Chapter 89: 88 So No One

"Dilan, don't take off your clothes—come drink some."

Seeing Dilan finish packing up camp and about to undress, Kelo lo handed him the flask filled with magic potion.

"Big Brother Kelo lo, this isn't really right…"

They'd passed through two cities in a row, both equipped with detection arrays; Dilan couldn't enter to resupply, so he had to conserve the magic potion.

But Kelo lo, thanks to his race's shapeshifting talent, could slip past those low-level arrays, and he'd never lacked supplies along the way.

Yet these past few days, Dilan had been drinking Kelo lo's magic potion, and he felt awkward about it.

"What nonsense—you're half-naked and drawing attention, and that puts me in danger too. Don't be so formal—it's just a bit of magic potion."

Dilan scratched his head, took the potion, drank a few swallows, then pulled out a few gold coins from his pocket.

Kelo lo instantly understood his intent and placed a hand over Dilan's wrist holding the coins.

"No need. It's all public funds anyway."

In Kelo lo's eyes, Dilan was just a young rookie.

Though Dilan looked older than Kelo lo himself—the merchant—he was merely inhabiting a host's body; just like Kelo lo, his true age far exceeded the persona he'd assumed.

Every time he saw Dilan's blunders, it reminded him of his own early days.

He himself had only made it this far thanks to the help of some seniors.

But Dilan's situation was far worse than his own had been.

Low-level mimicry, unprofessional spy training, and he's stuck with the hardest mission: delivery.

Even so, young Dilan had stuck to his principles and never revealed any mission details.

But Kelo lo had noticed—the backpack Dilan never let out of his sight, yet had never opened.

Or rather, after so many days together, it was impossible not to notice.

Kelo lo hadn't even found a single opening or pocket on that bag—he guessed it was a sealed item, designed to self-destruct if forcibly opened.

This kind of delivery mission was the hardest.

Gathering intelligence only required avoiding suspicious behavior, but a delivery mission—with such a suspicious large bag!

Sometimes Kelo lo wondered if young Dilan had angered someone and been deliberately sent on a suicide mission.

All he could do was, before his own new mission arrived, lend a hand to this unlucky junior.

"Big Brother Kelo lo, why are the inspections so strict lately?"

"Big Brother Kelo lo, why are the inspections so strict lately?"

Dilan remembered that before, entering cities nearby was always straightforward—nothing like this now, with checks and detection arrays everywhere.

"Young Dilan, your eating habits…"

"Of course they're strict—it's fear of the Emperor's retaliation!"

"The Emperor… Your Majesty?" The words felt strange coming out of his own mouth.

"Exactly—the Emperor is furious right now."

The humans' fake Hero summoning trap left Shadow Demon Lord's fate unknown; the Empire suffered a massive blow."

How could Your Majesty not retaliate? It's just that no one yet knows how."

The Shadow Demon's disappearance couldn't be hidden, so none of this was secret among the Demon Race—Kelo lo spoke freely, with no reservations.

But Dilan was hearing this for the first time!

What fake Hero summoning?

A trap?

And they killed one of the Empire's Twelve Pillars—the Shadow Demon?

So much had happened outside while he was in the dungeon!?

But he quickly grasped the key point—retaliation!

"Then… could they start a war?"

War was unquestionably the most direct and impactful form of retaliation.

But Kelo lo merely waved his hand. "Impossible, Dilan—us spies must also judge the political situation.

The elves and dwarves are watching nearby—they won't let us wipe out humans and grow too strong.

Unless…"

Kelo lo paused deliberately, and Dilan naturally asked: "Unless what?"

Kelo lo leaned close, slinging an arm around Dilan's shoulder—even though they were out in the wild, with no one nearby—and lowered his voice:

"There's a rumor now that, besides that trap, humans secretly held a true Hero summoning."

If this can be proven, the Empire can wage war without restraint."

"Huh?" This time Dilan's eyes truly went blank—he didn't understand the connection between summoning a Hero and launching unrestricted war.

Seeing this, Kelo lo looked at him like a useless lump of wood.

"Idiot! If a real Hero exists, the elves and dwarves won't help humans anymore!"

Our Empire grows strong, their lives get worse—do you think human strength would make their lives better?

They're siding with humans now only to balance our power.

But if a Hero is truly summoned, everything changes.

With the Demon King gone, a growing Hero is an out-of-spec combat force!

Believe me—not just us want to eliminate him; if given the chance, the elves and dwarves won't miss it either.

Who wants a being above them, with absolute power to kill or spare them at will?

Then, at least until the Hero dies, they'll likely all stay out of it.

Of course, all this assumes a Hero was truly summoned."

Clove unscrewed the flask, took a swig of mana potion to moisten his throat, and seeing that Dylan still looked as if he hadn't fully grasped it, did not press the matter.

He merely added one last reminder:

"Brother Dylan, some dangerous missions may come down soon; you must know your own limits.

Failing a mission brings punishment, but if you are caught by humans, you will lose your life!

Weigh the two carefully!"

Having spoken, he patted Dylan on the shoulder and led the way forward.

Dylan followed behind, still digesting that huge pile of information from before.

—

Lin Jun was likewise digesting this sudden influx of information.

Humans and demons, elves, dwarves, Hero Summoning, traps, standoffs and friction, retaliation...

No wonder!

No wonder so few Diamond-rank adventurers operate in the dungeon!

No wonder no human above level 60 has entered the dungeon to this day!

It turns out they were drawn away by the demons.

Does that mean...

Now almost no one can threaten me?

I have always kept the mycelial mat confined to the first five floors, refusing to spread further downward, for fear of drawing more attention.

Now it seems this caution has wasted a great deal of development time!

Fortunately, the tense relations between humans and demons continue, and may even escalate into war later.

It is not too late to begin expanding downward now; before humans free up their hands, let the mushrooms spread across the entire dungeon!

Or even... perhaps the dungeon entrance and exit, which I have always dared not touch, could now be tried for mycelium to grow across...

Come to think of it, that rumor about Hero Summoning is false, right...

Am I not the Hero myself?

Lin Jun even found himself unable to understand: do the so-called Heroes truly help humans?

Up to now, I have not killed a single demon; instead, I have decomposed a whole bunch of humans. What kind of Hero is that?

As for a Demon Hero?

That doesn't fit either; wouldn't that identity conflict with the Demon King?

Wait...

Tm, could it be the Hero of Monsters???

(End of this chapter)