"You... you are..." Elson’s eyes widened, pointing at Lin Ke with trembling hands, but for a moment couldn’t speak, as if in disbelief.

"The Duke of Lava!"

A farmer nearby, however, shouted out Lin Ke’s name.

The Duke of Lava - Linke Azen!

"Master Lin Ke!" Elson now excitedly rushed over, his face flushed, standing before Lin Ke at a loss, as if seeing his own idol.

When Elson received the title "King of Inventions," Lin Ke was on the Faser Plane, so it wasn’t he who presented the award.

However, Lin Ke knew Elson was likely unaware, so he nodded and smiled at him, then looked at the butler, his expression icy.

The butler, hearing everyone’s voices now, realized whom he had provoked this time, and his face turned ashen immediately.

Seeing the butler’s expression, a flash of doubt passed through Lin Ke’s eyes.

If this was for him, like an assassin organization from the Extreme West Countries, they should be very familiar with his appearance.

Yet this butler only realized who he was after being told by others.

Elson also noticed something amiss with the butler, so he quickly said, "Master Lin Ke, this is my butler, sent by my family to help and protect me. He must have thought you came to attack me, so..."

"Tell me, who’s behind you." Lin Ke waved his hand, interrupting Elson, then addressed the butler: "Speak now, and you might be spared."

"Master Lin Ke..." Elson was anxious and wanted to say more, but Lin Ke cast his gaze over: "Do you know what he’s been doing behind your back?"

"This..." Elson was stunned for a moment.

"You might even be an accomplice, so for now, please remain silent." Lin Ke looked back at the butler: "Now... which organization are you from? If you don’t speak, hmm, I have a friend, a legendary Soul Manipulator."

Legendary Soul Manipulator!

The butler’s pupils shrank, he opened his mouth, but his body started trembling involuntarily.

"Oh? You know of the Soul Manipulator?" Lin Ke squinted: "Seems like it’s better to hand you over to Revin directly, to prevent you from deceiving..."

"No! Don’t! I’ll talk!" Upon hearing the name "Revin," the butler suddenly let out a scream of terror, as if he had experienced something before.

This made Lin Ke even more curious.

"I... I come from the Shadow..." The butler’s eyes dimmed, about to say something, but his face suddenly changed drastically, and he cried out: "Save me!"

A highly indistinct shadow appeared at the position outside his heart, like a small snake, diving directly into his body.

"Impertinence." Lin Ke reached forward with his right hand, and a pressure shield imbued with immense heat appeared on the butler’s chest.

Combined Skill—Thermodynamics Shield!

The shadow, resembling a small snake, was immediately obstructed, letting out a sharp scream.

Lin Ke promptly wrapped the small snake in the Thermodynamics Shield, summoned it, and the shield brought that shadowy snake over.

"The power of the Shadow." Lin Ke frowned.

The Shadow Organization, an assassin group from the Extreme West Countries, much like Forest Hut, was an enemy organization to him.

He had previously commissioned Despair Pond, also an assassin organization, and his faction Scarlet Wilderness to deal with that organization, yet someone still dared to play tricks right under his nose?

Seeing his crisis resolved, the butler breathed a sigh of relief and succinctly explained his background.

He was from the Shadow Organization, but he wasn’t sent by Elson’s family to protect him; instead, the Shadow Organization had taken control of that small family.

In fact, this small family, under the shadow’s control, unknowingly survived in the Gula Kingdom for years until Elson’s talents in invention emerged, at which point the Shadow began to use this family.

When the butler finished his speech, not only Lin Ke, but even Elson was shocked by the Shadow Organization’s foresight and planning!

They were a baron clan, and besides him, others didn’t really want to reside here.

But there turned out to be this giant Shadow Organization behind them?

It’s known that the Shadow Organization has a legendary assassin.

"Your family isn’t clean either." Lin Ke looked at Elson, telling him everything from his intent to ’job hunt’ to just now.

As Elson listened, his face grew paler as he took a few steps back, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"No... impossible... those were all my ideas..." Elson couldn’t believe it, feeling this was harder to accept than his family’s weakness and ignorance.

"Young Master, those were from the people we hired, even the entire Shadow Organization’s inspirations..." The butler sighed, seemingly sharing some emotional bond with Elson.

"Right and wrong will naturally be clarified by the Great Wilderness." Lin Ke said to Elson: "Here’s a piece of advice, ’Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles.’"

Lin Ke used the common language of Naseng, meaning that no amount of books is as valuable as experiencing and exploring the world firsthand.

"Without understanding people’s lives and needs, how will you know what to invent? Mark’s invention, the ’Mark Tree,’ is a great invention. Do you know why it’s great?"

After saying this, Lin Ke stepped onto a thin pressure shield, taking the butler into the sky, disappearing from view as they ascended.

He couldn’t fly yet, but he could step onto his own pressure shield and let it lift him.

"Invention... greatness..." Elson sat on the ground, vacant eyes staring into the distant fields in a daze.

As for the remaining few farmers, they had no idea what to do now.

They knew nothing of conspiracies or shadows.

They only knew that it seemed their actions weren’t approved by the Great Wilderness City; they broke the law!

And... this high-paying job was gone!

...

Great Wilderness Tower Top.

"Magnalos! From now on, lock down the people leaving Great Wilderness City, no one is to exit the city." Lin Ke sat on the Lava Throne at the top floor of Great Wilderness Tower, gently tapping the ground with his Duke’s Staff.

The dragon soul of Magma Dragon Magnalos immediately appeared before Lin Ke: "Master Lin Ke, are you referring to everyone?"

"Yes, if someone asks, just say that an opposing force of Great Wilderness City has entered. If something truly life-threatening occurs, they may come to me." Lin Ke’s expression was grave: "Compensate for most other matters accordingly... the lockdown won’t be long."

If handled well, there shouldn’t be much fanfare, possibly taking just an hour or two.

"Yes, sir." Magnalos’s dragon soul nodded, then dashed to the bottom of the tower, notifying a few entry points to the city.

Then, Revin arrived.