Chapter 452 - 361: I’ve Lost Count

Chapter 452: Chapter 361: I’ve Lost Count

Another corpse had a gaping, mangled hole blown through its chest, clearly the work of a Middle Level Ranger’s Combat Energy Arrow.

And all four bodies had one thing in common.

Their faces were destroyed beyond recognition, making it impossible to identify them.

It was obvious this four-man squad had been fleeing in a panic while being hunted by Weber and his team. Two of them had mistakenly triggered an Earth Spike Trap.

The remaining two were finished off shortly after.

"So this is your handiwork?" Zelir glanced at Weber.

As if sensing the cold killing intent in Zelir’s words, Weber’s voice was already on the verge of tears.

"I... I was wrong! Lord Mage! I truly know I was wrong!"

"I was just blinded by Gold Coins for a moment! I beg you, please, give me another chance!"

He wailed, tears streaming down his face, and even tried to reach out and hug Zelir’s leg.

"I’ll never do it again! I swear! I’ll never dare to do such a vile and wicked thing again!"

"Actually... I’m actually a fan of yours!"

"That battle where you took down the Nine-headed Dragon Snake... I heard about it! You’re my idol!"

His false pleas for mercy were getting rather grating.

Zelir couldn’t be bothered to listen anymore.

A flash of blue light flared from the tip of the Night Peace Staff, and an Arcane Missile blew his head apart.

Weber’s headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

"Sigh..."

Looking at the scene before him, Zelir let out a long sigh.

’Something like this really puts a damper on the mood.’

"No wonder those guys were asking for a death wish."

Gray snorted. "So they were afraid we’d stumble upon their crime scene."

"What a bunch of reckless fools," Marcus said, shaking his head.

He glanced at the small dent the enemy Ranger had blasted into his Shield, a flicker of pain in his eyes.

"Can’t be helped. It’s because Zelir is a Mage."

Hill was already used to scenes like this. "They had no choice but to fight to the death."

"What’s that got to do with me?" Zelir asked, confused.

"Of course it does."

Hill smiled casually.

"If any other squad had passed by here... the Weber Squad might not have lashed out. The risk would have been too high."

"The most likely outcome is that they would have shared some of the loot... dragging the other party into it to keep the secret together."

"But unfortunately for them, Zelir happened to be in the squad this time."

"Mages as a group have always despised robbery and murder."

"And in their eyes, you, Zelir, are a famous Mage who would never keep a secret for a bit of petty profit."

"Well..."

Zelir frowned and thought about it.

’I guess that’s true...’

Even if they had offered to share the profits, I would never have colluded with them.

Even if I didn’t confront them on the spot, I probably would have mentioned it to the Adventurer’s Association afterward.

The Adventurer’s Association would have certainly taken a report from Zelir very seriously.

Right now, the Association has people guarding every light curtain exit of the ruins.

If the Weber Squad was fast, they might have been fine.

But if they were too slow, once the wanted posters went up, they’d probably have to hide in these ruins for the rest of their lives, never daring to go out.

So for them, the moment they saw Zelir, it meant there was no way out.

Their only option was to gamble on a successful ambush, then take the money and run.

Unfortunately... the power gap between the two sides was too great, so all we could do was send the Weber Squad on their way.

After finishing off Weber, Zelir and the others returned to the mural hall.

They moved quickly.

They gathered all the loot dropped by the dead members of the Weber Squad.

Aside from the equipment they were wearing,

Zelir and his team collected two Magic Crystals of decent purity and six Demon Cores.

They didn’t know what kind of Demons they were from, but three of the Demon Cores looked to be of the quality from a [Challenge]-rated Demon.

They must have all come from treasure chests.

There were also three life-saving Healing Potions.

The total value added up to nearly five hundred Gold Coins.

After all this was done, Zelir waved Night Peace and cast a spell.

Flame Control Skill.

A precise orange-red Flame ignited on the four bodies.

The four bodies blackened, twisted, and turned to ash in the blaze.

The strange smell of burning corpses drifted through the mural hall.

But the smell was quickly neutralized and masked by an Incense Stone.

A moment later, only fine, pale white ashes remained on the floor. No one would ever know what happened here.

"I was just thinking..."

Gray said, crossing his arms.

"If some Adventurers happened to pass by right now and saw us destroying the evidence... wouldn’t they get the wrong idea?"

"Well... that depends on who it is."

Hill took out a strange-looking bottle of purple liquid from his coat and poured it onto the ashes.

"TSSSSS..."

A sound like strong acid eating away at something rang out.

Then the ashes all dissolved and seeped into the cracks in the stone floor.

Zelir watched from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement.

’A true professional.’

"Any other squad might be misunderstood... but we have Zelir."

Hill continued after he had finished erasing the traces.

"In all the records since the Adventurer’s Association was founded, there has never been a single case of a Mage robbing and killing for treasure. Not once. So people would never even consider it."

"So even if we were caught right now, they would just ask a few curious questions. We’d explain, and that would be the end of it."

"Is the image of Mages really that good...?" Gray muttered.

"That’s the reputation they’ve built up."

Hill smiled.

"I’d bet that even if Zelir robbed and killed someone right in front of another squad, nobody would believe them if they told the story."

"And even if it was confirmed, it wouldn’t be the Adventurer’s Association’s place to handle it... it would all be processed internally by the Mage’s Guild."

"This is the third time our squad has killed someone, right?" Valles said.

"The first was the Drake Squad, the second was the Black Hat Thief Gang, and the third is now?"

Hill chuckled. "What a coincidence. I’ve been here for all three."

"Count yourself lucky."

Zelir said, then asked with a bit of curiosity, "Before this squad was formed... had any of you killed someone before?"

"I’ve taken care of two."

Gray said nonchalantly, "Both were drunks who got stupid and tried to rob me."

"Four," Marcus said with a soft sigh.

"Don’t look at me."

Valles pursed his lips. "I hadn’t killed anyone until I met you guys."

"Don’t look at me either."

Hill threw up his hands. "Too many to remember."

’Right...’

After cleaning up the mural hall, the squad continued forward into the chamber where the trap had been triggered.

They dealt with the scene in the same manner.

They incinerated the bodies of Weber and the four victims, and then Hill poured his wondrous little liquid on them.

Aside from the dark red bloodstains left on the metal spikes, nothing else remained.

With that little interruption dealt with, Marcus took out the map and reoriented himself.

"There’s only one path forward from here for quite a long way. We just need to keep going straight."

Marcus put the map away. "When we reach the end, we’ll come to another seven-way fork. This time, we take the fifth path."

"Just how many damn forks in the road are in this place...?" Gray frowned.

The path straight ahead was a monotonous stone corridor.

They could still see small stone balls scattered on the ground from time to time.

They were probably used by the Weber Squad and the murdered squad to check for traps.

To the side of the corridor, Zelir’s squad finally saw a treasure chest—though it had already been opened.

It was a Bronze Treasure Chest, about half a person tall.

Forged from heavy metal, its surface was engraved with slightly worn patterns, giving it a very ancient look.

The chest had no lock. It seemed to just be lying there quietly, waiting for a destined person to find it.