Traveling through the game world

"You must be Gissman!" Sitting high in the head seat, the chief elder of the Dark Elf Kingdom's council, Shaplen, looked down at Gissman and said.

Noble etiquette seemed to be a constant in Gissman's mind; he bowed gracefully and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency Shaplen, the great Dark Elf Elder. I am Gissman."

Giss was somewhat puzzled by Shaplen's summons. Although he operated in Dark City, his guild was only considered mid-tier—powerful enough, but not among the strongest. Shaplen, as the Chief Elder of the Dark Elf Kingdom's Council, was someone the two would almost never cross paths with.

Shaplen, perpetually arrogant, looked down at her and said indifferently, "I command you to assemble a team of adventurers to explore the Hero's Tomb above the Drifting Cave."

Gissman was extremely disgusted. "You're just a dark-skinned monster who just crawled out of the ground, what's with your arrogance? I'm a legitimate nobleman from the continent of Arad, okay?" But when Shaplen asked him to explore the Hero's Tomb, his heart skipped a beat. That was the ancestral tomb of the Dark Elves, no joke.

Despite feeling both displeased and surprised, Gissman still respectfully said, "Yes, Your Excellency Elder Shaplen."

Although not Shaplen's subordinate, Gissman genuinely didn't want to offend Shaplen if he wanted to operate in the Dark City area. As for exploring the Hero's Tomb, Gissman understood perfectly well: if Shaplen didn't care about his ancestral graves being desecrated, why should he be? And as for the adventurers, as the leader of a mid-tier adventurers' guild, organizing a group of adventurers to desecrate the Dark Elf ancestral graves was incredibly easy.

Shapley let them explore, so let them explore. After all, Gissman's guild is a powerful adventurer guild. Level 40 is just considered a newbie, level 50 is the main force, and there are even a few powerful adventurer guilds with awakened beings. They are a very strong force in Dark City.

Seated high above, Shaplen thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of this power. He knew, of course, that Gissmann below was not his subordinate, but a nobleman from the powerful Delos Empire. But so what? In Dark City, Shaplen was a mountain that no one could afford to offend.

As for the Hero's Tomb located in the Drifting Cave, to be honest, if it hadn't recently mutated to the point that the entire Dark Elf leadership felt threatened, he really wouldn't have wanted adventurers involved. Adventurers traversing Arad vary greatly in character, but they all share one common trait—greed.

Even if the problem of the Hero's Tomb is finally solved, it will probably be almost like a locust swarm passing through. However, the Dark Elves themselves dare not explore the Hero's Tomb on a large scale for the time being, so they can only ask the adventurer forces for help.

The arrogant Shaplen looked indifferently at the respectful Gissman below and said casually, "I heard that you have a younger brother named Liedinghman?"

“Yes,” Gissman said, seemingly worried. “I do have a younger brother named Redin Schman, but he has recently disappeared, and my family and I are very worried. Does Your Excellency have any news?”

Despite saying it, Gissman understood why, out of so many adventurers' guilds in Dark City, Elder Shaplen had chosen his mediocre adventurers' guild.

Because of Lian Yang's unique political identity—he is Agamemnon's apprentice and currently works for Barn's Knights—many people cannot openly take any action against him. No one wants to face two sword saints simultaneously, especially Barn, whose subordinates are among the strongest warriors on the continent.

However, Lian Yang and Krent have become very close, and Krent is the Queen's envoy. In other words, Lian Yang has already been forced to side with the Dark Elf Queen Maya. Moreover, Shaplen is quite certain that Lian Yang will obtain the right to explore the Hero's Tomb through some channels.

If Lian Yang truly resolves the issue of the Hero's Tomb, the credit will ultimately go to the Dark Elf Queen Maya. With Maya's increased prestige, the prestige of his Grand Elder, Shaplen, will naturally be affected, and his power will be consequently impacted.

Unfortunately, Lian Yang, who had already gained some fame, convinced everyone that he could solve the problem of the Hero's Tomb. Left with no other choice, Shaplen secretly plotted to eliminate Lian Yang. And Gissman, who had a blood feud with Lian Yang for killing his brother, was undoubtedly the best option.

However, when Shaplen mentioned Lieding Scherman, Gissmann still felt a little proud. They were brothers from the same womb, and Lieding Scherman, as the younger brother, could only manage a mediocre band of thieves, something he dared not openly admit. But Gissmann's Adventurers' Guild was a powerful force in the open. "A younger brother is always a younger brother," Gissmann thought proudly.

With a casual wave of his hand, Shaplen said indifferently, "I only heard that your brother was last seen in the ruins of Huttonmar, the capital of the now-defunct Duchy of Belmar." He then waved his hand again and said, "Alright, go and prepare."

Knowing the situation, Gissman bowed and took his leave, his mind conflicted. He genuinely didn't want to cause trouble for Lian Yang, even though he knew Lian Yang had definitely killed Lieding Shuman. However, his relationship with Lieding Shuman wasn't very good either; they weren't particularly close.

Children from noble families are often preoccupied with fame and fortune from a young age, so they don't tend to have much familial affection. Otherwise, the Hughman family wouldn't have pretended to know nothing when Lian Yang left no clear evidence.

Moreover, although everyone knew that Lian Yang had killed Lieding Shuman, there was no proof. His rash attack on Lian Yang would have been difficult to handle, and the wrath of the two sword saints wouldn't be easily appeased.

However, Dark City is currently the center of Arad, and the interests here extend beyond Gissman; the entire Gissman family is unwilling to give up this lucrative prize. Gissman, unable to offend Shaplen, has no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed.

In Gissman's eyes, although Lian Yang's ability to kill enemies of higher levels was astonishingly strong, his relatively low level was still a major weakness. Deep down, Gissman was more concerned about Barn and Agamemnon behind Lian Yang. As for Lian Yang himself, Gissman believed that any elite squad could easily and silently eliminate him.

No sooner had Gissman left than Shaplen summoned several trusted men and said disdainfully, "That damned human is not trustworthy; he couldn't possibly have gone all out to kill Lian Yang. Spread the word that there seems to be some extraordinary treasure about to be unearthed from the Hero's Tomb. The recent anomalies are signs that the treasure is about to appear."

Gissman was conflicted about whether to kill Lian Yang, while Elder Shaplen didn't trust Gissman at all; he was just a scapegoat the elder had found. Even someone as arrogant as Shaplen didn't want to face two sword saints head-on at the same time—it was simply too terrifying.

Moreover, since he had already agreed to let the adventurers explore the Hero's Tomb, Shaplen decided not to be hypocritical and might as well go all out and find a way to kill Lian Yang and cut off Maya's arm.

Seeing his subordinates nod in understanding, Shaplen continued, "Then, replace our men guarding the Heroes' Tomb with theirs. We can't do that kind of suicide mission."

The saying "think three steps ahead before taking one" perfectly describes Shaplen. If rumors were to spread that a world-shaking treasure had been unearthed at the Hero's Tomb, the Hero's Tomb would definitely be beyond the defense of the Dark Elves. Even without a direct attack, the Dark Elf guards protecting the Hero's Tomb would suffer heavy casualties.

Finally, Shaplen said in an extremely serious tone, "We must kill Lian Yang and prevent some new dark elves from infiltrating the adventurer's party. We can't let that woman Maya have any more helpers!"

At this point, Shaplen's purpose was crystal clear; his desire for power was utterly naked. However, his trusted subordinates, who had remained expressionless throughout, sensed his thirst for power and simultaneously revealed fanatical expressions.

Even Lian** had no idea that he had just completed his planned first adventure in Dark City, and had already become deeply involved in the power struggle between the Dark Elf Queen and the Dark Elf Grand Elder.

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