Chapter 158: The chaotic labyrinth finally welcomed peace

The cheers of victory in the labyrinth were deafening, but the Silver Pine Forest outside the labyrinth was in a state of chaos.

The sudden earthquake shook the entire forest, not only alarming the hibernating animals and magical beasts in the forest, but also making the patrolling militia feel uneasy.

The outpost of the Silver Pine Town militia.

The militia crawling behind the bunker had an expression of facing a formidable enemy, their eyes staring at the snow-covered forest while looking at the swaying watchtower not far away.

It was already December, and goose-feather-like snow was already falling from the sky; it wouldn't be long before Lei Ming County would become a world covered in silver.

If their watchtower collapsed at this time, it would definitely be a disaster for them who still had to patrol in this area.

After all, the wood and mud in winter were as hard as steel; they would have to spend several times the effort to rebuild the watchtower, and they would have to risk frostbite.

Fortunately, the earth-shaking tremor ended quickly, the entire forest returned to tranquility, and the watchtower standing in the center of the camp was spared.

Continuing to wait for a period of time, "Shield-Loser" Hebar confirmed that there was no new movement and finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaving the wooden bunker hanging with icicles.

"It stopped... alarm cleared."

Hearing the alarm cleared, the militia also breathed a sigh of relief, throwing their firelocks back onto their backs.

"It should be an earthquake."

"Thank goodness..."

I heard the Demon King is back.

Compared to the Demon King's army making a comeback, an earthquake was definitely good news.

Chasing the new young man to the watchtower to stand guard, Hebar returned to the side of the campfire, just as he leaned his firelock against a tree stump, there was another rumbling shake beneath his butt.

However, fortunately, this time it didn't last long, stopping in a few seconds, more like the aftermath of the previous one.

Sitting by the campfire with the captain, the militia, whose nerves had been frayed, wiped the snow slag from his face and cursed.

"Damn... what happened in the labyrinth again?"

"Ghost knows..."

A slightly younger militia lad raised his hand and said in a low voice.

"I have heard a little bit."

Pairs of gazes looked toward him one after another, including their captain "Shield-Loser."

Hebar looked at him, clearly with an expression of disbelief on his face, and asked with a sneer.

"Where did you hear that?"

The young lad said with a firm expression.

"Silver Pine Path, that's the tavern adventurers often go to... yesterday I heard them discussing that there seems to be a Gate of Chaos in the fifth floor of the labyrinth."

Gate of Chaos?

Hebar was stunned, and the militia around were also whispering to each other, exchanging puzzled glances.

An older militia frowned slightly and spoke.

"Are you talking about the Misty Town incident? But I heard... wasn't that already solved by the knight lords of the Trident Knights?"

"It's different, Misty Town was the fourth floor of the labyrinth, this time it's the fifth floor..."

The young lad shook his head quickly, recalling the content he had heard at the time and continued.

"And I also heard that the previous one was some kind of eerie fog... this time it seems to be related to that guy in the Dimensional Desert."

Hearing the term Dimensional Desert, everyone sitting in front of the campfire finally changed their expressions.

Especially Hebar, who subconsciously shifted his butt, as if the wooden stump under his crotch had turned into a scorching forge.

It wasn't their fault for having this reaction.

During this period, they had all seen some refugees coming from the direction of Huang Tong Pass.

Those poor people who had lost their homes were all scared out of their wits without exception, preferring to endure hunger and death and the cold winter rather than flee their homes.

Even if they didn't have a concrete concept of the so-called "flame that destroys everything," they could indirectly feel how terrifying that guy was...

Recently, they even heard rumors that Huang Tong Pass was in an emergency, and the Ryan Kingdom was urgently seeking help from the Os Empire.

If this was true, the Campbell Principality would likely not be spared, and that evil wind blowing from the Dimensional Desert would visit here sooner or later.

"I heard they slaughtered a city..."

A militia said nervously.

And another militia who was a hunter by trade cursed in a low voice.

"Damn... these damned outer gods! Don't they have their own homes?!"

At this moment, a militia who hadn't spoken before suddenly opened his mouth.

"They really don't have one; I heard they come from the void."

Everyone looked at him strangely, and one of them couldn't help but ask.

"Void?"

"What is that?"

"The void is the void, it is nothing, and it is everything..."

The old farmer-looking man gestured with his fingers and continued.

"It is the end of everything, and also the starting point of everything. If our world, together with the stars in the sky, is an epic, then it is the world outside this epic."

Looking at the old farmer telling stories he didn't know where he heard, Shield-Loser Hebar shook his head and threw a dead branch into the campfire.

"I've never heard a stupider statement than this!"

These guys hadn't even left Silver Pine Town, yet they were arranging the stars in the sky.

It wasn't just Hebar who thought this was stupid.

His superior who wasn't here, Silver Pine Town Sheriff and militia commander Alade, was also the same, sneering at these so-called gossip news and forbidding them from discussing it.

However, when these words came from the noble Baron Gess, Alade still maintained the highest degree of respect, not writing that sneering expression on his face, and even hypocritically expressed worship and praise.

After all, he had requests for this guy in many places.

At this moment, the two were riding hunting horses, pacing at the edge of the Silver Pine Forest, followed by a group of guards.

The previous earthquake had scared away their prey, so the two chatted about the Gate of Chaos in the labyrinth.

By the way, I don't know if it was because of that pair of silk stockings before, but Baron Gess seemed to be doing well recently, and didn't lose his temper because the prey was lost.

Not only that, his whole complexion was much more spirited, and he was full of energy all day long, with a "I heard from Count" or "I heard from Grand Duke" on his lips.

And the theory about the void was also what he heard from a big shot.

After finally listening to Baron Gess's long-winded speech, Sheriff Alade said immediately.

"... Please rest assured, noble Baron, our patrol has expanded to the forest outside Silver Pine Town; if monsters run out of the labyrinth, or any other accident occurs, I will notify you as soon as possible."

After listening to Alade's words, Baron Gess laughed and said in a casual tone.

"Mr. Alade, I believe in your ability; you have never let me down, have you? However, I still want to say that the labyrinth is fine regardless; even if we leave it alone, the monsters there will kill each other endlessly, posing no threat at all."

"Oh?" Alade raised his eyebrows lightly and said with interest, "Then what do you think is the real threat?"

"Of course, it's those people living on the ground; the monsters underground won't grab our living space, but they will, and it's impossible to guard against..."

Baron Gess narrowed his eyes slightly, looking toward the northeast of the forest.

Crossing Broken Rock Peak and continuing north, it was the southern part of the Twilight Forest—the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng of the Ryan Kingdom.

And crossing the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng and continuing east, it was Huang Tong Pass, which separated the prosperous world from the barren land.

Although the Chaos army might not be able to cross that pass, the chaos caused by this had already spread to the hinterland of the Ryan Kingdom.

Baron Gess didn't think those barbarians could reach the northeast coast of the Vortex Sea, but he had to guard against refugees from the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng looting his territory. Withdrawing his gaze from the distance, Baron Gess looked at his loyal sheriff again, his two mustaches hooking into a smile.

"By the way, speaking of the refugee problem, I have something to trouble you with."

"Happy to serve you." Alade said compliantly.

Baron Gess paused and continued.

"The Princess of the Campbell family will soon come to Lei Ming County; I hope there won't be even one refugee in my territory during this time, not even one."

Because it was important, he repeated the last half of the sentence, and repeated it word by word.

Alade was slightly surprised and asked puzzledly.

"Grand Duke Campbell's daughter? What is she doing here?"

Baron Gess touched his mustache, smiled and said.

"She has her plans, but the news I heard is that it's related to the Gate of Chaos."

Alade nodded to show he understood, and then got down to business.

"I will keep an eye on the refugee matter for you, but it's not realistic to have none at all, unless you close the Adventurers Guild."

Baron Gess waved his hand.

"Adventurers are a different matter; those people don't need to be managed; I heard that the Princess is quite interested in adventurers."

Hearing this unreasonable request, Alade's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but say.

"But how do you distinguish between refugees and adventurers? They won't write who they are on their faces."

Baron Gess didn't hear his difficulty, but laughed and said.

"That depends on you, my friend; you often deal with those mud-legged people, so you must be able to tell who is a good person and who is a bad person."

Alade's mouth twitched again, but he still gave enough face and said.

"I will do my best."

Baron Gess, who was riding side by side, exhorted kindly.

"Don't be so nervous; it doesn't matter if you make a mistake; you can only blame them for running around."

Pausing, he continued.

"The Silver Pine Forest is very large, you can act according to the situation. By the way, I heard there is a haunted mine in the north; although that is the property of the Andes family, those rich people gave up on it long ago. If it really doesn't work, you can send them there; at least it's a place that can shelter them from the wind and rain, isn't it? Hahaha."

As he spoke, Baron Gess laughed out loud himself, feeling proud of this brilliant idea.

A place to shelter from the wind is okay.

Alade grinned, shocked by this guy's disregard for human life.

Driving refugees to a place where demons stay, is this guy really a believer of Shengxisi?

However, he didn't seem to have the position to complain about him.

After all, he had long ago sold his soul to the devil.

"I understand what you mean, I will do as you say."

Baron Gess nodded approvingly with a smile.

"You are a smart person, I appreciate you."

Alade nodded slightly.

"This is my honor."

For the residents living in Lei Ming County, that sudden earthquake was just a small episode; since the epicenter was located deep in the Silver Pine Forest, except for the residents of Silver Pine Town who were uneasy for a while, the citizens living in the city didn't even notice it at all.

Coinciding with the sudden news of Grand Duke Campbell's death, a grand funeral was held at Campbell Castle, and it became the top priority of the Principality.

A sad atmosphere spread throughout all levels of the Principality.

So people soon forgot about this earthquake, and only in the Adventurers Guild and nearby taverns could one hear whispers of discussion.

There were adventurers returning from Misty Town who said they saw the earth collapse, rubble falling... and the Demon King turning thousands of Chaos troops into dust with a wave of his hand.

There were even more exaggerated claims that in that duel like a god, the new Demon King personally beheaded Kalmandes and ground him into powder!

However, in any case, this disturbance caused by the Gate of Chaos finally came to an end without causing greater chaos.

Not only that—

It wasn't just the turmoil caused by Chaos that came to an end; the labyrinth also ended a full year of warlord fragmentation as a blessing in disguise.

This dramatic change caught many people off guard.

For the four Demon Generals who surrendered, Luo Yan allowed them to retain their current territories and agreed on new feudal obligations with them.

Including responding to the Demon King's summons when the Great Tomb faced threats.

Including taxes and tributes during peacetime, etc.

Including establishing a supervisory system with acolytes and death priests as the core to ensure the rule of the Great Tomb, and spreading the Demon God faith with local characteristics of the Great Tomb on all floors of the labyrinth, etc.

In exchange, Luo Yan promised to establish a cabinet; in the future, he would have the final say on small matters in the Great Tomb, and discuss big matters together.

Besides that, he also promised not to bypass the cabinet to launch wars.

Compared to the order of the Lei Ji Dragong period, this set of rules Luo Yan brought from the Demon Capital was undoubtedly much more advanced, without being too ahead of its time.

All demons were happy.

With the establishment of the new order, the Great Tomb finally welcomed relative peace, and Luo Yan, as the Demon King, could finally breathe a sigh of relief, putting his energy back into the management of the Demon King territory, pondering how to raise his little leeks to be fatter and stronger.

It is worth mentioning that although the Gate of Chaos in the labyrinth was closed, the connection between the Great Tomb and the Ka'ao planet did not stop there.

Previously, Luo Yan was most worried that the closing of the Gate of Chaos might lead to the loss of contact between the Great Tomb and the outpost fortress, or even lead to the players' soul mirrors being unable to return from the Ka'ao planet side.

Facts proved that his worry was completely redundant.

His little players could still travel between the Ka'ao planet and the Os Continent, only the energy consumed was about 20% higher than before.

Miranda's speculation on this was that although the Gate of Chaos in the labyrinth was closed, there was a larger Gate of Chaos in the Dimensional Desert thousands of kilometers away maintaining the subspace connection between the two worlds.

And it was even the main force of the Chaos invasion there.

It was precisely because of this that the Great Tomb could still catch the ride of Chaos, but because the ride was a bit far away, the "fare" increased by a large margin.

Although the increase in transmission costs put pressure on the economy of the colony, the impact was still within a controllable range.

At worst, the wool comes from the sheep, just squeeze more magic crystals from these players who use the teleportation array.

Currently, Miranda is researching "how to build a permanent teleportation array between the Great Tomb and the Ka'ao planet," thereby holding the key to the Chaos world in the Great Tomb's own hands.

Luo Yan was looking forward to his good news while going to the Ka'ao planet every few days to brush monsters and level up, improving his strength as much as possible.

And as time passed day by day, although Miranda's research didn't make breakthrough progress, it had unexpected discoveries in unexpected places.

One day in mid-December, Luo Yan had just arrived on the Ka'ao planet and was preparing to go to the mushroom forest outside the fortress to brush monsters as usual, when Miranda suddenly floated in front of him, looking excited.

"... Respected Demon King! Do you remember the conjecture you told me before that everything is composed of smaller particles?"

Luo Yan still remembered this, but didn't know why he suddenly brought it up at this time.

"Is there a problem?"

Miranda nodded excitedly, then shook his head hurriedly.

And immediately after, his next sentence made Luo Yan completely stunned on the spot.

"I found it!"

"The basic particle that constitutes all extraordinary power!"

My stomach is not feeling well, going to the hospital, updating in advance, it's too hard without drafts... t. t

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 159 =====