Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

In modern times, only Elsa can be considered one. Even if she charges in alone, what can she accomplish?

Perhaps she can make the demons’ blood flow like a river for a time, but it’s impossible to annihilate them all, and there’s even the risk of counterattack. Who dares to recklessly enter the unknown land of the Demon Clan?

It’s simply that there’s no means of countermeasuring against the Demon Clan, only the option of building tall walls for passive defense.

General Gulimanpo remained silent. Even as a Kingdom General, he felt helpless against the current situation, which brought him considerable shame.

"Tighten identity checks, increase patrols on the remote borders, apprehend all suspects without identity, and also..."

Ainz III issued many orders in succession, but despite their comprehensive appearance, he still felt that these measures weren’t sufficient or thorough enough in facing the problem of the new type of Demon Clan.

"Yes!" General Gulimanpo responded, then added, "Additionally, the cause of the Sain Dungeon mutation that occurred not long ago has been determined. It was because the Prince of the Warrior Country, Temude – the Sword of Burning Fire – refused to pass on the fire. This act caused some adventurers within the dungeon to suddenly face darkness and fog, ultimately leading to mental damage."

"Everyone already knows about this matter, no need to elaborate further."

Princess Selene shook her head, covering her head as she said, "I never expected that someone who seemed so honest could do such a thing."

The last incident that surprised her was when the Skyrim Strategy Group streamed a mad fire broadcast in the Warrior Country. The severity of Skyrim’s and Temude’s actions seemed comparable.

"Temude is truly impressive," Princess Selene sincerely exclaimed.

So far, after all-out efforts to heal them, the affected adventurers have all escaped danger, with their bodies physically unharmed.

Since they were subjected entirely to mental attacks, there naturally wouldn’t be any physical harm. So, how is their mental state now?

It may be hard to imagine, but the adventurers’ mental states have fully recovered with no residual effects, hidden dangers, or aftereffects.

Incredibly, an extremely small minority even experienced sudden enlightenment! In a moment, their mental prowess was forged to a stronger degree!

Why did such changes occur? We must begin with the influence caused by the mutation in the Sain Dungeon.

Every adventurer enveloped by darkness at the time was mentally controlled by the Sain Dungeon, falling into a drama with the theme "If you were in a world after the Initial Fire had extinguished."

In their minds, they would see how they struggled to survive in the world post-extinguishment of the Initial Fire, witnessing how everyone else on this world struggled desperately, with everything concluding in a state of despair.

For ordinary people, this ordeal would be pure mental torture, but for those gifted individuals, it is akin to a spiritual trial, with the breakthrough providing mental benefits.

Of course, gifted individuals are the minority; for most, this mutation is an unexpected disaster.

"Some of our country’s citizens have been caught up in the situation, with some still living in constant fear due to it," said General Gulimanpo. "We need to demand accountability for our citizens; from my view, we must send a—"

He hadn’t finished speaking when he saw Ainz III shake his head, saying, "It’s okay, the dungeon has detached from this world. How can what happens there affect the outside?"

"But..."

"Besides, I have already found the right candidate to soothe the frightened citizens."

Ainz III showed an exceedingly benevolent expression, "He should have started his actions by now."

As his words ended, outside the Royal Capital of Yanor Kingdom, high above the town established with the Sain Dungeon Teleportation Gate at its core, a projection spanning the skies appeared.

In the projection, the figure of a blond man emerged—it was Leon Basque!

"Cough, cough, is it okay now? Nothing amiss, I see the projection in the sky... Hi everyone! I’m Leon Basque!"

Leon displayed what was considered a textbook sunny and cheerful smile for a big boy, waving to the people in the projection, radiating an infectious positivity that lifted their spirits.

"I heard everyone had been injured in the Sain Dungeon, so that’s why I initiated this projection. I also want to contribute to healing your wounds."

"Now everyone injured in the Sain Dungeon in the past two days should be able to see the projection, right? Listen to me."

Leon’s appearance immediately sparked discussions among those who saw the projection, even causing shock.

"Leon? He’s not dead!"

"Remember who he is? Wait, is he the Firekeeper?"

"Don’t you feel his aura has enhanced? Passing on the fire surely has benefits!"

"What’s the point of him appearing... I’m hopeless about the future..."

Some were shocked at his survival, others discussed the benefits of transferring the fire, while some remained in solitude, unable to step out from their shadow.

At that moment, Leon’s loudest voice reached them all:

"The Initial Fire truly exists!"

"The flame has never been extinguished throughout time!"

"The post-extinguishment apocalyptic landscape is false!"

With the projection and amplification magic underpinning his words, his voice instantly reverberated through the entire Royal Capital, deafening all.

Gathered people, irrespective of their emotions, were stunned into silence by the sheer volume.

Then, the projection changed, and Leon’s figure disappeared from view.

"Dum dum dum..."

Accompanied by piano notes, King of Black Wood, Gwen appeared before them, as everyone witnessed him from Leon’s perspective through the projection!

It was a vision that took considerable effort to extract from his memory, and it still caused him a headache.

"I told you he definitely met Gwen!"

"But why does the figure look different, so aged?"

Even adventurers with the poorest mental state raised their heads, for sightings of Gwen were incredibly rare.

"You must all be curious about what I saw before transmitting the flame. Although it’s late, I will tell you now, in the Initial Firestove, I saw Gwen, already burned out and barely conscious, the King of Black Wood, Gwen!"

"What? The King of Black Wood?"

Adventurers reacted one after another, but before they had time to digest it, Leon continued directly:

"I understood his obsession, I overcame him, and ultimately, I chose to transmit the fire!"

The projection shifted again, showing the livelier areas of the Undead Town Outside the City, Black Forest Courtyard, and others due to his fire transmission.

"This is what transmitting fire brings to the world—hope. But that’s not the main point of my message."

Leon proclaimed loudly:

"I chose to transmit the fire, met other heroes in history who likewise chose to transmit the fire, and reached the world years forward, where the flame, though faint, still existed and continued."

"Therefore, whatever you saw in the Sain Dungeon is merely Sain’s malicious ploy to scare you!"

"The flame has never extinguished, nor has the so-called Deep Sea Era ever arrived!"

"You need not fear or worry anymore!"

His run of words stunned everyone present, until after a long pause, someone asked hesitantly, "How do you guarantee what you said is true?"

In Leon’s hand appeared the Residual Fire, which he crushed, causing rising flames to unfold on him.

This stance looked... exactly like he had entered into Ember King mode!

"I guarantee it with the honor of a Firekeeper!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!