The guards noticed their approach immediately, hands moving to weapons as two figures appeared on the hillside above them.

All the guards were on full alert, ready to attack the intruders coming closer to the restricted area.

However, one of the main guards noticed something as Leon and Seraphine were leisurely coming closer to them.

The first thing he noticed was the distinctive purple hair of the woman and her face; he recognized her at first glance. However, that was not the thing that terrified him.

As quickly as he looked beside her, the tall, silver-white-haired young man walking beside her made his whole body tremble in fear.

Earth-shattering news had spread like wildfire around the whole Kingdom of Shampain yesterday—the death of Duke Arselin, the legendary patriarch of the House of Arselin, Duke Arselin's father, and his son, which was already big news enough to shake the entire kingdom's foundation.

However, that was not all. The crown prince and even the king had died yesterday. All was done by a single mysterious silver-white-haired young man named Leon, who had participated in the tournament as a contestant.

But due to his conflict with the crown prince and the Duke's son, he had erased the foundation of their kingdom with his terrifying strength.

Those words seemed like a dream, but there were witnesses who had confirmed this, along with the newspaper headline of the Royal Shampain, governed by the Royal Palace, confirming everything.

The coronation ceremony of the queen and the advisory written in bold letters not to offend this person, and their kingdom would not protect them if something happened.

Some people still believed those were just rumors and the queen had done something to the king and all the people who had mysteriously died in one day, as it was hard to believe this.

But the guard leader didn't care about all this now. He didn't care if it was a rumor or not. One thing was sure—this youth had to be dangerous, who matched the perfect description of the white-haired devil, as he was with the Lightning Commander of the West.

One young guard hesitated, knuckles white on his spear. "Rumors," he muttered. "No man could kill a king." His defiance lasted only a heartbeat before Peter's glare cut him down harder than any blade.

He ordered everyone to put down their weapons even before they reached closer to them and reminded them of yesterday's news if some of them were clueless. However, seeing the look of horror on their faces, it was apparent they were also aware of their situation.

It was survival, not loyalty. Against such people, resistance wasn't bravery—it was suicide.

The guard leader showed no interest in trying to determine if the rumors were true or not. Just the presence of the Lightning Commander of the West was enough for him to act like a docile cat, especially when their kingdom was in such turmoil.

He had no interest in dying for nothing.

It was not hard for him to realize their motives, as their coming here, where the awakening dungeon was formed, only meant one thing—they had come for the dungeon.

Which was obvious.

Leon reached closer to the dungeon, which was still not formed. He could feel a large influx of mana as he looked at the giant blue swirling distortion of mana trying to create a portal.

The air around it hummed like a living heartbeat, each pulse thick with raw, untamed power.

The guards, whom he had seen taking out their weapons before, were standing in their place, cautiously, without having their guns out.

Some of the guards sneakily tried to run away. The guard leader noticed; however, he didn't say anything and just stood in his place. He wanted to see if they could go or not.

He was not brave enough to try it himself when in the presence of such terrifying people who could kill them at any second.

They might not be aware, but he had seen the Royal Knight Commander in action himself. He was aware of what level of devastation these freaks could do, which was the reason he foolishly didn't try to do anything.

He only stood there and breathed. Other guards were also doing the same, copying him. However, only a few decided to run away, who were new at their job, while his colleagues who knew him for a long time just trusted him by copying him.

Leon suddenly turned toward one of the guards closest to him, ignoring the ones running away, thinking they were sneaking away.

"Hey, how long till the awakening dungeon opens?"

The guard suddenly asked a question of the terrifying people. He lost his composure; he was trying so hard to maintain. He stuttered and wasn't able to answer.

However, Peter, the guard leader, while not the one being asked the question, suddenly answered from his spot loudly.

"Sire! It will take around three hours before the dungeon is ready to enter, and it will only be open for two hours."

"Hmm."

Leon asked another question to the guard, who answered, ignoring the one shivering a few meters away from him.

"How many people can enter this dungeon at a time?"

Peter, without wasting a second, just as he heard the question, answered while quickly appearing in front of him.

"This dungeon can easily take a hundred people at a time. However, there is no exact number, sir. A dungeon can make more than a hundred people enter at a time. However, there is a limit depending on the energy a dungeon has. After that point, the dungeon will close itself on its own."

After saying these words, Peter took out a device from his pocket, which was given to him by the kingdom.

The thing was not something that was supposed to be shown to an outsider in any circumstance, but it was a risk that Peter had decided to take.

The gulp of fear could be heard from Peter as he handed out the device.

It was a semicircular device with a needle in between, almost looking like half of a compass. There were numbers ranging from one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest.

He handed the device to the white-haired man in front of him, whose eyes almost freaked him out, as they were something he had never seen in his life.

The guard leader's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, as if even handing it over had been a risk.

Taking the device in his hand, Leon curiously asked the man,

"What is this?" he asked as he looked at the device in his hand.

Peter answered quickly.

"This device is used to measure…"

The words tumbled out of him too quickly, his voice shaking as though each syllable might cost his life.

Peter explained how the device worked and what it did to him in detail, and also told him about the danger of the dungeon and how this device helped them, which was developed by their kingdom.

Sweat traced down his temple, dripping onto the marble floor, but he dared not wipe it away.

Leon listened carefully along with Seraphine, who had also never heard of such a device before, which didn't come as a surprise, as they also had similar devices. Still, this one was more advanced than theirs.

Leon thought,

To sum it up, this device measures the mana fluctuation of a dungeon, and according to its readings, you can roughly estimate how many individuals can safely enter the dungeon. And if people entered the dungeon beyond the allowed limit, it would result in the forceful expulsion of people, which can be lethal to a person.

Peter had also told him how many people had died when trying to develop this device.

Around them, the guards held their breath, the silence so brittle it felt like the slightest sound would shatter it.

Leon weighed the device in his palm, eyes narrowing with quiet interest.

The device needle twitched suddenly, jerking violently. A hush fell over the guards. Leon's smile deepened.

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