Endless World: The Rise of Leonard Lawson-Chapter 206: Underground Level

A few minutes had gone by, and Curtis’s face twisted into an ugly expression.

"Impossible... Those monsters’ features she spoke of are all considered lethal in their respective continents." As much as he wanted to believe Ellie was lying to him, his instinct was telling him that it was the truth.

Ellie tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t understand Curtis’s overreaction and wondered if it was because he hadn’t eaten yet.

"This Uncle should eat something." She murmured. While she remained unaware of the severity of her words, Leonard’s expression had turned complicated.

’No wonder Father easily agreed to let me take over Velastra. The true economic power was never on the surface level, but on the underground level.’ Leonard was certain that if he had left the city without ever dabbling in the slum, then he might have been kept in the dark forever.

Truly, one should never underestimate someone who could sit on the throne, commanding authority in the vast continent.

"What’s the matter, Master?" Ellie raised her concern when she suddenly sensed his uneasy movement.

"Could it be that the Master finds Ellie unsightly?" She fidgeted with her fingers anxiously and lowered her head. Too many times, she had seen people distancing themselves from her because they perceived her as abnormal and a monster in the disguise of a little girl’s appearance.

"Of course, not." Leonard snapped out of his daze and rubbed her head.

"How could Ellie be unsightly?"

"Then do you not find Ellie abnormal?"

"Why would I?"

Ellie pursed her lips and mentioned her past interaction.

Leonard wasn’t the first person to interact with her before, but all those who did ended up leaving her alone.

"They called me a monster for knowing too many things and speaking weirdly. Then there were moments of mean people who wanted to do bad things to Ellie." Ellie then revealed honestly how she put those mean people to sleep eternally.

Upon hearing that, Leonard’s heart throbbed.

Meanwhile, Curtis was alarmed and hurriedly took on a defensive stance. He wanted to distance Ellie from Leonard.

Based on Ellie’s previous statement, sleeping eternally meant death. In other words, Ellie had killed people before. Such a dangerous person shouldn’t be that close to Leonard.

Needless to say, Curtis’s action caused Ellie’s emotions to go down. His reaction was something she had frequently seen.

Just when Ellie thought she would be discarded again, Leonard’s action stunned her.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Leonard glared at Curtis and questioned.

He stepped forward and shielded Ellie from Curtis’s cold gaze.

"She is someone I recruited with a heavy price." He declared solemnly. "Without my permission, what gives you the right to treat her as hostile?"

"Master?" Ellie lifted her head up and glanced at Leonard in confusion. His reaction was something she didn’t anticipate.

"What? Are you trying to leave me after eating the porridge?" Leonard’s heart softened, and he patted her head. "Don’t even think about leaving me after eating my food. I do not allow people to dine and dash."

"Ellie won’t leave Master." She hurriedly clenched her small fist and promised.

"You better not. I fed you well."

Sometime later, Curtis cleared his throat and inquired, "Are we going to head to the underground slum?"

Leonard didn’t respond right away. He was concerned about the effect it would cause if he entered the underground level. Even though it wasn’t confirmed, the mere possibility that he may get embroiled in a broad geopolitical implication made him worried deeply.

With his current power and status, he still wasn’t up to par to confront the powers in other continents.

Hell, he couldn’t even control much of the Valdoria Continent either!

"Master, are you worried about the people on the underground level?" Ellie suddenly asked. "Ellie is strong and can protect the Master from danger."

"Danger, what type of danger is there?" Curious, Leonard wondered if Ellie still had some valuable intel.

He didn’t doubt she was concealing information, but rather that she might not understand what was considered valuable.

Sure enough, the leading question was on point.

"There are three sets of forces that we must avoid offending, Master." Ellie promptly explained.

Overall, the so-called forces were merely factions controlled by their respective organization.

"The Snake, Tiger, and Bear Factions." Even speaking their faction name made him want to laugh aloud. The simplicity in the name, followed by its clear intent that screamed evil, was truly something else.

However, what made Leonard slightly stunned was that neither of these factions was under the control of the Merchant Guild or Noble Faction.

In other words, the conclusion he had thought of previously had been cemented.

’These Factions were not something I can dabble in at the moment.’ He wasn’t being cowardly. He was being rational and understood his position well.

Treading on thin ice, his action to take control of the surface level was already the limitation. Any further, and he would really provoke multiple parties that could threaten his life.

Still, if he learned either one of these Factions harbored the assassin Redflow, then Leonard didn’t mind limit testing.

Sometime later, Curtis triggered the mechanism and brought everyone down to the underground level.

...

Underground Slum

10 Minutes Earlier...

As Claudia arrived at the underground level alongside Mirelle, the two were promptly greeted by a few guards.

These guards all exuded a cold aura, and the smell of blood could be sniffed from afar.

"The two of you seemed new." One of the guards narrowed their eyes and asked suspiciously. He scanned Claudia’s attire and demeanor before trying to shift toward Mirelle. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Hey, where are your eyes looking?" Claudia snapped. She stood in front of Mirelle, blocking the guard’s scanning eyes.

When the guard only caught a glimpse of Mirelle’s clothes, they no longer suspected much.

"Which faction do you hail from?" The guard questioned.

"Did the underground level go downhill that much?" Claudia rolled her eyes and introduced Mirelle.

"Our Lady is of the Noble Faction! Any more disrespect from you and I’ll have your Leader come out to apologize!"

’Are we having a fallout immediately?’ Mirelle held an indifferent expression, but was secretly nervous. She didn’t know why Claudia was being outspoken and close to having a bout with the guards.