You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

The investigation team's recorder quickly jotted down the data, and the archmages exchanged a glance—the coordination was extremely precise, but every step was within the bounds of the law, with no "super-level monsters" or illegal traps.

They had just passed the canyon and were greeted by a seemingly peaceful plain. The team breathed a sigh of relief and quickened their pace. But after running less than ten meters, the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, revealing a pit covered with barbs.

The passage behind them closed in an instant, forcing them down. At the bottom of the pit, more than a dozen stone-winged beasts had been waiting for a long time, their flapping sounds deafening.

In less than three minutes, the entire test team was wiped out.

The spectator area was completely silent. Bacchus, his pipe clenched between his teeth, looked grim—this wasn't just breaking the rules, this was beating someone to death within the rules.

The mage in the investigation team closed his notebook and whispered to Amata, "The layout was at its limit, but it didn't cross the line."

Amata gave Ron a meaningful look: "Looks like this is none of our business."

Ron just smiled faintly, turned around and went back to the console, tapping the runestone twice with his fingers—today's battle not only defended the Black Whisper Cave, but also made Bakus's efforts go to waste.

Moreover, the whispers in the spectator area have taken on a different meaning—

"That kind of difficulty is what makes it interesting."

"Much more exciting than other instances."

"Compliant yet abnormal, that's the meaning of the challenge."

Bacchus intended to use someone else to do his dirty work, but ended up giving Ron free publicity.

Deep within the carnival maze, the brazier in the stone chamber crackled, and smoke carrying the smell of burnt wood rose upwards.

Bacchus leaned back in his chair, a stack of half-smoked cigarettes on the table in front of him.

The man in black robes said in a low voice, "The guild's investigation team has returned, and their report is 'no violations.' This matter has been completely suppressed."

Bakus took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke swirl in his mouth before exhaling. His voice was as deep as stone: "If you can't win in his territory, then drag the guy out."

"Drag him out?" The man in black robes was taken aback.

“In the Black Language Cave, he is king. But outside? The monsters outside don’t understand his commands, and the traps can’t be changed just because he says so.” Bakus’s lips twitched. “Let’s give him some trouble outside and see if he can still be so calm.”

Three days later, caravans were coming and going at the east gate of Emerald Town. The investigation team's report had boosted the popularity of the Black Whisper Caves, and even more adventure teams were coming to challenge it in the past few days.

Meanwhile, a group of fully armed strangers silently infiltrated the caravan. Some mingled with the guards, some pretended to be ordinary adventurers, and a few simply drank on a street corner, pretending to wait for their employers.

Their goal was not to enter the Black Language Caverns, but to find the supply lines outside the Black Language Caverns.

At noon, shouts of battle suddenly erupted from the supply depot outside the Black Language Cave. Several porters unloading goods were knocked over by a sudden dark figure, and several bags of magic stones rolled all over the ground.

The short, stocky man leading the group overturned a barrel of incendiary agent into the warehouse entrance. Flames instantly shot up the wooden wall, creating a loud "boom."

The outer guards were about to rush forward to put out the fire when they were stopped by cavalry charging from the other end of the street. Their stance was so precise that it was as if they had already scouted the location beforehand.

The chaos spread quickly, turning the entire supply area into complete disarray.

On the high platform of the Black Language Cave, Ron saw this scene through the surrounding observation water curtain and tapped his fingers lightly on the control panel: "Finally, the outer field is being activated."

Claudia said anxiously, "If the supplies are destroyed, the Challenger Team's supplies will be severely hampered in the next few days."

Ron didn't rush down: "We can lose a batch of supplies, but we can't let people die in vain. Notify Lilith and have her activate the backup array on the outer perimeter."

That was an outer defense plan he had prepared long ago—a small defensive array was buried in several inconspicuous corners of the warehouse. Once activated, it could form a transparent barrier within a ten-meter radius, temporarily blocking external damage.

Lilith quickly arrived at the supply area and activated the first magic circle. A transparent light barrier rose up amidst the firelight, separating the burning oil drums from the warehouse.

The short, stocky man leading the group paused for a moment, then grinned maliciously: "There's such a thing?" He waved for his men to scatter and probe the gaps in the barrier from different directions.

Before they could find an opening, several groups of people rushed out from both ends of the alleyway—the guild guards sent by Amata.

Close combat ensued, the sounds of swords clashing and incantations mingling together. Several infiltrators were quickly suppressed, but some still managed to break through to the outer defensive nodes.

Ron didn't leave the observation platform; he was waiting.

He waited for these people to retreat to his pre-set second line of defense.

As the last saboteur rushed into the seemingly empty alley, the runes on the ground suddenly lit up, and a ring-shaped barrier rose up, trapping them inside. Then, blue-white arcs of electricity shot from the edge of the barrier, crackling upwards along each person's weapons and armor.

Within seconds, everyone collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

Ron slowly withdrew his hand: "This is just the beginning."

Inside the Carnival Maze, Bakus received a report from his men—the operation had failed to disrupt the Black Whisper Caves' supplies, and instead resulted in the loss of half of their manpower.

He slammed his glass to the ground and muttered a curse under his breath: "Ron... do you really think this is all I've got?"

Inside the stone chamber of the Carnival Maze, a brazier was burning brightly, and the hot air smelled slightly burnt.

Bacchus leaned back in his chair, twirling a black metal ring in his hand, its face engraved with fine runes.

The man in black robes reported in a low voice: "We failed to sabotage the supply lines at the outer perimeter, but instead lost half of our manpower."

Bacchus paused, holding the ring in his hand. "Then let's change our target—lure them out directly."

The man in black robes looked up: "You mean... Ron?"

“Yes.” Bacchus stood up and walked to the map, drawing a circle in the mountains north of Emerald Town with his finger. “This is ‘Ashvalanche.’ It’s been abandoned for many years, but there’s a natural rune mine inside the mountains that was recently discovered.”

Chapter 124

A slight smile appeared on his lips: "The news has been spread that a batch of rare blue phosphorus and two complete energy cores are buried in the mine. Whoever gets them can upgrade the dungeon's energy level in a short time."

The man in black frowned: "Isn't this news too fake?"

“Fake? Ha—” Bacchus shook his head. “Not only is it real, but I also had a few pieces of true blue phosphorus placed near the entrance beforehand. As long as Ron goes there in person, even if he doesn’t take anything, it will make outsiders think that he’s tempted.”

The man in black robes suddenly realized: "You want to use this opportunity to track his movements outside?"

“Yes. Blackwhisper Caves is his throne. Once he leaves here, he’s just an ordinary lord. When that happens, as long as we force him into the 'Grey Valley' encirclement that I’ve set up, he won’t be able to escape.”

Two days later, news of Blue Phosphorite spread like wildfire throughout Emerald Town.

In taverns and markets, people everywhere were talking about the coordinates of the mine, the uses of blue phosphorus, and rumors about the energy core.

Some people have even formed groups to scout out the route.

On the observation platform in the Black Language Cave, Claudia handed Ron the intelligence she had gathered outside: "Quite a few adventurer groups are heading north. Do you think someone might be trying to trap you?"

Ron flipped through the intelligence report, his expression calm: "It's nine-tenths of a setup by Bakus. Blue phosphorus might really exist, but it's definitely not something someone could just pick up randomly."

"Then shall we not go?" Claudia asked.

Ron shook his head: "No. Let's go."

Claudia was stunned: "Go?"

Ron closed the intelligence report: "If he wants me to leave the city, he'll have to bring me a 'gift' first. Don't forget, Ashenvale isn't his territory; it's the border between the guild and the free lords' district—in that place, as long as I gain a foothold, he might not be able to do anything to me."

That night, Ron gathered a few of his most trusted bodyguards and selected equipment in a secret room below the control panel.

Light armor, short crossbows, portable magic arrays, three sets of disposable mist bottles... every item is prepared for rapid combat in the field.

“If we walk fast, we can get to Ashenvale in half a day.” Ron slung his crossbow sack over his shoulder and said in a low voice, “He thinks I’m following his line, but actually—I’m going to see what his chief looks like.”

At the other end of the Carnival Maze, Bakus received a secret report from his scout: "The target left Blackwhisper Caves tonight with a small number of guards and headed towards Ashenvale."

Bacchus raised his hand to suppress his laughter: "Very good... let them in."

The outer perimeter of Ash Valley had long been covered with invisible energy barriers and sealing arrays, just waiting for the prey to step inside before closing in.

Before dawn, in Grey Valley, the mist hangs like a damp curtain over the mountain pass, and when the wind blows, the dew feels cool on your face.

Ron, accompanied by four bodyguards, trudged into the valley along the slippery mountain path, his boots making a soft crunching sound as they stepped on the gravel. The terrain here resembled a fractured canyon, with steep mountain walls on both sides and a narrow valley path in the middle.

“The smell of blue phosphorus is real.” The guard in front took a breath and pointed to the blue light spots on the right side of the mountain wall. “The luster is genuine.”

Ron walked over and touched it, his fingers picking up some powder. The blue phosphorite powder was fine and cool to the touch; it was genuine mineral. But he knew in his heart that such a good find would never be found at the entrance unless someone deliberately placed it there.

He rubbed the powder in his palm and whispered, "Keep going in, but watch your step."

The fog in the Grey Valley grew thicker the deeper you went, reducing visibility to no more than ten meters. The occasional sound of small pebbles sliding down the mountainside was particularly clear in the fog.

Ron walked in the middle of the group, his steps steady. He keenly noticed a detail—the blue phosphorus stones along the way were distributed too evenly, and they were all fragments, as if they had been deliberately chipped out of the vein and placed perfectly.

“This isn’t how a mine looks naturally.” He was certain in his mind that Bacchus’s bait was quite obvious.

The guards' expressions also began to tense up.

Less than half an hour later, a short bird call came from ahead.

Ron raised his hand, and everyone immediately stopped. It wasn't the sound of an ordinary bird, but a coded communication signal commonly used by Bakus's spies.

"Avoid the valley floor and head towards the left slope," Ron ordered in a low voice.

The guards immediately turned around and began climbing up a slope towards the mountainside. After taking only a dozen steps, the mist at the bottom of the valley was suddenly torn apart, and a row of faintly glowing energy chains burst forth from the mist, closing in like a giant net, just covering the spot where they had just been.

If they were still on the same path, they would now be trapped in the energy network.

The rocky cliffs on the mountainside were rugged, but they offered a way to avoid the blockade set up in front. As Ron climbed, he reconstructed Bakus's encirclement in his mind.

The terrain of Ashvalley is suitable for a "funnel-shaped" trap – setting up low-threat guide points on the periphery to lure people into the center, and then sealing off the entrance with high-threat points. However, this layout has a weakness – if the prey doesn't take the bait, the encirclement must be tightened in advance, otherwise the ambush on the periphery will be cut off.

Ron pulled out a small explosive arrow and handed it to the guard walking ahead: "Find the signal tower on the ridge and blow it up first."

The guard nodded and disappeared into the fog.

Shortly after, a muffled thud came from the direction of the ridge, and a flash of fire pierced through the mist. That was the sign that the signal tower had been destroyed.

Ron knew what was going on—without the signal tower, the command of the encirclement would be thrown into chaos. He pulled three smoke canisters from his pocket and tossed them into the valley, instantly filling the air with white smoke and making the existing fog even thicker.

Inside the Carnival Maze, Bakus was observing the situation in Ashvalley through magic crystal cards when he suddenly noticed the fog at the bottom of the valley thickening and the lights from the outer signal towers disappearing. He frowned: "They've discovered us?"

The man in black hesitated and said, "It might be a coincidence..."

Bacchus interrupted coldly: "Accidental my ass, close the net, don't leave any loopholes."

At the other exit of Ashenvale, Ron had already led his guards down the mountain at a brisk pace.

He didn't intend to confront Bakus head-on, but instead directly cut off Bakus's closing in, causing most of his ambush troops to miss their target in the fog.

"You've really lost out in this round," Ron thought to himself, without stopping for a moment.

At the eastern exit of Ashenvale, a black magic array suddenly lit up. The air seemed to be compressed, and accompanied by a low hum, a dozen heavily armored warriors stepped out from the array, their armor plates scraping together in perfect unison, forming an iron wall that blocked their path.

Bacchus was the leader.

He wore a dark red cloak, with metal beast heads inlaid on both sides of his shoulder armor, and held a scepter wrapped with dark magic patterns in his hand.

"You think you can leave so easily?" His voice carried a hint of coldness, echoing at the valley entrance.

Ron didn't stop, but simply raised his hand to signal the guards to disperse, and slowly took the crossbow into his hand.