Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 344 Breaking Through the Shallow Layer
Time never stops for anyone alone.

The times always move forward quietly while most people are busy with their lives.
"Boom!"

The sudden shattering of the wall elicited cheers.

As the harvest festival drew to a close, cheers erupted across the square.

"It's open, it's open. It's turned on."

Amidst screams, the Great Mirror Demon's focus shifted to a group of pioneering explorers.

They seemed to have finally traversed the dark underground ruins and arrived at a new world that looked somewhat familiar.

"Light! Break down this wall!"

To everyone's disbelief, the scene of the "broken wall" unfolded before their very eyes. The shattered wall meant that most of the previous estimates were wrong; the underground ruins were not simply a labyrinth, but...
"What is this?! How can there be another world?"

When the seemingly infinite labyrinth and underground ruins in everyone's consciousness were breached, what appeared was an endless "Underworld".

Or, to put it another way, a group of underground caves similar to dark, shadowy places.

It was a labyrinth in another sense; even though one could see more luminous fungi and the sun in the "sky," the countless rock walls were still divided into layers.

This scene felt familiar to Rean, who had been hastily pulled over; in many ways, he recalled the Underdark he had explored before.

Could it be that the underground ruins have been opened up?

Rean, an observer, shook his head. The snake had said a lot of half-truths and half-lies back then, which now seemed to be spoilers. The terrain below was probably very complex, with not only wastelands but also volcanoes and snow-capped mountains.

Rean vaguely sensed some limitations of the snake. Perhaps it was his wicked sense of humor, but most of his words were half-truths, and he even had to tell important information as a joke. If you didn't believe him, it seemed to have no effect, but if something really happened, it could become a guide.

"The volcanoes and snow-capped mountains are probably only half true. Volcanoes may exist, but snow-capped mountains are unlikely. But this half-true, half-false statement itself implies that there are multiple layers underneath."

This is probably just the first layer that has been breached, breaking through the shallow area full of architectural maze.

This time, however, the layers upon layers were filled with eerie light, as if we had entered a familiar dark region.

"Is this the standard of a continental superpower like the Sindak Empire?"

Rean looked at the golden-armored warriors on the live stream camera with some apprehension.

Leading the group was a swordsman in light armor, whom Rean had seen in the Hero's Legacy, but the seven warriors of great strength following behind him made him even more uneasy.

As the entire city entered into a state of harvest and joy, these outsiders, taking a short but fulfilling break, were not about to pause for these "victories of other countries."

The hero of the Sindak Empire, along with his guards, silently explored the underground ruins, and then today, for the first time, he "live-streamed" the event, completely shocking everyone present.

The uniform golden armor, the imperial emblem with its soaring eagle, and the duke's son, handsome as a prince straight out of a fairy tale, instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Bazak Simo".

This person wasn't even the most eye-catching among the heroes' legacies.

His appearance, strength, and even background were all quite ordinary, and he never stood out in the internal struggles of the Hero's Legacy.

But he seemed to be the first to arrive, and he immediately unleashed a huge attack.

Looking at the excited crowd around him, many of them were shouting the names of the Empire and the Hero. Rean guessed that there were quite a few shills among them, but their goal had been achieved. Soon, the entire city of Radiant City and even the entire kingdom would remember this small team and the only "Hero who showed up" who was not wearing a helmet.

"They actually succeeded."

Many insiders have their own exploration plans. According to Rean's estimate, breaking through the shallow layer is only a matter of time. The reason why he couldn't break through before was that he didn't pay enough attention to it, and that various aspects were holding him back.

Suddenly entering a shallower layer, with a different landscape and terrain, doesn't fundamentally affect anything. But for ordinary people, the impact is considerable. While everyone else is struggling against monsters in the dark passage with torches, some have already broken through to a new world.

"They're really good at scheming. But it's also because they're powerful enough."

It's clear that Bazac Simo will become a hero here, and their explorations and adventures will attract a lot of attention. Many ordinary people will see them as the hope for saving the city and even the kingdom, and the barriers of those "foreigners" will instantly disappear.

Many people admire strength, especially powerful countries and individuals who can save them. Once they realize that these individuals can truly save them, their initial resistance naturally disappears, and they may even find excuses and evidence to prove that they have always been one family.

"Really."

Looking at the square, where bards were leading the singing of their hymns, Rean could only shake his head helplessly.

Whether he's a shill or a paid promoter is no longer important. When everyone considers him a brave man and a hero, then he is.
Rean originally planned to assemble a team as soon as possible to seize this reputation, but obviously no one in this world is stupid. Other kingdoms and empires also have professionals who can manipulate public opinion and use hype.

"However, it remains to be seen whether they have the ability to handle this honor and the resulting attention."

Rean noticed that the "sky" here had begun to change color. He counted at least a dozen dragons swooping down, and the surrounding flocks of carnivorous birds of prey seemed to have their eyes on this area as well.

Once this long-closed area was opened, the original food chain naturally began to collapse. When "meat" was delivered to their doorstep, these starving beasts naturally came to hunt.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a large, black-haired insect's foot appeared and crushed the "lens".

And its next target after trampling was none other than those golden-armored knights.

Rean roughly estimated the size of the complete creature and felt a chill run down his spine. The appearance of such a mountain-sized "bug" in reality was an absolute nightmare.

"What a huge ghost spider! How is that possible?" Victoria, who was standing nearby, was quite knowledgeable about this type of creature.

Those translucent spider legs can only be found on this rare magical spider.

"How is it impossible?"

"Ordinary ghost spiders aren't that big. They need a lot of food. This is essentially a closed valley, constantly producing new food so that the strong get stronger the more they eat."

This is not a game, and Warcraft does not have levels. If those monsters that frantically eat and evolve can evolve without limit, no one can predict their upper limit.

Victoria suddenly realized that in such a closed environment, it wasn't easy to steal the spotlight first. All sorts of bizarre monsters and dangers had to be faced head-on.

"Heh, they might have deliberately let the little mirror demon get trampled to death. The next thing could very well be the Great Temple Escape."

Rean's guess was somewhat malicious, but the chances of it coming true were not low.

Even if you're leading your own team, it's impossible to fight a supermodel monster to the death in this environment. You might win against one, but another family might have already surrounded you.

"However, we must speed up." And this first team to break through the shallow zone also means that the full-scale competition that follows will naturally escalate.

Other competitors will not allow it to dominate and steal the spotlight. In this competition for reputation and attention, the leader may truly stay ahead all the way.

"Tsk, they look like they're in for trouble."

When Victoria made her judgment, the goddess, whose face was covered by a cloak, nodded in agreement.

"A ghost spider of this size... her children are probably the most terrifying. And if this swarm of spiders couldn't clear that area, the other monsters are probably just as outrageous."

The two local dark elves from the Underdark simultaneously concluded that this hurdle would likely be difficult for them to overcome.

"From another perspective, at least they provided us with intelligence to guide us in preparing for war using the methods used against the Underdark, which can help us avoid a lot of trouble."

(End of this chapter)