Catastrophe Card King

Leonard Churchill knew that this was a human, so he was not worried.

He walked straight over, introducing himself, “Mage Rolan, I am a member of the Investigations Corps sent by the Kingdom to investigate the demon secret passage…”

He briefly explained his situation.

Before he had finished speaking, Mage Rolan interjected, “Don’t touch the anti-demon chain on my body. Otherwise, the demons will spot us.”

II II

Leonard hadn’t planned on touching it anyway.

He had already noticed the rune lock chain tethering the man was not an ordinary rope but a magic inhibiting device.

But hearing the old mage’s warning, he refrained anyway.

He wanted to garner more information, so playing dumb, he queried, “Demons?”

“Right.”

Mage Rolan said no more, but instead asked, “Do you have anything else that proves your identity?”

Leonard thought for a moment, then produced his Merit Badge and a few demon horns.

Looking at the demon horns, Mage Rolan seemed convinced, “No wonder you managed to get here. Your strength is undoubtedly impressive.”

With that, he sighed, “If I’m not mistaken, many people in Meteor Eagle Fortress have likely been infiltrated by demon vanguards by now. I didn’t expect anyone to avoid the demons’ watchful senses and infiltrate the dungeon.”

Leonard wasn’t certain about the perspective of this mage before him, so he tentatively asked, “I noticed some individuals acting suspicious when I arrived. Mage Rolan, can you tell me what exactly happened?”

That was a typical leading remark.

Seeing that his situation was dire, Rolan didn’t hide anything and confessed, “Three months ago, we noticed an abnormal increase in the number of demons in the Sawtooth Forest. We speculated that there might be a secret passage in the north controlled by the demons which led through the Wailing Abyss, so we initiated an investigation. We stumbled upon a highly suspicious location, a good friend of mine led a group there and fought a ferocious battle with the demons… But when he returned, he was different. He ceased investigating the passage and ceased sending others. Thinking he was injured, I decided to lead a team myself to check… And as you can see now, I ended up trapped in this dungeon.”

The NPCs indeed knew more about the plot than them outsiders.

The content was rather informative.

Leonard was keenly listening to every single word.

This was obviously in reference to the past event spoken of by the soldiers, where the fortress commander was injured after a fierce battle with the demons.

They indeed found a suspicious location?

Fearing this guy might blurt something out, Leonard asked straightaway, “Where is that location? I can go investigate.”

Rolan gave him a wary look, “It’s near the Desolate Spire. Thirty kilometers northeast of the fortress, near the edge of the abyss, where the stone towers are. Once upon a time, this was a graveyard for brave soldiers who died fighting the demons. But be careful, those red-eyed bats are the demons’ spies…”

Leonard jotted down the coordinates carefully.

Knowing that time was of the essence, he cut to the chase, “Mage Rolan, forgive my bluntness. Since you’ve already figured out that the commander is compromised, why hasn’t he killed you?”

Hearing this, Rolan looked at him approvingly, “Young man, you are very keen.”

After a pause, he said, “My life is connected to the magic prohibition of the fortress. This military secret is only known to the commander and me. The fortress itself is a beacon tower. Once I die, the beacon ignites, and the Kingdom will naturally send people to investigate. Therefore, they simply sealed my magic and imprisoned me here. I can’t even commit suicide.”

It dawned on Leonard then.

No wonder this NPC was locked in a dungeon instead of being killed outright.

Mage Rolan didn’t dawdle, seeing a soldier from the kingdom after a while, he gave him a task straightaway: “If possible, I want you to communicate the situation at Meteor Eagle Fortress back to Thunderbolt Fortress. The demon vanguards have come, the Kingdom’s higher-ups haven’t paid it any heed, I’m afraid we might suffer huge losses…”

Listening to him, Leonard realized that coming to the dungeon would definitely trigger this plot.

Mage Rolan continued, “I’ll give you the fortress’s magic key. Go to my residence, behind the seventh book on the bookshelf there’s a hidden compartment. There, you’ll find my Rune Token. It can vouch for your identity. But be careful, the Rune Token controls the fortress’s barrier and is vital. The demons are also after it…”

As soon as Leonard heard this, enlightenment appeared: “B-rank legion plot ‘Mage Rolan Master’s Verbal Message’ triggered. Until the mission is accomplished, everyone must protect the token holder to safely return to Thunderbolt Fortress, otherwise leaving the space would be impossible. The mission rewards 30,000 contribution points;”

Just as he expected.

Coming to Meteor Eagle Fortress had indeed triggered a high-difficulty plot.

Just…a B-rank?

Seeing the mission content, a different thought ran through Leonard’s mind.

While Leonard was at Meteor Eagle Fortress, the 300 elite fighters of Fierce Beast Legion had also reached the middle of Sawtooth Forest.

They had already learned from the information they received that a second-tier D-rank catastrophe was hidden in the caves here.

This was their target for this mission.

Members of the Lionheart Family were required to pass through a high-difficulty alternate dimension and personally kill a catastrophe that wasn’t lower than second-tier as a trial.

This one here was just right for that.

Although they had lost some manpower due to prolonged battles against the Demon Corps on their way here,

The combat power of the Fierce Beast Legion hadn’t diminished much..