Chapter 175: The Sky Changes

Since waking up, Sallyman felt as if she had entered paradise.

"Today, the weather is truly nice—perhaps my luck has finally turned."

She had been woken at three or four in the morning and should have been in terrible spirits, but after an emergency meeting, she received exactly what she wanted most.

"Viscount Sallyman, you've done well enough. For now, remain silent. Matters concerning the Underworld will be handled through negotiations among major organizations."

She had been summoned for testimony; dazed as she was, she performed exceptionally well during all interrogations and received high praise.

The final outcome? Verbal commendation from the upper echelons—and the extended leave she had long desired!

"Yes! I don't have to worry about the underground ruins anymore!"

As a mid-level manager who craved laziness, slack-off, and just collecting a salary, the greatest tragedy was that her superiors had new ideas every day—and she was the one they trusted most.

"Sallyman, contact those international organizations. Be polite—don't let them look down on the Kingdom." Again, orders to make them work, maintain relations, and uphold the so-called "dignity of a fallen royal house."

Sallyman understood this task—but found it extremely difficult to carry out.

"Sallyman, speak with the conservative and radical nobles. The royal house needs their support, but don't let their demands get too high."

As the representative of the great nobles and the royal house, and with the Princess unwilling to appear in person, all negotiations and private talks with the great nobles fell squarely on Sallyman's shoulders.

"Sallyman, how is Knight Li En doing?" Even down to concrete implementation tasks, Sallyman had to grit her teeth and take them on.

Every day, Princess Dainya had new goals and new tasks.

Every day, Sallyman wondered when she could retire and just slack off.

Thanks to Sallyman's soul ability and reputation, many tasks weren't problems—but some were simply beyond her capacity, and they kept piling up on her.

The most direct example? The Kingdom-level "Underground Campaign" matters recently.

"I've emphasized this countless times: our goal is underground exploration, not power struggles. This is a real threat to our city—not a tool to crush rivals."

Previously, no matter what the royal house said, the nobles and factions of Huicheng saw this as a political project—the Princess, nearing adulthood, testing her authority. In some ways, that was indeed reality.

Even though the upper nobles and leaders of various organizations knew the truth and gave their green light, those who actually did the work were always the lower and mid-levels.

When other factions' mid-levels feel you're reaching into their pockets, and the top has seemingly compromised, they won't openly resist—but they'll delay, pay lip service, and undermine you. In the end, your goals become painfully inefficient.

This isn't something you can solve by reading minds or saying nice words.

Internal factions within each organization have already solidified; their true mid-level cadres all have their own vested interests. Persuading one alone is meaningless—even if one individual pushes hard, they'll face massive resistance from all sides.

But starting today, everything changed. Sallyman no longer had to force progress.

"We will reorganize a committee dedicated to advancing this project. It's expected to have around two hundred members, with each organization sending representatives, and the royal house will assign dedicated personnel for coordination and liaison."

This is how the Kingdom normally handles major undertakings: upper leadership makes decisions, mid-levels establish liaison mechanisms—or even specialized organizations—to drive implementation.

Now, Sallyman was finally freed—no more having to personally nag through tedious tasks.

"I've said it so many times: our goal is the underground ruins. They just wouldn't believe it."

This complete shift came only because the upper leadership's attitude had changed entirely.

Even those upper leaders who received intelligence from the Princess and believed the "Deer" was about to awaken still hesitated.

After all, too many interests were involved. Making a decision meant taking responsibility—and bearing the pressure of losses and wrong choices.

It's like predicting an earthquake two years from now and needing to relocate citizens and prepare for disaster. They'd make plans—but how actively they'd act? That's uncertain.

After all, disaster preparedness is an invisible, unprofitable investment—and it invites complaints and passive resistance from subordinates.

"We're already overworked enough. Now we have to prepare for something that might never happen?"

"We're already exhausted from overtime. Let the world end if it wants to." Complaints never stop—especially when you see increased workload and resource investment but no overtime pay.

"Boom!" The tremors from the underground settlements changed everything.

Previously, people wondered if it was an earthquake—but if a small quake came first, all resistance vanished instantly.

Now, upper and mid-levels across all factions instantly aligned and began working with full force.

This wasn't about them not working before—it was about how they worked. For example, I have twelve warriors: some guard headquarters, some hunt cultists, some handle routine investigations—their skills and levels are clearly uneven.

You ask me to assign personnel to your campaign? Naturally, I'll send my bottom three to fill the numbers.

After all, how well your project goes doesn't affect me directly—but if my own core duties fail, I bear the blame.

With limited total resources, priority naturally goes to immediate needs—not hypothetical future prevention projects.

Now that the crisis is right in front of them, everything changed: warehouses opened, logistics fully mobilized. The top ten warriors were transferred over; only the old, weak, and injured remained to maintain daily operations.

Early that morning, Sallyman saw nobles' mansions outside the aristocratic quarter bustling with mercenaries and knights, strategic supplies being moved, and even the garrison's presence visibly strengthened.

Now that everyone was focused on the underground ruins, Sallyman no longer had to suffer from both sides. She was finally on vacation.

Someone would handle bounties and reward payouts; someone else would organize expeditions; mid-level cadres from each organization would participate. As a liaison officer, she could now switch to a relaxed inspection role.

"Heh, the Princess and Li En's relationship has improved too. She even asked me to deliver these rewards to him."

As a "mid-level" and "intelligence officer," suffering from both sides was routine. Previously, caught between the feuding Princess and Li En, she suffered greatly.

Now, the story of the arrogant knight had spread. Though the Princess appeared furious, Sallyman could tell her mood wasn't bad at all.

Now the two were more tightly bound; their relationship inevitably improved. Even, thanks to Sallyman's report, the Princess granted her extra "recognition."

"Sssss (fool)."

The snake head sighed. This guy was beyond saving.

But what made Sallyman happiest—as if she'd already seen dawn and the new year—was still:

"Auntie Zi Qiangwei is gone! That's wonderful!" Though ambiguous, it clearly meant Zi Qiangwei had left.

She'd known this for days—but every time she thought of it, she still broke into a dumb, happy grin, even dancing around several times.

"Sssss (fool)."

But someone clearly had strong objections.

"Why hasn't he come to visit me? He should come… should I go see him? Would that seem unladylike?"

"Ssssss (love-struck fool! Idiot!)"

"How can you insult people?" Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sallyman was beginning to grasp the "essence" and the "truth."

—

Li En was still busy in the docks district. The sudden incident naturally delayed his original plans.

He didn't yet know that, for certain reasons, the city's entire readiness had been dramatically accelerated.

That seemingly insignificant earth dragon's roll had delivered a brutal, literal shock to the local transcendents.

"If this energy level erupted on the surface, the city would be gone."

All reconnaissance devices issued warnings—but to ordinary people in the docks district, it meant nothing.

As long as the earthquake didn't disrupt their daily lives, they carried on as usual.

Since he'd come to the docks district, Li En wouldn't leave in such a hurry.

As usual, he trained with Dimon, checking his progress—but this time, the session ended far too soon.

Even without gloves, Li En's actual combat stats far exceeded what his panel displayed.

When he activated his Dragon Claw, a Dragon Vein ability, his strength and stamina increased further—especially during attacks.

Perhaps Dimon's rapid progress to third-rank Holy Knight was extraordinary—but compared to Li En's transformation in the Underworld, he still lagged far behind. Holy Knight sparring is all about brute force; without triggering his severing ability (too wasteful on weapons), third-rank Oath Knight Dimon could only endure pressure from Li En.

Li En also discovered that Dimon's soul ability had reached the Silver rank. By his own account, if his physical body had kept up, he could have advanced further.

"Even with the Hero Spirit's blessing, this growth rate is insane." The alchemists watching were astonished by Dimon's ferocity.

You've got this skill and this growth rate—why are you hanging out in the docks? Why not join a knightly order and become nobility?

"Maybe I'm the sole inheritor of one Hero Spirit," Dimon still patted his belly, showing no pride.

As for advice to improve his prospects, he just smiled, pretending not to hear. Perhaps it was precisely this obsession, this "foolishness," that earned him the Hero Spirit's recognition and drove his rapid advancement.

Li En, however, was thoughtful. Having awakened a soul ability and a Serpent Tianfushu, he could see Dimon's obsession almost materialized.

"Could soul ability growth and evolution be fueled by extreme, intense emotions?" Li En recalled the annotation on Su Er's Sacred Sword Secret: "Anger."

Soul ability growth requires soul elevation and emotional nourishment—on this front, Dimon was far stronger than Li En.

Watching Dimon, wielding two great swords, personally training apprentices and Weaver Knights, Li En saw the rise of a future powerhouse.

Dimon would soon rise to fame—and substantially influence the future, even the course of history.

"Perhaps very soon. Extremely soon."

(End of Chapter)