The Elders Gradually Turned into Couch Potatoes

"Boss, I heard that Lu Lu Wo have already set off for the Warrior Country. Shouldn't we go and check it out?"

The long-awaited Arnor Kingdom, the Zane Dungeon, the Academy Gate Town of Lake Liurnia.

Malu, a member of the Strategy Team, who was still petite, lay casually on the broken bricks, stretching her body lazily, just like a cat stretching its body.

Although the Academy Gate Town has now been transformed by adventurers into a thriving town with a completely different style from the surrounding area, some people have preserved some of the original buildings so that people can realize that they live in an underground city. For example, Malu is now lying in the original ruins.

"Malu, you don't look like the type to travel a long distance to another country."

"The Strategy Team's mage, Delu, spoke slowly, his white beard and his melodious tone giving him a unique kind of benevolence."

"Everyone else is doing it, so we should follow suit." Te Er, the tank in the group, rolled around in the shimmering puddles outside the town, enjoying the cool, refreshing feeling.

"Yeah, I'm too lazy to run around anymore. Life is great now." Malu's voice grew softer and softer until she started snoring and actually fell asleep in the sunlight.

What happened? Why has the entire renowned Strategy Team suddenly become so inactive?!

Caught up in the atmosphere, Te Er gradually fell asleep, leaving Delu yawning and gazing at the path outside the Academy Gate Town, as if waiting for something.

However, as people age, they cannot resist the onslaught of nightmares, and eventually, his head slowly drooped and he drifted off to sleep.

The midday sun was perfectly neutralized by the mist that lingered over Lake Liurnia, eliminating both the heat and the chill, making it the perfect temperature for a sweet afternoon nap.

The situation of the Strategy Team is not an isolated case. In fact, throughout the entire Zane Dungeon, adventurers have all found the most suitable place for their lunch break, and everyone is comfortably embracing their dreams.

While adventurers in the Warrior Country are still fighting to the death, adventurers in the Arnor Kingdom have become like salted fish basking in the sun.

How peaceful and serene life is!

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps came from the path that the Strategy Team members were watching over. Leon, whose blond hair shone even brighter in the sunlight, walked over with a hint of excitement on his face.

"Malu, Delu, Te Er, I've found it—"

He had barely called out when he saw everyone fast asleep. He immediately covered his mouth, a smile playing on his lips, and tiptoed over to sit down beside his companions.

He wasn't sleepy at all. He simply pulled out a rolled-up hand-drawn map from his pouch. It depicted the map of Lake Liurnia. After being infused with magic, various symbols with different meanings lit up on the map.

On this map, he specially marked a road extending outwards with red paint.

This extra-marked road is what excites Leon so much—it's a road that has never been found before!

The adventurers of the Arnor Kingdom have now fully adapted to the Zane Dungeon, to the point that they have developed their own unique rhythm of life and work around Zane Dungeon.

Some people lead a repetitive gathering life, shuttling between their home, the Gourmet Area, and the market; others spend their days waiting at the quest board to accept various dungeon-related quests; some have bought properties in all the safe zones of Lake Liurnia, becoming practically natives; and still others tirelessly draw runes in early-game areas like Farron Keep and the Road of Sacrifices to help newbies.

This is the fate of every underground city that suddenly intrudes into people's lives, becoming a part of their daily routines.

Generally, once a dungeon reaches this level, even if it stops undergoing any changes (updates), it can continue to exist for a long time because people have made the dungeon their life. Unless everyone dies, the dungeon will not lack a source of Spirit Power.

This is what the current Zane Dungeon looks like.

However, in this situation, there must be a group of people who feel lonely, namely the pioneering Strategy Team whose life goal is to constantly explore new areas and new things.

Under normal circumstances, former Strategy Team that have settled down in a dungeon will either become ordinary adventurer parties and integrate into the daily life of the dungeon, or they will leave the Zane Dungeon to seek new challenges.

However, in the Zane Dungeon, the normal situation has changed.

Because of the arrival of the Warrior Country delegation, some members of the forward Strategy Team were hired by Anzi III to exchange experiences with the delegation. Suddenly, they went from being freelancers to being public servants with official positions, and their daily task was to lead the delegation around the Zane Dungeon.

Following Anzi III's private instructions to "treat these missions as demons," they spent their days leading the missions to various pitfalls, having a great time.

There were even people in charge of this matter who privately approached Leon, hoping that he could disguise himself as an invader when the delegation entered the dungeon and teach them a lesson.

Leon, a man of integrity, naturally and firmly refused to do something so immoral!

However, he did give away his improved Dung Pie and the formula for the Stink Bomb.

Although the number of people in the Strategy Team has decreased, the remaining members are still enthusiastically running on the front line of exploration. The reason is, of course, that everyone agrees that there are still areas in the Zane Dungeon that they have not yet explored!

Although the focus of his work was on the Warrior Country, Gong Qiying would occasionally make some changes to the old areas of the Arnor Kingdom, and sometimes he would throw in different types of Painting World to stir up the passion of adventurers. Leon and his group were among those who were stirred up.

A recent piece of news further solidified his belief that there must be undeveloped areas in the Zane Dungeon.

It was a message from the adventure team he had been communicating with but who were in the Warrior Country. They said that in the new area "Caelid" opened up in the Zane Dungeon, they had discovered a Magic Town called Sellia, where all the enemies were mages.

Moreover, their attire is almost identical to that of the magicians at the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy!

Furthermore, based on the various details discovered during the exploration, it can be inferred that Lake Liurnia must have a profound and close connection with new areas of the Zane Dungeon such as Limgrave and Caelid.

Therefore, based on the nature of the Zane Dungeon, Leon deduced that Lake Liurnia was very likely to be connected to the new area. At that time, they might be able to travel freely between the old and new areas. The fact that it is not connected now might be because no one has found a connecting road or the Zane Dungeon has not yet opened this function.

With this in mind, Leon mobilized people he knew to explore the vast Lake Liurnia, instead of traveling directly from the outside world to the Warrior Country like Lu Lu Wo's Skyrim Strategy Team.

Unexpectedly, during this thorough search by the adventurers, several previously unseen small areas were discovered, such as some caves or Catacombs. Unfortunately, these were not the paths to the new areas.

Leon had almost given up hope, but he still tried to find it by following the clues provided by other adventurers.

As a result, he discovered the road that he has now marked in red on the map.

Excited, he immediately chose to return to find Malu and the others who were already lying down, and together they quickly went to check out the new road while the news was still fresh.

"Huh? You really found it?"

After a while, Malu, who had been woken up by Leon poking her face, showed an expression of disbelief.

However, you couldn't tell if she was happy from her face; instead, you could only see the sadness and helplessness of being interrupted from slacking off.

"Okay, okay, let's go take a look."

"Everyone, cheer up! We're the Strategy Team!"

Leon wanted to say something inspiring, but when he looked around, everyone looked completely listless.

He didn't know what to say anymore; it seemed that no amount of eloquent words could revitalize the salted fish.

"Damn it, being too idle is really bad for one's mental state!" he thought with a clenched fist and a sense of frustration.

"But boss, are you going to all this trouble to find a way out because you want to explore a new area?" Malu yawned and asked curiously, "I've heard that the new area is huge. If we go there, we'll probably be busy until the New Year."

Everyone is financially secure now. If they wanted, they could even enjoy the rewards from the Arnor Kingdom as heroes in the fight against the Black Eagle Rebellion, receiving a monthly allowance. If they lived a low-key life, they could easily make a living from the dungeons and no longer needed to rely on them for food.

No, it should be that we no longer need to make money from the dungeon. We still need to eat in the Gourmet Area. Everyone's taste buds have been successfully trained to resemble Sion's.

"Me? Actually, it wasn't to explore new areas, but I just had a premonition."

Leon looked up at the sky, gazing in the direction of the Warrior Country.

"I have a feeling that my dad is waiting for me over there. He's gotten stronger, much stronger than before!"

When he said this, his tone involuntarily revealed a fighting spirit, which he considered very exciting.

However, for others...

Malu, Drew, Ter: Embarrassing

"Do you and your father have some kind of mysterious telepathic connection?" Malu muttered to herself.

"From a magical point of view, it's not impossible." Delu's face showed a thoughtful expression.

"Terrible." Te Er shrank back.

So, in order to fulfill Leon's premonition, the Strategy Team members had to struggle to shake off their drowsiness and head towards the newly opened path.

Perhaps soon they will be able to discover a road connecting to the new region.

Then it brought a new batch of social instability to the Warrior Country.

Unlike the Arnor Kingdom, where everyone is living a peaceful life, fierce struggles are about to erupt within the Warrior Country.

Although the current situation appears peaceful, a few people see undercurrents stirring within it.

For example, You Fei has already noticed something.

"Is it another empty cave, or did he escape?"

On the outskirts of Black Rock City, You Fei, Fan En, and the soldiers accompanying them were still searching for traces of the demons, which had become their main task in recent days.

A soldier shrouded in fire protection magic crawled out of a blackened cave, shrugged, and shook his head, indicating that there was nothing down there.

You Fei frowned, while Fan En considerately pulled the soldier up.

"This is the fourth time we've found the empty cave. The other side must have discovered that we are chasing them, so they deliberately left so many false clues."

Ever since Dorian escaped from her grasp that day, she had been searching for his whereabouts. She needed to find out why Dorian was burning with flames; it was clearly not the behavior of a normal demon.

By following the tunnel the other party dug underground when they escaped, you can easily find the first cave. However, it is empty, and all the clues have been burned.

Later, with the help of some magicians skilled in tracking magic, the group found some clues, but after investigating all the way, they found nothing. They gradually realized what was going on.

"That guy used obvious false clues to hide his real hideout; we were all misled!"

The demon they were to capture this time was exceptionally intelligent, completely different from those mindless creatures that only knew how to destroy. This presented a challenge for You Fei, but also strengthened her resolve to bring the demon to justice.

Since Dorian is so cunning and clearly a native demon, the demons roaming around the cities are likely the ones he created using the Fallen Devil Egg!

Furthermore, the fingerprint branding never reappeared after the pursuit of Dorian began. Based on all of the above, it's easy to deduce the following fact:

The demons who used the Fallen Devil Egg to transform humans and Finger Down were the Dorian!

This undoubtedly increased the danger level of this guy in people's minds. After learning about this, Earl Gerhard has borrowed magicians with the ability to detect demons from other cities and is preparing to set up a magic array in and around Black Rock City that can detect demons in all aspects.

Prince Lan Le generously lent his own bodyguards to accompany You Fei, demonstrating the importance he placed on her.

However, the truth is that they have captured two more mindless demons in the past few days, but there is no sign of Dorian.

"It's getting late, should we continue today?" Fan En asked, glancing at the sky.

"Let's continue. Demons are more active at night," You Fei said, staring at him again. "Didn't I tell you you could leave me alone? What you need most right now is to train in the dungeon and take down Godrick as soon as possible."

"Capturing demons is also a form of training." Fan En shook his head and said sincerely, his face radiating a genuine light that was dazzling.

"You"

You Fei was at a loss for words. If she didn't know that Fan En was a sister-complex, she probably would have thought that this guy was interested in her.

But in fact, there is only one reason why Fan En didn't attack Godrick:

"That guy has completely changed and I can't understand him anymore," he muttered to himself, but You Fei didn't hear him at all.

Many days have passed, and quite a few people have arrived in Stormveil Castle, and gradually some people have been able to see Godrick.

Then it became the other party's limb material.

Not long ago, Fan En went to see Godrick, only to find that Grek had completely turned into a Frankenstein's monster. He couldn't even describe what he had seen that day, and he just couldn't eat meat for several days.

He really didn't want to fight that thing alone; he had to drag You Fei along with him.

"Speaking of which, have there been more and more people learning Weapon Skill in the city lately?" Fan En suddenly said.

"Yes, there are definitely more now, and the atmosphere is just like it was many years ago."

You Fei's face showed no sign of happiness; instead, it appeared even more serious.

She knew that this brief "revival" of Weapon Skill might provoke a more intense backlash from some people, and if she couldn't withstand it, her Weapon Skill would probably be even less able to hold up in the future.

It seems the opponents will take action in the next couple of days.

After searching the outskirts again without success, the group finally returned to the city as darkness fell.

"I'll go find Yi Sha first; she should be back from the underground city by now." Fan En said goodbye to You Fei and turned to find his younger sister, his steps becoming a little lighter.

"It's really nice to have a younger sister."

You Fei watched him leave, but having nowhere to go, she wandered around the city.

However, as soon as she entered the busy street, she suddenly sensed a change in the atmosphere and heard a cacophony of noise coming from not far away.

"The Great Encyclopedia of Magic, compiled by the Great Court Magic Sage Master Yuenka, is about to be unveiled, and all citizens will be able to enjoy the benefits brought by this divine miracle!"

"As a prelude to a miracle, I will bring you the latest research findings from the master!"

"That's a wonderful technique for casting magic with battle aura!"

Aide Jia and several magicians stood on the high platform and made a loud announcement to the gathered crowd.

The Reformists' counterattack came so swiftly.

And what they threw out was a royal flush!