Night Ranger

Chapter 577: Candle Boat

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

The River Styx, the dark river leading to the Underworld.

There were actually a few such rivers that were called the River Styx and led to the Underworld, but they were typically in the most remote parts of Feinan.

According to official sources, the Styx was the main way to lead souls to the Underworld.

Each River Styx was very wide, and the rivers didn't just flow through a plane normally. They actually flowed downward through the Universe's planes.

They ended in the mysterious, cold Underworld.

Marvin knew that this dark river was only a small branch.

There was a white wharf on the river shore, and many [Candle Boats] were drifting near the wharf.

Ordinary souls would be gathered by the Reapers before being transferred down the river through Candle Boats.

Each Candle Boat represented the soul of someone that had passed away.

The River Styx was this world's most dangerous place.

It was safe to say that even if Marvin was ready to deal with the snake Witch, he shouldn't approach such a dangerous area.

But there was actually a problem with this wharf!

...

When he reached the moss-covered slope, Marvin quickly jumped down from the Rock Lizard.

He gently patted the Rock Lizard's back, hinting his intentions.

He would rely on himself from this point on. This rather smart mount couldn't go with him.

He wanted the Rock Lizard to wait for him rather than run amok.

Although it had been tamed, Marvin didn't know whether it would work.

But when he turned back after walked a fair distance away, the Rock Lizard had already started running off.

Marvin just shrugged and continued on his own.

After about five minutes, the Styx was already in sight.

Marvin kept going eastward, toward a bright beacon shining through the darkness.

This light would attract the surrounding souls and facilitate the Reapers' work.

Marvin hid his aura and entered Stealth, slowly approaching the wharf.

As Marvin had expected, the wharf really was crazily congested!

After becoming a Ruler of the Night, Marvin's body had been transformed to the point that his eyes could see souls, which were normally invisible to the naked eye.

He stood on a hillside, looking down at the bustling souls, which seemed to block almost the entire River Styx.

The row of Candle Boats on the dark river looked like a swarm, slowly drifting on the waves, gathering together.

Seeing this scene, Marvin rejoiced that he had guessed correctly. On the other hand, he also felt deep sorrow.

What caused this situation was naturally the terrifying Great Calamity!

One third of Feinan's population died in a mere two weeks!

Many of the countless souls were left drifting, so the Reapers should be pretty busy!

Although this was very good news for the Underworld's Sovereigns, and even though they had been prepared for this before the disaster, they hadn't expected that the number of deaths would be so high!

The Styx's wharf was thoroughly blocked!

Great numbers of souls were waiting to be handled by the Underworld's Reapers. This put a large amount of pressure on the Underworld's busy staff!

Thus, it gave Marvin a chance!

A chance to sneakily cross the dark river!

...

On the other side of the dark river, there was a large hilly area, occupied by an Arachnee tribe.

As long as he could get past the Arachnee tribe and circumvent the Rotten Mushroom Swamp, Marvin would arrive at his final destination, Devil Town.

The current question was how he should cross the river.

Because of the guide from the forums, Marvin's work was made a lot easier.

The Candle Boats were made of a very special substance. It was the only thing that could float on the River Styx.

The Styx's waters would instantly swallow anything that fell inside, regardless of whether it was a living being or a soul.

Even Gods would suffer heavy losses if they were infected by water from the Styx.

So, of course, Marvin didn't dare to take the risk of going through the water either.

He found an area that was relatively crowded with Candle Boats, and thanks to the Reapers being preoccupied, he easily secured a path!

A faint red line appeared in front of him.

Marvin didn't stop any longer. He stepped to the edge of the shore and made a big leap!

He was just like a falcon agilely pouncing on a rabbit as he lightly stepped onto a Candle Boat!

A stupefied old man was sitting in that Candle Boat. He couldn't see Marvin at all!

'No problem!'

Marvin was very pleased as he proceeded forward.

He jumped from boat to boat following the previously calculated route and the Underworld's Reapers simply didn't notice that there was a Human taking advantage of the opportunity to cross the Styx!

After all, it was such a rare situation for so many boats to be seen on the Styx.

For Marvin to meet this incident, his luck was pretty good… Or was it?

After five minutes, he reached the last Candle Boat.

This time, the distance between him and the shore was more than twenty meters.

With Marvin's fierce abilities, such a distance wasn't a big deal.

But just as he was about to jump, he felt a pair of eyes watching him.

He looked and saw that it was a boy!

And his eyes were different from those of the other boats' apathetic souls. This boy could actually see him.

The boy was staring at him with a look of surprise.

But Marvin was even more shocked!

He recognized a familiar face and a pair of familiar eyes!

Crimson eyes, and an unyielding expression.

This was a Hammon! From the same clan as Isabelle.

This very boy was that Hammon clansman who had fought alongside Marvin in the past!

At the start, Marvin had regarded him only as an important quest character, but by the end of the quest, Marvin had gained a really good opinion of that boy, Jay!

His incredible tenacity and his lack of any fear of death had stunned Marvin.

'How could Jay have died?'

'Could it be that he died in the Great Calamity because of it starting earlier than before?'

Marvin was confused.

Jay seemed to also notice Marvin's surprise. He looked at him and said, "I don't want to go to that world."

"As a child, my grandma told me that that place is the coldest place in the world. I don't want to go."

"Can you help me, Mister?"

Marvin hesitated, knowing that he couldn't take long to make a decision.

The Candle Boat was continuously floating downstream, and they might be taken away soon!

He suddenly clenched his teeth and took out the Book of Nalu!

If it had been a random soul that he didn't know, he might have just continued on his way.

But Jay was different. This small boy had already obtained Marvin's respect.

Marvin didn't want this talented Hammon to become an apathetic soul like this as a side effect of his transmigration!

Whatever the case, he would first take him away from the Candle Boat and then decide what to do about him later.