Upon seeing the people around him leave, Martin couldn't help but comment:

"Are all humans this familiar with each other?"

Jack ignored his companion's comment, instead saying quietly, "Henry went to deliver the message, but he didn't get this flyer, what should we do?"

"The only one who can communicate with Dorian is Lord Priest. Knowing this information is useless to us," Martin shrugged helplessly. "Wouldn't it be too obvious if we picked someone to chase after Henry? Besides, it's not a big deal, let's put it on hold and bring it up during next month's report."

Jack nodded, something clicked in his mind, and he began to chuckle.

"That's true. Rather than going through all the trouble again for this unspectacular Mad Fire, we might as well let Lord Priest enjoy a longer time."

"After all, the Abyss is a treasure she's longed for. I finally understand the wonder of the Abyss too."

Martin stroked his body and said, "We just love powerful things, don't we."

"It would be great if we could find a way to tame the power of the Abyss." Jack's eyes shone with longing.

"Rest assured, Lord Priest will surely manage it. Even if Lord Priest is a bit lacking, there's still the other one."

Martin said this as he raised his head, looking towards the western horizon, where the Three Great Religions' control area was.

"That one is the true veteran."

"Never thought he could still be alive."

"He's bound to trigger a miracle."

Martin and Jack exchanged glances, filled with mutual understanding for like-minded individuals, and said together:

"We must live to see the day when the Abyss is tamed."

"What are you two doing here? The traps on this side aren't dug yet, hurry up and help!"

"Coming!" Martin shouted happily.

————————————

"These Demon Clan folks... They sure know how to endure..."

Gong Qiying sat on the altar, looking at the crystal ball in front of him, which reflected the scene of the Twilight Dungeon.

It showed the Teleportation Gate with a deserted view.

If this were in a western movie, you would need tumbleweeds blowing across the entrance to emphasize the desolation, maybe even accompanied by the cawing of crows.

"I'm really out of ideas."

Gong Qiying lay back, his animated corpse-like body unfazed by how uncomfortable the altar underneath felt.

Lately, he had exhausted every means to attract the Demon Clan to the Twilight Dungeon.

Just recently, he tried his so-called ultimate trick — mimicking the purple starlight of the Hidden Dull Star of the Evil God at the Twilight Dungeon's Teleportation Gate entrance, accompanied by the eerie whispers of the Evil God that had once spewed from Eliphas' mouth.

But it was completely ineffective. The Demon Clan seemed to have zero interest in Evil Gods.

Besides, Gong Qiying had ventured out several times during this period. Once, he had carried a large amount of supplies and walked almost two kilometers, but he didn't see a single shadow of a person — oh no, a monster shadow.

The town of the Demon Clan, which he initially took as his destination, turned out to be nothing more than a ruined and destroyed wreck, where peculiar looking unknown monsters were rooting among corpses.

Occasionally, dark flying dragons hovered ominously in the sky, and these evil dragons issued terrifying wails that gave everyone who heard them goosebumps, as if it were the shrieks of the Death God. The monsters on the ground feared the horror of the black flying dragons, curling up shivering on the ground, not daring to move.

"Yet why do I feel the call of this black dragon sounds a bit like those hungry dragons from the Floating Island?" Gong Qiying kept having such an illusion.

As if, the purpose of that black dragon's howling might not just be to frighten the monsters on the ground, it was possibly expressing some sort of negative emotion.

Like hunger...?

Could it be possible? That feels rather undignified.

"Next time that black dragon comes around, maybe I should try tossing out some delicacies to lure it in."

It's a desperate move.

Because that black dragon seemed like the only creature willing to risk approaching the Twilight Dungeon, not to mention if that fellow even had the capability for rational thought.

Gong Qiying sighed out of boredom.

He even used the absence of the Demon Clan within the Twilight Dungeon as a means to chastise his followers, wringing some benefits out of them in the process.

That's probably why the Holy Light Underground City's production of materials has dwindled lately; all the spiritual power has turned into war reparations.

Squeeze the Holy Light Church a bit more, and the followers of Old Buddha will provide the spiritual power to build the Sain Dungeon!

Gong Qiying's life lately was quite monotonous.

Besides racking his brain every day to devise ideas to attract the Demon Clan to the Twilight Dungeon, he was also managing the daily operations of his several dungeons.

After all, he owned quite a number of dungeons, and according to Red Teeth, a City Lord who merged a bunch of dungeons like him is rare. Only a few people could rival him, and those individuals were usually busy and had no time to socialize with other City Lords, making them social outcasts like the dead.

In contrast, Gong Qiying was truly the "young man in the dungeon" with his endless daily energy.

The operation of the Sain Dungeon's branch in Scameroon has already been set on track.

Including the Undead Town Outside the City, some areas no longer required Gong Qiying's constant monitoring and could be left to the dungeon's autonomous operation. He would only personally intervene when issues arose that the dungeon couldn't handle on its own.

The Sain Dungeon's operation had gradually become standardized. The specific procedure was that when a certain area had been open long enough, frequent exploration by adventurers reached a regular scale, and there was no longer a need for modifications. It could then be entrusted to the dungeon. These areas were often referred to by adventurers as "old areas" or "veteran maps."

Only new areas like the Little Londo Ruins or Sain Ancient City, which were still being explored by adventurers and had new routes awaiting discovery, would be personally monitored by Gong Qiying.

This way, he could manage his energy. Otherwise, checking every area every day would be exhausting. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Adventurers have reacted positively to the pledges, considering adding more rewards in the Painting World."

"The Faith Spirit Power provided by the Skamelon people is more abundant than ordinary people's. It's a premium resource and cannot be abandoned."

He referred to the Faith Spirit Power, enhanced by faith, supplied by the Skamelon people.

"As for the Little Londo Ruins, given the current adventurer situation, they probably can't get through. Tease them a little to lure them without losing hope."

"It's surprising that Sain Ancient City still hasn't been cleared. This batch of adventurers lacks competence..."

After routinely viewing the adventurers' progress, Gong Qiying sighed.

The average quality of the adventurers in Scameroon was way behind that of other kingdoms. Even with talents like Luluwo pulled in, they still had a noticeable disadvantage.

Were these people brainwashed by religion?

After the regular progress check, it was time to look at the letters from other City Lords.

Gong Qiying's altar always had several differently colored letters from City Lords. It wasn't that Gong Qiying deliberately ignored these people by not reading their letters, but because there were too many letters each day, he couldn't keep up.

The red letter was from the City Lord of the Blast Flame Underground City, Flame Fire, and upon opening it, Gong Qiying knew that fellow wanted to exchange ideas on the 108 uses of flame monsters again.

Flame Fire genuinely adored the Burning Furnace Golem Gong Qiying sent him, constantly expressing affection in the letters.

The green letter came from the Cangyin Dungeon's City Lord Heiniss. This kid was again sending over a new plant species and wanted some praise from Gong Qiying as well.

The darker red letter came from the Red Teeth Dungeon's City Lord Red Teeth; his matter was more serious and would be reviewed later.

Finally, there was... huh? A white letter? That's rare.

Gong Qiying opened the envelope and, pulling out the letter paper, detected a faint, cool floral fragrance. It felt quite mysterious and elegant, making one imagine the writer must be a well-mannered elegant gentleman or lady.

Curious, Gong Qiying's eyes went to the letter's content.

[Bro, can you lend me some money?]

[Love from White Blood Dungeon]

"..."

Gong Qiying's eye twitched.

He'd guessed wrong; the writer wasn't some elegant lady.

It seemed more like a starving pauper.