Darkness is boundless and endless.

  The guardian leaning against the stone let out a yawn, gazing listlessly ahead. But all he saw was monotonous cold stone, with flames illuminating the thick layers of rock and reflecting a dim light.

  This damn dark territory!!

  As he stood there, the guard couldn't help but let out another yawn. At first, when he arrived here, he was just as excited as everyone else. But now, as time went by day after day, his enthusiasm for this godforsaken place had also dwindled. There was no daytime, no nighttime, not even a way to tell the time. Often they could only rely on their physical reactions to determine whether it was mealtime or bedtime, and many times they couldn't even tell if they were sleeping at night... But who cared about that anyway?

  The inconvenience brought by eternal darkness is still tolerable, but the monsters roaming in the dark realm are the greatest threat. He no longer has the idea of bringing back the corpse of a dark realm monster to the surface and boasting about his exploits to his friends... ...Whoever sees the fragmented corpse of their teammate will probably never have such an idea again. For a period of time, the young guardian was quite resistant to going out on patrol, fearing that he would also unknowingly walk into the darkness like his colleagues, and ultimately be completely swallowed up by this vast and terrifying dark realm.

  Fortunately, the arrival of those mercenaries has alleviated their burden. Although they made a big fuss and turned the entire camp into chaos, at least they freed themselves from the dangerous patrol mission. Now he is only responsible for guarding and being vigilant in the rear of the stronghold. Of course, if he could leave here and return to the surface where there is warm sunshine, that would be even better.

  A faint light appeared in the distance, and upon seeing this light, the guard immediately tensed up, stretched out his hand to press on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and vigilantly gazed forward. Although logically speaking, this was a passageway connected to the transmission gate, where safety could be guaranteed, but as a guard, he had to be diligent in performing his duties, didn't he?

  Soon, the flames drew closer and with the help of the light, the guard also saw the person holding the torch clearly, which made him involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that another mercenary had been sent from the transmission gate, to which the young guard was already not unfamiliar.

  The one walking in front was a man with jet-black long hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and having a resolute face. He looked to be in his twenties. Unlike other mercenaries, he wore a black noble attire, with a long sword embedded with magic crystals at his waist. His feet were clad in black deerskin boots, making him look capable and sharp.

  Following him was a girl wearing a hooded cloak, her face mostly hidden in the shadow of the hood, only revealing a sharp and delicate chin. The lace trim on the edge of the hood made her look more like a young lady out for a stroll.

  However, what caught the guard's attention was the little girl who had been running alongside the man. She looked like she was only around ten years old, wearing a suit of leather armor that didn't quite fit her small frame, and carrying a bulging backpack behind her. If you ignored her youthful appearance, she really did look like a traveler.

  "Halt! Who are you?"

  As soon as the three people appeared in front of him, the guard immediately spoke up in a low voice to ask. Although this was basically a routine task for him on ordinary days, he felt genuinely curious this time.

  When they heard the guard's inquiry, the three of them stopped in their tracks. The man who was leading looked at him and then opened his mouth to respond.

  "I am Jan Dendragon, of the House of Dendragon. This is my betrothed, Basharna Montress, and behind me are my attendants. We have come from the surface to join the Temple's United Legions, to lend our strength to the eradication of darkness and evil."

  "Is that all you've got?"

  Upon hearing this, the guard furrowed his brow and carefully sized up the three of them. As for that man named Zhan En, never mind him for now, but that young lady looked like she couldn't even withstand a gentle breeze, with no strength to bind a chicken. And as for this little girl... bringing a ten-year-old little girl to such a dark and foreboding place, was this person's brain not addled?

  "Do you have your travel documents?"

  "Of course."

  In response to the guard's inquiry, Zhan En quickly reached into his bosom and pulled out a letter sealed with a sacred stamp. The guard carefully took the document from his hand and opened it. Indeed, inside was the pass that allowed the three of them to proceed, attached to which were their noble crests - a bright red blood snake devouring its own tail.

  So he was just a minor noble after all.

  Upon seeing this, the guardian immediately understood what was going on. The crest represents the noble's class, and the various patterns go without saying, but these patterns themselves also have their own nuances. The crests of high-ranking nobles not only have exquisite patterns, but may even be engraved with the family motto or glorious history, but those small families are different, their family crests only have patterns, no history. This shows that they are not only weak in power, but also have little prestige.

  For people like this, guarding the two days is not uncommon. Since the temple has promised to give sufficient rewards to those who have made achievements in the dark region, many powerful families are eager to move. There are also many noble descendants of declining families who come here with their guards, trying to make a desperate attempt, as long as they can win under the eyes of the temple, their family may be able to rise again.

  For the inhabitants of the surface, the temple's promise of rich rewards was a great temptation. Mercenaries, warriors, wanderers, organizations trying to expand their influence, and even descendants of once-defeated families all threw themselves into it, fighting for their own goals and desires.

  "Are there just three of you?"

  After confirming that there was no problem with the pass, the guard returned the certificate and frowned in doubt, opening his mouth to ask.

  "You'd be surprised at how much more dangerous the Dark Territory can be than you think. If you believe a few people are enough to face the darkness here, then you're too naive. And...” He glanced at the girl following beside Jain. “I don't think it's right to involve children in this either.”

  “She is my maid, responsible for taking care of my daily life.”

  Facing the guardian's warning, he simply waved his hand lightly and continued walking forward. The two men also hurriedly followed behind him, advancing in the direction of the base. Looking at their backs, the guardian shook his head helplessly, having seen too many arrogant nobles like them... Forget it, since he had already said what needed to be said, he just hoped they would have enough luck to survive in the dark region.

  These three adventurers were Jann, Elise and Bix. After getting the information from Clarice, Jann immediately made a decision - he planned to disguise himself as an adventurer and sneak into the temple to carry out his own plan - after all, one has to take matters into their own hands in order to live a comfortable life.

  Disguising himself wasn't difficult for Zane, as the son of the Demon King, turning into a human wasn't troublesome for him. Unless it was a Saint who appeared, no one could see through his disguise. And Elise didn't even need to be mentioned, as a half-vampire with a perfect body, she looked almost indistinguishable from humans on the surface.

  No need to worry about Vicks either, the dwarves are a neutral race, although they rarely appear on the surface, but they are also one of the tribes accepted by humans. So taking her out for a walk is not stressful for Zhan at all. As for the pass... ...just casually attack a group of mercenaries who enter the dark territory from the transmission gate, and then let Enuo squeeze out enough memories from their bodies, and Zhan will make some minor modifications to the pass, and that's it.

  "Are we really going to do this? Sir?"

  She gazed at the outpost in front of her, and asked in a low voice. This was not her first time here; last time she and Jain had blown it to smithereens. But now it seemed that these humans were no pushover either - the outpost they had left in shambles was now restored, even expanded. Yet what made Elise uneasy was still these humans; although on the surface they looked no different from her, her unease towards "surface dwellers" was not so easily dispelled.

  "Take it easy, Elise."

  Facing Elise's inquiry, Zhen En was obviously very calm.

  "This group of humans won't be able to notice any difference between you and them, they might be dazzled by your beauty but won't discover your true identity. Even the Holy Light can't do anything to you, what can these things do? Remember, you are now my fiancée, a mid-tier mage, just act according to your status and that's it, got it?"

  “……………”

  Alicia nodded slightly, to be honest, she didn't like these humans. Although on the surface they looked no different from themselves, Alicia could still feel the difference between them. In the Black Onyx City, she had heard her father and others mention these "short-lived species" with disdain, their arrogance, their conceit, their foolishness, their greed, and their cruelty. And now the scene in front of her in the camp completely matched Alicia's understanding of humans, just watching those mercenaries loudly shouting while drinking inferior whiskey, and then fighting each other because of a few words, had already made Alicia's judgment of the human race plummet to the level of goblins.

  Due to the pass they had, the three of them didn't encounter any obstructions on their way and soon entered the base. The combination of these three people also quickly caught the attention of others, after all, most people here were low-level personnel, even the Holy Knights wore shiny armor. It was rare for someone like Zhan En to wear luxurious attire with two girls in tow, it would be strange if no one noticed them.

  It was also because of this that soon after entering the stronghold, Zhan and others were blocked by a group of mercenaries.

  PS: The top three rivers recommendation list is out, hope everyone can vote and support, click on the Sanjiang channel to the bottom to vote for "Dark Lord" (\^V^/)