The demons had already set their sights on the human Hero—whether they had confirmed something or were still investigating was unclear.
But the Hero was only LV18, and he didn’t seem to have much protection.
If Lin Jun put himself in the Emperor of the Hidden Empire’s place, he would definitely send trusted subordinates to assassinate the Hero, cutting off trouble at the root.
Being a Hero himself, Lin Jun naturally knew that so-called “Heroes” did not suddenly level up explosively in a life-or-death crisis.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t have suffered so much in the beginning.
So then… what exactly were the humans planning?
Could it be that they were using the Hero as bait?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
But to be a Hero and used as mere bait, your life and death in someone else’s hands—that was too miserable.
Following that line of thought, Silver Sand Bay was likely to become a battlefield for both sides. Not a place to linger.Lin Jun had no interest in getting involved in the war between humans and demons. He still hadn’t even figured out which side he belonged to himself.
Honestly… since the skill panels and such were already so game-like, couldn’t the factions be made clearer too? Like allies in blue, enemies in red—simple and neat?
As for Dylan, his daughter’s trail had now completely gone cold.
There was nothing to be done but give up for now and board the return ship.
Of course, they brought along that batch of red reef fruits.
For Dylan, the outcome was mixed—at least it wasn’t news of his daughter’s death.
For Lin Jun…
He really couldn’t care less.
From start to finish, all he had done was use one slot of 【Vassal Control】 to accompany Dylan on a random detour.
Lin Jun’s real goal was to see the world.
Demon spies, Sword Saints, Abyssal magic, the Mist, Heroes…
So far, the harvest had been considerable—at least he now had a general understanding of many things.
And if he could bring back those 【Delicious】 red reef fruits successfully, that would be perfect.
He just prayed not to run into more Mist or pirates. Last time Dylan lost gold coins and a +4 pendant—that was fine. But this time he was carrying Lin Jun’s fruits…
While Dylan set off on the return journey, two carriages rolled into the territory of Windless Town.
——
Inside the comfortable carriage, a white-haired youth wore a sullen expression.
Even though their month-long trek was finally ending, no trace of joy could be seen on his face.
Along the way, half the villages they passed had their farmlands devastated, poisoned deliberately.
And their luck had not held as it had in the beginning—they had caught no more spies after that first one.
Though they themselves hadn’t captured any, the outskirts of towns along the road were littered with the corpses of demon spies—executed, left to rot.
This was without doubt the Empire’s doing.
The Empire’s grand dukes, for all their bloodlust, cruelty, and perverse tendencies, were far from foolish. They would never squander their own spies for no reason.
It couldn’t be that they thought their spy network was too bloated and wanted to cut costs by sacrificing some, right?
They must have had some deeper plan. Perhaps with the elves?
Though such matters should have been left to his father’s generation of high councilors, everything he had seen along the way still drove Fal to ponder, draining much of his energy.
A peeled fruit was offered to his lips. Fal opened his mouth and swallowed it naturally.
The taste was ordinary—just supplies they had bought locally in the latter half of the journey.
The delicacies brought from Oath City had long since been consumed on the road.
But Fal didn’t care. Though he usually lived with the finest luxuries, he considered himself indifferent to matters of appetite.
As the carriage rolled into town, with rows of wooden buildings on either side of the main street, Fal decided to get down and see for himself. He might learn something that would never appear in a written report.
The first thing he noticed upon stepping out was a cluster of mushrooms…
After only a few dozen meters, Fal’s brow had furrowed tightly.
Mushrooms were everywhere—sprouting beneath eaves and in corners of wooden houses.
At roadside food stalls, diners’ bowls and lips glowed faintly with phosphorescence.
Everywhere he walked, the words he heard most were “Puji” and “mushroom”—no matter the conversation, they somehow came up.
This town… was very wrong!
Especially when those diners, still glowing around the mouth, all turned their eyes toward Fal—the richly dressed outsider. It gave him the uncanny feeling of having entered enemy territory, being watched.
That sensation only faded slightly when he reached the guild building, made of stone and free of mushrooms.
The branch president—or rather, former president Oberon—was, for once, not drunk.
Though his eyes were sunken, showing obvious signs of chronic alcoholism, Oberon still forced himself to be presentable as he oversaw the handover in the guild hall before all.
The “handover” was simply passing on the branch’s seal, introducing personnel, and exchanging a few meaningless formalities.
Nothing more than procedure.
“He really dislikes you,” Lilian whispered to Fal as she watched Oberon leave.
Fal nodded—he had noticed as well. The customary farewell dinner had been skipped entirely.
As for the reason behind Oberon’s dislike, Fal had some guesses. But he didn’t care.
He met with the remaining branch staff, including Mirabelle, and then finally sat in the branch president’s office. There he gave his first order: to gather every piece of information on the dungeon after the demon tide and deliver it to him.
The order naturally went to Mirabelle. Though Fal had brought administrative staff with him, they hadn’t yet assumed their positions. He wasn’t going to waste time waiting.
Fal had no intention of blindly replacing the branch’s key personnel with his own. If the existing ones could do the job well, he would keep them.
Mirabelle understood this was her chance to prove herself. By sundown, two thick stacks of documents lay on Fal’s desk.
And as he read, his expression grew darker and darker, until finally—
“Oberon, that bastard!”
His palm slammed down on the table. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to drag Oberon back and have Lilian beat him senseless.
There had to be limits to negligence!
What was this report that said “In the Amethyst Dungeon, not every floor necessarily has amethyst, but every floor definitely has Puji”?
So far, the ninth and tenth floors hadn’t shown it yet, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time.
Such an obvious change—how could Oberon act like he hadn’t seen it? He hadn’t even mentioned it in his reports to headquarters!
And what was this about Puji renting themselves out as living lanterns?
Didn’t that mean these creatures were showing signs of commercial thinking?
Such an abnormal development, and Oberon had taken no action at all!
That man!
Fal decided then and there—once the mushroom affair was settled, he would make sure his report back to headquarters thoroughly denounced Oberon, that useless parasite!