Diablo 2: Destruction

## Chapter 160: The Consequences of Destroying the Ecological Balance are Very Serious

The exit on the third floor of the Jail was in a place so concealed I couldn't describe it. If Baal hadn't led the way, perhaps even if I passed by, I would never have realized an exit was hidden there. When I looked at Baal with a gaze of admiration and asked him how he managed to find this godforsaken place, the four of them looked at me strangely for a long time. Then Baal pulled me back a short distance, until I couldn't sense the exit from there, and pointed at the Wall.

"Jail Exit →"

Several crooked large characters were carved on the dim Wall, as if afraid others wouldn't find them, followed by a blood-red Arrowhead the size of an anchor.

"My apologies, just pretend I didn't ask..."

I didn't know how to face the gazes of the four, who were struggling to hold back laughter.

Only when we squeezed inside did we realize that the exit Passage was much smaller than what our eyes could see, low and narrow, like a Mole's burrow. I really didn't know how those tall Barbarians managed to squeeze their bodies out of here.

As we walked forward, the Light ahead became increasingly abundant, reaching a Degree that felt dazzling to us, who were used to Magic Lamps. A fresh, sweet Gentle Breeze blew towards us from the front, sweeping away the stale, murky Air that had settled in our noses and lungs, making us feel much lighter.

We greedily breathed in the fresh Air, slowing our Pace as much as possible to allow our eyes to gradually adapt to the increasingly strong Light. After walking for about a few minutes, our Vision suddenly brightened, and the entire View opened up.

"Is this the Inner Cloister?"

I slightly shielded my eyes from the dazzling Light and carefully surveyed the Surroundings. This was an abandoned Small Courtyard overgrown with weeds. The exit was located on a rockery in the center of a small pond within the Courtyard. However, the water in the pond had long since dried up, and lush wild Grass had even grown on the accumulated mud at the bottom. If the pond were filled with water and a suitable Stone were used to block the exit, it's estimated that no one would ever guess that such an escape exit was hidden on the rugged rockery in the center of the pond.

"According to the Seniors, the Waypoint in the Inner Cloister is easy to find, it seems to be near the exit."

The four of them naturally wouldn't rush out for a Trial like I did. Before we Depart, they had already gathered a lot of useful information.

"Sigh... truly..."

Baal sighed in disappointment. For a Labyrinth Fanaticism enthusiast, the task of "searching" had almost become his Instinct.

"Look, it should be there..."

Just as we walked out of the small pond's range, the sharp-eyed Nicole Yadi pointed to the opposite side and said.

Following her hand, a faint wisp of green smoke seemed to be drifting in the Sky not far away. If this wasn't the Dark Demon Land Camp, then that must be the Waypoint.

Soon, the scene that appeared in our Vision confirmed our guess. In a clean and tidy open space, the familiar Teleportation Array, shimmering with Mysterious Magic patterns, was located there, with a large Campfire lit beside it – because the place chosen for a Waypoint is generally not discovered by Monsters. So, even if the Campfire is a bit large, it doesn't Matter.

At this time, four people were sitting around the Campfire. Hmm... four? Weren't there only three Guards before? Has the Quantity increased starting from the Inner Cloister?

The four people also noticed our arrival. One of the "Guards" seemed particularly enthusiastic and came running over from a distance.

"Lord. Please accept my condolences..."

The Amazon beside me looked at me with a gaze of pity.

What does that mean? Just as I was pondering Nicole Yadi's words, the person who was enthusiastically coming towards us from afar suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar.

"Young Wu, it really is you, you bastard... I'm going to castrate you today."

"Pfft..."

I almost choked. Isn't that Kashya's Voice? I squinted my eyes and looked closely. No mistake, the Figure rapidly "coming" towards us was so familiar!

"Lord, we'll be going ahead..."

Facing the first female Archfiend of the Rogue Encampment, the other four completely disregarded the camaraderie from fighting together these past few days and abandoned me without hesitation.

"Wait..."

Just as I was about to appeal to their emotions, explain the principles, and give countless examples to prove the historical inevitability of sharing weal and woe, Kashya had somehow rushed up and blocked me before I could speak. Her eyes were filled with malicious gazes, making me swallow hard.

"What's wrong? Lady Kashya, what Matter requires your esteemed presence..."

Feeling guilty, my Tone also became fawning. Looking closely at Kashya now, I realized she looked a bit rough. Although her usual Image was quite casual, especially when drunk, she still always looked like a woman. But now, her originally wild, wine-red Hair was messy and black, covered in Dust, looking as withered and listless as an eggplant after frost. Her face and Clothes were also covered in dirty Soil, looking as dishevelled as a Worker just coming off a construction site.

"You, oh, you..."

Kashya glared, a hint of wicked Smile pulling at the Corner of her mouth, immediately setting off an alarm in my heart – this was a sign before her outburst.

"Don't you know how much trouble you've caused me? Didn't your mother tell you not to randomly destroy public property? You bastard..."

Too late. Just as I wanted to turn and run, Kashya grabbed my collar and shook me desperately at the Speed of an exhaust fan, muttering incoherent vulgar words.

"Wait... Lady Kashya, could you please explain it a bit more clearly, so I can at least die a quick death."

Under Kashya's high-frequency earth-shattering Attack, I was dizzy and disoriented in no time, unable to distinguish directions.

"Tell me, did you destroy the Walls on the first and second floors of the Jail..."

After a long while, Kashya finally let go and interrogated me, who was propped up on the ground due to the spinning world, without any sympathy.

"I think. Well, probably..."

"Very good, very good..." Kashya seemed to show signs of Blackening again.

"Wait, although I know what I did was wrong, you don't have to be so Wrathful, right? Why are you so insistent on making us Adventurers go through that damned Labyrinth? This kind of Trial isn't necessary, is it?"

Taking advantage of the slight trace of Reason she still had, I quickly asked.

"Are you an idiot? Whether you can go through the Labyrinth is none of my business. As for some Trial, that's just wishful thinking, it's not like that at all..."

Kashya glared, casually saying words that could chill the hearts of all Adventurers. I thought, aren't you afraid that after hearing this, I'll abandon the darkness and turn to the Light, running into the embrace of the Freedom Alliance?

After Kashya's barrage of explanations, I finally understood that the Rule preventing the destruction of the Jail was not, as I initially thought, established "to train Adventurers' Ability to handle the Labyrinth."

As is well known. Monsters cherish their Homeland very much. Accordingly, almost every group of Monsters has its own Domain. Once others invade, they will fight desperately until one side is completely wiped out.

And the problem lies here. Although the Respawn location of Monsters is random, it's normal for a group of Monsters to occasionally step onto another group's Territory and trigger a fight. However, overall, after thousands of years of coordination, the entire Jail has formed a delicate balance, allowing most Monsters to have their own Territory, maintaining a situation where there is no major chaos, but minor disturbances persist.

My act of destroying the Walls was like two pools of water originally separated by a Wall, and now the Wall was broken by me. The water on both sides began to merge. Of course, Monsters are not water. When Monsters who were originally unrelated meet each other, no one knows what will happen. It was precisely to prevent this situation that might cause unknown chaos that the Rogue Encampment strictly prohibited Adventurers from destroying the Jail. Not just the Jail, but other Terrain as well.

Huh? I didn't expect there to be such a reason. Should I describe it as a kind of Ecological Balance? And my actions were like breaking certain links in the Ecological Balance. If that's the case, then I'm truly sinful.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, I looked at Kashya with an apologetic gaze.

"Do you know how serious the consequences of your actions are? Most importantly..."

Kashya pointed at her messy Hair, then pulled out a small shovel from her Inventory, glaring at me with a face full of resentment. To be honest, she looked quite funny right now...

"You had a great time on your Trial, didn't you? Did you ever think that while you were happily Leveling Up and Dropping Equipment, there was someone working themselves to exhaustion helping you clean up, squatting on the ground and repairing the damaged Walls little by little, only finishing a few hours ago, just getting back to the Waypoint slightly ahead of you?"

After speaking, she even waved that funny shovel in front of me a few times. This meant that I had been on Trial in the Jail for five days, and she had also been repairing the Jail for a full five days. So that's it, no wonder she looked like a cement worker. I could now understand her Wrath...

"To think I worked so diligently to create a stable environment for your Trials..."

Seeing Kashya feign wiping a tear from her face, giving me a look that said 'you know what to do', I sighed. It seemed I was going to be heavily extorted again this time.

"Oh, right..."

I suddenly had a flash of inspiration and pulled out Maldas's Cleaver from my Inventory. Speaking of this cleaver, it was truly speechless. Besides having a slightly higher Attack, it was completely useless otherwise. The Stats of controlling 10 Shamans were definitely more for entertainment than practical use, because other Fallen, Dark Ones, etc., couldn't be controlled at all. The function was too single, and after the novelty wore off, it started to feel boring and useless.

"What is this? Let me make it clear beforehand, don't try to fob me off with some Junk."

Kashya looked suspiciously at this Greatsword that had no Glow. Her first thought was that it was cheap goods. But after carefully examining it, she realized that she had never seen a Greatsword of this shape before.

"This... Where did this come from?"

When she took it and saw the Stats attached to it, she couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

I described the process of obtaining this cleaver. Of course, with Kashya's Gossip, the part about inciting Lazy Crow but ending up losing more than I gained was something I would absolutely not say. The final script was that the wise Lord Wu Fan, using artistic Tactics, provoked two Bosses to fight each other, and finally reaped the benefits...

"So there was such a Boss hidden in the Barracks. It seems I need to investigate properly..." After listening, Kashya lowered her Head and pondered for a while, then sighed.

From a manager's perspective, I could probably understand the reason for her sigh – there are so many Strongest Experts in Hell. Every time a Mini-Boss is discovered, it's a disaster for Sanctuary...

"However..."

After sighing, Kashya looked at the Great Cleaver with sparkling eyes and said seriously.

"Tell me, if we use this cleaver to bring Shamans back for the Students in the Training Camp to practice with, how high is the feasibility of this method? You must have used this cleaver, right? To what Degree can it Bind Shamans? Can you explain it to me in detail?"

"..."

I stared blankly at Kashya. This Greatsword, whose Stats seemed like a toy to me, I originally thought that after Kashya got it, she would at most catch a few Shamans and take them around the Rogue Encampment to show off. I never thought it could have such a function. At this moment, I realized that Kashya was absolutely worthy of her position. Although she usually seemed lax and lacked a sense of responsibility, as if she didn't care about anything, on the side we couldn't see, her heart always put the entire Rogue Encampment first...

Thanks to this cleaver, Kashya had completely forgotten about finding trouble with me. After only a few sentences, she was already impatiently stepping into the Waypoint. It seemed she was going to test it herself. Pray for those Shamans...