Chapter 448 - 359: Passage 13 (Part 2)

Chapter 448: Chapter 359: Passage 13 (Part 2)

"Can they really just join a squad and behave?" Zelir asked.

"That’s also what I wanted to remind you about."

Hill said coolly.

"You have to remember one thing. Many of these guys have spent their entire lives in the business of killing... Even if they join an Adventurer Squad, they might not be able to break that habit."

"To them, taking out a squad that’s already found something is far more profitable than risking their own necks exploring."

"So, you still have to be careful."

"Like the Drake Squad before?" Zelir said.

"The Drake Squad was just plain stupid."

Hill shook her head. "I’ve never seen anyone dare to rob and kill people like that..."

"Indeed." Zelir chuckled.

He quite agreed on that point.

The squad members set out again.

They began to cross the first level of the ruins. Along the way, they didn’t encounter any mindless Demons looking to get themselves killed and smoothly arrived at the light curtain of the Ruined Temple.

Their luck was good, and so was the weather.

It was early morning on the second level of the ruins. Cool mountain breezes blew past, refreshing the spirit.

After properly stabling their Land Birds at the camp, the squad proceeded on foot toward the cave where the Nine-headed Dragon Snake had been.

The Adventurer’s Association really was efficient.

After the battle with the Nine-headed Dragon Snake, the flat ground in front of the cave had been a total mess, but now it was all cleaned up.

But just as they stepped into the cave tunnel, the squad members heard a series of miserable screams and wails coming from deep within.

"Hm?"

Gray subconsciously drew his sword a few inches, his brows knitting together.

"What’s that noise... Is it haunted in there?"

"Be careful... Everyone, stay close to me." Marcus held his Shield in front of him and advanced slowly.

The journey forward was uneventful.

It wasn’t until they reached the large cavern that they realized where the screams were coming from.

The fleshy mass of the Nine-headed Dragon Snake that had originally been piled in the center of the hall was now completely gone.

The place had been converted into... a small medical area?

The ground was densely packed with many Simple cots, all of them occupied by the injured.

The condition of the injured was shocking to behold.

One person had a barbed Crossbow Arrow piercing their shoulder blade, likely from triggering some kind of mechanism.

Another had a gaping, bloody gash across their chest, clearly the result of a swinging axe trap.

There were others with broken legs, severed hands, and feet pierced through.

The most miserable were a few Adventurers whose bodies were half-corroded by acid.

The exposed flesh was already charred black and was still emitting wisps of white smoke.

They looked much more severely injured than the wounded in the first-level great hall, and there were several times as many of them. It even felt like there weren’t enough beds.

Adventurers who could afford it could receive immediate pain-relief treatment from an Empowerment Mage to save their lives.

While Adventurers who were short on cash could only accept treatment from an ordinary Physician—which was nothing more than sprinkling some analgesic powder and cleaning and bandaging the wound.

After they regained their mobility, they would have to return to Sengu Town for further treatment.

Empowerment Mages and ordinary Physicians shuttled back and forth between the many injured, extremely busy.

Two people rushed past carrying a Simple stretcher, on which an Adventurer lay face down.

A huge Beast Trap was clamped onto his buttocks, dripping with blood.

Just looking at it was painful...

"What... is this situation?"

Zelir was a little shocked. "Is the casualty rate on the third level this high?"

Marcus scratched his head, having never seen such a scene either.

Among the Empowerment Mages stationed in this medical area, there was a familiar figure.

Mage Shaman.

Zelir went over to greet him.

"Hey, Mage Shaman."

"Ah... it’s you lot."

Seeing Zelir and the others, Shaman nodded slightly. "All rested up? Ready to explore the third level of the ruins?"

"Yeah, it’s just this scene..."

Zelir pointed to the injured. "It’s a bit frightening."

"They’re all just unlucky fools who stepped on traps. Dazzled by Gold Coins, they rush in one batch after another as if eager to die..."

Shaman shook his head.

"You must have heard about the spoils from the third level ruins, right? People are willing to take the risk to explore, thinking about opening treasure chests."

"Men die in pursuit of wealth," Zelir remarked with a sigh.

As they spoke, the light curtain rippled, and a four-person squad emerged from it.

Although they also carried signs of fatigue and injury, they all looked very excited.

They were trying their best to suppress their joy, but their twitching eyebrows and the corners of their mouths couldn’t hide it.

’They probably got something good from a treasure chest, huh?’

They talked and laughed loudly as they walked, a stark contrast to the wailing Adventurers lying on the ground next to them.

’Joy and sorrow truly are not shared.’

"Alright, we should head in too." Marcus waved them over.

"Mage Zelir, be careful," Shaman specifically advised.

"Got it." Zelir nodded.

Passing through the light curtain, the squad members finally arrived at the third level of the ruins.

It was still the same underground labyrinth as before.

Some rest and supply areas were set up in the circular stone hall, where many Adventurer Squads were making preparations.

A common area had been spontaneously cleared out by everyone in the center of the hall.

A bonfire burned within it, bringing warmth to the underground labyrinth.

Zelir’s gaze swept around casually. With a slight twitch of his ears, he could pick up a lot of information from the others’ conversations.

"I’m telling you... Passage number seven is a definite no-go!"

"It’s full of poison-tipped blow darts that shoot out of the walls! If our squad’s third member hadn’t been a fast runner, he would’ve been turned into a pincushion!"

"What about passage number four? Last time we got halfway through and ran into a damn Rockfall Trap, so we didn’t dare go any further."

"Number four? Number four’s alright."

"Passage number four has a fork... Don’t go the way of the Rockfall Trap. Find a reliable Assassin to bypass it and dismantle the trap from behind."

"I heard number four hasn’t been explored much yet... If you get past it, you’ll definitely find a lot of treasure chests!"

"For real?! Then we’ll take number four next time!"

"Yesterday we only found one Rotten Wood Treasure Chest and got a useless dagger out of it... Such bad luck."

"Getting a dagger isn’t bad... Dammit, last time I found a Bronze Treasure Chest, and it was empty!"

In the midst of these conversations, a fully rested Adventurer Squad would occasionally get up.

They would choose a path they believed to be full of rewards and step into it with passion.

All the passages in the underground circular stone hall were numbered clockwise.

The one due north was number one, and the rest followed in sequence.

Marcus scanned the area and quickly selected the entrance to the passage for which he had planned a route.

It was passage number thirteen.

The five-person squad arrived at the entrance of passage number thirteen.

At a rough glance, the scene was no different from last time, except for many small stone balls scattered on the ground.

"Looks like someone has already scouted the path for us," Hill chuckled.

These small stone balls were the most basic method for detecting traps.

They could at least deal with some trigger-based Earth Spike Traps.

"Even so, we still need to be careful."

Marcus said cautiously, "Let’s go!"

This time, the squad’s marching formation was different.

Hill was no longer at the rear.

She had to scout ahead, exploring and ensuring the team wouldn’t fall into any traps.

So was Marcus.

He unfolded the map and began to lead the squad along the planned route.

After passing through the corridor, the squad turned left.

The footprints of other Adventurers had already reached this place.

On the ground, one could occasionally see stone balls used for scouting, as well as the remains of simple, long-since-triggered traps.

Such as scattered Crossbow Arrows, or a few obvious pressure plates.

However, Marcus wasn’t worried that someone would beat them to the treasure room.

Because the underground labyrinth was simply too large, its layout was extremely complex, and the treasure room was very remote.

Without a map, there was absolutely no chance of stumbling upon it by accident.

"Alright... from here, we’ll keep going straight..."

Marcus identified the route.

"After passing through the gallery ahead, turn left, then go up the spiral staircase. Once we reach the second-level platform, we’ll continue straight..."

"At the intersection with seven forks, take the third path from the left."