As they stepped into the small town, the bustling sounds of people and the sense of relative stability and order allowed the four's tense nerves to relax slightly.
"Finally, a decent place."
Lin Xiyue let out a long sigh, her eyes curiously scanning the surrounding buildings and pedestrians.
Most of the town's residents wore coarse linen clothes, their expressions hurried and their faces etched with the deep fatigue of long-term labor.
Occasionally, other adventurers, also carrying weapons, walked past, their gazes a mixture of scrutiny and wariness.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Except for the blue-backed golden lion flag fluttering in the wind at the town's entrance.
Lin Qingyue's gaze lingered on the flag for a moment, the corner of her eye twitching uncontrollably.
Blue background, golden lion...
The art style, the color scheme—an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over her.
Her mind instantly flashed to a magnificent white capital city, a soaring musical score, and a game slogan that echoed through the heavens.
A powerful sense of foreboding surged through her.
She subconsciously muttered a line of jargon her teammates couldn't possibly understand:
"So... our enemies are the Horde'?"
Xia Lian, walking beside her, tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? Sister Qingyue, what tribe are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Lin Qingyue said, waving her hand dismissively, her expression unchanged. "Just thinking about what to have for dinner."
Xia Lian: "..."
Lin Xiyue: "..."
Su Wan shot her a look that screamed, Are you serious?
Having just entered an unfamiliar Dungeon, shouldn't a normal person be thinking about gathering intelligence and supplies first?
"Let's find a place to stay and gather some information," Su Wan said calmly, breaking the awkward silence. Her gaze locked onto a building not far away, marked by a wooden sign shaped like a wine cup.
"Taverns are usually the best places for information."
The proposal was unanimously approved.
Pushing open the creaking wooden door, a wave of warm air, thick with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and cheap roasted meat, washed over them. The roar of conversation was almost deafening.
The simultaneous appearance of four exceptionally beautiful and elegant women plunged the noisy tavern into a momentary, deathly silence.
Countless gazes shot toward them—some filled with awe, others with greed, and still others with pure curiosity.
Lin Xiyue instinctively straightened her back, subtly shifting her shield to her side to vigilantly guard her sister.
Fortunately, the intense scrutiny lasted only a few seconds.
For adventurers who lived on the edge, beautiful women might be a sight to behold, but a thorny rose could be deadly. The four women's high-quality gear and the battle-honed killing intent they couldn't conceal were enough to make most patrons wisely avert their eyes.
They found a relatively clean table in a corner and sat down. Lin Qingyue, acting with practiced ease, summoned a server and ordered four glasses of water and a plate of roasted meat.
"Let's listen to what they're talking about," Su Wan reminded them in a low voice.
The tavern's chatter was a chaotic mix of topics: a certain mercenary group suffering losses again, restless beasts outside the city, and complaints about rising taxes.
Then, at the next table, a one-eyed, burly man with a face flushed from drink slammed his palm on the table and roared, spittle flying everywhere.
"Stop your damn whining! If you wanna get rich, follow me to Stormwind! Got it? The King himself issued the summons!"
"To the Northern Front, to fight those pointy-eared elves!"
Clack!
With a sharp crack, Lin Xiyue slammed the wooden cup she had just lifted back onto the table.
Xia Lian's eyes widened in disbelief.
Elves?
Weren't they the race in every fantasy story that represented elegance and power, usually allies of humanity or a neutral faction?
A mercenary with a face full of stubble clearly shared the same doubt. He sneered, "Old John, you've had too much to drink again, haven't you? The elves have always been on good terms with the Kingdom. They're our allies!"
"Allies? Allies, my ass!"
The one-eyed man called Old John stiffened his neck, his face flushing an even deeper red. "That's ancient history! I'm telling you, this came straight from my great-uncle, who's a guard in Stormwind!"
He deliberately paused, waiting until everyone around had pricked up their ears before lowering his voice with smug satisfaction.
"Those long-ears are nothing but hypocritical invaders! They tore up the ancient treaty, their army is massing on our border, and they've made the most shameless demands imaginable!"
"How shameless?" someone asked, playing along.
Old John slapped his thigh, his voice thick with indignation. "Their queen demanded we send Prince Alex and Princess Liliana to the Elven Forest as hostages for a 'friendly exchange'! And they had the gall to call it 'promoting the fusion of our two bloodlines'!"
"His Majesty was furious! He threw the Elven Emissary out of the country on the spot! Now all pretenses are gone—it's just a matter of time before war breaks out!"
The news hit the tavern like a boulder dropped into a pond, sending ripples of chaos through the crowd.
"What? Their army is massing on the border?"
"Have the elves gone mad? This means all-out war!"
"Hostages... Why send both the prince and the princess?"
Lin Xiyue, Xia Lian, and Su Wan exchanged stunned glances, their faces etched with disbelief.
This plot development... isn't it a bit rushed?
Just then, Old John leaned toward a nearby table, flashing a lewd, knowing grin. In what he clearly thought was a whisper, he said...
"Heh heh, you rookies wouldn't get it, would you? I heard it from my great-uncle's war buddy's cousin—those elves... they swing both ways, and they're wild!"
BOOM!
Xia Lian's face instantly turned beet red, steam practically rising from the top of her head. She ducked her head low, wishing she could crawl into a hole in the floor.
Lin Xiyue had just taken a sip of water. With a pfft, she nearly sprayed it all over Su Wan's face.
Frantically wiping her mouth, she was too stunned to speak. "What... What kind of outrageous gossip is this?!"
Su Wan's hand, holding her water cup, froze mid-air. A visible crack appeared on her perpetually icy, beautiful face.
For the first time, her ice-blue eyes revealed a flicker of emotion—a mixture of absurdity and bewilderment.
Are the rules of this dungeon not only hostile to our appearances but also completely arbitrary in its world-building?
Even Lin Qingyue couldn't help it; her temples began to throb.
Wait! Hold on! Isn't this a bit too much information?!
What about the Horde? The Scourge? The Burning Legion? How did it turn into fighting elves?
Something's seriously off with the elves' lore! Weren't they supposed to be noble, elegant, and nature-loving? How did they turn into bandits kidnapping men and women?!
Teacher Chen Jing wasn't kidding—this Dungeon really is twisted from the ground up!
Old John continued, "Fortunately, the Horde's emissary understood the greater good and formed a temporary alliance with us to resist the elven threat."
Lin Qingyue: "..."
An outrageous theory even popped into her head.
Could it be that the Elven Race also demanded the Horde hand over their strongest warriors and prettiest shamans...?
Thinking about the difference in appearance and size...
Hiss!These elves sure have a big appetite!
What a script: "Humans and Orcs Alliance vs. Elven Invasion."
Did they grab this script from the Chaos Evil God set next door by mistake?!
She opened her mouth, only to find her snarky commentary failing to keep up for once.
Lifting her head, she looked past the noisy crowd and fixed her gaze on a crude parchment notice tacked to the tavern wall.
On it, a recruitment notice was scrawled in crooked Common Tongue. At the bottom was a blurry but faintly recognizable seal—the Blue-backed Golden Lion.
Lin Qingyue's fingertips tapped lightly on the rough wooden table, making a soft tap, tap sound.
While her teammates were still processing the shocking gossip, she suddenly spoke, her tone as calm as if she were deciding what to have for breakfast tomorrow.
"Looks like we have a new objective."
Three pairs of eyes snapped to her.
Meeting their gazes, Lin Qingyue's lips curved into a meaningful smile, her eyes glinting with excitement.
"This 'main quest'... sounds... interesting."