The Five Great Royal Cities (1)

"Come, come, eat some fish, eat!"

Barn and Declan took the roasted fish meat handed to them, exchanged a glance, and didn't dare to take a bite immediately.

Barn even maintained his Tiger-pattern Warrior transformation, his body tense as he vigilantly stared at the seemingly harmless young girl before him. Although they had never met, both could clearly sense a terrifying, unfathomable power hidden within her—a pressure only possessed by a god-level powerhouse.

The girl had snow-white hair, a petite figure, and a delicate, cute face. Her golden pupils were like the purest gemstones, and she wore a complex, gorgeous blue court dress. She looked for all the world like a young noble lady who had snuck out for an excursion, appearing completely out of place in the dead, cruel abyss of Gobada.

"This is that Abyssal Rift Shark you fought a year ago; its meat is delicious!" the girl said with a smile, her tone as casual as if she were discussing a piece of ordinary roast meat, before adding, "If you don't like it, we can eat something else—"

"We'll eat! We'll eat!"

Barn and Declan answered almost in unison, then stuffed the roasted fish meat into their mouths and devoured it like a whirlwind.

In Gobada, they believed she could turn them into the next meal with a mere flick of her finger.

After finishing, Barn suppressed his nervousness and tentatively asked, "My Lady, did you witness our battle a year ago?"

"My name is Fukaloss; just call me by my name," the girl said with a sweet smile. "I happened to be passing by at the time and killed that Undead Holy Magus from the Evil Royal City while I was at it. I originally wanted to greet you, but I ran into an enemy and got delayed."

The harassment squads of hostile royal cities naturally had god-level leaders. After dealing with the Undead Holy Magus, Fukaloss had unfortunately run into that god-level expert, and the two had fought a bitter battle.

"Evil Royal City." Hearing this name, Barn immediately associated it with the Evil King from the original work. After all, Gobada was the flip side of the material plane, and its area was not much different from the Yulan Plane. For a god-level expert, it wasn't very large, so it was normal to encounter related clues.

"Then, Miss Fukaloss, what is it you need from us?" Barn asked, intentionally using an honorific.

Fukaloss was clearly pleased by the title "Miss," and the smile on her face grew brighter: "It's like this: I belong to the Ice Prison Royal City and am a Lowgod. I am currently preparing to form an 'Ice Blade Squad' to oppose the Evil Royal City and the Azure Fire Royal City. Gideon over there is the first member I recruited. Now, I sincerely invite you two to join our team!"

She pointed behind her.

The Earth Violent Bear, which had been silent the whole time, raised its head and glanced at the two; clearly, Gideon was its name.

Barn and Declan looked at each other again, both seeing vigilance in the other's eyes.

Finally, Declan cautiously probed, "May I ask, as a god-level expert, what do you need us Sanctuary-level beings for?"

Fukaloss sighed and explained, "Actually, don't think that just because we god-level experts have divine power to sustain us, we won't go hungry. The divine power we Lowgods absorb every day, aside from what's needed for life and cultivation, isn't much. Especially the Divine Domain; once opened, the consumption of divine power is terrifying."

"A single battle could exhaust the divine power we've accumulated over hundreds of years," Fukaloss said with a pained expression. "And if we were to consume divine power to 'collect resources' underground, the gains wouldn't even cover the cost of the power spent; it would be a loss."

"Therefore, many god-level experts have come up with a solution: find some powerful Sanctuary-level beings to form a combat squad. We let the Sanctuary-level beings do the 'resource collection' work, while we god-level experts only handle the opposing god-level experts."

Barn and Declan understood. The so-called "collecting resources" was clearly hunting down the Sanctuary-level beings of hostile forces. The other party wanted them to be cannon fodder!

However, her description didn't explain why they had to hunt Sanctuary-level beings, and—

"Then, as teammates, will we have a salary?" Barn tried asking; this was what he cared about most.

Fukaloss puffed out her chest and said confidently, "Of course! When we god-level experts cultivate, a lot of divine power dissipates. As my teammates, you can stay by my side and absorb this dissipated divine power to make up for your body's consumption! So, as long as you join my squad, you'll never have to worry about going hungry again!"

Barn took a deep breath and was just about to speak: "Miss Fukaloss—"

"Don't be in such a hurry to decide, have another piece of roasted fish!" Fukaloss interrupted him with a smile, handing over two more pieces of golden-roasted Abyssal Rift Shark meat.

Declan was shocked. He clearly remembered how terrifying this Abyssal Rift Shark had been a year ago, and he had even been severely injured by it, yet now it was already a meal on a plate.

Barn glanced at the Earth Violent Bear, Gideon, in the back. The bear lowered its head helplessly; it was clearly forced to join as well.

Barn and Declan reached a decision in an instant.

"No need to consider it, we two brothers are willing to serve Miss Fukaloss!"

As Barn dispersed his transformation and returned to his human form, Fukaloss's eyes lit up instantly.

"So you are a human!"

Barn nodded: "I come from a Tiger-pattern Warrior family. This is a Sanctuary family that only appeared nearly four thousand years ago, so it's normal that Miss Fukaloss doesn't know of it."

"Hmm—my grandmother also came to Gobada ten thousand years ago, so there is no information on Tiger-pattern Warriors." Fukaloss realized, then asked curiously, "Did you comprehend the Profound Mysteries of the Wind and Water elements?"

"No, I comprehended the Laws of Water and the Rules of Fate," Barn answered truthfully.

"Ah?" Fukaloss was stunned, looking at Barn, "But the battle qi circulating in your body is clearly Wind-elemental!"

"My battle qi matches my bloodline, but I have no affinity for the Wind element."

"Then what Profound Mysteries have you comprehended?" Fukaloss pressed, her eyes full of curiosity.

"In the Laws of Water, I have comprehended 'Round Softness' and the 'Water Body Technique'. As for the Rules of Fate, I call it 'Destined Hit'." Barn did not hide it; in front of a god-level expert, concealment was meaningless.

"Oh? You've comprehended two Profound Mysteries in the Laws of Water! Not bad." Fukaloss nodded in approval, then looked at Declan, "Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon, what about you?"

"This Humble One is Declan, thank you, Miss, for recognizing my race." Declan bowed slightly, his posture humble, "I have comprehended the Night Veil Profound Mystery of the Darkness element, and I have just touched upon the Shadow Clone Profound Mystery of the Darkness element."

"Both of you have comprehended two Profound Mysteries?" Fukaloss looked at them suspiciously, "Did you receive guidance from some powerful god-level expert?"

Barn shrugged: "No, we just wanted to seize every opportunity to improve our strength and survive."

Fukaloss glanced at the Earth Violent Bear, Gideon, and said, "This Gideon here cultivates the Earth Pulse, one of the Profound Mysteries of Earth. You should have already realized the profound nature of the mysteries you each cultivate."

The man, the dragon, and the bear all nodded at once.