Chapter 98

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“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” After the archer shouted, the people below immediately reacted, and the whistling sounds of crossbow bolts filled the air. At this moment, Big Mouth was still about ten meters away from where Cook was. Normally, this distance wouldn't be a problem, but Big Mouth was still holding onto his prey, which slowed him down. The crossbow bolts, however, were very fast.

“Loli, cast Bursting Fireball and Thorn Spell!” Seeing the dozens of crossbow bolts flying toward Big Mouth, Cook immediately shouted and scattered a handful of thorn seeds on the stone platform in front of him. Magic power surged out, and in an instant, the platform was covered with vines and thorns, several meters long. Cook used his mental power to control the vines and thorns, swinging them toward Big Mouth. From a distance, it looked like countless whips.

“Bursting Fireball!” Loli's Bursting Fireball finally unleashed its power, raining down from above without needing to aim. However, Loli didn't dare to lean out of the stone platform, so she just waved her hand, and the fireball fell.

“Snap! Snap!” The first wave of crossbow bolts was deflected by the thorns, but the second wave came just a second later.

“Boom!” Cook was controlling the Thorn Spell to pull Big Mouth back, but with a loud explosion, the stone platform beneath his feet shook violently. Cook's mental power was jolted, and the thorns that had wrapped around Big Mouth were suddenly flung away, making it look like Big Mouth was being thrown off.

“Boom!” Just as Big Mouth was flung away, the second wave of crossbow bolts exploded, creating a series of brilliant magical lights in the air.

“Magic Bursting Arrows!” Even with the Thorn Spell blocking them, Cook and his companions were still knocked off their feet by the shockwave and elemental force. Most of the thorns were destroyed, and Cook, covered in thorn fragments and dirt, rolled to his feet, shouting.

Magic Bursting Arrows are a type of advanced arrow, a product of alchemy. They are usually very expensive but have considerable power. They are often favored by sniper archers.

“Go! Loli, Miki, quickly into the crevice!” Then, Cook felt a slight tremor in the stone platform beneath him. Clearly, Loli's Bursting Fireball had hit the rock wall, and the Magic Bursting Arrows had damaged the platform. Cook pushed and pulled the three of them into the crevice.

“Big Mouth!” Cook watched as Big Mouth was thrown over twenty meters away by the shockwave. If not for the thorns, Big Mouth would have been flung even further.

“Thorn Spell!” Cook's magic power was almost depleted, but he used the last bit to cast another Thorn Spell. A vine as thick as a chopstick wrapped around Big Mouth in less than two seconds. The vine then swung Big Mouth and his prey like a football, sending them flying toward the crevice.

“Boom! Boom!” At that moment, the Magic Bursting Arrows exploded again at the spot where Big Mouth had been flying, the shockwave accelerating his flight.

“Puff!” Cook caught Big Mouth and his prey with a cloak.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” At that moment, Cook and his companions felt another violent tremor beneath their feet. Clearly, the people below were trying to shatter the rock wall. The three of them quickly ran deeper into the crevice.

“Snap!” In a hurry, Cook used his Magic Eye to look behind them. Seeing this, Cook immediately took out his bow, and with a snap of the bowstring, a fine iron arrow shot through the dust from the Magic Bursting Arrow explosion.

“Ahhh!!!” A cry of pain rang out, and Cook immediately relaxed, quickly calling Kaka back using a language humans couldn't hear.

Outside, over a hundred people had gathered at the base of the rock wall. One of them, a mage in a robe, had a fine iron arrow embedded in his shoulder. This was a wind mage, who could fly at mid to high levels. The team commander had hoped this wind mage would chase Cook, and his series of commands had been classic.

Since discovering that Big Mouth had taken the target, the commander focused on preventing Big Mouth from entering the crevice. The first wave of crossbow bolts was meant to force Big Mouth away, but Cook used the Thorn Spell to counter it. The commander then ordered the archers to shoot Magic Bursting Arrows, hoping to use the explosion's shockwave to separate Big Mouth and Cook. This was meant to severely injure Big Mouth, but Loli's Bursting Fireball hit the rock wall, causing Cook's mental power to jolt, and Big Mouth was flung over twenty meters away, foiling the commander's plan.

The third wave of Magic Bursting Arrows was partly to prevent Big Mouth from entering the crevice, but Cook directly controlled the vines to fling Big Mouth in. The explosion's shockwave actually helped Big Mouth fly into the crevice. At the same time, the commander ordered the archers to shoot the rock wall to prevent the mages from casting spells. However, Cook could cast the Thorn Spell easily. The commander ordered two groups of archers to shoot different areas: one at the air between Big Mouth and the crevice, and one at the rock wall. He also ordered the only wind mage to use magic to attack the people inside the crevice as the dust settled.

But Cook's Magic Eye spotted the wind mage. This wind mage was unlucky. He had just cast a levitation spell to suspend himself in the air and was about to cast a wind blade spell when an arrow suddenly shot through the dust. Unfortunately, the wind mage hadn't cast a magic shield, believing the dust would hide him. The arrow pierced his shoulder, and he fell with a scream.

The four team leaders looked at each other, unsure how many people were above. They knew of the fire mage who cast the Bursting Fireball, the wood mage who cast the Thorn Spell, and the archer who could see through the dust. There might also be a summoner with a summoned creature.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!”

At that moment, two thieves who were climbing the rock wall with tools fell with screams. If not for the quick reaction of the people below, the twenty-meter fall would have been fatal.

“What happened?” The commander, a bearded man, ran over and asked upon hearing the screams.

“Poison needles! There are poison needles on the rock wall!” One of the thieves raised his already black and swollen hand and shouted.

“Quick! Water mages, and antidotes!” The commander's face darkened even more upon seeing this. Poison needles were a common tactic among thieves.

“Men, use magic to blast this rock wall!” The commander saw that the two thieves's poison had mostly disappeared with the water mage's treatment and the antidotes. In fact, this was from Kaka's foot spines. If Kaka had bitten them, it wouldn't have been poisonous, as Cook had coated them with a potent but non-lethal poison to prevent accidental harm.

“Enough! Rotastis, you have disappointed us.” At that moment, four people stepped forward: two warriors, a mage, and an archer. The two warriors were a man and a woman, the mage was a man, and the archer was a woman. The four looked at the commander, and the male warrior spoke softly.

“Commander Katar Toli, this is not my fault. You didn't say anyone else knew about this mission.” Rotastis immediately countered.

“Rotastis, we asked you to command this mission because of your leadership skills. Our four major mercenary groups prepared for months for this mission, but it still failed.” The female archer, with a curvaceous figure in tight black leather armor and a silver mask, spoke.

Rotastis sighed and said, “I know your Shield Mercenary Group, Wild Rose Mercenary Group, Three Swords Mercenary Group, and Stil Mercenary Group have invested a lot. You are all top-tier mercenary groups, but as you can see, the cave has signs of habitation, and new passages have been dug. I estimate these people have been here for at least twenty days. Digging several meters into hard rock isn't something that can be done quickly.”

“Alright! We were also afraid frequent visits would draw attention, but we didn't expect anyone to be up there.” The four leaders inspected the cave where Cook and his companions had lived, seeing the large pool where Loli and Miki bathed, which they thought was for storing water. The passage leading to the crevice was a later water source. Seeing such a large pool, they assumed the people hadn't left the cave for weeks. After a look, the mage waved his staff and said,

“There is another way to find out who these people are.” Rotastis thought for a moment and said.

“What way?” The four leaders asked eagerly.

“Check the supply points to see if any groups have resupplied or passed through in the past half to one month. Of course, these clever people might not have gone through the supply points.” Rotastis said.

“We can try, but what do we do now?” The leader of the Wild Rose Mercenary Group, the female archer, asked.

“Sigh! Given their well-planned escape, they must have already fled.” Katar Toli sighed.

“Aren't we going to pursue them?” The leader of the Three Swords Mercenary Group, a female warrior, asked, unwillingly.

“Pursue! If your Three Swords Mercenary Group wants to go, go ahead. Our Stil Mercenary Group doesn't want to face such archers and thieves in a narrow, dark crevice.” The leader of the Stil Mercenary Group, the mage, said with a chuckle.

At this, everyone present shivered. Only warriors in plate or chain armor could ignore poison needles, but in such an environment, walking in front would be suicide. Fire mages, wood mages, archers, and thieves, and possibly summoners, could easily face a warrior in the dark.

“Maybe there are magical traps!” The leader of the Stil Mercenary Group added, and everyone felt it was hopeless. Stil was right; with such a configuration, it was definitely a small team. If there was a wood mage and a summoner, there would likely be a hunter as well.

“Sigh! I think a major force knows about this. I suggest we retreat.” The leader of the Stil Mercenary Group said, and some people became uneasy. It was well-known that a group with a wood mage and a summoner couldn't be a small force.

“But our losses are huge, and we prepared for months.” The female warrior of the Three Swords Mercenary Group said, unwillingly.

“I have a piece of information, but the loot must be split equally. This information cost us a lot." The archer of the Wild Rose Mercenary Group hesitated and then said.

“Half? There are four mercenary groups here...” The female warrior of the Three Swords Mercenary Group replied, displeased.

“Hmph! Because I know the secret hideout of the Vagabond Thieves." The leader of the Wild Rose Mercenary Group interrupted.

“What? The Vagabond Thieves who were wiped out by the Mage Guild five years ago?” The other three leaders asked, surprised.

“Yes, most were wiped out, but some elite members remain. One of our sisters recognized the scoundrel who killed her family. We spent half a year tracking down the Vagabond Thieves' secret hideout, using a lot of resources and losing two sisters in the process.” The Wild Rose Mercenary Group was mostly female, and most were archers.

“Deal!” The other three leaders looked at each other and agreed. With the leaders in agreement, the groups quickly prepared. After an hour, the four mercenary groups set off for their new target.

“What do we do?” After walking for about half an hour, Cook and his companions found the crevice getting smaller and smaller, and eventually, there was no way forward. Loli was anxious because if the four groups caught up, their fate would be clear.

“What can we do? We have to turn back. We'll look for an opportunity to send Kaka for help. With this long crevice, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive.” Cook patted Loli's hand and held Miki's hand, feeling their slight trembling.

With no choice, the three slowly retraced their steps, with Kaka leading the way. Cook used his Magic Eye and mental power to carefully check every inch of the way. After four hours, the three, who had taken a potion of invisibility, slowly appeared at the crevice entrance. Cook was stunned to see the lava lake had erupted, and there was no sign of anyone. If not for the damage on the rock walls, Cook would have thought it was a dream.

Seeing no one, Cook and his companions quickly descended the rock wall and hurried away. After walking a long distance, Loli threw herself into Cook's arms, and Miki also hugged him, clearly terrified.

“It's okay, it's okay, nothing to worry about!” Cook was also scared. A group of hundreds of people; if the three had faced them, they would have been in grave danger. Cook didn't understand why they didn't pursue them. He didn't know that the groups saw them escape into the crevice, assuming it was a pre-planned escape route, not realizing it was a dead end. This was sheer luck.

“Next, we need to go to Area A3 to find fire element crystals.” Cook and his companions rushed to the supply point in Area A, rested for a day, and then Cook pointed to the map of Area A3. The map showed that Area A3 was an active volcanic region with dozens of volcanoes, forming a network of lava rivers. The lava contained high-quality fire element crystals.

“But what about your mission?” Loli asked, worried.

“Hehe, we'll use this little thing to complete the mission." Cook opened a leather pouch at his waist, which was used to store magical herbs and had a seal to prevent the herbs from losing their potency. Inside was a small, unconscious creature, resembling a sparrow with a long tail. This was Big Mouth's prey, and Cook had given it a perfect-grade sleeping potion, which would keep it unconscious for half a month.

“Uh!” Loli and Miki were speechless but then agreed, as Cook's mission didn't specify the target.

“Big news! The four major mercenary groups have discovered the hideout of the Vagabond Thieves. After losing over thirty members, they used a rain spell to flood the Vagabond Thieves' hideout. They killed three deputy leaders and eleven notorious members, all wanted by the Mage Guild for five years...” At the supply point in Area A, which was the teleportation exit for Area A1, Cook and his companions were relaxing in a bar when a large man burst in and shouted.

“Wow! So they made a fortune?” Someone eagerly interrupted.

“Hmph! Making money is a small matter. The key is that the four mercenary groups helped the Mage Guild recover the materials stolen by the Vagabond Thieves five years ago. It's said that the materials included many restricted items, even magic crystal cannons. The Vagabond Thieves didn't have time to sell them before the Mage Guild wiped them out. The boxes containing the materials are still sealed with magic.” The man was given a drink by the bar owner and continued.

“Wow! The guild must give a huge reward!” Someone's eyes lit up.

“Hmph, money is nothing. It's said that the four mercenary groups have decided to form an S-level mercenary group and are asking the Mage Guild for an S-level mercenary group license. Do you know how many S-level mercenary group licenses there are on the continent? Five, all for large groups of ten thousand people. Other mercenary groups don't form S-level groups because the mercenary guild doesn't issue licenses.” The man continued.

“Quick, come out and see! The four mercenary groups are back!” A loud shout made everyone go outside.

“Damn!” When Cook and his companions saw the familiar uniforms of the four mercenary groups, they broke out in cold sweat and quickly left for Area A3, as these were the groups from around the lava lake.

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