“You’re back?”
“We’re back.”
When the group returned to Jiang Lan’s house, they saw Esmeralda sitting under the eaves outside the small courtyard, holding a cup of milk tea in both hands and sipping it every now and then.
Seeing them return, she didn't even stand up; she just lazily raised a hand to greet everyone.
“How did things go over there?”
“Not bad. We harvested five thousand milliliters of blood. What about your end?”
“We did well too. Chariot didn't just find five hundred milliliters of blood in Saran Siqing's identity card; by cross-referencing information, we’ve also pinpointed the location of Formation 505's headquarters.”
As she spoke, Esmeralda took out an Ice Dew Wine Bottle and gave it a little shake, eliciting knowing smiles from everyone.
Excellent. The pool of ‘gold coins’ to be distributed had grown again.
This meant everyone would receive a larger share of blood.
Riesling, ever the warmonger, immediately stepped forward upon hearing that the location of Formation 505’s headquarters had been confirmed.
“You know where their headquarters is?! That’s fantastic! Let’s head out right now!”
“No need. While we were waiting for you, Chariot got bored and went ahead. A message just came back saying he’s already arrived and has launched an attack on the heart of Formation 505.”
Esmeralda waved her hand dismissively.
“By himself?”
“Yep.”
“Oh!!!”
Everyone was stunned.
None of them had expected Chariot to have the guts to charge into the enemy’s headquarters all alone.
While they didn't know exactly what Formation 505 was made of, there was no doubt that a group capable of stirring up trouble across the Kalim continent had to have some level of strength.
Under these circumstances, Olf going in alone seemed more than a little reckless.
“Maybe it's because he had to call GG when he fought Saran Siqing earlier, and now he's looking to reclaim his dignity here?”
Gu Xiaobei muttered to herself.
Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard her.
A few people even nodded as if she had hit the nail on the head.
“Chariot has always been labeled as a tank, a brute, or a blacksmith, but I have to admit, he does have some skill.”
“True. Someone who can develop their own evolution potions definitely has a good head on their shoulders.”
“He should be fine on his own. After all, he has Steel-grath.”
“And he didn't even use his racial talent, Gigantification, in the fight just now.”
“Hoho, if that’s the case, then there really isn’t much to worry about.”
After a flurry of conversation that practically stripped Olf of all his secrets, the group finally stopped worrying about him.
“In that case, why don't I go make some food? I bet most of you haven't eaten yet.”
Gu Xiaobei, forever the same Gu Xiaobei.
The moment she had any free time, the first thing on her mind was always food.
One couldn't let their stomach go hungry, nor could they neglect their taste buds.
“Oh! That sounds great!”
“We really should have a proper meal.”
“I’d only just woken up when I was called out here.”
“I’ll go give you a hand.”
“If we're making a meal, I'll head over to Naheye's place. He still has some vegetables in his fields that need harvesting. It's the perfect chance for us to scavenge from his estate and have a good time together.”
Seeing that everyone had something to do, Frenna thought for a moment and turned to go strip his fields bare.
Riesling realized that, after all that, they were having a feast.
Considering how rare it was for everyone to be together like this, it would be a shame not to celebrate. So, after thinking it over, he spoke to the group as they were about to disperse.
“A feast? Then I’ll head back for a bit and bring some alcohol.”
“Peach wine! I want that peach wine!”
“No problem. Drinks are on me, Riesling, for today's feast!”
“Boss Righteousness is generous!”
“What? Are you guys about to eat?”
Just as everyone was enjoying the mood, a woman’s voice drifted out from inside the house.
The group looked over to see the High Priestess, with the Hierophant and The Fool following behind her.
Good grief—now every single member of the villa was here.
This feast was definitely happening now.
“Aren't you supposed to be in a dungeon?”
Ruan Qingyi couldn't help but snark when she saw Vivian.
“It’s over! I put in a lot of effort for this team-building event, sacrificing one Count, three Viscounts, and over a dozen Barons to finish the dungeon early.”
Walking out to the backyard, 【High Priestess】 Vivian stood with her hands on her hips, looking quite proud of herself.
It was a good thing Gu Xiaobei had already gone to the kitchen; otherwise, she would have definitely said something to break Vivian’s composure.
“Did they die?”
“No, they’re just heavily injured with missing limbs. They’ll recover after resting for a while.”
“I see.”
Ruan Qingyi nodded.
There were many new evolved races now, and from what she knew, the vampire race was among the most bizarre.
Just as Vivian said, missing limbs only required a period of recuperation to grow back.
There was even a vampire race called the Green-bat Vampire that could come back to life even if their head was cut off.
So, Ruan Qingyi didn't press the matter further and turned her gaze toward 【Hierophant】 Nemo.
“What about you, Hierophant? Didn't you say there was no need for you to come if I was here?”
“Haha, well, I heard there was quite a haul of loot. The High Priestess invited me, so I thought I’d come take a look.”
Nemo chuckled jovially.
Initially, since the Merfolk evolution potion was a joint creation between the two of them, only one of them needed to be present.
But then he heard from the High Priestess that the villa members seemed to be making a big move, so he decided to tag along.
He arrived only to find everyone preparing for a feast and a party—the typical post-battle revelry.
So, he happily joined in.
Whether he got a share of the blood or not didn't matter as much as having a good time with food and drinks, right?
As for where the High Priestess got her information...
No need to guess; it was definitely leaked by that snitch Gu Xiaobei.
After all, it was an open secret in the group that the High Priestess and The Emperor were the closest of friends.
“Oh, please. You probably found out there was a lot of blood here and ditched the dungeon, didn't you?”
Sure enough, the moment Gu Xiaobei stepped out of the kitchen with a wooden spatula in hand and saw Vivian, she immediately started poking fun at her.
“Hmph, you’re wrong this time, you annoying brat! I finished the dungeon before I came here.”
Vivian held her chin in the air, her head held so high she was practically looking down her nose at everyone.
Normally, Gu Xiaobei would have used two fingers to poke her in the nose, but she didn't this time.
Even though she was annoyed, she held back.
It wasn't because she was cooking and didn't want to get her hands dirty.
While that was part of it, the more important reason was the red liquid inside the test tube Vivian was currently waving in front of her.
“Is that... the ancient blood you got from this dungeon?”
Gu Xiaobei squinted her eyes as she asked Vivian.
“Hehe, are you scared now?”
Rate on N.U.
