The mission to eliminate the earth spirit has been successfully completed, and Zhan En has also obtained what he needs to modify the summoning crystal. According to reason, now should be the moment of drums and firecrackers, welcoming the new year with joy. However, unfortunately, the people present do not have this leisure time at the moment, and all of this is because of the intelligence brought by Eris.

  Humans appeared.

  If they were just adventurers wandering around, that would be fine, but according to Eris' description, these people are fully armed, well-trained, and numerous. They don't look like those fools who came to die after hearing too many legendary stories.

  Tog's remaining dwarf soldiers also hastily returned to Brandon Stone Castle, passing on the news to Kardok. Whatever conflicts he had with Kardok, they were united in their dealings with outsiders. Jann also led others back to his underground city, beginning to discuss how to respond to the situation. After all, the appearance of humans was not a good thing for the Dark Territory, especially when it came to fully armed and organized troops like these. If they were indeed the vanguard of another human expeditionary force, this could be an omen of another war breaking out in the Dark Territory, which would require great caution.

  But unfortunately...

  "We have far too little intelligence."

  Enya shook her head helplessly.

  "If we could capture a few alive and interrogate them, there might be some results. At the very least, it's certain that these people are not just ordinary adventurers... So, the question is how to respond next. If Miss Eris had left a few alive, that would have been good, but unfortunately..."

  At this point, Enyo couldn't help but sigh. As a high-ranking undead creature, she possessed unique information-gathering skills, and even if her opponent was already dead, Enyo could still find the information she wanted from their brain, muscles, and internal organs. Unfortunately, Eris had been quite decisive, and to avoid exposing her tracks, she had directly burned all those people into ashes with a single flame, making it impossible for Enyo to find any corpses to gather intelligence from now.

  Although that's what she said, Enyo didn't intend to blame Iris either. After all, this was Iris' first encounter with a human since birth, and its significance wasn't inferior to humans encountering aliens while exploring Mars. As a half-vampire, it was obvious that she couldn't have any common language with humans, and taking the approach of killing people to protect herself and cover her tracks wasn't entirely unjustifiable either.

  "It doesn't matter, anyway those guys will definitely send someone to check if they notice that someone is missing."

  Facing Elise's words, Zhen shook his head and then looked at Vilna.

  "Well then, Miss Verna, I want you to go over to the Blackstone Watchtower and keep an eye on Brandon's Rock Castle. If there are any changes, report back to me at once."

  Upon hearing Zhan En's command, Weirna furrowed her brow and let out a dissatisfied cold hum.

  "What kind of joke are you playing, we're clearly discussing those despicable crawling creatures and now you want me to go spy on that group of grey dwarves? I've had just about enough, damn it, I'm a dark elf, not some sort of slave! Why do I have to do this?"

  In the face of Verena's discontent, Zhan En remained unmoved. He simply stretched out his hand, gently pushed his glasses up, and stared at the dark elf in front of him.

  "This is a request, Miss Verna - I don't want it to become an order, don't forget your position."

  "You...!!!!"

  At this point, Vernia clenched her fists and glared at Jan with wide eyes, gritting her teeth. She was on the verge of exploding in anger. Who was she? She was a member of the noble Dark Elves. Vernia never wanted to be under anyone's command, but previously had no choice but to submit to Jan's overwhelming power. Now it seemed that she needed to toughen up and make this wizard recognize her value. Damn it, she wasn't one of those lowly slaves, why did she have to do such tasks herself? If it was something like killing, that would be fine, but now... This damned wizard, she had to let him know how formidable she was!!

  What's wrong with that?

  At this moment, suddenly, another voice emerged in Verna's mind, as if there was another self whispering softly in her ear.

  Aren't you trying to kill that wizard? Then just do what he says, anyway you're not in the dark elf city anymore and no one will know what you're doing. So what's there to worry about? Listen to the wizard's command, follow his words, numb him, and gain his trust. By then, you'll have plenty of chances to get rid of him, won't you?

  “…………………”

  Verna didn't speak, but in her mind, that voice continued.

  What's wrong, Verna? Have you forgotten how you survived in the North? From being alone to forming a mercenary group, you know better than anyone else the hardships you've been through. It's the same now, don't forget what you're good at. He's just a male, a man, and no man can resist the temptation of a dark elf. Get close to him, confuse him, and make him surrender like a dog before you. But for now, you're not his match, so hide your anger and pretend to submit to him. That way, you'll have a chance to get closer to this wizard, gain his trust, and find out his weakness. By then, won't he be in the palm of your hand?

  That's also true...

  Upon hearing this voice, Verna was taken aback for a moment, and then a hint of an eerie smile appeared in her eyes. That's right, this is the way of the Dark Elves; why should she foolishly confront this wizard head-on? As long as she stays by his side, gains his trust, and waits for the opportunity to find his weakness, wouldn't that be perfect?

  "Hmm!!"

  Thinking of this, Vilna snorted and turned around.

  "I got it, I'll go now, so there won't be any problem, right?!!"

  Having said this, Vilna didn't wait for Zhen to say anything else and opened the door to leave the study.

  And so she didn't see the fleeting smile in Zhan En's eyes.

  "Alright, it seems Miss Villna has made up her mind."

  After Verna left, Janne finally withdrew his gaze from the door of the study, looking at Enyo standing beside him with a faint smile. The undead girl only slightly raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

  "Enya, go tell Bixie to have the goblins expand the summoning crystal's space to 4x6, we're going to play big."

  "Alright, master, I'll go now."

  At Jann's command, Enya nodded without hesitation and turned to leave, not forgetting to stretch out her hand to help Jann close the door of the study. The heavy sound of the door closing echoed in the extremely quiet space. It wasn't until then that Jann narrowed his eyes and stretched out his hand to make a few swift strokes in mid-air. In an instant, a dimly lit map appeared before him.

  In the center, it was naturally Jenn's underground city, while on the west and south sides were the locations of Brandon Stone City and Black Manganese Stone City... However, what Jenn cared about was not these. On the contrary, he stretched out his hand, and soon a string of red dots appeared - that was exactly where Elise and the human patrol team had fought before.

  It seems that the system still has its benefits, at least it won't let you face a crude map and ponder for half a day without finding any results.

  Looking at the map, the location where Eris met the human patrol team is on the edge of the Blackstone Abyss, which is a relatively desolate place in the North Wilderness. There are only volcanic rocks and piles of rubble, and not even a shadow of a living person can be seen. It's precisely because of this that not only do intelligent species not go there, but even underground monsters rarely go there to forage for food.

  Apart from that, the Blackstone Abyss road is complex and rugged, with many caves. It's easy for ordinary people to get lost when they enter. At first, Zhan also just casually explored it a bit, and after confirming that there was no danger on that side, he didn't put it in his heart again. Now it seems that if there is a transmission gate, it will probably be hidden deep within the Blackstone Abyss.

  However, Jian didn't plan to find the transmission gate and launch an attack immediately. Firstly, according to Elise's previous account, the other side of the transmission gate was heavily guarded, and this kind of transmission gate was two-way, allowing both entry and exit. No one knew what situation was on the other side, and if they occupied the transmission gate here but found themselves trapped after passing through, that would be a big mistake. The best approach was to wait for the right opportunity and follow the opponent's team out. As long as he could safely reach the surface, Jian had many ways to re-establish two-way contact with the underground castle, which was much better than occupying the transmission gate and waiting for the opponent to attack, and also more free.

  Of course, before that, we need to do a good job of preparation. Zhan En has already dispatched three mutants to go there for reconnaissance and to find the location of the transmission gate, and also to investigate the situation of those adventurers. To ensure that he can get enough intelligence, so as to be able to disguise himself to the greatest extent possible without being discovered. Of course, we also need to check the security situation there. If it's just a few small cats, then Zhan En said that even if we have to, we'll take down the transmission gate. But if not, then we can only consider other roads. In short, doing all kinds of preparatory work in advance is always right.

  But before that though...

  He raised his head, and Zhan En's eyes swept over the part of the Black Stone Abyss before landing on the location of the Black Agate City, after which he slightly curled up the corners of his mouth.

  Let's watch a good show first.