I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 496, page 2.1-23: The Crown: The Treasure of a Lost Dynasty
In the distance stretched an endless expanse of Gobi Desert, barren and devoid of any greenery, its desolation chilling.

In the Gobi Desert, there is a city that can almost be described as dilapidated. All the buildings have collapsed, and from a distance, there is no trace of life.

"The weather is nice today." Mu Yegui looked up at the bright sun, the gold forehead ornament with a gemstone between her brows moved slightly, and the wisps of hair on her face fluttered in the breeze.

Her exquisite and beautiful face was calm and without a trace of superfluous expression, like a doll from another race. She was so beautiful that she seemed unreal. Her clear, silver eyes were indifferent and deep, like an ancient pool of water that could not be disturbed by the slightest ripple, and could not reflect the image of anyone.

Her long, misty gray hair was tied into a loose three-strand braid that hung down her back, adorned with gold jewelry that shimmered in the sunlight.

Her upper body was covered only by black fabric, revealing her flat stomach without an ounce of fat. The clothes were adorned with teardrop-shaped gold ornaments that made a crisp sound as she moved.

Her fair and slender arms were adorned with jeweled armlets, each decorated with mysterious totems painted in gold powder all the way down to her back, giving her an alluring and strange appearance. Her lower body was covered by a pair of wide, white lantern trousers, the most common type of trousers of that era.

The round, fair feet were still bare on the ground, but they were not stained with any dirt.

No matter how you look at it, it looks like a men's outfit, rather than a dress that people usually wear.

Because Mu Yegui has no gender, her appearance does not show any male or female tendencies; she can only be described as an androgynous beauty.

You can't tell anything just by looking at her face. Whether she's wearing men's or women's clothing, it doesn't look out of place at all. Plus, she doesn't have any breasts, so even if she's wearing men's clothing, she wouldn't be mistaken for a girl. You'd just think she's too beautiful.

"That's really strange. I almost didn't recognize her when she suddenly wore men's clothes." Bertias raised an eyebrow in surprise. After all, this person was genderless. When she wore a dress, you could at least barely say that she was a girl at heart, but once she put on men's clothes, you had no idea how to evaluate her.

"Because the difference between men's and women's clothing here isn't actually that big, does it make a difference what you wear?" Mu Yegui turned to look at Bertias and said calmly.

Bertias chuckled. Indeed, at least he had never treated her as a girl. Knowing that Mu Yegui was genderless, he didn't care about gender restrictions in front of her. Knowing that she was genderless, he entered Mu Yegui's room without a care, since there was nothing he couldn't see anyway.

In his view, Mu Yegui was not much different from him.

"Did I give you this free trip just so you could gossip?" The king snorted and slowly walked up, his light golden hair swaying gently in the breeze.

Mu Yegui paused slightly, turned to look at Wang, and said calmly, "If you sent us out to investigate, then there's no point in sending us if you, Se Long, came along yourself. Are you an idiot?"

"Hmph, fools, I'm just here to admire my territory and, incidentally, to check if you're working diligently," the king sneered.

Bertias: "..." Have they gotten so tired of arguing that they can't even be bothered to refute each other anymore?

Mu Yegui glanced at the two of them, then jumped off the cliff and ran straight towards the town in the distance.

The scene before them was one of ruined buildings, nothing but rubble. The thick stench of blood permeated the air of the town; blood was everywhere, the dark red already congealed for some time, but no bodies were visible. Mu Yegui bent down to pick up a piece of rubble, his cold silver eyes scanning the surroundings as he slowly said, "There are no signs of life."

Bertias ran over quickly, took a deep breath to calm himself, frowned slightly, and asked, "Where are the bodies? This city may be small, but there should still be dozens of people. Even if they were moving the bodies, they couldn't have moved them all at once."

"Hmm? Is it the same situation here?" Wang slowly walked over, looking at the surrounding ruins, and asked with an ambiguous expression.

Bertias suddenly remembered the report he had heard a few days ago and realized, "The disappearance of Hera City reported by Noys a few days ago probably didn't mean the people disappeared literally, but rather that all the residents of the city died and their bodies disappeared."

If that's the case, then what kind of being caused this? And what does this have to do with the surveillance they're under in the capital?
Mu Yegui casually threw the stone in his hand toward the large ruins in the distance. There was a loud bang, and even though the ruins were shattered again, a grayish-white bone was faintly revealed.

Bertias ran over, bent down slightly, his long blue-gray hair cascading down his shoulders, and reached out his hand, hidden under his white cloak, to move the large rock that was pressing the bone down and pick it up.

He turned to the two of them and said, "This very thin bone is a human arm bone and the bone age is about 7 years old." However, based on the degree of blood coagulation, even if the person had died no more than 24 hours ago, the body could not have decomposed to expose the bones.

"Is that really the case?" the king said coldly. "There have always been a few indestructible insects wandering around the border and causing trouble. No matter how many people I send, they all escape easily. In their place, a city is destroyed. After a while, I became too lazy to deal with them. At least the residents of their city can still live well."

"But you started acting up again a few days ago for some reason, right?" Bertias tightened his grip on the arm bone slightly.

"Should we wait until tonight to see? There might be some unexpected situations because of the reappearance of living creatures here." Mu Yegui casually tossed the three-strand braid hanging from her shoulder behind her back, and the gold ornaments on her body made a crisp sound as she walked.

"This is the only way," Bertias said softly, placing it into the backpack at his waist.

"Bel, I want to eat meat, go and catch some," Wang Wei glanced at Beltias and ordered.

"I understand..." Bertias sighed weakly.

The king narrowed his golden vertical pupils and said unhappily, "Is my order so hard to accept?"

“Because you’re really a hassle, can you hurry back? Don’t shirk your duties. Noyce is still waiting for you.” Mu Yegui pointed in a certain direction and said, “Go gather some branches. Since we’re going to eat meat, prepare some flammable materials.”

"You want me to prepare?" the king said coldly.

"Because I don't eat it." Mu Yegui glanced at Wang and said indifferently.

Wang: "..." I miscalculated.

(End of this chapter)