My queen is rebelling!

When Ifero announced that the "Endless Blade" had successfully passed the selection, as expected, it caused a great uproar within the camp.

Many leaders of adventure groups gathered to exchange opinions.

They ultimately reached a conclusion that left them dumbfounded:

This "Endless Blade" adventure group had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, with no prior news or information about them.

It was as if they had materialized out of thin air in the Kingdom of Ceylon.

This discovery only intensified their resentment.

Boozer, who had just been helped up and was still receiving treatment, instantly turned pale.

His body involuntarily slumped downward, his eyes filled with terror.

He clearly knew what this meant.

Soon, several grim-faced Gavin family guards walked towards him.

They lightly tossed him a dismissal notice, and despair instantly filled Boozer's face.

Just as he had feared—the position he had exchanged for most of his family fortune was lost.

Even more terrifying, being expelled by the Duke Gavin family meant that there would be no place for him in the entire kingdom!

Mogg, the leader of the Mogg Mercenaries, who was talking with Arnold, was also shaken.

However, last night Cohen, at the second rank, was able to kill a fifth-rank Kobold Shaman.

Considering today's performance, it didn't seem so surprising.

Arnold, along with Asuna and Naftis beside him, seemed to take it for granted.

There were just too many magical things happening to Cohen.

They were already used to it.

Mogg suppressed his surprise and continued the previous topic, saying:

"Mr. Constantine, you've also been the leader of an adventure group, so you should know how important a life domain female priest is to a team.

It's not that I don't want to give Margaret to you, but we also paid a great price to recruit Margaret at the time.

Moreover, we've been distributing most of our spoils to her during this period; otherwise, she wouldn't have broken through to the Bronze rank so quickly.

When your adventure group disbanded, she was only at the third rank, you should be aware of that.

Even if I agree, my team members won't approve."

Arnold's face showed a look of shame; he also felt that his request was a bit excessive.

But Margaret's pleading gaze just now made it difficult for him to refuse.

He had already evaded once when the adventure group was forcibly disbanded; was he going to evade this time as well?

When Cohen brought Freya out, he found the atmosphere between the two was rather strange.

After asking about the reason, Cohen chuckled and waved slightly at Naftis.

The latter immediately understood and took out paper and pen to hand to Cohen.

Cohen quickly wrote on the paper and then handed it to Mogg.

Mogg skeptically took the thing Cohen had written.

After reading it for only a few minutes, the expression on his face instantly became extremely wonderful.

Then, as if he had obtained a treasure, he put it into his arms, his emotions fluctuating violently, and said in a trembling voice:

"Your Excellency… Your Excellency is sure you want to give this to me?"

Cohen nodded and said:

"As long as you agree to Arnold's conditions, this thing is yours!"

Arnold gave Cohen a grateful look and ran to report the good news to Margaret.

After seeing Mogg off and waiting for Arnold to bring Margaret back,

Cohen gathered the team members and announced to everyone:

"Miss Margaret will also be a member of our team from now on."

"Captain, I didn't mean that; you don't have to do this.

I just want her to be free, even if she returns to the Temple of Life as a priest."

Cohen waved his hand to stop Arnold's words and said softly:

"Mr. Constantine, I just want you to know that you are worth me doing this for you."

Arnold's face showed violent emotional fluctuations, and then he clenched his fists tightly, his eyes becoming exceptionally firm.

Treat me as a national scholar, and I will repay you as a national scholar!

The contract was a contract, trust was trust, and Arnold's heart was filled with gratitude and something he couldn't explain.

After Cohen announced the decision, he took his team to the big tent to meet Windsor Dreier.

Freya asked curiously:

"Sir, what did you write for that man just now?"

Little girls always can't restrain their curiosity.

Arnold glared at Freya, signaling her not to ask too much.

Only then did Freya realize her mistake and stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.

Cohen smiled indifferently and said:

"It's nothing, Mogg is a Silver Peak [Bounty Hunter], I wrote him some hunting心得 from a Gold-rank bounty hunter.

I believe that with his talent, he will probably be able to break through to the Gold rank soon."

Only then did everyone understand why Mogg was willing to let Margaret go.

Breaking through one's own cultivation level is always the most tempting.

Arriving in the tent, Ifero had already returned, and a middle-aged strong man was standing beside him, respectfully telling Windsor Dreier something.

Windsor Dreier's eyes lit up when she saw Cohen coming in, pointed at him, and said:

"He is the leader of this adventure group, and I have already entrusted everything to him to make decisions, you can tell him what you need."

The elven lady believes in entrusting professional matters to professional people.

Or is she simply trying to be a hands-off manager?

Anyway, when Windsor Dreier spoke to Cohen just now, she had already informed the latter of the purpose of this mission.

And fully entrusted Cohen as the commander-in-chief and person in charge of this operation, even she herself had to follow his arrangements.

Apart from suspecting Cohen's identity as the "Lord of Shadows", the more important thing was that he was proficient in the secret history of the ancient elves.

With this advantage, Cohen was indeed the best candidate to command the capture of a research institute studying ancient elven culture.

Ifero turned his gaze, looking at Cohen, who was only at the third rank, in surprise, his expression not very good.

Windsor Dreier's words did not match his expectations.

His original intention in recruiting adventure groups was to avoid using too much family power to participate in this operation.

He understood the mystery and terror of "Starfall Valley"; to put it bluntly, the recruited adventure groups were cannon fodder.

As for the commander-in-chief of this operation, he already had a candidate.

The middle-aged strong man beside him was an experienced sixth-rank [Explorer] who had once entered the periphery of "Starfall Valley".

It was most appropriate for him to be the commander.

As for Cohen… he really found it difficult to entrust his life and fortune to an unfamiliar third-rank young man.

The middle-aged strong man beside Ifero was even more disdainful, with undisguised contempt on his face.

Let him, an experienced sixth-rank [Explorer], obey a third-rank brat?

A nameless anger suddenly arose in the middle-aged strong man's heart.

He had a kinship relationship with Ifero, and this "Starfall Valley" was originally supposed to be his opportunity to show off in front of the Empress's envoy.

He didn't expect to be preempted by a third-rank bastard, how could he endure this?

Ifero suppressed the complex emotions in his heart; since Her Excellency the Special Envoy had already said so, he could only act according to orders.

He led the middle-aged strongman to Cohen and said with a hint of the aura of a Duke's family heir:

"Commander, I am very surprised by the special envoy's unconditional trust in you.

However, I am willing to believe in the special envoy's vision. Let me introduce you, this is the Rank 6 [Explorer], Baron Kulikov.

I hope you two can cooperate closely in the upcoming operation."

Kulikov glanced at Cohen arrogantly and said coldly:

"I don't know what kind of bewitching technique you used on the special envoy, but I warn you.

Don't think that you can be reckless just because you pleased the special envoy. 'Starfall Valley' is not a place you, a greenhorn, can handle.

Don't point fingers, just follow me obediently. You won't get any less credit after we get out!"

Cohen turned a deaf ear to Kulikov's words and said calmly:

"Since the special envoy has given me command of the operation, I only have one request.

You must obey my orders unconditionally!

If you can't do it, you can choose to withdraw!"

Cohen's words made Kulikov suddenly furious, his eyes widened. Eiffel O coughed lightly beside him.

Stopping Kulikov, who wanted to get angry, Eiffel O stared into Cohen's eyes for a long time, his voice became polite, but a hint of indifference could be clearly heard:

"Okay, Commander, we will obey your reasonable orders.

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But I want to remind you again that every order you issue concerns the safety of an imperial special envoy and the son of a duke.

I hope you will be very cautious, cherish the command you have in your hands, and do not abuse it.

In addition, I also have a suggestion.

This Mr. Kulikov has been to 'Starfall Valley' before and has relatively rich exploration experience. With him as an assistant, the risk of this operation will be reduced even more.

Please forgive his behavior just now. Opportunities to show your face in front of an imperial special envoy are not common.

You should be able to understand the Baron's excitement."

Cohen didn't slap a smiling face. Since the son of a duke had already said this much, he didn't need to make things difficult and replied calmly:

"I will seriously consider your suggestion. I hope we can have a successful outcome this time."

… …

Late at night, a group of people bathed in the cold moonlight, standing at the entrance to the path leading to "Starfall Valley."

Cohen and the Duke's eldest son, Eiffel O, walked at the front.

Arnold and the explorer Kulikov guarded the sides.

Windsor Drehler and Nefertis were in the middle.

Margaret, a Rank 4 Life Domain priest, followed closely behind with Freya.

Asuna was responsible for guarding the rear alone.

Looking at the mist in front of them, an unknown fear enveloped their hearts.

Cohen's steady voice rang out in the team:

"There is no Nightmare Mist in the outer area of 'Starfall Valley', but be careful of the strange creatures lurking in the dark.

The creatures in the outer area are only Rank 4 at most. You two are responsible for the safety of the team.

Follow my orders."

The last two sentences were addressed to Arnold and Kulikov.

A strange look flashed in Kulikov's eyes, obviously surprised that Cohen knew so much about "Starfall Valley."

Eiffel O, who was next to Cohen, heard this, and the worried look on his face lessened a lot.

Having someone who is familiar with "Starfall Valley" as the commander will reduce the risk infinitely.

The group stepped into the valley. In an instant, the sounds of birds and insects that had been ringing in their ears suddenly disappeared.

The whole world also brightened up.

Everyone looked up and saw shining stars adorning the sky directly above the valley, illuminating the steep cliffs on both sides of the valley.

Cohen's voice rang out in everyone's ears:

"Don't rely on your sense of direction. The rules here will distort people's perception. Look up at the sky. There is a red star in the northwest.

Follow the direction of the red star and you will reach the ruins."

Kulikov in front couldn't help but turn around and ask:

"Aren't we supposed to follow the green star?

The red star leads to the most dangerous path!"

Cohen didn't explain, and Arnold had already taken the lead and walked towards the red star.

Eiffel O was stunned for a moment, looked at Windsor Drehler who had already started moving behind him, and followed.

Kulikov's face was flushed with憋屈. He cursed a few times in his heart and reluctantly did as Cohen said.

After walking a few steps, the group clearly felt that the temperature in the valley was lower.

Everyone was a Transcendent, so normally, ordinary temperature changes would no longer affect them.

But everyone still felt a hint of coldness. This was the distorted rule of "Starfall Valley", which caused the Transcendent power to become disordered here.

Eiffel O asked in a low voice:

"Commander, what is the difference between the red star you mentioned just now and the green star that Kulikov mentioned?"

Cohen knew that the other party had also been affected by Kulikov's words and had ideas in his mind.

He didn't answer directly, but asked Kulikov:

"When you followed the green star before, did you find the ruins in the end?"

Kulikov immediately stopped talking.

After walking for a while, Cohen suddenly said:

"There is a situation ahead, be prepared."

Kulikov was stunned for a moment and frowned slightly:

"Just a small water snake."

Kulikov had a nonchalant expression on his face, treating Cohen's words as wind in his ears, and didn't do anything.

Arnold beside him reacted quickly, activating the power of the咒印 on his hand, and his right arm petrified.

Almost in an instant, with a whoosh, a colorful flying snake shot out from the cliff on one side of the valley like a bolt of lightning, attacking them.

When the flying snake came to Kulikov and Arnold.

The former realized that this was not an ordinary water snake when he saw the flaming wings on both sides of the snake's body. This was simply a Rank 2 magical beast, the Scarlet Feathered Serpent!

Only then did Kulikov hurriedly use his magic power to prepare to fight back.

Arnold on the side had already taken the first step and grabbed the Scarlet Feathered Serpent with his petrified hands.

Cohen's voice followed closely:

"Don't kill it. Scarlet Feathered Serpents are social creatures. There should be a Scarlet Feathered Serpent nest nearby.

Break its wings so it can't return to the nest for the time being, and we'll leave here quickly."

At this moment, Kulikov's face became extremely embarrassed, and he stammered:

"Sorry… sorry, I was slow to react."

The disdain in his heart was swept away, and at the same time, he was very surprised by the Scarlet Feathered Serpent that had just attacked.

The Scarlet Feathered Serpent was just an ordinary Bronze Rank magical beast, and he possessed the [Explorer]'s talent skill—Danger Perception.

But why didn't he receive any warning beforehand?

Too weird.

Cohen turned around and said to everyone:

"Everyone, welcome to 'Starfall Valley'.

The rules here are completely different from what you have experienced before.

Due to the influence of the power of the stars, every magical beast here, even if it is only Rank 1, can hide its aura completely!

So, don't trust your own judgment and perception.

Here, the only thing you can trust is me!"