Half a day later, outside the dungeon.
Adjutant Karen gave a satisfying kick to "Mole" Moriarty, who was tied up like a zongzi.
"Run away now, weren't you good at running, Lord Mole? Why aren't you digging anymore?"
Moriarty wriggled on the ground like a worm, shrinking his neck in fear and begging for mercy with a tearful voice.
"It's not my fault, it was all Hades' doing, it has nothing to do with me! Please have mercy, honorable knights, let me go."
Alice's expression remained calm.
"Your crimes will be judged by the kingdom's laws and courts."
She waved her hand, and the arriving soldiers immediately stuffed Moriarty along with the dozen or so sobbing Rusty Key thieves dragged from the fortress into the prison cart.
Karen walked to Alice's side, looking at the packed prison cart and clicking his tongue in amazement.
"What a pity, such talent should have been with the Border Garrison. Now he's probably quite enjoying his adventurer identity."
"Or perhaps, as you said, there might be a mysterious force behind him."
Then, as if remembering something, he pulled out a crumpled note from his chest.
"Oh right, commander, that kid left a letter stuffed in Moriarty's pocket."
"What does it say?" Alice took the note.
"Uh, he said... 'Respected Training Instructor, please take care of this garbage. Don't forget my bounty, just send it directly to the Adventurers Guild. Thank you.'"
"So he's concerned about the bounty after all."
"You were right, this guy might be more suited to being an adventurer."
Alice smiled faintly, nimbly climbing into the driver's seat of the carriage, preparing to leave the dungeon.
Karen also took the passenger seat, looking at Alice's calm profile. After hesitating for a moment, he still asked, "Commander, weren't you... still looking for 'that person's' whereabouts?"
Alice's gaze flickered slightly as she said calmly,
"Karen, fate doesn't cater to people's expectations. I probably already know his outcome, I just don't want to accept it."
"Let's go, we've already wasted too much time here. The summer Magical Tides won't wait for anyone, we need to return early to prepare."
After speaking, she gently shook the reins, "Giddyup!"
The carriage wheels rolled, crushing the damp ground, carrying a full load of "spoils of war" and the unresolved melancholy in Alice's heart, slowly driving away from this chaotic place along the Gray Mist Lake shore.
...
Not long after the carriage departed, in the Mist Zone of the dungeon.
The dense white mist stirred as if by an invisible force, with short, hunched green figures flickering in and out of view within it.
Their skin was covered with wrinkles and warts, pointed ears twitching alertly, holding crude bone spears and rusty knives in their hands.
These creatures were Goblins from the Western Swamp.
Standing prominently among them was an exceptionally tall figure—
It was a Bugbear of unusual height.
It stood as tall as two ordinary humans, its body covered with muscles knotted like rocks, coarse hair like steel needles caked with mud.
Its thick arms were almost as wide as a grown man's waist, easily holding a spiked mace covered with dark red bloodstains with one hand.
Just standing there, it exuded a suffocating barbaric pressure.
The Bugbear extended its large hand, picked up a Poison-stinger Wasp's fallen stinger from the mud, brought it to its huge nostrils and sniffed, its throat emitting a deep, thunderous rumble.
"Poison-stinger Wasps."
"...They... left... in a hurry."
"No time... to clean up."
Rusty Key Guild Leader Hades emerged from the collapsed fortress, his reason instantly collapsing.
"It must be Moriarty, that traitor! He betrayed us, betrayed the entire guild! Otherwise, how could 'Miracle' Yano have received advance notice?"
"Hammerbone, if you hadn't insisted on protecting this damned fool, how could things have..."
His words cut off abruptly.
"THUMP!!!"
A dull sound, like a ripe watermelon being smashed by a hammer.
Hammerbone seemed to just swing its huge mace impatiently with a casual gesture.
Hades' head, along with his unfinished roar, instantly exploded like a firework, red and white matter splattering all over the surrounding Goblins.
The headless body swayed, then slumped softly into the muddy ground.
Hammerbone shook the filth off its mace, not even glancing at the corpse, as if it had just casually swatted a noisy fly.
It muttered vaguely in Goblin language, "Troublesome humans... dead... quiet."
"Go back... tell Splitfang... send a team with sharp eyes... to check the eastern swamp... something's wrong there."
...
In the newly built warehouse next to the swamp castle, Yano collapsed onto the ground with his heavy loot and money bags, grimacing as he wiped his sweat and let out a breath.
Even exhausted like this, he couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.
He struck it rich.
He really struck it rich this time.
No matter how poor these adventurers and thieves were, you could still scrape a few Gold Coins from them. Combined with the bounty, it added up to hundreds of coins total, and he would get a substantial share.
At the entrance, Chen Yu appeared riding Little Ka, followed by Count Bran who had just returned from outside.
"Gah?!"
Count Bran's eyes widened when he saw the shiny Gold Coins scattered on the ground, even dropping the Gray Gravel Crystal he was holding in his beak.
"Great Slime Majesty, are... are these Gold Coins all to be deposited into the national treasury?!"
So... so many Gold Coins!
Enough to fill his nest completely.
If not for his noble status as a count, he would immediately, right now, want to lie down and roll around in them while cackling.
"..."
Though without evidence, Chen Yu always felt this guy was coveting his national treasury funds.
So he patted him with his gel hand.
"My dear Count, don't you think building the national treasury outside the castle isn't secure enough?"
"What if some thief sneaks in..."
Count Bran's heart tightened.
"Your Majesty rest assured, with this Count watching, I'd like to see who dares to approach."
Chen Yu felt amused internally, his gel brain bubbling with mischief.
"Why don't you move your nest into the national treasury? While guarding it, you can also protect those shiny things."
Count Bran looked somewhat suspicious. "Great Majesty, you wouldn't be coveting this Count's property, would you?"
"Do I look like that kind of Slime?"
"You're right! This Count will move immediately! Guarding the national treasury for Your Majesty is this Count's bounden duty!"
Count Bran flew back to his nest happily, completely unaware that anything was wrong.
After sending Count Bran away, Chen Yu began muttering to himself internally.
Now he needed to think about how to squander...
No, strategically invest this huge amount of national treasury funds.
Fine bubbles emerged from the Slime gel, as if thoughts were churning within.
"Magic Organ trading?"
He suddenly thought of this perfect use.
Toxin Resistance, Resilient Carapace... such practical though not top-tier talents weren't actually rare among wilderness Magical Creatures, they just required significant time investment for hunting and collection.
And the magical creature citizens in his territory were all potential elites in the future—he couldn't bear to eat them as food.
Of course, except for the Moss Monsters that served as rations.
Trading Magic Organs with adventurers could perfectly fill the talent gaps needed for "Magic Stripping."
The stripped talents could be fed to the Queen Wasp, allowing natural iteration of the Poison-stinger Wasp colony, so future newly hatched Poison-stinger Wasps would have better talents.
Combined with the Spiritual Feeding he provided, it might actually enable a Black Iron species to undergo transformation.
And the idea of Slime troops could also be put on the agenda.
Chen Yu happily fantasized about the future, but soon an unusual sensation in his mind brought him back to reality.
His clone at the western outpost of his territory seemed to have spotted a strange figure.
That wasn't a Goblin.
It seemed to be a woman.
Huh?
Why did Arthur hide when he saw her?