The agreed meeting time had arrived, and Chip and Shuma both returned to the small square where they had previously separated almost at the same time, but the other two were still nowhere to be seen.

"Has His Highness not arrived yet?" Shuma anxiously scanned the surroundings. Originally, she had suggested sticking close to Tiran, but her suggestion had been firmly rejected. What if something happened to His Highness...

"Miss Shuma, there's no need to be so nervous. Although the underground city is a semi-illegal area, it is usually governed by influential forces. Even if there are criminals here, they have to behave. Besides, His Highness is exceptionally powerful. There aren't many people who can pose a threat to her." Chip smiled reassuringly at the knight.

"Oh, you're already here," Aya's voice came from the entrance of the square. Seeing the two slowly approaching, Chip breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he had comforted Shuma earlier, he himself was a bit anxious. This was a princess after all. If something unexpected happened, it would turn into a diplomatic incident...

But upon closer inspection, there was another tall figure following behind the two.

When they got closer, Shuma looked at the new man with some confusion and asked, "Your Highness, who is this..."

In the next moment, her pupils suddenly contracted. As a covert knight, she was responsible for investigating and apprehending wanted criminals, and this man happened to be one of them. He carried a warrant from the four pillars of the kingdom's nobility and was charged with attacking the royal family.

"Byonrih! I now arrest you in the capacity of a law enforcement officer of the Milanía Kingdom's Cross Knights! Prepare yourself!" Shuma instinctively pulled Tiran and Aya behind her and drew her sword, pointing it at the bewildered Byonrih.

"Hold on, Shuma! This guy is our teammate now!"

..........

Half an hour ago.

"Silver War Maiden?!" When Byonrih heard Tiran mention her name, his face changed drastically. He took two steps back, drew his large sword with both hands and held it in front of him, attracting the attention of the passersby. They automatically avoided the area, creating an empty space.

Why was she here? Has the Milanía royal family been able to trace him here? Damn it, he shouldn't have been greedy for the 200,000 gold coins and accepted the commission in the first place!

Byonrih had long heard of the titles Silver War Maiden and White Knight, as well as the reputation of a dragon slayer. If he had known in advance that he was going to attack this princess, he would not have accepted it no matter what - though he was confident in his own abilities, he didn't believe he could single-handedly face an adult dragon, let alone kill a dragon slayer who had killed dragons.

But now, Milanía had issued a warrant for him, and the Silver War Maiden had personally come to capture him. Even if he knew he was no match, he had to tough it out!

He was now relieved that he had come alone, at least he wouldn't involve his comrades in the group. If he stayed out of contact for more than a week, the vice captain would automatically assume the position of acting captain, and the rest of the team would be able to overcome this difficulty.

"If you want a fight, then let's fight! Let me see the power of a dragon slayer!"

Byonrih let out a low roar, and blood-red patterns faintly appeared beneath his skin, ready to unleash his full power.

"Calm down." However, Tiran showed no intention of preparing for battle. She didn't even activate Chi, and just stood there casually, waving her hand at Byonrih. "I have no intention of causing trouble for you."

Bairnlich's face twitched slightly as he listened. The battle scars beneath his skin temporarily faded, but he remained on guard. "Not trouble me? What do you mean?"

Bairnlich, who had survived countless life-and-death situations while traveling, was not easily convinced by anyone other than his fellow comrades in the guild. But he was also puzzled. The girl he had just spoken to must have recognized him, considering her strength as a Silver War Maiden, she could have easily attacked or captured him without the need to confront him openly later...

"Well, if you're curious, let's talk somewhere else. I don't like being surrounded," Tiran shrugged and pushed Aya aside, walking to the side.

Only then did Bairnlich notice that in addition to the crowd that had dispersed several tens of meters away, there were more than a dozen grey-robed dungeon guardians surrounding them. These enigmatic figures all possessed great power and perfect coordination. Once there was conflict or any threat within the city, they would intervene according to the city's rules, either expelling, capturing, or even eliminating individuals.

If Bairnlich had lost control and attacked just now, it was more likely that he would have been besieged by these guardians instead of being defeated by the Silver War Maiden.

With a complex mood, Bairnlich sheathed his greatsword on his back, took a deep breath, and followed Tiran's footsteps.

In the narrow alley between two buildings, Tiran and Aya stopped, while Bairnlich stood five steps away from them.

"Your Highness said you're not going to trouble me. Is that true?"

"Ah, of course it's true," Tiran and Aya exchanged a glance and smiled meaningfully, "but there is a condition. Bairnlich, how about making a deal?"

.........

"So, Your Highness, you agreed to clear the charges for this wanted criminal? This despicable, lowly scum?" Shuma couldn't believe it as she looked at Tiran, raising her voice, "How could you easily clear the highest level of wanted status? We should capture him immediately--"

"Hey hey, little miss, I agreed to help out because of the Silver War Maiden's face, not because I'm begging you guys to clear my charges," Bairnlich crossed his arms with a displeased expression, "Besides... I can't tolerate despicable behavior either. Even though our Snow Wolf Guild does illegal things, we still have principles."

"Tsk, he's obviously a criminal. Does he have the qualification to talk about character?" Shuma sneered disdainfully, but at least she sheathed her sword back.

"In any case, Your Highness, what do you mean by asking this person to help?" Chip asked curiously.

"It's about the clues related to Chirp. We finally found something," Aya pointed to the central area of the underground city in the distance, "The Relic War, Dungeon & Warrior."

"You mean that competition?" Chip was taken aback. He had heard about it before. It was said to be a large-scale battle survival competition organized by the mysterious management of the underground city, where the winner could obtain extremely valuable rewards.

"Yes, it's related to the hidden forces in this city, and the 'reward' for the winner is said to be precious alchemy cores..." Aya clenched her fist.

"Wait, so it's that?!" Chip's eyes widened. He hadn't considered that connection at all, after all, it was a bit... strange to link a living person with a prize.

"Yes... which is why even the organizers behind it cannot be spared this time," Tiran's smile had a hint of darkness on his face.

After a moment, in the city's central square.

A giant pillar stood in the center of the square, supporting the massive underground space like the mythical pillar that held up the heavens in ancient legends. And below the pillar was the registration area for the Ruins War tournament of Dungeon and Warriors.

"I already understand the basic rules. Now I need to consider whether to participate or not," Aya said as she carefully studied the instruction manual she had just received from the registration area.

This large-scale "war" competition, organized by the Dungeon authorities, was the first of its kind even in this city, which existed somewhere between legality and illegality.

The competition was held in the undeveloped ruins three levels below the city. If you were to describe it in terms of Chips at the beginning, it would be "the underground of the underground of the underground."

Before the competition begins, each participant will receive a small space storage ring that is marked with a participant number and linked to their personal identity. They will then be teleported to a random location on the third level underground through a departure magic array.

Various items are scattered randomly in the ruins, including ordinary gold and silver treasures, valuable magic gems, and even enchanted swords and magic guns. Additionally, there are also unknown numbers of bloodthirsty monsters roaming the ruins.

The goal of the participants is to enter the ruins and collect these treasures. Different treasures represent different scores, and the collected treasures can be stored in the ring. The participant with the highest score at the end will be the winner. However, even if they do not win, participants can still leave with the treasures they have obtained.

"The organizers are quite generous," Tiran said, looking at the rules.

"Not that simple," Chip pointed at the last rule.

Killing is allowed to plunder.

With only four words, the nature of the competition suddenly changed from treasure hunting to a life-threatening death game. This place is a semi-illegal dungeon, and those who come to participate are not good people. Can we really expect them to negotiate peacefully?

"I, Tiran, will handle it," Tiran confidently thumbs up, "With this prince around, I can take on anyone."

Compared to this rule, the princess is more concerned about another one.

"Within one day, the magic barrier will gradually shrink from the outer periphery towards the center. Once a participant falls outside the barrier or dies, the ring will teleport the participant or their corpse out."

This feature feels somewhat familiar... gather supplies, run from poison... huh, is this strange game a mix of Tomb Raider and Battle Royale?