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

The exit of Ashenvale is narrow, with almost vertical rock walls on both sides, leaving only enough space for three or four people to stand side by side in the middle. In this terrain, charging head-on is tantamount to suicide.

Chapter 125

Bakus waved his hand, and the heavily armored warriors advanced in unison, shields raised, their steps steady and powerful. The magical runes along the edges of the shields gleamed with a dark light, indicating that they could withstand strong impacts.

Ron retreated to the lower part of the left rock wall, his fingers finding a groove. It was a spot he had memorized before entering the valley—the rock wall was loose, and the loose rocks and mud were held together by a few sharp stones.

"Attack here," Ron whispered to his bodyguard.

The two crossbows fired almost simultaneously, the arrows striking the grooves with a flash of sparks. With a muffled boom, the entire rock face collapsed as if its spine had been broken.

Countless pebbles rained down from above, striking the heavily armored warriors as they advanced. Even with their armor, the impact disrupted their formation, and several men collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ron pulled out a fog-blasting bottle and smashed it into the center of the valley entrance. The bottle exploded, and white fog instantly engulfed the entire exit.

He was familiar with the effects of this fog—it didn't affect the visibility of his own people, but it would interfere with ordinary vision and amplify sound echoes.

Through the fog, the guards fired a barrage of short crossbow bolts, aiming precisely at the gaps in the armor. Muffled groans rose and fell, accompanied by the crisp, piercing sound of armor plates colliding with the ground.

Bakus snorted coldly, and his scepter slammed into the ground. A dark red shockwave instantly spread out, dispersing half of the mist.

"Kill!" he hissed.

Before he could even regain his footing, Ron and his guards emerged from the narrow crevice on the right—a backup escape route he had casually explored when entering the valley.

Bacchus turned around and saw Ron's figure disappear into the depths of the fog.

The other end of the rift is a rocky slope northeast of Ash Valley, a high and chaotic terrain that is ideal for blocking pursuers.

Ron didn't rush to retreat. Instead, he turned around and placed three chain explosion talismans between several boulders, leaving a passage only wide enough for two or three people to pass side by side.

In less than ten minutes, the pursuers caught up.

As the first heavily armored warrior stepped into the rune's range, three explosive runes detonated in a chain reaction, sending sparks and debris swirling across the entire passage. Those at the front were blasted back, tumbling and rolling, while those behind were forced back several steps by the shockwave.

Ron didn't linger in the fight. He raised his hand to signal his guards to retreat and quickly disappeared down the rocky slope.

When Bakus arrived at the rocky slope, he only saw the charred entrance to the passage and the ashes of the remaining explosive runes on the ground.

His face was extremely gloomy, and he whispered, "Next time... you won't be able to escape."

Meanwhile, Ron had already circled back to the safe zone on the outskirts of Ashenvale, a barely perceptible hint of coldness playing on his lips.

"Please accept this as a first-meeting gift."

The morning mist in Ashenvale had not yet dissipated when Ron, accompanied by four bodyguards, hurried down the mountain path to the southeast.

They hadn't slept a wink all night, but no one showed any signs of fatigue. The brief clash in Ashenvale had given them enough information—Bacchus had not only set up a blockade in Ashenvale but had also personally overseen the battle, indicating that he intended to deliver the decisive blow this time.

“If he can come once, he can come a second time.” Ron said as he walked, flipping through the drawings in his hand. It was a sketch of the battle positions secretly drawn by his guards along the edge of the rocky slope, marking the nodes of the energy network, the deployment points of the ambush troops, and two backup escape routes.

When they returned to Emerald Town, it was just dawn. Several groups of adventurers were already waiting for their tokens outside the entrance to the Black Whisper Caves.

Ron didn't stop, but went straight into the control room and spread the drawing on the table.

“The core of Ashvalley’s blockade array is the interconnected three towers.” He tapped the map three times. “Once the signal towers are destroyed, the entire blockade will fall apart. But he learned his lesson this time, and he will definitely change it next time—he will probably switch to a five-tower interlocking array, or even add hidden towers.”

Claudia, holding her pen, added, "So our response is to set up our own hidden towers on the perimeter in advance? That way, we can counter-control the situation?"

Ron nodded: "Yes, if he dares to set up an array in the wild, we dare to intervene inside the array. If we encounter an outer encirclement again, I can directly lock them down in the opposite direction."

After finishing talking about the outside area, he switched back to the map of the Black Language Cave.

Bakus's personal appearance in Ashenvale means that he can no longer exert pressure on his guilds and will likely turn his attention back to Blackwhisper Cavern itself.

“Add a hidden protective array to the entrance, Sand Serpent Canyon, and the core boss room.” Ron marked the three locations on the map. “These arrays are not visible under normal circumstances; they only open when a specific rune is triggered. Even if the guild comes to inspect, they won’t be able to see them.”

Claudia looked up: "Could this specific seal also be targeted at his rune system?"

Ron smiled. "That's right."

For the next three days, everything seemed normal on the surface at Blackwhisper Caves. Adventurers came and went as usual, and the guild's recorder occasionally came to conduct routine checks, but found nothing amiss.

Deep underground, three new, hidden protective arrays have been deployed. They are like three closed knives, ready to seal off the entire area at any moment when triggered.

Meanwhile, Ron had Lilith deliver Ashenvale's intelligence to Amata—including details of Bakus's personal command, the structure of the blockade, and a list of spies in the outer area.

"This intelligence is enough for the guild to have him by the throat if needed," Ron said calmly.

Deep within the Carnival Maze, Bacchus also received a message from his scouts: Ron had returned to the city safely, and the Black Whisper Caves had not stopped operating for a single day.

He silently crushed a wine glass in the stone chamber and whispered, "This time, I'll try a different approach... Just because you can guard the inside doesn't mean you can guard all the roads."

Inside the stone chamber of the Carnival Maze, Bacchus spread a map on the table, marking several large adventurer gathering points around Emerald Town.

The man in black robes reported in a low voice: "Most of the challengers in the Black Language Cave come from these three gathering points. As long as we make our move in these places, no matter how safe the formation is, no one will come to challenge us."

Bacchus nodded: "Yes. Let our caravans 'invest' in these three places, buy taverns and supply depots, and control the price of tokens. Those who challenge the Black Whisper Caves will have to buy supplies from us first."

The man in black hesitated and asked, "Isn't this a bit too obvious?"

“I’m not afraid of it being obvious.” Bakus sneered. “I don’t need adventurers to avoid Blackwhisper Caves at all. I just want them to think that going there is too costly and not worth it.”

Three days later, news spread among adventurers on the outskirts of Emerald Town: the challenge supplies in Blackwhisper Caves had increased in price, and by several times. Even the most basic stamina potions had doubled in price, and some were even out of stock.

Many teams did the math and found that the challenge funds that could have lasted for three days were now gone in just one and a half days.

The tavern was filled with chatter:

"This is outrageous! The price is practically robbery."

"Going to Black Language Cave once is not as good as going to other dungeons to farm materials."

Ron quickly learned the situation from Amata.

Chapter 126

Claudia frowned: "This is going to cut off our customer base."

Ron sat on the high platform, tapping the control panel with his fingertips: "Cutting off customers is easy, but cutting off people's hearts is difficult."

He looked up: "Prepare for an open day event—three days. All adventurers entering the Black Whisper Caves will be exempt from token fees and have unlimited attempts. Supplies? I'll provide them myself."

Claudia was taken aback: "Free? You're planning to lose money?"

“Compensate?” Ron sneered. “For the next three days, I’ll make sure everyone remembers that the door to the Black Language Cave is open, and Bakus’s hand can’t get in.”

News of the open day quickly spread throughout Emerald Town.

On the first morning, long queues had already formed at the entrance to the Black Language Caves, stretching from the street corner all the way to the town center. Some people even pitched tents outside the entrance overnight, just to be among the first to queue.

Ron personally greeted them at the entrance, next to a makeshift supply stall run by Lilith, where potions, rations, and simple scrolls were all free. The adventurers patted Ron on the shoulder and laughed as they received their supplies.

“This is what a lord should be like.”

"Just for this grandeur, I'll come back again."

In just three days, the daily number of challenges at Black Language Cave doubled, attracting even low-level adventurers who usually only frequented the outskirts to come and try their luck.

After the guild's recorder compiled the statistics, it was found that the popularity index of Black Whisper Caves had increased rather than decreased, and it had even drawn away visitors from several nearby lower towns.

Inside the stone chamber of the Carnival Maze, Bacchus listened to his subordinates' report, his face so dark it could drip water.

"He offered three days of free service, which snatched back all the customers we had worked so hard to build, and he also managed to build a reputation for himself."

The man in black robes asked in a low voice, "Should we raise the price again?"

“No need.” Bacchus shook his head, his voice as cold as ice. “This trick will last him a while, but I have another way—to make sure he can’t clean up the mess himself.”

In the stone chamber of the Carnival Maze, Bacchus sat at the head of the long table, slowly turning a short, black hand.

The man in black robes reported in a low voice: "He managed to circumvent the supply price increase by offering free events, and the Black Language Cave is actually even more popular now."

Bacchus scoffed: "High popularity is just right. More people means it's easier to make a move."

He placed the short needle on the table; its tip gleamed with a pale purple light.

"Find a few daring challenge teams and mix these things into their equipment and potions."

The man in black robes frowned: "This is... 'phantom poison'?"

“Yes.” Bakus’s voice was very low. “Being poisoned won’t kill you immediately, but it will make you lose your sense of direction and judgment, and you’ll wander around and fight randomly. In that case, they’ll die in the Black Language Caves, and the word will be that it’s too dangerous and unsafe there.”

Two days later, several supply stations on the outskirts of Emerald Town received a batch of free potions and cheap scrolls through "anonymous donations," which the adventurers gladly accepted. Unbeknownst to them, these supplies had been replaced with versions containing hallucinogenic poison.

Of these teams, three entered the Black Language Cave early the next morning.

Ron was monitoring the entrance on the console.

At first, nothing seemed amiss, but by noon, the first team suddenly lost their footing in the second level of the canyon—the front row knocked down the shield warrior, the mage threw fireballs at his teammates three times in a row, and the priest charged at the monster while healing.

In just five minutes, the entire team was wiped out.

Claudia's face darkened: "It looks like a poisoning reaction."

Ron pulled up their energy records from when they entered and, sure enough, saw an unusual purple interference line in the bloodline fluctuations. That was a characteristic of foreign toxins.

“Investigate their supply sources,” Ron whispered.

Less than half an hour later, the intelligence came back—these teams were getting their supplies from three supply stations outside the town, which were "free" potions.

“Bacchus is trying to make a fuss.” Ron closed the notebook, his lips curling into a cold smile.

If the deaths of these teams are interpreted by guilds and adventurer communities as a sign that "Black Language Cave is unsafe," the buzz he has painstakingly built up will be abruptly cut short.

He immediately ordered: "Close today's entrance channels, escort all the teams that have already entered out, and check their bloodline fluctuations one by one."

Soon, two more teams were found to have been poisoned—fortunately, they were discovered on the first floor and were urgently evacuated, preventing a larger incident from occurring.

Ron instructed Lilith to lead men directly to the three supply depots, search for the remaining "free" potions, and deliver them to Amata.

Amata's expression changed immediately after examining the potions: "This batch of potions bears sophisticated energy tampering marks; it's the craftsmanship from the Carnival Labyrinth."

That evening, guild notices were posted all over the street corners:

"Warning: Recently, some illegal forces have been distributing poisoned supplies to adventurers. Do not accept medicines from unknown sources."

Bacchus's original plan to create the "Black Language Cave Incident" was abruptly cut short at the beginning.

Ron stood on the high platform of the Black Language Cave, gazing at the gradually calming entrance plaza, already having a plan for his next move—

This time, we not only need to defend against it, but also to strike back at the source of the poison.

At night, a row of energy fluctuation analysis charts floated on the light screen of the Black Language Cave control console.