For the next period of time, nothing much happened except that the personnel changes at the Duke's mansion became somewhat frequent.
This is, after all, his old stronghold, and his fiefdom continues to produce a steady stream of goods, so various related tasks need to be carried out in coordination. And those relatives also need to be properly taken care of.
Once they move to the capital, things here will be slower to handle. For this reason, the Duke specifically left the steward here and made arrangements with the city lord and President Joseph.
"Ellie, when are we going to do some leveling quests? When are we going to explore the dungeon? It's so boring."
Since Emil has settled down in the capital, the Ice Cream Mercenary Group's branch in the capital has begun to become active there.
During this time, Ellie was also handling some matters, making personnel arrangements, and giving Anna a heads-up in advance, asking her to look after the members who didn't want to leave.
It has now been confirmed that Tissee will stay here to be in charge of the legion's maintenance and the shop's business, since Sacred Heart City is still the most suitable place for ice-type adventurers to grow.
"I don't know either." As she spoke, Ellie opened the letter the guild had handed her, which contained information about a level 42 Frost Demon Bear.
"Look, here we are! It's located in the northwest, in a dense forest over the Frozen Mountains." Luo Fan quickly jumped over and carefully confirmed the location.
"Shall we set off tomorrow? It seems like this place isn't too far from the Wind Shadow Dungeon. We can take it all in at the same time."
"You wish! We'll see. Who knows how long we'll be staying this time?" With that, Ellie went out to find Tifa and Cecilia.
Soon, the group for the hunt was arranged. Because of the presence of several mid-level martial artists and high-level mages, there were only a dozen or so members in the group.
Daisy insisted on participating, and the Duke specially assigned several high-level martial artists and even called the butler. With this lineup, killing a level 50 monster wouldn't be a problem.
The next morning, the team assembled and set off from the west gate, heading north.
Inside the guild office, Anna was still somewhat worried.
"Joseph, you said that since Ellie isn't going to the dungeon this time, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"
"I don't know, didn't they already complete the procedures for the Wind Shadow Dungeon?"
"Oh, how come I didn't know?"
"I guess it's because I didn't want you to worry. I've already sent some people over there to keep watch, so we can get intelligence in time if anything unexpected happens."
"Oh, okay. Aren't you worried?"
"What's there to worry about? That slime is so smart. As long as he doesn't mess with me, everything will be fine."
"That's true."
Stepping out of Sacred Heart City again, Luo Fan was in high spirits. Sensing the situation with his clone, he learned that the Ice family had no immediate plans to return to their fiefdom, so Luo Fan could only continue his covert operations.
Inside the carriage, Ellie, Daisy, and Liz were all present, along with a member of the high-ranking mage's group. Tifa and Cecilia, who had their own mounts, did not enter.
Luo Fan ignored the high-level mage and kept talking to Xiaoxue, hoping she could recall more details about her race.
Since these Yuki-onna (snow women) are born according to a fixed pattern, perhaps the place where they are born can provide relevant information.
As for Ziyu in Liz's arms, Luo Fan had also confirmed it, but a lazy bum like her wouldn't yield any decent information.
After several hours of trekking, the group finally arrived near the dense forest before nightfall and set up camp.
Taking advantage of the situation, Luo Fan sent out a clone to locate the demonic bear. The weather was gradually warming up, but the temperature in the Frozen Mountains was still low, and traces of snow could still be seen in the forest.
"As expected, it's not an underground city; the distribution of magical beasts is quite sparse." There are only a few small Karami within a one-kilometer radius.
Finally, after searching the entire dense forest, they discovered traces of the demonic bear in a hidden cave.
"That's right, it's indeed level 42, but why is there another one, level 41?"
"I've exceeded the mission requirements; I wonder if there will be any extra rewards." After investigating the situation, Luo Fan also specifically confirmed the location of the Wind Shadow Dungeon. Having a direct road leading there would indeed make things much more convenient.
Back at camp, Luo Fan jumped into Ai Li's arms. Surrounded by several beautiful girls, Luo Fan felt extremely happy, especially in the small space of a tent.
If it does something, the owner won't say anything, right?
"Luo Fan, what do you want to do?"
"Brother Fan, you can do whatever you want."
Luo Fan felt a little embarrassed, but still told them what he had discovered.
"Two? Could there be any danger?"
"Don't worry, the butler is here. Besides, Xiaoxue and I can both restrict the Demon Bear's movements, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Oh, I'll talk to everyone in a bit and tell them to get ready."
"casual."
The night passed peacefully, with almost no monsters daring to launch a sneak attack, except for a few stubborn slimes.
"Set off!"
Luo Fan missed last night's life. He spent the last night in Daisy's arms, which was quite comfortable.
As I was lost in thought, I suddenly noticed what looked like human footprints on the snow in the distance. They looked quite fresh.
"Could it be that someone else came over last night?"
With his divine sense fully activated, he confirmed that there was indeed no one else nearby. Deploying his clone, Luo Fan once again acted as the advance team.
Ellie also became more vigilant, and the mercenary group slowed down.
"What's wrong?" The butler looked over. This time he was just a guard and didn't have a heavy burden.
"There are signs of someone else around here. Tifa, take some people and investigate!"
"OK!"
"How did she know? Could it be that the slime is good at reconnaissance?" The butler thought for a moment and quickly realized what was going on.
"I'm going to track down those guys' auras," Luo Fan said, then controlled his clone to leave.
"Ellie, we did find footsteps, and traces of a magic circle!" Tifa returned to report.
"A magic circle?"
The butler went over and discovered it was a hidden ice explosion magic circle. Those people were incredibly vicious. If you accidentally stepped on it, you'd at least get a scratch.
"Mage, come with me and search. Let's clear these magic circles first!"
Just then, an explosion occurred ahead, startling the demonic bear, which immediately ran out.
"Everyone, prepare for battle! Mages, mark your positions carefully, and whatever you do, don't step on those magic circles!" Ellie shouted, and began marking her own positions as well, getting ready for battle.
After stomping on several small magic circles, the demonic bear became even more agitated and charged at the crowd it spotted.
"So this is where these rats were hiding!" Following the faint traces, Luo Fan discovered a group of people hiding on the mountain, including Hans and the young man who had proposed to Daisy earlier.
"I wasn't going to deal with you, but you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep. So don't blame me for being impolite!" Luo Fan was very confident since he didn't see the old man.
Suddenly, a series of explosions were heard below. Luo Fan, who had hidden himself, regained his senses and checked. Fortunately, there was no damage.
He was indeed a bit careless in failing to identify the hidden magic circle.
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