

There was a [Soul Contract Scroll (Orange)].

This thing can forcibly raise a creature's favorability to the maximum value and control the other party's life and death.

Cao Xing pondered: "Should I use this scroll on this Fitz Walker to completely control him?"

"Although this orange scroll is precious, controlling a Baron can also bring me huge benefits."

"Moreover, this kid's ambition seems not satisfied with just being a Baron."

"If I assist him from the shadows, he might be able to raise his title again, becoming a Viscount, a Count, possessing even greater power!"

"By then, it would be equivalent to me indirectly controlling a kingdom minister!"

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing shook his head, "Let's wait and see."

"However, since this kid's plan succeeded, he should come looking for me in a couple of days. I need to make some preparations."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing cleared these thoughts away and then fell asleep.

…

…

Just when he thought this night would pass peacefully.

In the second half of the night.

In his sleep, Cao Xing suddenly heard noisy sounds coming from outside the Lords Manor.

"Soldiers, quickly stop him!"

"What's the situation? Why did this kid suddenly go crazy?"

"I don't know, subdue him. Lord Lord ordered not to hurt him!"

…

As Tier 4 powerhouses, their senses were extremely sharp.

Almost the moment the sound outside the territory rang out, Cao Xing and Liu Muxue woke up together.

"A-Xing, the sound seems to be coming from inside our territory. Could enemies have broken in?" Liu Muxue frowned slightly.

Cao Xing shook his head, "No combat information appeared, it shouldn't be enemies."

"Let's go out and take a look first."

"Okay!"

They quickly put on their clothes, then climbed out of bed.

And at the fastest speed, they arrived outside the Lords Manor.

Just as they stepped out of the Lords Manor, the temperature dropped sharply.

The extreme low temperature in the middle of the night made one feel goosebumps.

It was as if jumping from a warm stove into an ice cave.

At this moment, Cao Xing saw a large number of Ascalon soldiers, Centaur spear-and-shield cavalry.

And Assam, Sarah, and Renice and others had all rushed over.

They formed a perimeter, surrounding a figure inside.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue both frowned.

Assam, holding the lady of the lake sword, saw them coming and said respectfully: "Greetings, Lord, greetings, Lady."

Cao Xing nodded slightly, "Assam, what's going on here?"

Assam reported: "Lord, it's that painter you brought back from Anno River Village last time."

"Didn't he say before that he suffered from a mental illness and would have episodes from time to time? It seems it's really acting up now."

"Just now he was crazily attacking our Arctic People, then was stopped by the soldiers. Now he's in a completely crazed state."

"But per your orders, the soldiers didn't attack him."

Hearing this, Cao Xing understood the reason for the noise.

He walked forward.

And that group of Ascalon soldiers cleared a path for Cao Xing.

Soon, he arrived at the center of the perimeter.

The Centaur spear-and-shield cavalry were holding large shields, one hand holding spears, forming a circle.

And in the center, there was a being with disheveled hair, emitting black aura all over his body.

He was using his hands to crazily attack the shields of the spear-and-shield cavalry.

At the same time, he kept emitting low roars like a beast!

"Roar! Roar!"

"All of you die! All of you die!"

"You are all monsters! Get out of my head, I want to tear you all to pieces!"

This crazed young man was Edward.

He only had 7th-level strength, equivalent to an ordinary person.

Any spear-and-shield cavalry or Ascalon soldier on the field could instantly kill him with one sword strike.

But everyone didn't take action, instead letting Edward attack.

He attacked the shields of those spear-and-shield cavalry, not only failing to cause any damage, but the huge counter-shock force also left his hands bloodied and mangled.

But Edward persisted in attacking, looking like he wouldn't stop until he tore the enemy to pieces.

Seeing Cao Xing come over, those Centaur spear-and-shield cavalry said one after another: "Greetings, Lord!"

Kandaer in the distance said: "Lord, you're finally here. This human is crazy."

"He actually bit my butt just now!"

Kandaer appeared very angry, one hand touching his Centaur lower-body buttocks, where a tooth mark remained.

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

Cao Xing nodded, then shouted.

"Edward."

Seeming to hear a familiar voice, this crazed painter stopped his actions and turned his head.

Then he looked at Cao Xing, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.

He seemed to have regained a bit of sanity and struggled to reply: "Lord… Lord…"

The next moment, Edward seemed to be struck by something, painfully clutching his head!

Then, he looked at Cao Xing angrily.

"Damned guy, actually disguising as the Lord to deceive me!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

As the words fell, Edward lunged at him violently.

And at this moment, a Centaur spear-and-shield cavalry directly blocked him.

"Roar! Get out of the way! I want to tear this guy who is disguised as the Lord to pieces!"

Edward attacked crazily.

Cao Xing frowned slightly. He could also see that Edward's episode this time seemed quite serious and probably wouldn't recover for a while.

"Go a few people, control him, and then take him to the basement."

"Don't hurt him."

Hearing this, several Ascalon soldiers quickly went over, directly ignoring the crazed Edward, and grabbed his limbs.

"Damn! You guys let me go!"

Edward was still struggling crazily.

However, those Ascalon soldiers were all level 30 creatures. With their strength, they could easily lift even a thousand-pound boulder.

Not to mention Edward, who only had level 7 strength.

He could only be escorted by these four soldiers towards the basement.

And just at this moment.

From the crowd behind, another Edward appeared.

His pupils widened, and he said with a trembling tone:

"Lord… Lord, that person is not me!"

Hearing the voice, everyone turned their gaze over, and were immediately shocked.

His face still carried an extremely terrified expression, as if he had seen something terrifying!

At this moment, the one or two hundred people on the field were all confused, and even felt a chill down their backs…

Cao Xing was also full of confusion, lingering on the two Edwards, observing constantly.

The Edward caught by the four soldiers seemed to have regained clarity as well.

He saw the person behind the crowd who looked exactly like him at a glance, and a look of terror appeared in his eyes too.

"Lord! It's it! It's the one that targeted me!"

"I became like this because of it. This is an evil devil!"

And this Edward who appeared later immediately retorted: "You're spouting nonsense, you are the devil!"

"I was resting in the room just now, and in a daze, I felt something approaching me, then I passed out. I never came out at all!"

And the caught Edward also said: "You're lying! I just had a mental illness episode."

"The Lord told me that if I went crazy, I should go outside the territory, and the soldiers would subdue me, so that's why I came out!"

"You're the one lying!"

At this moment, even Cao Xing was a bit dumbfounded.

Suddenly two Edwards appeared.

And they both looked real, and their arguments were very reasonable.

Even Cao Xing's system panel couldn't see any problems.

But obviously, one of these two Edwards must be fake.

Cao Xing's mouth twitched, "Damn, this situation again?"

"These guys who can disguise themselves are really troublesome."

Cao Xing's [True Sight Eye] could only see through some simple disguise methods.

And like those wraiths and demons that are extremely good at disguising themselves, they all have various means to avoid detection.

As the saying goes, the Tao is one foot high, the devil is ten feet high.

Of course, the most effective method would be to take out both Edwards together; that fake guy would definitely be exposed.

However, if he did that, Cao Xing would lose a talented individual with high-level life skills.

Even the others didn't know how to distinguish between them for the moment.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing said, "How about this, I don't care which of you is real and which is fake."

"I am going to tie you both up and lock you in the basement now."

"Then I will observe you slowly."

Hearing this, both Edwards said simultaneously, "No problem."

Seeing them agree so readily, Cao Xing was somewhat surprised.

Could it be that both Edwards were real?

Or was it that the fake Edward wasn't afraid of being tied up?

And when Cao Xing took out the leader-level vines.

He suddenly noticed that the Edward being held by the soldiers had a slight change in expression.

He could sense that the leader-level vines in Cao Xing's hands had unimaginable toughness!

"Assam, go over and tie them up."

This knight walked over respectfully.

When he took the vines from Cao Xing and gradually approached this Edward, a trace of panic appeared in his eyes.

Cao Xing noticed that something was wrong with him.

"Edward, what's wrong with you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying black aura suddenly burst forth from this 'Edward'!

Four powerful Ascalon soldiers were knocked back at the same time!

Then, he immediately turned to flee.

At the critical moment, Cao Xing reacted quickly and directly used the [Large Net Launcher].

"Bang!"

This large net landed directly on this 'Edward', stopping his escape.

At the same time, all the combatants on the field reacted instantly and surrounded this Edward.

At this moment, the 'Edward' on the ground seemed to realize that he had been exposed.

He slowly stood up from the ground.

A tangible black aura was constantly emitting from his body.

Moreover, this black aura was flowing out from his mouth, nose, and even his eyes!

He looked at Cao Xing, his mouth curling into a terrifying arc!

Then he said, "So… I've been exposed?"

At this moment, everyone on the field drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

Seeing that he had found the right target, Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Who are you?"

The 'Edward' curled his lips again, "Who am I?"

"I have many identities, dating back as far as ten thousand years ago…"

"I have been the richest beggar and the poorest king; I have toyed with the princesses of kingdoms and tasted beautiful elves…"

"I have even served as a member of the clergy in the Holy See for a period of time."

"I wonder, which of my identities would you like to know about?"

Cao Xing replied, "I get it, you guy are a demon."

After saying this, he immediately cast an [Ice Ball] at him.

"Bang!"

[-4732]

At this moment, that 'Edward's' HP had dropped to zero, but he still stood in place.

And he flashed a terrifying smile at Cao Xing.

"Do you think you can catch me like this?"

"Even the most powerful demon hunters are helpless against me, and even those members of the clergy revere me as a deity…"

"I can feel that your territory possesses a magical power; if you are willing to submit to me, I will grant you everything you desire!"

But Cao Xing sneered, "For me to submit to you, I'm afraid you aren't qualified enough."

"Attack, take this guy out."

After speaking, Cao Xing cast his [Ice Soul Revolving Spear] directly at him.

[-3742]

[-3354]

[-3372]

…

And this 'Edward' remained standing in place, a terrifying smile appearing on his lips again.

"Human, you have made the most wrong decision of your life…"

"From today on, your territory, and you, will live in fear forever…"

"You will gradually become like that pathetic painter, afraid to sleep at night, afraid to go out, mentally deranged, and emotionally unstable."

"Until one day, you will voluntarily kneel on the ground and beg me to help you find release!"

And the attacks from the soldiers had already descended by this time.

Various spears and blades all slashed into his body.

"Puff! Puff, puff, puff!"

However, the strange thing was that these blades landed on 'Edward' as if they were hitting a mass of oil, causing absolutely no damage.

At the same time, endless black aura erupted from the opponent's body!

The entire territory seemed to be enveloped in a terrifying aura!

Then, a shrill voice rang in their ears.

"Hehehe… remember, be careful of anyone around you!"

The next moment, this black aura disappeared.

At the same time, a system notification appeared.

[Survivor, please note: Your territory has been targeted by a certain entity, triggering a special event: Demon Invasion]

[Event Introduction: A demon has appeared in your territory. It will randomly possess any person. Please be careful to distinguish carefully and find it.]

…

Seeing the system notification, Cao Xing frowned, "A demon that can possess people?"

He scanned his surroundings rapidly.

He discovered that the gazes of the more than two hundred people on the field were all filled with vigilance and seriousness.

And just then, he noticed an Ascalon soldier in the crowd with a gloomy expression, revealing a terrifying smile!

"Catch him."

After receiving Cao Xing's order, a large number of Ascalon soldiers nearby acted immediately, pinning this soldier directly to the ground.

But the soldier who was pinned down continued to grin and said, "Oh? You caught me? And then what?"

"Do you have a way to deal with me?"

It opened its large mouth, as if mocking them wantonly!

Cao Xing and the others naturally could not truly attack their own people.

So, he looked at Liu Muxue beside him and said, "Use the large net launcher."

Liu Muxue executed the order without hesitation.

"Bang!"

A huge animal-catching net covered that soldier.

At this moment, the soldier's body trembled all over, and a mass of black aura rushed out from within.

And the soldier also fainted due to severe mental trauma.

Demon possession does not count as a mental attack, so it cannot be immunized by the [Faith Thought] skill.

Cao Xing frowned again.

"This is a bit tricky."

"This bastard actually possesses my subjects, and I can't attack my own subjects."

"And normal control methods don't seem to have any effect on it."

And just then.

A nearby Centaur spear and shield cavalryman also began to twitch.

The next moment, he immediately raised his spear and began to sweep at the surrounding friendly creatures.

At the same time, he was making strange noises.

"Hahaha! All of you die!"

Bang! Bang, bang!

The holy shields on the soldiers he attacked around him exploded layer by layer.

Seeing this scene.

Without needing Cao Xing to command, the surrounding soldiers swarmed up again and subdued this Centaur spear and shield cavalryman.

However, after being controlled, this Centaur continued to laugh madly.

Another black aura emerged from his body, which also meant that the demon had left his body.

At the same time, the demon's wanton laughter rang in Cao Xing's ears.

"Hahaha!"

"Are you feeling helpless? Are you feeling angry?"

"Poor human lord! I can feel the fear in your heart burning like a flame, don't suppress it anymore…"

"As long as you submit to me, I can let you possess everything you desire, just abandon that fragile conscience…"

The increasingly chaotic scene outside caused the people of the entire territory to begin to wake up.

Victoria, Francesca, and even commander-level figures like Bo Jie, Sun Chaser, all walked out one by one.

Cao Xing quickly ordered, "All staff, do not come out!"

Upon hearing the order, all staff stopped and returned to their rooms.

This demon's methods were extremely strange.

The more people there were, the harder it was to find it.

"Hahaha! Ignorant human, do you think you can hide by staying in your rooms?"

"I can possess the body of any creature, even the cattle and chicken flocks in your territory cannot escape."

"Moreover, I can turn into the appearance of any person; how are you going to find me?"

Hearing this, everyone on the field changed their expressions.

It had to be said that this demon's methods were truly strange.

Possession + Transformation, this was simply a bug-like ability.

Cao Xing was also thinking about a way to deal with this demon.