My Twenty-Six-Year-Old Noble Lord
Gong Qiying stared at the Crystal Ball, revealing an expression that read, "Subway, old man, cell phone. ipg".
You can't blame him for overreacting, because what he's seeing is just too outrageous.
I thought that after yesterday's painful lesson, Count Philip would be a little more restrained today, but unexpectedly...
The number of workers coming to the Zane Dungeon has actually increased!?
Do these people have a death wish or something? Even people who died yesterday are being forced to line up to go in like ducks on a shelf. Aren't they afraid of the aftereffects?
"Because the team was completely wiped out yesterday, are you planning to increase manpower today to achieve greater output?"
No matter how much investment is made, without the protection of powerful individuals, these workers will still inevitably become cannon fodder.
Something's fishy. Count Philip wouldn't be so inconsiderate.
He closely monitored the workers' movements, trying to find their true intentions from the slightest clues.
The situation unfolded much like yesterday. After entering the Swamp Area, the workers were attacked by rampaging monsters, resulting in the immediate loss of most of them. The already disorganized team was completely overwhelmed.
Without the protection of adventurers like Luo Jieer, they would have a hard time even getting to the edge of the ore alive.
However, even if you manage to get across, you'll still be killed by Large Rock Snake's tail; it's just a matter of dying sooner or later.
After a brief observation, Gong Qiying indeed discovered a situation different from yesterday.
A considerable number of workers were reassigned. Unlike ordinary people, they clearly possessed some skill and unanimously set out to find a treasure chest in a specific location.
Gong Qiying remembered that the treasure chest was Teleportation Trap that would reliably teleport people to the lower-level Mine Area, and there were monsters lying in ambush outside the teleportation point. The setup was the usual dog and archer.
Those who were diverted died in batches on the way, and after being teleported to the lower level, they died again surrounded by monsters. After breaking through the encirclement, they accidentally turned right and ran into the Crucible Knight BOSS room, where they died again. In the end, only a very small number of people were able to walk on the correct path and see what they had been dreaming of— the Bloodstone Mine.
The piled-up Bloodstone emitted a cold, blood-like light, and the reflected light made the entire space seem dreamlike. The purple hue hidden among the many Bloodstone was even more exhilarating.
Gong Qiying revealed a knowing look; it turned out that the workers' target was Purple Blood Crystal.
He could now guess the general situation. He estimated that Count Philip had somehow obtained information about the Purple Blood Crystal and devised a route, so he couldn't wait to come in and mine the rare ore.
"I remember not many people knew anything about this place; the last group to arrive here was..."
It was an Exploration Team.
That's not surprising; it seems the intelligence was sold to Count Philip by the Exploration Team.
"Ha, in the past I would have thought they did a good job, attracting more foot traffic for me, but now they've actually made things worse,"
Gong Qiying released two Gargoyle, which instantly strangled the workers who had managed to reach the Bloodstone Cave but had not yet had time to mine it.
Outside of dungeon closure time, the terrain and building positions cannot be adjusted, and treasure chests are also included in the buildings, so he can only release monsters.
"Remove the teleportation chest tonight,"
Today, we must still make Count Philip lose everything. If he remains obstinate, let him lose everything. No rational person would invest in a losing business.
The underground city has been arranged, and Gong Qiying transfers his consciousness to the outside world.
The clone woke up in the shop. The item shop had been deserted for the past two days. It wasn't that no one wanted to come, but that everyone was watching the excitement near the dungeon.
Gong Qiying also wanted to see how the adventurers would mock the lord in various creative ways, but unfortunately, he had more important things to do now.
Simply having dungeons to strengthen Count Philip is not enough; external factors are also needed to create a pincer movement.
How can you put pressure on a nobleman?
The answer is either to assemble a large group of ordinary people, find someone with more power than the nobles, or to directly use overwhelming force to fight.
The Magic Association, the Adventurers' Guild, and the Holy Light Church.
The higher-ups in these organizations hold positions far superior to those of Earl.
When Jack was still alive, Gong Qiying had asked him to send some small items to these organizations to attract attention, and now he had finally received a reply.
The Magic Association's reply was meticulously crafted, with elegant and flowing language, yet the writer's amazement was evident in the handwriting.
"Dear Sir, please forgive our late reply. It is not that we were intentionally negligent. Your theory of 'Star Magic' is truly astonishing. The professors of the Astrology Academy debated it for a long time. It was not until the day before this letter was written that a professor successfully reproduced 'Glintstone Pebble' according to the principles you gave. Your knowledge is truly amazing. To comprehend new magic from stars is a feat that only a genius can achieve!"
"If you can create more systematic Star Magic, I believe the Magic Association will definitely set up a special classroom for you in the future. The last scholar to set up a classroom is now the Guild Master of our association. Your achievements will be worthy of the association erecting a statue in your honor."
"By the time you read this letter, several professors from the Academy of Astronomy will already be on their way to visit you. They are eager to meet the founders of the new magic, and this meeting will mark the beginning of a new era in magic!"
"Furthermore, we are very interested in the force field researched by the Mr. 'Topus' you mentioned. Could you please discuss this in detail when you meet with the professors?"
Gong Qiying nodded and said, "It seems they've taken the bait."
A professor in the Magic Association might not be as high-ranking as Earl, but what about a group of them? And what about the connections they have?
As long as Gong Qiying can offer something sufficiently attractive to them, these professors will become an excellent force.
The Magic Association has essentially been dealt with. To target scholars, they need to produce something that aligns with academic principles. So, what will be the reaction of the Adventurers' Guild, which is on par with it?
In fact, the Adventurers' Guild had already responded.
The arrival of Sid already demonstrated the guild's attitude. If it weren't important, why would a Branch Guild Master give up the riches and glory of the Leyndell to come here and take full control of the branch?
The leaders of the Adventurers' Guild are special; they are all accomplished veteran adventurers with a passion for adventure at their core. No adventurer would be uninterested in legendary adventure stories or mysterious treasures!
Gong Qiying told them several stories and included some trinkets that could prove their authenticity, claiming they were found in the Zane Dungeon.
There are subtle connections between those stories, such as the image of the campfire, the Sun's Eldest Son, and the Abyss Walker.
It was these factors that drew Sid to form Exploration Team to delve into the underground city and verify the authenticity of these stories; adults are unlikely to believe things without evidence.
As expected, the Exploration Team's discoveries corroborated the story's authenticity and even introduced a much larger worldview.
Sid will likely take some action.
The Holy Light Church has not replied yet, and I don't know what the outcome is, but it probably won't be good.
Gong Qiying picked up the last letter; its owner was from a dog-hating organization— the Shadow Brotherhood.
Given that this was a group of paparazzi, Gong Qiying explained in his letter to them how interesting the various traps in the Zane Dungeon were. How could such interesting things be kept in the hands of a few? They had to be released so that everyone could see them.
In addition to these, there are also serious matters such as the campfire upgrade mechanism.
He opened the envelope, but his expression turned strange when he saw the contents.
Because there was only one sentence on it—
"Someone has already told us about those things. You're so out of touch, you idiot! Don't submit outdated information to us! Goodbye forever!"
Has someone already spoken to them?
Gong Qiying blinked, puzzled. Who was it that was even faster than him?
A member of the Si Telan squad, who wished to remain anonymous, gave a Dan Ya -up.
Just then, a deafening sound suddenly came from outside the shop, covering the entire city. Everyone looked towards the source of the sound—the sky.
A black, magic-powered airship was hovering above Bede City, with a grinning skull painted on it.
That's the symbol of the Shadow Brotherhood!
"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me? This is the Shadow Brotherhood, and we're about to make big news!"
A flippant yet irritating voice echoed throughout the city through the magical loudspeaker, and everyone burst into laughter when they saw it was the Shadow Brotherhood.
Even the nuns and Priest who were working overtime to resurrect the dead stopped their work to see what kind of trouble these guys were up to.
At the Adventurers' Guild, Sid stood by the window, looking at the black airship, and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. He then said to his assistant Gina, beside him:
"These audacious bastards always manage to pop up and cause trouble at the right time,"
In the Lord's Mansion, Count Philip, who was listening to his subordinates report the losses with a gloomy face, suddenly heard the noise outside and his eyelids began to twitch wildly. Ignoring the servants' surprise, he ran outside and stared intently at the black airship.
His intuition told him that these bastards were probably after him!
"Ahem, why did the old lord go mad overnight? What is the guilty conscience tormenting him? What drives him to willingly become the enemy of the people? Is the pretty-boy third young master his real son, or is he a member of Star Fury, engaging in some special kind of manipulation? Now, please listen to my explanation—"
The irritating voice paused for a moment, then said, "Forget it, it's too much trouble to talk about. Everyone, just look at the flyers."
"La La La— "
The airship showered down leaflets like a heavy snowfall, enough to suffocate even the sanitation workers.
Gong Qiying picked it up and looked at it; the title read:
My Twenty-Six Year Old Noble Lord