The small buildings where these island guardians lived were scattered throughout the mountain forest. Just by looking at the sheer number of these buildings, Lin Lei could tell that the island guardian force was a truly terrifying number.
"To maintain such a massive army of Highgod warriors, these five great families really are powerful," Lin Lei couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Maintaining an army required paying salaries—after all, no one was willing to work for someone else for free. Highgod warriors generally commanded high pay.
Maintaining a huge army required staggering wealth.
But looking at the flow of people through the Battle Arena and Freedom Castle, he understood that Miluo Island's profits were astonishing.
"We're here," O'Brien said with a smile.
"O'Brien, this building has an enormous footprint," Lin Lei said in surprise, looking at the residence before him. The place was nearly ten times the size of an ordinary small building. Inside a tall walled compound stood three separate buildings, each with a distinctive style, and carvings adorned the walls.
O'Brien laughed. "This is Tarosha's residence. Any top warrior with a hundred-victory record who joins the island guardian force gets accommodations and pay far beyond the ordinary. I was also assigned a small building, but normally we all stay here at Tarosha's. He's got the space!"
Saying that, O'Brien pushed open the door and walked in.
"Hm, O'Brien, you're back," a voice called out. On the green lawn to one side of the courtyard, a green-haired man sat cross-legged in meditation—it was Tarosha!
Tarosha turned his head and was speaking, but suddenly he froze, staring at the four people behind O'Brien. When Lin Lei saw Tarosha's expression, he deliberately flashed a wide grin.
Whoosh! Tarosha was instantly before them.
"Ha ha!" Tarosha slapped Lin Lei on the shoulder. "Lin Lei, you guys actually came too! This is really something. This Underworld is so vast, yet we actually run into each other. Ha ha..." Tarosha was visibly excited and happy.
"Bei Bei, Lord Bebitu actually let you come to the Underworld?" Tarosha noticed Bei Bei.
Bei Bei pursed his lips. "What, not allowed?"
"Of course, of course." Tarosha immediately ushered everyone inside. "Come, let's all sit down. Di Lin, Xisai, and the others are all out—really!"
Lin Lei and the others sat down with smiles. Tarosha bustled about entertaining them. "You really picked a good time. I went out on patrol today and just got back not long ago. That we people from the Yulan Continent can gather here like this—it must be fate!"
Lin Lei was happy too, chatting away. When they got to how he and Olivier had met, the Amethyst Mountain Range naturally came up, though Lin Lei and the others glossed over it in a single sentence. Tarosha didn't seem to care at all.
Or rather, he didn't realize what it meant that they'd come out of the Amethyst Mountain Range safely!
Well, that was understandable.
Tarosha was a Highgod, yes. But he'd been in the Underworld too short a time—his understanding of the place was mostly from books. Geography books typically only gave a brief description of the Amethyst Mountain Range. Lin Lei had read those same books himself, but until he'd actually been there, he hadn't known how dangerous it truly was.
Creak! The courtyard gate swung open, and in walked a dark-haired man reeking of alcohol, his eyes glazed, radiating an air of total decay—it was Xisai!
Seeing Xisai like this, Lin Lei couldn't help but sigh. The man who once reveled among a hundred flowers had ended up like this. The world really was unpredictable.
"Xisai!" Lin Lei called out.
Hearing someone call his name, Xisai didn't react at first. He glanced casually at Lin Lei and continued toward his quarters. But after two or three steps, he stopped, turned back, and looked at Lin Lei. His unfocused eyes slowly brightened.
"Lin Lei?" There was disbelief in Xisai's voice.
"Xisai, it's been a long time!" Lin Lei grinned.
"Ha ha, Xisai, it's me, Bei Bei!" Bei Bei immediately jumped forward.
Xisai took a deep breath. Divine power surged through his body, and the smell of alcohol vanished instantly—he was much more alert. A rare smile appeared on his face. "Lin Lei, you've come to the Underworld too? When did you arrive?"
Xisai launched into rapid-fire questions, and Lin Lei and the others chatted warmly in return.
Although Lin Lei already knew what had happened with Xisai, he still hoped Xisai's mood would improve. And clearly, the arrival of these old friends from the Yulan Continent had given Xisai a bit of a lift.
"Lin Lei, talk with Xisai some more. Remember—whatever you do, don't mention Sally," Tarosha transmitted via divine sense. Right now, Xisai's condition was the best it had been in a long while.
"I understand."
Lin Lei responded, but he was also curious—what was so special about Sally that she could make even a carefree spirit like Xisai so obsessed?
Miluo Island, Western Island—the residences of the five great families. At their center stood the territory of the Bagshaw family. Among the five families, the Bagshaws were the most prominent, though their population was far smaller than the other four.
Precisely because of this, every member of the Bagshaw family held a relatively high status.
Right now, in the back garden of the Bagshaw ancestral mansion, two men—each about two meters twenty tall—walked side by side. One was a young man with short red hair; the other was a middle-aged man with long, flowing red hair.
If Lin Lei were here, he would have recognized the red-haired youth as none other than Sackla!
"Sackla, you need to pay special attention to that person in the Battle Arena—someone called Luomie!" The long-haired middle-aged man had thick brows and large eyes; his every gesture radiated dominance. "The servants report that Luomie is very likely a Seven-star Demon. He's already won ten consecutive victories several days running. Two more days and he'll have a full hundred victories!"
"Yes, Father!" Sackla replied respectfully.
Sackla's father, Baukway Bagshaw, was the patriarch of the Bagshaw family. Though Baukway had lived for countless years, he had only two children. That was how things were in the Bagshaw family—each member had very few children, and most had only one.
Having two was considered lucky.
"If he really is a Seven-star Demon, that's excellent. It's rare to encounter one—we can't let him slip away," Baukway said calmly.
"Understood, Father," Sackla said with a smile. "Father, I didn't get a chance to tell you before you left for the secret grounds. About seven or eight days ago, I ran into a powerful fighter at Freedom Castle. We had a minor disagreement. That fighter killed twelve Highgod warriors in a single move!"
"Killed twelve?" Baukway looked at him.
One move to kill twelve ordinary Highgod warriors—there were many fighters capable of that.