Chapter 174: Panicked

The unexpected disturbance disrupted Li En's rhythm; just as he was about to question the snake, it vanished like a stray cat in the blink of an eye.

Putting down his sword and removing his armor, Li En bathed, then hesitated whether to continue following his planned schedule.

Perhaps he should warn Dainya—but more preparation time seemed like a good thing; no need to rush the notification.

Or perhaps her seers and perceivers had already completed their reports.

"Forget it. I'll let her know when I visit Saliman."

But before he could leave, visitors arrived unannounced—and they came with their entire families.

"Lord Li En, it is an honor to see you well."

When Mushroom King Gugu, accompanied by his whole family and dragging luggage, walked in, Li En thought he was facing a demolition crew.

His small house trembled and rattled under the collective movement of these massive, family-laden creatures.

"We heard you encountered a lich—was it the same one we faced before? Shouldn't it have already perished?"

Among the mushrooms, the dark elf V Dianniya stood out sharply.

Behind her, on the small cart pulled by the tall mushroom person, were packed alchemical tools and vials—she had brought all her belongings.

Clearly, both these Kuku apprentices had packed everything, as if preparing for a full relocation.

"Uh, you guys…" Li En was startled; he had assumed Saliman would take care of them.

After all, even if Saliman couldn't see their potential, Dainya would never let go of any Heroic Soul heir.

Weren't V Dianniya and Gugu planning to open an alchemy shop together? Was this some kind of racial discrimination?

That would be extremely unwise. These Heroic Soul heirs from the Underworld are quietly forming alliances; targeting one among them will make the others lose heart.

"Oh, Baroness Saliman actually wanted to fund our shop in the city district and even offered to refer us to jobs, but we felt it wasn't suitable."

V Dianniya shook her head with a smile; surface-dwellers were far friendlier than expected. Though some blamed her for the dark elf attacks, no one tried to stab her in the back—just muttered curses, which felt utterly harmless.

This visible malice and hostility was like a gentle breeze to a dark elf.

"We're not suitable there either," Gugu added.

As an outsider from the Underworld, getting close to the Wangquan faction's nobles was fine, but living together was clearly too much—and Gugu needed to find new livelihoods for his people.

"After being introduced by Baroness Saliman, Ophelia still needs a few days of adjustment—research—at Mage Street, then she'll join us." It seemed the apprentices were still sticking together.

"Baroness Saliman said the docks might have a suitable place for me and my people. Could you help us find it?"

Li En froze for a moment, then thought it over—and suddenly understood.

"Underground caves. Yes, that makes sense." This was clearly Saliman's idea.

Gugu's people had indeed adapted to sunlight and had no food concerns, but mushroom folk still needed damp, cold environments to grow—and Huiguang District was unsuitable; the water-rich docks were perfect.

Meanwhile, Dimon's underground tunnel business thrived because ordinary people grew depressed staying down long-term—perfect for mushroom folk, who needed such places not just for cultivation, but for cultivating edible and alchemical mushrooms.

Those resource-producing mushroom fields remained their foundation—they could live in the caves while coming up to the docks for work, gradually adapting to the surface world.

The docks weren't pleasant, but posed no pressure to mushroom folk.

Even their weakest members could be considered low-rank transcendents, and they were universally psychically linked—harm one, you harm them all. Most importantly, they were genuinely poor; why kill them just to eat mushrooms?

"Honestly, I don't want to appear in either city's noble eyes. I'd prefer to take things slowly—and Gugu is clearly a trustworthy partner, so I came along. Maybe our first shop will open at the docks."

V Dianniya wanted to escape the dark elf social circle; leaving Huiguang District might indeed be a good choice.

But what she didn't say was her deeper fear: remaining in the eyes of dark elf nobles meant being bound by the old circle—when the matriarchs and eldest daughters came demanding she fulfill divine will, would she obey or refuse? Yet if she mixed with "dirty surface-dwelling orc commoners," to dark elf nobles, she'd be a self-degraded, worthless being.

"I'll go to Huiguang District when doing business. Right now, I still need time to accumulate and learn." V Dianniya wasn't in a hurry; she was still young.

She needed more time to mature, and the neglected docks seemed like a perfect starting point.

"Alright, I'll take you to the docks later and introduce you to a local boss. Don't worry—he's a gang leader, but also a Holy Knight."

Li En's words were so bizarre that V Dianniya froze, then muttered involuntarily:

"No wonder it's the surface world."

A Holy Knight who's a gangster? That made no sense—did he rob territories while shouting "For justice"? Actually, reality was even more absurd.

"You'll understand later. The surface world and the Underworld aren't fundamentally different—both have good and bad people."

Li En gave them a heads-up; many "outsiders entering the city" came with overly idealistic hopes, believing city folk were kind and beautiful, only to be stripped bare by scams.

From earlier conversations, he knew V Dianniya deeply despised dark elf society—and such hatred easily turned into excessive expectations and blind faith toward other groups.

Li En wasn't worried she'd be tricked—she was a dark elf, a skilled noble alchemist. He feared she'd be so disappointed by the lack of purity everywhere that she'd spiral into darkness and bring dark elf ways to the surface.

"I know. It's already far better than below," V Dianniya nodded; she'd heard much of this from Saliman.

Li En assessed the scene: the courtyard was packed. His small home couldn't possibly house over twenty mushroom brothers—he decided to leave immediately.

More than half an hour later, they arrived at the outskirts of the new textile factory, and Li En was surprised to see Dimon had grown even bulkier.

"Third-rank Oath Knight? That's insane."

"Heh, maybe it's because I started cleaning up the local chaos and restoring order—probably thanks to Su Er's legacy."

Li En understood. The docks' chaos didn't need repeating; with even a slightly competent manager introducing legitimate livelihoods, countless lives were saved daily.

Handling vast sums of money, rejecting all power bribes, ignoring seduction and luxury—this kind of ascetic, walking the razor's edge, naturally advanced quickly.

"Are you having any issues with your evolution? Rapid class progression requires physical adaptation."

"Kuku guided me to a good path. It doesn't grant strong racial traits, but greatly enhances physical hardware—perfect for me."

Li En could tell Dimon had subtly shifted from "White Pig" to a wild boar; his protruding tusks were intimidating. It wasn't a high-end advancement, but since Kuku recommended it, it must be fine—previous advancements were often foundational.

"Uh… is this guy a Holy Knight?" V Dianniya and Gugu stared in shock; the massive, half-naked orc with two steel cleavers on his back and a terrifying, Xiongxiang face looked nothing like a good person.

Behind him were a group of supervisors urging workers—each looked like gang enforcers.

Just by appearance, he didn't look good at all. Bloodstains on his pants were bad enough, but his feet and cleavers bore dried black blood.

"Yes, you've met him before—in the Heroic Soul Hall—though he was shrouded in mist. He's the successor to that previous Holy Knight."

"Wait—he defeated Lord Larry and Princess Dainya?"

The two apprentices were even more baffled; did that Holy Knight's spirit have a weird taste?

"Heh, you'll find out later," Li En said; no explanation would help—they'd learn for themselves.

Dimon had no reason to refuse the two alchemists' partnership.

They'd already met masked in the Heroic Soul Hall; now that it was out in the open, communication was natural.

They exchanged recent intelligence—most of it sounded like good news.

"The docks are now stable. The underground caves are short on people—Gugu, you can live there."

After a few more words, Larry arrived. Seeing Li En in good health, she was delighted.

She'd fully settled into the docks during this time.

"Two laborers became first-rank Oath Knights first—they're now my knight apprentices. From their progress, becoming Law Knights won't take long."

"We now have about sixty Oathsworn, but only six Holy Knights. Several have switched to Warrior or Monk paths."

Even for former slaves, the "requirements" of a Holy Knight were too high.

Primarily, they must forever follow the Path of Supreme Goodness—this moral constraint was too strict; deceiving oneself wouldn't work for a classical Oathbound Holy Knight.

"Six? More than I expected," Li En was satisfied.

After only this short time, a new Holy Knight and Law Knight order needed time to refine.

With a justice-leaning knight order at the docks, there was now an enforcer—next, establishing new order would be easier.

"Has the knight order's name been decided?" Names mattered greatly for organizations, especially Holy Knight orders—reputation itself was a transcendental boost.

Honor was a knight's virtue—and their own constraint.

"It's still a militia. But internally, everyone calls it the 'Weavers' Knights.'"

They might work at the new textile factory by day and train at night—calling themselves Weavers' Knights wasn't wrong.

"It's convenient for cover," Dimon glanced at the cheerful Larry—clearly, he wanted the Weaving Baron to keep taking the blame.

The name sounded like their private army; it would reduce early troubles.

A promising fourth-rank noble Holy Knight gathering apprentices and followers was normal.

Li En nodded; he thought the name was fine. Many legendary knight orders in history had humble, down-to-earth names.

"Senior Li En, you previously promised—"

Li En thought for a moment.

"Oh, you mean the promise to take the apprentices down for training? Of course. In a couple days—I'll finish what I'm handling."

Li En considered, but didn't mention the Underworld disturbances.

Too many ears here; rumors could cause panic. The mere fact that a demon god was awakening underground was a secret too dangerous to leak.

He'd inquired—somewhat thanks to the Beast Cult's malicious actions: they'd collapsed and blocked most entrances to the Underworld ruins.

Only a few weeks had passed; major passages were still being cleared. Even if Underworld monsters rioted, they couldn't reach the surface anytime soon.

Going down now would bring heavy pressure—better to wait a few days and see.

With all sides temporarily stable, he felt relieved. But simultaneously, some in the city were frantic—desperate.

"An anomaly has appeared underground! A demon god may be awakening!"

The news spread rapidly through Huicheng's noble circles and mid-to-high-rank transcendents.

Previously, Li En's intelligence had been strictly controlled by Dainya to prevent panic.

Only city elites and organization leaders knew, and preparations had been quietly advancing.

But this morning, many high-rank spellcasters and noble-hired seers all sensed underground tremors!

A terrifying presence was awakening below.

Combining this with recent actions by major organizations and the royal family—their sudden, insane push into underground development—confirmed the rumors. Those in the know were panicking.

"Panicked? Good. Panicked is good," Dainya, who'd attended four meetings in one day, was satisfied.

She'd actually wanted to announce it earlier and get the whole city moving, but other organizations and great nobles had persuaded her to hold back—citing economic stability and avoiding mass desertions.

Now, it could no longer be held back; everyone was panicking.

"Hmph, all this talk of the greater good—waiting to announce it until everything's ready? Those who plan to flee will flee anyway. Why not prepare sooner? In truth, they're just afraid it'll hurt their interests."

Princess Daniya seethed with resentment; to her, this was a tremendous blessing—it would make the coming preparations and underground development far smoother.

Perhaps the increased city survival rate in the Serpent's Eye was not solely due to Li En Sudar's actions; the entire city had begun stirring in response to this night's changes.

(End of Chapter)