Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 87 A Day of Sudden Change

Chapter 87: Chapter 87 A Day of Sudden Change

"Why does the boss seem so sullen?"

"I think..." Maru’s expression looked like she could barely hold it together, "if you had received the reward that the boss got, you would turn out the same way,"

Tal scratched his head, muttering to himself: "I can’t even begin to imagine the boss fighting with that thing,"

"Thud... Thud..."

Just then, the bells rang, signaling that Sain Dungeon was about to close.

The exploration team felt like this day had been exceptionally long, as if they had spent several years in the dungeon, thoroughly exhausted from dealing with all sorts of nauseating monsters and traps.

The thought of finally being able to go back and rest made everyone heave a long sigh of relief.

"I don’t want to come down here again for at least a week," Steeran said, looking exhausted.

The Flame Cultivator exclaimed enthusiastically, "What are you talking about? You are fated with the Fire God, you should come down here every day!"

Steeran gave him a look like he was looking at a fool.

Roger caressed the Elf Ball in his hand, smiling idiotically, Perry held the scroll with a look of wanting to cry without tears, and the Holy Light Knight looked at the cross with a complex gaze, ultimately deciding to bring it back with him.

With the final bell toll, the silhouettes of the adventurers gradually became hazy.

The noisy sounds came from beside their ears, and when they opened their eyes again, they had returned to the outside world. The sky was dark, and the cold moonlight was poured onto the ancient city, unable to match the brightness from the lights all around.

The vicinity of the Teleportation Gate was bustling but not discordant.

Looking around, people were arguing, the quarreling parties were undoubtedly adventurers and... the guards of the Bed Family.

"On what grounds must you inspect our harvest? Even the Earl doesn’t have that right!" an adventurer yelled.

The guard held up a piece of paper, saying, "A new decree, the Bed Family has the right to priority purchase of ores produced in Sain Dungeon. I don’t care about your other gains, but the ores must be handed over,"

"I won’t sell to you, even if I sold them to other merchants!"

"Heh," the guard chuckled lightly, "Go find them then. As long as you can find a merchant in Bed City who dares to buy the ores, I am willing to kneel and apologize to you."

"What do you mean!"

The adventurers exchanged glances. They had only been in the dungeon for one day; how could it be that such a major upheaval had occurred upon their return?

What on earth was Count Philip up to?

At this moment, miners belonging to the Bed Family continuously emerged, and although five to six hundred had entered, less than one hundred returned; however, each of the returnees had their own gains.

The guards stopped entangling with the adventurers, turning to loudly berate the miners, ordering them to quickly hand over the materials.

The atmosphere at the scene solidified for a moment, and people hurried back to the city, seeking someone to find out what exactly had happened.

With a frown, Steeran looked at this farce, muttering to himself: "The Bed Family didn’t use to behave this way before, how could they have changed so suddenly?"

Roger flashed a sneer of contempt, watching the guards with a playful gaze in his eyes.

Leon patted Steeran on the shoulder and said, "Let’s go to the Guild first. Mr. Ceder surely knows something."

This time, the guards did not stop them, and everyone quickly returned to the Guild, where the staff informed them that Ceder had been waiting for them.

They pushed open the conference room’s door, and Ceder turned around, spreading his arms with a gentlemanly smile, "Welcome back, the stars tell me that you must have had a great harvest."

"We did have a lot of gains; we’ve cleared Sain Dungeon,"

Ceder made a ’just as I thought’ expression, then waved his hand, and the musical instruments on both sides of the room began to play automatically. Glasses of ruby-red wine flew to everyone, and he proposed a toast, "At such a significant moment, it’s only right to celebrate properly, well done everyone!"

"Let’s save the celebration for later," Leon said with furrowed brows, asking, "Mr. Ceder, please tell us what happened today. What’s going on with the Bed Family?"

Ceder downed the red wine in one gulp, set down his glass, and spoke casually: "What else could it be, but greed being awakened, leading to irrational decisions,"

"You might not know, but Earl Philip just returned from Royal City to Bed yesterday, bringing back the King’s orders and a dazzling treasure. As soon as he got back, he issued several new decrees, just like what you saw today,"

There were three orders:

First, individuals affiliated with the Bed Family were prioritized for entering Sain Dungeon, and no one else was to resist.

Second, the Bed Family had the right to the first purchase of ores produced from Sain Dungeon. However, the city’s merchants had been dealt with, and no one dared to buy the ores, essentially meaning they could only sell to the Bed Family.

Thirdly, an entrance fee is levied on adventurers who enter the Dungeon, with taxes imposed monthly based on the number of times they enter. That’s a considerable sum.

"Has Philip gone mad?" Steeran asked with anger, calling him out by name, "Doesn’t he know what happens to lords who dare to tax the Dungeon?"

"It’s precisely because he knows, that he has made other preparations,"

Ceder said slowly, "With the support of the King, he has temporarily requisitioned that elite Mercenary Group that only takes orders from the King. Judging by the time, they should arrive tomorrow."

The Holy Light Knight suddenly looked up, a note of surprise in his voice, he asked, "Are you talking about that Mercenary Group?"

"Yes, them,"

Ceder nodded,

"Light Eagle Group,"

——————————

At the Bed Family mansion.

"I don’t understand, knowing what he is doing is wrong, why does Father continue?"

Sali, who had not appeared for a long time, paced back and forth in the room, his face full of irritation.

"Sooner or later, this will backfire from the adventurers. What about the Light Eagle Group? Even if they can suppress the adventurers by force..."

He frustratedly ruffled his silver hair, muttering to himself:

"Why am I locked up? Why can’t he listen to a single opinion anymore? I merely suggested that workers should be given priority for entry, I never said anything about imposing taxes! Why did he change like this after returning from the Royal City?"

Ever since Earl Philip returned from the Royal City with the medicines, he seemed to have become a different person. A man who was once mild-mannered and scholarly suddenly turned into a hot-tempered one, lashing out at those around him. Sali had only advised him twice before being locked in his room, with guards stationed outside the door.

He even suspected that Earl Philip had contracted the King’s strange illness!

However, after secretly consulting a Priest, it turned out there was nothing wrong with his father.

So what was the shock he suffered?

Hero Elsa sat politely with her hands folded on her knees, believing that she should behave herself while Sali was venting his anger.

The present Earl Philip was not cursed, nor was he disguised by the Demon Clan, Elsa could tell.

If it were the Demon Clan, she would have drawn her blade and fought by now.

As for the current situation...

Elsa sneaked a glance at Sali. If her companion had thought things through and decided to use her strength to escape, she would definitely help.

Being inarticulate herself, she could at least exert strength.

At that moment, Sali suddenly said to her:

"Elsa, do you remember my previous speculation?"

Elsa nodded, and Sali continued,

"I’ve always been puzzled why the Dungeon underwent such anomalies, and the map after the anomalies isn’t chaotic at all. In some aspects, like the placement of traps, the distribution of Monsters, etc., it all seems like decisions made after careful consideration, as if someone was controlling everything,"

"My teacher told me that all this is because of one thing—the Dungeon has its own consciousness."

"Just like the Hero’s Holy Sword, the Elf Queen’s Scepter, the Dwarf King’s Iron Hammer, those objects miraculously developed consciousness. Considering that, the Dungeon could also be regarded as an object, and it might possibly develop an Artifact Spirit consciousness, managing everything in the Dungeon."

"If it truly has consciousness, and if it learns about Father’s actions,"

Sali clenched his fists and said,

"Will the rampage that occurred a hundred years ago happen once again..."

"All I can do is pray, pray that the Dungeon consciousness is like a newborn baby that understands nothing, hoping it is not aware of what’s happening outside, and more so hoping it won’t rampage,"

However, the "Dungeon consciousness" he spoke of already knew about this mess.

"Why has today’s revenue decreased?"

Gong Qiying replayed the recording from the Crystal Ball, his expression gradually changing.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.