CHAPTER 194: 194. STRONG INTRUDERS

In one of the underground chambers belonging to Xenan’s camp, a one-eyed man was talking to a couple of customers while showing them the slaves in cages.

The slaves had diverse racial backgrounds, and one could clearly see that their quality was much better than Ragan’s lot.

The corridor leading to this chamber was guarded by several 1st and 2nd Circle mercenaries.

Usually, they would only let someone with a guide or trader associated with Xenan to enter

However, when Jake’s group arrived, they immediately parted ways without a question.

"Boss!"

"Give way, boss is here!"

’So this is the place, huh? Not bad, not bad...’ Jake, who was currently disguised as Xenan, nodded with Jasmine and Ragan following him closely.

The foxkin had already shifted into a humanoid appearance.

"Wait, isn’t that Ragan...? What’s he doing here?"

"Maybe he realized his mistake and is here to ask for forgiveness?"

"Who’s that beauty walking on the side, though..."

"Shh, don’t you see that slave collar?"

The surprised mercenaries spoke in hushed voices as Jake’s group walked past them and entered the chamber ahead.

Immediately, some of the newly enslaved ones behind the bars let out screams and threats, their chains rattling, hands trying to touch Jake.

The older ones, however, remained silent, not even registering his presence. They had already lost all hope and just wanted to be sold.

At this moment, the one-eyed thin man in medieval clothing turned around.

"Ah, custom-" Before Piers even finished his word, Jake used [Shadow Motion] and instantly covered the distance between them.

"B-Boss! Didn’t you go to meet Captain Brax?" The middle-aged man stumbled back in surprise but quickly gained his calm.

Despite his ordinary looks, Piers Kite was actually a 3rd Circle Fighter, and it took him little time to notice that his boss Xenan was wearing a brown coat.

’Am I being paranoid or...’

Although Jake’s disguise was good, it was still just copied from someone else’s memory. There were bound to be flaws which were noticed by someone like Piers who worked closely with Xenan.

The one-eyed man immediately felt uncanny when ’Xenan’ smiled. All of a sudden, he started shuddering and lost his footing, startling the customers behind him.

Jake had used Degeneration Halo and it didn’t take long for the Seed of Corruption to settle in the mind of Piers.

Jasmine looked incredibly interested in the process as she closely looked at the numerous dark patterns appearing on Piers’s face.

"Rise," Jake said. "Lead me to the VIP section."

Without a word said, the one-eyed man turned around and started walking towards an unassuming door in the chamber.

Jake sent a mental shockwave to erase the memories of the two customers before telling Ragan to keep them occupied.

As he followed Piers through the backdoor, he arrived at a stairway which led to a private house on Louis Street.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed and a collection of about a dozen premium slaves appeared in Jake’s sights.

This was the lot that nobles brought from and he wasn’t surprised to see some in the 1st and even 2nd Circle.

"Hmm..." Jake licked his lips. If he wasn’t in a hurry to settle things here and go find Marquis Jones for the dragon materials, he’d have absolutely spent the day here fucking the female slaves.

’Perhaps I should first take control of the slaves and reap the harvest before selling. The other two big traders should also have their own premium collections...’ He thought, coming next to a tall female elf and fondling her juicy peaches.

[Degeneration Halo]

...

"Careful, the evil mana in this place is especially thick!" An elf captain reminded the group of several 2nd and 3rd Circle knights, archers, and mages as they quietly marched through the corrupted Redwoods Forest.

Linda Sylstina was a 4th Circle Elder Druid leading the 1st squad in this covert raid. Other than her, there were three more squads nearing the Dungeon of Sins from other directions.

This was more than 2/3rds of the entire elven force which resided in Moonlight Forest.

Nearly 2 months had passed since Lord Issac came back to the village from the human king’s palace. As expected, those humans were definitely hiding something!

After much investigation from the elven scouts operating in Karsuda, there has been enough evidence that the Necromancer definitely got the Life Elixir from Dorstone.

Otherwise, sending out so many combatants from Leafsong village would never be accepted by the elders.

These days, the Western Dryads of the Moonlight Forest felt wicked. Although they were still cooperative, something was off about them.

If not for Elder Edgar, one of the Moonlight Protectors, vouching for them and willing to participate in this raid, the village would’ve already chased out these dryads to the other shore of Inaros.

Princess Valerie reckoned this matter was also related to the new dungeon somehow.

Thus, Lord Issac himself had volunteered to lead this mission with a platoon of over 40 elves, consisting of 4 squads, each led by someone in the 4th Circle. Even the weakest in this platoon was a veteran 2nd Circle warrior.

Not only that, but they’d also hired 7 seven High Summoners all the way from the southern Auximore Empire.

These summoners could temporarily bring forth several 5th Circle Totem Spirits that would be massively helpful in dealing with the unknown wyvern of this dungeon.

Such a force was 10 times more formidable compared to the one sent by humans even though the numbers were less.

As this dungeon had recently spawned but had already reached Tier 2, it had the potential to become a Great Labyrinth.

If that happened, they’d never be able to recover the Life Elixir, of which the princess had to consume a drop each month.

The Soul Decaying Curse placed on her by the Mad Queen was already showing signs of rebounding.

The princess was getting weaker and weaker. If they couldn’t bring back the elixir this time... Issac didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.

"Alright, listen up!" He grabbed the attention of everyone standing near the dungeon’s entrance.

By now, all four squads had gathered and were being briefed about the plan.

"Our utmost priority in this raid is to get the Life Elixir. For that, we’ll have to go past the 40th floor where the humans left off. Although they say Minerva is dead, we must verify it for ourselves."

"Also, there are more dangerous beings in this dungeon than the necromancer, most notably a 5th Circle Wyvern that recently devastated Gera City!" Issac Whitelight pointed at the dungeon whose huge entrance continuously spewed out ominous mana.

"You all can feel it. With such density, the weaker members won’t be able to channel mana in their body properly. This will lower our combat standards for sure, so be extra careful."

After saying this, Issac began instructing the squad captains to assume stealthy party formations, and gave out individual roles to breeze through the upper floors.

Meanwhile, on the last floor; Lena, who was curled up beside the dungeon core, suddenly opened her eyes as the elven platoon descended to the first floor.

Usually, she would only care to wake up when adventurers reached past the lower half (33rd Floor). However, the collective aura she felt of this team gave her multiple warnings.

"Such strong Intruders... the Master must know about this!" the dungeon fairy muttered, flying to the upper floors where Yvonne and Minerva stayed.