As the group delved deeper, the surrounding ruins became more numerous.

From the shattered structures, one could discern the former glory of the ancient civilization.

Louis spoke in a deep voice, "Where have we reached?"

The disorientation caused by the dark environment made it impossible for him to determine how far they had penetrated.

Only Heisen, who had dwelt here for years, frowned and said:

"At this distance, we've passed the D4 zone and are nearing the area explicitly forbidden by the emperor."

Louis asked, "What is this place?"

Heisen did not answer, a hint of wariness showing on his face.

Chris calmly said, "It is the underground tomb of the Dark Ravens, Iron Guards, and all the Emperor's Personal Guard, also our final resting place."

"We carry too many secrets of the empire; whether to safeguard these secrets or to avoid disturbance after death, we need to find an appropriate place for rest."

"The underground ruins are complex and winding, with many crossroads, akin to a giant maze."

"There are still numerous members of the Thief Guild wandering in the C3 zone, and passing through them is very challenging."

"This way, perhaps the souls of our fallen comrades can rest undisturbed."

"I just don't know why dungeon monsters have appeared here; I hope they don't disturb the peace of the predecessors."

Suddenly, they noticed a faint glimmer of light in the distance.

Louis focused his gaze.

"That must be the source of the turmoil."

Their eyes fixed on the front, finally seeing a large, mirror-like gate in the ruins of a half-collapsed temple.

The gate was over ten feet tall.

Around it hovered creatures like massive floating sharks, shimmering faintly and swaying around.

Below, they saw a scar-covered red earth dragon lizard crawling together with a group of monsters before the gate.

As if... paying homage to some great being.

Lumi lifted her head, looking at the patterns around the gate, and said calmly:

"Indeed, we were calculated all those years ago."

Louis whispered, "What do you mean?"

The head maid's eyes showed a hint of complication:

"Do you see those sky sharks and the divine eagle totems on the surrounding temples?"

"Few deities on the continent take the eagle as a totem, but the shrieking sky sharks can only be the followers of one deity."

President Heisen said coldly:

"The Supreme Eagle, the Messenger of Hope, the Weaver of Fate, the Scheming Counselor, the Master of Deceit... are all among His revered names."

"But most people prefer to call Him one of the Four Abyssal Gods... the Master of Intrigue, Jianqi."

"The former God of Hope and Wisdom has long been twisted by the evil abyss into the antithesis of all things."

"His followers include powerful chaos mages, eloquent and inciting ambitious figures… even monsters."

"Back then, in the Underground City, our squad nearly perished because the dungeon monsters already had a tendency to form a civilization."

"In other words... the King of Monsters, or rather, the Demon King, has already been born."

"But I didn't expect that the contemporary Demon King would be the chosen one of the Master of Intrigue."

In the next moment, Louis felt a sun rising within the darkness.

It was Lumi, who had quietly activated her full power.

Following her was a creepy shadow.

Heisen Bansha, the top infiltrator, had also made a move.

The shrieking sky sharks and their monsters were formidable foes even for standard exemplary-level professionals.

But at this moment, facing two former members of the Hero Squad, it was a one-sided slaughter.

The battle between these two began to make the surrounding underground space tremble and collapse.

A torrent of sand poured down from above.

After a long time, the temple that once enshrined the Supreme Eagle collapsed with a roar.

The group emerged covered in dust from the ruins.

Louis looked at Limuru:

"Have you finished collecting the materials?"

"Limuru Limuru~"

"Good that it's done; carry the portal well, we're taking it to the Royal Guard!"

At this time, a dusty Olivia appeared helpless:

"Sister Lumi is indeed acting strange today."

"And this ancient portal does resemble the model I saw in my past life, even the marks on it match."

The cygnet lightly touched a jagged opening on the door, as if someone had once used a saw to tear it open.

"Who took the ancient portal from the temple of the Supreme Eagle?"

"Ah, no, my head itches, I'm about to have a brainwave, better tell Sister Wang and let her worry about it!"

The important thing now is, why does Louis seem different?

Oh, no!

Why does she feel like he has become stronger than her?

In the last battle, using the ability of liquid metal reshaping with his slime, ordinary LV4 monsters shattered upon contact with him.

Even several LV5 to LV10 monsters were taken down by him alone.

He could even cooperate with others to create obstacles for exemplary-level monsters.

You call this LV4?

Ugh, so frustrating!

Thinking of this made her eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

This guy, it seems she trained him to become a big boss herself.

But this journey into the underground ruins has finally come to an end.

President Heisen said, "I'll take the lads to wrap things up, Lumi, come have a cup of tea with me when you can."

He then vanished into the shadows, leaving no trace.

Louis and his group borrowed a large transport wagon from the neighboring guild, carrying the now inactive portal towards the Royal Guard's base.

Perhaps due to exhaustion, the cygnet curled up early on the head maid's lap and fell asleep.

Only Louis felt he was overlooking something.

As they were about to enter the outer perimeter of the Imperial Palace, he suddenly stumbled while seated on the carriage.

Alice yelled, "Louis, you stepped on my hair."

"Sorry!"

Louis adjusted his body position.

Alice looked skeptically at him:

"Why does your voice tremble a bit, did you do something guilty?"

A moment later, a hint of interest flickered in her charming eyes: "You boy, were you just trying to step on my hair on purpose?"

Louis denied, "Not at all, I was just thinking back to the battle earlier, a bit scared in retrospect."

"Tsk tsk, sounds like a lie."

This young man is developing a bloodthirsty tendency in battle.

But Louis wasn't focused on Alice at this moment, his gaze was fixed in horror on the carriage board beneath his feet.

More precisely, on the ground beneath the carriage.

Below this land, hundreds of meters down, he sensed traces of his own residual magic power.

Left from his use of [Metal Shaping] on the metal scraps in the earth.

The palace underground, is this where the temple was?

That would mean it's very close to where the secretive guards of the Dark Ravens rest eternally?

In a split second, a terrifying thought engulfed him.

"Tino Explosion"

"Sewer Mutation"

"Sapphire Dragon Disaster"

"Dust Explosion Incident"

"Ruins Portal"

...

The chain of events that has happened over time connected in his mind, leading to a conclusion that seemed unfathomable to him.

"Are the sites of these accidents inching ever closer to the emperor's bedchamber?"

"Beatrice, did you already sense something, which is why you had me investigate down there?"

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