"City Lord" Jellal

Sometimes Lu Lu Wo wonders if she's been infected by Ai Si Ai Mu and turned into a masochist.

Otherwise, there's no way to explain why someone like her, who has no worries about food and clothing, would be willing to challenge the Zane Dungeon again and again.

"Captain, how long have we been here?"

Deep within Red Lion City, next to the Fog Gate, lies a small blessed room, where the Skyrim Strategy Team resides.

"I don't know, I really don't know."

Lu Lu Wo clutched her head, feeling dizzy. Her entire body was wrapped in bandages, with ointment thoughtfully applied inside.

Looking around, the entire Skyrim Strategy Team was in the same state, even Fan En, who had been beaten so badly that he was exposed and had several times the amount of bandages on his body compared to a normal person.

The most visually striking are the two underage dragons, Abei and Mor. They have transformed into human form, wrapped up like mummies, with even their eyes not showing. The two dragons lie quietly in place, motionless.

It seems that only You Fei is missing from the scene.

The morale in this small room is a bit low.

Just then, a Redmane Soldier suddenly appeared at the door, but his arrival did not arouse the vigilance of the crowd. Instead, after seeing him, everyone sighed.

The Redmane Soldier made indistinct sounds as he pushed forward what he was holding. It turned out to be a pile of ointment-like medicine, bandages, and some miscellaneous medical supplies.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally shook their heads in unison.

Upon seeing this, the Redmane Soldier turned and left the small room, leaving behind a pile of decent-looking food before they left.

Strange, receiving medicine and food as gifts from the enemy? Even in the unpredictable world of Sion, this is a rare occurrence.

But the adventurers of today are too tired to complain anymore; they've become indifferent to ghosts.

Just like Ta Mi's question earlier, "How long have we been here?", people now feel like they've fallen into a vortex of eternal torment.

It seems that after entering Red Lion City, all previous adventure experience is no longer useful.

Based on past experience, the monsters in each area of Zane Dungeon should have commonalities, and once their weaknesses are discovered, they can be used interchangeably.

However, in Red Lion City, all kinds of powerful monsters gather here, whether they have seen them before or not, whether they can be defeated or not.

Upon entering Red Lion City, the Skyrim Strategy Team encountered not a more powerful Red Lion Legion, but a bunch of strange creatures.

While walking along peacefully, I was suddenly struck by lightning summoned by an Ancient Dragon Knight who seemed to be out of nowhere, and then Lion Hybrid charged at me with a roar.

While running, he was suddenly hit in the face by a Crucible Knight's Aspect of the Crucible: Wings. When he got up and continued running, he was flung away by the big tail.

Having finally defeated a powerful enemy and bathed in their blood, a Blood Noble suddenly emerged from the pool of blood and stabbed him in the heart.

What is this garbage?

The process of conquering Red Lion City made Lu Lu Wo feel like she had lost ten years of her life, and she even got white hair from worrying so much.

There are no mobs here, only elites; the worst one is White-Maned Lion like the one in Fort Gael.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad. The elites are strong but few in number, and it's not impossible for them to clear the level by taking a steady approach. But these monsters are playing a trick on information asymmetry, using abilities that adventurers don't know about to fight, making everyone look back every step of the way and feel extremely apprehensive.

That's why they say Soul Wanderers will be the best drivers in the future; their carefulness will definitely prevent accidents.

Lu Lu Wo and the others spent an unknown amount of time in this city, but finally, they managed to reach the deepest part of Red Lion City under pressure and meet Blessing and Fog Gate.

It's no exaggeration to say that everyone laughed like children the moment they saw Cifu, and some even cried their eyes out.

However, the appearance of the blessing was the last mercy of the Zane Dungeon; the real torment came after the Fog Gate.

Based on past experience, the strength of the boss behind the Fog Gate will vary depending on the number of challengers.

However, in Red Lion City, this boss not only changes its strength, but also its race, and it involves multiple boss battles.

Besides the Lion Hybrid that always charges in at the start, the next one to appear could be Crucible Knight, Omen Hunter, or some other Elite Monsters. In short, its type and strength vary depending on the number and strength of the adventurers, and the number can not exceed three.

Based on past experience, monsters will not stop until they have completely killed the adventurers.

However, in Red Lion City, the leaders behind the Fog Gate will hold back!

Stop attacking when the adventurer is near death. The Redmane Soldier will come and carry the half-dead adventurer away, then wrap them up tightly with bandages and ointment and leave them next to the Blessing. Wait until the adventurer is healed before returning to challenge them. If they fail to win, repeat the process.

"Because of this, I have no sense of time at all now," Lu Lu Wo muttered, burying her face in her knees.

Severe injuries and near-death experiences can cause a person to enter a dazed and confused state, and even with medication, it takes time for them to recover.

When the adventurers regained consciousness, they had no idea how long they had been lying there.

Lu Lu Wo and the others now only felt as if they had spent a considerable amount of time in Red Lion City, but exactly how long? Nobody remembered.

"If only I had more teammates," Ta Mi said weakly, lying on the ground.

"We've figured out the trick. A few more tries and we'll definitely pass smoothly," Lu Lu Wo said, as if encouraging everyone or hypnotizing herself.

After leaving Fort Gael, You Fei left the party.

It seems she was influenced by the Legend of the Shattered Star, because she went to challenge the Red Lion City by herself, without taking Fan En and the others with her.

"Once I beat the game, I'm definitely going to go up there and give that guy named Jellal a piece of my mind!"

Lu Lu Wo said through gritted teeth.

At first, everyone thought that the change of leaders behind the Fog Gate was a spontaneous action by the Zane Dungeon.

It was only later discovered that it was all the work of Jellal, who was watching the game.

He would sometimes stand on the city wall to watch the battle, and choose who to send out next based on the adventurers' performance against the Lion Hybrid.

If that were all, it would be fine, since everyone suspects that the other party is selecting those qualified to participate in the Battle Festival, so naturally they need to carefully manage the difficulty of the trial.

What angered everyone was that sometimes people were about to win, even when they were attacked from both sides by the Crucible Knight and Lion Hybrid, they stubbornly held on until they saw the light of victory.

Just then, Jellal sent down new monsters.

What's the point of fighting?

Because the leaders of the Fog Gate always hold back, adventurers are constantly struggling on the verge of death, so their Spirit Power naturally doesn't explode. In addition, with the healing from bandages, Lu Lu Wo and her companions can stay in the dungeon for a long time in this mode without being kicked out due to insufficient Spirit Power.

Unless they leave voluntarily.

Then why not leave voluntarily?

"These drugs have a magical power. Every time I'm beaten to the brink of death and then recover, I feel a surge of strength," Fan En said, feeling the changes in his body. "Although they are only very subtle changes, they are definitely beneficial."

Because they were so captivated by the life-or-death enhancement effect, no one wanted to leave.

Thus, the poor adventurers, dangling from petty gains, were trapped in a painful cycle.

"I've recovered!"

Suddenly, Abei jumped up and roared as he tore the bandages wrapped around his body.

"I'm going to fight again right now, and I'm sure I'll win this time!"

"Wait, don't rush in—"

Before anyone could stop him, Abei was clearly caught up in the fight, rushed out and plunged into the Fog Gate.

Based on past experience, he might actually have a better chance of winning if he went in alone; after all, he was You Fei's personally trained protégé.

Before the thought could fully form in people's minds, Abei was thrown out of the Fog Gate, flying backwards, and was seriously injured.

How could he not even last a few minutes? That shouldn't be happening!

"."

The Redmane Soldier, now professional medics, quickly surrounded him and began wrapping bandages around his body.

Just then, Abei suddenly flipped over, dodging the soldiers' bandages, and soared into the sky, flying rapidly towards the Red Lion City, shouting:

"I can't do this, I need to go find someone to help me!"

"Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, I need your help!"

With that shout, his figure disappeared into the horizon.

Everyone watched his disappearing figure in silence for a long time until Ta Mi finally broke the silence.

"Is he making an excuse to run away?"

No wonder they were kicked out after only a few minutes inside the Fog Gate; they must have planned this whole thing all along, right?

"No, I think he's serious," Mor suddenly said seriously.

"Bipedal Dragon have always been very protective of their offspring."

Meanwhile, on You Fei's side...

"If you have the ability to beat those guys, then you deserve to be called a warrior."

Standing before You Fei, whose armor was half shattered and whose severe injuries had even slowed her recovery, Lord Jellal of the Red Lion City spoke with no small amount of admiration.

You Fei remained silent, only staring at him as if he were an enemy. If she weren't too weak, she would have already attacked him.

She faced countless hardships in the boss battle, but the final result was good. She successfully passed the boss battle and, supporting herself, walked up to Jellal.

The Crucible Knight must be qualified to participate in the Battle Festival, and she, having defeated the Crucible Knight and Lion Hybrid, should be qualified enough.

"I'm asking you, do you like festivals?" Jellal suddenly asked.

"Enough of that," You Fei exhaled a breath of stale air. "I want to spar. No, I want to pay homage to Starscourge General. I want to right now."

"Don't be impatient."

Jellal's tone revealed the composure characteristic of the elderly.

"This place is currently just a Fortress of a defeated army, but when the sky is filled with stars, it will transform into a stage for a festival."

"That was to commemorate the most powerful demigod in the Shattering —General Radahn, to honor his last battle, and to carry on the Battle Festival of the Great Rune."

A hint of disappointment flashed in You Fei's eyes; this was clearly the scene she was waiting for.

I'm sure Jellal's next words will be something like, "Please wait for something."

"Please wait until the stars appear."

Sure enough, that's what Jellal said.

Just as You Fei was about to sigh, she heard the other person continue:

"Before that, would you be interested in accepting a commission, a commission in my personal capacity?"

You Fei instinctively asked, "What request?"

Jellal took out a badge, one engraved with the head of a roaring lion, and handed it to You Fei.

"The ceremony to send off General Radahn must be attended by countless warriors to pay their respects; only then can it be worthy of the general's last battle."

"So please go and invite more warriors and give them the badge. Although it will be damaged after one use, the badge will take the warriors to the Red Lion City when the festival begins."

Jellal's voice was solemn and serious.

"Summon thousands of warriors to become the flames of this festival!"