What Overlord? I'm Defecting!

"You mean, Master Kent, who was perfectly fine just now, was shoved into the painting by the Ghost Hand and came out with dementia?"

The ward at the Light Eagle Legion's base.

Sally stared at Aston, who looked ashamed, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions that could be used as a color palette.

Four parts confused, three parts puzzled, two parts helpless, and one part utterly bewildered—what on earth is going on?

When the other captains heard that Kent was injured and that his condition was not good, they rushed over. At this moment, several heavy gazes (except for Elsa) were on Aston, and his body trembled.

Before Aston could answer, Kent, lying on the bed beside them, opened his eyes and looked at them with a puzzled expression, his eyes revealing wisdom, and said:

"Wai Bi Ba Bu".

"."

All the team leaders gathered there fell silent.

Aston opened his mouth, but all his words ultimately turned into a heavy sigh.

"Well!"

He went from being full of confidence when he first got help from a master, saying "Mom, life is a wilderness," to now saying "Oh my god, life is deceiving me."

It'll probably soon become "Damn, Wild Life".

The doctor came over and said, "Please don't worry, Master Kent's mental damage is reversible. With proper care and rest, he can recover in a week."

After a week, the sticky Yellow Rice would have cooled down completely.

If it were just a routine exploration, this level of failure, while tragic, wouldn't be enough to make the mercenaries so disheartened.

But this is a competition!

They could even imagine how the group of adventurers from the countryside would laugh at them after hearing that Kent had become a temporary idiot.

Regardless of the adventurers' abilities, their exploration progress will definitely surpass that of the mercenaries during Kent's rest period.

"Calm down first. I urgently contacted another group of dungeon explorers. They may not be as skilled as Master Kent, but they are enough to lead us to some achievements." Sally demonstrated his reliable qualities at this time.

Everyone nodded. As the person who had joined the group the shortest time but had been promoted to vice-captain in a short period of time, Sally did have strengths in strategy and interpersonal skills, and was worthy of admiration.

Even so, some people still disagreed with him because "Gers" became the captain of the Assault Team along with him, and many people felt that Sally got the position by clinging to a woman's coattails.

"That's not enough," Aston suddenly said. "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, after some investigation, I found that those adventurers are indeed quite skilled and should not be underestimated."

He clenched his fist. "To ensure victory, there's one more thing we need to do."

"What?" people asked.

Aston revealed a sinister smile and slowly began to speak:

"Slow down their progress!"

Soon after, news arrived that Master Kent had been seriously injured in the Zane Dungeon.

Many people had already noticed something amiss when they were making a hasty retreat from the Zane Dungeon, and now, with the added publicity, even more people have become aware of the matter.

Why would they do something that would clearly damage the confidence of the Light Eagle Legion supporters and even harm Kent's reputation?

Because Aston believed he understood human nature and also believed in Kent's image in the minds of most people.

Ask yourself: If a dungeon can turn a legendary dungeon explorer into a mentally impaired person, would you ordinary people still dare to explore it?

Aston knew perfectly well that neither the mercenaries nor any of the adventurers he had seen so far, especially those near the Leyndell, would do so!

"Releasing this kind of news to intimidate Lu Lu Wo and her group, and then taking the opportunity to increase our exploration efforts, that's the perfect tactic."

Aston crossed his arms and laughed heartily, looking completely confident of victory.

Sally didn't know what to say. He felt that there was something wrong with the plan, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

It just feels like everything related to Sion can't be predicted using common sense.

In the end, he still pulled the Brave away from this place of trouble, wanting to protect Elsa's hard-won innocence.

He can handle dealing with people and plotting; Elsa only needs to continue her Yugi of making friends.

Meanwhile, a few days after the news broke...

Having just traveled Three-hundred-and-sixty-five-mile road to find the second hidden campfire in the Catacombs of Carthus, Lu Lu Wo and her group, who were currently resting happily, started talking about the message deliberately spread by the Light Eagle Legion.

"That old man has become mentally disabled."

Lu Lu Wo sighed deeply and said, "At such an old age, you still have to suffer like this. Wouldn't it be better to enjoy your retirement in peace?"

"Captain, you don't seem too happy?" Mi La asked.

"I've benefited a lot from his books before, and I respect the old man quite a bit in private," Lu Lu Wo shrugged. "But I still have to criticize him in public, after all, he's a competitor."

"Judging from the recent news, the Catacombs of Carthus seem more dangerous than any other area," Aisi, flipping through the intelligence reports people had received. "Should we continue exploring, or should we take a break?"

"Aren't you curious about what turned the old man into a mentally challenged person?" Lu Lu Wo countered.

Aisi smiled upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "I am indeed curious."

"That settles it then. Let's continue exploring. I want to see what's different about this cemetery. Can it be more dangerous than a magic academy?"

To some extent, Lu Lu Wo's reaction represents the attitude of the vast majority of adventurers in Bede City.

"They can turn Master Kent into an idiot? I have to see that!" That's the mentality of most people.

Adventurers who were afraid of danger all ran away when the first anomaly occurred in Sein.

The rest are all audacious individuals who dare to cosplay as a Dementor to challenge the Undead Legion, frantically pluck the tail hair of the Furious Rajang, and get up close and personal with Rotten Kindred while naked.

The Light Eagle Legion's publicity campaign will only have the opposite effect of what they expected!

After the news that "Kent has gone mad" spread quickly, some adventurers who were originally in other areas became interested in the underground area, and even some of the permanent residents of Lake Liurnia went into the Catacombs.

Because of the existence of the "bulletin board" in Bede City, any new intelligence discovered by these people will become the food for the Skyrim Strategy Team to evolve.

"Wait, you mean the old man became mentally challenged because he entered the Painting World?"

Lu Lu Wo's expression suddenly turned strange.

Bei Er Tuo pushed up his glasses. "Yes, according to the investigation, he became like that because he entered a painting called the [Painting World "Carthus Warrior"" ]. Captain, what's with that expression?"

"Uh, well, how should I put it?"

Lu Lu Wo hesitantly took out the rolled-up paper and unfolded it in front of Bei Er Tuo.

"You've already got it!?"

Bei Er Tuo asked incredulously, "They haven't already gone in, have they?"

"No, no, I didn't go in." Lu Lu Wo shook her head, but then changed the subject, smiling sheepishly as she said:

"Ta Mi is inside."

Bei Er Tuo's glasses fell to the ground with a "thud".

The intern was locked in Painting World that could drive even the greatest masters mad.

"Isn't this even worse than when you were in there, Captain!"

In the Painting World.

Yellow sand filled the sky, and cries of sorrow echoed across the land.

Ta Mi glanced at the Farron Undead Legion Legion not far away, then at the demon-like Carthus Warrior beside him, and fell into deep thought.

Fight? How could that be? The introduction when entering the dungeon already said that the Overlord's army was slaughtered by the Undead Legion. There's absolutely no hope of fighting them.

What should we do then? It seems like there's no other option besides fighting.

When the bugle sounded, Ta Mi's gaze sharpened, and he made his choice.

"I've defected to the enemy!"

He turned around and pointed his weapon at his fellow Carthus!

If you can't beat them, join them. With this thought in mind, Ta Mi felt a sudden sense of liberation.

Although he had defected to the enemy, the Undead Legion did not consider him a teammate and would kill him if they caught up with him.

But this did not affect Ta Mi's determination to defect to the enemy. On the contrary, he felt like he was a masked hero in Infernal Affairs, which gave him a mental high.

There's no other way; in the perilous Zane Dungeon, you have to find your own way to relax.

Since we can't beat the Undead Legion anyway, let's just treat it as a game.

After dying countless times, he finally survived until the Undead Legion wiped out nearly half of the Carthus. Just as he was about to cheer, a deep abyssal spell shot out from the Overlord's palace and rushed straight at him!

"Oh no, I'm going to die again."

"Bang!"

He suddenly felt dizzy and his body fell backward. The death he expected did not happen because a super cool figure blocked his way—it was the Farron Undead Legion!

Wuhu, the Farron Undead Legion saved me! This time they finally didn't kill me!

Ta Mi wanted to cheer even more, but before he could witness the epic battle between the Undead Legion and the Overlord, the Painting World shattered like a mirror.

He was thrown out.

As he detached himself from the Painting World, he vaguely saw a small Living Dead from the Carthus Legion giving him a thumbs-up, its expression seemingly saying:

"You're quite talented for finding this way to play."

"Thump!"

With a muffled thud, Ta Mi fell to the ground, finding himself surrounded by complete darkness. This was the very place where he had discovered an ancient book and been ambushed by the Ghost Hand within it, which had stuffed him into the Painting World.

Lu Lu Wo were not there; instead, they continued forward and found a hidden campfire.

That's strange. Generally speaking, if someone leaves the Painting World, they will appear near the painting. Why is he here instead?

Putting that aside for now, what should he do next?

There was only one path in front of him, but if he followed it, he would find three different paths. If only he were Kobold, he could use his keen sense of smell to find his companions.

However, being a pure human, he would find it difficult to track his companions' footprints without tracking magic.

Just as he was struggling with his decision, he suddenly noticed something glittering on the fork in the road to his left. Upon closer inspection—

[Gem Crystal Bug]!

It's a weak monster that can drop good stuff!

Ta Mi quickly gave chase, but the Porsche was much faster than its kind, and Ta Mi could only see its tail following behind despite his best efforts.

He seemed unaware that the crystallizing worm was deliberately inducing it.

They didn't encounter any monsters along the way, and ran and ran until they reached the suspension bridge.

"Snap!"

Ta Mi, who was happily hugging the Gem Crystal Bug, fell straight down. This is a classic scene. Does the Zane Dungeon really have an intact suspension bridge?

"Ouch, my back!"

Surprisingly, he didn't die from the fall this time. Instead, he landed in a place that looked like a secret room with firelight.

The walls were covered with white bones, and a large number of ancient books were scattered everywhere.

"Rustle and rustle."

A hunched figure stood with his back to him, groping a skeleton.

"Um, hello?" Ta Mi tentatively greeted him.

Suddenly, eerie music rang out nearby, and a hunched figure turned around abruptly, startling Ta Mi.

Because this guy has three heads on his chest and six arms with lanterns hanging from them!

Each head is covered with a rather bizarre mask; this is definitely not an ordinary monster!

Three Corpse Necromancer

He stumbled upon Elite Monsters in the Catacombs of Carthus by chance, becoming the person with the highest exploration progress in that area!