[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 143
Thud! Thud!
Zeke and Boris, escorted by Shadia and other Assassin's Guild assassins assigned to the mission, headed to Death Valley.
After two days of riding through the sandy desert, the literal valley of death appeared.
Shadia said to Zeke,
"Lord, are you really going in there? That place is a forbidden zone where you can't get out once you enter."
Zeke nodded at Shadia's words.
"I know. But there's no helping it. That's our destination."
The place where the relic mentioned by the Hermit of the Story was hidden was deep inside Death Valley.
Zeke said to Shadia,
"Only Boris and I will go in there."
Shadia said to Zeke,
"There are enemies around who are targeting you, Lord. If you order us, we will carry out our protection mission even inside Death Valley."
Zeke shook his head.
"I'll take care of those Scorpion bastards and Holy Kingdom guys myself. Shadia, you remember the points I marked yesterday, right? Wait there. We'll meet there when I'm done inside."
Shadia nodded at Zeke's words.
She turned her horse around and said,
"Those Scorpion bastards are tenacious and vicious. It'll be dangerous if you let your guard down."
"Thank you for the advice."
Shadia disappeared back into the sandy desert with the other assassins.
Once the Assassin's Guild assassins were gone, Zeke said to Boris,
"Boris, do you know why even the Assassin's Guild assassins avoid that place?"
"Not in detail."
"Not a single blade of grass grows inside. There's not even a single insect, let alone animals. Of course, there's no water either. The moment you enter, you lose your sense of direction and wander endlessly through the winding canyons that are like a maze."
"Is that even possible?"
Zeke recalled the Death Valley he experienced in his previous life.
During his time as a hitman in the south, he once stumbled into Death Valley while fighting with the Assassin's Guild assassins.
He was barely able to escape pursuit because even the Assassin's Guild assassins didn't enter this place.
But later, Zeke realized why this place was called Death Valley.
There was absolutely no food or water to be found, and the difference in temperature between day and night was beyond imagination.
During the day, he felt like he would die from heatstroke under the scorching sun, but at night, the temperature dropped sharply, and he could freeze to death.
At that time, Zeke hadn't awakened as a Healer class, but perhaps his survival instinct activated Healing, as he survived in the valley without dying.
After wandering the valley for over half a month, he barely managed to escape with his life by relying on his senses to reach the other side.
Zeke looked down at Death Valley, recalling the memories of that time.
Then, he grinned.
"Boris, let's get ready to welcome our guests."
***
"Captain, the Assassin's Guild guys are just leaving?"
One of the Scorpion Clan's black mages reported while observing the situation outside the desert with a scorpion's vision through magic.
He could see the Assassin's Guild escorts leaving, kicking up sand dust.
The captain of the Scorpion Clan's 7th Pursuit Unit, who was tearing into a lizard inside the sand cave, spat out the lizard in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yes. All the escorts have gone back. It seems like they only left the young Draker guy and his servant."
"Damn it, did those bastards get rid of both of them?"
"I don't think so. There are no signs of a fight."
The captain smirked.
"Is that so? Hey, where are the guys from the 8th and 9th units?"
Another black mage, who was crouching behind him, said,
"They shouldn't be far. Should I call them?"
The captain threw a pile of dirt at the mage who answered.
"You idiot. Why should we let those guys have it easy? We should go first and take the treasure."
Another mage, who was looking outside through a scorpion, said,
"Captain, it's not treasure, it's a relic, a relic."
"Damn it, relic or treasure, whatever. Hey, forget it. Quickly summon the Desert Worms. Let's go catch those guys, torture them, and find out where the treasure is."
"Captain, but that's Death Valley. Isn't it a bit dangerous?"
"You bastard. Do you want to die? Do you want to die in Death Valley, or do you want to die by my hand right now?"
At the captain's words, the other mages quietly shut their mouths.
It was obvious that they would be the only ones to suffer if they provoked him unnecessarily.
In the end, the mage who handled desert monsters immediately chanted a spell.
Then, the sand cave they were in shook.
Whoosh!
At the same time, a Desert Worm appeared next to where the mages were.
It was a long, giant worm-like monster that dug tunnels underground in the desert and preyed on desert travelers and animals.
As the 7th Unit of the Scorpion Clan grabbed the handles attached to the Desert Worm's back, a mage gave an order.
The Desert Worm dug a tunnel and quickly moved towards Death Valley where Zeke and his party were.
Since it was much faster than horses or camels, the Scorpion Clan mainly used Desert Worms as a means of transportation when traveling through the desert.
The black mages, who arrived at Death Valley in an instant by digging a tunnel, quietly poked their heads out and looked around.
"...There's no sign of them at all."
The captain shouted in an irritated voice,
"Damn it, send out the crow!"
The mage rummaged through his belongings and took out a crow, sending it up into the sky.
Then, he shared vision with the crow and examined the entirety of Death Valley.
'Where did you go, you Draker brat?'
While examining Death Valley with the crow's eyes, the mage spotted something.
'What's that?'
Items that appeared to be Zeke and his party's belongings were scattered near the entrance to Death Valley.
The inside was obscured by the canyon, so it was difficult to see with the crow's vision.
The captain of the 7th Unit pondered after receiving the report.
"Inside Death Valley..."
Although he had been bluffing earlier, he was also a black mage who had lived in the desert for a long time, so he was familiar with the ominous rumors about that area.
It wasn't easy to decide to enter a place rumored to be inescapable.
'Damn it, are the 8th and 9th Units already inside looking for the treasure?'
The reward for this treasure was so great that the captain overcame his fear with greed.
He came out of the pit and said to his subordinates,
"We're going into Death Valley."
The mages in the unit had uneasy expressions, but they followed without a word, knowing they could become monster food if they disobeyed the captain.
The members of the 7th Unit slowly headed towards the entrance of Death Valley.
And they found Zeke and his party's belongings scattered near the entrance.
One of the mages held an item to his nose and sniffed.
"Captain, I smell blood."
It was highly likely that they had abandoned their belongings and entered in a hurry after a battle.
The captain of the 7th Unit became anxious, thinking that another unit must be chasing the target.
"Quickly track them down! Quickly!"
The mages took out scorpions and other poisonous creatures from their pockets and released them on the ground.
The poisonous creatures scattered in all directions to search for Zeke and his party.
The 7th Unit slowly entered Death Valley, hoping for information from the creatures.
After some time, one of the mages raised his hand.
"Captain, I found them."
The mage controlling the scorpion found Zeke and his party treating their wounds inside the valley.
"What's the situation?"
"It seems like the knight who was following them is dead, and the young Draker guy seems to be fatally wounded."
The captain smirked.
"Good. We need to find out where the treasure is before he dies. Lead the way."
The 7th Unit went deeper into the valley towards where Zeke and his party were hiding.
It was eerily cold for a valley in the middle of the desert.
As they went further in, they were surprised to see their breath forming white clouds.
Even for the Scorpion Clan, who were based and active in the desert, this was a first.
"It's over there, Captain."
The mage who scouted with the scorpion pointed to a cave inside the canyon.
The captain gave instructions to the unit members with hand signals.
As if accustomed to surprise attacks, the members immediately prepared their black magic.
After confirming that they were ready, the captain gave a signal, and the members entered the cave first.
At the same time, a loud noise came from inside.
Crash!
Whoosh!
The captain, hearing the poisonous smoke and explosion from the cave, was convinced that the attack was successful.
He slowly entered the cave.
"Take it easy, you guys. If you accidentally kill that kid, we won't be able to find the treasure..."
But what the captain saw as he entered was his unit members lying on the cave floor.
He instinctively turned around and tried to escape.
Just then, Boris, who had been hiding, appeared and struck the mage's throat with his scabbard.
"Cough!"
Boris expertly stepped on the mage's neck, drew his sword, and cut the tendons in both of the mage's arms.
This was because mages couldn't cast magic without chanting spells and forming hand signs.
The captain of the 7th Unit was completely subdued.
Zeke slowly walked out from inside the cave.
Zeke, who had been pretending to bleed to feign injury, grinned as he saw the captured Scorpion Unit captain.
"Let him go, Boris."
Boris removed his foot from the captain's neck, and the captain coughed and regained his composure.
Zeke approached him and whispered,
"The greedier they are, the easier they fall into traps."
Zeke pulled off the captain's hood, revealing a bald head with tattoos all over his face.
"Why did the Scorpion Clan come here?"
The captain didn't say anything.
He tried to bite the poison pill in his mouth and commit suicide.
Just then, Zeke grabbed the captain's jaw.
Zeke poured an antidote he had prepared into the captain's mouth.
"Cough!"
While Zeke kept the captain of the 7th Unit alive with the antidote, Boris subdued all the fallen mages and leaned them against a wall.
Then, following Zeke's instructions, he dragged the captain and sat him on a carved stone chair inside.
Zeke took out a dagger and stabbed the captain's hand, pinning it to the armrest of the stone chair.
"Ugh!"
Zeke pinned both of the mage's hands with daggers and said,
"This friend here is from the Imperial Intelligence Agency."
The captain's face turned pale at those words.
He knew all too well how brutal the torture techniques of the Imperial Intelligence Agency were.
Zeke chuckled at the sight and generated aura from his finger, creating a deep hole in the stone chair next to the captain's face.
The torture inflicted by knights who could handle aura was on a different level from ordinary torture.
The captain finally opened his mouth, screaming.
"I-I don't know anything! We just followed orders from our superiors!"
Zeke nodded.
"Well, everyone says that at first. The captain of the 8th Unit we caught earlier. He was like that too at first. Right, Boris?"
"That's right. But after playing with him a little, he spilled everything."
The captain of the 7th Unit was dumbfounded to hear that the captain of the 8th Unit had already been captured and had given up information.
"T-that can't be..."
Zeke rotated his wrist and then concentrated mana on his finger, piercing the captain's side.
"Ugh!"
His finger, digging into the captain's side, went down and broke all his ribs.
"Uggggh!"
The captain was breathless from the unimaginable pain.
It was then.
Zeke took out a potion from his pocket and sprayed it on the broken ribs.
Sizzle!
The wound healed quickly with bubbles forming.
"Gasp, gasp."
As the wound healed with the potion, the captain was finally able to breathe again.
Zeke patted the captain's cheek and said,
"Now this friend, a real professional, will play with you. Take a deep breath and reflect on your life."
Zeke placed five bottles of potion on the floor.
Seeing that, the captain's eyes shook violently.
"W-wait...!"
Before the captain could speak, Boris gagged him with a cloth.
"Uggggh!"
Boris whistled and began the torture.
Zeke had a satisfied expression as he saw the effect of the potion that healed the Scorpion Clan mage.
'The potions made with the Item Creation function are quite useful.'
The Item Creation function was an additional function for intermediate administrators that he acquired after clearing the light magic book mission.
As long as he had the necessary materials, he could create various potions, as well as weapons and armor.
Among them, recovery potions could be made by simply combining readily available materials.
Nevertheless, the effect was far superior to ordinary potions refined from troll blood.
'It's good that I don't have to spend Karma points on potions anymore.'
And an hour later, Zeke was able to hear the answer he wanted from the captain of the 7th Unit.
"R-relic... We came to find the r-relic."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]