Chapter 402

Chapter 402: The Team

September 10, Number Two.

There are only four days left until Emperor Augustus passed away.

Long River City, part of the Pande Empire’s Fierce Lion Province, is built by the lake and is an ordinary city.

Its military strength is average, the economy is average, and the management is average; it can be said to have no special features.

However, there is one unusual thing here, which is the presence of a teleportation portal to an eighth-tier dungeon.

The eighth-tier dungeon was the cause of the destruction of the entire Canglang Province years ago, showing how terrifying it is.

Since then, an eighth-tier dungeon has never appeared again.

According to the timeline in the game, the Pande Empire resolved this crisis, and the main character group played a significant role, marking a brilliant moment for Minaret.

Now, Minaret cannot even enter the city.

The Pande Empire in the game has no knowledge of the outside situation; at this time, they are on guard against Aileen going to Laria while also fighting against the Kingdom of Persia and Canglang Province, and sending troops to deal with Karoso, making them feel attacked from all sides.

Nevertheless, the Pande Empire has made thorough preparations for this dungeon exploration.

For example, this time we invited the church to help instead of going to conquer by ourselves.

They specially invited a Halo Knight from Lionheart Church, who is an excellent support.

Lionheart Church is mainly focused on the knight profession, and the god they worship is a knight.

Although the Pande Empire believes in the Knight King, the two sides have always had a good relationship.

Not only that, but the Church of Dawn Goddess and the Flame War God Church also sent a skilled warrior each.

Even though the Church of Dawn Goddess has not performed well in previous events and has been declining for the past year and a half, for the Pope, this is a good thing. Moreover, a weak but large church is still bigger than smaller churches, and the Church of Dawn Goddess, despite being weakened, is not comparable to other small churches.

In contrast, the Flame War God Church has experienced rapid growth, and its size is now on par with the Church of Dawn Goddess, but it is as full of holes as a sieve.

For the Pope of the Flame War God Church, this is not important; first, they focus on building up their size, and then they will investigate these issues bit by bit.

Although the Flame Saint Child is fighting against the Pande Empire, as the Pope said, at this moment Karoso is acting as the future Duke of Canglang Province, not as the Flame Saint Child; the church will not provide any help in such matters.

It is said so, but how it is done remains unknown.

The Church of Wisdom God also got involved in this matter: the deity came in person.

The Church of Wisdom God has a true god. Although they have not yet gained a veto vote in the Church Alliance, as long as they can show that Neymar is harmless and even beneficial to humanity, making the rightful church more stable, that veto vote is just a matter of time.

Even now, no one dares to underestimate the voice of the Church of Wisdom God.

……

Long River City.

The area around the teleportation array is heavily guarded. This dungeon is completely unknown, and no rules have been announced.

However, there is one ironclad rule for eighth-tier dungeons: the number of people entering can never exceed ten.

Moreover, having many people does not guarantee success, because the BOSS to face in the eighth-tier dungeon is a ninth-tier. To break through with brute force, at least ninth-tier extraordinary items are needed. Where would a normal eighth-tier have such things? If there are enough people but they lack those items, using brute force might lead to problems.

This time, the Pande Empire is not without help; they sent Norman, who had previously battled with Karoso. This time, he is here to redeem himself. As long as the dungeon is cleared, he will have no further duties.

"Everyone," Norman stood on a makeshift platform, speaking to those who came to help. "Even though this eighth-tier dungeon has appeared in Pande, tackling it is not just a task for one city or one country; it is a matter for all of humanity."

This really means something. Great risks come with great rewards, and any powerful nation will try to conquer it on their own instead of relying on others.

Not to mention the rewards from the dungeon, which are worth a fortune.

The current productivity is quite average; a large part of what supports the city comes from resources produced in dungeons.

The Pande Empire can give up this dungeon, showing just how desperate their situation is.

"Let me introduce the people who have come to help." Norman’s gaze fell on the first person, "This is Anduin, the Pastor of the Church of Dawn Goddess, Blade of Dawn. He is… a true Pastor. Lord Anduin’s strength is comparable to Elder Celica from the past."

Because Celica was so unusual, whenever the Pastor of Blade of Dawn is introduced, it has to be mentioned whether they are normal.

Xial nodded upon hearing this. He saw a young-looking, golden-haired Pastor with a powerful aura of magic, holding the Church of Dawn Goddess’s unique Dawn Staff, a ninth-tier extraordinary item, which can boost his eight-star legendary card to ninth-tier power and provide him with a lot of magical energy.

In the beginning, he became as famous as Celica because of this, while Celica did not have such equipment.

"This is Varian, a warrior from the Flame War God Church, who is skilled in using a two-handed sword," Norman introduced the second person.

The man was a sturdy fellow, looking rather foolish, and his body was much warmer than normal.

The sword in his hand had a bit of a resemblance to Levatin, but unfortunately, it was just a copy.

This is no longer a ninth-tier extraordinary item; the Flame War God Church has grown in size, and its foundation cannot be easily built.

One could say that the current Flame War God Church is like a newly rich person.

"This is Uther, a knight of Lionheart and a rare Halo Knight, who mainly focuses on support," Norman continued.

He was a middle-aged knight, looking very calm and reliable.

"Later, we also invited the elder of the Hunter Guild, Elder Vereesa, an eighth-tier hunter, skilled in trap magic, secret magic, and archery… The elder herself is an elf, unmatched in archery."

Vereesa, a top female elf hunter, has beautiful white hair. She is married to a human, and no one knows how long that human can stay with her.

Elves are a very magical race. Dark elves are more likely to become thieves, while High Elves, besides their magic, are also top archers and have many hunter professions.

The Hunter Association is half made up of elves.

"Also, the new elder of the Nature Mage Association is Malfurion, a dark elf."

Elves are a race close to nature, and in Nature Mage abilities, they are far more gifted than humans.

Humans are stronger as warriors, knights, pastors, and shamans.

Now that dark elves are legalized, the Church of Dawn Goddess is releasing many dark elves, and they have started to settle down in the past year and a half.

To better fit into human society and seek their own interests, many dark elves choose to join various associations.

Malfurion is one of them.

"With me added, we have six people for the axe battle, waiting for the people from the Church of Wisdom God to arrive…"

At that moment, the weather changed, and suddenly, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw two figures descending from the sky, walking on lotus flowers made of ice and snow.

One of them had silver hair with golden highlights, wearing a white inner robe and a blue magic robe, and her strong presence attracted everyone’s attention.

The person beside her was Neymar, who was dressed in a more casual way.

Even though Neymar wore a plain white sweater and gray cropped pants, no one dared to underestimate her.

Under this magic circle that restricted flying and magic, the ability to perform magic like this was clearly not the work of that wizard, but a display of Neymar’s power.

The magic circle had some limitations on divine power, but divine power is powerful because its concentration is much stronger than normal magic, able to ignore Occupational Restrictions.

"We welcome the God of Wisdom’s arrival."

Everyone respectfully greeted Neymar, and they had no complaints about her being the last to arrive and the most extravagant.

Even the soldiers stationed afar bowed in Neymar’s direction.

There is only one deity walking the world.

The Pande Empire called Neymar because they did not want Karoso or Aileen to cause trouble at this time.

Whether it is Karoso or Aileen, if anyone tries to use the explosion of the dungeon to trap Pande, Neymar will be the one standing in front.

Clap.

The two fell at the same time.

"It is a great honor for the empire that the deity is willing to descend for humanity," Norman said with a humble expression.

"Hmm." Neymar nodded with a red face.

It is clear that she is not very used to this kind of worship.

"My name is Jaina, Arcane wizard of the Church of the Wise God," Jaina said.

Wizards specialize in one main element, usually ice or fire, while arcane magic has no specific element and can work in any situation.

Though it has no major advantages, it also lacks any weaknesses, making it the most essential wizard for exploring dungeons.

"Well, now we have seven people," Norman said with a smile. "This time, your help in the dungeon exploration is appreciated."

"Okay," Jaina nodded.

"Now then, everyone, I will go ahead," Norman said before stepping into the teleportation circle.

The people he introduced followed him, one by one, into the dungeon.

Jaina spoke to Neymar, "The Cardinal will arrive soon; just let him know if you have anything to say."

"I understand." Neymar nodded.

After Jaina finished speaking, she stepped into the teleportation circle.

Then, Neymar, as if nothing was wrong, walked gracefully towards the teleportation circle, her steps full of confidence, as if the person in front was just a pathfinder and she was the true main character.

The soldiers thought Neymar was stationed outside, and they had even built her a palace here, but she was actually going inside!

Everyone believed it had been planned; she was always meant to go in, she just hadn’t told them.

"My Lord, stop!"

Just then, a voice called out from a distance.

Without a second thought, Neymar darted inside, and the red-robed Cardinal of the Church of Wisdom God didn’t even have time to react!

Damn it, I couldn’t join you because of my bad image, and now I’m a step behind—what happened?

He suddenly remembered that Neymar had said before that there should be a strong presence when appearing, and to keep his distance so as not to affect the image of the Church of Wisdom God, which seemed to be an important hint.

He was still confused about when the deity started to care about appearances.

But he thought the deity was beginning to regain memories and powers, so he did not think much of it…

……

On the other side.

In a forest, Karoso quietly looked at the big tree in front of him.

"Don’t tell me this is the entrance to the dungeon," Teresa said, pointing at the big tree. "It doesn’t have any magical energy at all."

"Didn’t you experience it before?" Karoso replied with a smile.

"Hmm, you mean the one we went to before…" Teresa remembered the dungeon she had visited long ago with Karoso, where they got the Shuowang Gold in the tavern, which led to Alita joining Canglang Province.

"How did you find out about another entrance to this eighth-tier dungeon?" 『』 asked curiously.

"The voice of my master told me," Karoso pointed to his head.

He realized that ever since he was blessed by the gods, doing things became much easier.

Many questions he couldn’t explain could simply be blamed on Surtr.

[Hahahaha, 『』 was confused.]

[The game story is that seven people from the Pande Empire accidentally ended up here with Null and 『』.]

[Now that Minaret has reached level nine, the fates of Null and 『』 have become tangled.]

"Phew, the eighth-tier dungeon, just thinking about it makes my blood boil," said Teresa, who was a fake eighth-tier but never feared any challenge.

"There is indeed a big risk this time," Karoso took a deep breath, "without a top-level thief…"

"If you and I join forces, we are much stronger than top thieves," Teresa raised an eyebrow.

"Just to be clear, I don’t have any fighting skills; I can only help you make cards," 『』 reminded.

"Hmm, teacher, this time you are very important," Karoso said seriously.

Without 『』, Karoso wouldn’t dare to enter this dungeon.

He is indeed an Eight-tier Card Maker and has full mental strength talent, but he is at least twenty years behind 『』 in experience.

Hmm, it seems like 『』’s age was accidentally revealed here…

Although not very young, human warriors do not reach the longevity of elves, but living to two hundred years old is still fine, so the age difference is not a big deal.

"So… let’s go in."

『』 also did a lot of inner struggle.

The eighth-tier dungeon was a power that once overturned a province.

Back then, Canglang Province had various church forces, professional associations, and armies. In this situation, the dungeon riot still destroyed Canglang Province…

But she thought for a moment, if both children dared to go, why shouldn’t she?

And besides, one of those children was her most proud student.

As a teacher, nothing is more important than seeing a student grow up safely.

When faced with danger, a teacher should stand in front of their students.

"Let’s go." Karoso took a deep breath and stepped in first.

『』 and Teresa exchanged a glance and followed him in.

……

The Cardinal of Wisdom wanted to rush inside, but the portal blocked him from entering.

Damn it, didn’t only eight get in? Why is it full!

Oh no, there’s a plot!

The Cardinal’s expression changed.

This dungeon can hold up to ten people, but now there are eleven inside.

Clearly, one Neymar is not being counted as a person…