Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 257: Time to claim our fortune

Elara genuinely wanted to cry. At this moment, she deeply regretted not listening to the advice of the Third Elder.

Had she known how strange and powerful the other party was, she never would’ve chosen to follow them.

Now, not only was she deprived of proper rest, but she also had to work like a slave.

And this place—was it really hell?

Everywhere she looked, blue-green flames burned countless souls,

the air filled with their agonized and despairing screams as they were consumed by fire.

If she didn’t get her 14 hours of rest each day, she probably would’ve lost her mind by now.

"Hurry up!" Malrik barked. "Don’t slack off. If you do, you won’t be getting anything to eat today."

"Ah!"

Elara wanted to cry, but in the end, she choked back her tears and continued dragging the massive stone behind her.

Malrik paid her no further attention. His gaze turned toward the distant horizon.

Just then, Drakhan suddenly flew over to him and asked, "Malrik, when will Master return?"

"No idea, but likely very soon," Malrik replied indifferently.

Drakhan nodded and said, "A large number of Rank D Lords are flooding into our territory. I’m afraid they might discover Master’s domain."

"Don’t worry," Malrik replied. "Anyone who finds Master’s territory—kill them.

Take Zhisse with you. Don’t underestimate the enemy. Understood?"

"I understand. But what about Caleb and Austin?

It seems like they’re actively searching for Master," Drakhan added.

"Don’t concern yourself with them," Malrik said calmly.

"This is a good opportunity for them to learn how to survive on their own."

Drakhan nodded and flew off immediately.

Malrik watched him leave, then muttered, "Looks like I need to accelerate the construction of ’Hell’. Otherwise, we won’t make it in time..."

...

"Still no contact with Master?" Austin asked anxiously.

Caleb shook his head with a sigh. "Not yet."

Austin gritted his teeth. "Even though I know Master wouldn’t get into any real danger, I can’t shake this worry. What if—"

"Enough!" Caleb interrupted him. "Master is probably busy with some mission. There’s no need to panic."

"Captain!"

At that moment, a young man rushed into the room and shouted, "We’ve got a lead on the Evil God—he’s heading straight for us!"

"What?!" Austin and Caleb exclaimed in unison.

They had, of course, received the System notification about the appearance of the Evil God—but they hadn’t expected him to come looking for them.

"Damn it!" Austin growled through clenched teeth.

"What the hell is going on? Why isn’t the Evil God going after those Rank D Lords? Why us?"

Caleb, however, was calmer. He furrowed his brow and asked, "Has the Evil God discovered us yet?"

"Not yet," the young man replied. "But he’s already killed two people, and right now, he’s heading north."

"North? Damn it! I’ll—" Austin started to speak, but Caleb cut him off.

"Wait!" Caleb interjected. "You said he’s heading north?"

"Yes, Captain. His movement is slow, as if he hasn’t yet locked onto his location," the young man answered.

Caleb rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment before asking, "How many people do we have?"

"Counting the ones we’ve recruited into the group, over twenty," the young man replied.

Caleb nodded.

After the regional merge, a lot of Rank F and E Lords from other surviving areas had also shown up here.

That was why Caleb had begun recruiting more members into their group.

He didn’t know what Noan was planning,

but in his opinion, the stronger his own force became, the more he could help Noan accomplish.

"Only twenty people, huh..." Caleb sighed. "Alright then. Keep an eye on the Evil God. If he changes direction, inform me immediately."

"Yes, Captain," the young man replied before quickly leaving.

Austin spoke up next. "Caleb, what are you planning? Why don’t we just take Master’s troops and wipe out the Evil God?"

"Didn’t you read the System announcement? If we can eliminate the Evil God, we’ll definitely..."

"The reward for slaying the Evil God, right?" Caleb said.

"Exactly," Austin nodded.

"You think we’re the only ones who want to kill the Evil God?" Caleb continued. "He may be powerful and strange,

but the reward must be enormous.

And it’s not just us here—there are also Rank D Lords. We can’t act recklessly."

"Then what should we do? Just sit around and wait?" Austin asked in frustration.

Caleb laughed and replied, "Hahaha... not exactly. Have you forgotten what lies to the north?"

"The north? You mean..."

Austin suddenly remembered something. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Caleb.

"That’s right," Caleb said cheerfully. "It’s Master’s Hell."

...

BAM!

"Damn it! Why aren’t there any Lords in this place?!"

Zeka shouted angrily, his eyes now completely red.

"This isn’t even my original territory. What the hell is this place supposed to be?"

Zeka looked around, visibly irritated. He had thought that after returning to the Chaotic Region,

he would be able to start hunting down the Rank D Lords in his area.

By absorbing their blood—along with the countless ’buffs’—his strength would skyrocket to terrifying levels.

But when he opened his eyes, he realized this place was completely unfamiliar.

This wasn’t his territory. Could it be... this was one of the merged zones connected to his own?

Zeka felt that his guess was the most reasonable.

Still... even if this was a zone for Rank F and E Lords, there were far too few of them.

He’d traveled over ten miles and only encountered two people.

Could it be that after the ’Zombie Wave’ event, the number of Rank F and E Lords had dropped dramatically?

And another thing... what the hell was that pillar of fire?

Zeka looked up and saw a blue-green pillar of flame, over two hundred meters tall, like a skyscraper in the distance.

Though it was fire, as he stared at it, Zeka felt a creeping fear—as if someone was watching him from within the flames.

Strangely, the fire didn’t illuminate the surrounding area.

Instead, it made the atmosphere even gloomier and colder.

"What the hell is that place?" Zeka muttered.

[It could be a Trial Zone,] Vinelord suddenly spoke. [Or perhaps a naturally formed danger zone.]

"A Trial Zone?" Zeka frowned.

[Yes,] Vinelord explained. [Many Trial Zones are naturally formed. They often appear as a result of world mergers, tearing through the fabric of space and creating rifts.]

[Although it doesn’t resemble a typical Trial Space, zones like that often contain countless undiscovered opportunities.]

Upon hearing that, Zeka’s interest was immediately piqued. "Are you serious? Then what if we explore it? We’re bound to find incredible treasures that’ll make us stronger."

[Don’t get ahead of yourself. Those zones are extremely dangerous. You’ll definitely die.]

"Tsk!" Zeka clicked his tongue. "I think you’re less of an Evil God and more of a Cowardly God."

"A massive opportunity lies right before us, and you’re telling me we shouldn’t even try?"

[Well... I have a really bad feeling about that place, it...]

"The more dangerous it is, the greater the reward.

If we don’t go, someone else will seize it first."

[I still think it’s better to find and absorb more Lords to strengthen ourselves first. You...]

"Evil God, you’re supposed to be an Evil God! Are you seriously afraid of an opportunity located in low-rank Lords’ territory?" Zeka sneered with disdain.

[You... Fine. But if anything dangerous happens, we leave immediately. Understood?]

"Of course I understand." Zeka grinned, his gaze drifting toward the buff list he currently possessed.

After killing two Lords, he had acquired two buffs: +20% Strength (Permanent) and +20% Movement Speed (Permanent).

If he kept killing more Lords, he would quickly grow immensely powerful— to the point that no one would be able to defeat him.

And when that happened, even the Evil God would become nothing more than his dog.

"Let’s go. Time to claim our fortune."