Chapter 174: Anxious

The accident disrupted Li En's rhythm; just as he prepared to confront the snake for answers, the creature vanished in the blink of an eye, like a stray cat let loose.

Setting down his sword, removing his armor, and having bathed, Li En hesitated whether to continue acting according to the plan.

Perhaps he should remind Dai Niya, but it seems more preparation time should be a good thing, so there is no need to rush the notification.

Or perhaps her prophets and sensitives under her command have already completed their reports.

"Never mind, I'll have her convey the message when I go to Miss Shaliman's."

But before he could even step out, visitors arrived on their own, dragging their families and belongings with them.

"My Lord Li En, it is truly an honor to see you well and safe."

When the Mushroom King Gugu, leading his entire family and dragging luggage, walked in, Li En thought he had encountered a demolition crew.

His small residence shook with a rattling clatter from the collective movement of these massive creatures dragging their families.

"We heard you encountered a Lich; was it the one we faced before? Shouldn't it have already met its demise?"

Among the crowd of mushrooms, the Dark Elf Vidonia stood out strikingly.

On the small cart dragged by the tall mushroom man behind her were also full of alchemical tools and bottles; she had brought all her possessions.

Clearly, these two Kuku apprentices had packed everything, looking as though they intended to move house entirely.

"Uh, you all..." Li En was somewhat surprised; he thought Miss Shaliman would have taken care of them.

After all, even if Miss Shaliman could not see their potential, Dai Niya would not miss any single Heroic Soul inheritor.

Vidonia and Gugu were supposed to be preparing to open an alchemy shop together; did they play racial discrimination at this moment?

That would be quite unwise; these Heroic Soul inheritors from the Underworld are vaguely banding together. If your city's high officials target someone specifically, it will chill the hearts of the others.

"Oh, Viscountess Shaliman actually expected to fund us in opening a shop in the city district, and was even willing to introduce us to jobs, but we felt it was not very suitable."

Vidonia smiled and shook her head; the surface dwellers were far friendlier than expected. Although some held grudges against her due to the Dark Elf attack incident, no one actually came to stab her in the back; they only muttered curses, causing almost no pain.

This visible malice and hostility were, for a Dark Elf, simply a harmless breeze brushing the face.

"We would not be suitable there for the Viscountess either," Gugu added.

As a foreign race from the Underworld, getting a bit close to the Royalist nobles was fine, but living together was clearly too much; moreover, Gugu wanted to find a new life for his people.

"Ophelia, introduced by Viscountess Shaliman, still needs a few days of adjustment (being studied) over in the Mage Street area; afterwards, she should join us." It seemed the apprentices were still sticking together.

"Viscountess Shaliman said there should be a place very suitable for me and my people in the Dock District; please help introduce us."

Li En was stunned first, then pondered for a moment, and finally realized.

"The Underground Caves... indeed, quite suitable." This was clearly Viscountess Shaliman's idea.

Gugu's people had indeed adapted to sunlight and needed no worry about food, but for the mushroom people to grow, they still required a damp, cold environment; the Radiant Zone was unsuitable, but the water-rich Dock District was quite fitting.

And the underground tunnel business Demon was currently operating: ordinary people would become depressed staying down there for long, but the mushroom people needed such a place as a residence, not only for cultivation but also for planting various edible and alchemical mushroom fields.

Those resource-producing mushroom fields were always their foundation; they could be active in the underground caves while coming up to the Dock District to find work, gradually adapting to the surface world.

The environment of the Dock District was not good, but it posed no pressure whatsoever for the mushroom people.

Even the weakest among them could be regarded as low-tier transcendentals, and they generally shared a mental link; provoking one meant provoking a group. Most importantly, they were basically true paupers; why kill them just to eat mushrooms?

"As for me, I actually do not wish to appear before the nobles of both cities; if possible, I want to proceed step by step. Gugu is clearly a trustworthy partner, so I followed along. Perhaps the first shop will open in the Dock District."

Vidonia wanted to break free from the Dark Elf social circle; perhaps leaving the Radiant Zone was indeed a good choice.

But what she did not say aloud was mostly the worry that remaining in the eyes of the Dark Elf nobles would mean being bound by the old circle. If the Matriarchs and Eldest Daughters came to demand you fulfill the Divine Will, would you help or not? But if one mixed with "dirty surface orc commoners," in the eyes of the Dark Elf nobles, one would be a worthless person who willingly fell into depravity.

"Just go to the Radiant Zone when doing business; I still need some time to accumulate and learn." Vidonia was in no rush; she was still very young.

She needed more time to develop, and the Dock District, where no one asked about her, seemed like a good starting point.

"Very well, later I will take you to the Dock District and introduce you to a local boss. Rest assured, although he is a gang leader, he is also a Paladin."

Li En's words were so counter-intuitive that Vidonia was stunned instantly, finally murmuring subconsciously.

"Truly, this is the surface world." Black

A gang's Paladin; this is completely incomprehensible. Does he rob territory while shouting "For Justice"? Don't say it, reality is indeed that absurd.

"You will know later; the surface world and the underground world have no essential difference; both have good people and bad people."

Li En gave a preemptive warning first; many "outsiders entering the city" come with overly beautiful fantasies, thinking everyone in the great city is beautiful and kind-hearted, only to be cheated until they have nothing left.

In previous conversations, he had learned of Vidonia's extreme disgust for Dark Elf society, and such disgust easily transforms into excessive expectations and blind faith in other social groups.

Li En was not worried about Vidonia being deceived; after all, she was a Dark Elf and a noble alchemist with considerable strength. He worried she would be so disappointed by the stimulation (nowhere is a pure land!) that she would completely blacken and transplant the Dark Elf system onto the surface world.

"I know... it is already far better than down below." Vidonia nodded; regarding this, she had actually heard a lot from Miss Shaliman.

Li En took a look at the situation; the courtyard was already packed, and his small place could not possibly house these twenty-plus mushroom brothers, so he simply set off directly.

Half an hour later, they arrived outside the newly built textile factory in the Dock District. Seeing Demon's bulk had grown another size, Li En was also somewhat surprised.

"A Tier Three Oath Knight? That is a bit absurd."

"Heh, perhaps it is the merit of me starting to clean up local chaos and rebuild order; it should be the legacy of Master Sul."

Li En realized; the chaos of the Dock District need not be repeated. If there is a slightly reliable operator creating some legitimate means of livelihood, who knows how many people are saved daily.

Handling vast amounts of money, rejecting various power temptations of solicitation, and treating beauty and gourmet food temptations as if they did not exist; such ascetic oath-bound walkers on the blade's edge naturally progress quickly.

"Is there a problem with your evolution?" If professional progress is too fast, the hardware must also catch up.

"Lord Kuku guided me to a good one; although it has no powerful racial talents, it is very good for improving the body's hardware and suits me well."

Li En could see that Demon had vaguely transformed from a "white pig" into a wild boar; those two protruding tusks were a bit frightening. It did not look like a very high-grade advancement, but since it was guided by Kuku, there should be no problem; previous advancements were often laying the foundation.

"Uh, is this person a Paladin?" Vidonia and Gugu were full of shock; this time they had opened their eyes. A huge, bare-chested, tusked wild boar man carrying two golden cleavers on his back, with a fierce face, looked like no good person at all.

Behind him was a group of foremen supervising workers going to work; each of them also looked like gang thugs.

Judging by appearance alone, he did not look like a good person either; it was one thing that there was fresh blood on his pants, but there was also dried black bloodstains on his feet and on the cleavers.

"Mm, you have actually met before, within the Hall of Heroic Souls, only wrapped in mist. He is the successor of that previous Paladin."

"Uh, was he the one who defeated Lord Larry and Princess Dai Niya?"

These two apprentices were even more confused; was the taste of that Paladin Heroic Soul just too heavy?

"Heh, you'll know later." Li En knew there was no point in saying anything; let them realize it themselves.

For the two alchemists joining the group, Dimon had no reason to refuse.

They had already met masked in the Hall of Heroes; now that it was out in the open, communication naturally became easier.

Between them, they exchanged recent intelligence; most of it sounded like good news.

"The dock district is now on the right track. The underground caves are short on people; the Mushroom Brothers can stay there."

After chatting briefly, Larry arrived. Seeing Li En in good health, she was very happy.

During this time, she had essentially settled down completely in the dock district.

"There were two laborers who became First-Rank Oath Knights first. They are now my knight apprentices. Judging by their learning progress, becoming Law Knights shouldn't take long."

"There are now nearly sixty Oath-Bound, but only six have become Paladins. Several have switched to the paths of Warrior and Wu Seng."

Even for those former slaves, the "requirements" for a Paladin were too high.

Mainly, one must follow the Path of Supreme Goodness for life. The moral constraints in this regard are too harsh; becoming a Classical Oath Paladin cannot be faked.

"Six? That's already more than I expected." Li En, however, was very satisfied.

After all, it had only been these few days; a new Paladin Order and a new Law Knight Order both needed time to be honed.

With a justice-aligned knight order in the dock district, there was now an enforcer, making it easier to push forward the new order next.

"Has the knight order's name been decided?" A name is very important for an organization, especially for a Paladin organization; a famous reputation is itself a form of supernatural blessing.

Honor is a knight's virtue and also a knight's self-restraint.

"It is still a militia organization for now, but internally everyone calls them the 'Weaver Knights'."

They might still have to work at the newly built textile factory during the day and cultivate at night; calling themselves Weaver Knights was a self-deprecating joke, but not wrong.

"This way, it also makes it easier to provide some cover." Dimon glanced at Larry, who wore a beaming smile; the meaning was clear: let the Baron of Weaving continue to take the blame.

This name sounded like their family's private soldiers, which would avoid much trouble in the early stages.

For a Fourth-Rank Noble Paladin with a bright future, having many apprentices and followers was normal.

Li En nodded; he actually thought the name was good. In history, many ridiculously powerful knight orders had names that were relatively "down-to-earth."

"Gao Jie Brother Li En, the promise you made earlier..."

Li En thought for a moment.

"Oh, you mean the promise to take the apprentices down for trial? Of course. In a couple of days, after I finish handling my current matters."

Li En weighed it over and still did not casually mention the underground disturbances.

There were too many people here; if it got out, it would easily cause panic. The mere reality that evil gods existed in the underground world was a secret that could not be casually leaked.

He had actually inquired; in a sense, he should thank the Beast Cult for their ill-intentioned good deed. They had previously collapsed and blocked most of the entrances leading to the underground ruins.

It had only been a little over ten days; the main passages were still in the process of being cleared. Even if monsters in the underground world went berserk, they could not rush to the surface in the short term.

Going down actively right now would probably bring too much pressure; better to wait a few days and see how things develop.

Confirming that all sides were temporarily fine, he felt a bit more relaxed. At the same time, however, some people in the city were very anxious, frantic.

"There are disturbances underground; an evil god might be awakening!"

This news spread rapidly through the noble circles and the circles of mid-to-high-tier supernatural practitioners in Radiant City.

Previously, the intelligence Li En had given was strictly controlled by Dai Niya to avoid panic.

Only the city's high leadership and the heads of various organizations knew, gradually pushing forward various preparations.

But this morning, many high-tier spellcasters and prophets hired by nobles all felt the tremors from underground!

A terrifying existence was awakening beneath the ground.

Then, combining this with the recent actions of major organizations and the royal family, the absurd operation of suddenly throwing all efforts into underground development instantly validated the rumors; those who knew were panicked.

"Panicked? Panic is a good thing." Dai Niya, who had rushed to four meetings in one day, was very satisfied.

Previously, she had actually wanted to announce it early to get the entire city moving, but due to the persuasion of other organizations and great nobles (the reasons being nothing more than economic stability and avoiding mass desertion), she could only suppress it temporarily.

Now, it was completely unsuppressable; everyone was panicking.

"Heh, 'the greater good first,' 'announce it later when preparations are done.' Those who want to run will run anyway; isn't it better to prepare early? In the end, it's just about worrying that their interests will be affected."

Princess Dai Niya was full of grievances. For her, this was a great thing; the upcoming war preparations and underground development would proceed much more smoothly.

Perhaps the increase in the city's survival rate seen in the Snake's Eye was not just a change caused by Li En alone; the entire city had begun to act for the changes of this one night.

(End of Chapter)