In just a moment, all the information from the [Dream of Rebirth] had appeared in Ed's mind.
Aberration plants of the three, no, to be precise, four cardinals were all very special, and collecting all of them allowed him to reach a new level of understanding of his own abilities.
Ed casually flipped his other hand and pressed a clump of willow catkins into Sailesi's still-healing wound:
"The [Dream of Rebirth] within you has produced offspring; these are seeds of Cuiske's [Plundering Weeping Willow]. From now on, you will use these two plants."
Regardless of Sailesi's intended reply, he rose directly from his chair and walked towards the door of the small room, saying without turning his head:
"Geliwusi, answer his question, then go and attend to the Dungeon matters."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Behind him, one person bowed and another knelt, watching Ed leave the small room atop the cathedral.
Sailesi certainly had many questions, but Ed wasn't interested in answering them; he'd rather leave them to the fat seal.
Hearing the footsteps fading away, Sailesi looked up at Geliwusi and asked:
What is a 'Dungeon'?
Geliwusi seemed to recall how he almost became the boss of some Dungeon, and his expression turned somewhat grim.
It is a prison specifically for serious offenders.
Those Stained Ones hands are stained with blood will be singled out and incorporated into Dungeon, becoming immortal beings who will atone for their sins through their own suffering, while simultaneously making Your Highness's army even stronger.
"Once you enter that place, even if you die, His Highness will resurrect you infinitely, but the pain you feel will not lessen in the slightest."
Sailesi paused for a moment and asked in return:
"Then why did he—no, why did He leave me with the Aberration plant?"
"I mean, wouldn't it be more effective if I were a 'punching bag'?"
"Even though these Aberration plants are all offspring, I still have some strength."
Geliwusi shook his head:
"That wasn't for you, it was to give those Berserkers more real combat experience."
"In the Dungeon, you don't need to hold back against anyone, even if you kill all the Soul Returners."
"Whether you win or lose, the pain of death will always arrive as scheduled."
The fat cardinal sighed and remarked:
"When there is no war, your task is to defeat the Soul Returners with all your might and to feel the pain."
"When the war begins, all the Stained Ones in Dungeon will be reorganized into the 'Wild Hunt' legion, fighting for the Theocracy with their immortal bodies."
Geliwusi glanced at Sailesi:
"With your abilities, I think you might even become the commander of the Wild Hunt..."
"Think about it carefully here. Once I've sorted things out on the venue side, I'll come and take you there."
"That might be the last time we see each other."
"Sailesi, mistakes always come at a price."
Sailesi nodded, then suddenly said:
"Actually, I have one last question."
"You say."
Sailesi stretched out his hand, looking at the willow catkins on his wrist:
Can multiple types of Aberration plants be used simultaneously?
"In principle, it's not possible."
Having witnessed countless "miracles," Geliwusi paused for a moment:
"But you also heard it, the principle just said yes."
"Noya."
Ed called out softly as he stepped out of the small room.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Blue Dragon Soul instantly appeared in front of Ed:
"What is it, boss?"
Three things.
Ed held up one finger:
"Issue new Side Quests for players in the Demon Realm Battlefield, asking them to help plant some Stability Anchors. I need more Territory Secret Pact."
"Samuer's influence shouldn't have spread throughout the Demon Realm yet; we should try to acquire as much territory as possible before that happens."
"Clear."
Ed raised his second finger:
"The second thing."
"A new Stage Quest has been issued to players in the southern part of the continent, informing them that whether they are players from the Empire faction or the Alliance rebel faction, the faction that first attacks Sand Capital will be the winner of this Large-Scale Long-Term Quest."
"The Skeleton Alliance is probably planning something big; we can't let them have it so easy."
"OK."
Noya nodded, watching Ed raise his third finger:
"A teaser has been released: a new Dungeon of the Holy Crusaders Headquarters is about to open."
"The difficulty is fixed and there is only one 'Hell' difficulty, but the materials and experience dropped are much more than in regular Dungeons, and the maximum number of people in a party has been doubled."
"Don't tell them who the BOSS is, but you can reveal some keywords, like, um..."
"Dual Forms, Multiple Mechanics, Physical and Magical Hybrid, and... dead teammates become the BOSS's allies, the more teammates die, the more mechanics the BOSS has, etc."
Although Noya was only a dragon soul, fine beads of sweat had already appeared on her forehead.
"Boss, do you think anyone will actually run this Dungeon?"
Of course.
Ed said with certainty:
Never underestimate the spirit of challenge of those Soul Returner.
"Besides, the World of Disorder is already a fairly fair game, since there's no recharge system; strength depends entirely on oneself."
"Okay, I understand."
Noya nodded, and her figure disappeared into the air.
Ed's clone vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.
Three announcements a day – this long-awaited, rapid update brought a sense of familiarity to many players.
This time, Ed truly lived up to the principle of fairness and impartiality.
Players in the Demon Realm have a new side quest, players in the southern part of the continent have a new stage of the main quest, and players active on the mainland have received a warning of Sailesi's beating.
It wasn't hard to guess who the new boss was. After a tense and exciting discussion on the forum, the names Sailesi and Cuiske ultimately ranked first and second on the leaderboard.
In fact, there doesn't seem to be any problem, since although there is only one BOSS, its abilities are a combination of both.
Although the Aberration plants are all offspring and don't possess such immense power, Sailesi's extremely long health bar and the design of having two lives in Human and Skeleton Forms are enough to give even the most challenging players a run for their money.
Meanwhile, at the foot of Sand Capital in the Southern Continent, [Ginseng Rooster] and others also received multiple notifications from the official authorities of the World of Disorder.
"This is bad!"
[Ginseng Rooster] frowned after carefully reading the announcement:
"How did this turn into 'Domination Mode'?"
[Gill's Cuisine] thought for a moment and said:
"It's actually quite common in large-scale games, but it's not so common to capture a city as large as Sand Capital."
[Ginseng Rooster] pondered for a moment:
"The problem is, Colin might not be able to accept it..."
[Gill's Cuisine] was taken aback upon hearing this:
"What is it that he can't accept?"
"He still thinks he's upholding justice. If he knew about this, he might immediately start negotiating with the city's councilors."