Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 78: The former kingdom

With mixed feelings, Ron continued to look down.

"Long before the Hailan Empire set its sights on this place, there was a race in the Land of Delusion that created their civilization for the Nth time. The lifespan of this race is similar to that of humans, so even in just over a hundred years, their regime has changed many leaders."

"And when the last queen took charge of the kingdom, all kinds of strange things began to happen in their territory."

"As a civilization whose main industries are mining and metallurgy, they have been delusional about opening up a large number of mines. However, starting from a certain year, poisonous gases seem to have begun to appear in the mines, and more and more miners have begun to contract a plague-like strange disease, which has quickly spread throughout the kingdom."

"For the sake of her people, the Queen tried every possible means, even risking her life and going deep into the mines to find a solution. And she did find it."

"When she returned, she called on the entire kingdom to launch a bloody and iron-fisted suppression and arrest campaign, gathering all the infected people together to kill, burn, and bury them. The plague was quickly stopped, but the survivors felt extremely panicked and uneasy."

"They believed the queen was crazy, so they united all the powerful spellcasters and priests in the kingdom, killed the queen and sealed her away to prevent her from resurrecting. After two disasters, the plague and the coup, the short-lived revival of this race also failed hastily, and the survivors scattered all over the world until today."

Ron: "..."

Putting aside the means, from the perspective of prevention and control alone, the queen did nothing wrong. But regardless of the means or the purpose, what does this have to do with the darkness underground?
Underground, mines, plague? Are these the specific means of the so-called "terror"? If that's all, then he is a professional!

I thought it was something else!

However, the scales left by the golden dragon to convey information are obviously dead objects. Therefore, later in this story, the golden dragon advises Ron in a very serious tone not to repeat the mistakes of this race and the Hailan Empire. The poisonous fog underground will not only cause plague, but also cause drastic changes in people's temperament and even lead to corruption, which may lead to the collapse of civilization.

And at that point, the forces hidden in the darkness will use this as food and their strength will be further increased.

At the end of the message, Jin Long also gave the address of an ancient mine, saying that the poisonous fog and plague there had long since dissipated. If Ron didn't believe him, he could go and see the ruins to find out.

"Don't make the same mistake again..." Ron lay on the bed, his knuckles tapping unconsciously on the cover of the preface to the weaving method. He was thinking about the meaning of Jin Long's words.

That race was plagued by mining, could it be the same in Green Swamp Town of the Hailan Empire? They didn't see any traces of a mine there, but the Exuri dug all the way to the underground river, and there were no problems.

The conclusions of the elves before their death were also related to the degree of civilization development - does the degree of civilization development depend on how deep you dig? If a person knows nothing and just keeps digging down, digging to the deepest point, will he encounter misfortune or be spared?
Ron thought that this should only be the result of Jinlong's one-sided observation. If he wanted to sort out the cause and effect of the whole matter, and the causal relationship between their actions and the results, he must have more data and references.

While thinking, Ron took a light sleep and did not wake up until dinner time.

When he arrived at the lobby of the trading post, almost everyone else was already waiting there.

Among those who came were not only members of Ron's team and the newly rescued slaves, but also Bunny, Lavinia, Andre, and Kalade. Almost all the managers were present.

"The village shouldn't be haunted anymore, right?" Ron looked at Andre. "Yes! Thank you very much!" Andre stood up and bowed to Ron. "Now we can finally live in peace!"

"That's good," Ron nodded, his eyes falling on the others, "The main reason I asked you all to come here this time is to discuss the expansion of the expedition team."

"Aren't my goblin hunters enough?" Karad asked.

"Honestly speaking, it's not enough," Ron nodded. "Although the hunters are highly concealed and mobile, their range of activities is limited. Secondly, they lack the ability to deal with various situations. This means that many places cannot be explored normally. This is also reflected in the maps that were recently drawn."

"Let me make it clear first, don't drag me into this," Lavinia jumped off the chair, "I won't participate in this kind of activity, it's too dangerous."

"You have your responsibilities. I won't trouble you." Ron smiled. "But I expect that the team we are going to form will indeed require some people with knowledge of alchemy, herbal medicine, and magic."

"We can," several of the freed slaves immediately raised their hands, "We have received relevant training and should be able to take on this responsibility."

"I want to participate too," Karad said solemnly, "The territory has basically stabilized now, and I can't just sit here in my base forever."

"And me!" Andre stood up. "It's my honor to be able to serve you and share your worries!"

"You can't, Andre," Ron motioned him to sit down, "You don't have enough experience yet. I can't let a young man who lacks practical experience get involved in dangerous areas. This is murder!"

"But..." Andre said dissatisfiedly, "Are you experienced? Don't you allow yourself to go on adventures?"

Ron looked at least thirty years old. In fact, to the people in this world, Ron was in his early twenties at most.

Ron really wanted to say, "It's none of your business if I commit suicide," but Andre's next words stopped him.

"Sir, everything has to have a first time. You said I lack practical experience, but if I never fight in actual combat, when will I be able to gain practical experience?"

Ron tried to refuse, but the stubborn Andre finally convinced him. Ron had no choice but to agree to let him join the team, but asked Kalade and others to take good care of the young man.

"I can join in, too," Sylvia said, "I'm a spellcaster."

"You can't. This is my selfish motive." Ron firmly rejected Sylvia's self-recommendation. "You'd better act with my team."

"Look, I'm just a half-baked wizard now. If I want to solve the problems in this land, I must really get started. And this requires your help. I can't do it by myself."

(End of this chapter)