Chapter 192: Entanglement

Li En walked quickly, but was then called to a halt.

"Split the loot evenly, is that okay?"

"Uh, sure."

Li En's side only had four people, two of whom had questionable combat power (Victoria and Ophelia had no intention of fighting the whole time), and they were also carrying a small burden; such a distribution was already about right.

Even if Li En was confident he could wipe out this squad alone, in underground exploration, his contribution might not be higher than this squad's; many things still require professionals.

The small gargoyle was quickly dissected; some mutated stone fragments and a gargoyle core were packed into a bag, delighting the squads.

Small gargoyles are not too difficult to deal with, but their materials are very valuable; they can be sold to bloodline evolvers specializing in petrification systems, or to mages—mages can use these materials when creating gargoyles and golem constructs.

This kind of active stone and mutated stone fragment can also be sold to earth elementals and curse mages.

"Uh, they're actually quite valuable?"

"Demonized creations and spirits are generally quite valuable. The least valuable are humanoid creatures like goblins; there are too many of them, and no recipes can utilize them."

This is also the plain truth; even regarding evolution paths, who would want to evolve into a goblin.

"What about ogres? What about trolls?" Li En mentioned two other common creatures, which, along with goblins, form the trio of wild bandits.

"Troll blood can be used for alchemical potions, but it isn't very valuable. Ogres are okay—their arms are quite valuable; it is said they can be made into gloves of immense strength, but they are hard to deal with."

Rookie warriors struck by an ogre often end up with shattered shields and broken armor.

If they are unarmored, they might even be launched into the air on the spot, making them top-tier rookie killers.

When these giants go berserk, they easily break through the front line, causing casualties in the rear; in reality, they are not on the same level of strength as the other two brothers.

Trolls mainly depend on the environment; various subspecies differ greatly. Combined with certain extreme environments, even great warriors find them hard to handle—but what remains unchanged is that trolls have little value, possess strong vitality, and are considered the opponents a group least wants to encounter.

"Continue! A good start!"

After dividing the spoils, the small group suddenly became excited.

And let alone them, even Li En felt a bit happy hearing he could personally receive more than two gold coins.

"Do adventurers make money like this?"

"It depends on luck. Gargoyles are relatively valuable, but normal gargoyles are hard to deal with."

The temporary squad continued forward; this time, Parna took the lead to scout the path.

Because her severe injuries caused a missed opportunity, she actually felt quite guilty—the rampage of the ruin monsters, Li En viewed as a disaster.

But if handled successfully, for many veteran adventurers, it was an opportunity to get rich; the squad had heard many good news stories about people getting rich these past few days.

Many high-value prey that were rarely seen in the past had run to the shallow layers; these gargoyles were among them.

Gargoyles are generally divided into two types: wild "Petrification Golem Monsters" and "Artificial Gargoyles," and the latter are the most common—mages quite like placing a few in their mage towers to serve as guards that never close their eyes, which is also the main reason for their high value.

"Speaking of never closing eyes, I actually remembered an acquaintance..." And the snake, at this moment, slid out.

The snake coiled on Li En's head, happily flicking its tongue.

Li En asked what he was so happy about, but received no response.

"Are you sure you want me to say it? You already owe enough karmic debt; the value of this information is not low; you could even trade it with certain people for a count's title."

Li En fell silent; he was unclear what exactly the snake was hiding, but he felt a big trouble was coming.

"... Actually, the one that never closes its eyes isn't much trouble itself; it's only at the level of destroying one or two nations. But the thing behind it is what's truly a bit troublesome." Even the snake considers it a troublesome opponent? Li En instantly focused his attention.

The snake was still trying to arouse Li En's interest, but the first to react was

【Partial truth of the incident from that year known; please continue exploring】

This headless, tailless prompt left Li En stunned.

"Truth? What truth? Oh, the truth about Hero Laina... Could this be related?!"

Li En had not failed to investigate this matter, but whether it was the official library of Radiant City or the collections of various churches, mentioning the incident of that year, they all firmly stated "The Catastrophe of the Great Dragon."

Their records were also quite detailed, down to how terrible and disastrous the harm was.

The process and results were stated clearly; mentioning the cause was just one sentence: "The hero and the kingdom suffered retaliation from the Demon Dragon," with absolutely no specific details.

Li En really did not think a "Dragon God" of this caliber would jump out headless and tailless to directly destroy a nation's capital.

This obvious information blockade made Li En too lazy to investigate upon seeing it—unless he found some key figures, otherwise everything he could access was just this kind of official press release.

Li En had also tentatively asked Dai Niya in the Hall of Heroes, but received only indignant anger.

When asked for specifics, what she said was much the same as the official press release; could it be that even the royal family was not informed?

"Even the Princess doesn't know the truth; Snake, do you know?"

"Of course I know; tsk tsk tsk, I could even reveal a bit: your reincarnation this time... uh, seems I can't say anymore."

The snake fell silent for a moment, wagged its tail, and became even happier.

Li En wanted to ask more, but his mind went blank; the snake had already vanished without a trace.

He sighed; indeed, he hated riddlers the most, especially those who whet the appetite by saying half and then disappearing.

For the next hour or so, the squad encountered no enemies again; this was also quite normal, being too close to the entrance, the monsters had been repeatedly cleared.

If not for Li En's good eyesight, he wouldn't have picked up these small gargoyle leftovers.

In a slightly spacious area, the squad began to rest, preparing dried rations to eat a meal; my lord could still walk for a while, but the little one who had been gritting her teeth and persisting was running out of stamina.

Li En felt a bit guilty; he originally thought he would encounter a goblin or a small wolf to throw at her for practice. The small gargoyle was clearly an opponent she couldn't handle; flying creatures are naturally a hard counter to agile swordsmen.

And with her current strength, breaking through stone defenses would be difficult.

Looking at the little one, already covered in sweat, her small face smeared with mud from who knows where, yet still trying hard to pretend everything was fine, Li En hesitated a bit.

Maybe, go back first, send her back.

"Friends aren't in a rush." But the little one, very perceptive, saw Li En's hesitation and even hugged him actively.

Then, she busied herself actively, distributing dried rations to the others.

Seeing the energetic girl, the others' moods improved a bit.

In such an underground labyrinth, adjusting one's mood and state is also a very important task.

"By the way, Lord Li En, which race is little Lana exactly? I have no objection to degenerate races; I'm just curious, and I wonder what little Lana likes to eat."

Glanced at by Li En, Parna instantly felt a bit uncomfortable.

"She... she's a cat-person, but the kind that likes meat. A big, striped mountain lynx."

Li En sighed. The number of Lion Clan people in the kingdom is relatively scarce, and they are often easily discovered; some traits can even trace back their bloodline.

"Cat! I am a cat!" Cheerful Lana first showed a surprised expression, then put her hands on her hips and said proudly.

Li En then remembered he hadn't mentioned it; he patted the little one's head, feeling inexplicably helpless.

From what the snake revealed, his reincarnation, the matter of Lana, and the kingdom's past should all be connected, and in the end, it still circles back to that person.

"The former Hero, Lex."

The Hero's Soul Card on his chest was still slightly warm, seemingly activated by that "information," but when Li En tried to use it, he was still rejected.

"Or, wait until the Queen arrives; then everything won't be a secret. After all, she is the person involved."

"Pfft!" At this moment, the snake popped out again, directly sneering at Li En, as if mocking his naivety.

Li En was just about to question him further, but he disappeared again, as if busy with something in the underground ruins.

This small interlude passed in a flash; after resting and walking for another stretch, crossing the checkpoint of another empty area, the group finally stepped into the war zone of the underground ruins.

In their words, this is where the journey truly begins. Looking at the dozens of diverging paths before him, Li En sighed.

"If we go down, the right-3, right-1, and left-2 paths are more suitable." Fortunately, there were experienced guides leading the way.

And this time, not long after setting out, they truly began to encounter a large number of enemies; the first encountered were various demonized beasts, considered prey that was relatively easy to deal with.

During the afternoon journey, Li En vented the gloom brought by the snake, killing wildly for quite a while.

He also let Lana try to hunt a demonized wolf (which had one leg broken); the result was the little one winning easily, counting as her first time seeing blood.

When night fell and they set up camp to rest, another trouble had to be dealt with.

"That confession promise with the snake is damn nonsense."

In a sense, Li En was destined to come underground; after all, there are few people here, so even if someone gets lost, few would know.

He should find someone who would absolutely refuse him, or someone he could date for a while without hidden dangers, break up after a gentlemanly friendship for a while; although a bit scummy, it's better than continuing to deceive blindly like this.

"In the beginning, there weren't many to choose from anyway; excluding males (the snake would cause big trouble), mushroom people, and the Dark Elf Goddess (would become a political trouble), it seems only Miss Shaliman and Vitoria remain."

Li En didn't dare to choose Miss Shaliman; just as he felt a bit weak facing her now. He truly felt that if he chose her, his whole life might be ruined.

Vitoria was actually Li En's first choice, because Dark Elves don't really associate with innocence, and their perception of gender is opposite to that of surface dwellers; they are often more open and willing to have a romantic encounter or romance during a journey.

The worldview of Dark Elf women in this regard is similar to a "male playboy," viewing it mainly as an enjoyment and not taking it as a big deal.

But along this journey, talking with Vitoria, Li En felt increasingly subtle and uncomfortable.

It wasn't that this female elf had an objection to Li En; on the contrary, she showed a friendliness and attentiveness towards him that seemed like flattery; it was just that the overly refined egoism revealed in her actions, where every three sentences involved interests, made Li En feel a bit uncomfortable.

When Li En discussed a policy and its potential impact on the entire region, city, or race, she instantly thought of how to profit for herself or what she could gain from the new policy.

Perhaps she verbally said she hated Dark Elf society the most, but in Li En's eyes, this was a too-standard Dark Elf mindset.

If she really started dating him, she would immediately use her reputation and connections to make money and gain status, right?

"Uh, look at little Lana slowly." Li En's gaze turned to the white-haired, red-eyed little one; she immediately gave Li En a sweet smile, then made a funny face and ran away.

At this moment, Li En even missed the silly Miss Shaliman.

Or, he could find her and make up a reason to bluff his way through; after all, she's a silly girl, easy to fool.

"Tsk, seems it's too late."

But there's a chance Li En won't be able to return to the surface for these few days, so naturally, there's no choice.

He tried to think positively; dating someone he dislikes might even make it easier to cut off the relationship.

"Achoo!" Miss Shaliman, who had been missing for many days, sneezed, looked at the pitch darkness before her, and sighed.

And not far from her was the Princess under the protection of the knights; if the boss wants to go down on an adventure, what can be done? She just has to follow obediently.

While roasting her own dried lizard, she viciously rubbed her face; this damn underground dampness and cold made her want to sleep.

"Soon, we will reach the middle layer of the underground ruins," while the Conquest Knights over there seemed very satisfied with this harvest.

(End of this chapter)