The term "divine kingdom" carried immense weight, whether for devout believers or those consumed by ambition.
Anser's thoughts stirred, but after thinking it over carefully, even if there really were a passage leading to some divine kingdom here, what did it matter to him?
If the divine kingdom still had an owner, then no one could do anything there.
Within their divine kingdom, a deity possessed absolute control over everything. With a mere thought, they could alter the laws of physics, reshape spatial structure, change the flow of time, determine the lifespan, form, and abilities of its inhabitants, and create or erase any form of matter or energy.
And if something had happened to the deity within that divine kingdom, then it definitely wasn't something an ordinary classed individual could lay their hands on.
No matter how he thought about it, the existence of a divine kingdom offered no practical benefits beyond perhaps uncovering a few secrets behind the disappearance of the gods.
'My future is bright. There's no need for me to risk my life here.'
With that thought, he decisively accelerated, leaving the shouts behind him.
"You'll regret this—!"
Sosk let out a despairing roar. He stopped running altogether and collapsed face-down amid the ruins, looking as though he had resigned himself to surrender. There was none of the bearing a high-level Wizard ought to possess.
The followers of Myrkul froze in shock. Surrendering to undead was simply too absurd. They dealt with undead regularly and had never even considered such an option.
Anser glanced back at the scene, somewhat surprised.
But soon after, he clearly saw the death knight rush to Sosk's side, seize him with one hand, hoist him onto the nightmare's back, and continue hunting down the others.
'This…' He could not make sense of it at all.
The death knight was merciless toward everyone else, yet specifically chose to capture Sosk alive.
'Could it be that Sosk had been here before and they knew each other? Or perhaps he possessed some secret that even interested the death knight…'
His thoughts churned endlessly, yet his flying speed never slowed as he passed the fork where the earlier battle had taken place.
Meanwhile, the death knight had already overtaken the black-robed figures and reached the edge of the ruins, stopping beside the bronze gate.
Seeing this, Anser hovered within the passage and looked toward him.
The two stared at one another from afar in silence, their faces shifting between light and shadow beneath the dim glow.
After a long while, the death knight turned his mount around. The nightmare resembled a streak of dancing wildfire as it quickly vanished into the darkness.
"Hah—"
Anser let out a heavy breath.
Being watched by the death knight put tremendous pressure on him. Even knowing he possessed methods to save his own life did little to ease it.
A death knight paired with a nightmare truly was a match made in heaven.
Supernatural creatures like nightmares were naturally capable of traversing between the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane, and their flying speed rivaled that of air elementals. If it truly came down to a relentless pursuit, things would become rather troublesome.
'The situation here is more complicated than I imagined. Still, I harvested two waves of experience points, so it's not a total loss.'
After consoling himself a few times, Anser turned around and flew back the way he came.
The return trip was uneventful. This place lay in a remote region of the Underdark, and the route to the surface was blocked by the dungeon and the mushroom forest, so subterranean creatures rarely came here.
Like a gust of wind, he swept across the mushroom forest, passed through the cavern opening, and flew into the open sky.
'The surface world really is better.'
He spread his arms as though embracing the sky itself.
After his moment of reflection, he looked down below, only to find a crowd of people staring up at him in stunned silence.
'What's going on now? Adventurers really do get information fast.'
Anser shook his head slightly. He had not expected so many people to arrive within just a few short hours.
His gaze swept across the crowd, where he spotted a familiar face.
Karisha of the Emerald Enclave. They had once worked together while hunting werewolves. She was small in stature, old-fashioned in demeanor, and skilled at transforming into an owlbear.
Anser took out the Rod of Security and used the mental projection within to sense the situation inside.
Sergei and the other two were waiting in the plaza outside the black tower. Iris had not brought them inside. In the end, they were still outsiders.
Anser descended to the ground, activated the Rod of Security, and teleported them out together with Iris.
The group held their weapons tightly, faces full of vigilance. Only after realizing they had already returned to Moonscar Basin did they finally relax.
"We escaped… What about those people?" Sergei still looked shaken. The image of flames leaping as the nightmare galloped was still burned into his mind.
"They're basically all dead. The death knight didn't chase us out," Anser said with a sigh.
Those followers of Myrkul had scattered in every direction while fleeing. Their chances of survival were probably slim.
He had treated them as his greatest hypothetical enemy all this time, yet the outcome had turned out absurdly dramatic. Their first encounter had also been the end.
Seeing that Anser was unharmed, Iris returned to her usual cool and detached demeanor. Just as she was about to speak, she turned and noticed a group approaching from the distance, so she chose not to ask further.
"Anser."
Karisha quickly walked over, her emerald-like eyes fixed on him as her gaze flickered slightly.
"You… went inside?"
"Obviously." Anser spread his hands. "You people moved pretty fast."
"We've been paying attention to this place for a long time already," Karisha explained. "What's down there?"
"The Underdark. There's a dungeon city inside. I ran into people from the Church of Myrkul, and also… a death knight. I barely escaped alive."
Anser deliberately raised his voice so more people could hear.
"Huh?" Karisha's face filled with shock.
In the distance, dozens of adventurers pricked up their ears. Some looked astonished, some confused, and others excited.
Anser's expression remained calm. He had intentionally told everyone this to keep certain fools from getting blinded by rumors of treasure and recklessly throwing themselves inside to die.
If the adventurers suffered catastrophic losses, then Durlag's Tower—the adventurer city of Durlag—would inevitably suffer severe consequences as well. Reduced taxes and declining vitality would be unavoidable.
Of course, good advice could never save those determined to die. He had no intention of stepping in to stop them. Otherwise, people might think he wanted to monopolize the treasure for himself and end up resenting him for it.
"Who are those people?" He gestured toward the distance with his chin.
"All kinds. People from Amn, the Zhentarim, adventurers… who knows." Karisha clasped her hands behind her back, concern evident in her eyes. "The Underdark is far too dangerous. Should we seal this place off?"
"Heh, I don't have that kind of ability. And I'd advise you not to do it either."
Anser smiled as he warned her, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding crowd. His meaning could not have been clearer.
Karisha's expression shifted slightly. Of course she understood exactly what he meant.
The Underdark certainly represented danger, but it also held unimaginable profits. Even the mushroom forest and the myconid settlement near the entrance alone were immensely valuable.
Not to mention the legendary dungeon city hidden within.
If anyone dared to block adventurers from making their fortune, they would inevitably be attacked by the entire crowd.
Anser did not remain long. After roughly explaining the situation in the Underdark to Karisha, he bid farewell to Sergei and the others, reminding them to rescue the unconscious adventurer, before returning to Durlag's Tower together with Iris.
It was not that he lacked interest in the dungeon city. He simply understood his own strength and had decided to wait until he became stronger before exploring it further.
Besides, the Underdark itself was an enormous hidden danger. If a swarm of subterranean creatures ever poured out, then even with the Wood of Sharp Teeth serving as a buffer zone, Durlag would probably still be unable to escape disaster.
Rather than that, he might as well seize this opportunity to rapidly expand his forces and vigorously develop White Stone Island in preparation for any possible crisis.
'I wonder whether Candlekeep and the Magic Research Society would be interested. After all, this concerns a divine kingdom…'
Anser suddenly realized that the information in his hands might be far more valuable than he had imagined.
The dungeon city itself definitely could not be concealed, but nobody else knew about the artifact and the divine kingdom.
If those two major organizations were willing to act, then even a death knight would not be invincible.
'In the end, it's still a matter of strength.'
He was not discouraged, though. His leveling speed was already absurd enough as it was.
Silently, he pulled up his character sheet. His experience pool had already surpassed eleven thousand points. He was not far from leveling up again.
Actually, raising either his Paladin or Wizard to level 5 would be pretty good as well. The former would grant him access to 2nd-level divine magic and Extra Attack, while the latter would allow him to learn a large number of 3rd-level spells. Both would bring significant improvements.
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