Facing Mason’s instruction, Monica simply shook her head.
“If I don’t have this weapon… I can’t keep up with your pace, Brother.”
“I never forced you to keep up with my pace…”
Mason sighed helplessly.
It was undeniable that Monica, as Liz’s cousin, was just as stubborn as a mule in certain aspects.
“As long as I can keep up with your pace…”
Monica stared intently at Mason’s back at this moment.
“Then I won’t be married off as a tool for a political alliance.”
Hearing this, Mason felt even more troubled.
His initial plan was actually to try and get his sister together with Red.
After being on such close terms with that guy Red for so long, Mason, of course, understood that Red was actually a pretty good person.
Whether it was his pragmatism or his character, there was almost nothing to criticize.
If he had to pick a flaw, it might just be his timidity when it came to matters of the heart, but that was about it.
And now, pushing Monica towards Red was clearly not a wise choice either.
Mason trusted Red, that was true, but he didn’t believe Monica could outmaneuver someone like Letia.
If he really sent her over, she’d probably end up being tricked by that cunning Priest into becoming nothing more than a foot-washing maid.
So, facing Monica’s worry, Mason could only sigh in the end.
“If something like that really happens, I will try to persuade Father.”
“Mmm.”
After a brief wait, Mason and Monica went downstairs together.
In the conference room on the first floor, the other members of Judgment Holy Night had already assembled.
Compared to Dawnblade, the composition of Judgment Holy Night’s team was more scientific and rational.
Mason and another Saint Knight served as the forward, responsible for taking damage. Monica and another Priest served as the midfield, responsible for healing while also providing secondary damage output. The backline was held by Margaret as the primary magic damage dealer.
A total of five people, but each one’s strength was undeniably formidable.
Once Mason was seated, Margaret couldn’t wait to ask.
“Captain, what’s the matter calling us together so early in the morning?”
“There’s something very important I need to tell you all…” Mason’s gaze swept over everyone. “The monsters from the 30th Floor to the 35th Floor are being teleported to the surface one after another at an extremely fast rate.”
“What?”
Margaret couldn’t help but open her mouth wide at this.
“Captain, are you joking?”
“I am not joking in the slightest.”
Mason’s voice was resolute, carrying a heavy sense of pressure.
“After repeated confirmation, the teleportation speed of the monsters from those five floors is accelerating. They are coming to the surface in an endless stream. At this rate, a Monster Tide will form within three days.”
At this point, his tone shifted. His face was so dark it seemed like it could drip water, and his voice became even more severe.
“At the same time, according to urgent and reliable intelligence…”
His fist clenched unconsciously at his side.
“…the vanguard of that corruption and madness emanating from the depths of the Dungeon has already broken through to the 37th Floor.”
“Fortunately, our reaction was somewhat timely,” Mason’s voice carried a trace of lingering fear.
“Before the Madness contamination could spread further, we forcibly severed several key Teleportation Anchors connected to it.”
His gaze swept over everyone again, carrying a warning tone.
“So far, no monsters deeply infected by the Madness or that have undergone Aberration have been found leaking into the real world through the anchors. That is a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.”
Perhaps outsiders didn’t know, but Mason, as the First Prince of the Sunmoon Empire, was well aware of the true situation inside this Dungeon.
In fact, ever since that legendary “Destiny” team ventured into the forbidden realm beyond the 40th Floor all those years ago, that “Madness” of unknown origin… began its slow, deadly upward erosion.
And several decades ago, there was a little-known disaster.
When the Madness first spread to the 39th Floor, even though the Empire reacted swiftly and cut off the Teleportation Anchors in the related areas at all costs… there was still a slip-up.
A few… just a few…
These monsters, deeply polluted by the Madness and having undergone indescribably terrifying Aberrations, were accidentally teleported to a large, prosperous, and completely unprepared city deep within the Sunmoon Empire at the very last moment before the anchors were shut down.
It was a one-sided, blood-soaked massacre that was suffocating to behold…
In the end, to exterminate these few monsters, the Empire mobilized an expeditionary force of several thousand elite soldiers!
Only after suffering unimaginable casualties were they barely able to completely annihilate them.
Afterwards, to prevent nationwide panic, to avoid neighboring countries taking advantage of the weakness, and… that unspeakable, horrifying secret about the Dungeon’s truth.
The Empire’s higher-ups ultimately chose to bury all traces of the “Madness spread” and the “Aberrant Monsters,” along with the truth of that city’s destruction, deep beneath the dust of history.
And now, compared to the disappearance of the monsters, the continuous spread of the Madness was what Mason feared the most.
Because the Teleportation Anchor Magic Circles of the Dungeon… the first ten floors have unclosable, bidirectional circles.
Once the spread of the Madness accelerates and reaches the first ten floors, where the circles cannot be severed, that means… those Aberrant Monsters infected by the Madness will pour directly into the real world through these Teleportation Arrays.
What kind of disaster would occur then goes without saying…
“The spread of the Madness is accelerating, and the area from the 30th to the 35th Floor is gradually being emptied…”
Monica muttered in a daze.
“Could this also be considered a kind of isolation belt?”
The more creatures infected, the faster the Madness spreads.
And after clearing out that area, even though the original monsters would cause great chaos in the real world, it’s still better than them all undergoing Aberration.
“Could that be Otto’s consideration?”
“Not sure.”
Hearing Monica’s muttering, Mason shook his head.
“Otto is a very scheming person. It’s hard to guess what he’s really thinking. Maybe he just wants to conquer the Dungeon faster, pure and simple.”
However, Margaret voiced a different opinion.
“He wouldn’t really want to conquer the entire Dungeon all by himself, would he? You know the areas covered by the Madness are simply not places where people can stay.”
The Saint Knight who had been silent beside them suddenly laughed and refuted Margaret’s words.
“Still, he was once a member of that legendary Hero Party, ‘Destiny.’ Plus, he fused with the Demon God’s Power. Maybe he does have that capability?”
“Regardless of his intentions, right now we must first go and deal with those monsters that have been teleported up. Otherwise, once they gather into a Monster Tide, it won’t be a small matter anymore.”