Chapter 658: Bay Territory Does Not Accept Temptation
"When building the camp, make sure to prioritize heat resistance, poison resistance, and structural durability."
"Limit the use of teleportation arrays. It's best to transport materials using golem trains."
"Most demonic creatures could practically be called natural spatial monsters. They typically possess some form of space-based ability."
"As for demonic whispers and chaos magic, those are actually the least of the worries for Bay Territory's soldiers."
At this point, Eiris couldn't help but sigh.
He couldn't stop thinking—if his old demon-hunting squads had been as professionally prepared as Bay Territory, maybe those costly casualties could've been avoided.
To Eiris, dangerous demons were both prey and terrifying hunters.
Their squad had crossed mountains and rivers, hunting these boundary-breaking creatures.
They were the last line of defense, guarding the material plane.
Their fate was almost always death, falling again and again during perilous hunts.
But back then, Eiris accepted it willingly.
Until the incident 20 years ago!
Before encountering Bay Territory, Eiris had always held a pessimistic view of most civilizations and kingdoms.
In the face of the demonic threat, he believed most organizations and territories were utterly ignorant, unaware of where the real danger lay.
Once disaster struck, everything they had would be mercilessly destroyed.
And in their ignorance, they often didn't help—instead becoming accomplices or burdens.
Over time, members of their squad—including Aicharn and Eiris—started to see themselves as saviors.
This wasn't arrogance, but a belief born from desperation after trying and failing every other method.
As demons and evils grew in number and ruins became more frequent, they had more and more concerns.
At this rate, their squad would continue losing people, recruitment would dry up, and the material plane would fall into endless disaster.
So they took advantage of a deadly incident. When parting ways, they made a bold attempt.
They sought more autonomy, climbed higher in the hierarchy, gathered more resources, and built stronger, larger guard forces.
But Eiris soon realized—they had overestimated themselves.
Many honors collapsed; many plans died before they began.
In the Cole Elf Kingdom, where class rigidity was horrifying, even Eiris and Aicharn struggled to rise.
Eiris didn't want to comment much on Aicharn's "plans," but he himself no longer wanted to be a tool.
After being captured by Bay Territory, Eiris expected to be caged like other Cole Elves—made into some experimental subject for redemption.
He even suspected they'd perform more experiments or "torture" him as a legendary class individual.
But to his surprise, Bay Territory only carried out some basic "inquiries" and "investigations."
Especially after Eiris shared his past demon-hunting experiences, Bay Territory gave him special treatment.
Matthew personally examined his body and collected vast amounts of valuable information.
They also documented all of Eiris's knowledge of demons, evil entities, and ruins in detail.
Afterward, Eiris was granted limited freedom—and unexpectedly rewarded by Matthew.
"Your deeds may be unknown, but your contributions are never forgotten."
"Maybe others forget, but Bay Territory won't."
"You people love your hero complex a little too much. No need to carry all that pressure alone..."
"Your contributions entitle you to some magical weapons and equipment, as well as limited freedom."
"But your wrongdoings won't be forgiven—you must still accept punishment."
This clear, structured arrangement gave Eiris a very unique feeling.
He saw Bay Territory methodically go through interrogation, investigation, verification, and trial.
And throughout the entire process, representatives from various races and departments were present to ensure fairness, transparency, and justice.
When the judge calmly announced the verdict based on his crimes and merits—
A part of Eiris's mindset was shattered.
From savior to ordinary man, he was pulled back down to earth.
But that change filled him with intense joy.
More precisely, it was Bay Territory's attitude and handling that made Eiris feel what true "civilization" was.
It was in this context that, after accepting his judgment, Eiris gladly joined Bay Territory.
After observing several Dragon Warrior surgeries, he personally requested the procedure from Matthew.
Matthew agreed—but didn't rush it. Instead, he arranged for Eiris to undergo extensive skill and feat training.
Even a legendary Professional had to follow the preparation process for surgery.
After all, in Matthew's eyes, Eiris's rarity meant he had to proceed cautiously to gather better data.
Eiris understood part of the surgical principles and readily agreed.
From Eiris's perspective, Bay Territory's development had already been a success.
And as a "failure," he just needed to behave.
With that in mind, Eiris stepped into the center of the dark space.
A whisper echoed in his ear.
"Come closer..."
"Inside..."
He instinctively looked up, surprised, sensing the ancient and profound nature of the strange power—fully believing what the Lord had told him.
"Indeed, a high-tier demon. Even sealed, it can still unleash such terrifying chaotic speech..."
Faint red light shimmered on his armor, indicating he was under psychic attack.
The observers in the distance instantly grew busy.
They analyzed and marked Eiris's location, mapping potential safe zones.
They would later test and validate the area to develop further uses.
"Wealth..."
"Treasure..."
Faint chaotic whispers continued to echo in Eiris's ears.
He looked at his half-powered psychic defense device and adjusted it lower, allowing the whispers to become clearer.
Feeling the familiar temptation and tug, Eiris smirked and slowly walked deeper into the black space.
Where he had stood, a glowing white purification rod remained planted in the ground.
Its radiant holy light formed a small purification barrier, drawing everyone's attention.
Eiris pressed forward until the chaotic whispers became full, coherent sentences.
"Young elf, come to me—I have all the treasures you desire."
Eiris pursed his lips, unimpressed, checked the data, and replied flatly:
"Your pitch is awful. You should learn from other demons. You're not convincing anyone."
The eerie voice fell silent momentarily, then resumed:
"I admire your pride and confidence, but you know nothing of power."
Recalling Bay Territory's incredible architecture and devices, Eiris looked at the barren ruins and chuckled:
"After all this time, you haven't shown yourself. That means you're still sealed."
"Tsk, if this is the best you've got, it's hardly worth the hype."
Noticing the voice vanish, but the psychic attack values increase—
A brilliant smile spread across Eiris's face.
He remembered when he had to devote his whole mind to resist chaos whispers. Now, he could brush it off.
He deeply admired and trusted the Lord's foresight.
When the attack peaked at a third wave of 35 points and then stopped, Eiris logged an unprecedented note:
"Chaos Whisper dealt a total of 278 damage with long intervals. The psychic device blocked all of it."
"The enemy's sustained combat capacity is weak—it's likely still sealed. We can explore further..."
Eiris said all this out loud, not hiding a thing—in fact, flaunting it.
He firmly believed what the Lord had told him—even twisted demons could feel rage, confusion, and fear.
Eiris stepped forward confidently, documenting everything he saw.
The small purification barrier he left behind slowly lit the massive dark space.
Ruins everywhere.
Countless remains.
Giant shattered golems.
Stunning fragments of colossal magical machinery.
Broken buildings as large as hills.
The whole space resembled a ruined civilization.
Everyone who saw it stared in shock.
Such a massive ruin had silently slumbered underground for millennia, completely unknown.
Now, Bay Territory's exploration had finally reached this place in a real sense.
"Was this the strength of the Goblin Empire?"
Suppressing his excitement, Leon began analyzing.
The sheer scale of these buildings and the number of ruins in the Death Desert spoke volumes about the goblins' productivity and military might.
Compared to most kingdoms and territories Leon knew, the goblin empire was vastly superior.
Yet such a powerful force left not a single trace in historical records.
Even the goblins now viewing the ruins looked on in unfamiliar awe.
"What destroyed the Goblin Empire?"
"What crushed them into dust?"
Leon, now learning to reflect, looked at Eiris's figure in the dark with concern.
He worried that this excavation might uncover the reason for the goblins' fall—and bring a fatal threat to Bay Territory.
It must be said—Leon's current thinking showed remarkable growth.
His mindset and vision had evolved beyond that of the young soldier he once was.
The workers quickly documented the ruins.
They needed to assess the site's value and resource reserves.
To estimate how many adventurers and soldiers Bay Territory would need to send for development and exploration.
Civil engineers accelerated base construction.
They laid purification arrays to ward off ghosts, weaken mutants, and defend against potential threats.
They also prepared emergency evacuation routes.
Combat units were on standby to support Eiris.
If battle broke out, they would hold out as long as possible—collecting enemy intel while ensuring others could retreat.
Leon rubbed his fingers, thinking through contingencies—then noticed Eiris suddenly stop and instinctively stood up.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Eiris watched as enormous golems activated. Seeing the thick layers of dust and grime, he calmly stepped back.
The 6-7 meter tall constructs halted mid-rise and slowly crouched back down like decaying statues.
"After all this time, they're still that responsive. No wonder the monsters treat this as a forbidden zone."
"They're completely different from the golems we've encountered before—still powered even now..."
"They must be guarding the demon's sealed area."
"To survive such devastation and remain intact... they must be extremely durable. The space must be vast..."
As Eiris muttered, the eerie whisper returned:
"Do you want to know how to defeat the Reaper 3000 Golem?"
Shrugging casually, Eiris replied indifferently:
"I don't care. With these two guarding the door, I feel very safe. Don't you agree, Balor—Barok?"
No sooner had he spoken than Barok's voice shouted urgently:
"Who are you? How do you know about me? What do you want?"
"The Cole Elves can't possibly know of me. They don't even dare study the Goblin Empire!"
"Ah! I see—you must've crawled out of the Abyss—"