NOVEL FROG [18] : Bloodbath in the Dungeon!
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"Are we being targeted?" Airmid asked confusedly upon hearing Mellie's serious words.
By now, the two people Mika had rescued earlier had left, and Mika's group of three were discussing among themselves, sitting in the corner of a rocky chamber.
"I found this at the spot where those two were earlier," Mellie said with disgust as she tossed a small cloth pouch onto the ground.
"It stinks!" Airmid exclaimed, stepping back a few paces.
"It's a trap item," Mika said, recognizing the small pouch. It was a taunt-type trap item, generally used by adventurers confident in their skills to trigger a small monster feast and increase hunting efficiency. Of course, it was also often used by those intending to rob and murder.
"It must be those guys we encountered earlier," Mika said, recalling the uninhibited look in their eyes when they met in the passage. He realized they might have been targeting the three of them since then, either because of the beautiful Airmid and Mellie by his side, or because their unexpected appearance had thwarted the group's plans. These people would likely come after the three of them to recoup their losses.
At the same time, Mika understood Mellie's earlier behavior. When Mika went to save those people, Mellie had Airmid hide on one side of the passage without revealing herself. This must have been a precaution against those people.
"Exactly," Mellie said seriously, gesturing with her finger. "At that time, I alone blocked the passage entrance, so those guys couldn't clearly see what was happening on this side. Judging from their methods, they're cautious and probably won't directly confront us."
"Of course, to be safe, hiding Airmid was crucial," she continued. "This way, they'll misjudge our strength. When they try to ambush us in the future, this misjudgment will cost them their lives."
"Bravo!" Mika and Airmid applauded after hearing Mellie's analysis.
"You've grown a lot, Mellie," Mika praised.
"That's right, you're becoming more and more like a strategist!" Airmid added.
"Really?" Hearing Mika and Airmid's praise, Mellie immediately smiled, unable to maintain her composure.
"Hahaha!" Seeing Mellie break character so quickly, Mika and Airmid couldn't help but laugh.
"Ahem!" Hearing their laughter, Mellie pretended to cough a few times, then changed the subject: "Stop laughing, we're discussing something important! How should we guard against their possible future ambush?"
"Why should we guard against it?" Mika asked seriously, his smile quickly fading.
"Of course we should guard against it, otherwise..." Mellie's initially excited voice gradually quieted as she saw Mika's serious expression.
"Then what do you suggest?" she asked.
"As they say, there are a thousand days to be a thief, but not a thousand days to guard against one. We'll eventually let our guard down over time. So we should take the initiative and eliminate the threat," Mika said.
Airmid and Mellie shuddered, sensing the killing intent in Mika's words. Although they had killed countless monsters in recent days, they had never thought about killing people.
But Airmid quickly came to her senses. Always supportive of Mika, she said seriously, "The place where they are is the passage connecting two floors. People frequently come and go there, making it difficult to erase traces."
"Then let's lure them to a corner," Mellie suggested, having also recovered. She quickly outlined a rough plan.
"They're probably looking for us now. We'll show ourselves, then during battles with monsters, we'll hint at wanting to train, gradually leading them to a corner of this floor."
"As for where to lead them?" Mellie spread out the upper floor map purchased from the guild on the ground. After some thought, she chose a corner as the target and two or three corners as backups.
After thousands of years of exploration, the maps sold by the guild were extremely accurate. With each descending level, the area of the entire ninth floor was already quite large, but most adventurers would only follow the shortest route marked on the map to the next floor.
Even adventurers who stayed to hunt on the ninth floor would wander near the main routes, as it was beneficial for roaming. After all, it takes time for monsters to respawn after being killed, and no one would wait in one place.
As for those corners and edges, almost no one went there. If anyone did go there, it was mostly people confident in their abilities, using items to attract other monsters and increase hunting efficiency.
Such people would generally worry about affecting others or being affected by others, so they chose to use bait in corners where almost no one went. It was to prevent such people from causing the plan to fail that Mellie chose several backup locations.
"Then it's decided," Mika said, finalizing the matter. Seeing Airmid and Mellie's silence, he seriously consoled them:
"Although it might sound hypocritical, you shouldn't overthink this. The people we're going to kill are utterly evil. If we hadn't appeared, those two people would have certainly died here today."
"Moreover, their methods show they're experienced, which indicates how many people have died at their hands before. So don't feel conflicted about this."
"Don't worry, we won't feel conflicted," Airmid said, shaking her head as she looked at Mika's hand.
"That's right, I prepared myself for this even before becoming an adventurer," Mellie said seriously, also reaching out to hold their hands. "Whatever choice you make, we'll stand by your side."
"After all, we're companions!"
Their hands clasped tightly together, and feeling this trust, the nervousness in Mika's heart about the impending killing gradually relaxed. After all, it was also his first time engaging in killing his own kind.
"Then let's start preparing for our action."
...
After detailed planning, the three of them disguised themselves as if they had just been through a battle and came to the main passage leading to the next floor. Here, as expected, they encountered surveillance again.
Following the plan, the three of them continuously sought out monsters to fight, loudly discussing their intention to train, revealing this information to those watching them.
Then they guided them to a rocky chamber in a corner.
After clearing the monsters in the chamber, the three collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
The physical exhaustion wasn't an act by the three. They were novices at acting and couldn't fool these experienced individuals. Therefore, Mika and his companions were truly exhausted now.
Sure enough, as the three were catching their breath, seven burly figures slowly emerged from the passage, appearing before Mika's eyes.
"It really came without any effort, they've walked right into a dead end."
"Boss, it's so secluded here, maybe we could have some fun first?"
"I was thinking the same thing."
As if they had already determined the fate of the three, these seven people didn't care about Mika and his companions' reactions, discussing among themselves how to deal with the three.
But they were completely unaware of who was truly the hunter and who was the prey in this hunt.
Airmid was the first to act. Placing her long spear before her eyes, she began chanting a spell:
"Drops of healing, tears of light, eternal sacred domain, call forth the light melody here. Three hundred and sixty-five rhythms, the calendar of healing shall save all things."
"Then, come forth, break the evil. Bury the wounds, send away illness, curse be sent to the other shore, to the pivot of light. In the name of the Sacred—I heal."
"It's magic, retreat quickly!" Seeing Airmid chanting, the seven quickly withdrew.
"Dia Fratel!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Ignite, ride forth with this wheel of flame!"
Recovering injuries and stamina through Airmid's magic, Mika drew his long sword and, under the spray of flames, leaped past everyone present, blocking the exit of this rocky chamber first.
"Didn't you want to have some fun? Come on then!" Mika smiled coldly, killing intent flowing from his eyes.
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"Bastard, get the hell out of my way!"
After realizing that Airmid's magic was healing magic, the seven fleeing men immediately slowed their pace. This allowed Mika to block the passage before them.
By now, these seven in the rocky chamber had recognized the danger. Their rich experience told them they had kicked an iron plate this time. This situation made these usually smooth operators panic.
The first to act was the burly man wielding an axe, closest to the passage. Originally, he had a chance to escape the chamber, but greed made him stay, and he lost his opportunity to flee.
Facing Mika, who was now at close quarters, he quickly suppressed his panic. Years of adventuring had honed his courage, which now surged within him.
Staring intently at the youthful Mika, even though magical flames cloaked his body, the man still launched his attack. The heavy axe, concentrating all his strength, swung towards Mika's head with overwhelming force.
Observing the man's movements, Mika also swung his long sword. His target was also the man's head.
The flame-ignited long sword collided with the man's great axe in mid-air. The sharp sword cut through the axe along its trajectory as easily as cutting vegetables. The ignited flames gradually melted it.
The flaming sword flowed smoothly like water across the man's neck, severing his head in an instant while simultaneously evaporating his blood completely. Only two sections of fiercely burning flesh remained on the ground, gradually turning to ash.
Without any chance to resist, this muscular axe-wielding man died so casually.
Witnessing this scene, everyone present fell silent. But what followed was even more ferocious resistance. In their eyes, Mika had been concealing his strength all along, deliberately luring them to this corner. He must be after their lives.
If so, there was nothing left to say. All that remained was a fight to the death.
The remaining six, their savage nature aroused, wielded various weapons and rushed quickly towards Mika. They knew clearly that a death battle wasn't the best choice. Forcefully attacking Mika and then escaping was currently the most appropriate action.
"Second, Third, let's push forward!"
"Yes, Big Brother!"
Charging to Mika's front, facing Mika's slash, one of the six firmly blocked Mika's attack with his shield.
As experienced criminals who often targeted wealthy individuals, these people always chose affluent targets. Therefore, their accumulated wealth over the years was quite substantial.
"A second-level shield?" Mika was slightly surprised, looking at the shield that had retreated several steps but wasn't cut through.
With the sharpness of a first-level weapon plus the destructive power of flames, only other first-level weapons or second-level shields could withstand such damage. After all, shields as weapons were inherently tougher and more resistant than other weapons.
"It blocked it!" Seeing the Second block Mika's attack, the remaining people couldn't help but exclaim.
"As expected of the second-level weapon we invested most of our property to buy," the leader of the group said, his eyes gleaming with pride.
As a criminal gang that often ambushed wealthy individuals, their biggest worry was the target using a weapon that didn't match their strength - a magic sword.
A magic sword was a one-time weapon that could release magic. This kind of weapon was very similar to the magic scrolls in Mika's memory, both being weapons that the weak could use to counterattack the strong.
After all, those they wanted to hunt were rich people, and it wasn't impossible for them to carry a magic sword.
Therefore, they invested most of their income to customize this shield from the Hephaestus familia, which was particularly excellent in magic defense.
Now, relying on this shield, they finally saw hope of survival.
"Attack with all your might!"
"Die!"
The Second holding the shield charged at Mika with it, trying to block all his movement routes. The other two hiding behind the shield also took the opportunity to thrust at Mika from both sides with a long spear and a greatsword.
At this critical moment, Mika suddenly stopped retreating and stepped on the incoming shield. Using the force of the shield's impact, he leaped high into the air.
"Water Breathing, Second Form, Water Wheel!"
Adjusting his position through a mid-air rotation, Mika rapidly descended, slashing towards the three men behind the shield.
Meanwhile, the other three adventurers at the rear, hearing their leader's call to "attack with all might," quickly pulled out their trump card items. These were magic swords.
Two magic swords were held high by two of the rear members, raised towards Mika. The other member, holding a dagger, protected the two. He hadn't forgotten about the other two in Mika's group. He kept his eyes on Airmid and Mellie, guarding against them interrupting the other two's attacks.
At this moment, Airmid was rapidly approaching with her long spear, while Mellie stood behind, raising her staff high.
Seeing this, the dagger-wielding man prepared for battle. But unfortunately, his opponent wasn't the approaching Airmid.
"Immerse yourself in dreams!"
With Mellie's incantation, beautiful petals scattered across the sky. Seeing this, the dagger-wielding adventurer suddenly fell into a dreamlike state.
Because human consciousness was far stronger than monsters', Mellie, who could normally control six monsters simultaneously, could only control one person when facing adventurers. And it was easily interrupted.
But at this moment, unknown to anyone, Mellie's magic was the most secretive weapon.
Without any defense, the adventurer holding the flame magic sword instantly had his throat cut by the dagger-wielding adventurer, falling into endless darkness.
Although one magic sword wielder was killed, there wasn't time to stop the other.
"Lightning!"
Golden light instantly shot out. Even though he was pierced from behind by Airmid's long spear the next moment, his magic had already been released.
"Mika, be careful!" Mellie shouted from afar.
...
While rotating in mid-air, Mika had already seen the situation on Airmid's side. He certainly didn't miss the lightning bolt that was fired.
If he wanted to dodge, Mika was confident he could do so without injury. But if he did, the other three who were already close to the passage would have a chance to escape.
Although Mika was confident he could catch up with them and keep them all on the ninth floor, it could very likely lead to unexpected situations.
Not other circumstances, but being witnessed by other adventurers.
The guild strictly prohibited adventurers from killing each other. Even with the most justifiable reasons, it wasn't allowed.
That's why when Mika decided to eliminate these people, he lured them to a deserted corner.
If Mika's pursuit was seen by others, to protect his companions, he would have to silence them forever. But killing innocent people was not what Mika wanted to see.
So!
"Just die here peacefully!"
Using the Water Wheel technique, Mika slashed down from mid-air, directly killing the shield-bearer, Second.
At the same time, the lightning bolt from behind pierced Mika's left shoulder, but this couldn't shake his resolve in the slightest.
After landing, his body erupted in flames. Stomping heavily on the ground, accelerated by the flame propulsion, Mika directly crashed into the arms of Third, who was holding the long spear, and pierced his heart with the long sword.
"D-Damn it!"
Seeing all his companions die in an instant, the remaining team leader quickly ran towards the exit. But Mika wouldn't give him a chance to escape.
Releasing his long sword, he picked up the dead man's long spear. After igniting it with flames, Mika threw it.
Accelerated by flame propulsion, the long spear instantly broke through the void, catching up with the fleeing enemy leader. With its powerful kinetic energy, the spear directly pierced the enemy's heart, pinning him to the wall.
With this, the hunters who wanted to hunt their prey became the prey, all hunted down here.
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