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墨書 Inktalez
If Garen remembered correctly, the location marked on the map as Serpent's Lair should be just ahead.
After listening to Garen's brief description, Sharg displayed extreme surprise but didn't say much more. After all, they had only discovered Kakashiuro's body, which meant that the rest of the Blazing Fire Squad had likely already reached their destination.
Although the cause of Kakashiuro's death was still unclear, both Garen and Sharg were clearly unwilling to fall behind. After burying Kakashiuro, the two set off immediately.
It turned out that Garen's memory was quite accurate. After about twenty minutes of travel, they could see the massive cave in the distance, dark as night, with a chilling wind howling through it, occasionally wafting the stench of magical beasts.
In the snow before the cave lay three clear sets of footprints and some supplies like Water Bags or meat.
Clearly, Maple and the others had already entered.
Just as Garen was about to approach, he noticed that Sharg had stopped in his tracks.
"Don't you think that mark we saw earlier was a bit strange?" Sharg suddenly asked.
"Strange?" Garen paused in confusion.
"Yes. That mark was something I designed with Kakashiuro; it mimics the shape of a mask." Sharg pointed to the oval mask on his face. "But that mark we saw earlier only had open lines and two small dots."
Upon hearing this, Garen couldn't help but ponder. He had also noticed something odd about Kakashiuro's body.
First of all, the shape of the mask was circular, while what Kakashiuro drew before dying was merely a wavy line that didn't even close.
Was it due to his dying state? Impossible! Drawing a circle is far easier and requires less effort than creating such a convoluted line. In contrast, Kakashiuro's mark looked nothing like a circle; it resembled more of a crawling serpent!
But if that were the case, what did those two small dots mean?
"Forget it, maybe I was overthinking," Sharg shook his head and said, "Let's deal with the big guy inside! Even if the Three-Eyed Demon Python has regressed, it's still far more ferocious than an ordinary beast."
Garen didn't want to waste time on this issue either. He nodded and walked alongside Sharg.
However, after this incident, Garen felt increasingly puzzled about Kakashiuro's cause of death.
Just as Sharg had noticed the discrepancies in the "mark," Garen had also discovered something amiss. While examining the corpse earlier, he found over twenty wounds on Kakashiuro's body. The primary injuries were caused by "Burn" and "Slash," but the truly fatal injury was located at Kakashiuro's forehead.
A barely noticeable blood hole appeared as if it had been pierced by a sharp crossbow bolt.
...
As they stepped into the cave, a heavy stench of decay assaulted them, reminiscent of moldy bread.
Due to the snowfall, there were small puddles on the uneven ground, and protruding from the surrounding stone walls were jagged stone spikes, their tips smoothed and blunt from frequent contact with crawling creatures. In the dark corners lay piles of white beast bones, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Garen tightened his grip on his Greatsword while Sharg drew two daggers, remaining vigilant of their surroundings.
After delving about two hundred meters in, a flicker of firelight appeared ahead.
"Boss, I've checked. These python scales weigh at least 130 pounds! Heh, that's comparable to a low-level magic wolf!" came Simon's laughter from the direction of the dim light.
"Be quiet!" Maple's cold voice followed, "That big guy should be hibernating inside; we don't want to wake it up! Leilin, use your space ring to take care of these."
Garen stood in the shadows; from this angle, he could see Maple and the others in a square stone chamber. Bright torches were fixed to the walls, and further back was a deep passageway.
In front of them lay a pile of translucent, dark-scaled serpent skin. With a flicker of the ring on Leilin's index finger, the massive pile, weighing over a hundred pounds, vanished in an instant.
"Just the shed skin from that beast alone must be worth 300 gold coins each year!" Simon licked his lips, grinning greedily. "Good thing Kakashiuro is dead; otherwise... splitting it four ways would be pointless!"
"Shut your filthy mouth, Simon. Focus on regaining your strength so we can deal with what's inside..."
Suddenly, Maple's expression darkened as he turned and shouted, "Who’s there?!"
"Sorry, I couldn't control my killing intent." Sharg slowly emerged from the shadows.
Maple's eyes narrowed with suspicion as his left hand moved toward his crossbow. Simon and Leilin were momentarily stunned but quickly regained their composure, fixating their gazes on Sharg.
But in the next moment, they were all taken aback!
"It's fine, just be more careful next time."
As a deep voice resonated through the air, Garen stepped out from the darkness, looking at the three in the stone chamber. "Good to see you again."
"Garen?!"
Maple and Leilin stared in disbelief, while Simon gasped, "You... you're not dead?!"
"So your name is Garen!" Sharg chuckled and said, "It seems your teammates are quite surprised you made it out of the Rodent Tide."
"Indeed," Garen replied, stroking his chin.
The two completely ignored Maple and the others.
It was only then that Maple snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Garen, it's so good to see you safe! We've been worried about you for so long!"
Garen did not respond but instead looked at Maple beside him, noticing Simon's complex expression as he instinctively gripped his Battle Axe.
"Garen, I hope you can understand. The situation was dangerous at the time, and I had to consider the team," Maple said, sensing something and immediately stepping closer. "As for Simon, I've already given him a stern lesson!"
"This is..." Maple then shifted her gaze to Sharg.
Garen calmly replied, "A teammate."
At that moment, Simon sneered from a distance. "Teammate? A guy who scares people with a grimace? Birds of a feather really do flock together!"
Garen shot him a cold glare.
"Take your eyes off me!" Simon scoffed. "Don't think you're impressive just because you've found some backup. Newbies should act like newbies!"
"Simon!"
Maple shot Simon a fierce glare and then said seriously, "This is the lair of the Three-Eyed Demon Python, not a restaurant! Even if we need to settle personal issues, we should at least wait until this mission is complete! If you dare say another word, get out of the Blazing Fire Squad!"
"Alright, I hear you, boss." Simon shrugged and glanced at Garen once more.
"Garen, what do you think?" Maple turned back to him with an inquiring look.
At the same time, Sharg also looked at Garen.
Although Sharg did not like these guys, at least what this blonde-haired man said made sense. Before tackling various problems, they should first deal with that big creature; after all, the strength of the Three-Eyed Demon Python was undeniable—more hands meant more power.
Garen's gaze remained calm as he slowly said, "You killed Kakashiuro."
Indeed, based on the fatal wound Garen discovered on Kakashiuro, that arrow hole could only have been caused by Fighting Spirit, and it was from a formidable level 6 Fighting Spirit! And the only one capable of wielding such power with a bow was clearly Maple!
Simon let out a cold laugh and said, "Newcomer, it seems you still don't understand the rules! The weak are destined to be eliminated, and someone like you..."
Before Simon could finish his sentence, he suddenly looked shocked.
The Masked Man raised his arm and, like a flash of lightning, grabbed Maple by the neck. He then forcefully slammed him down. With a loud thud, Maple was instantly pinned to the ground, veins bulging on his forehead. He desperately beat against Sharg's body with his hands, but it seemed as if he couldn't muster any Fighting Spirit; his struggles were utterly futile!
Though both were at level six, Maple, who had only trained in a small team, was clearly no match for the battle-hardened Sharg. His eyes gradually lost focus as he looked at the Masked Man with fear, instinctively sending a silent plea for help toward Garen.
"He wants to explain," Garen said, looking at Sharg.
Sharg remained silent for a moment before cracking his knuckles, clearly forcing himself to withdraw his strength. In the end, he released his grip.
At that moment, Leilin and Simon were completely stunned.
When they saw Maple before the Masked Man, so weak that he resembled a hen, a chilling fear swept through them.
"Cough cough... My explanation to Simon and the others is that splitting the loot among three people would be better..." Maple coughed violently, his once smooth blonde hair now disheveled and looking utterly disheveled.
Upon hearing this, Sharg glanced at Garen as if to say: Sorry, I almost killed him again!
"I originally thought this secret would disappear completely; after all, Kakashiuro was once a member of the Flame..." Maple glanced warily at Sharg. "But since my life is threatened, I have no choice but to speak."
Garen paused for a moment; perhaps due to fear of death, Maple's words were somewhat incoherent. However, from what he said, it was clear that he was trying to protect Kakashiuro!
"I once mentioned that I found a map and a diary detailing some kind of experiment from that wizard."
Maple's voice gradually returned to normal.
"According to what I saw in the diary, the essence of this experiment was to concoct a suitable poison-type Fighting Spirit. Injecting this special Fighting Spirit into magical beasts would lead to unexpected changes. Yes, the wizard chose the Three-Eyed Demon Python, which also possesses a poison-type Bloodline, using its Bloodline as a medium."
"If the experiment is successful, then these Fighting Essences will become nutrients, ultimately growing into new fangs within the mouth of the Three-Eyed Demon Python. This new fang will possess a potent toxic power and an astonishing essence of Fighting Spirit, qualifying it as a Holy Artifact! According to the speculation in the diary, it will at least be a quasi-Second Rank weapon, known as the Venomfang Blade!"
At this point, Maple paused for a moment.
"However, beyond the daily experiments, the diary also recorded other events. For instance, one day, the wizard took on a new disciple, only to later discover that this disciple harbored covetous thoughts towards the Venomfang Blade. He even frequently trained with the Three-Eyed Demon Python in secret, hoping to claim the Venomfang Blade for himself in the future."
"In the days that followed, suspicion grew between the wizard and his disciple, ultimately leading to a rift. Unfortunately, the gestation period for the Venomfang Blade was exceedingly long; the wizard passed away before that day arrived... To prevent his disciple from obtaining the Venomfang Blade, he hid the Three-Eyed Demon Python deep within the mountains and kept the diary and map on him, dying in a secluded place."
Upon hearing this, Garen's heart suddenly trembled as a bold hypothesis emerged.
He cast a deep glance at Sharg.
"By some coincidence, I acquired the map and diary, but I also understood that such high-level items were not something I could possess. So I discreetly spread word of it, hoping to attract that wizard's disciple; after all, he was capable of taming the Three-Eyed Demon Python while I only needed some fangs or python scales to exchange for gold coins."
"My judgment was correct; all these years later, he still harbored an obsession with the Venomfang Blade! Yes, he sought me out! Fortunately, his strength was not as formidable as I had imagined; in fact, he was quite weak... But to prevent any unforeseen incidents, I gathered a team and made all necessary preparations!"
Maple suddenly chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "However, he ultimately revealed his ambition; he wanted to monopolize all the results!"
"So killing him became a forced choice."
Maple finished speaking.
Leilin and Simon remained stunned in place, deeply incredulous about everything they had just heard.
If Maple was correct, then Kakashiuro was indeed the wizard's disciple.
That ambitious individual.
Garen looked over at Sharg and saw that the ghostly mask had fallen into deep silence, seemingly shaken.
Yes, during the years of severed connections, Sharg knew almost nothing about Kakashiuro.
This made the mark understandable. Indeed, what Kakashiuro sketched before his death was not a mere symbol, but a snake and two people!
Garen's gaze gradually relaxed, yet he felt an inexplicable confusion.
If Kakashiuro's plan had failed, then why did he still draw the mark?
Even stranger was why he wanted to contact Sharg?
Just as Garen was lost in thought, a sudden cry echoed through the stone chamber.
A chilling roar reverberated.
In the depths of the stone chamber, Suddenly was coiled around a massive python, its dark golden vertical pupils radiating a cold aura, and within that gaping maw...
Simon was bitten in half by Suddenly!
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