I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Time passed like the wind, sweeping through winter and spring.

The calendar flipped rapidly, arriving at the end of May in the Solar Calendar year 4419.

In this almost half-year period, there had been little change in the Circus.

Maggie accompanied Robert and his wife on their trips outside, returning only a handful of times, especially in the last two months, with almost no news.

The plague outside the city worsened, and the Outer City District had even been placed under martial law because of it.

Through newspapers and other channels, Chen Lun learned that in the surrounding towns and villages, even more terrifying epidemic phenomena had appeared.

Many people seemed to have become "puppets" of the plague, turning into monstrous, crazed lunatics.

That kind of plague, known as "Red Dance Disease," had reached a point where it terrified everyone who spoke of it, creating a wave of panic.

It didn't spread through rats and mosquitoes like the Black Death or Yellow Fever, but in an unknown way, infecting people mysteriously before erupting… No one knew who would be contaminated next, nor how to cure the afflicted.

This unknown was the most frightening of all.

Afflicted with "Red Dance Disease," the patients would dance tirelessly and fall into an extremely agitated state, uncontrollably seeking to commit violence and craving chaos and slaughter.

According to the current information, the disease was also lethal, varying in time from a few weeks to several months.

Due to the extensive spread of the epidemic, it had elicited a response from the Empire. The Security Office dispatched police to patrol the city, and a large number of soldiers were dispersed to the various affected areas to suppress and maintain order.

But the effect was not good.

The number of soldiers who had died was countless, and to prevent the spread of the plague, their bodies often couldn't be returned home. Instead, they were burned on the spot along with the bodies of local residents.

The reasons for deaths were complex; some were infected by the plague, others were killed by rioting mobs. In short, the morale of the army sent to control the epidemic in various places was low, and desertions even occurred.

They would rather face a tangible, powerful enemy than an invisible disease and the horrifically ill.

The weather gradually grew hotter, and the earth felt scorched.

Travelers hurried along the roads, and carriage drivers impatiently rang their bells to clear any obstructing pedestrians.

Ding-a-ling...

Chen Lun once again exited the Flower Sword Fighting Club.

He pulled his hat down low and briskly walked to the carriage stopped at the curb, boarding it directly.

"Let's head back," he said.

"Yes, Mr. Jack," the driver responded briefly, called out to the horses, and snapped the reins.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

Chen Lun sat in the carriage, gently caressing the Silver Staff in his hand.

Click, click…!

The staff transformed into a Silver Sword, straight and slim, quietly resting in his hand. His fingers slowly stroked the blade, and a strong impulse to wield the sword surged within him.

"Swordsmanship..."

Chen Lun murmured these two words.

During this period, he often took time to visit the Flower Sword Fighting Club and cultivate a relationship with the Black Knight Bales. Yet, most of the time, Bales was not around.

Whenever they met, Chen Lun would make the most of it to interact with him. Thanks to his past life's journey through the Moon Faction Sequence, he could converse with Bales quite pleasantly.

Even sometimes, a few simple words could inspire Bales.

After more than half a year of hard work, Chen Lun had finally raised Bales' Affection to "Close," and had also learned two skills from him!

Two extraordinary sword skills, active skills!

[Bales Swift Sword LVMAX]

Skill Description: An extraordinary sword technique created by the Moonlight Dark Knight Bales Wolf that covers the blade with the Power of Death, slashing out swift, cold gleams of light.

This skill, similar to "projection," required 4 Skill Points to max out. Each Sword Qi was equivalent to a slash and carried the Power of Death, quite impressive.

The only pity was that, due to a different Sequence path, the consumption when Chen Lun used this sword technique was higher and the effect slightly inferior to the original.

But he was already quite satisfied, having gained an additional means of attack. This method was supposed to belong to the Mid Sequence stage, and now it seemed he had mastered it ahead of time.

[Bales Moonlight Sword LVMAX]

Skill Description: An extraordinary sword technique created by the Moonlight Dark Knight Bales Wolf that accumulates the Power of Death on the blade, eventually slashing out a Moonlight-like, stunningly lethal and beautiful light.

This skill also consumed 4 Skill Points to max out.

The effect was somewhat akin to a charging sword; the longer the charge, the greater the power. However, it had a limit, the full charge took about a minute, with strength approximately five times the lowest setting.

Like [Bales Swift Sword], due to a different Sequence, it was discounted when inherited by Chen Lun, but it was undeniably a powerful Finishing Move.

Chen Lun just lacked such a Finishing Move.

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Back at Jack's estate.

Chen Lun discovered that the first-floor main hall of the villa was empty.

He wasn't surprised, as during this time, the whole team was generally busy.

Noah and Golov were out completing commissions, Connie was busy in the warehouse, and Floey was most likely catching up on sleep in her room.

'Soon... It's just two days until the public test.'
Your next read is at empire

A glint of anticipation flashed in Chen Lun's eyes.

After such a long time of preparation, everything was nearly in order, ready to warmly welcome the arrival of the players.