In the depths of the first floor of the labyrinth, at the very center of the sewer corridor, chunks of flesh the size of palm-sized lay piled upon the ground.

Standing in front of that heap of flesh, the imposing figure of the Lizardman Clan Chief clenched his claws tight, the scales on his face contorting together, just like a demon crawled out from the Abyss.

Annihilated—

Not a single member of the delegation had survived!

Including the team leader "Crown Warrior" Octo, not a single one of the Earth Dragon Clan's warriors had returned!

"This is… too much of a provocation against the dragons!"

The chief, unable to contain his rage, let out a roaring howl, the ripples spreading from it crashing against the surrounding walls like waves.

Metal pipes throughout the corridor trembled under his roar, emitting cries as if they could no longer bear the burden.

The surrounding Lizardman Warriors were no different, their faces universally inscribed with hatred.

They itched to charge into the Demon King's territory immediately and flay the skin off that unforgivable fiend!

A Lizardman Warrior with chest covered in strange symbols stepped forward, emitting a low, angry growl.

"Declare war, Clan Leader!"

His name was Zerick, a Temple Warrior of the Earth Dragon Clan, and also Octo's brother.

No sooner had his words fallen than he was interrupted by another Temple Warrior's furious roar.

"Declare war? The war has already begun!"

That shout was met with the roar of countless Lizardman voices, the cry for war echoing across the entire clearing.

"Blood debt must be paid in blood!"

"We won't tolerate such insult, not from the Demon King, not even from a Demon God!"

"Moreover, it's still uncertain whether he is the Demon King! We must capture and interrogate him!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Feeling his people's boiling rage, Sanu too made up his mind.

"It seems the Demon King has no intention to negotiate."

With that, he turned to the Temple Priest standing beside him and ordered with a voice filled with hatred.

"Morrag, lead a team of elites straight to the Demon King Territory, and you must bring the Demon King's head to me!"

The aged priest nodded slightly, the trinkets hanging beneath his robe tinkling guangguang in response.

"As you command, Clan Leader."

That hoarse voice, too, suppressed a flame of anger.

A soul with limitless potential—

He had just cultivated Octo to the strength of high-grade steel, only for him to die prematurely in the maze!

He swore!

He would make the Demon King pay the price!

And bring Octo's soul back to the Incubation Pool!

...

The earth trembled.

The labyrinth roared.

Nearly a thousand Lizardman soldiers rallied from all directions to the call of the bugle at Morrag's tent, forming orderly ranks and marching mightily towards the direction of the Demon King Territory.

They were the youngest and most elite hunters of the Earth Dragon Clan, as well as the most battle-savvy soldiers.

Unlike the disorganized mob of ratmen, or the beast-like Earth Cave Spiders, they were true warriors!

In their hands, they held swords and shields, long spears, short bows, and sickles.

Most of these weapons had been pilfered from adventurers, snatched from other Lizardman breeds, or stolen from the farms on the surface.

In a bid for vengeance against the Demon King, the Earth Dragon Clan had spared no expense, wagering all the gains they had amassed since the great war ended!

While the Lizardman army marched mightily, adventurers entering the maze through the Silver Pine Town entrance detected an unusual trembling and shaking from underneath.

Lying on the floor of the sewer corridor, an experienced adventurer listened intently for a long time before his expression subtly changed.

Five hundred—

No!

At least a thousand!

The unmistakable sound of an army marching in unison, vastly different from the random movements of monsters.

"The Lizardmen are assembling!"

He growled softly, swiftly rising from the ground and shouted to his panicked fellow adventurers behind him.

"Back to the maze entrance, now!"

The same scene played out in various parts of the labyrinth.

Meanwhile, at the same time on the other side, the militia barracks of Silver Pine Town also thudded with the ringing of the large bell.

Farmers dropped their hoes and woodcutters their axes as they ran to the armory, frantically grabbing weapons and donning the appearance of soldiers under the bellowing of their superiors.

Silver Pine Town was built right above the entrance to the labyrinth; an invasion from the monsters below was no laughing matter.

And judging by the commotion from down below, that horde of monsters was most likely heading in their direction!

Peeking at the furrowed brow of Sheriff Adela, the militiamen in the ranks whispered anxiously amongst themselves.

"Damn it! Wasn't the Demon King supposed to be dead? What sort of mischief are those monsters up to now?!"

"With so many entrances to the maze… why in the world did they pick ours?!"

"It's obvious... they're here to plunder. If not here, then where? The open fields and hills?"

A timid-looking man spoke in a shaky voice.

"I heard… the Demon King has recently returned to life."

"How is that possible?!"

A middle-aged man with a bald crown, holding a musket, widened his eyes in shock, his musket barrel nearly knocking the man behind him on the head.

"The Demon King resurrected?!"

A stir ran through the ranks.

The faces of the crowd showed varying expressions of disbelief and uncertainty.

"Probably just some slander spread by a loose-lipped adventurer... damn those unemployed vagrants, always shirking real work."

"No… Hephael said it, he was on duty in the depths of the maze when he encountered an Undead, even lost his shield…"

"Undead?! In the maze?!"

The undead appearing in the labyrinth could certainly explain some things; rumors seemed to be getting closer to the truth.

People were nervously uneasy, yet there was also a sliver of hope in their hearts.

Perhaps Hephael had seen it wrong.

That drunkard mixed with adventurers from out of town all day, came to work completely plastered, and had learned the vile habit of talking nonsense.

Just then, the captain standing at the front of the troop suddenly shouted.

"Silence! Shut your mouths! Don't you hear the bell? Stand at attention!"

Everyone quickly shut their mouths, tensing every nerve in anticipation.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a worried look on his face came from the main entrance of the militia camp.

His name was Che'er, and he was the guild leader of the adventurer guild's Silver Pine Town branch.

Earlier that day, he had just received a notification from his superiors about increasing the commission weight for Silver Pine Town, and now something had happened so quickly.

Seeing Guild Leader Che'er approaching, Officer Adela hurried over and asked with a grave expression.

"What's the situation below?"

Che'er spoke in a hushed voice.

"I heard that the Lizardmen have begun to gather, not far from the entrance of the labyrinth... My prediction might not be accurate, but you can take it as a reference, perhaps a new Demon King has come to the depths of the labyrinth."

Adela's eyes widened with a hint of panic that was difficult to notice.

How could the Demon King suddenly take an interest in this place?!

In the last great battle, Silver Pine Town had suffered almost no damage compared to the other towns of Campbell Duchy, with the main battlefield being around the city of Thunder.

Compared to that metropolis of a million inhabitants, Silver Pine Town's population was only a fraction of the former.

Could it be... the new Demon King had changed the previous strategy, shifting the target from cities to villages?

He didn't know what impact this would have on the overall situation and didn't care much either.

But if it was true, he as the officer would likely be worn down sooner or later!

There was only one way to safely get through this ordeal, and that was to make a contribution and then be transferred—

That opportunity seemed to be right in front of him.

After gritting his teeth, Adela made a decision and turned to look at the assembled militia behind him.

"Into the labyrinth!"

Upon hearing this command, the crowd was first stunned, then erupted in an uproar.

"Into the labyrinth?!"

"Us?!"

"Are you joking!"

Not just the militia, but even team leaders of different ranks showed expressions of surprise.

As a militia, their only duties were defense. Even if they occasionally took the offense for defense, that was an extremely special case.

"Shut up!"

Adela roared, interrupting the complaints of these country bumpkins, and found an excuse in just one second.

"I am your commanding officer! Also, do you plan to fight the demons in your own living room? Or your bedroom and kitchen? Your wives, children, and elders... they are all here!"

"Believe me, offense is the best defense! There's no space to dodge in the narrow maze, you just need to load and pull the trigger! Don't say it's just a bunch of beasts, even if the Demon King himself came, he'd be turned into a sieve by our volleys!"

This wartime rallying cry persuaded some.

After the war, they either built new houses or added new household items to their old ones... if possible, they truly didn't want to fight at their doorstep.

Well, then they would fight in the maze.

Just as Officer Adela said, the battlefield inside was limited in width; even a large number of monsters would find it difficult to deploy.

All they needed to do was to form their ranks into five sections, taking turns to step forward and fire, enough to disorient those beasts...

...

On the first level of the maze, near the entrance to the Demon King Territory, the Spider Army arrived before the Lizardman forces.

Under Alakdo's command, a vast sea of Earth Cave Spiders came in groups.

The number was a whopping 2000.

As per Lord Demon King's request, half were skilled web "Weavers," and the other half were proficient "Excavators."

The players at the entrance to the maze were taken aback by the sight and couldn't figure out what was going on.

"What the fuck? The monsters are besieging us again?"

But the marker above the monsters' heads seemed to be green?

Meaning... they're on our side?

One of the larger, more robust Earth Cave Spiders stepped forward energetically and spoke loudly to the skeletons inside the Blood Palace.

"I am Alakdo, envoy of the Weaving Shadow Nest! Please convey to His Majesty the Demon King that his most loyal servant awaits his dispatch!"

The players didn't understand what he was saying.

But with Youyou there, everything was no problem, and subtitles were quickly added.

At the same time, elsewhere, Luo Yan, sitting cross-legged in the Magic Workshop deep in meditation, was staring intently at the faith value on his attribute panel, especially the part that indicated "daily increase."

Somehow, since sending off the envoy from the Weaving Shadow Nest, that parameter, which had been still as dead water, surged upward.

At present, this number had jumped from just over 500 to 1200, leaving "daily consumption" way behind by a large margin!

Just as Luo Yan thought the increase was nearing its end, that figure suddenly shot up like a rocket, breaking through the 2000 mark!

[Faith Value: 14077

Daily Increase: 2141~2200

Daily Consumption: 499]

The net daily increase easily broke through 1000 points!

As long as the figure doesn't fall below 1000 for three consecutive days, he would get another 500 beta test spots, enough for his players to form a group!

Luo Yan couldn't help but tell Youyou to kowtow to the genius who fell for him; he had no idea who it was. He could tentatively attribute the increase to 1200 on the Weaving Shadow Nest's account, but where did the subsequent 800 points come from?

"Goodness... who's secretly worshiping me?!"

-

(The day after tomorrow we go live, brothers! I'm asking for monthly tickets and initial subscriptions in advance~~~~ Speaking of which, this new book period has really had its ups and downs. In just over twenty days, it first encountered all sorts of chaos with masked beatings, then came a red dot bug, and just as we've been under pressure, we're soon to drop off the new book list, plus the game isn't even finished... I've already felt the suppression of fate. Luckily, the follow-up data isn't bad, thank you all for your unwavering support T.T, we'll discuss the rest at the going live celebration!)

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