The knight order led by Caiman had already reached the eighth floor.
They were currently searching for the passage to the next floor within the pitch black desert.
The undead creatures of the Desert Stratum posed no threat to Caiman's knight order.
After all, this knight order was far too powerful, and it included a Holy Light battle priest squad that countered undead creatures.
The skeletal shamans wandering the Desert Stratum could only manipulate a few undead bones to harass Caiman's knight order, failing to hinder their progress.
One skeletal shaman was even slain by the overwhelming strength of the knight order.
"Have you found the Forbidden Fire ruin yet?"
"Lord Caiman, the monster merchant's trail is too difficult to find. Without his Forbidden Fire map, it is nearly impossible to locate a Forbidden Fire ruin within a desert of this scale."
Caiman frowned.
The Grey family was determined to obtain the Forbidden Fire, but according to gathered intelligence, one had to possess a Forbidden Fire Blessing Mark to obtain it.
And the Forbidden Fire Blessing Mark only existed within the Forbidden Fire ruins.
A single Forbidden Fire ruin could only grant the Forbidden Fire Mark to one person.
They had already found one Forbidden Fire ruin, only to discover that the Forbidden Fire Mark within had already been claimed by someone else.
However, the more difficult it became, the more Caiman felt that the Forbidden Fire was truly extraordinary.
"This floor likely only contains one Forbidden Fire ruin."
"There is a limited number of Forbidden Fire ruins throughout the entire dungeon. Find the passage to the next floor immediately and search for a Forbidden Fire ruin there."
Caiman issued orders to the entire knight order.
They could not afford to waste too much time on a single floor.
Not long after they gave up searching for the Forbidden Fire ruin, the knight order unexpectedly collided with an adventurer team.
This adventurer team was none other than the Red Rose team led by Serafina.
An accidental meeting in such a vast floor was clearly beyond the expectations of both groups.
"Halt."
Caiman quickly commanded the knight order to stop.
Serafina also watched the knight order before her with vigilance from the other side.
"You are... the Red Rose team from Gray City?"
"The Grey family knight order? To what do we owe this honor?"
Serafina naturally recognized the Grey family knight order.
At this moment, she was also surprised that the Grey family had dispatched a knight order to this border dungeon.
Serafina, who had been exploring the deepest parts, was severely lacking in information from the surface.
"The Manfred team has rebelled, committing the heinous crime of murder."
"Have you seen Manfred and his group?"
"What!"
Upon hearing Caiman's words, everyone in the Red Rose team cried out in shock.
Manfred's vanguard team had rebelled!
What on earth had happened on the surface!
Seeing the reaction of the Red Rose team, Caiman realized they must have been out of contact with the surface for a long time.
He then gestured to the attendant beside him.
The attendant quickly took out several wanted posters and stepped forward to hand them to Serafina.
Serafina took the wanted posters, her alarm growing as she read them, until she reached the last one and gasped.
"Attacking the Church of Light and stealing a masterpiece grade magical artifact... who exactly is this Zeno!"
Serafina looked at the description on the wanted poster in disbelief, even wondering if she had been in the dungeon so long that she was hallucinating.
It had been years since anything like this had happened in the Northern Territory.
Serafina quickly calmed her emotions and tucked the wanted posters away.
As a freelance adventurer with no background, Serafina could not afford to offend a noble.
"I will keep an eye out."
However, Serafina's action of putting away the wanted posters caused Caiman's eyes to flicker.
"The Forbidden Fire Mark."
"You possess the Forbidden Fire Blessing Mark on your person?"
Caiman's words caused the atmosphere to grow tense once again.
"Would you like to join the Grey family? The Grey family will not treat you poorly."
Serafina realized she had made a mistake.
Forbidden Fire... Caiman's goal was also the Forbidden Fire. Information about the Forbidden Fire seemed to have spread quite far.
Was there more than one Forbidden Fire ruin?
And if they both craved the Forbidden Fire, then...
Everyone who sought the Forbidden Fire was a competitor, an enemy.
Was this dungeon about to erupt into a Forbidden Fire war over the struggle for it?
"I have no intention of joining any family."
Serafina took a step back, and the heavy warrior Isolde gripped his shield, ready to charge to the front at any moment.
"...You misunderstand, Captain of the Red Rose."
"I have no intention of forcing you to join. Everything is according to your own will."
"The dungeon is fair to everyone."
Only Caiman knew how much truth there was in his words.
Serafina only wanted to leave this place now.
The Grey family knight order was far too dangerous, and the Red Rose team was by no means a match for them.
After a brief encounter, the two forces separated in the pitch black desert, neither side making a move against the other.
Both sides had their own reservations.
Caiman felt that starting a battle with adventurers and losing men over a single Forbidden Fire Mark was not worth the cost.
"However, there is now one more backup option for a Forbidden Fire Mark."
Caiman whispered to himself.
The fuse for a battle over the Forbidden Fire had been lit.
In the far distance of this desert, Zeno watched all of this calmly.
"The power of Caiman's knight order is too great. Other adventurers are completely outmatched."
"If this continues, the Lord's Forbidden Fire plan might be affected."
Beside Zeno, Feiwan, in her black dress, shook her head after watching the first act of the humans' drama.
"Should I go and burn some of them to reduce the pressure on the other adventurers?"
Feiwan looked expectantly at her colleague Zeno, eager to take action and contribute to her Lord.
"We only need to execute the Lord's missions. Do not cause unnecessary trouble."
"Slaughter is a means, not an end."
"Excessive slaughter will only invite calamity."
Zeno calmly taught her new colleague, well aware of Feiwan's urgent desire to contribute to their Lord.
"I understand."
Feiwan could only try to suppress the desire within her heart.
"Is the Forbidden Fire sealed by the Well of Eternal Imprisonment just left for the adventurers to fight over?"
Feiwan wanted to burn all the adventurers who coveted her Lord's treasure.
A group of ungrateful humans who didn't even deserve to play with her... it would be better to just burn them all.
"The Well of Eternal Imprisonment also has those who crave the Forbidden Fire, and that individual possesses a name bestowed by the Lord."
Zeno thought of Purple Hammer, the purple skinned blacksmith.
"Oh, really!"
Feiwan straightened up.
"He is a purple skinned blacksmith named Purple Hammer. You can ask Tongmu to help you find him."
"However, Purple Hammer's strength is far too weak compared to the human side."
Feiwan tried to contact Tongmu, who quickly sent Purple Hammer's location to her.
Purple Hammer was currently on the ninth floor, searching for the location of a Forbidden Fire ruin.
Sensing Purple Hammer's feeble strength, Feiwan noticed that he bore the power of Zeno's blessing.
Feiwan did not want the hateful adventurers to obtain the Forbidden Fire.
In that case, perhaps she could go and bestow a blessing later to enhance Purple Hammer's strength, giving him a better chance to compete for the Forbidden Fire.
Her flame blessing would certainly be more helpful to Purple Hammer than Zeno's plant blessing.
Feiwan had no intention of taking the Forbidden Fire for herself.
After all, she was a guardian and did not need such power.
The Lord would give her something better. This kind of deviant power would only pollute the purity of the power she received from the Lord.
No matter how powerful the gained strength was, it was absolutely unacceptable for Feiwan.
It would be like using something filthy to defile the Lord's aura on her body and her noble bloodline.
That would be a desecration of the Lord!
"White Foot greets Lady Zeno and Lady Feiwan."
"Lady Zeno, there is a letter for you."
A skeletal shaman bowed its head, not daring to look directly at the two guardians before it, and respectfully offered the letter in its hand.
Zeno took the letter, her eyes quickly scanning its contents from beneath her metal head armor.
Feiwan stood on her tiptoes, curiously trying to see, but unfortunately, the height difference made it impossible.
After reading the letter, Zeno looked at Feiwan.
"There is a mission here that will allow you to better observe humans from a close distance."
"Are you interested?"
Feiwan's eyes lit up instantly. This was a chance to contribute to the Lord!
"Yes!!"
Rate on N.U.
