Blow darts had very short tips . They were like needles and weren't very strong . In fact, they barely had any fatality . At most, they would break through one's skin . Their biggest power came from the anesthetic poison the tips were dipped in .

Naturally, Link's group was all hit . Each one got shot in the neck and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious .

Around ten seconds later, three guys in dark gray leather armor ducked out of the bushes . The guy at the front was still holding his metal crossbow . It was aimed at Link with an arrow in place just in case .

"Go get their weapons!" The person said to the other two while his crossbow was still aimed at Link's trio .

The two thieves sprinted over and stripped the three of their stuff . They found three daggers, a regular steel sword, a crossbow, and some valuable little things like silver rings and jade necklaces .

"Boss, this is all," one thief said .

The boss c.o.c.ked his head at the things on the ground and studied the unconscious trio . He smiled . "They're young and muscular . We can sell them as Warriors . We hit the jackpot . Go search their bags . "

"Gotcha," the two thieves answered . Happy, they jogged to the horses and opened up the bags . The three were clearly traveling merchants . They would definitely have a bunch of good things .

While searching, one thief yelped . The boss jumped and almost shot his arrow . Shocked, he asked quickly, "What's wrong?"

"Boss, look, look! Something good!"

The skinny thief turned around, holding a stallion statue in his hands . More accurately, it was half a statue . It had been sliced by something sharp, and the cut was smooth .

The most attractive thing was the statue's material . It was semi-translucent and shone gently like crystal . It made one get the urge to clutch the statue and caress it forever .

All three thieves gaped at the statue and gulped, swallowing heavily . They just stared like idiots . How could there be such a pretty thing in the world? It must be priceless .

After a full five minutes, the head darted over and grabbed the bag on the horse, covering the statue . Finally, he let out a breath .

"This must be valuable . It must be priceless!" one thief mumbled while staring at the bag . He couldn't see the statue anymore, but just looking at the bag rea.s.sured him .

"Boss, what should we do?" the other thief asked . His eyes flashed for an unspoken reason .

The boss was familiar with that light . Usually, when they chanced upon something valuable, they would secretly take it and exchange it for money . Then the three brothers would splurge happily .

If they sold this statue, they could live wealthily without doing anything .

But this time, the boss didn't say anything . He kept silent . Deep down, he obviously wanted the treasure for himself . However, another voice told him that it was too valuable and dangerous . If people found out, they might die .

Their lives were still more important than money… Any logical man would know what to do .

After debating for a full fifteen minutes, the boss gritted his teeth and said, "We can't take this . We might not be alive to spend the money . Hand it over . Leader will reward us greatly . "

The other two thieves weren't happy, but thinking of the Syndicate's cruel punishments, they shuddered .

"Boss, we'll listen to you . "

With that, the head thief's thoughts ran more smoothly . "Take these three back too . There's only half of the statue . They must know where the other half is . "

"Whatever you say . "

The three started acting immediately . They dragged the three unconscious men onto the horse and tied them up nicely . Seeing that there was stew left in the pot, they sat down and drank it all . Then they started walking the horse down the small path beside the road, going deep into the forest .

As they walked, the trees grew denser . After more than ten miles, the trees grew spa.r.s.er again . A river valley appeared before them . In the distance, one could see a castle .

This was one of the Syndicate's strongholds .

The three thieves led the horse towards the castle . At the entrance of the river valley, the bush moved, and a young and agile man in black leather walked out . Looking at the three unconscious men on the horse, he furrowed his brows . "Why did you bring outsiders in?"

Only Syndicate thieves knew about this secret stronghold . Usually, they would sell slaves outside instead of bringing them into the stronghold . If that happened, the location would be exposed . The Syndicate didn't like to be out in the open .

The head thief nodded submissively . "Yamu, we found something really good to give to the leader . "

"Oh, something good?" The thief wasn't impressed . These three weren't powerful . Their Battle Aura was only Level-2, and they could only capture lone merchants to sell as slaves . What good things could they find?

The head thief walked forward with the bag . He opened it slightly, revealing the statue inside .

Yamu gasped as soon as he saw it . When he looked back at the thieves, his eyes were different . "That really is good . I'll bring you to the leader!"

He'd never seen a stone like this, but he could feel the power aura coming from it . It didn't look bad either . It was definitely extraordinary; the leader would definitely like it .

He turned to lead the way . As he walked, he said, "You three really got lucky to get something that good . You'll definitely be rewarded well . "

"Hehe, Brother Yamu, I won't forget about you . " The head thief quickly smiled . He had to . Here, he wasn't as powerful or important as Yamu . He had to bow down to the man .

"You're very thoughtful, haha . " Yamu was pleased .

The group led the horse into the castle walls . In the courtyard, people dragged the still-unconscious trio off the horse and into the dungeon . Yamu brought the three thieves into the castle's main hall .

The hall was vast . In the front, there was a huge statue of a muscular middle-aged man . His face was covered and there was a dagger on either side of his thighs . The statue was hidden in the shadows, and every detail was on point . From afar, it looked as if a thief was really hiding in the darkness and could jump out at any time .

This was the Shadow Stalker Morpheus .

Before the statue, a figure shrouded in dark aura stood in the shadows . His face was hidden, but his eyes glowed faintly with red light . When he looked at the four entering the hall, they felt like a viper was watching them and shuddered in unison .

"What good news did you bring?" the man spoke . His voice was raspy . When it rang throughout the hall, it sounded like a snake's hiss . It gave one gooseb.u.mps .

"Leader, these three captured three merchants and found this . " Yamu took the bag . He walked up and offered it up .

The leader took the back . When he opened it, his eyes instantly brightened . The dark room seemed to brighten too as if a star had fallen onto earth .

"This statue…this stone…it's a Celestial Stone!" the leader couldn't help but exclaim, his breath quickening . He knew what this was!

Celestial Stone

Level-16 Astral Meteorite

Effect: It dazzles like a star on the outside . If one grinds it into fine gold, the weapons created are formless and traceless . It won't let out a bit of aura while being almost perfectly anti-magic . It is an a.s.sa.s.sin's top choice .

(Note: There is only one star in the world . The others are destined to fall . )

While appreciating the beauty, the leader suddenly said, "Why is it only half? Where's the other half?"

For priceless treasures like this, one would never worry about having too much . Even if there was only a shred of a chance to get more, he would s.n.a.t.c.h it up!

Judging from the breakage point, someone had chopped it off with a sword . It was a fresh cut too and should have been recent . If he had a clue, he could definitely find the other half .

"It was found in the merchant's belongings," Yamu quickly replied . "There was only half . Leader, should we bring them over?"

Before the leader replied, there was a soft buzz behind him . They all looked over and saw that Morpheus' statue's eyes lit up . b.l.o.o.d.y light shot out while boundless pressure weighed down .

The four thieves immediately fell to their knees . They didn't even dare to breathe .

Morpheus kept surveillance of his high-level believers' minds . Once there were dramatic abnormalities, he would sense it . Now, the leader was suddenly ecstatic, so Morpheus' focus projected from the statue to see what was happening .

And thus, he saw the Celestial Stone .

Recently, Morpheus had been feeling off . There was a vague sense of danger . To protect himself, he wanted to create a powerful weapon for himself . Unfortunately, he didn't have enough materials to fulfill that goal .

The Celestial Stone's appearance was like a traveler in a desert seeing an oasis . Morpheus was immediately excited . With this stone, he could definitely produce the most advanced divine gear for thieves!

A voice rang out in the minds of all the thieves present . Take this Celestial Stone and the three mortals to be . I will interrogate them personally! Hurry! Now!

The leader was shocked . "Yes, Master," he hurriedly said . "I will do it now!"

Blow darts had very short tips . They were like needles and werent very strong . In fact, they barely had any fatality . At most, they would break through ones skin . Their biggest power came from the anesthetic poison the tips were dipped in . Naturally, Links group was all hit . Each one got shot in the neck and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious . Around ten seconds later, three guys in dark gray leather armor ducked out of the bushes . The guy at the front was still holding his metal crossbow . It was aimed at Link with an arrow in place just in case . Go get their weapons! The person said to the other two while his crossbow was still aimed at Links trio . The two thieves sprinted over and stripped the three of their stuff . They found three daggers, a regular steel sword, a crossbow, and some valuable little things like silver rings and jade necklaces . Boss, this is all, one thief said . The boss c.o.c.ked his head at the things on the ground and studied the unconscious trio . He smiled . Theyre young and muscular . We can sell them as Warriors . We hit the jackpot . Go search their bags . Gotcha, the two thieves answered . Happy, they jogged to the horses and opened up the bags . The three were clearly traveling merchants . They would definitely have a bunch of good things . While searching, one thief yelped . The boss jumped and almost shot his arrow . Shocked, he asked quickly, Whats wrong? Boss, look, look! Something good! The skinny thief turned around, holding a stallion statue in his hands . More accurately, it was half a statue . It had been sliced by something sharp, and the cut was smooth . The most attractive thing was the statues material . It was semi-translucent and shone gently like crystal . It made one get the urge to clutch the statue and caress it forever . All three thieves gaped at the statue and gulped, swallowing heavily . They just stared like idiots . How could there be such a pretty thing in the world? It must be priceless . After a full five minutes, the head darted over and grabbed the bag on the horse, covering the statue . Finally, he let out a breath . This must be valuable . It must be priceless! one thief mumbled while staring at the bag . He couldnt see the statue anymore, but just looking at the bag rea.s.sured him . Boss, what should we do? the other thief asked . His eyes flashed for an unspoken reason . The boss was familiar with that light . Usually, when they chanced upon something valuable, they would secretly take it and exchange it for money . Then the three brothers would splurge happily . If they sold this statue, they could live wealthily without doing anything . But this time, the boss didnt say anything . He kept silent . Deep down, he obviously wanted the treasure for himself . However, another voice told him that it was too valuable and dangerous . If people found out, they might die . Their lives were still more important than money… Any logical man would know what to do . After debating for a full fifteen minutes, the boss gritted his teeth and said, We cant take this . We might not be alive to spend the money . Hand it over . Leader will reward us greatly . The other two thieves werent happy, but thinking of the Syndicates cruel punishments, they shuddered . Boss, well listen to you . With that, the head thiefs thoughts ran more smoothly . Take these three back too . Theres only half of the statue . They must know where the other half is . Whatever you say . The three started acting immediately . They dragged the three unconscious men onto the horse and tied them up nicely . Seeing that there was stew left in the pot, they sat down and drank it all . Then they started walking the horse down the small path beside the road, going deep into the forest . As they walked, the trees grew denser . After more than ten miles, the trees grew spa.r.s.er again . A river valley appeared before them . In the distance, one could see a castle . This was one of the Syndicates strongholds . The three thieves led the horse towards the castle . At the entrance of the river valley, the bush moved, and a young and agile man in black leather walked out . Looking at the three unconscious men on the horse, he furrowed his brows . Why did you bring outsiders in? Only Syndicate thieves knew about this secret stronghold . Usually, they would sell slaves outside instead of bringing them into the stronghold . If that happened, the location would be exposed . The Syndicate didnt like to be out in the open . The head thief nodded submissively . Yamu, we found something really good to give to the leader . Oh, something good? The thief wasnt impressed . These three werent powerful . Their Battle Aura was only Level-2, and they could only capture lone merchants to sell as slaves . What good things could they find? The head thief walked forward with the bag . He opened it slightly, revealing the statue inside . Yamu gasped as soon as he saw it . When he looked back at the thieves, his eyes were different . That really is good . Ill bring you to the leader! Hed never seen a stone like this, but he could feel the power aura coming from it . It didnt look bad either . It was definitely extraordinary; the leader would definitely like it . He turned to lead the way . As he walked, he said, You three really got lucky to get something that good . Youll definitely be rewarded well . Hehe, Brother Yamu, I wont forget about you . The head thief quickly smiled . He had to . Here, he wasnt as powerful or important as Yamu . He had to bow down to the man . Youre very thoughtful, haha . Yamu was pleased . The group led the horse into the castle walls . In the courtyard, people dragged the still-unconscious trio off the horse and into the dungeon . Yamu brought the three thieves into the castles main hall . The hall was vast . In the front, there was a huge statue of a muscular middle-aged man . His face was covered and there was a dagger on either side of his thighs . The statue was hidden in the shadows, and every detail was on point . From afar, it looked as if a thief was really hiding in the darkness and could jump out at any time . This was the Shadow Stalker Morpheus . Before the statue, a figure shrouded in dark aura stood in the shadows . His face was hidden, but his eyes glowed faintly with red light . When he looked at the four entering the hall, they felt like a viper was watching them and shuddered in unison . What good news did you bring? the man spoke . His voice was raspy . When it rang throughout the hall, it sounded like a snakes hiss . It gave one gooseb.u.mps . Leader, these three captured three merchants and found this . Yamu took the bag . He walked up and offered it up . The leader took the back . When he opened it, his eyes instantly brightened . The dark room seemed to brighten too as if a star had fallen onto earth . This statue…this stone…its a Celestial Stone! the leader couldnt help but exclaim, his breath quickening . He knew what this was! Celestial Stone Level-16 Astral Meteorite Effect: It dazzles like a star on the outside . If one grinds it into fine gold, the weapons created are formless and traceless . It wont let out a bit of aura while being almost perfectly anti-magic . It is an a.s.sa.s.sins top choice . (Note: There is only one star in the world . The others are destined to fall . ) While appreciating the beauty, the leader suddenly said, Why is it only half? Wheres the other half? For priceless treasures like this, one would never worry about having too much . Even if there was only a shred of a chance to get more, he would s.n.a.t.c.h it up! Judging from the breakage point, someone had chopped it off with a sword . It was a fresh cut too and should have been recent . If he had a clue, he could definitely find the other half . It was found in the merchants belongings, Yamu quickly replied . There was only half . Leader, should we bring them over? Before the leader replied, there was a soft buzz behind him . They all looked over and saw that Morpheus statues eyes lit up . b.l.o.o.d.y light shot out while boundless pressure weighed down . The four thieves immediately fell to their knees . They didnt even dare to breathe . Morpheus kept surveillance of his high-level believers minds . Once there were dramatic abnormalities, he would sense it . Now, the leader was suddenly ecstatic, so Morpheus focus projected from the statue to see what was happening . And thus, he saw the Celestial Stone . Recently, Morpheus had been feeling off . There was a vague sense of danger . To protect himself, he wanted to create a powerful weapon for himself . Unfortunately, he didnt have enough materials to fulfill that goal . The Celestial Stones appearance was like a traveler in a desert seeing an oasis . Morpheus was immediately excited . With this stone, he could definitely produce the most advanced divine gear for thieves! A voice rang out in the minds of all the thieves present . Take this Celestial Stone and the three mortals to be . I will interrogate them personally! Hurry! Now! The leader was shocked . Yes, Master, he hurriedly said . I will do it now!