Chapter 158 The chaotic maze finally came to peace

The cheers of victory in the maze were deafening, but the Silver Pine Forest outside the maze was in chaos.

The sudden earthquake shook the entire forest, not only startling the hibernating animals and monsters in the forest, but also making the militia on duty nervous.

The outpost of the Silver Pine Town Militia.

The militiamen crawling behind the bunker had an expression as if they were facing a great enemy, their eyes fixed on the snow-covered forest and the swaying sentry tower not far away.

It is now December and heavy snow is falling from the sky. It won't be long before Leiming County becomes a world covered in silver.

If their watchtower collapsed at this time, it would definitely be a disaster for them who still have to work in this area.

After all, wood and soil in winter are as hard as steel. They would have to spend several times more effort to rebuild the watchtower, and they would also have to risk frostbite.

Fortunately, the earth-shaking tremor soon ended, and the entire forest returned to peace. The sentry tower standing in the center of the camp was also spared.

After waiting for a while, "Shield Thrower" Hebal confirmed that there was no new movement, and finally breathed a sigh of relief and left the wooden shelter with icicles hanging on it.

"Stop... all clear."

Hearing that the alarm was lifted, the militiamen breathed a sigh of relief and threw their muskets back on their backs.

“It should be an earthquake.”

"Thank God..."

I heard that the devil is back again.

Compared to the Demon King's army's comeback, the earthquake is definitely good news.

After sending the new young man to stand guard in the watchtower, Hebal returned to the fire. He had just leaned his musket against a tree stump when he heard another rumbling movement under his butt.

But this time it didn't last long and stopped after a few seconds. It was more like the aftermath of what happened just now.

Following the captain and sitting next to the fire, the nervous militiaman wiped the snow off his face and cursed.

"Damn...what happened in the maze again?"

“Who knows…”

A younger militiaman raised his hand and spoke in a low voice.

"I have heard a little about it."

Many eyes turned to him, including their captain, the Shield Thrower.

Hebal looked at him with obvious disbelief on his face and asked with a sneer.

"Where did you hear that?"

The young man said with a solemn look on his face.

"Silver Pine Trail is the tavern that adventurers often go to... Yesterday I heard them talking about a Chaos Gate that seemed to have appeared on the fifth floor of the maze."

Chaos Gate?

Hebal was stunned, and the militiamen around him were whispering to each other and exchanging surprised looks.

An older militiaman frowned slightly and spoke.

"Are you talking about the incident in Misty Town? But I heard... wasn't it resolved by the knights of the Trident Knights?"

"It's different. Misty Town is the fourth level of the maze, and this time it's the fifth level..."

The young man quickly shook his head, recalling what he had heard and continued.

"And I also heard that the previous incident was some strange fog... This time it seems to be related to the guy in the Dimensional Desert."

When they heard the word "dimensional desert", the faces of the people sitting in front of the fire finally changed.

Especially Hebal, who subconsciously moved his buttocks, as if the wooden block under his crotch had turned into a hot forge.

No wonder they reacted this way.

During this period, they had more or less seen some refugees coming from the direction of Huangtong Pass.

Without exception, those poor displaced creatures looked terrified and would rather endure hunger, death and the bitter winter than flee their homes.

Even if they didn't have a specific concept of the so-called "flame that destroys everything", they could still indirectly feel how terrifying that guy was...

Recently they even heard rumors that the Brass Pass was in danger and the Kingdom of Ryan was urgently seeking help from the Oss Empire.

If this is true, the Principality of Campbell will probably not be spared. The evil wind blowing from the dimensional desert will visit here sooner or later.

"I heard they massacred a city..."

A militiaman said nervously.

Another militiaman who was a hunter and was sitting next to him cursed in a low voice.

"Damn it... these damn Outer Gods! Don't they have their own homes?!"

At this time, a militiaman who had not spoken before suddenly spoke.

"They really don't. I heard they came from the void."

Everyone looked at him strangely, and one of them couldn't help but ask.

"Void?"

"What is that?"

"The void is nothing, and yet it is everything..."

The farmer-looking man gestured with his fingers and continued.

“It is the end of everything and the beginning of everything. If our world together with the stars in the sky is an epic, then it is the world outside this epic.”

Looking at the old farmer who was mumbling a story he had heard from somewhere, Shield Thrower Hebal shook his head and threw a dead branch into the fire.

"I've never heard anything more stupid!"

These guys haven't even left Silver Pine Town, but they are arranging the stars in the sky.

Hebal wasn't the only one who thought this was stupid.

The same was true of his absent superior, Aled, the sheriff of Silverpine and leader of the militia, who scoffed at these so-called gossips and forbade them to discuss them.

However, when these words came out of the mouth of the honorable Baron Gus, Aled still maintained the highest level of respect, did not show that sneering expression on his face, and even expressed admiration and praise against his will.

After all, he needed this guy's help in many ways.

At this moment, the two were riding hunting horses and walking on the edge of Silver Pine Forest accompanied by a group of guards.

The previous earthquake shook off their prey, and the two began to talk about the Chaos Gate in the maze.

By the way, I don’t know if it’s because of the stockings, but Baron Guts seems to be doing well recently and didn’t even get angry because of the loss of his prey.

Not only that, his whole complexion seemed much more energetic, and he seemed to be in high spirits all day long, often saying "I heard from the Earl" or "I heard from His Royal Highness the Duke" all the time.

And the so-called theory about the void was exactly what he heard from a certain important figure.

After finally listening patiently to Baron Gus's long speech, Sheriff Adlai immediately spoke.

"...Please rest assured, honorable Baron. Our patrol team has expanded to the forest outside of Silver Pine Town. If a monster escapes from the maze or any other accident occurs, I will notify you immediately."

After listening to Adlai's words, Baron Gus laughed and spoke in a chatty tone.

"Mr. Adlai, I believe in your ability. You have never let me down, have you? But I still have to say that no matter what the maze is, even if we leave it there, the monsters there will kill each other endlessly and will not pose any threat at all."

"Oh?" Adlai raised his eyebrows slightly and said with interest, "Then what do you think the real threat is?"

"Of course it's those who live on the ground. The monsters underground won't take over our living space, but they will, and we can't guard against them..."

Baron Gus narrowed his eyes slightly and looked towards the northeast of the forest.

Continuing northwards past the Broken Rock Peak, you will reach the southern part of the Duskwood - the Dusk Province of the Kingdom of Lion.

Continuing eastwards across the Twilight Province is the Brass Pass that separates the prosperous world from the barren land.

Although the Chaos army may not be able to pass through that pass, the chaos caused by it is already spreading to the heartland of the Kingdom of Lion.

Baron Gus did not think that the barbarians could reach the northeastern coast of the Whirlpool Sea, but he had to be wary of refugees from the Dusk Province looting his territory.

Retracting his gaze from afar, Baron Gus looked back at his loyal sheriff, a smile forming on his mustache.

"By the way, speaking of the refugee issue, I have something to trouble you with."

"I'm happy to serve you." Adlai said readily.

Baron Gus paused and continued.

"Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Campbell family will come to Thunder County soon. I hope that during this period of time, there won't be even a single refugee in my territory."

Because it was very important, he repeated the last half of the sentence, word for word.

Adlai was slightly surprised and asked in confusion.

"Grand Duke Campbell's daughter? What is she doing here?"

Baron Gus stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"She has her own plans, but from what I heard, it's related to the Chaos Gate."

Adlai nodded to show that he understood, and then got back to the point.

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"I will keep an eye on the refugees for you, but it's not realistic to have none, unless you shut down the Adventurer's Guild."

Baron Gus waved his hand.

"Adventurers are another matter. Don't worry about them. I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess is quite interested in adventurers."

Hearing this unreasonable request, Adlai's mouth twitched and he couldn't help but speak.

"But how do you distinguish between refugees and adventurers? They don't write who they are on their faces."

Baron Gus did not notice his embarrassment, but laughed and said.

"That depends on you, my friend. You often deal with those peasants, so you must be able to tell who are the good guys and who are the bad guys."

The corners of Adlai's mouth twitched again, but he still gave enough face and spoke.

"I will do my best."

Baron Guts, who was riding a horse beside him, gave the instructions in a friendly manner.

"Don't be so nervous. It doesn't matter if they made a mistake accidentally. If they want to blame someone, they can only blame themselves for running around."

After a pause, he continued.

"The Silver Pine Forest is huge, you can do what you want. By the way, I heard there's a haunted mine in the north. Although it's the property of the Andes family, those rich people have long abandoned it. If all else fails, you can send them there. After all, it's a place that can shelter them from the wind and rain, right? Hahaha."

As he spoke, Baron Gus laughed out loud, feeling proud of this brilliant idea.

A place sheltered from the wind is ok.

Adlai grinned, greatly surprised by this guy's disregard for human life.

Driving the refugees to where the demons are, is this guy really a follower of Saint Sith?

But he didn't seem to complain about his position.

After all, he had sold his soul to the devil a long time ago.

"I understand what you mean. I will do it."

Baron Gus smiled approvingly and nodded.

"You're a smart guy, and I admire you for that."

Adlai nodded slightly.

"It's my pleasure."

…

For the residents living in Thunder County, the sudden earthquake was just a minor episode. Since the epicenter was located deep in the Silver Pine Forest, apart from the residents of Silver Pine Town who were worried for a while, the citizens living in the city didn't even notice it at all.

Coincidentally, the sad news of Grand Duke Campbell's death suddenly came, and a grand funeral was held at Castle Campbell, which became the top priority of the Principality.

An atmosphere of sadness spread throughout the principality among all classes.

As a result, people soon forgot about the earthquake, and only whispers of discussion could be heard in the Adventurer's Guild and nearby taverns.

An adventurer who returned from Misty Town said that he saw with his own eyes the ground collapse and rubble falling... thousands of Chaos armies were turned into dust and dispersed with a wave of the Demon King's hand.

There are even more exaggerated claims that in that duel that seemed like between gods, the new demon king personally cut off Kalmandes' head and crushed it into powder! But no matter what, the turmoil caused by the Chaos Gate has finally come to an end without causing greater chaos.

Not only that—

Not only did the turmoil caused by Chaos come to an end, but Labyrinth also ended the warlord separatism that had lasted for a whole year.

This dramatic change caught many people by surprise.

For the four demon generals who surrendered to him, Luo Yan allowed them to retain their current territories and agreed on new feudal obligations with them.

Including responding to the Demon Lord's call when the cemetery is threatened.

Including taxes and tributes in peacetime, etc.

This includes establishing a monitoring system centered around acolytes and death priests to ensure the rule of the cemetery, as well as spreading the belief in demons with local characteristics of the cemetery in various levels of the labyrinth.

In exchange, Luo Yan promised to set up a cabinet, and in the future he would have the final say on small matters in the cemetery, while big matters would be discussed together.

Among other things, he promised not to go to war without the cabinet’s approval.

Compared with the order during Reggie Dragun's time, the set of rules that Luo Yan brought from the Magic City was undoubtedly much more advanced, yet not too advanced.

All the demons are happy.

With the establishment of the new order, the cemetery finally ushered in relative peace, and Luo Yan, the Demon King, was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and put his energy back into the management of the Demon King's territory, thinking about how to make his little leeks fatter and stronger.

It is worth mentioning that although the Chaos Gate in the labyrinth was closed, the connection between the cemetery and the planet Kao was not cut off.

Previously, Luo Yan's biggest worry was that the closure of the Chaos Gate might cause the cemetery to lose contact with the outpost fortress, and even prevent the players' soul images from returning from the planet Kao.

As it turned out, his worries were completely unnecessary.

His little players can still travel back and forth between the planet Kao and the continent of Os, but the energy consumed is about 20% higher than before.

Miranda's speculation is that although the Chaos Gate of the labyrinth is closed, there is a larger Chaos Gate in the dimensional desert thousands of kilometers away that maintains the subspace connection between the two worlds.

In fact, that is where the main force of the Chaos invasion lies.

It is precisely for this reason that the cemetery can still catch a ride on Chaos, but because the ride is quite far away, the "fare" has increased significantly.

Although the increase in transmission costs has put some pressure on the colony's economy, the impact is still within a controllable range.

At worst, the wool will come from the sheep, and we can just squeeze more magic crystals out of those players who use the teleportation array.

Currently, Miranda is studying "how to build a permanent teleportation array between the cemetery and the planet Chao" so that the key to the chaotic world can be held in the hands of the cemetery itself.

While Luo Yan was looking forward to his good news, he went to the planet Kao every now and then to kill monsters and level up, in order to improve his strength as much as possible.

As time went by, although Miranda's research did not make any breakthrough progress, she made unexpected discoveries in unexpected places.

One day in mid-December, Luo Yan had just arrived at the planet Kao and was about to go to the mushroom forest outside the fortress to kill monsters as usual when Miranda suddenly floated in front of him and said excitedly.

"…Respected Demon King! Do you still remember the conjecture you told me before that everything is made up of smaller particles?"

Luo Yan still remembered this incident, but he didn't know why he suddenly brought it up at this time.

"Any questions?"

Miranda nodded excitedly, then shook her head hastily.

And then, his next sentence made Luo Yan completely stunned.

“I found it!”

"The basic particles that make up all extraordinary powers!"

My stomach is not feeling well, so I went to the hospital. I will update in advance. It is too difficult without any drafts saved...TT (End of this chapter)