Chapter Twenty-Two: The First Signs of Crisis

Artoria led the molten steel slime around, provoking it occasionally with stones so it would keep attacking her, making it easier for Zhao Tianhe and the others to escape.

Meanwhile, on the first floor of the cavern, Zhao Tianhe encountered an elite slime!

This was a large fire-type slime capable of spewing flames. Zhao Tianhe’s left hand was burned, but fortunately, Lainis’s healing spell worked wonders on such flesh wounds, so it didn’t affect him at all.

After two minutes of struggle, Zhao Tianhe finally slew the flame slime and burst out of the cavern.

“The place changed a lot inside, didn’t it?” Pixie asked, fiddling with her phone.

“Yeah, it really did. How did you know?” Zhao Tianhe nodded, curious.

“When children grow up, they don’t like talking to old folks like me anymore…” Pixie scrunched her little face, hammering her waist and squinting, feigning the demeanor of an elder.

Clearly, she hadn’t forgotten how her words had just been ignored by Zhao Tianhe and the others.

“Sorry, Grandma Pixie~~” Zhao Tianhe approached with a smile, gently pressing her shoulder with his finger, playing the dutiful grandson.

Such a title didn’t diminish her; Pixie was more than ten times older than Zhao Tianhe’s grandmother.

“Alright, alright~~ Anyway, I saw it all through my magical Fairy Eye. The entire Slime Cavern is being invaded by a rising tide of red energy.” Pixie formed a circle with her left hand’s thumb and index finger, holding it to her eye as she hovered. “An incredibly intense energy~~ Even greater than that place called the Shadow Cavern!”

Her description was odd, but Zhao Tianhe understood: the Slime Cavern was now more dangerous than the Shadow Cavern!

At that moment, in the second layer of the cavern, Artoria’s blade struck the molten steel slime.

Strangely, the monster trembled, looking extremely weak, its body shrunk a size, and it retaliated only with a small splash of molten steel.

Artoria dodged in time, gazed at the creature, and sighed with regret.

“Such a pity, not enough time.”

The next instant, she vanished entirely—her Warrior Mode time had run out.

At the cavern entrance, Zhao Tianhe watched as Artoria returned safely and breathed a sigh of relief.

If Artoria died in Warrior Mode, she would disappear forever!

“Anyway, let’s report to the Association,” said Lainis. “I wonder about Miss Saber…”

“Saber will be fine. We’ll see her again tomorrow,” Zhao Tianhe replied with a smile.

“That’s wonderful!” Lainis wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, smiling.

The two piloted their airship swiftly back to town, heading straight for the Dungeon Management Association branch.

“What?! Is it really this serious?!” Liu Cai’er was dumbfounded by their report.

Since she was born, nothing major had ever happened in any of the nearby dungeons. At most, an E+ boss would appear, prompting the entire town to mobilize for a hunt.

But now, the most peaceful Slime Cavern had an incident—and a big one!

“Preliminary assessment puts that boss above E-level, and judging by its clones, D-level or higher is possible!” Zhao Tianhe recalled the steel sphere’s presence and the power of its flame rays, his expression grave. “I suggest applying for advanced combat support. The town’s hero squads likely can’t handle that monster. Also, we need someone stationed outside the cavern—the dungeon seals on the first and second floors could be breached at any moment!”

The so-called seal referred to the light barrier at the dungeon’s entrance. It might seem ridiculous to only guard the entrance, but in reality, the barrier enveloped the entire dungeon, with the entrance merely the tip of the iceberg.

Moreover, the entrance barrier was the seal’s weakest link; elsewhere, the dynamic defense was seamless. To breach even an F-level dungeon’s seal would require mountain-shattering firepower, so breaking in through the entrance was the most economical—it was even the designer’s intention.

Better to channel trouble than block it entirely. Even if monsters broke out and expanded, at least people would know where the source was.

“Alright, I’ll submit the application to higher-ups now!” Liu Cai’er nodded, activating a magical device beside her.

“Okay, the information’s been sent. Headquarters should respond shortly…” Liu Cai’er said to Zhao Tianhe and Lainis. “As for guarding the entrance, I’ll leave it to you two! And bring Uncle Zhao as well—I’ll notify the others.”

Outside Rog Town, in a mountaintop cabin, a shadow gazed at a black box in his hand and smiled.

“If we can deal with the relay station, we can stall for another couple of days, right? I didn’t expect to be discovered so quickly. I thought that useless Heroic Spirit would take another two days to reach the deepest part.” Another shadow approached.

By the window, a robust middle-aged woman slumped in a wicker chair, her head tilted, blood streaming from her seven orifices—clearly dead.

This was the relay station for the magic web, akin to a cell tower, the only one within dozens of miles. If it was cut off, Rog Town would become an isolated city until the next maintenance worker arrived.

Even if they killed the next maintenance worker, if the woman didn’t check in at the town within three days, someone would notice something was wrong.

“Mmm… the flavor’s not bad, and there’s plenty, but you didn’t make this, did you?” Artoria, dressed in a camisole and shorts, looked at the heap of grilled meat on the table.

This was meat Zhao Tianhe had bought from the shop of Zhao Ming, the former slime cavern cleaner, while searc