Chapter 25: Chapter 22: Changes in the Camp after
Clearing S-level
Translator: 549690339
The scenery around Leonard Churchill shifted, and he realized that he had escaped from the eerie secret room he was in moments ago.
It was a miraculous experience, quite like time travel. Stepping through the Twisted Light Gate felt like entering a totally different world.
He wanted to observe his surroundings, but heavy fog enveloped the area, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
The air was thick with the smell of sulfur.
Just as Leonard was trying to figure out where he was, he heard a familiar and urgent voice say, “Come with me, quick!1‘
The person who spoke was Camilla, who had exited the Alternate Dimension before him.
What Leonard did not know was that as he was receiving an S-rank evaluation on his result page, a drastic change was happening outside the Alternate Dimension.
For treasure hunters, each Alternate Dimension was a treasure trove.
The Shelter 407 discovered in the Demon Cross Ruins was particularly famous for its generous rewards.
It was only natural that it attracted explorers.
Not far from the space, there was a temporary camp, with a blazing bonfire.
The camp was occupied by dozens from the Blackwater Mercenary Group, along with about two hundred treasure hunters who were preparing to enter the space next.
In a corner of the camp, the commander of the Blackwater Mercenary Group was respectfully standing guard beside a young man in a suit. The bald captain, who had managed to survive, was currently reporting something to Saul Miller, the fourth master of the Miller Family.
Ever since he had exited the Alternate Dimension, Saul Miller’s brows were tightly furrowed and showed no signs of relaxing.
His latest ranking was only a B-rank, which was far from his expectations.
His mind was occupied with the final interaction with the jester in the space, wondering how he could have made different choices to gain better results.
Even though he had lost a loyal servant, it wasn’t completely valueless. He had obtained vital information from this.
He was now certain that the ”T-rank Disaster Object” was inside the space and he was determined to obtain it at all costs!
The bald captain continued to narrate his experience of leading the two mercenary teams from the first floor of the bunker till the end, “Young master, those monsters were incredibly dangerous. If it hadn’t been for our powerful weaponry…”
He had no idea of how Leonard and company managed to survive.
It seemed they were lucky. Each time the monsters attacked, it was the Blackwater Mercenary Group who were at the forefront of the battle, leaving the other two safe from danger.
From his perspective, without them drawing the monsters’ attention, there was no way the pair could have survived till the end.
Of course, even if he had some vague guesses, he couldn’t voice them out now.
He exaggerated only about the Blackwater Mercenaries’ bravery and the various terrifying disasters they encountered. He attrributed their survival solely to his strategic command and the courage of his teammates.
In the end, the bald captain also added, “Ah, such a pity for our brothers.”
Upon hearing the bald captain’s account, Saul Miller’s doubts didn’t lessen but rather deepened.
He was the one who had triggered the hidden storyline of the space, how was it possible for him not to know about the dangers?
Logically, except for the group which followed him, the rest shouldn’t have been able to survive.
But to his surprise, there were a few who managed to survive against such lethal odds.
The details offered by the bald captain, such as facing an A-rank Sorcery Gambler, encountering the mysterious A-rank disaster on the fourth floor and the number of casualties involved, were all within Saul’s expectations.
But when he heard about the broken wall in Room 2013, Saul began to feel that something was off.
The wall could be broken?
Previously, he had directly used a secret method that was recorded in his family’s archive to find the passageway to the laboratory. Only then was he able to enter the central control room in the bunker.
So there was another option to break the wall?
This thought opened up new possibilities in his mind.
After listening, Saul asked, “Are you saying that the wall in Room 2013 was already broken when you entered?”
“Yes.”
The bald captain, to this day, still couldn’t understand why there was a hole in the wall in Room 2013.
Everyone had tried, but the walls were unbreakable.
Yet, that room had a hole in it.
Being astute, he decided not to dwell on matters that didn’t relate to his credit.
However, the more Saul thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Since the hole was in Room 2013, they should have met the Fallen Witch in Room 2012.
He asked again, “Didn’t you meet the Fallen Witch on the second floor?”
This question confused the bald captain, “No…we did not.”
Could it have been killed?
A thought crossed Saul Miller’s mind, but he soon dismissed it. He considered it unlikely.
Since it hadn’t been killed by the mercenaries, how could two loose practitioners possibly have the ability to defeat the Fallen Witch?
It was most likely that they just got lucky and didn’t encounter it.
After all, only Card Master Apprentices could enter this Alternate Dimension.
The strength of the Fallen Witch was well beyond what the hunters in Lower City could deal with.
The only reasonable explanation was that the two Loose Practitioners, by some stroke of luck, accidentally broke through the wall and then… survived until the end?
That doesn’t seem right either…
The monster in the laboratory behind the wall was too formidable for the two
Loose Practitioners to handle, no matter which one they encountered.
Could it really be as the Bald Captain said, that they were just extraordinarily lucky and managed to evade every danger?
Saul Miller felt that something was off.
A scene flashed in his mind, reminding him of how the two men didn’t draw their weapons until the very end. That level of calmness couldn’t be attributed to mere luck.
Or perhaps he was mistaken, and they were just a pair of star-crossed lovers?
Saul Miller couldn’t figure it out. He turned his attention to the Bald Captain again and asked coldly, “Is that all you have to tell me? Anything else?” The Bald Captain saw the expression on Saul’s face and had a bad feeling, but he had shared all the information he had and answered, “No…nothing else.” Saul Miller casually waved his hand to give an order to someone, “Kill him.” Since the Bald Captain had said all he could, he no longer had any value.
Seeing this, the Bald Captain’s face changed dramatically as he realised what was happening.
Saul wouldn’t kill him out of nothing, it must be because he had learned about that secret.
The mechanical clown mentioned it, an ancient Disaster Object in the Alternate Dimension, an Epic Source Card!
“Young Master…”
He was about to beg for mercy, but before he could utter a single word, a line of blood appeared on his neck.
His head fell to the ground in an instant, blood spurting out around three feet.
The fog of blood erupted, and only then did a transparent human figure appear in the air, flickering once before disappearing.
That was a stealth guard from the Governor’s Mansion.
The captain of the Blackwater Mercenary Group gulped, cold sweat soaking his back as he watched the bloody sight in front of him.
At this moment, he didn’t dare defend his subordinate. He only hoped he hadn’t heard any damaging secrets.
Although the Blackwater Mercenary Group had nearly a thousand men, a significant force in Sinless City, that meant nothing in front of Saul Miller.
If Saul wished to, he could wipe them out with a single command.
Saul Miller ordered the execution of the Bald Captain without so much as looking at him. He murmured to himself, “Strange, where did our plan go wrong?”
Killing the Bald Captain, the only survivor of the Space besides himself, was necessary. The secret of the Epic Source Card must remain concealed.
With the information Saul got from the Bald Captain, he developed a comprehensive understanding of the layout of the Alternate Dimension.
He speculated that perhaps he made a misstep or missed some critical clues in attempting a shortcut, leading to an impasse.
He thought about sending someone to break through the wall from Room 2013 upon the next entry, hoping to find some vital clues.
He had already deployed additional mercenaries and a few card master captains to guard the vicinity of the Space 407 exit. Since they hadn’t seen anyone emerging from there for so long, he was confident that the two men had died inside the Space.
Saul Miller couldn’t think of any other possibilities.
What if…
There was no ‘what if.
No matter what, they were simply two card master apprentices.
Having come to that conclusion, he decided to wait in the camp.
He would wait a few more hours, when the Alternate Dimension would restart, and the teleportation gate would form again.
But what he didn’t anticipate was that one of the Loose Practitioners inside the Dimension was not an ordinary person.
Because of this oversight, a major incident occurred!
As time passed, the fog outside the Demon Cross Camp became denser, reducing visibility to only a few meters within the campfire’s light radius. Although this ruin was shrouded by fog all year round, it seemed even denser today.
This made Saul Miller feel somewhat irritated.
He couldn’t tell whether it was the damp air or the smell of volcanic ash that was annoying him, or if it was something else.
If it weren’t for that T-rank Disaster Object, he wouldn’t have chosen to come to this hellish place that only the poor of Lower City would visit.
Just then, someone in the distance yelled out.
“Oh…Captain, something’s wrong! The teleportation gate of Space 407 has disappeared!”
“How could that be possible! How did it disappear?”
Instantly, the entire camp was in an uproar.
Upon hearing the news, the Fourth Master of Miller Family, smacked his chair and stood up, his face instantly turning ashen.
Though he couldn’t believe it, he realised something: the two men from earlier must have completed the Alternate Dimension!
He bellowed, “Find that man!”