The Forbidden God System

Pursuit Inti The Forbidden Forest

Joko struggled violently. His feet pounded against the ground, but Marvin's grip around his neck was far stronger than his strength. Marvin did not let his unfortunate victim make a sound. With a rough jerk, he dragged Joko's body behind a denser cluster of bushes, far beyond the sight of his companions, who were still chatting near the campfire.

Hidden behind the thick foliage, Marvin stared into Joko's wide, terrified eyes. He felt no pity. There was only the pressing hunger coming from the meridian in his chest.

Release your life energy, Marvin commanded inwardly.

Instantly, an icy chill that pierced to the bone surged from Marvin's palm. Joko stopped struggling. His body stiffened, then slowly went limp as his spiritual energy was forcibly drawn out through his pores. Marvin felt a nauseating yet pleasurable warmth flowing into his arm. It was crude life essence, filled with impurities, but it was enough to stimulate his Meridian.

In an instant, Joko became a dried-out skeleton wrapped in clothing. Marvin tossed the body onto the ground like useless trash.

One, Marvin muttered coldly.

Bima and Raga's laughter could still be heard faintly from the direction of the campfire. They were still waiting for Joko to return. Marvin wiped away the small amount of blood that had splattered onto his hand, then moved like a shadow. He no longer used spiritual energy to leap. He merged with the darkness, making use of the night mist that was beginning to thicken.

Bima rose to his feet, frowning toward the darkness. "Joko! It's been ten minutes! Don't fool around. Come back quickly!"

Silence. Only the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind could be heard.

Bima looked anxiously at Raga. "Raga, go check on him."

Raga slowly stood and drew the short sword at his waist. "He might have gotten lost or been bitten by a forest snake. Wait here."

Raga strode toward the place where Joko had last been seen. Marvin was already waiting for him on a low tree branch, directly above the path Raga would take. When the man passed beneath him, Marvin did not attack immediately. He waited until Raga had moved past his position, then dropped from above with a speed that made almost no sound.

Before Raga could shout, Marvin drove his hand into the man's shoulder, paralyzing the muscles in his arm with a burst of black energy that struck his nerve points.

"Who?!" Raga gasped, trying to swing his short sword backward.

Marvin gave him no chance. He kicked the back of Raga's knee, sending the man crashing to the ground, then swiftly snapped Raga's wrist. The short sword fell to the ground.

"Me," Marvin whispered directly into Raga's ear.

Raga turned, his eyes widening when he saw the figure standing before him. "Marvin? But... you should already be dead!"

"That was your first mistake," Marvin replied flatly. Without wasting any words, he plunged his hand into Raga's chest. The Forbidden God Meridian began working again, draining every last trace of the man's vitality until his scream died in his parched throat.

A moment later, Raga became another lifeless corpse. Marvin glanced toward Bima, who was still standing near the campfire, staring suspiciously into the forest.

Bima drew his large machete. "Raga? Joko?"

His voice trembled. He knew something was wrong. The forest was far too quiet, as though every living creature within it was holding its breath to witness his death. Bima slowly began backing away, trying to reach the horse tethered at the edge of the camp.

Marvin stepped out of the shadows. He was no longer hiding. The steady sound of his footsteps rang clearly against the ground covered with dry branches.

"Where are you going, Bima?" Marvin's voice shattered the silence.

Bima turned, his face paling when he saw Marvin. "You! You're a demon! Young Master Marco said you had already been destroyed!"

"Marco may be an expert in many things, but he never understood that darkness cannot be destroyed by a pathetic campfire," Marvin said as he stepped closer.

Bima swung his large machete with all his strength. It was an attack from a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator. The wind generated by the machete's slash sent the surrounding leaves flying in every direction.

Marvin did not dodge. He raised his left hand, and a thick layer of black energy appeared in front of his palm. A deafening impact rang out as the machete slammed into Marvin's defense. Crack! The steel machete fractured down the middle from the impact of the dense energy unleashed by Marvin's Meridian.

Bima's eyes widened. "Impossible! You're nothing but trash!"

"The trash that will bury you," Marvin retorted. He leaped forward, driving a fist infused with concentrated energy into Bima's stomach.

Bima coughed up blood, his body hurled backward until it slammed into a tree. Marvin did not give him time to recover. He lunged forward, bombarding Bima with a relentless barrage of brutal attacks. Every blow that struck Bima's body felt like the impact of an iron hammer, shattering bone after bone.

Bima tried to withstand the assault, but he felt his strength being drained away every time his hands came into contact with Marvin's body. Excruciating pain spread through every muscle, making him lose control of his own body.

"Stop... please!" Bima whimpered, his eyes beginning to glaze over as he lost consciousness.

"When you dragged me by my legs and threw me into the Forbidden Forest, did you ever beg for mercy?" Marvin gripped Bima's face with one hand, lifting the large man's body until his feet dangled in the air.

With a surge of energy, Marvin shattered the last remnants of Bima's defenses. He drained the man's life energy completely in a matter of moments. Once Bima's body went limp and withered, Marvin simply let him fall. He stood amid the three corpses, breathing heavily, yet his eyes radiated a cold satisfaction.

[System: Warning. Absorbed energy has exceeded the threshold. Initiating energy advancement process to the next level.]

Marvin felt his body tremble violently. Excruciating pain pierced through his nerves, as if every bone in his body were being reforged in an invisible fire. He dropped to his knees, suppressing a scream that nearly escaped his lips.

The energy he had absorbed from the three mercenaries reacted within his meridians, creating a vortex of power far greater than before.

[System: Energy integration complete. Congratulations, User has reached Level 4 Qi Refinement.]

Marvin slowly rose to his feet. He clenched his fists, feeling the power seep into every fiber of his muscles. He no longer felt tired. What he felt was an ever-growing ambition to seek out more energy, more blood from those who had betrayed him.

He stared blankly at the pile of corpses. The old Marvin Sterling would have wept over their deaths or been horrified by what he had done. But the Marvin of today saw nothing but a pile of energy. He fully realized that the path he had chosen had distanced him from the last remnants of the humanity he once possessed.

This path is built upon the corpses of others, he thought. And I will not stop until this mountain of corpses reaches the summit of the Sterling Clan.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from the distance. This time, it was not ten or twenty people. It was a large force carrying torches, numbering as many as a hundred men. Marvin could hear the loud commands of the figure leading the troops.

"Quick! Search every corner of this forest! Don't let that rat escape!"

Marvin turned toward the approaching force. He could see the Sterling Clan's emblem fluttering in the distance. They had come to hunt the "rat," who was actually a tiger ready to pounce.

Marvin grinned. He did not run. Instead, he stepped deeper into the darkness of the forest, waiting for the right moment to welcome the hundred men who would become the next fuel for his cultivation.

In the misty night, Marvin Sterling was no longer a desperate man. He was a storm ready to destroy everything.

"One hundred people," he whispered into the silent night. "This is going to be a very long night."

He took a deep breath, allowing a dense black aura to envelop his body and make his figure increasingly indistinct among the shadows of the trees. Every step he took was a promise of death to anyone who dared enter his territory.

Behind him, the three corpses were consumed by black flames that emerged from Marvin's remaining energy, leaving nothing but ash upon the ground. There would be no trace left for the Sterling Clan's forces to follow.

Marvin shot deeper into the forest, moving so quickly that he appeared like a shadow teleporting from one place to another. He already had a plan. He would not openly fight a hundred men. He would drive them insane, hunt them down one by one, and let fear destroy their morale before he finished them physically.

In the midst of his flight, the System once again issued a notification inside his head.

[System: New mission available. Destroy the Sterling Clan's search force. Reward: Cultivation advancement to Level 5 and Forbidden Technique: Shadow Killer Step.]

Marvin needed no additional motivation. Revenge was the most efficient fuel for the Forbidden God System. He continued running, leaping from branch to branch as he approached the formation of troops beginning to enter the Forbidden Forest.

At the front of the formation, a Sterling Clan officer held a torch high, his eyes sweeping cautiously across the darkness. He had no idea that death was watching him from the tree directly above his head.

Marvin drew a breath, focusing the black energy into his palm. He knew this would be his most challenging battle yet, but he also knew there was no turning back.

Marco, Xena, you wanted me to die here? Marvin thought. Fine. I'll make sure you're the ones who regret letting me stay alive.

He leaped down, no longer as the crippled young man who limped, but as the Forbidden God who had risen from the darkness to claim his destiny.

Ahead, the Sterling Clan's forces continued moving forward, unaware that they were walking toward a mass grave prepared by the very man they were hunting. Marvin was in the midst of their shadows, waiting for the moment to strike down the front line, unleash chaos, and harvest their lives one by one.

Marvin stopped atop a tree branch, his eyes fixed sharply on the center of the formation. There, guarded by ten elite warriors, stood a middle-aged man dressed in an elegant black robe. He was the Elder of the Sterling Clan, the man who had always regarded Marvin as a stain upon his clan.

Marvin gripped the tree branch tightly. The hatred that had once cooled began to boil again. This was the man who had ordered his torture in the past.

Grand Elder, Marvin whispered, his voice filled with deep hatred.

His original plan to hunt down the mercenaries had now changed. Marvin had a far more valuable target. If he could eliminate the Grand Elder here, it would be a devastating blow to the Sterling Clan.

However, he knew the risks. The Grand Elder was no easy opponent. His cultivation was at least at Level 8 Qi Refinement or higher. If Marvin fought him openly, he would lose. He had to find a way, find an opening, and use every drop of power the System had given him to bring the man down.

Marvin racked his brain, searching for the best tactic. He could not simply charge forward. He needed a distraction, chaos, something that would force the Grand Elder away from his guards.

"System, is there any way to create chaos in this area?" Marvin asked.

[System: A Shadow Predator nest has been detected at coordinates 05-2. If an energy lure is released, the predators will attack the nearest source of energy.]

Marvin smiled. There it was.

He began moving again, no longer toward the front line, but toward the predator nest in question. He would draw the entire swarm of monsters toward the Sterling forces, creating uncontrollable chaos. In the midst of that chaos, he would slip in and go for the Grand Elder's head.

The hunt had just become far more interesting. Marvin shot forward, leaving a trail of black energy in the air as he headed toward a destiny that would change the history of the Sterling Clan forever.

He would not let anyone leave this forest tonight. Everyone would die, everyone would become a sacrifice for the ascension of the Astrala Demon.