“Whew—that silver-haired woman is really scary.”
In the thick miasma, an adventuring party used the cover of night patrol to sneak out of camp and head into the deep darkness.
“Lady Yadana, Lady Yadana, once we reach your dungeon, can we really get the ancient treasures?”
“Yes, yes, I guarantee it. It’s just a pity you didn’t bring that pink-haired girl too. Otherwise, I could have given you this entire City of Temptation.”
An ethereal voice drifted lazily among the five-member party.
“Lady Yadana, that Lil Ya is very weak. May I ask why you want her?”
“Heh. You intelligent races are so foolish—you don’t even know who saved you. So even if I explained this, you wouldn’t understand. Anyway, hurry up and enter the city. And don’t spill a single grain of the butter popcorn I asked for!”
“Yes, yes, yes. We’ve brought all the offerings you requested. You will be the new ruler of Border Town, and we will be your most loyal servants!”
The adventuring party crossed mountains and valleys, walking into a canyon until they reached the base of a cliff beside a stream.
The mage among the five quickly used magical materials to draw a barrier-removal magic circle on the smooth stone wall.
As the magic light flashed, a huge cave entrance appeared at the bottom of the cliff.
“Heh, those conceited Chosen Ones probably never imagined that we had already found the dungeon entrance and just hidden it with magic. What princesses, what saintesses—in the end, they look down on us ordinary adventurers. It’s much better to pledge ourselves to Lady Yadana. Sooner or later, Lady Yadana will turn them all into toys!”
The party leader spat toward the path they came from.
He stepped forward to enter the cave, but then his expression changed abruptly.
A wave of goosebumps broke out on his back.
His raised foot froze midair.
He looked down in shock and saw a ring of dim light spots.
The spots floated on the ground, dragging at the faint shadows that were barely visible in the miasma, and instantly locked his body in a state of paralysis.
“This is… the Archmage’s… Secret Light Technique…”
The mage cried out in surprise.
He turned his head and saw that all four teammates were already half-paralyzed.
The dense light spots on the ground seemed to have received a signal, suddenly spreading out to completely restrain everyone.
“No good… no time to purify…”
The mage’s face was full of terror.
In desperation, he forcefully stirred his magic power and gathered a ball of lightning.
The lightning instantly burst from the purple staff head and struck the four teammates directly.
Zzzt—!
“Whoa!”
Electric current surged.
The four teammates were knocked back out of their paralyzed state, but it was too late.
A freezing frost spread from outside the cave, instantly condensing into ice and freezing the five of them solid.
“Oh my, I didn’t expect there to be traitors.”
A golden-haired figure stepped into the cave entrance.
The Imperial gem on her earring glittered.
“Pr… Princess…”
The mage, who still retained some reason, stared in disbelief at the noble golden-haired figure.
Yi Li Sha Bai didn’t even glance at these commoners.
Her gaze swept past them and fixed on the end of the cave.
There, embedded in the wall, was a massive stone door exuding dense demonic energy.
The door was wide and thick, almost like the gates of the Imperial Palace.
“So this is the dungeon.”
Unlike the thick, murky miasma outside, this corridor leading to the dungeon door was filled with cold, gloomy light.
Though unpleasant, it was enough to illuminate the surrounding shadows.
“Yi Li Sha Bai, I didn’t expect you to have such judgment.”
A voice of admiration came from beside her.
Yi Li Sha Bai turned her head. Ao Li An Na was praying to the Goddess, grateful to have witnessed this ancient calamity in person.
“Me?”
Yi Li Sha Bai laughed.
This impromptu tracking had indeed been her decision, but the one who actually gave her the idea was not her.
Still, that was fine—the intelligence of commoners only proved the wisdom of the Imperial family’s teachings.
“Should we open the door?”
A figure with dragon horns walked past Yi Li Sha Bai and headed straight for the dungeon door.
“Relax, Mayfair. This kind of heavy lifting is a dragon’s specialty, right~”
Mayfair cracked her knuckles.
Even though it was a question, her hands were already on the door.
Hearing the lighthearted teasing behind her, she turned back with a grin, “Haha, Beowulfa, you really are annoying. No wonder Li Si won’t talk to you.”
“Oh? And she talks to you?”
Beowulfa twirled her crimson spear with a smile.
“Stay alert. There’s a not-weak presence behind this door.” Ao Li An Na warned.
Mayfair grinned, too lazy to wait.
She directly pushed open the two heavy stone doors.
Creak—
The stone doors slowly moved.
A layer of air current rushed out from the gap, and a cold, damp temperature instantly swept through the corridor, bringing a chill.
Creak—
Mayfair pushed harder.
Her fiery red hair suddenly flew backward, and her passionate face instantly became covered with blazing dragon patterns.
“Open for me!”
The two stone doors flew backward with a crash.
Accompanied by a dragon’s roar, Mayfair landed heavily on one foot.
Roar!
The moment the doors fully opened, a furious roar immediately erupted.
Every dungeon entrance has a guardian beast—this was knowledge passed down since ancient times.
Everyone entered a battle stance the instant the doors were fully opened.
Except for the two Chosen teams that had arrived latest.
Outside the cave, adventurers from the entire camp began arriving one after another.
A battle quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter, ending in moments.
“Your Highness, your judgment was absolutely flawless.”
Atar stepped forward at the right time to praise.
Just after the meeting had ended, the Empire’s princess had come to him, plotting this tracking operation.
Initially, he thought it was just a whim of the princess, but he never expected that she would actually find the dungeon entrance.
Two Chosen teams, plus four full teams of class-changed adventurers, were more than enough to crush a single guardian beast.
In fact, before Atar could even react, the battle inside the cave was already over.
Yi Li Sha Bai gracefully put away her weapon and smiled, “By the strength of the guardian beast, we can judge the difficulty of a dungeon. This dungeon is very weak.”
Atar nodded repeatedly.
The young guild leader put on his most respectful posture as he couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Your Highness, how did you notice the Thunder Team’s abnormality?”
“This?” Yi Li Sha Bai smiled.
Her gaze swept over the crowd behind her and finally landed on a silver-haired figure.
Because that person had reminded her to watch that team, which led to this tracking.
But mentioning that now would be meaningless.
It was just a matter of keen observation.
Anyone with the same timing and position would have noticed it.
So there was no need for extra explanation.
Yi Li Sha Bai said casually, “Just a bit of sharp insight. Guild Leader Atar, I leave those traitors to you. I’m very interested in this ancient calamity.”
Not only Yi Li Sha Bai, but all the adventurers were very interested in the dungeon.
Some adventurers had already rushed in impatiently to explore.
Yi Li Sha Bai swayed her hips as she walked to the dungeon entrance.
Looking at the silver-haired girl who was about to enter, she smiled and said, “Your name is Li Si, right? This princess is very familiar with that name, but that person is completely different from you. You did well. This princess is quite fond of you. I grant you the privilege of becoming my attendant.”
“Lil Ya, are you fully recovered? I’m going to speedrun this dungeon. That thing that targeted you will disappear soon.”
“Mm! Li Si, I believe in you! I won’t fall behind either! I definitely won’t get stuffed again!!!”
Yi Li Sha Bai watched the two put on their goblin suits again and dash into the dungeon like a whirlwind.
Her face remained as calm as ever, but the five fingers on her hand, resting on her waist, dug fiercely into her flesh.
“Mm.”
A voice of approval came from beside her.
Mei Lin passed by with her staff on her back and gave a verdict.
“Such an interesting adventurer. I’ve never met her in town before. Also named Li Si, huh. Heh, interesting.”
“Hmph.”
Yi Li Sha Bai snorted coldly.
So everyone named Li Si was unpleasant.
Too lazy to entertain any more self-flattery, she stepped over the guardian beast’s corpse and followed in the direction Li Si had gone.
Her smile was tight, “I want to see just how she plans to speedrun this.”