Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

People, no matter when, are always quite valuable.

For small villages, people are the best labor force, an essential resource for the survival of a village.

For towns, people are also the most basic resource, and without them, it’s simply impossible to have a prosperous town.

For alchemists and necromancers, people are even more wonderful raw materials. When faced with animal rights activists accusing them of using animal skins to make items, the presence of humans allows them to proudly declare: We use human skin!

And then cheerfully make the animal rights activists who offend them part of a book cover.

But sometimes, having too many people is also a problem.

Just like the issue Lanle is facing now.

"Feels like this bunch is just a pure group of social instability factors..."

Lanle, who seldom sits properly behind a desk, sighed. The officials around him paced anxiously in the mansion, some holding various documents, some shouting at communication devices, some collapsing in despair over the chaos of affairs.

If it wasn’t said that this is the Prince’s residence, just looking at this scene, someone might mistakenly think it’s an office full of overworked employees.

The whole upper echelon of Black Stone City was set into motion, all because of what happened yesterday—a large influx of adventurers from the Yanor Kingdom arrived in the Warrior Country!

Lanle and Count Gehard were extremely distressed by this unexpected arrival.

As soon as the adventurers arrived yesterday, they used their "colorful" and bizarre traits to give the folks of Black Stone City, "country bumpkins" as they might seem, a deep Sain-style adventurer shock.

It’s no exaggeration to say that if these adventurers were to unite intentionally, just one night would be enough to flatten Black Stone City, and the city’s defensive forces wouldn’t be able to react in time.

The situation last night was indeed quite dangerous, not only did adventurers appear, but even various exotic creatures whose names are unknown emerged, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

The guards of Black Stone City were all on edge, like gunpowder barrels ready to explode, given that the adventurers on the other side came from a country they were at war with not long ago, it’s hard to say whether there might be terrorists lying in wait to launch an attack.

The adventurers had all sorts of reactions; some were rather unruly, directly charging into the defensive perimeter set by the guards, but most kept their peace, merely casting curious looks at the scenery of Black Stone City, wondering whether the foreign moon was rounder or if the air was sweeter.

To the guards, who were already nervous, this behavior of looking around curiously also seemed quite dangerous.

If not handled carefully, it could easily turn into a riot.

Fortunately, later on, the situation was brought under control.

At that time, Lanle decided to adopt a lenient stance towards the adventurers. Even though there might be spies or ill-intentioned people among them, it was crucial not to provoke the already chaotic situation with high-pressure tactics. However, leniency didn’t imply indulgence. With the establishment of inns under Tepi and the Golden Lion Commerce near the area, the adventurers’ temporary stay was cordoned off to a specific zone, with strict instructions not to leave unless there were special circumstances.

As for how long this sort of soft detention would last, at the very least, it would be until the guards verified the identities of the adventurers one by one and ensured they posed no threat. All nations were relatively lenient towards adventurers, who were both battle-ready and legally free spirits.

It’s just that the department responsible for issuing active documents in Black Stone City had to work overtime due to the incessant arrival of adventurers.

However, even with such a soft detention policy, considered a significant concession by the city’s authorities, there were adventurers dissatisfied, and the situation headed towards conflict.

Luckily, at that moment, someone stood up, and Lanle still remembers their names.

The ones who appeased the adventurers were also adventurers.

"That adventurer, named Leon Bask, stepped forward to soothe the adventurers. At first, I thought he might fail, but surprisingly, he succeeded," Lanle wrote on the envelope on his desk. "He seems to have a great deal of influence among the adventurers, and most of them are willing to listen to him."

"However, why does his surname feel somewhat familiar, as if I’ve heard it somewhere before."

"What surprised me is that the Skyrim Strategy Group seems to have an influence not inferior to Leon during Luluwo’s pacification, even those few adventurers who didn’t listen to Leon calmed down. I seem to have underestimated them; they are indeed worth befriending."

"There’s a magician named Roger... should I address him as a magician or a beast tamer? Among those beast tamers commanding never-before-seen creatures, he holds significant prestige. Thanks to his willingness to help, the unusual creatures quieted down."

"Moreover, there’s a report of professors from the Magic Association and Gold Level adventurers among the crowd, really worth noting."

"Clearly, they are all adventurers, yet why do our country’s adventurers and those from the Yanor Kingdom feel like completely different beings? Teacher, do you know the reason?"

"And what surprised me the most was my brother, the country’s third prince, Temude Sword of Burning Fire; he and the delegation sent by grandfather were also among that group."

"Even though my relationship with Temude isn’t particularly good, thanks to his presence, the guards were pacified, preventing a conflict from erupting... my influence within the army is indeed not as strong as his."

"Considering that he returned to Black Stone City specifically to prevent a conflict, I will reluctantly avoid quarreling with him in these few days."

"For now, I’ve said enough, teacher, please take care of your health. I will write again if any anomalies occur in the Sain Dungeon." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Putting away the letter for Younka, Lanle pondered further measures to deal with these foreign adventurers.

Sending them all back abruptly is absolutely impossible, yet excessive leniency is also not an option; a middle-ground solution must be found...

Many obstacles and troubles would undoubtedly arise, but risks always bring opportunities.

He planned to make good use of these adventurers who appeared out of nowhere, and thereby achieve some accomplishments to showcase his abilities to his father.

Let Banto understand that he, Lanle, is the one most suited to be the next king! Definitely superior to Temude!

Think, Lanle, with your intelligent mind, think exactly what to do!

"Your Highness, Prince Temude is waiting outside for you."

Just then, a guard’s voice suddenly interrupted his already rather insignificant train of thought.

"So soon, he’s come to see me?"

Lanle stood up, not having any solid ideas anyway, he decided to channel his emotions.

After tidying his luxurious attire, he stood tall with his chest out, eyes lowered, walking towards the study door with the bearing of someone in power.

While he promised not to quarrel with his "dear brother" these days, he couldn’t afford to lose in terms of presence.

Brother Temude had great influence within the military, along with formidable physical prowess, and his muscular frame was like a volcano ready to erupt. In his presence, Lanle always felt immense pressure, thus consciously training his ability to handle stress.

To counter Temude’s supporters, Lanle chose to join the supporters of the Warrior Reform himself, using this to gain sufficient power to oppose Temude.

Meeting with Temude in the currently unstable Black Stone City was nerve-wracking for Lanle, though he wouldn’t speak it out loud.

He recalled that Temude was tall, handsome, and robust—a rugged and attractive man whose mere presence could attract a swarm of girls.

"My dear brother, you..."

Lanle prepared his words as the guard opened the door.

A round, white head, with eyes stark black and quite large, burst into Lanle’s sight.

"...."

Lanle’s smile froze on his face.

The lines he had prepared refused to come out, and even the night breeze fell silent.

"What the heck!"

He suddenly jumped a step back, frightened by the alien-like appearance of the Platinum Son, his expression contorted.

Almost had a cardiac arrest!

"Hahaha, this is an amusing gift from Princess Selene, isn’t it nice?"

A voice, quite familiar to Lanle, emanated from beneath the headgear of the Platinum Son, causing his brain to halt for a second because it just shouldn’t match with this headgear.

"Te, Temude?"

Pointing at the peculiar creature across from him, his tone was filled with disbelief, his expression more twisted than swallowing a mouthful of NS cartridges.

"Yes, it’s me, dear brother."

"Platinum Son" laughed heartily and said:

"I crawled back from hell."