Chapter 409

Chapter 409: Strategies From All Sides

Teresa’s pupils narrowed, "Impossible! There are so many ordinary people in the tavern. Anyone below eighth-tier who sees a god’s true form, even in a normal body, would go insane and become a monster."

"Especially in this era, people take Magic Potion. The power in Magic Potion is stronger and harder to digest; much of the magic feels ‘alive,’ and when it encounters a god, it becomes even more active."

[Huh? Does Master Karoso suspect that guy is a god?]

[That shouldn’t be the case; he is just a very ordinary NPC.]

[In the dungeon we are currently exploring, there is no true form or avatar of a god.]

[Is Master Karoso just trying to scare Teresa?]

[Master Karoso can’t be that bored…]

"Let me put it this way: do you know how intense the faith in this era has become?" Karoso said in a deep voice.

"What do you mean?" Teresa slightly frowned.

"Let me first explain how I got here…"

……

Karoso arrived in the city normally, and the guard saw that Karoso was not a wizard, not an elf, but a living person, so he let him in without any issues.

Karoso heard bullet comment say that 『』 would definitely appear at the tavern, so he headed straight to the tavern.

When he arrived, he happened to see 『』 draw the card Fierce Tiger God, and he was stunned.

At that moment, bullet comment was too busy cheering and didn’t think there was anything wrong with playing cards, so Karoso asked them about this young man.

"Who is this person?" Karoso asked in a low voice to bullet comment while standing not far from 『』.

[I don’t know, there’s no such person in the game.]

[There is, you can play cards at the tavern.]

[Well, no matter how busy that NPC is, as long as you find him to play cards, he will play with you.]

[Yes, many NPCs can play cards in this copy.]

[It’s normal to have more different NPCs since your entry has already changed a lot!]

Then, Karoso and the people around him asked about the young man’s situation. He came from outside, loves to play cards, and claimed that he invented the card game.

Tom won many people’s belongings, and surprisingly, no one did anything to him.

In those people’s eyes, there was a subconscious feeling that one should be able to afford to play.

The problem is, in this era, which is even more savage than the later days, where strength and divine power are held above all, this person can play cards peacefully and win things, especially since he invented the cards—everything seems very unusual.

"Hmm, is it because of this?" Teresa frowned slightly.

"No, he just used a card called Fierce Tiger God; in this era, who would dare to name a god so casually?" Karoso said.

"Are you being too sensitive?" Teresa still found it hard to believe.

"This is my own guess. Only the gods themselves dare to name the cards as divine. The most important thing is that everyone has accepted this, which may be due to divine power."

Karoso let out a sigh. "If only Neymar were here, she knows more about history."

And Teresa… let’s not expect her to be very good at cultural subjects.

[I understand Master Karoso’s logic now; it’s like how ancient people in China avoided using the emperor’s name.]

[Hmm, can someone explain if ancient people ever called out to the sky or dragons?]

[It doesn’t matter; what matters is that Master Karoso means that ordinary people can’t joke about the gods, just like you can’t carve the emperor’s face on mahjong.]

[Don’t say in the past; it’s still not allowed now.]

[If it were done secretly, the government wouldn’t know, but judging by this scene, this card game seems quite popular.]

"Hmm, maybe I can verify it later." Teresa touched her chin. "In dungeon spaces, there might be divine statues, but theoretically, there shouldn’t be avatars of the gods…"

"Let’s go back first." Karoso also had no real evidence, because the bullet comment was also unknown.

Soon, the two returned to the tavern.

There, the table was filled with all sorts of things, and there were four money bags.

And that Tom had red eyes, "Why? It shouldn’t be like this, why do you always get the card that turns things around?"

"Just lucky, I guess." 『』 covered her mouth and smiled.

Seeing Karoso walk in with Null’s face, 『』 was stunned for a moment and felt a bit guilty instinctively.

After all, she and Karoso could enter through other places, so Null might be able to too.

But seeing ‘Null’s’ expression was not stern but natural, she knew this was Karoso, not her older brother who had stumbled in.

"Again, let’s do it again…" Tom shuffled the cards.

Every time, it was him shuffling the cards, and they were all his cards. He also realized that 『』 truly hadn’t cheated, and that was what he couldn’t accept the most!

"What else do you have to lose?" 『』 blinked her eyes.

"I…" Tom opened his mouth, feeling a bit at a loss for words.

"This hand, I…" Tom wanted to say he would give the cards to 『』, but he hesitated to part with them.

"Since you have nothing left to lose, how about joining our team and helping us out?" Karoso came up behind 『』.

"Huh?" Tom was surprised to see Karoso.

Just like 『』 earlier, he had been focused on the card game and hadn’t noticed Karoso.

Besides, he wasn’t the type to be alert all the time; he had never paid attention to the people in the tavern.

Now seeing Karoso, he felt somewhat astonished.

"How is it?" Karoso asked again.

If it had been before, Tom would definitely have been unhappy; wasn’t this taking away his freedom to play cards?

Now, he suddenly felt interested.

"Sure!" Tom responded decisively.

……

At the same time, a few people in the meeting hall were discussing strategies.

"We haven’t seen anyone else from start to finish. Based on my experience, they must have gone to other factions. From the types of troops in each faction, it’s clear that those two elves went to the Elven faction while Jaina went to the Church of Wisdom God faction." Anduin, from the Church of Dawn Goddess, was used to being a leader.

He was quite sharp and soon noticed the problem.

The people present were all humans, with warrior knights like Pastor, and there were corresponding troops in this faction, but there were no wizard hunter or druid types.

"I think so too," Norman nodded.

"If they are on a different side from us, shouldn’t the task be different as well? Are they forcing us to oppose each other?" Uther asked curiously.

"Even though we are on different sides than those two elves, we still have a chance to complete the task together," Anduin said. "Our task is to protect the city and keep it from being broken. Whether they betray their side and join us, or if the city is taken for three hours and then we take it back, it doesn’t matter."

"The Church of the Dawn Goddess has plenty of experience with dungeons, and there are many things we can do here."

"We are not trying to ensure the city never falls, but we need to make sure it is in our hands at the end."

"Hmm." Varian glanced at Anduin, feeling a bit annoyed by his lofty attitude.

Damn it, you just got lucky that Gabriel is blind, which is why you got a normal position.

And now, look at you. You actually think you’re a leader.

Though he was complaining in his mind, Varian still prioritized the bigger picture and did not question Anduin.

"What we need to do now is to gain a higher position and more trust." Anduin looked at the others, "Uther, you are a Halo Knight, perfect for fighting with the army. You can go outside and convince some wild soldiers to join us."

"This area doesn’t only have our four cities, but also some neutral zones. You can conquer those and gain the power to lead troops."

"Okay." Uther nodded.

"Varian, you are a warrior, so you might make too much noise. First, think of a way to contact Malfurion and Vereesa. It would be best to let them communicate with us." Anduin said to Varian.

"Alright." Varian frowned slightly.

To be honest, asking him to find a way to contact them feels a bit inappropriate.

This kind of work is more suited for a thief.

But now, there are no thieves, so it has to be him.

The thief profession is very useful, but no church is willing to admit they have thieves, which is why there are gaps in their strategies.

"Norman, you are a two-handed sword knight with many skills. You are very good at surviving, and you have an important task. Go and provoke Elven to create a chance for Varian." Anduin looked at Norman again.

"Okay," Norman replied.

Although Varian was not very confident, hearing Anduin say that made him unhappy. Wasn’t that questioning my ability?

Everyone sitting here has worked very hard to reach this point. Who hasn’t walked a difficult path to get here?

Who hasn’t faced high-level challenges in the dungeon? Who has a light load in real life?

"But what if they are not at the Forest of Elves Church? Then we’ll be wasting our time and making things worse with the Forest of Elves Church," Varian questioned.

"Do you have a better idea?" Anduin looked at him.

"I think it’s best to find out where they are first, then think about how to make contact," Varian said.

"Huh, time may seem abundant, but it might not be. Let’s use my method for now," Anduin said confidently. "It’s the most efficient."

It was the style of the Church of the Dawn Goddess to check everything carefully before taking action. Everything had to be reported, reported, and reported again. No one wanted to take the blame, which made it all very cumbersome.

Celica’s quick and decisive style became something different in the Church of the Dawn Goddess.

It was because things were so cumbersome and the processes were so complicated that the Church of the Dawn Goddess suffered a big loss before.

Now, the Church of the Dawn Goddess was already changing, and when Anduin entered the dungeon, he naturally tried to simplify things as much as possible.

"So what will you do?" Varian did not continue to argue.

After all, most of those who were smart enough in the Flame War God Church became managers, while Varian, who was strong in battle, had his mind a bit affected by the fiery training.

"Besides my main task, I also want to go to the tavern to try recruiting heroes. My recruitment will definitely be more effective than yours," Anduin said to the group. "In the future, whether it’s for fighting or other matters, having enough soldiers is very important. I’ve noticed that regular soldiers follow orders well but lack leadership skills, so the number of heroes is crucial."

"Also, I need to gather information and see if I can find Jaina along the way."

……

Neymar was waiting for Karoso to find him. Karoso, 『』, and Teresa had joined together. The Night Squad had made their plan, and Malfurion and Vereesa were gathering information. Everything seemed to be in order, and no one was panicking.

Outside, however, it was a noisy mess.

"Why did my master go in there!"

The cardinal grabbed the magistrate by the collar.

Besides Norman, the magistrate was the highest authority present.

"I really don’t know," the magistrate nearly cried. "She just went in like that…"

"Why didn’t you stop her?" the cardinal shouted in anger.

"But that’s a deity! Who would dare to stop her…" the magistrate looked very wronged.

"If something happens to my master…" the cardinal fixed his gaze on the magistrate. "I will have reason to suspect that Pande wants to harm a deity and is opposing all the churches."

The magistrate shivered; this burden was too heavy for him, and even for all of Pande!

Although other churches were somewhat jealous of the Church of Wisdom God for having a real deity, they secretly tried to hold back its growth.

However, the deity’s reappearance was beneficial for all churches.

If something went wrong, it would truly be embarrassing for all the churches.

……

Just when everyone was focused on the dungeon and Neymar, a person quietly arrived in Long River City.

Because an eighth-tier dungeon had appeared here, many powerful groups were drawn to it, especially the merchant guild.

They couldn’t gather the good treasures from the dungeons, but getting first-hand information and collecting some discarded items was still worthwhile.

Even the junk from the dungeons was considered top-quality material in the real world.

Is there a risk of the eighth-tier dungeon going out of control?

Well, I have a question: Is money more important than life?

In the eyes of many people, if life is gone, it is gone; if money is lost, living no longer matters…

It is not only merchants who are attracted, but also adventurers.

They think that if the dungeon really goes out of control, they might earn some good rewards, especially since there are many magical beasts rampaging around Changhe Town, which is also a path to wealth.

Merchants and adventurers have helped the economy of this city reach almost the level of Laria.

Back to the main topic.

A merchant is staying at an inn, helplessly using a fan to cool himself.

It is September, and the weather is still a bit too hot. The products from the wind and ice magic circles are too expensive, and this merchant is a bit reluctant to spend.

Knock knock knock…

At that moment, the knocking sound began.

"Who is it…?" The merchant impatiently walked to the door and opened it.

He saw a beautiful woman standing at the door, looking mysterious.

The merchant’s eyes brightened, he touched his wallet and hesitantly asked, "How much for one, and how much for a night?"

The beautiful woman glared at the merchant and took out something wrapped in a black cloth from behind, "Do you want a fan? It’s solar-powered."

"Huh?" The merchant was taken aback.

This is a good thing!

The visitor was Kirmin.

Now, the city’s guards are mostly by the dungeon, with a few to limit adventurers.

And this mechanical creature, for now, nobody has the energy to manage it…

"How much?"

"Two thousand Forged Coins."

"I’ll take one!"