I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

"Neil, stand still!"

A boy dressed in striped noble attire shouted.

He looked about fifteen or sixteen, with narrow eyes and a high nose bridge. His brown hair slightly reddened in the sunlight.

There were also freckles on both sides of his cheeks.

The boy called "Neil" was of similar age but wore only a plain white coarse linen shirt, with golden hair, and both he and his clothes were covered in dirty mud.

"Yes, Master Fork."

Neil lowered his head, took a deep breath, and stood still, gritting his teeth.

Bam!

The wooden stick hit Neil's thigh heavily and snapped in response.

Neil screamed in agony and fell to the ground, splashing into the mud.

His face turned red with pain, veins protruding on his forehead, his mouth smeared with the stench of muddy dirt, along with some grass.

The excited laughter of Master Fork echoed in his ears.

"Wonderful! Neil, did you see that? The stick is broken! I broke the stick! Such swordsmanship is surely enough to impress Instructor Thomas, isn't it?!"

"Yes... yes, Master, you indeed are impressive!"

Neil struggled to get up from the ground, his thigh trembling uncontrollably.

Master Fork looked at him first with a satisfied expression as if admiring his "masterpiece," then pinched his nose in disgust and said:

"You smell awful! Go wash up immediately!"

"Yes, Master..."

Neil endured the pain and humiliation, lowered his head, and said.

He turned around and hobbled away from the open ground, heading towards the well beside a stone house. As the knight squire of Master Fork, he was supposed to enjoy the kitchen's hot water, but Neil's status in the Dutte family was lower than the most menial of dung servants.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old maid quickly passed him and ran towards the open ground, happily saying to the noble boy:

"Master Fork, Butler Rolf had someone buy a big fish in town. It is said that this big fish, caught early this morning by fishermen from the south coast of Rainbow Island, will certainly be delicious according to the cook!"

"I'm somewhat hungry. Tell the cook to be quick."

Fork seemed indifferent, casually pinching the maid while ordering authoritatively.

The little maid blushed and quickly responded:

"Understood... Master."

Hearing the brief conversation vaguely, Neil remained silent, gritted his teeth, and walked to the well, washing himself with the cold well water.

He endured the intense pain from his leg and body, with a look of hatred flashing in his eyes.

Neil's full name was "Neil Lucius," the only living legitimate heir of the Lucius family... And Master Fork's Dutte family were distant relatives, yet now occupying his territory, the Black Horn Domain.

The yard, the castle, and those maidservants... should have been his!

His father fought for the Morris Kingdom, leading more than five hundred militiamen and dozens of knights to war, but never returned.

As a result, his uncle Miller Dutte easily took over, occupied the Black Horn Domain, and publicly claimed to care for and support this nephew.

In reality, he took everything from Neil, even arranging for him, the original master, to serve as a squire under his second son, Fork.

With the pretext of "tempering" and "nurturing" the virtues of a knight.

But beatings and scolding were common, leaving Neil powerless to resist or escape. The castle's great gate was guarded 24 hours a day, and any rash action could lead to severe punishment if captured.

To survive, he had endured humiliation for over two years.

After washing his body, Neil changed into a new but patched linen garment, took several deep breaths, and adjusted his expression in the reflection of the water basin to conceal the hatred in his eyes.

Once everything returned to normal, he dragged his painfully aching body to the main hall of the castle's main building.

As soon as he entered, he smelled the strong aroma of fish.

Two older maids stood at the door, swallowing their saliva.

"Ugh! What a weird smell?!"

Sitting at the right-hand side of the main seat at the long dining table, Fork Dutte turned and spat, spitting out the food in his mouth onto the ground.

"This is the fancy item bought for two fire-patterned silvers? Some distant sea fish, with a stench more disgusting than Neil's stench!"

He pounded the table in dissatisfaction, and the maids around shivered in fear.

The old Butler Rolf, standing aside, wore a troubled expression.

After all, he had arranged for someone to buy this fish in town. Master Fork's complaints were essentially blaming him.

"Brother, the fourth precept of the Doctrine of Redemption states that wasting food is a desecration of our Lord..."

At the left hand side of the dining table, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen said calmly.

He sliced a piece of fried fish seasoned with only a little fine salt, forked it into his mouth, savored it, and showed an intoxicated expression.

"And the fish doesn't taste as bad as you claim... So just because Father is not here, you start to put on the airs of a noble, is that it?"

"Kru! You bastard!"

Fork glared angrily at his elder brother, clenching his fists.

"I'll report everything to Father in detail, oh no, I'll explain it to Priest Jordan during tomorrow's mass activity... Given your fondness for wasting food, perhaps after you come of age, Father will assign you to a barren and remote corner to slowly understand the value of food."

Kru Dutte swallowed the fish and smiled broadly.

Fork, witnessing this, was inexplicably somewhat frightened.

He glanced at the siblings at the dining table, eating quietly and not daring to join in the conversation, eventually fixing his gaze on the timid knight squire standing at the door.

"Neil! Get over here!"

Fork shouted loudly.

Neil's fists tightened, then quickly relaxed.

He responded and hurried forward.

"Master Fork, what are your orders?"

"Go! Eat the food I accidentally dropped on the ground!"

"Master Fork, this..."

Neil stared at the chewed-up, sticky mass of disgustingly white fish on the ground, stammering.

It wasn't something that accidentally fell on the ground; he had seen it clearly, it was Fork who spit it out!

"I said, eat it! Don't you understand?"

Fork stood up, seemingly because Neil didn't immediately obey his command, feeling embarrassed in front of Kru, his face suddenly darkened.

"If you don't eat it, just wait and see!"

At this time, Kru, the eldest son of the Dutte Family, cast a half-smiling glance.

Even the younger children, the old butler Rolf, and the maids all turned their heads, looking on with sympathetic eyes.

Neil only felt his heart rate quicken.

His face flushed with utter humiliation.

But in the end, he chose to compromise.

Because he knew once he dared to refuse, he would surely have a sleepless night, Fork would unleash his most vicious ideas, inflicting them on him to vent his anger...

"Yes, I understand, Master Fork..."

Neil said hoarsely.

He walked over, knelt down, crawled on the ground like a dog, struggling as he licked up the disgusting mass of fish.

The cold and slimy texture swirled in his mouth.

The pungent smell lingered relentlessly.

Neil forced down the urge to vomit, hurriedly swallowing it down.

Looking up, whether from humiliation or disgust, tears blurred his vision, he saw Fork grinning smugly while others looked on with mercy.

*

*

*

Dusk.

The corner of Black Horn Castle.

Behind a towering old tree, a faint sobbing could be heard.

Neil stifled his voice, afraid others might hear, he curled up in the shadows, crying bitterly.

Fork's detestable laughing face flashed repeatedly in his mind.

Suddenly, a thought arose: to take advantage of Fork's unawareness and kill him... use a kitchen knife, stabbing it fiercely into his throat, watching as he took his last breath in despair and pain.

But quickly, Neil dismissed that thought.

Because he thought it wasn't worth it.

He had yet to take revenge, yet to reclaim the Black Horn Domain his father left him.

Even if he managed to kill Fork, he wouldn't be able to escape, and would soon be captured by the Guardians, and given the numerous offspring of the Dutte Family, a second son wouldn't unsettle this vile familial relation.

Considering Uncle Miller's sinister nature, he would certainly be thrown into the dungeon, subjected to a series of tortures like branding, flaying, spikes, even having fingers cut off.

And worse, he might be dragged to the domain's church, burned alive by the Redemption Fire Punishment under everyone's gaze... and after death, carry the stigma of a master-killer.

"Damn 'master-killer'... This is my home! They are all robbers! All thieves!!"

Neil raised his head, his tear-streaked face was bloodshot.

He secretly vowed, he must hold his ground, find a way to strengthen himself, and sooner or later reclaim his domain, killing these robbers one by one!

With that thought, he picked up the practice sword from the ground, slashing vigorously at the tree, using the swordsmanship he'd secretly learned from Instructor Thomas.

The massive recoil made Neil's hand ache.

But his gaze remained firm, slicing over and over, as if the old tree before him was the detestable Fork Dutte.

Suddenly.

Neil's whole body shook, his scalp tingled as if electrified, a sudden numbness.

He inexplicably grasped the key techniques of swordsmanship retained from the past, wrist power, raising hand motion, how the waist and legs unleash strength, etc...

Thud!

A cold flash blinked, and the practice sword sliced deep into the hard bark, stuck five inches deep.

"This..."

Neil's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I can actually achieve this level?!"

Even the lord Miller Dutte's sword, the one that cost nearly half a year's taxes to purchase from the court blacksmiths, the "English Lion Sword," couldn't hack that deeply into an old tree in his hands.

And this was only an unsharpened standard iron sword!

Neil felt it was truly unbelievable!

However, what he didn't know was that in his eyes, a brilliant azure light flashed.

Chen Lun's consciousness was hidden within that fine crystallization.

He was observing the surroundings through the boy named "Neil."

'So this is the Outer Continent? It feels like a medieval realm... No extraordinary powers have been detected yet, but I can constantly feel a strong threat, coming from beyond the sky... Without the ritual protection of Ring Duke here, the world is unceasingly eroded by the power of the foreign gods, I must proceed cautiously and temporarily not expose my existence.'

He had just used the power through the crystallization parasitizing on the boy, allowing him to unlock a fraction of the "Quantum Thinking Experience Card," instantly comprehending the so-called "Black Horn Swordsmanship."

This was a trial by Chen Lun.

The result was surprising; whether it was due to the vast distance between the continents or some other reason, his test didn't affect the normal proceedings of the [Nameless] ritual.

This brought him immense joy.

Because it meant that on the Outer Continent, he could subtly intervene in some matters, although similarly limited in power due to the great distance.

Moreover, Neil's body was too fragile, unable to bear too much power.

Chen Lun intended to use this boy's body as a "probe," thoroughly exploring the Outer Continent to provide sufficient information and intelligence for himself.

So before that happens, he might as well lend him a hand.

At the very least, he should have enough strength.