"Are you really not going to kill me…?" the sprout human who has cleaned up and changed to the casual set of clothes that I gave him said awkwardly as he approached…

It seemed that he already interpreted the fact that he was leaving the base with us as an equal to letting him off, yet he looked like he was actually quite skeptical about it…

"I did say that I would spare you as long as you managed to somewhat satisfy my curiosity, besides…"

'I'm not completely done with you yet…'

After all, I wasn't a hero of justice that would just kill the moving information chest that came in the form of a sprout human just because he was a demon once before, it would be such a waste…

Besides, I didn't really plan on letting him roam freely or anything, I was obviously going to subtly control and restrict his movement or even more...

"I see…" the sprout human replied with a bitter smile...

He didn't really seem to lack intelligence as his response and expression showed that he understood that the cost of him being still alive wasn't completely, but he strangely didn't show that much displeasure…

"Anyway, let's get going…"

After taking a last look around, confirming that everything was ready as I pretty much finished all the tasks, including checking the settlement for any salvageable resources, I crushed the formerly brown crystal that was in my left hand.

Unlike the last time I used a similar crystal which directly transported me outside the base, this time the crushed crystal shards flew out of my hands and off the ground as they floated together forming a circular ring as what seemed to be a spatial ring opened up in the middle of the ring…

'As expected…'

As Long has already explained the function of the brown crystal before, it wasn't surprising for me to see the whole occurrence as I had already grabbed the trio in their robbed bundle like state with my now free left hand.

"Woah…"

On the other hand, the amazed reaction of the sprout human was quite expected, after all, it was unlikely for him to have witnessed another base clear before…

Not waiting for him to express much, I used my other free hand to grab him as I jumped straight into the portal…

`~~`~~`~~`

At the same time, back in battle city…

"So, were you successful in your task?"

A black bearded man was sitting in a completely dark room as he focused most of his attention at a shiny black crystal ball, that was situated on the table in front of him, which seemed to be the source of the sound…

"Yes my lord! Those at the auction house were completely oblivious about it, they were actually elated enough to add the whole thing in one auction…"

"And the progress?"

"It's going very well! The four who received the individual items have been spotted leaving the city together a few days ago, they should have reached the base by now, it's quite likely that they are already neutralized there and waiting as standby keys…"

"That's great then, if everything did go as smoothly as you are describing it to be, then you will be rewarded heavily very soon!"

"Thank you my lord! It's always a pleasure to be of service to your lordship!"

"Very good, I will close the connection now since I also have to check on the status of the other missions… We will contact you again when the time is ripe…"

"Understood my lord, I will always be ready and waiting!"

"Mhm…"

As the sound of confirmation was heard from the crystal ball, its dark shine was turned off as nothing more could be heard of it, leaving the black bearded man sitting alone in the completely dark room…

However, being in such a room as his only source of light disappeared didn't seem to displease the man as an ominous smile couldn't help but blossom on his face…

`~~`~~`~~`

[ Congratulations! You have managed to destroy one of the demon bases of the Nature Domain! ]

[ You have managed to achieve the first objective (Repeatable) of the 'Demon's Advent' quest! ]

[ You have received 2.5 Unassigned stat points as a reward! ]

[ You have received the title 'Demon Base Ranger'! ]

[ You have received the title 'Protector of the Nature Domain'! ]

[ As you have encountered the hidden scenario, 'The Die Hard Sacrifice' and managed to clear it, an additional bonus is awarded! ]

[ You have received 1.5 Unassigned stat points as a reward! ]

Noticing the stream of notifs, I felt a bit at ease before completely disregarding them for now as I still had another obstacle to clear first…

'At least there is no nauseating ride this time as well…'

Despite this whole base adventure being mostly different than the last ones, it seemed that the base departure journey was still special that it didn't induce any spatial disorder nausea.

Looking around a bit, I could see that I was exactly standing in the place that the small stick-like sapling that acted as our entrance gate was previously situated at, which was nowhere to be found now…

"This is…" the sprout human that was still hung up in my right hand didn't really seem bothered by the way I held him as he instead spectated the area around him…

"I'm back…?" nostalgia seemed to take over his voice as it seemed to soften quite a bit, before the sprout human's expression stiffened as he appeared to be trying to hide it all away and act indifferent.

Thud!

I didn't really consider much as I dropped him without care, and slowly put down the trio on the ground.

"Urgh, no need to be this rough…" the sprout human replied to my actions as he probably felt that he was suffering from great injustice…

"I just have to use a 'Mental Message to wake them up?" I asked the sprout human while ignoring his gripe, he simply wasn't worth my concern as I was already churning my mind to come with the perfect cover that I would display to the trio when they woke up...