Chapter 43: Continue the Search [Please add to favorites and recommend]

Zong Shen had a smile on his face.

To Faviss, who had just survived a brush with death, Zong Shen looked like an extraordinary savior.

"The lord you served has died under the fangs of a mutated ghoul."

"My soldiers and I arrived a step too late."

"However, after a hard-fought battle, we have slain this foul creature and avenged your unfortunate lord."

"Now, are you willing to uphold the will of the deceased and pledge your loyalty to me?"

Zong Shen spoke bluntly and directly.

Hearing this, Faviss slowly rose from amidst the surrounding wolf cavalry.

He cast a melancholy glance at the remains of the unlucky lord.

Without responding directly to Zong Shen, he walked slowly to the side of the corpse.

He looked up and bowed to Zong Shen.

"Respected Lord, thank you for intervening to save my life."

"Before I swear my allegiance to you, may I first perform the rites of fire to ensure the remains of my former master do not suffer desecration?"

Zong Shen nodded and made a gesture inviting him to proceed.

The remains of this unlucky fellow were already in a gruesome state.

Even someone as thick-skinned and adaptable as Zong Shen found it difficult to look at; even a few more glances made him feel nauseous.

After obtaining Zong Shen's permission, Favide raised his staff and began to chant.

Two seconds later, a small fireball condensed.

It shot directly onto the corpse.

Flames roared, turning the entire corpse into a ball of fire.

"Rest in peace, old master!"

Favide bowed his head in silence.

Then, he turned toward Zong Shen.

He knelt on one knee, one hand clenched against his heart and the other holding his staff against the ground.

"In the name of the God of Fire!"

"Fire Mage, Favide, reports for duty!"

【Recruitment successful. Default loyalty set to 70】

Immediately after Favide swore his allegiance, a system prompt appeared.

Zong Shen nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Rise, Favide. Let us continue exploring this sealed dungeon."

"Once the exploration is complete, take me back to your former lord's territory. I believe the others there will also need to be settled."

Zong Shen had his eyes on the farmers in this unlucky lord's territory.

The territory was currently in a phase of great development.

Farmers and soldiers were of paramount importance.

Favide stood up, nodded, and stood quietly to the side.

At this moment, Zong Shen walked back to the burning remains of the unlucky lord.

This fellow had scavenged quite a few good items from the left side of the dungeon.

Now that he was dead, what would happen to the items in his personal storage?

(Now, his territory is in an unclaimed state. You can declare occupation of the unclaimed territory to gain control over it. Afterward, you will be able to open the territory's storage and obtain the items from his personal storage through inheritance.)

Zong Shen looked at the guide prompt.

He understood perfectly.

As the saying goes, when a man dies, his light goes out.

No matter how many resources or treasures you amass, if you die carelessly, it all becomes someone else's gain.

Zong Shen deeply agreed with this.

Although he often took action personally, by comparison, Zong Shen never did anything without certainty.

It seemed that once the mission was completed, it would truly be necessary to make a trip to that territory.

Zong Shen averted his gaze and turned toward the prayer altar.

There, he would find the items he needed: the two legs of the Demon Hunter, Autlan Windwhisper.

The entire prayer room was filled with the acrid smell of burning.

Orange-red flames illuminated the room, lending it a sense of desolation following death.

Zong Shen walked up to the prayer altar.

His gaze swept over the two quest items.

【Autlan Windwhisper's Left Lower Limb】 【Left lower limb desecrated by a Blood-Burning Demon, one of the quest items】

【Autlan Windwhisper's Right Lower Limb】 【Right lower limb desecrated by a Blood-Burning Demon, one of the quest items】

He didn't linger; after confirming they were correct, he waved his hand to collect them into his storage.

He had collected five out of the six body parts.

Only a head remained to finally complete the mission.

He wondered what kind of monster would be guarding the final piece.

Zong Shen looked toward the runic iron door.

Behind the door lay the only remaining path to explore in the dungeon.

With a flip of his hand, he took out the 【Key to the Runic Iron Door】 that had dropped from the mutated ghoul.

"Let's go, onto the next stage."

After calling to his soldiers, Zong Shen walked straight to the door and inserted the key into the lock.

The runes on the entire door suddenly lit up.

He gently turned the key one full rotation clockwise.

*Click!*

After a soft sound, the runic door slowly opened.

Beyond the door seemed to be the living quarters of the dungeon.

This was also a wide corridor.

The walls were no longer covered in those gaudy, terrifying graffiti.

It looked much cleaner.

However, there was a dark red drag mark on the floor that extended to the very end of the corridor.

"Is there any treasure here?"

As per his habit, Zong Shen began his treasure hunting.

(In the fourth room to your front right, there is a black iron treasure chest under the bed; in the fifth room to your front left, there are some scattered pieces of equipment; in the eighth room, there are some scattered materials.)

In an instant, Zong Shen knew every treasure in this corridor like the back of his hand.

It was like playing a game with a walkthrough. Although it couldn't directly accelerate the development of his territory, it saved a massive amount of time while providing extra treasures.

Following the guide's prompt, Zong Shen found the black iron treasure chest.

With practiced ease, he selected 【Open】.

【Successfully opened the Black Iron Treasure Chest】 【Junior Fertile Land Construction Blueprint (10×10) ×1】 【Wheat Seeds ×100】 【Simple Leather Armor Crafting Blueprint ×1】 【Junior Fire Rune ×1】

Zong Shen collected the four rewards.

He decomposed the chest into 10 Iron.

To his surprise, this reward included a Junior Fertile Land construction blueprint and wheat seeds.

Although he could currently satisfy his food needs through hunting and exploration, sustainable development required him to start farming as soon as possible.

After putting the rewards away, Zong Shen was in no rush to inspect them.

Aside from equipment that could immediately increase combat power, there was no harm in checking the other items in detail after this exploration ended.

After opening the chest, Zong Shen headed to the room with the scattered equipment.

This place seemed to be a small equipment depot, but it had clearly been looted during the dungeon's chaos.

The original weapon racks were empty.

Only a few pieces of equipment lay scattered on the floor.

With a wave of his hand, Zong Shen collected the equipment into his storage.

Among them were four white-quality short swords.

【Ezara's Standard Short Sword】

There was also a green-quality round shield made of green vine thorns—an excellent grade of equipment.

【Thorn Round Shield】

It was just the right thing to replace his nearly broken 【Dented Zither Shield】.

Zong Shen took out the Thorn Round Shield and began to examine its attributes.