This time, I won't be the devil.

Those who participated in the expedition this time were all those who were loyal to Oscar in the Holy Light Knights.

In order to avoid the sacrifice of these direct descendants as much as possible, Mono suggested that Oscar recruit another group of adventurers outside the Knights.

If any unexpected situation occurs, having this group of adventurers is like having an extra layer of insurance and buffer.

Oscar did not intend to use this group of adventurers as pawns. He would make those chosen ones do their best to abide by the signed contract.

But if the situation really becomes a last resort, the safety of the Holy Knights must be prioritized.

On the other hand, if the mission goes smoothly, it will also be possible to win over these adventurers and provide support for the official return of the maze city this year.

After weighing the pros and cons, Oscar accepted the plan.

If it were a few years ago, he would never agree with the practice of using other people's lives as bargaining chips.

But after several years of political struggle, his thoughts changed.

As Carol's successor, Oscar did not forget his teacher's teachings. He decided to implement reforms to bring a better life to the people of the Theocracy.

But in order to realize this ideal, he must first consolidate the power in his hands and then completely defeat Cardinal Aesop, who holds the legislative and judicial power of the entire theocracy.

The fall of Qis, the director of the Labyrinth City Court of Justice, can be said to have been a good start. Oscar also took the opportunity to arrange his confidant Mono to the position of the top leader of the city.

After successfully reinforcing the seal of the corpse dragon and eliminating all worries, he will officially launch an attack on Aesop.

In Oscar's view, this action will become a turning point for the entire Theocracy and even all of humanity.

Just as Oscar was thinking about this, the door of the study was pushed open and a ray of golden light appeared.

Immediately afterwards, a white-haired girl wearing a robe of light and possessing a peerless beauty walked in.

In today's Theocracy, besides Oscar, there is only one person who can enter this library without reporting.

That is the Holy Maiden of Light - Selina.

"You're heading to the Labyrinth City with the Knights tomorrow morning. Don't you need to rest?"

"Before we depart, I'd like to confirm some details of this operation."

"Is the priest Mono you sent to the Labyrinth City really reliable?" asked Saint Selina.

"Among the people I promoted, Mono is the most capable one. He also successfully completed the task of recruiting adventurers this time."

Speaking of adventurers, Oscar continued:

"I still remember the previous report on the Wind Feather Festival mentioning an adventurer named Frey."

"Reynard also introduced this person, so I asked Mono to invite him to join the expedition."

"What's the result?" Selina asked quickly.

"He refused."

Hearing this, Selina couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but if she thought about it carefully, this was also natural.

"What a pity! If such a capable young man could be recruited into the camp, he would definitely provide a huge boost."

"What do you think of this man called Frey?"

"I don't know."

Selina was actually very clear that the report on the Wind Feather Festival deliberately downplayed Frey's existence.

This happens because the person concerned does not want the person he cares about to be put in danger.

"I think it's better not to recruit outsiders casually."

"And those who ostensibly swear loyalty to you may not necessarily be above betrayal."

Hearing Selina say this, Oscar showed a somewhat disdainful expression.

Although Oscar just turned 40 this year and is considered a young man among the Vatican's top brass, it is not his turn to be educated by this little girl who is only half his age.

But Selina's intuition is sometimes extremely sharp, so Oscar will take her advice into consideration.

After discussing the information related to this operation, Selina said:

"I think it's better to prepare a backup plan. After all, our understanding of the maze is still not sufficient."

"This team is the strongest force I can mobilize in a short period of time."

"Those who can serve as backup are not necessarily those within the Vatican."

"Then what do you mean?"

Afterwards, Selina explained her ideas to Oscar.

"You've become much more cautious since you came back. Has something affected you?" Oscar asked.

Selina didn't answer directly, she turned around and prepared to leave the library.

"Please pay attention to your own safety during this expedition. If an accident really happens, it is better to give up the operation than to take risks." Oscar advised.

"It's rare that you still care about me?"

"After all, I promised Mr. Carol that I would take care of you for him."

……

After an in-depth discussion last night, Frey successfully broke through the barrier between him and Noelle.

After making things clear, Noelle agreed not to participate in the maze exploration until the seal was reinforced.

Instead, Frey found her another way to get closer to her dream.

Since Noelle has always dreamed of becoming a swordsman, instead of letting her read fairy tales and think about it, it would be better to take this opportunity to receive formal sword training.

Frey entrusted this matter to Van Dam, who had rich combat experience. Although the Dark Knight's two-handed sword was quite different from traditional swordsmanship, some basic skills were common.

Since Frey had just helped Van Damme with a stage play problem, he was naturally happy to help.

In order to allow him to spare time to guide Noelle, Frey sent two more employees to assist with the tavern business.

In this way, Noelle began her formal swordsmanship training.

Frey was not idle either. In order to test the effect of the enhanced [Wholehearted Longing], he entered the maze again.

Now that the industrial chain of Fulida raw pulp has taken shape, after handing over the task of transporting the raw pulp to Palu, Frey temporarily let Wright, who is good at defense, become his new teammate.

Relying on Wright's gold-level status, they reached the 31st floor through the official route in the name of guild exploration.

If you want to maximize your upgrade efficiency, the best way is to challenge monsters of a higher level than yourself. Compared to the third-level monsters in the wind class, the fourth-level monsters commonly distributed in the water class are a more efficient choice for Frey now.

After exploring for a while, Frey found a suitable location.

"Just leave it here."

Under Frey's instructions, Wright placed a machine next to a lake.

After making preparations, Wright stood on the shore and released a taunt into the water.

Soon, a huge black shadow moved at high speed underwater and rushed in front of Wright in an instant.

As a huge sound of water was heard, a black shadow broke through the water surface, splashing a wave.

After seeing the monster's figure clearly, Wright and Frey exclaimed in surprise:

"Fish, such a big fish."

"Tiger shark."

[Tiger Shark, Rank 4]

The tiger shark is 8 meters long and has black stripes on its body like a tiger.

After rushing out of the water, the tiger shark opened its bloody mouth full of sharp teeth and pounced on Wright.

At this moment, Wright slid under the shark and fell into the lake.

At the same time, Frey, who had been hiding behind him, thrust a flaming sword into the shark's mouth.

A huge column of fire shot up into the sky, and with the Thunder Fire Sword in his hand, Frey successfully launched an incredible attack.

The shark's head carbonized rapidly, its skin roasted in the high temperature, and it immediately fell to the shore, its skin making a crispy sound.

It turned into a brittle shark.

After killing the monster, Frey cast a water spell and pulled Wright out of the lake.

While Noel was practicing swordplay, the Thunderfire Sword naturally fell into Frey's hands.

The reason why he wants to use this sword is to output more efficiently.

At the third level, Frey can also use sand in the environment to control monsters.

But when it comes to the water level, facing these fourth-level monsters that usually hide in the water and have stronger combat power, it is difficult for Frey's current third-level magic to deal satisfactory damage.

In comparison, the power of the Thunderfire Sword after being fully infused with magic power is close to that of fifth-level fire magic. Although it lacks Noel's lightning blessing, it is completely sufficient to deal with some miscellaneous soldiers.

But the power consumption of the Thunder and Fire Sword was extremely terrifying. The full-strength attack just now consumed one-tenth of Frey's magic power.

In response to this situation, Frey came up with a solution. He asked Brother Dao to customize a portable magic engine.

The principle of the Thunderfire Sword is to use the magic shell to conduct magic power to the bronze sword [Rage], allowing it to convert magic power into fire element damage.

The function of the magic engine is to convert magic stones into magic power for use in various magical devices.

So, Frey decided to combine the two things.

Frey recovered the magic stone dropped by the tiger shark just now, put it in the engine, and placed the Thunder and Fire Sword on the magic output port.

After the machine started up successfully, the Thunderfire Sword was quickly refilled with energy.

After that, Wright kept fishing with taunts, and Frey killed it with the Thunderfire Sword, and then used the magic stones dropped by monsters to charge the Thunderfire Sword. This cycle repeated over and over again, and a monster spawner comparable to a perpetual motion machine was completed.

Although he worked hard for a long time and didn't earn a penny, all Frey needed now was experience points.

In a short while, all the monsters in the lake were killed by them.

After playing the farewell song for the monsters, Frey looked at his panel.

After the talent is strengthened, not only the upper limit of experience that can be obtained at one time is increased, but the absorption and conversion of experience also becomes faster.

Normally, as the level increases, the upgrade will become slower and slower, but thanks to [Dedicated Yearning], Frey is able to continue upgrading at a high speed.

According to this trend, he should be able to reach level 30 by the end of February, which is more than half a month faster than originally expected.

His current total assets are 500 million rupees. As long as nothing goes wrong, it will not be a problem for him to earn 1000 million.