Passage

They said everyone would come out to welcome them, but even counting Landen, there were only a few people. As the hosts, they somehow had even less presence than their guests.

Of course, Landen did not care about that at all. After all, his predecessor had never once been able to stand tall in front of this second elder sister, from childhood to adulthood.

"My dearest sister, ever since Miss Janie came to inform me last time, I've been thinking of you constantly. Now that we've finally met again, I'm so happy!" Landen called out exaggeratedly as he walked toward the group standing on the flat ground not far from the bunker, discreetly sizing them up at the same time.

The most eye-catching person was naturally the one standing at the very front. That was, of course, Landen's second elder sister, Vivian.

Snakes were naturally lecherous, and Dark Elves, who spent their entire lives living in the underground world, could be said to resemble snakes the most in temperament. Cold, murderous, and licentious—those eight words were practically the best description of the Dark Elves. The latter four were displayed even more vividly in female Dark Elves.

The vast majority of female Dark Elves had more than one lover. The higher their status, the more lovers they possessed. Female Dark Elves who became the Matriarchs of their clans invariably had male consorts numbering in the double or even triple digits. Matriarch Isis was no exception. The four Landen siblings had four different fathers.

However, this was not absolute. Vivian, for example, was different.

Although she was a Dark Elf, her temperament in this regard was more like that of a human. From a young age, she had kept herself pure and never touched such things. This had even worried Matriarch Isis somewhat. She had once asked her second daughter, "Even for the sake of continuing the bloodline, you'll have to touch these things someday. Are you really planning to remain ignorant like this for the rest of your life?"

Then Vivian, who was only a little over ten years old by human standards, directly found a pair of male and female Dark Elves and had them "perform" continuously in front of her for an entire day. She then calmly told Matriarch Isis, "I understand everything I need to understand. When I feel that I need offspring, I'll find someone to take care of it."

This became one of the few amusing memories Landen had of his second elder sister.

Although the Dark Elves were a matriarchal race, female Dark Elves relied more on schemes and brutal slaughter if they wanted to become Matriarchs. Vivian was also different in this regard. She had always believed that becoming part of the ruling class required absolute strength, and that playing with schemes was merely the behavior of petty people.

Such a person had become the Matriarch of a city before she had even reached adulthood!

And now, it was the first time Landen had matched a real person with the one in his memories.

She wore a dark-red outfit that accentuated her fiery figure to perfection while making her beautiful features even more prominent.

However, none of that was the main point. Those truly observing her were not focusing on those things at all.

She was currently standing on the back of an Underground Pony. Her body formed a straight line from her shoulders to her heels, making her look as upright as an ancient pine. Her lips were lightly pressed together, sharpening the lines of her face. Along with her short, dark-red hair gently swaying beside her ears, this gave her an invisible air of murderous severity—heroic and stern!

That was the kind of woman she was. If she had to be described, it would be: no man could outshine her!

Three people stood behind her. One was a scantily clad female Dark Elf. From the whip tied around her waist and the strange ornaments hanging from her body, it was clear that she was a priestess of Spider Queen Ros.

Another was a Dark Dwarf. He stood only below the female Dark Elf's chest in height and had a huge beard that concealed his face. He wore a leather vest, leaving both arms exposed. The muscles on his short arms bulged and twisted together, and one hand carried a giant hammer nearly twice the size of his head.

The last person was completely concealed beneath a hooded robe. Even the hands exposed outside were wearing gloves, making it impossible to tell what race he belonged to. He held a vine staff that looked as though several thick vines had been twisted together. Set into its tip was a red gemstone the size of an egg. Light swirled inside the gem, as if it contained tremendous power.

Only behind them came Vivian's forces: two highly organized units. One consisted entirely of Dark Elves wielding twin curved blades, while the other was made up entirely of Dark Dwarves carrying heavy hammers. Both units were fairly large, and a rough estimate put their combined numbers at over a hundred.

In the underground world, an army of more than a hundred people was already quite large.

Seeing this, Landen could not help feeling somewhat surprised. It seemed that Vivian really did have designs on Morata City.

"Thinking of me? I can't see any sign of that on your face." Vivian's personality was still exactly as Landen remembered it—straightforward and... blunt. "Speaking of Janie, shouldn't you tell me where she went?"

"You really couldn't wait, could you?" Landen sighed inwardly, but on the surface, he put on an astonished expression and asked in return, "Miss Janie is your subordinate, sister. Why are you asking me? After she came to inform me that you were coming, she said she had other tasks and left. She even refused my offer to let her rest here for the night. But judging from what you're saying, she didn't return?"

That was why the Minotaur Butler had to die—so there would be no witnesses!

Vivian's expression darkened, and she looked at Landen with a slightly cold gaze. Yet she did not continue pursuing the matter. Instead, she swiftly changed the subject. "It seems you have fewer people here than when I came last time."

"I had no choice!" Landen instantly became unbearably sorrowful and said, "I can't compare with an illustrious and mighty sister like you. Surviving in a place like this isn't easy. To save me, my loyal Minotaur Butler gave his life. I'll remember him forever!"

Vivian's gaze grew even colder, but she could not find anything to say. She stared at Landen. Her instincts told her that this younger brother seemed different from before, yet she could not say exactly how. He was still the same good-for-nothing playboy, utterly beyond saving.

Thus, she changed the subject once more. "Let's not talk about that for now. We traveled all the way here. Aren't you going to invite us inside to rest?"

"Of course. The rooms have been ready for a long time. It's just that I have a limited number of rooms here, so I'll have to trouble your capable subordinates to squeeze in a little." Landen smiled warmly, while inwardly relaxing slightly. I've passed the first hurdle.