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

Claudia quickly waved her hand.

Lilith, however, looked at Ron without showing any emotion, firmly handing over the decision-making power to him.

She absolutely could not make the decision to "voluntarily" pay a high fee on her own; she could only wait for Ron, the "nominal" steward, to speak up.

How could Ron not understand the intricacies of human relationships?

He pondered:

“Your Highness, I believe you should still be compensated. Given your status, your compensation should be several times higher than others, otherwise it would sound terrible if word got out that you were working for the dungeon for free.”

Claudia thought for a moment and nodded reluctantly:

"Okay... then it's your decision."

Ron quickly calculated:

Lilith approved a budget of 30,000 gold coins for building the dungeon, and because of hiring these cheap mutated monsters, there was still a large sum left over!

"Miss Lilith, the budget for this project was 3 gold coins, which wasn't all spent. Would it be alright to give the rest to Princess Claudia as payment?"

He asked tentatively, his heart pounding slightly, afraid that Lilith might think he was being too forward.

To Lilith's surprise, she almost jumped for joy when she heard this!

"Yes! Absolutely! Your Highness should take more!"

Her little scheme was already racing:

The money spent is the money earned back! The more the better! She didn't forget to turn around and give her father, Duke Cedric, who had a pained expression on his face, a wink.

Cedric's heart bled as he watched the thousands, or even tens of thousands, of gold coins about to be distributed, but after so many years of navigating the circles of nobility, he knew how to weigh the consequences.

He quickly forced a smile and nodded vigorously.

"Of course, of course! It is an honor for the entire Black Whisper Cavern to have Princess Claudia deign to guide Lilith's dungeon! What is a mere tens of thousands of gold coins as a reward? We would gladly accept hundreds of thousands!"

Lilith, barely suppressing the urge to burst into laughter, quickly pushed Ron away:

"Did you hear me? Hurry up! Bring Her Highness the Princess and us... uh, our capable henchmen to open the Black Language Cave! Time waits for no one!"

Chapter 88 The Old Blind Fishman

After advancing to D-rank, the space of the Black Language Cave seemed to be expanded by an invisible hand.

The original cave structure has expanded several times over, the dome has risen and intersected like stone ribs, and the hanging stalactites are like an upside-down forest.

Deep ravines cut through the rocky ground, and rough stone bridges span them, connecting the various areas.

Most remarkably, a suspended corridor has been carved out of the towering rock wall on one side, overlooking the dim space below.

Ron led Claudia to rediscover this newly transformed territory.

Claudia carefully lifted the hem of her gorgeous skirt, which was not suitable for walking in the rugged cave, and marveled at it:

"Wow, a D-level dungeon is this big! I feel so small."

She looked up at the suspended corridor higher up, the faint light flowing between the rock walls reflected in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Ron turned his head to look at her in surprise:

"You are the daughter of the Grand Lord of Lagos, how can you not understand the changes between E-rank and D-rank?"

Klaus was frank and open, even with a touch of self-righteous pride:

"My father owns an SSS-rank dungeon, and I will inherit such a magnificent place in the future. Why should I care about the difference between E-rank and D-rank?"

She retorted confidently, as if it were the only right thing to do.

Ron opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't help but laugh.

He couldn't refute those words.

After looking around and confirming the layout, Ron signaled the monsters he had previously hired, who were already waiting there, to stay put.

At this moment, all sorts of bizarre mutated creatures gathered in one place, their hissing breaths, the rustling of scales, and inexplicable growls echoing and overlapping in the cave, creating a strange cacophony.

Ron's gaze swept over his men, and without much hesitation, he raised his voice:

"Old buddies, follow me! The rest of you stay put and wait for my instructions!"

He began setting up with those familiar figures—paralyzing mushrooms, skeletons, goblins, lightning lizards, fel bats, black vines, and fire elementals.

The process appears to be identical to that of the E-class:

The cave entrance was still dotted with inconspicuous clusters of paralyzing mushrooms; several white skeletons lurked in the shadows of the narrow passage; next came the fierce-looking goblins hiding behind the stalactites; and then…

It's just that the location and the terrain it utilizes are much more ingenious.

The lizard was placed in the murky water beneath a stone bridge, with only the faint blue-gray stripes on its back visible.

Swarms of fel bats chose the bottom of the hanging corridor high up on the rock wall as their nest, their wings flapping and stirring the stuffy air.

Thick, eerie black vines coiled around the stone pillars of the hanging corridor as if they were alive, their tendrils hanging down eerily.

The fiery elementals were ultimately placed in the deepest part of the dungeon.

On a central rock surrounded by cold, stagnant water, resembling an isolated island.

Claudia stood beside Ron, watching him settle the last fire elemental, her brow furrowing, her tone filled with obvious confusion and doubt:

"Ron, this sequence... is almost exactly the same as in Rank E, isn't it? You're planning to defend Rank D dungeons like this? Won't those adventurers who are familiar with your tactics just easily clear them?"

She felt the arrangement was practically useless.

Ron turned around and looked her over with a slightly amused gaze.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Claudia felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and subconsciously turned her head away to avoid his eyes, her face showing vigilance.

"I just found it interesting."

Ron's lips curled slightly:

"Someone who doesn't even care about the difference between E-rank and D-rank can see at a glance that my layout will give the adventurers an advantage?"

Claudia was immediately embarrassed and annoyed, and punched Ron's arm with her little fist without any hesitation:

"I just don't understand the details, I'm not stupid! The level design remains the same, adventurers can break through by brute force based on their experience! That look of yours is an insult to my intelligence!"

She said angrily.

Ron chuckled, rubbing the spot where he'd been punched, a sly glint in his eyes:

"Don't jump to conclusions. Sometimes, familiarity can bring unexpected...surprises."

He didn't explain much.

Claudia rolled her eyes:

"Hmph, then I'll open my eyes wide and see what surprises await me."

Back where the main force was, Ron took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the "new members".

The first thing that catches the eye is that giant level 20 slime.

Its body is a nearly transparent pink color, soft and elastic, and it occupies almost half of the passageway.

It sensed Ron's gaze, its round, large core eyes blinked shyly, appearing somewhat uneasy, and its massive body swayed slightly.

"Pink slime".

Ron's voice was steady and powerful:

"Among us, you are the highest level and the strongest. Therefore, you will be the final boss of this D-level dungeon."

“Mr. Ron…”

The pink slime's voice trembled with a soft, nervous tone, and its big eyes widened even more in surprise:

"I...can I really do this? I'm just a slime! How can I..."

"If I say you can do it, you definitely can."

Ron's tone was resolute, carrying an unquestionable trust.

This trust made the pink slime hesitate for a moment, then a power seemed to surge from within its soft body, and its large, core-like eyes looked firmly at Ron:

"I understand! I... I will try my best to do it!"

Ron led it to the isolated rocky platform surrounded by water at the end of the instance.

The moment the pink slime's enormous body landed steadily in the center of the island, the flames on the surrounding fire elementals suddenly burst into flames.

The flames briefly shot upwards nearly half a meter high, like a suddenly lifted curtain of intense heat, before returning to their normal pulsation.

Having arranged for the strongest fighting force, Ron returned, his gaze falling on another conspicuous "problem" member—

A lame fishman.

It has only one cloudy eye, and its dark green scales appear somewhat dull. It leans on a broken spear entangled with water plants as a crutch.

His twisted right leg caused his body to sway violently as he walked, making him stagger like an old man.

Ron's impression of merfolk mostly came from legends—greedy, belligerent, and able to command a large following.

What's in front of me... seems utterly ridiculous.

Its panel information appears:

[Name: Old Blind Fishman]

Race: Humanoid

[Level: LV19]

[Experience: 202/532]

[Racial Trait: Primal Water Language]

Skill Slot 1: Philosophical Spin, Skill Slot 2: Muttering Speech, Skill Slot 3: Empty

Ron raised an eyebrow. This skill name… Click for details:

[Philosophical Spin: Slowly spins twice in place, exuding a philosophical aura; physical damage 0, mental damage questionable]