Since Ryan planted the breadfruit tree, he noticed that the surrounding dark elves looked at him with grateful eyes. Most of these elves were older, and quite a few were giving him flirtatious glances. Ryan wasn't exactly a gentleman, but he wasn't someone to be easily swayed either. The main reason was that the dark elves seemed too old for him. Most adult elves were over 50 years old, which put a lot of pressure on Ryan. Despite the fact that these dark elf women were relatively attractive, tall with pointed ears, Ryan couldn't help but feel uncomfortable thinking about some of the elves who could easily pass for his great-grandmother. He couldn't bring himself to act on their advances.
In these few short days, Ryan had also noticed a strange phenomenon. Despite not using the Water of Life, the breadfruit tree grew just as lush as it would have if it had been watered with it. The tree was similar to the banyan tree on Earth, and within just three days, the tree had covered an entire city block. Now, the city of Muan was a small town by the standards of the Darklands, with only four city blocks, and it was located towards the lower ranks of the region, mostly populated by dwarves and dark elves. Humans were nearly absent since both dwarves and dark elves avoided interacting with them. Ryan, however, was an exception, and he felt there was a huge secret in Muan City. For instance, the number of ancient war trees was staggering, which was enough to shock anyone. The breadfruit tree seemed to follow the same pattern, which made Ryan focus his attention on uncovering the reasons behind this.
Meanwhile, the city lord was furious. For dark elves, maintaining graceful movements and an artistic stride were highly valued, but today, the city lord was enraged because a huge problem had arisen.
The city lord looked down at the guards standing below and at one who was lying unconscious on the ground. This was the captain of the guard, whom the city lord had sent out to deliver news. The captain had already passed out, but before losing consciousness, this level-6 magic archer had delivered some bad news: thousands of goblins were gathering, preparing to attack Muan City. Upon hearing this, the city lord immediately sounded the alarm, calling together all the high-level adventurers to discuss the situation. The city lord was so angry that he even smashed his favorite crystal scepter, a symbol of his authority.
"Uncle, what's going on? So many people." Ryan, inside the city lord's mansion, was greeted courteously by others, but he only knew Dex, so he immediately approached him to ask.
Dex smiled widely. Sweet foods were rare in the underground world, and Ryan's breadfruit tree, which bore fruit as sweet as bread, was highly appreciated. Dex eagerly responded, "Originally, this was a call to summon all the high-level adventurers, but since you're the only alchemist in Muan City, we thought we'd let you sit in, as this concerns the survival of Muan City..."
"Everyone, please quiet down, I have something to announce." At this moment, the city lord entered with graceful steps, interrupting Dex's words.
When the city lord saw everyone had quieted down, and after giving Ryan a brief nod and greeting him, he spoke loudly, "We've discovered thousands of goblins gathering 190 kilometers from the 13th passageway."
"What are goblins exactly?" After the city lord made his announcement, the others below turned pale, and Ryan, unable to contain his curiosity, asked.
Dex glanced at Ryan, sighed, and then replied, "Goblins are the indigenous people of the underground. They can wield weapons and live in colonies. A single goblin can easily defeat a second-tier warrior in one-on-one combat. Also, about 20% of goblins are mages, mostly fire mages. Their numbers usually range in the tens of thousands, almost like a human city."
Ryan could hardly believe his ears. The term "indigenous" meant they had adapted to the dark environment, and being able to wield weapons meant they could use human-made weapons. Their existence in colonies indicated a highly intelligent species. And having mages with such a high percentage—if even a thousand of them cast second-tier fireball spells, even a level-9 expert would have to avoid them. With at least thousands of mages in their ranks, the city lord's mansion, which had barely 30 high-level adventurers, including only one level-9 and a few level-8s, was in dire straits.
"We are at a critical juncture. Typically, a goblin hunting party would number at least hundreds of thousands, and there are only six passages leading out of here," the city lord said, his face grim. While Muan City was easy to defend, facing a goblin army numbering in the tens of millions, the high-level adventurers might escape, but what about the rest? Goblins were indigenous creatures adapted to the dark, and though high-level adventurers could flee, their families and the city's ancient war trees would be left behind. And those would be destroyed. The Joint Council, an organization managing the Darklands formed by high-level dwarves, dark elves, gnomes, and humans, had dozens of level-9 professionals. If any of the high-level adventurers escaped, they would not be let off the hook.
"There's nothing we can do but hold the line, then have high-level adventurers seek help," one suggested.
"Can we try defeating a portion of the goblins?" another offered.
"Are you crazy? If a goblin dies, it doesn't matter. If we try to defeat just a portion, Muan City would have been wiped out already."
"You..."
The crowd continued to exchange ideas, some even suggesting destroying the surrounding bridges, while others were shifting their eyes suspiciously, clearly with ill intentions.
"City Lord, what level is the goblin chief?" Ryan asked, after giving it some thought.
"Level 5," the city lord replied, his tone harsh.
"Is the chief different from the regular goblins?"
"Of course. Not only is he larger, but he's also about twice the size of a regular goblin. A normal goblin weighs only a few dozen pounds, but the chief weighs over 100 pounds."
"If the chief dies, will the goblins continue attacking?"
"No, they won't. If the chief dies, there will be a fight for leadership within the goblin group. However, chiefs usually have many warriors and mages around them, so it's rare for them to die."
Hearing this, Ryan's eyes lit up. "City Lord, I have a way to kill the goblin chief."