Ten days long, Aurelian's southern trial finally came to an end.
Within the monster rift, she led the demi-human squad and slew an untold number of monsters.
The demi-human team also shone brightly in this challenge that originally belonged to adventurers, making the adventurers truly realize how powerful demi-humans were.
Compared to humans, the wildness they had not yet erased made them fearless during hunts.
At the same time, their natural tendency to live in groups made them even more outstanding when fighting in coordination.
The combat power of the demi-humans caused many nobles living in the south to feel confused.
The demi-humans who usually did hard labor at home and wouldn't listen without a whip were actually this strong?
Among the adventurers, someone had already given this demi-human squad a nickname, and it spread.
[Beasts]
At this moment, on the street, the First Prince stood with his army lined up on both sides.
Paying tribute to the departing team in the middle.
Like the moon surrounded by stars, Aurelian stood within the group, smiling and waving to the adventurers, civilians, and warriors who came to see them off.
This trial allowed more people to come to know Aurelian, the imperial princess.
Only fifteen years old, yet already able to enter the rift abyss and fight monsters.
Of course, some people believed that Aurelian had only reached the thirtieth floor of the abyss by relying on the powerful demi-humans under her command and the unfathomably strong guards by her side.
No matter who it was, once you stood from the public's perspective, there would always be critical voices.
Fortunately, more people scoffed at such claims.
After all, many of those people probably had never even seen the princess.
They had never entered a monster rift in their lives, and didn't even dare to fight the weakest, most ordinary monsters.
The Beast Guild and the demi-human squad worked together, along with a sweeping force formed by countless low-tier adventurers, carrying out a ten-day rift purge.
Many people saw the princess's efforts with their own eyes.
The demi-humans, clad in armor, mounted their horses. Gwen rode a white horse at the front of the demi-human squad, treading over yellow earth, leading the team away as crisp hoofbeats rang out again and again.
Once Aurelian left, the previously lively street returned to calm.
Everyone loves watching excitement, but once it disappears, there's naturally no reason for people to keep gathering.
The First Prince stood by the street, watching them leave. Afterward, he withdrew his gaze as well and led his army back to the front line.
———
Coming back to himself, the First Prince slumped into a chair.
He raised his head, stared at the glaring chandelier on the ceiling, and fell silent.
"..."
Viktor's arrival had drained everything he had accumulated.
People's hearts, strength, even reputation.
He had only appeared in the south for two days. On the second day, he took the duke's daughter and left Godinlima, returning to the capital.
Yet in just those two days, he had achieved full merits.
Slaying the black dragon, rescuing the duke's daughter.
Eliminating the crisis in advance.
The demi-human squad he brought had dominated the spotlight over these ten days.
Even the strongest adventurer guild in the south, the Beast Guild, had publicly declared their allegiance.
At the moment the Beast Guild openly announced that it would join the Clavenna family and become an affiliated member, for an instant, Aubeni felt as if the sky had collapsed.
By coincidence, on that very day, he had invited Hera, the Beast Guild's leader, to meet him.
When the First Prince asked her why she had joined the Clavenna family, he clearly remembered Hera smiling as her eyebrows curved, those patterned, swirling eyes seeming to captivate the soul as she looked at him.
"Your Highness, we were partners to begin with. Who I choose to follow doesn't really fall under your jurisdiction, does it?"
"I'm just pursuing my own love. Is that wrong too?"
Hera's words left the First Prince with nothing to say.
Although there would still be other guilds in the Adventurers' City, with the strongest Beast Guild choosing to work for the Clavenna family, the First Prince would only lose more supporters.
Viktor had taken all of his achievements, all to elevate Aurelian.
What allowed the First Prince some relief and consolation now was this. Thankfully, Aurelian and her people had not discovered the secret he hid in the lower depths.
Hidden in the depths of the abyss, Safiroth.
———
[On the Fiftieth Floor of the Monster Rift]
The colors around were even deeper. From the red-purple land rose what looked like a monster castle. Thick black fog coiled around it, and flesh protruded from the castle's structures.
Across this land, countless sharp trees and rocks lay scattered, twisted into grotesque shapes.
Safiroth stood in place, holding a blade several times longer than her own body.
Her body was covered in bleeding wounds, some even piercing straight through her arm.
The black-and-white wings behind her drooped at her waist, feathers of both colors continuously falling.
Before her stood an enormous monster.
It was the floor lord of the fiftieth level of the monster rift.
[Goliath Giant]
Its four pairs of arms were weakly braced against the ground. One giant axe was embedded in the earth, the other stuck in the massive monster castle.
Atop its huge head sat a single massive eye. The eyeball rolled around before finally fixing on Safiroth.
One of the legs in its lower body had long been severed, black blood spraying out. The other leg looked twisted, the top of the foot pressed against the ground.
Its gigantic body had also been pierced with a deep hole, blood gushing out, with countless wounds covering its other limbs as well.
That sky-blocking body began to sway, its head drooping.
With a thunderous crash, it completely collapsed.
The red, fleshy ground split open with a massive crack, like the maw of an abyss, dragging the giant's corpse down.
Only a single, glowing item remained on the ground.
At this moment, Safiroth finally relaxed. The long blade in her hand gradually dissipated into the air.
Dragging her heavily injured body, she bent down and picked up the item dropped by the monster, examining it carefully.
It was a bead-like object, hollowed out, with a red-purple light flowing within its outer shell.
But this time, she didn't swallow it.
Instead, she put it away and hung it at her waist.
She patted her waist, as if showing off her spoils of war.
The carefully selected materials left at her waist from countless slain monsters collided with each other, producing crisp sounds.
Safiroth dragged her injured body, step by step, toward the upper levels of the monster rift.
———
Gixi's shop welcomed a strange customer.
When Gixi opened the shop door, he saw a guest wrapped in an enormous cloak.
Under the hood and the glare of sunlight, he couldn't see the guest's face clearly.
After the guest entered, Gixi finally sized up the strange person in front of him.
Judging by her figure… she looked like a woman.
But the huge cloak covered her back, making it look bulky, as if she were carrying two large objects.
As usual, Gixi spoke the words he had repeated countless times, "Buying something, or selling goods?"
"...Selling?"
The other party's pronunciation wasn't very normal. Even her enunciation seemed labored.
But people like this were everywhere in the Adventurers' City, so Gixi didn't pay much attention. He just puffed on his pipe and nodded toward her.
"Alright, let's see the goods."
With a clatter of loud sounds, a pile of monster materials was roughly dumped onto the table.
At first, Gixi didn't think much of it, puffing on his pipe and blowing out rings of smoke.
But when he clearly saw those materials, his eyes widened. He didn't even manage to exhale the smoke he had inhaled, it came out through his nostrils instead.
"Stop, stop! Miss, don't throw any more!"
He hurriedly tossed his pipe aside, put on gloves, and carefully gathered the monster materials to one side, treating them like priceless treasures. His eyes shone as he picked up a magnifying glass and examined them closely.
"Please be careful. These are all valuable items."
The more he looked, the more he sucked in cold air.
"The horn of a Magnet Beast? Not bad, not bad…"
"Hiss… this is the heart of Timerc, the twentieth-floor city lord? This is a rare treasure!"
As soon as Gixi finished speaking, that unnatural voice sounded again, "In total… how much?"
Looking at the woman whose face remained hidden, Gixi felt a bit more respect.
Anyone who could gather these materials was definitely a true powerhouse.
He didn't dare to quote a low price and offend her. After some consideration, he extended a hand and gestured in front of her.
"Though they're precious, the quantity is a bit small."
"Probably… around this much."
He spread his palm, signaling a five. The woman nodded.
"I want to… leave… this place, go to a… more prosperous city."
"Is there… a way?"
Her voice was a bit broken, but compared to before, her articulation was much clearer.
Gixi picked up his pipe again, took a puff, and blew out smoke rings.
"Ah, miss, you want to go somewhere better to develop yourself, so you're asking if I have any connections?"
"You've come to the right person."
He said with a smile.
"If you don't have a team, with your ability, you might as well go try your luck in the capital. It'll definitely be more comfortable than staying in this dump of Godinlima."
"Adventuring isn't really work for humans."
Adventurers worked themselves to death every day, yet it was still better to follow some noble lord and get a position.
Didn't you know even the Beast Guild had joined the Clavenna family and planned to bail?
Following noble lords, that's where the good life is.
"Miss, your money."
"A total of fifty thousand Geo. Please keep it safe."
As he spoke, he took a bag of Geo out of the cabinet.
"You know about the magic train, right? With this money, go buy a ticket at the counter. In one day, you'll reach the capital."
The woman put away the money pouch, tucking it under her cloak.
But suddenly, a gust of wind blew open the shop door, rushed through her cloak, and blew her hood down, revealing her pale face.
Under the sunlight, it looked even paler than malnutrition.
Those green eyes, like a snake's pupils, suddenly tightened. The vertical pupils shrank into thin lines. Those strange eyes seemed to carry a bewitching power, making the shopkeeper freeze in place, pipe in hand, dazed for a second.
Yet while captivating, they also made Gixi feel an overwhelming sense of danger.
The woman in front of him seemed not to care at all. She pulled her hood back on and gave Gixi a light nod.
A surge of air exploded beneath her feet. Her body flickered.
In the blink of an eye, only a cloud of dust remained.
When Gixi blinked again, the person in front of him had already vanished.
He blinked dumbly, standing there in a daze.
"Damn, woke up too hard."
"I'm seeing monsters come into the city to sell stuff."
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