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

He was halfway through flipping through the book when his right eye twitched.

Without thinking much, he pressed down a piece of paper and muttered, "It's time to move."

The temple's perimeter has been prepared.

That "illusion deployment diagram" was drawn by him a few days ago. It has thirty positions that make the temple's perimeter look like it has guards, but in reality it's just a bunch of "shadows".

The real garrison soldiers had already changed shifts and gone back to sleep.

Tonight is a night for others to practice on.

The three assassins moved with lightning speed, circling around from the south to the west wall, and then silently climbed the wall, approaching the back door of the temple.

The first person drew his short blade, raised his hand, and slashed open the padlock on the back door, landing silently.

The second person took the snake bone rope, wrapped it around the door frame, and gently pulled it.

The door didn't open.

They glanced at each other, but didn't rush. They took out spare iron needles, inserted them into the crack in the door, and forcibly pried it open.

With a click, the door finally opened.

But as soon as he stepped inside, his body froze.

It wasn't poisoning or an attack; the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

The once quiet temple was suddenly shattered by a crack of light in the ground, the roof disappeared, and countless "Ron" emerged from all directions.

Each Ron stood ramrod straight, weapon in hand, motionless and silent, just staring intently at them.

"phantom."

The man tried to run away, but his foot slipped, and he was pulled down by a force.

The second person reacted extremely quickly, pulling out a poison mist bead to explode.

But before he could raise his hand, a bone blade emerged from behind him and pierced his chest from his lower back.

Ron stood behind him, his left hand on his shoulder, and with a gentle twist of his right, he threw the man out of the illusion.

The remaining one panicked. When he looked up, all he could see was Ron, and he couldn't tell the real one from the fake.

"Which one are you?"

Ron did not answer.

He simply raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture.

The next second, more than a dozen illusions rushed up at the same time, and the man was chopped into mincemeat on the spot.

Outside, Viser was already waiting by the wall. When he saw Ron come out, he immediately went to greet him.

"several?"

"Three."

"All dead?"

"One was thrown in to feed the insects, and the other two didn't even have time to react."

Viser nodded, then asked, "Guess who sent them?"

Ron glanced at the snake-bone blade.

"No need to guess, Bacchus."

"They must have been desperate over there to dare to use this tactic."

Viser was about to say something when Ron waved his hand.

"There's no rush."

"Go and have someone clean the temple first, then leave each of them a clean spot to bury them later."

"After you're done burying it, notify Claudia. It's time to go."

"Snake Bone Valley, we can't afford to delay any longer."

The night wind continued to blow.

The pool of blood on the ground in front of the temple had long since dried in the wind.

No one remembers who died that night, and no one saw how the knife was stabbed.

But from that day on, everyone on night duty in the City of Shadows wore an extra layer of armor and carried an extra short sword.

They knew that with their lord in the city, no one dared to cause trouble.

But if someone actually dares to come, then no one will be able to go back.

Snake Bone Valley isn't far from the City of Shadows, but the road there is more difficult than climbing a mountain.

On the first day of the trip, as soon as the team stepped onto the outer mountain road, the air smelled different.

A faint, sweet, fishy smell mixed with the smell of damp mud drifted into my nose on the wind. Taking a deep breath, it felt like there was a membrane in my throat, making me feel suffocated.

Ron rode on his modified bone snake mount, with a dozen assault soldiers leading the way.

Instead of rushing in with his main force, he led the way with his illusion troops—these soldiers were immune to poison and could venture into any area to scout ahead.

The name Snake Bone Valley is not given lightly. In the past, this place was a territory infested with venomous snakes. The valley is low-lying and never sees sunlight. The humidity in the air is ridiculously high. Even bone soldiers would have their joints turn black if they stayed here for too long.

"The gas is heavier than expected," Viser said, pinching his nose as he walked up, his voice muffled.

Ron nodded.

“If this place is left unattended, it will become a poisonous area sooner or later.”

"At that point, we won't be able to transport supplies back from the northern route."

Viser frowned: "Are you really planning to clear it out? This terrain isn't suitable for combat."

"I'm not detoxifying, I'm uprooting it."

“There is a group of remnants in Snake Bone Valley. Bakus is currently cooperating with them. If I don’t touch them, they will turn around and stab me in the back sooner or later.”

Viser didn't say anything more.

After saying this, Ron pulled out a hand-drawn map, an old map he had dug out from the Shadow City map library, which marked several key locations inside Snake Bone Valley.

The advance commando team sent back a message.

"Poisonous bone remains were found at the left fork in the road, suspected to be an ancient battlefield; there is a light deep in the canyon on the right, which may be a human settlement."

Ron immediately decided to leave fifty men on the left to clear obstacles, while the main force would advance on the right.

The valley became deeper and deeper, and the poisonous fog grew heavier.

The illusionary troops cleared the way, sprinkling dry powder wherever they went to neutralize the toxins on the ground.

At the end of the canyon, the group stopped.

Suddenly, a blue-green pattern rose from the ground ahead, like snake bones coiled together. In the very center was a well, and floating at the wellhead was an old man wearing tattered leather armor.

The old man didn't speak, but simply watched Ron and his group quietly, his hands resting on his knees, with a row of expressionless tribal warriors behind him.

Their weapons were bone spears with a faint blue glow at the tip, unlike ordinary poison, which was more like a hallucinogenic and corrosive substance.

"The remnants of the snake bone clan".

Claudia caught up from behind and whispered something.

“These people used to be mercenaries from the North, but later they joined Bacchus.”

"Later, Bacchus abandoned them, so they set up camp at the bottom of the valley on their own."

Ron nodded and dismounted.

He took two steps toward the old man and stopped.

"I'm here to discuss business."

The old man's voice was hoarse and dry, as if it had never been polished: "Are you Ron?"

"I heard you took over the Phantom City."

"Is it our turn now?"

"Whether it's your turn or not is up to you," Ron said calmly. "I'm not here to fight."

"I'll give you a choice."

The old man chuckled but didn't reply.

Chapter 161

He simply pointed to the side, making way for them.

"Since you're here, come in and have a seat."

The tribes of Snake Bone Valley are not the kind of shacks made of rubble that outsiders imagine.

On the contrary, they are very disciplined.

A passageway was formed by concentric bone pillars. Once inside, there was a complete drainage and ventilation system. Many areas were meticulously designed, and even the toxic fumes underfoot were guided into a collection container for storage.

Ron walked and observed.

This place wasn't built by wild natives; it was designed by someone.

They were led to a place resembling a council chamber, with several stone pillars in front and behind, snakeskin curtains hanging overhead, and chairs made of snake bones, with backrests carved from a single piece of vertebrae.

The old man sat down and got straight to the point: "I guess you want me to help you kill that giant snake at the bottom of the valley."

Ron nodded.

“Help me clear it out, and I can give you a place on the ground so that your people can move out and live in the area I control.”

"What are the conditions?" the old man asked.

"The condition is that you will belong to me from now on, not to Bacchus."

The old man remained silent for a while.

He pulled a small bone talisman from his sleeve and tossed it into Ron's hand.