Naturally, Garm was trying to put pressure on Darius and make him understand that he was unsatisfied with the presence of the fellow.

The indication was clear, if he wanted any favors like the other three here, he'd better cough up something good and speak well in order to soothe his anger, or he could forget about getting anything done!

Darius laughed. "Overseer Garm, forgive me for being rude in barging into your domain at such a late hour. I do wish to pass through here in order to enter the Plains of Death, with your permission of course."

Seeing as Darius had spoken well, Garm's coldness softened. Still, without being properly 'pampered' he did not give Darius any extra benefits and said. "Of course, you're free to enter the Plains of Death as you please. However, anything concerning your life and wellbeing is your own burden."

Darius approached Garm and stretched his hand to shake his. Overseer Garm was suspicious, but still received Darius' gesture as it was a matter of etiquette. However, his face changed slightly when he felt something in Darius' palm.

With a gleam in his eye, he quickly received the 'gift' Darius was giving him. Darius himself smiled thankfully and released his grip. "Thank you for your kindness, Overseer. My servant and I shall be on our way."

Darius resolutely left the tent, surprising the other three. Of course, they were nobles and experienced men, how could they not recognize the 'transaction' that had just occurred.

The three couldn't help but praise Darius for his worldliness and wisdom. In a similar situation, many immature hot-headed youths with notable power would have scoffed at Garm's rudeness and mentality, choosing to forge ahead on their own while offending him.

Only the most mature and wise fellows knew how to be patient and choose to make as many friends or allies as they could. One could never predict the future, and making Garm a friend instead of a foe when heading out into a dangerous zone could make all the difference.

Of course, they also knew discretion. None of them showed curiosity as to what Garm had received openly and continued chatting about their matters from before as if Darius had never entered.

If one did not know any better, one would think they had been totally ignorant as to what really happened just now.

Their chatter continued on until the early dawn before they bid farewell to Garm after receiving the various promises and accessions they had come here for.

Tired and quite stressed, Garm was about to head to bed when he remembered the item Darius gifted him.

Curious and expectant as to what the talented Adept would gift him, Garm opened his drawer and took it out. Once he saw what it was, his face changed greatly, and his lips couldn't help but twitch.

It was the Red Enchant that Darius had been keeping for a while now, an item deemed supremely rare even by the Supreme System. This was useful to all combatants as they could imbue rare and powerful enchantments to their weapons with this.

One could have the money to buy it, but finding it would be another story altogether! Now he had received it as a mere gift of friendship?

Garm couldn't help but look towards the Plains of Death, where Darius should have entered by now. His lips still twitching he couldn't help but speak to himself.

"After giving me this, how can I muster any dislike for you, damn bastard. Fine, from henceforth, you are officially a friend of mine." Garm muttered unwillingly despite beginning to deeply respect Darius.

After this, the Overseer finally headed to his tent to get some shut-eye.

.............

As for Darius, he was already in the area just before the Plains of Death, 3 kilometers away from the Baratuo outpost. Despite his mission, Darius could see no one around here, which was expected as most of them should be deeper inside by now.

Right before them was a blighted land even more intense and darker than what the Liches had produced during their transformation. Darius was certain that should he and Gunner take one step in, their power would immediately be suppressed.

This made him frown, as it added a layer of difficulty to his already tedious and arduous mission. He certainly wasn't looking forward to experiencing the effects of the blight, but he had no choice.

It wasn't like he could fly like a Master stage expert, or at least levitate himself. The duo shared a look before simultaneously sighing and taking one step in. The moment they did, their faces changed and they grimaced heavily.

Darius checked his and Gunner's status only to find out that their HP, MP, and various stats had been suppressed by 10%. This was only the outer edge of the Plains of Death's first band, so it could only get worse the deeper they went in.

No wonder even the light aligned forces from powerful empires on Fallon Continent pretended as if they hadn't seen this place. Darius was somewhat prepared for this as he drank a Purification Potion.

As for Gunner, he simply manifested his Earth's Guardian skill and kept it active. Unlike the version of blight the duo of liches made which was cleansed, the true blight here was unharmed. However, Gunner was also free from its effects.

Darius understood that his best option was to move through the Plains of Death slowly and cautiously. However, time was of the essence, and this was exactly why he had 'wasted' two weeks setting up chaos in this zone.

After everyone had entered, they had messed up the order of this place, allowing him to breeze through the early bits until he caught up to where the chaos would currently be ensuing.

According to his predictions, they should be in the Adept band or at least in the latter half of the Journeyman band.

Darius and Gunner began their blink-leap technique post-haste. They tore through the first band rapidly, a blur in their own right.

They were so fast that the weaker undead that populated the area were confused, the same holding true for the various mercs and adventurers who couldn't go in deeper.