Chapter 49: Corrosion is spreading

The militia camp of Bai Yin Pine Town.

The local lord, Baron Victor Gess, hurried over from the manor in a carriage.

Looking at Garrison Commander Adlai who had just returned from the labyrinth, he directly raised his whip and lashed it on this guy's shoulder, scolding him fiercely.

"Idiot! Madman! Who allowed you to gather my people! Eight hundred lives! Do you know what this means?! Are you going to farm the land for me next year?!"

The permanent population of Bai Yin Pine Town is only a little over ten thousand; eight hundred able-bodied men is a quite heavy loss, and it will probably be difficult to recover for a few years!

Adlai knelt on one knee on the ground, burying his head very low.

"Sorry, Lord Lord... gathering the conscripts is the order of the Garrison Headquarters; we must monitor the activities of the labyrinth at all times to prevent the invasion of monsters—"

"Shut up!" Baron Gess interrupted him furiously, roaring, "The Demon King is already dead; it won't be long before the labyrinth finishes itself! A labyrinth without a Demon King, tell me where the monster invasion comes from?!"

Adlai: "But—"

"I didn't tell you to speak!" Baron Gess glared at him with murderous eyes, gnashing his teeth, "And, gathering the militia is one thing, who told you to go down into the labyrinth?!"

"..."

"Mute?"

"No... you just told me to shut up."

Ah.

Truly annoying to death.

An evil thought suddenly arose in Adlai's heart: if he killed him here, and then let Lord Demon King resurrect him in the form of a ghoul, would he not have to look at this annoying stinky face anymore?

However, this thought only appeared in his mind for a moment and was quickly dismissed.

The cost of killing a noble and killing an ordinary person is completely different, not to mention replacing him with a ghoul.

These guys are not only blessed by Saint Xisi at birth but also have intricate kinship relationships.

Unlike the clergy who have made lifelong vows, whose relationship networks are all within the church, basically they won't be exposed.

"Damn..."

Seeing this small Garrison Commander top him again and again, Baron Gess raised the whip in his hand and was about to give him a profound lesson when a deep, hoarse voice suddenly came from the side.

"I told him to do it."

Baron Gess shuddered, turning his head quickly, only to see Priest Ma Te in priest robes standing at the door of the barracks.

He had changed into a clean and tidy priest robe, with a holy cross hanging on his chest.

Don't know why.

Gess always felt that today's Ma Te was a bit lifeless, but thinking that this old priest had just returned from the labyrinth, he felt relieved.

People who have finished chanting spells are all like this; the servants of Lord Saint Xisi are no exception.

"Ma Te... Priest? You?" Gess opened his mouth, asking in shock, "But why?"

"The Demon God is the enemy of Saint Xisi; guarding against the activities of hell is the duty of our divine servants," according to the rhetoric previously taught by Garrison Commander Adlai, Ma Te said with a straight face and meticulously, "Why, do you have doubts about the holy cause?"

That old-fashioned and inflexible look was indeed old Ma Te's usual style.

Bluffed for a moment, Baron Gess was sweating profusely, stammering.

"No... but..."

Not forcing him too hard, Ma Te took a step back, throwing out the prepared rhetoric.

"The church will compensate for the losses of you and those farmers. In addition, I will write a letter to your lord to explain the situation, telling Count that the reduction of conscripts in Bai Yin Pine Town is due to monster infringement, not your responsibility..."

Compensation.

And exemption from responsibility.

Both demands were met, and Baron Gess's face finally showed an expression of relief.

"Thank you..."

The only thing he was confused about was one thing: how did this stingy miser become so generous today?

Ma Te stared at him, expressionless.

"Any other questions?"

Baron Gess shook his head hurriedly.

"No."

As long as the money is in place, everything is easy to talk about.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Lain have always been very easy to talk to.

Ma Te nodded.

"Then that's it, respected Lord, I still have to deal with the aftermath of this action to resist the monster invasion, so I won't delay your precious time."

Resisting monster invasion...

Baron Gess smiled in his heart; these clergy really fart without drafting.

Ah...

Saint Xisi above, I absolutely have no intention of neglecting you, but you really have to discipline your servants well.

After finishing the arrangement of Priest Ma Te in his heart, Baron Gess then looked at Adlai, doing a favor for the priest of Bai Yin Pine Town.

"Adlai, thank Priest Ma Te, otherwise even if the Lei Ming City Garrison Headquarters let you go, I would never spare you."

Municipal officials are not worth his flattery, but a priest who holds church power is different; it is still worth his while to build a good relationship.

After all, he will also have a day when he needs holy water.

"Yes..." Adlai lowered his head, hiding a cold smile in his heart.

Baron Gess piously drew a cross on his chest, then waved the whip in his hand, leaving with his two servants behind him, showing off his power.

In such a god-forsaken place, he didn't want to stay for even a moment.

In just these few seconds, his expensive silk dress was already stained with the smell of mud...

Waiting until Baron Gess left, Garrison Commander Adlai breathed a sigh of relief, lifting his lowered head.

Looking at the expressionless Priest Ma Te, he squeezed out a friendly smile from his face.

"Well done..."

Priest Ma Te nodded indifferently.

"His Majesty the Demon King asked me to cooperate with you, so naturally I will cooperate... what's next?"

Garrison Commander Adlai touched his chin and pondered for a long time, saying.

"Next... let me think, first we have to take inventory of the church's property, and then spend some money to dismiss those troublesome old nuns first, and replace them with new people."

"Also, we have to pick a few more orphans and train them to be your apprentices. When doing mass, you just let them chant scriptures, and you just stand by and go through the motions."

Even the local lord was fooled; the hardest hurdle they had already passed smoothly.

As for those mud-legged people who come to the church to pray every day, just deal with them... anyway, they may not leave this small town in their lifetime, and their understanding of Saint Xisi's doctrine depends entirely on the priest in the town.

Even if they stuff some private goods in, as long as it's not too outrageous, no one will find out.

After all, the "referee" of the entire town is in their hands!

Adlai was surprised to find that he actually had a talent for doing such sneaky things.

"Not good... what if I was a demon in my previous life."

"Not very realistic," Ma Te shook his head, seeming to have entered the role of a god-stick, saying seriously, "However, there is no big problem in the next life; as long as you are loyal enough to Lord Demon King, Lord Demon King will arrange your afterlife properly."

On the other side, the second floor of the labyrinth.

The little demon flapping its wings returned to their nest—the altar named the Land of Nightmares.

"Damn, Boss!!"

"Damn, things are looking bad!"

"Demon King! It's a new Demon King!"

"He's back!"

They shouted loudly while flying.

The sound, which could not be distinguished between treacherous laughter and screaming, echoed in the craggy cave, causing countless little demons to poke their heads out, then shrink back down.

In the center of the distant altar, on a towering obsidian rock seat, leaned a king full of evil aura.

Her height was less than one meter, and her legs took up half of it; her delicate and enchanting features exuded an evil aura, and her crimson eyes and lips were like blood gushing out.

Besides that, the most eye-catching thing was the two slightly protruding horns on her forehead. A pair of slender bat wings were folded behind her, and the tail hooked to the side was like a poisonous snake waiting for an opportunity.

Because the rock seat was too huge, she looked like a doll sitting there.

However.

Even though this king looked like a doll, none of the little demons present dared to disobey her.

In front of her, these guys full of bad water were as docile as sheep.

"Demon King?"

Xixi, leaning on the throne, narrowed her eyes, her cheeks lazily resting on the back of her hand, the fangs hanging from the corners of her mouth gently rubbing the fingernail of her little finger.

"What's the background of that guy? Did you see clearly?"

The two little demons flying in the sky answered competitively.

"Succubus! Seems to be a succubus! He is super good at squeezing humans dry! All the humans in the labyrinth were squeezed dry by him!"

"Wrong! Clearly a vampire! The human thing was sucked dry by him in one bite!"

"Succubus!"

"Vampire!!"

"It's a succubus!!!"

The two little demons started fighting in the sky, catching each other and baring their teeth.

Seeing the boss start fighting, the heads of the little demons poked out from behind the strangely shaped rocks, cheering for the left side for a while, and cheering for the right side for a while.

"Bite off her ears!"

"Tear her mouth!"

"Wings! Pull off the wings!"

These guys would fight if they weren't careful; Xixi, sitting on the throne, was already used to it.

She yawned and scolded indifferently.

"Enough."

Hearing the boss's scolding, the two little demons wrestling in the air shuddered, bouncing to the sides like they were electrocuted.

"I told you to go to the first floor to see the situation, but you didn't even see clearly what his background was; I really want to gouge out your eyes and stuff them into your mouths."

The two little demons were trembling with fear, quietly landing on the ground, crawling with their heads down, not daring to speak.

Xixi didn't continue to make things difficult for them, continuing in a lazy voice.

"What about that group of lizards? What's their situation?"

Hearing the boss ask, the two little demons quickly raised their heads and started chattering again.

"Dead! All dead!"

"The four-legged snakes were no match for him at all!"

"All were chopped into eight pieces!"

"Damn, too scary!"

"Damn, it might be another Diamond-tier demon who came!"

Listening to the messy report, Xixi raised her index finger to press her brow, roughly sorting out her thoughts.

Simply put, the new Demon King not only wiped out the lizardman troops but also solved the humans who were joining in the fun... is that roughly the meaning?

The previous explosion might have been some Bai Yin-tier magic.

Daring to use such super-standard power in the labyrinth, that Demon King must have absolute confidence in his strength... even if it were Gold-tier or even Platinum-tier, she wouldn't find it strange at all.

Of course.

This was just her guess.

After all, strength is not something written on the face; it can't be seen with the eyes, not to mention she herself is only Bai Yin-tier.

Looking at her subordinates who had lost their souls, Xixi said in a lazy voice.

"Tsk... who told that group of guys who eat inside and out to turn to the embrace of the Dragon God; it's too normal to be chopped into eight pieces by the Demon King."

For that group of four-legged snakes, she had no sympathy in her heart, and even wanted to laugh gloatingly.

But having said that, if that group of four-legged snakes all died, the Land of Nightmares would be in danger...

Obviously, it wasn't just her who thought of this point; the two little demons crawling on the ground were just as cunning.

"Boss, what should we do?!"

"Fight with Lord Demon King? Or first... pretend to submit to that guy?"

Xixi looked at them, pondering for a moment, and said slowly.

"Don't rush; those four-legged snakes will keep them busy for a while, we can observe first. Youxi, you go to the four-legged snake tribe to scout for information, in the name of an alliance. Mixi, you go to the Demon King's side to take a look, also in the name of an alliance... as for who to ally with specifically, I'll consider it before making a decision."

If the Demon King is stronger, then sell out the lizardmen. If the Demon King is actually very weak, or not a Demon King at all, then she doesn't mind helping that group of four-legged crawlers and pressing the threat in the cradle.

Understanding the boss's meaning, Youxi's eyes suddenly lit up.

"As expected of the boss! Truly insidious and cunning!"

And in contrast, Mixi's face showed fear and dread.

"Ah?! I, I go to the Demon King's side?"

With her right leg crossed over her knee, Xixi impatiently glanced at the shrinking little demon.

"Do you have an opinion?"

"No, dare not..."

Mixi shrank her neck in fear, hurriedly shaking her head into a windmill, not daring to say a "have".

"Then go quickly."

Xixi waved her hand, making a gesture of driving away.

"Yes..."

Saluting Her Majesty the Queen, Mixi flew away with a mournful face, flapping her wings, and retreated with the gloating Youxi.

At the same time, on the other side, beside the ruins on the first floor of the labyrinth, Luo Yan, riding on Alakto's back, was counting his spoils.

One thousand lizardman elites, eight hundred human soldiers... plus their equipment.

This time it was truly Qin Shi Huang touching an electric gate!

With an uncontrollable smile on his face, Luo Yan ordered happily.

"Hearing You You, add two more items to the reincarnation function—Zombie and Lizardman Zombie, requiring Black Iron tier to transfer!"

"As for the reincarnation cost and the contribution points needed for resurrection, you figure it out; just follow the previous set of rules."

Hearing You You responded excitedly.

"Received!" ===== CHAPTER 50 =====