Emissary

"Aww—"

A clear wolf howl came from afar, instantly shattering the Tranquility of Nokron.

To be honest, the combination of the night sky and the howling of wolves does have a strange sense of harmony, as if they were born to be a pair.

Normally, when adventurers hear a sound that is clearly not human, they would assume that the source of the wolf howl is the final enemy they will face. Now, the sound heralds its imminent arrival.

Leon blinked and said:

"Doesn't this voice sound familiar to you?"

Upon hearing this, Malu and the others nodded, saying with suspicion, "This howl, which is much purer than Da Er's, can only be made by a real wolf, which means..."

"That's right, I think so too, which means..." Leon chimed in.

"Stop speculating, it's that half-wolf who appeared at the Battle Festival."

Jia Paer ended the conversation with a single sentence.

After all, his memory was much better than everyone else's; how could he not remember such a distinctive voice?

"."

Leon looked at his teachers with a reproachful gaze; they knew the answer all too well.

However, this kind of scenario, where you deduce the correct answer from clues during your adventure, is one of the most beloved activities for the Strategy Team! Jia Paer's single sentence ruined the atmosphere that everyone had worked so hard to create!

"Teacher," Leon patted his shoulder and sighed, "Adventures, sometimes, are more fun when you add your own drama to the experience. What do you think?"

Jia Paer nodded, puzzled; he didn't understand.

"Oh well, I'll just look for Blaidd on the way later." Leon shrugged.

Recently, a lot of afterimages have appeared in the Zane Dungeon, so many that it's almost impossible to deal with them all. Who knows if those afterimages might hide clues to some new place, just like the White Mask did for Mohgwyn of the Blood Dynasty.

"Half-Wolf" Blaidd was quite eye-catching among the afterimages. His wolf-headed, human-bodied appearance, wielding a giant sword, was full of fantasy. His combat power displayed at the Battle Festival was also not to be underestimated and was even more outstanding.

Recently, a large number of adventurers who specialize in investigating various afterimage characters have pointed out that Blaidd may have some kind of connection with Ranni, which adds a layer of mystery to his identity and makes people want to explore more.

Of course, the adventurers' desire to explore was mostly driven by a desire to see what rewards they could obtain.

After all, the title "Carian Princess" immediately suggests that Ranni is very wealthy. What if she were to be invited into Carian's Booty Bay and make a fortune after finding her?

Leon looked in the direction from which the wolf howl came, and memorized the direction so that he could prioritize taking that path when exploring later.

"Leon, just like before, Healing Magic can't heal afterimages." Delu's voice came from the side, accompanied by a faint green glow.

He turned around and saw the other person squatting in front of the person who was lying on the ground, casting spells that increased the healing effect level by level.

But it was no use. Adventurers had discovered something in the past: unless the afterimage was fighting alongside them, no buff magic could be applied to those people.

Leon took out Image Stone from his pocket, pointed it at the fallen afterimage, and gestured for Delu to speak to the other person.

When you encounter an interaction with a shadow, you should immediately take out the Image Stone to record it. This is a skill I learned from Lu Lu Wo, and it has gradually become a habit for Leon. If there is any missing information, you can go back and review the recording to slowly analyze the situation.

"Are you alright? Can you still speak?" Delu uttered one of the all-purpose phrases he used during his adventures.

"Ah ah."

The person lying on the ground let out a groan, and from the tone of his voice, one could tell that he was quite fragile; it seemed that if the wind blew any stronger, his soul would be blown away.

He was dressed entirely in black, with his face obscured by a black hood, making him look perfectly suited for nighttime operations, much like a classic profession—an assassin.

The broken broadsword and the shield painted with blue patterns were thrown aside. The afterimage held a Sacred Seal shaped like Two Fingers tightly in his hand and placed it on his chest, which was almost split in two by a huge wound.

Looking at the wound, one can almost imagine that he was struck head-on by a heavy and thick weapon like a greatsword; there was no way he could have survived such an injury.

"The Two Fingers command knife must be retrieved."

"Those who betray the faith of the Erdtree must be eradicated!"

The afterimage was like a final burst of energy before death; with his last strength, he uttered words, then surging blood blocked his throat, his head lolled to the side, and he instantly lost all consciousness.

"He's dead," Delu announced.

If a normal person faints, they cannot be easily judged as dead, but in the dungeon, they can be, because the afterimage's body is gradually dissipating.

As it dissipated, a white dot of light appeared in the spot. Delu touched it, and with a "whoosh," his vision suddenly went black.

"W-what's going on! Enemy attack!?"

"No, it's that person's clothes."

Malu, speechless, pulled the black clothes and robes that the afterimage had been wearing off Delu's body.

Given Delu's dwarf height, he would indeed be completely covered by the clothes. Ignoring his big beard, he looked like a child who had stolen his father's clothes.

Were you thinking something disrespectful to dwarves just now?

Faced with Delu's death stare, Malu scratched her face, gave a guilty laugh, and turned away.

Leon picked up the black hood that had fallen to the ground.

[Emissary's Hood]

The black hood, which blends seamlessly into the darkness simply by its color, is the attire of a church envoy.

Beyond the Lands Between, there exists a church that spreads the teachings of the Two Fingers, and they send out secret messengers according to the guidance of the blessing.

The secret agents are not only loyal servants of Two Fingers, but also the hunting knives used to secretly eliminate Two Fingers's enemies.

Leon looked at the hood again and again. Of course, he wasn't the kind of person who would strip off the original owner's clothes and put them on after just seeing the original owner die in front of him. This outfit also didn't suit his aesthetic sense.

Looking at the remaining information on the clothing, he had only one feeling.

"It seems we've found something that those Zane Scholar will be willing to pay a hefty price for."

An adventurer's intuition told him that the envoy who had just died here was closely related to Nokron, a place whose architectural style seemed completely different from that of the surface buildings of Limgrave, enough to pique the interest of researchers.

Scholars who study the Zane Dungeon are commonly known as Zane Scholar.

Although that group fabricated a lot of unreliable anecdotes, and even made Princess Sai Li of the Arnor Kingdom the honorary head of the Zane Scholar in order to raise funds.

However, their speculations are sometimes quite interesting and worth reading. In any case, the past history of the Zane Dungeon doesn't really affect the present process, so just treat it as listening to an ancient story.

"There are many more over there," Jia Paer pointed.

On the bridge where they were, there was a secret envoy lying at intervals, totaling seven or eight.

Judging from their still-fresh injuries, it's easy to deduce that a rather fierce battle had taken place here.

Let's go and check them one by one.

The group went over and examined the wounds of the secret envoys one by one. It was clear that these people had been dead for some time, and each of them had huge slash wounds on their bodies.

Although no further information could be obtained, fortunately, there were residual points of light next to each of the secret envoys.

What everyone just received was the Envoy Set. The remaining points of light are a broadsword, a shield, a finger Sacred Seal, and a bunch of other items, which seem to be enough to complete a full set of Envoy equipment.

In the end, they even found a prayer book.

[Assassin's Incantation Book]

The prayer books possessed by those known as the "Roundtable Hold Assassins" can be given to prayer teachers so they can learn the prayers recorded within.

"This thing is the most valuable."

Delu carefully put away the prayer book, which he had never seen before in the Zane Dungeon, and he was looking forward to finding some useful prayers inside.

Although he is a magician, who says magicians can't use prayer?

"We've only just entered, Zane Dungeon is already giving us such a big welcome gift?"

Looking at the spoils that filled an entire bundle, Leon suddenly felt a sense of unease and doubt.

How to put it... only those who have been immersed in the Zane Dungeon for a long time can understand his feelings. These spoils of war gave him that feeling...

[A storm is about to break that will deter people, so here's a little something to keep you hooked]

That's roughly the feeling.

"I'm starting to feel increasingly uncertain."

As it turns out, his current doubts are perfectly normal, because

Soon after, as he fled in terror from hordes of archers of the Ancestral Spirit People, he cried out:

"I knew there was a trap ahead!!!"