But what surprised the Pale Hand was that even though he figured out which was the hidden treasure room and pressed the button, the door didn't open!

'Did I make a mistake?'

Sky instinctively sensed something wrong.

That Kerry guy made him feel uneasy. This was strange since he was a great Legend expert. Why should he be worried about a 4th rank Ranger?

Sky frowned. He had some understanding toward Saruha, but he didn't know much more than the Wolf Spider mercenaries.

Even if he could disregard the Nightmare Crystal, he couldn't pass through those heavy stone doors.

He wasn't a Wizard after all. He didn't have a spell or any item that would allow him to pass through walls.

'Based on the old map the Wolf Spider mercenaries showed me, there is a small room a short way in that held Gnomish treasures.'

'The Ancient Gnomes were fearless, only respecting the Ancient Sun God, so normally the correct entrance should be this door.'

'Why won't it open?'

The Pale Hand frowned. He wasn't a fool. There was clearly another possibility as to why the door wouldn't open.

It was locked from the inside.

Regardless of the reason, Sky's plan to easily kill Gwyn had already failed. He had to quickly get through these stone doors, or else who knew where those two so-called scouts would run off to?

Although the mission couldn't be completed properly, he also didn't suffer much of a loss yet. But he did make a solemn vow to take Gwyn's life in front of the Elder Council, so if he couldn't manage to do so, his reputation would suffer.

He turned and glanced at those people engrossed in the luster of the crystal, disdain flashing through his eyes.

How could these greedy guys deserve to get the Ancient Gnome treasures?

They couldn't even pass the most simple willpower test. The following dangers would probably be even harder to handle.

The only thing that surprised him somewhat was that Rem and Lilia showed signs of waking up even though they had also fallen under the crystal's charm. This wasn't an easy matter.

'I already helped them with the Tentacle Horrors. It shouldn't be a problem if I leave now.'

After thinking of this, the Pale Hand rushed toward the 2nd stone door and pressed the button!

"Rumble!"

The thick and heavy stone door slowly rose, and fire flashed. The next second, a large amount of fire monsters gushed out from the door, flying toward Sky!

They had human head, Lion's claws, and Fish lower body.

[Fire Guardians]!

Sky cursed and turned to run!

It wasn't that he was afraid of these monsters, but there were way too many of them. Even with his Legend resistances, he couldn't handle an intensive assault from so many Fire Guardians.

The Pale Hand's silhouette flashed like lightning, nimbly moving across the hall as the blades in his hands slashed through the air, continuously cutting the heads of the Fire Guardians.

But it felt as if there was an endless supply of Fire Guardians! They kept pouring out from the room.

While Sky was busy fighting, he glanced at the end of the hidden room.

At the end of the hidden room was a deep passage, and on the passage was blocked by a green barrier!

This was a two-meter thick barrier with a light green spirit flickering inside.

The Pale Hand's face instantly turned green!

'Fuck! It's actually a [Disintegrate] barrier!'

'These wretched Gnomes!'

He understood dungeon's mechanism... this Disintegrate barrier definitely would not disappear until he killed all these Fire Guardians.

And there was close to two hundred of them! Even if Pale Hands were proficient killers, he would need at least ten minutes to clear them out safely!

These ten minutes were enough for Gwyn and that Kerry to do a lot of things.

Thinking of this, Sky felt somber.

...

In the 3rd room.

Marvin finished putting all the loot away, satisfied.

He felt it that this trip to Saruha was already very worthwhile. Just the Gnome Blueprints and the Rosenthal Bracelets were worth the effort, let alone another Earth Crystal fragment.

At that moment, he and Gwyn heard someone pressing the button by the door.

For a while, they were able to see through the door, and discovered the person outside.

The young Vampire blanched, though his skin was pale to begin with.

Pale Hand Sky!

From his expression, he was a bit anxious.

If Gwyn still doubted Marvin at this point, Marvin wouldn't bother with him any longer.

But the young Vampire was convinced.

He asked in a low voice, "Sir Marvin, even though the Dark Side intends to start a war, our Bright Side still wouldn't be worried. Although they have Legends, regardless the amount or quality, they won't be our match."

"But since you pointed this out to me, you surely have a way to rescue me. If I can avoid the Dark Side's chase this time, I'll do my best to satisfy whatever request you have."

In fact, Marvin's strength had always been a mystery to Gwyn.

After Marvin destroyed the Decaying Plateau, Gwyn had carefully investigated his rise, and the results were shocking.

He was driven away from his territory by a group of Gnolls, and then passed his days painfully in River Shore City… This was just the fall of some trashy noble.

Who would have thought that he would rise to greatness one day? It was rumored that Masked Twin Blades, who single-handedly annihilated the Acheron Gang, was one of Marvin's identities. He then took back his territory, showed his talents in the Battle of the Holy Grail and had multiples conflicts with the Twin Snakes Cult. Later, he was even more fierce as he destroyed the Decaying Plateau.

And at that time, because the Twin Snakes Cult made a move on him, "killing" him, they were completely uprooted by a group of angry Legends.

It was rumored that even the Azure Matriarch far to the north almost died!

This was a series of outstanding achievements, and was very different from his previous appearance as a destitute noble.

Gwyn even doubted the two were the same person.

But regardless, anyone could see that Marvin was powerful and mysterious.

And even moreso, there was the thing that most didn't know about. He was Dragon Slayer Robin who tore a Dragon apart with his bare hands!

But this wasn't a secret to Gwyn, because when Marvin negotiated for the Dense Blood Nucleus, he saw through his disguise.

When the information about the Dragon spread, he was utterly shocked. Although he checked and was told that Fate Sorceress Jessica had added her Fate Power to Marvin, tearing a Dragon apart by hand was still an impressive feat. He couldn't properly estimate the limits of this kind of person!

In Gwyn's eyes, even if Marvin wasn't a Legend, he had the strength of a Legend.

Since the other party told him the Pale Hand's goal, he definitely had a way to solve this issue.

...

Seeing Gwyn looking at him expectantly, Marvin couldn't help but mutter strangely, "Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I'll help you kill that Pale Hand?"

Gwyn coughed awkwardly. "Even if you can't, you should know a way to leave Saruha, right?"

Marvin sneered, "In ordinary circumstances, there is only one way to leave Saruha, which is the scroll in Lilia's hands."

"But clearly, you have another way," noted Gwyn.

"I actually do know a secret path to leave Saruha," Marvin conceded. "It's just that the secret path is more dangerous, a lot more dangerous than the Tentacle Horrors. If I just take you there to leave, I'll risk too much for nothing."

Gwyn furrowed his brows. "What do you want?"

Marvin smiled. "Twenty of that kind of Dense Blood Nucleus you had last time."

Gwyn immediately turned red, "How could this be…"

"Just kidding," Marvin interrupted. "I'll take three of them with different abilities. Oh right, last time was Low Flight. Remember, don't give me a duplicate."

"Then, after you escape, immediately return to the Bright Side's headquarters and find Great Duke William."

"I want you to do all you can to arrange a meeting for me."

Gwyn froze. "A meeting?"

"Yes." Marvin nodded seriously. "Me and William."

A strange expression appeared on Gwyn's face, before he ground his teeth and nodded in acquiescence.

He could take the loss. Wealth wasn't as important as his life.

What's more, the Dark Side intended to start a war. He needed to report this important information.

He responded to Marvin, "I agree to all your conditions. Now can you take me out of Saruha?"

But how could he have expected Marvin's odd answer:

"What's the hurry?"

"We managed to enter an Ancient Gnome vestige with great difficulty. If we leave without plundering the place, it would really be a waste, don't you think?"

"As for the Pale Hand, rest assured, he won't follow for now with the [Fire Guardians] blocking him, and then the ensuing [Endless Stairs]... We should have at least twenty minutes."

Gwyn smiled bitterly. "Didn't you already get a lot of treasures?"

Marvin ignored his complaint and rushed toward the depths of the room.

Soon, a low tunnel appeared in front of the two.

Marvin checked it for a bit before confirming that there was no danger. He beckoned Gwyn to follow, before crawling in.

If he wasn't wrong, at the other end of the tunnel would be Saruha's Residential District!

...

In the depths of Saruha.

On a dark green altar, two tall shadows were kneeling.

A twisted face slowly appeared out of a fire:

"Exterminate…"

"Our old enemy…"

"Punishment… Restore the glory of our Negative Energy Plane."

The voice from the face was intermittent.

But those two shadows still managed to understand what he meant.

A scene appeared before their eyes. It was Marvin strenuously crawling through the tunnel!

"We brothers will definitely accomplish your order..."

"Respected Sir [Tidomas]."