Wizard: I crush legends with martial arts.

Sera also discovered something else: she was growing to like Alphonse's aura more and more, even to the point of greedily craving it. Alphonse had left a deep impression on her heart.

She couldn't tell whether it was love or not.

In the underground world, this is a luxury.

On the surface, she didn't show any signs of it, but secretly she longed for this journey to not end so quickly, and for her to spend more time with Alphonse.

Sera thought she hadn't made it too obvious, but Alphonse was well aware of her subtle reactions.

It's likely that this dark-skinned beauty wasn't actually attracted to him, but rather that the earthworm meat had caused a change in her. With only one man by her side, the effects of the earthworm meat had made her unconsciously stick closer and naturally lean against him.

There's still plenty of time, and Alphonse doesn't intend to rush things.

Developing feelings gradually can also be fun.

Alphonse doesn't like to force a woman, but Monica is an exception. She was the one with ill intentions who instigated Kebelli to duel him, and her family sent her to him as a gift when they were in trouble.

After all, she was his first woman, so he felt some pity for her.

Several days passed, and with Sera's guidance, Alphonse entered the underground cave.

Alphonse was fast on his feet and arrived in the underground world much earlier than Sera had anticipated.

It is estimated that it has penetrated several thousand meters underground and can no longer feel the intense heat of the yellow sand on the surface.

We traveled through underground tunnels, occasionally encountering spacious caves filled with pristine stalagmites and stalactites.

They didn't encounter a single demon, because of the dragon's might, no demonic beast dared to come and cause trouble.

Alphonse obtained a lot of information from Serra.

The City of Peace and Joy is not really a city-state; it is just a large settlement with walls built of piled-up rocks.

There are many races living there, including dark elves, grey dwarves, ogres, lizardmen, subterranean gnomes, and oni.

All races can basically be categorized as half-demons.

Their ancestors were people who had been baptized by demons and were regarded as traitors by the outside world.

The demon race was once human, but the demon race transformed them into a completely different race, with taller and stronger physiques, and additional features such as fangs and short horns.

There is no city lord in the City of Peace and Joy. All order is controlled by the Demon God Cult, and the high priest of the Demon God Cult holds power.

The Demon God is the only faith in the City of Peace and Joy.

The fact that the various races in the city could live in peace was entirely due to the life-giving water that the Demon God Cult regularly distributed.

It was a strange spring that could calm the mind, and one would feel very uncomfortable if one did not drink it for a long time.

Only the most devout believers are granted the opportunity to make a pilgrimage, meet the high priest, and receive the mercy of the demon god.

Once outside the city, the situation is completely different.

In the underground world, the lack of power is the original sin; the law of the jungle prevails, and constant struggle is a common occurrence.

That's what Sera said, but Alphonse sensed a slight fluctuation in her emotions as she uttered those words.

She's hiding something; she might not be telling the whole truth.

But I didn't sense any malice in her; what she was hiding should be harmless to me.

Due to the cold and dampness underground, Sera had donned a dark cloak and put on a hood, completely concealing her beauty and stunning figure.

Alphonse made no attempt to conceal it; however, at this point, Alphonse was no longer just wearing a fur around his waist.

Oates, the puppeteer, sewed him a fur coat, which, while not very attractive, made him look less like a savage.

After rounding a cave, Alphonse suddenly heard the sound of flowing water in the distance.

It's not surprising, as half-demons also need water to survive.

It's not surprising that there is groundwater.

After walking for a while, Alphonse came across a winding river among the huge, towering stalactite columns.

It is only two or three meters wide, very shallow, and the depth is estimated to be less than one meter.

Sera breathed a sigh of relief. "Seeing this underground river means we're not far from the City of Peace."

Alphonse crouched down and scooped up a handful.

The water wasn't clear; it had a slightly grayish-black tinge, but it was very cold.

Sera quickly stopped her, "This water isn't safe to drink, it's poisonous! All the water in the underground world is the same!"

Alphonse didn't intend to drink it, so he casually splashed the water from his hand away.

"So what do you usually drink?"

"It's just this kind of groundwater, but it needs to be drunk with special antidote herbs. The meat patties I gave you before had some herbal powder in them," Sera explained. "Now you understand why the magical device from Godin's Tower is so precious, right? With that device, you have an endless supply of water."

"Aren't there any water mages here?" Alphonse asked curiously.

"Water is very difficult to condense in Fantalia, even in the underground world. The mages here are all skilled in dark magic, and only Magister Godin can create a magical device to condense water," Sera replied.

Alphonse then understood what was going on.

The environment is indeed harsh, no wonder the dark elves yearn for the outside world.

As the river flows along, passing countless towering stalagmites, the elevation of the rocky terrain rapidly decreases.

Finally, we arrived at the City of Peace and Joy.

Many fields have been cleared outside the city, but instead of grains, they are planted with mushrooms that emit a faint blue light.

From afar, you can see a tall tower built against the mountainside, directly connected to the dome, its body seemingly embedded in the rock face.

The entire tower seemed to be bathed in a soft light.

Compared to the exquisitely carved towers, the towering city walls are quite primitive, consisting of countless huge stones piled up, uneven and full of a wild and untamed atmosphere.

The city gate was carved into the shape of a monster with its gaping maw.

Looking at the city walls and gates alone, they don't match the name of the city at all; there's no sense of peace or tranquility about them.

The dwarfs working in the fields, like Sera, had grayish-black skin, very similar to the halfling masters Alphonse had seen, except for their skin color.

Master Camille may look cute and energetic, but these dwarfs have no life in their eyes, their gazes are empty, like walking corpses.

At the edge of the field, there were also lizardmen with ferocious appearances, holding long whips, guarding the area.

Those dwarfs didn't look like farmers; they looked more like prisoners.

A group of burly men, armed with long spears, stood guard by the city gate, registering those entering and leaving.

This was no ordinary strongman; not only did he have protruding fangs, but he also had two heads.

Alphonse had already guessed their race: two-headed ogres.

This is the first time I've ever seen such a humanoid monster.

It's quite novel.

As they approached the city gate, the ogre guards shouted from afar, "Show your identification!"

Alphonse was taken aback. Did he need proof of identity?

Suddenly, a whispered apology from Sera reached his ears, barely audible, "Alphonse, I'm sorry!" (End of Chapter)