Just as everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding in their throats, Ilanier's cool and composed voice shattered the suffocating silence.
"It's Aeldara."
She seemed to have received the message through some special means, her tone utterly certain.
"She's signaling us to advance."
The moment her words fell, the sticky rustling from ahead abruptly ceased.
Immediately after, Aeldara's signature cold, flat voice pierced the darkness, reaching them clearly.
"Your Majesty, there is a massive cavern ahead."
Her voice paused, as if she were carefully choosing her words.
"The Silent Watch has completed its initial reconnaissance. The sound just now was us dragging away... the shed skin of a creature. Currently, no hostile targets have been detected."
No enemies?
Lin Qingyue's confusion deepened.
This was completely at odds with the perilous, monster-infested scene she had envisioned.
Lin Qingyue and her party followed Ilanier into the massive cavern.
The space opened up dramatically.
The cavern ceiling soared so high it vanished into darkness, with only ghostly stalactites hanging down, glimmering with a cold sheen in the faint glow of bioluminescent moss.
The ground was littered with rocks of all sizes and unidentified bones, their shapes blurry and indistinct in the gloom.
Most unsettling of all, there was no sound.
The whisper of wind, the drip of water, the chirp of insects... everything had been stripped away.
This space felt as if all "life" had been drained from it, leaving only a pure, bone-chilling silence.
"It's... so quiet here," Xia Lian's voice trembled as she tightened her grip on her shortbow, her eyes scanning every shadow with vigilance.
"Too quiet," Su Wan murmured in agreement. "There's an oppressive feeling in the air, as if something is being suppressed here."
Lin Qingyue frowned as well.
This absolute silence was more unnerving than the roar of any monster.
The Moonlight's Embrace earring she wore close to her skin was vibrating faintly.
"Aeldara, what have you found?" Ilanier asked, her gaze sweeping over every corner of the cavern.
Aeldara approached the Queen, her voice steady. "Your Majesty, we've found no living creatures. However, there are clear signs of extensive biological activity."
She pointed to the ground.
Lin Qingyue drew closer and saw enormous, slimy drag marks, as if left by some colossal, mollusk-like creature. Beside them were dense scratch marks and bone fragments gnawed completely clean.
"The tracks are fresh," Aeldara added. "And we've detected residual undead energy and the scent of Trolls in the corners."
Undead and Trolls.
The clues instantly clicked in Lin Qingyue's mind. The Trolls they encountered yesterday likely came from here.
But the undead? Where had they gone?
Could they have been... "cleaned up" by something in this place?
The thought sent her vigilance to its highest level.
Ilanier looked at Aeldara. "Stay alert and proceed deeper. The Royal Mage Corps and Ranger Squad will provide cover. Miss Qingyue and her party will follow me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Aeldara accepted her orders and led her Silent Watch Knight Order into the darkness ahead, their forms dissolving like melting shadows.
Lin Qingyue and her party followed Ilanier, pressing deeper into the cavern.
At the end of the tunnel lay an even larger underground chamber. The rough rock walls gave way to surfaces polished smooth as mirrors, forming a perfect circle. A massive, luminous crystal hung from the ceiling, bathing the entire space in a soft white light as bright as day.
In the center of the chamber stood a high platform.
The platform's design screamed of a nouveau riche, appallingly "luxurious" aesthetic. Its base was a garbage heap of rusted metal and colossal beast bones, emitting a faint, putrid stench. Atop this trash pile, however, lay a gold-trimmed red carpet—clearly stolen from somewhere—stained with large, suspicious patches.
Upon the platform rested a crooked "throne" crudely forged from melted gold coins and jewels, tacky and glaringly ostentatious.
On this throne, a figure struck what he clearly thought was a dashing pose: legs crossed, one hand propping up his chin in a clumsy imitation of "The Thinker" statue.
Behind him, several enormous dark figures stood silently, their outlines blurred, emanating an ominous aura.
"Your Majesty, the target has appeared!"
Aeldara's voice remained steady, but on the back of the hand gripping her sword, veins bulged faintly.
Lin Qingyue and the others tensed instantly, their gazes locked onto the figure on the throne.
It was a diminutive creature, yet it wore an impeccably tailored tuxedo.
The bow tie at its collar was perfectly knotted, and pristine white cuffs peeked from its sleeves.
It looked utterly dapper.
Lin Qingyue's mind reeled.
This doesn't fit the picture at all!
This wasn't a final boss—it looked more like a waiter who'd snuck out of some noble's banquet.
"Be careful!" Aeldara's voice was filled with caution. "This aura... it's incredibly strange!"
As they drew closer, the figure finally noticed the intruders.
It slowly lowered its hand and raised its head.
The light illuminated its face.
Lin Qingyue nearly burst out laughing.
It was a standard, bright green goblin face.
Pointed ears, a flat nose, and a pair of small, darting eyes.
Yet, this goblin's face bore a bizarre "human aesthetic"—he sported a meticulously trimmed mustache, his hair slicked back and gleaming with grease, all in a desperate attempt to imitate the airs of a human nobleman.
When his gaze swept past the knights in the front row and landed squarely on Ilanier, his small eyes erupted with a terrifying light, like a rat starved for three hundred years diving headfirst into the royal granary.
He stared at Ilanier openly, greedily, obsessively—from the crown on her head to her graceful figure and her magnificent silver armor. A glistening droplet of saliva even threatened to drip from the corner of his mouth.
As for Lin Qingyue and the others beside Ilanier, he gave them only a fleeting glance, as if they were nothing more than background props for Her Majesty's grand entrance, insignificant freebies.
"Ooh~ look what we have here! A flock of lost, beautiful lambs... and a goddess who has taken my breath away!" the goblin declared in a greasy, heavily accented voice. He even mimicked a human nobleman's gesture, placing a hand on his chest in a clumsy, grotesque bow.
Lin Qingyue felt bile rise in her throat.
Well-dressed? More like a beast in fine clothes!
Isn't this a classic trope from games and novels? The beautiful, noble Elf Queen stumbles into the lair of a hideous monster...
If we lose this fight, are we going to see some... unspeakable plot unfold? Something like 'The Queen's Tears and the Goblin's Laughter,' or 'The Fall of a Noble Body'...
Lin Qingyue shuddered.
No way! I can't stomach that kind of story! No matter what, I'm grinding this disgusting goblin into dust today! It's everyone's duty to uphold cosmic aesthetic justice!
"Ugh..."
Lin Xiyue retched instinctively, feeling the meat broth she'd had for breakfast churning violently in her stomach.
She lowered her voice and whispered to her sister, "Sis, my [Immovable Mountain] is buzzing. It says this level of mental pollution exceeds its physical defense range."
"What thing are you?" Ilanier's expression darkened instantly, a cold storm brewing in her wine-red eyes.
If there was one thing she despised above all else, it was this slimy gaze that appraised her like a trophy.
"A thing? Oh no, no, no, my dear Queen!" The goblin, seemingly oblivious to the fury in her words, dramatically clutched his chest and gave a grotesque parody of a courtly bow.
"You mustn't use such crude language to describe your future king, Gyrus!"
He wagged a finger, his gaze lingering with particular insolence on Ilanier's body.
"Your beauty is like the most brilliant gemstone! Your grace, like the richest, most mellow wine! I have decided: my kingdom needs a mistress like you! I permit you to address me directly by my name. As for these followers of yours, they may call me 'Captain'! All my subordinates do."
On Su Wan's face, the elegant composure of a noble young mistress instantly froze, replaced by a cold, icy disdain, as if she were looking at trash.
She even leaned back slightly, as though the greasy stench in the air might sully the hem of her clothes.
Meanwhile, Xia Lian, who usually blushed easily, was no longer flushed red. Her small face had turned deathly pale from sheer disgust and rage.
Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her shortbow, her entire body trembling slightly. It seemed she might lose control at any moment and fire a poison-tipped arrow straight into that nauseating, greasy mouth.
"Are you the culprit behind the spatial fluctuations, the one trying to merge the worlds?" Aeldara's Runic Greatsword was already drawn, its tip aimed directly at the goblin.
"Aiya~ Don't be so fierce, little knight-sis~"
The goblin didn't even glance at her, his eyes still glued to Ilanier.
"I'm merely carrying out my 'Grand Plan'~ However, since my future queen has graced me with her presence, I might consider... altering my 'Grand Plan' just a little~"
He stood up, spread his arms wide, and proclaimed in a dramatic, operatic tone:
"For instance, we could start with a magnificent wedding to marry my destined queen! As for you... bonus gifts... oh no, I mean, dowry handmaidens... hehehe..."
Lin Qingyue watched the goblin prance about and subconsciously pulled up her class panel.
[Goblin King · Boss · Gyrus]
[Level: Lv.???]
Holy shit! The Goblin King? Level three question marks?!
Lin Qingyue felt her worldview shatter. This guy... he looks like a pathetic clown, but he's actually a top-tier BOSS?
She began rapidly calculating.
What makes him so dangerous? Level suppression? Or some disgusting special skill?