What were you doing before the end of the world? Are you going to be an assassin?

"The cabbages can fly, the carrots can hit people, and the pine trees are incredibly strong. I've never seen a pine tree that can shoot out pine needles, and it can also aim automatically."

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, those pine needles are just like real needles, they are all nailed into the snow."

"Using pine cones, I estimate that the power is about the same as a low-level magic."

Connor gestured. He was not exaggerating. When he was chasing a rabbit, he saw with his own eyes a pine cone being "thrown out with great force" by a pine tree and hitting the rabbit right on the head.

Later the rabbit becomes a delicacy on the grill.

"And then, you turned the pine trees into experience points?"

Youyou thought of something. The pine needles used in the tea, the pine wood used to roast the rabbit, and the fireplace that was providing them with warmth, all seemed to be inseparable from the pine trees.

"Yeah, that tree tried to attack me, so I chopped it down." Connor said, "This mountain is so strange, so empty and quiet. Apart from rabbits, birds and this pine tree, I didn't see anything with strong life waves."

"You know, I can see pretty far."

Youyou nodded. The perception skills of a thief are very useful when searching for enemies. Connor, who is an assassin, the superior profession of the thief, said that he didn't see anything, so it was probably true that there was nothing.

"After this place was explored, few novice adventurers came here. If the resources were scarce..."

Youyou rolled his eyes and said, "Could it be that the monsters in the dungeon escaped and drove away the other monsters on the mountain?"

Connor knew that Youyou wanted to talk about the monsters' "territorial" consciousness, just like the griffins they had conquered before. Just when he was about to open his mouth, he heard -

Knock knock -- knock --

Outside the shelter, where Connor and Youyou were supposed to be the only two people, there were three unhurried knocks on the door.

143. Good people don’t come

The person outside the door seemed to be very polite. After waiting for a long time without any response, he knocked on the door again rhythmically and stated his purpose:

"I'm just a curious traveler, passing by here at night and feeling a little tired. Can you let me in and rest for a night?"

Is it a traveler? Should we open the door? Youyou looked at Connor with her eyes. The kind-hearted Youyou thought to herself that if she was outside at this time, she would definitely want to drink a bowl of hot soup.

Connor shook his head decisively and said softly:

"Legend has it that there is a monster that will knock on your door in the middle of the night. When you open the door to check, it will sneak up behind you and lie on your back to suck your brains..."

"Don't say anymore, don't say anymore! It's scary enough!" Youyou's voice seemed to be strangled from her throat, and her hands were tightly grasping the staff, as if only this could bring her a sense of security.

The monsters that Connor described do exist, but that's no reason not to open the door.

The cabin, which served as a "shelter", was a large complex when the dungeon was still prosperous. It had branches and bars set up by the Adventurer's Guild, as well as a trade market and enough rooms. However, since the rumor of "dungeon resource exhaustion" spread, the number of adventurers dropped sharply, and in the end even the guild gave up here, demolished a large number of facilities and left only this cabin.

As for the travelers, Connor and Youyou walked a long mountain road to get here. How could a traveler be so idle that he would walk to the entrance of the dungeon?

Even hunters, merchants who do business and don't want to pay tolls, and adventurers who have lost their team are better than travelers.

In addition to the suspicious identity, there is another thing that can serve as evidence.

In addition to the flames in the fireplace, a second light source appeared in the room when there was a knock on the door.

Connor and Youyou looked at each other, and then looked at the [Tears of the Goddess] that he had placed on the table. This prop that shone brightly in the dungeon had regained its light, as if it was fighting against the thing outside the door.

Since the props with divine power have given instructions, there is no need to think too much about the composition of the sound outside the door.

The two people in the house did not respond to the knock on the door again, but prepared for battle. Connor also held the [Tears of the Goddess] in his hand and was ready at all times. They moved quietly to the side of the cabin door.

With the experience of being in danger in the dungeon, this time Connor and Youyou both held the [Tears of the Goddess] when exploring outside, relying on the effect of this item to protect themselves from interference and curses from the outside world.

In Connor's perception, the entire cabin seemed to be caught in the huge claws of a monster hidden in the night, with its ferocious fangs exposed.

Although Youyou does not have the thief's [Perception] skill, she is also extremely sensitive to magic power. The fluctuations of the magic source outside the house clearly indicate that the other party is not a good person.

How did the monsters in the dungeon escape?

After confirming the identity of the person outside the door, the two people had the same question.

That's not right! The monsters in the dungeon shouldn't come out!

According to the rules explored by the Adventurer's Guild, the reason why dungeons have become a popular place for adventurers is because the concentration of magic in dungeons far exceeds that of the outside world, and can support the emergence of a large number of monsters, plants and even minerals that have extremely high requirements for the magical environment.

Generally speaking, a dungeon was not originally a dungeon, but a stronghold of some magicians or monsters that could use magic. As time passed, the original owners either grew old or were conquered by adventurers and disappeared, but the facilities and wealth they left here are still in operation, constantly gathering monsters.

As more adventurers joined in, more and more adventurers took away the wealth of the dungeon, and more and more adventurers sacrificed their lives and property.

However, in the Adventurer's Guild's decades of exploration of numerous dungeons, there is one rule that has never been broken:

Apart from the interference of forces beyond mortals, the concentration of magic power in the outside world is simply not enough to support the activities of the monsters in the dungeon.

Therefore, the Adventurer's Guild built a shelter in a flat area not far from the entrance of the dungeon. Connor and Youyou can also rest assured after leaving the dungeon and returning to the shelter.

But now... the thing outside the door is obviously of the same category as the two pairs of eyes in the dungeon.

Regardless of whether the rule is verified or there is a loophole in the rule, neither result is good for Connor's team of adventurers, which consists of only two people.

Pre-emptive?

Youyou raised the staff in his hand.

Don’t worry, wait until the door is half open.

Connor lowered the axe in his hand.

When the thing outside the door tries to squeeze in through the half-open door, hit it with [Disappear] first, and then deal as much damage as you can.

Connor thought so, but the voice outside the door had its own ideas.

Click——

The extremely subtle noise made Connor realize that something was wrong. He didn't care about "attacking the enemy halfway across the river" and directly pulled Youyou back.

He had only taken two or three steps back to the side when a magic beam as thick as a door panel instantly shattered the fixed defensive magic circle on the shelter and opened the door of the cabin.

A hole was really made, from the door to the fireplace, which was very transparent.

"You two, I'm sorry to bother you."

The dark clouds in the sky had compressed the moonlight to the point where it could only illuminate a small area around the door. Surrounded by darkness, a "gentleman" slowly walked in. He was wearing an evening gown that was totally out of place in the outdoors, white gloves on his hands, and a squinting smiling mask on his face.

"Although it's a bit rude, but... I knocked on the door, and it's also rude for you not to answer, okay?"

The "gentleman" who broke into the house casually looked around the furnishings in the house. The mask without covering his mouth gave Connor and Youyou an ominous first impression.

The "gentleman" doesn't have anything that looks like a weapon in his hand, but anyone who thinks he is an unarmed monster that can be easily taken advantage of would be very wrong.

The eyes of the mask on the gentleman's face glowed red, and the corners of his mouth that were exposed raised slightly:

"Or rather, you were the ones who rudely stepped into my territory, allowing my sloppy work to appear before the audience without being polished. What a mockery this is?"

The dungeon lord? The overlord among monsters? Connor cautiously led Youyou back slowly and step by step. After dinner, they were roasting by the fire when they were suddenly robbed by the monster leader. How could they guard against this thing?

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself."

The gentleman touched his chest elegantly and said, "I am the source of evil, a cadre of the Demon King's army, and the Duke of Hell who leads the demons!"

"The great devil who can see through everything in the world, Vanir!"

Unexpected big shot!

144. Too Devil

The surroundings were unusually quiet. No sound could be heard. The wind that blew through the mountains and the dungeon entrances all year round was also caught in the hands of darkness.

Connor stared at the big devil who introduced himself, cold sweat already dripping down his forehead.

The great demon with distorted cognition, Maxwell, the Duke of Hell, whom Connor met last time in the lord's mansion, had gone through Aqua's purifying flood and purifying rain. Most of his power was restricted and he accidentally put the distorted halo on his head. Faced with all kinds of unfavorable factors, Connor needed to use the ten seconds of invincibility of the [Golden Apple] to delay time.

This time in the wild he encountered Vanir, the leader of the seven demons who commanded demons and had a "Clairvoyance" that was without any debuffs and claimed to be able to see through everything in the world. It could be said that the pressure was maximum, really maximum.

The most important thing is that this time when facing a big devil at the level of the Duke of Hell, Connor does not have Aqua by his side to rely on the power of the devil.

Vanir didn't mind Connor and Youyou who were on alert at all. He found a clean place and sat cross-legged, and said:

"Calm down, I didn't come here to start a fight with you."

As a great demon, Barnil was not as lucky as Maxwell, who was chosen by the artifact to come into the world directly with his real body. His real body was still in hell. At present, this body was just equivalent to [clothes]. The real magic core was in the mask on his face. It can even be said that the mask was his real body that was active in the world now.

"I came here because the Demon King asked me to investigate something, and I also have an important matter to do, to find the useless boss who lives in Axel and has the strange stunt of getting poorer the more he works."

"But I also found something interesting."

Vanir spoke eloquently, and he seemed to really not feel that his identity as the Duke of Hell and the Great Devil had any impact on the other two.

"W-what's interesting? Mr. Vanir can rest here if he wants. We can leave..."

Yoyo poked her head out from behind Connor, trying her best to sound less scared.

This big demon was a little strange, and it didn't seem like he wanted to fight here. Youyou thought that if it was possible not to fight, it would be better not to fight. Run away as soon as possible and report the news to Axel's Adventurer Guild.

"No, no, no, if you leave, it will be really boring."

The great demon Vanir said calmly, and seeing some scattered raisins on the table, he picked up two and put them in his mouth.

The fire from the fireplace was still burning outside, and against the backdrop of the fire, a huge, dark, and shadowy human figure appeared behind Vanir.

The shadow was incredibly dark, like a huge dark hole in the thick night sky behind him. Connor could faintly hear a hissing sound like the breathing of a venomous snake. He didn't know whether it was the shadow's real breathing or the sound made by the burning wood around it.

Red flames flickered between the unclear duke's crown on the human-shaped head and the broad and dark shoulders covered with a cloak. An invisible mouth seemed to cooperate with the body's eating, and let out a horrible and silent laugh.

The air was filled with a burning smell and a strong shadow of death.

Connor and Youyou, who were facing the pressure of the big devil, inevitably felt depressed at that moment. Their minds were occupied by a huge fear and doubt, and their heartbeats became slower.

hum!

The crystal clear [Tears of the Goddess] appeared again, which made Connor certain that the big devil in front of him was the mastermind behind the monsters in the dungeon and the two eyes that attacked him and Youyou.

"You want to use that magical skill [Disappear] on me? It's a very useful skill, and the effect is very powerful. It can ignore the magic power gap of many people. It's really something I've never seen before. You humans are quite creative."

"But it is precisely because of this that I love you all the more!"

Just when Connor was about to launch a sneak attack, Vanir suddenly said that the shadow behind him also covered his body. In this way, even if Connor used [Disappearance], it would at most slow down the speed of the big demon's magic casting, instead of making Vanir faint directly.

Does he know my skills?

Did you learn this from Maxwell? Or did you see it with your clairvoyance?

If it was the latter, Connor's heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that Vanir's [Clairvoyance] had already seen through his abilities and background?

As for the second half of Barnil's words, Connor simply treated them as the big devil's fart.

The big demons love humans. Just look at Maxwell, who is also the Duke of Hell, and you will know the attitude of these big demons. They all keep humans in captivity and let humans provide emotions as food, just like he himself loves small animals and cannot do without them for every meal.

Connor was pointed out by Vanir in advance and the opponent was on guard, so he couldn't waste precious magic power to attack and hurt others. He originally planned to use [Disappear] and Youyou to follow up with [Sword of Light]. But if he couldn't control it, once the current peace was broken, he and Youyou would definitely not be the opponent of the big devil.

Now we can only rely on the [Tears of the Goddess], the only thing that can repel the demons, to find the opportunity and route for strategic shift.

"First of all, although I am a cadre of the Demon King's army, I am only helping to maintain the castle barrier at the request of the Demon King."

Barnil watched the changes in Connor and the other man's emotions, nodded with satisfaction, and continued:

"In our eyes, humans are food-making machines, so we won't do stupid things like destroying you or hurting you. Whenever a human is born, we will dance in the courtyard."

The Duke of Hell said with great pride that unlike Maxwell who liked to smoke "despair", there was no place for "despair" in his diet. What he wanted was an emotion similar to great ups and downs.

"When it comes to negative emotions, there are actually thousands of them, from high to low. Each demon has different tastes and preferences. Some demons like human fear and despair, and some, like me, like to transform into a peerless beauty to approach men, and do everything I can to make the other person fall in love with me, and then reveal my true face and say something like 'What a pity, it's actually me', and taste the other person's tears of blood."

Connor felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart just by listening to it, and this time even the [Tears of the Goddess] couldn't dispel it.

This guy is such a devil!

145. Demons also have dreams

"What on earth are you planning!?"

Youyou began to wonder if this suspicious demon in a mask had something wrong with his brain. Why did he and Maxwell act like perverts?

The great demon Barnil did not stand up, but sat cross-legged on the ground gracefully:

"You're being too rude to say anything about intentions. Don't worry, it's our iron rule not to kill humans. If it's a [human]."

Barnil emphasized.

Hearing the big devil repeatedly emphasize "not killing humans", the leisurely nature of the Red Demon made her subconsciously relax her vigilance.

But at this moment, the Duke of Hell stood up straight and floated in front of Connor and Youyou like a piece of paper. Under the slanting smiling mask, which was half black and half white, a creepy smile appeared, and his eyes glowed red as he looked at the two adventurers.

He raised his voice, as if he was angry that Youyou always treated him as a low-level demon, an ordinary demon, a perverted demon, and shouted: