Compared to when Su Lin and his companions used to venture out in full iron armor, Tashiniya and her group were quite luxurious.
They wore enchanted Dragon Scale Armor, wielded Dragonblood Swords, and Lulu even had a Dragonbone Longbow.
Each person was equipped with a Totem of Undying as standard, and they even had Hippogryphs as mounts.
With this equipment, traversing the first to third floors would be no problem.
But according to Tashiniya, all of this was earned through her hard work!
If she hadn't diligently massaged Su Lin and served him tea and water, would they have been given such good things?
Diligently clinging to a powerful figure is also a kind of effort!
Besides, Su Lin is a companion, a family member. Is there anything wrong with relying on a family member?
Tashiniya is now Su Lin's number one Archangel, the future Archangel General of Su Lin's Heavenly Host. Shouldn't she receive some special care?
Moving through the village, Tashiniya bustled about, skillfully collecting all the good things from the village.
Lulu watched, feeling a bit of a headache.
Tashiniya seemed more suited to the thief profession than she was.
"Captain—this is theft, an act highly unbefitting a Knight!"
"It's fine!"
Tashiniya pointed carelessly at the bewildered villagers nearby.
"The Pope said that taking without notice is stealing, but aren't I taking it right in front of the villagers? This is a legitimate gift!"
"It's clearly robbery!"
"Don't be so serious, Lulu. This is the moral standard of the MC Dungeon. The Pope also said that everyone has always done it this way."
Lulu felt a little depressed.
"Is 'always' right?"
"Lulu, if you keep being so particular, how will you slay dragons and go to the fourth floor to find the Pope later?"
This sentence successfully silenced Lulu completely.
Previously, when Su Lin described the fourth floor in such flowery terms, deep down, she really wanted to go and explore it.
Li Qiaoqiao spoke softly, taking over the conversation.
"Captain, where exactly are we going? If it's for dragon slaying—isn't the portal to The End just outside the Adventure Town?"
"Dragon slaying and such, no need to rush."
This isn't when you were shouting about going to the fourth floor to find Su Lin anymore.
Tashiniya excitedly pointed to the surrounding village.
"Qiao Qiao, look, this is a world, a barren world without civilization!"
"So?"
"So wouldn't it be a waste of the Pope's good intentions to only have one Adventure Town? I believe the Pope's purpose in bringing us here with such difficulty is not just because of our bond."
Tashiniya spoke righteously, making Lulu and the others ponder.
Su Lin—
Although they hadn't known him for long, he truly wouldn't do anything meaningless.
He kept work and life very separate. When he was enjoying life, no one could bother him with work.
But when he was seriously working, he had no idle thoughts at all.
So, he specifically brought everyone here, could it really be that 'I believe the Pope definitely wants us to build the headquarters of the Tashiniya Cult here! And then, starting from this point, make the entire MC Dungeon prosperous!'
"...That's your own idea, you idiot!"
Weini angrily punched Tashiniya.
But surprisingly, Tashiniya was somewhat right this time.
Although the Tashiniya Cult was unreliable, Su Lin really did want them to build more cities.
City development meant accumulating development value.
"Hehehe."
Tashiniya rubbed her head, fawningly shaking Weini's arm.
"Anyway, good Weini, please help me. How about we build a City of Tashiniya? We'll start with this village."
Tashiniya had already inquired. The Adventure Town in the Elven Kingdom started as a medium-sized village.
In just over a month, it had developed to its current state, and it only relied on about a thousand people.
Tashiniya felt that she shouldn't be much worse, right?
A large village, plus Weini who was good at drawing, and Lulu and her group who had extraordinary initiative, should be able to create a small town without a problem.
Besides.
If the Elven Kingdom, as Su Lin's subordinate, could have a city, then Tashiniya, as Su Lin's best companion and the first Archangel of the MC Dungeon,
should at least have a City of Tashiniya to maintain her reputation.
"Please help me, good Weini. You're good at drawing, so you're good at construction. This will be the future headquarters of the Tashiniya Cult. How about I make you Vice Pope then?"
"No way!"
Weini glared angrily at Tashiniya.
"You idiot Archangel! Have you considered how much work this is! Moreover, my artistic talent cannot be wasted on such crude work!"
Hearing this, Tashiniya lowered her head, suddenly becoming a bit timid.
After a long while, she softly said:
"But, this will also be our home, Weini."
Everyone froze.
Tashiniya nervously rubbed the corner of her clothes, saying somewhat mournfully:
"I can't go back to the Celestial Realm anymore, and I don't want to go back to that cold place. I want to stay with everyone forever—"
"So I want to have a home that everyone can always return to, no matter where they go."
Tashiniya had never had a home.
As an Archangel who was instilled with the idea of "being useless if you don't become a god" since birth, she had never thought of having a home.
But now it was different.
She didn't have to return to the sad place of the Celestial Realm. She could stay here with her companions forever, and still fulfill the obsession of becoming a god rooted in her soul.
Since that was the case, she also wanted to have a home of her own, like other beings.
To make this home a sanctuary for all her companions.
No matter where everyone went in the future, they would always find their way home.
Su Lin's MC Dungeon was the most perfect choice.
All her cherished family members were here.
Here, she could adventure with everyone, create interesting memories together, without the coldness and discrimination of the Celestial Realm, and everything was new and exciting.
All of this combined was even more important than being able to endlessly grow and break through to godhood with the MC Dungeon.
Weini also thought of something, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes, and she finally relented.
"Got it."
"Hehehe! I knew Weini was the best!"
Tashiniya cheered, hugging Weini tightly and rubbing against her.
Weini's eyes, which were usually as mysterious as a deep pool, showed a rare hint of indulgence.
"I really can't do anything with you, you idiot Archangel!"
"Because we're companions!"
Tashiniya happily put her hands on her hips, no longer looking like a discarded kitten as she had a moment ago.
Her gaze swept around the village, saying excitedly:
"Then let's begin! As the Pope said, first we need to fence off the village and place torches to prevent any loss of our valuable biological batteries!"
"Also, we need to build a super large house in the center of the village. That will be where we live later!"
At this moment, Tashiniya was indeed a bit chatty.
However, everyone could tell that she was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.
It was just that—
After a long hesitation, Lulu still couldn't help but ask:
"Captain, aren't we going to defeat the Demon Lord anymore?"
Tashiniya paused.
She suddenly remembered that the reason she was able to coax Lulu out in the first place was by using the excuse of defeating the Demon Lord.
Lulu was wholeheartedly focused on defeating the Demon Lord and becoming a recognized Hero Knight of the Aetheram Continent.
Then, when Tashiniya returned to the Celestial Realm, she would find a way to help her change her profession to a Crusader Knight.
But now Tashiniya didn't want to go back to the Celestial Realm at all!
Her Archangel halo above her head spun around, and Tashiniya smiled with a look of great wisdom disguised as foolishness.
"Demon Lord? What Demon Lord?"
"We are adventurers, not heroes. Why would we defeat a Demon Lord?"
As expected of Tashiniya, in terms of lacking professional ethics, she was always far ahead.
Lulu was still a bit hesitant.
"But Captain—"
"No buts!"
Tashiniya solemnly pressed on Lulu's shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"Lulu, you need to know, once the Demon Lord is defeated, I will have to return to the Celestial Realm to suffer and toil!"
"As a companion, can you bear to kick me out of the hope that the MC Dungeon brought me, and let me return alone and lonely to the Celestial Realm to suffer?"
Return to the Celestial Realm?
Tashiniya now genuinely believed that the MC Dungeon was her true home.
She could explore with everyone, fulfill her obsession with becoming a god, and live happily with a group of companions.
Wasn't this life better than returning to the Celestial Realm to be looked down upon?
What was so good about the cold, impersonal, utilitarian world of the Celestial Realm?
Forget the Celestial Realm, Tashiniya didn't even want to return to the Aetheram Continent.
Seeing Lulu still somewhat confused, Tashiniya added fuel to the fire.
"Lulu, think about it, actually the Demon Lord isn't that bad, right?"
"Huh?"
"We've been adventuring on the Aetheram Continent for so many years, and we haven't heard any activity from the Demon Lord, have we?"
This sentence made Lulu freeze.
Thinking carefully, there really didn't seem to be many descriptions of the Demon Lord on the Aetheram Continent. Many people even doubted whether the Demon Lord actually existed.
After all, those active on the Aetheram Continent were, from beginning to end, only the Demon Lord Army and the four high-ranking cadres who acted in the Demon Lord's name.
Those Demon Lord Army members, to put it plainly, a large portion of them were native beings of the Aetheram Continent, specifically those barbarians who once lived in the southern wilderness.
For a moment, Lulu also began to doubt her life.
Seeing that her persuasion was having an effect, Tashiniya became even more energetic.
"Think again, Lulu."
"Our current exploration in the MC Dungeon is also for the mission of heroes!"
"The Demon Lord and the Demon Lord Army may sound scary, but against the MC Dungeon, against our invincible Pope, aren't they easily defeated?"
On this point, Lulu truly couldn't refute.
In fact, let alone facing the MC Dungeon and Su Lin, even the current Elven Kingdom seemed capable of delivering a crushing blow to the Demon Lord Army.
The news of the Dragon Rider Army's formation, and even those violent Redstone Technology, they had all seen with their own eyes.
From the bottom of their hearts.
With technology and armaments that surpassed their era by countless years, if the Demon Lord Army didn't come out in full force, they really couldn't do anything to the Elves.
"More importantly."
Tashiniya said decisively:
"Even if you still want to defeat the Demon Lord, with the Demon Lord's special life form, he is definitely an existence that transcends the limits of the Aetheram Continent."
"Our current strength is simply not enough. It's better to stay in the MC Dungeon, slowly level up, break through our limits, and even become gods before we talk about it."
"When you break through to Lv300 and become a true Thief—I mean, God of Knights, wouldn't the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord Army be easy pickings?"
Through a combination of coaxing and deception, just as Tashiniya had once coaxed Lulu out of the Dungeon of the Gustik Holy Empire.
With a barrage of words, Tashiniya's image in Lulu's mind was practically becoming a symbol of wisdom.
"Captain, you're getting smarter and smarter!"
"After all, I am a prospective outstanding graduate of Angel Academy!"
"So Captain, what do we do now?"
"Of course, we'll start by building the City of Tashiniya!"
Ultimately, this guy just wanted to build a city.
Weini sighed deeply.
Tashiniya's wisdom seemed to be entirely focused on coaxing children.
Having convinced Lulu, Tashiniya's city-building squad finally had a unified goal and was ready to begin construction work.
However, before they could officially start, a team of Winged Knights flew in from the horizon.
Tashiniya's heart rejoiced.
Just as she was planning to build a city, a group of Elves arrived.
She recognized these people; they were the construction team from the Adventure Town.
To say that Su Lin wasn't paying attention to them and sending help at a crucial moment would be completely unreasonable, wouldn't it?
It seemed her status as the first Archangel of the MC Dungeon still carried a lot of weight.
But before Tashiniya could assign tasks, the Elf spoke first.
"Lady Tashiniya, Mr. Su Lin wants you to lead your team back to the Adventure Town."
"Huh?!"
Tashiniya was startled.
"You're not here to help build the city?"
"The fifth floor of the Dungeon is about to open—"
The Elf Soldiers tried hard to recall, then after a moment, mimicked Su Lin's tone:
"Tell Tashiniya and her group not to miss the version preview. Mr. Su Lin said that."