"Grandpa, grandpa, it's time to get up and have breakfast."

A voice, old yet serious, echoed in Zhao Hai's ear. Zhao Hai ignored it though, consumed by a splitting headache. He thought his computer was still on, and the TV drama inside was making him recite lines subconsciously.

But that voice continued, "Father, it's time to get up. As a nobleman, it is good habit to rise punctually."

Zhao Hai was taken aback because the voice didn't sound like it was coming from a computer. It sounded as if it were right beside his ear, incredibly real, definitely not coming from his broken speakers.

Although his head ached, Zhao Hai still forced his eyes open. His goal wasn't the white roof of his house, but rather a mosquito net.

Zhao Hai was stunned. He turned his head and found himself lying on a large wooden bed. By the bed stood a man in his fifties with graying hair combed neatly, looking serious and intently at him.

Zhao Hai stared blankly at the old man with a serious face. Then he turned his gaze around. This was a house made of stone, very simple. Besides the big bed where he was lying, there was only a desk and a chair as furniture. The floor and walls seemed to have just been cleaned, the windows had wooden frames covered with white paper, and there was a glittering stone overhead for lighting. The whole house was bare without anything else.

At this time, the old man said once again: "Master, you are alright now, please get up quickly. As a nobleman, you should have a regular life. It's breakfast time now, please get up quickly."

Zhao Hai's eyes shifted to the old man, and a thought suddenly flashed in his mind: "I broke through!" Then there was a sharp pain in his head, and he fainted.

Greenbudar saw Zhao Hai fainting, he was slightly stunned and hurried outside. There were four people standing outside, two men and two women. The two men were not very old, judging by their appearance, they should only be in their teens. They looked tall, all under two meters. One resembled cast iron, with dark skin and short hair. The other two looked exactly the same, surprisingly a pair of twins, but their expressions seemed a little dull.

Two people, one a little older, in his forties, quite plump, with blue hair and kind eyes, now looking very anxious.

A child of such a young age, just sixteen or seventeen years old, yet with long, bluish-grey hair, an oval face, a petite frame, and fair skin, was a rare sight indeed. He now hung his head low, his expression vacant and lifeless.

As soon as Green appeared, the older people immediately asked, "Green, how is it? Is grandpa awake?"

Green nodded, then shook his head. "He's awake, but he just fainted again. Merlin, didn't your magic work? Or is there something wrong with the medicine? Was someone tampering with the potion?"

Mei Lin's face turned cold as she said, "If that's really the case, then I'll fight those bastards to the end. Although Grandpa might be a bit of a scoundrel, he is the last bloodline of the Buda family. Didn't those emperors forget all the things Grandpa did for the empire back then? These ungrateful bastards."

Green said solemnly, "You should still go and have a look. If it doesn't work, I'll use water magic to treat him. No matter what, we must save the last bloodline of the Buda family."

Mei Lin nodded, but then glared fiercely at Grinn: "If grandpa's alright, you're not to ask anything based on those nobleman's demands. We're in a place like this already, what use are those nobleman's manners? Let them all go to hell! Look at their faces, it makes me sick just thinking about it."

Green sighed helplessly and glanced at Merlin, but still said solemnly: "No, sir. Regardless of what he says now, he is still a baron. He must behave like a nobleman. I must teach him to be a true gentleman and live up to the great kindness of the Buda family towards us."

"Merlin glared harshly at Grin, "If you dare to treat me like that again, I won't cook for you, and don't even think about getting fed. We're in this situation now, who knows how long we can last? And besides those people in the Imperial City, do you think I'll ever have a chance to return to the Empire? Get real."

Green smiled wryly and said nothing. He knew Merlin was right. The reason they had been assigned to this desolate place was because of the Emperor and the powerful nobles who were manipulating things behind the scenes. If it weren't for the Budda family's previous military achievements, they would have likely been wiped out.

Although the Buda family still exists, it will be impossible for them to enter the imperial noble circle in the future. People may even deliberately forget that such a family exists.

And what grieved Grein most of all was that the Emperor, fearing a resurgence of the Buda family, had forced their last heir, the final hope of the Buda clan, Adam Buda, to drink the Water of Oblivion.

This ethereal water is a supreme treasure, every drop invaluable, not measurable in gold coins. And this ethereal elixir has only one use: to transform your power into nothingness.

The water of nothingness, just one drop, can turn a magic caster with divine power, a warrior with martial god power, or a knight of the divine level into an ordinary person in an instant. After that, they will be unable to use any magic or fighting spirit ever again and there is no cure.

This potion, although it disables the use of both chi and magic, does not have any other effects on a person. It simply turns you into an ordinary person.

If this person were just an ordinary person, then this potion would be no different from ordinary water. However, if this person were a nobleman or already a strong individual, it would instantly turn them into a useless magic and martial arts cripple, a complete waste, dropping them from the high clouds into the bottomless abyss.

And Adam Buda was ordered by the king to drink this potion, and he would never be able to learn any magic or fighting spirit for the rest of his life, he could only be an ordinary person.

If this happened in another aristocratic family, it wouldn't be a big deal. They could just become ordinary people, live off the land, and never think about power again.

But this incident happened to Adam, the last heir of the Budda family. He needed power to restore the family's glory and bring the Budda family back onto the stage of history within the Aksu Empire. However, he foolishly drank the Water of Nihility, after which he could no longer learn any magic or martial arts. This meant he was incapable of reviving his family, and the last hope for the Budda family was extinguished.

Even without strength, Grin wouldn't be afraid. After all, he was an eighth-level warrior. His wife, Merlin, was also an eighth-level water mage, and their granddaughter, Sun Meige, was a sixth-level wind mage. With them around, the Buda family would have enough power. If they were in their original territory, it wouldn't be difficult for the Buda family to prosper again. After all, their original territory was in the south of the empire, with one main city and four medium-sized cities, with a large population and abundant land. As long as they developed quietly for a few years, the Buda family would still flourish.

But unexpectedly, the king changed their fiefdom, replacing their land in the south of the empire with the black earth wasteland in the north.

The Black Earth Wasteland, that's a notorious death trap on the continent. Although it covers a vast area, one-third the size of the Aksu Empire, nothing grows there. Not a single plant can survive; even those adapted to desert life would wither and die here.

It is said that the Black Earth Wasteland was once a fertile land. However, a battle took place here in the past, and several mages of the divine rank jointly used a super-large spell, turning this land into a wasteland where nothing could grow.

If it were just a dead place, Green wouldn't be afraid. As long as there was a way through, they could do some business and at least support themselves. However, the Black Earth Wasteland was surrounded by an abandoned dwarf iron mountain. Over the mountains lay one of the five major regions of the continent, the Corpse Swamp. And this Corpse Swamp also belonged to the Buda family's fiefdom. To be precise, the Buda family's fiefdom was the largest in the entire Ak Su Empire.

And the only exit here is right next to the Versel family's territory. Although the Versel and Buda families have a marriage pact, with the Buda family in such dire straits now, how could they possibly discuss marriage with the most powerful family in the Empire, the Versels? This place has truly become a dead end.

Since this place was once within the Empire's control, there's a small castle on that abandoned dwarven iron mountain. Plus, this mountain wasn't affected by the curse, so there's still some land for farming up here, and they aren't immortal.

Meanwhile, when Green learned that their fiefdom had been moved here, he immediately exchanged all the Buda family's money for slaves, supplies, seeds, and some labor. Then, he brought Adam, who had been drinking the water of nothingness and was unconscious, to this place and settled in a dilapidated but usable small castle.

Gretel came with him, as well as his wife Melina and his granddaughter Meg. There was also a pair of twins, Wood and Stone, who Adam's father had adopted years ago. And there were one hundred slaves. Now no one else was left.

>... Throughout the journey from the Empire to the Black Earth Wasteland, Adam had been unconscious. Luckily, Merlin was a mage and could use magic to treat Adam periodically. This allowed Adam to safely reach here. And yesterday, after checking on Adam's condition, he believed that Adam would be able to wake up today. That's why Griffin went to bed beside Adam to help him get up. However, neither of them expected that the Adam lying in bed now was not Adam anymore, but Earthling otaku Zhao Hai wearing Adam's skin.