Black Hearted Mage

Aside from the two crystal coffins, which were immovable, all other items could be taken away at will. The scattered items, such as the tattered magic steel armor and the old animal hide sofa, were not actually of much value.

Disappointingly, there were no magic crystals to be found. Instead, boxes stacked against the stone wall were filled to the brim with golden coins. Clearly, this gold had been left behind by the tomb's owner, specifically for the tomb robbers who might break into the area.

"Rodman, there are only gold coins here, let's move them away first!"

As Caesar spoke, he quickly walked towards the pile of wooden boxes. Although these wooden boxes were not large, they were very heavy, each box weighing more than 300 kilograms.

Just after half of the boxes were moved away, some words appeared on the smooth stone wall, and Caesars' eyelids twitched when he saw them.

"Rodman, hurry up! We don't have much time left, only one minute!" Caesars shouted anxiously at Rodman who was still working hard.

"Caesar, what happened?" Rodman looked up with a confused look on his face and asked in confusion.

"Idiot! Didn't you see the words appearing on the wall?" Caesars roared angrily.

Upon hearing this, Rodman hurriedly turned his head to look at the stone wall. Once he had a clear view of the writing, his face instantly turned pale, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Then, he frantically continued to move the boxes. However, as he finally reached the third box, the entire tomb suddenly shook, as if struck by an earthquake. At the same time, a deafening roar echoed in everyone's ears. The sound was as heavy and loud as a bolt from the blue, carrying a force that made the scalp tingle.

"Hurry up, the mechanism has been activated!"

Caesars ran quickly out of the tomb, shouting loudly. He knew that the tomb owner had set a mechanism under the gold coins, which would activate immediately if part of the box containing the gold coins was taken away, and the tomb owner had also warned him.

At the top of the passage outside the tomb, something was slowly falling down. The one closest to the tomb door had already fallen by a small half, and the rest was also falling.

Beatrice was the first to run out, clutching a howling puppy. Stella and Wagner followed, and Rodman was the last to emerge, clutching a box of gold coins.

"Rodman, don't stop, keep running!"

In the passage outside the tomb, heavy gates descended every ten meters or so. The gate closest to the tomb chamber had completely fallen to the bottom of the passage and was embedded in a hidden groove.

By the time the expedition team had all reached the foul-smelling hall, the last gate was slowly lowering.

"They are all half-foot thick magic steel gates, which use magic mechanical transmission. The gates fell very quickly, which means that the tomb does not have enough magic power reserves. This place will never be opened again!" Kaisas looked at the heavy magic steel gates and said with some regret.

Just as everyone relaxed, a sudden, loud bang erupted from behind them, as if the entire space had been torn apart. Immediately afterwards, a nauseating stench swept over like a tide, instantly filling the entire hall.

After some observation and judgment, it was discovered that the explosion originated from the entrance, and the unbearable stench was continuously emitted from the holes densely distributed throughout the hall.

"Everyone, squat down quickly. Don't make any noise, and don't move around. Otherwise, if you startle those dark bats, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Kaisas shouted anxiously, and without hesitation, he unleashed his magical skill, Cloud of Corrosion. A thick gray mist emerged, quickly spreading in front of the team, forming a solid barrier.

Yet, despite this layer of protection, the piercing, repetitive hissing sound still pierced through the gray fog, reaching everyone's ears. It was like a sharp dagger piercing the brain, causing a splitting headache. Furthermore, the hissing sound seemed to contain some mysterious power, like an invisible shockwave, repeatedly impacting people's mental defenses.

Faced with this terrifying spiritual attack, the members of the expedition team frowned, expressions of pain and discomfort on their faces. Even the usually playful puppy could no longer endure the torture, and it couldn't help but howl angrily towards the outside of the gray fog.

At the same time, the originally noisy large stone hall suddenly erupted with even more intense roars. Unlike before, this time there was a hint of fear and panic in the sounds. But before long, the sounds completely disappeared, and the surroundings once again fell into a dead silence.

"Caesar, did the alchemical bomb at the entrance explode?" Rodman asked in a low voice.

"Well, a few people just came down. Let's go, we should go out and settle the score with them!"

As Caesar spoke, he took the chubby puppy from Beatrice. He gently stroked the puppy's head, feeling its warm, soft fur, and then placed it in his backpack. After doing all this, Caesar quickly quickened his pace and hurried towards the entrance.

"Oh, what a pity! I still haven't taken out five boxes of gold coins, and I haven't even finished collecting all the magic copper!"

Rodman stood up with a look of regret on his face, looking at the tightly closed magic steel gate with reluctance, muttering to himself.

Seeing this, Beatrice, dressed in a gorgeous magic robe, hurried to Rodman's side and whispered to him, "Rodman, don't be so greedy. You know, if we were just a little bit later, we would probably be trapped inside and sleep forever. With more than a dozen extremely solid magic steel gates, even a great magician might not be able to escape!"

Rodman didn't seem to be relieved by Beatrice's words of comfort, and continued to stare at the closed gate with a gloomy face. Just then, a woman with a hot, curvaceous figure hurried over. She was wearing a tight leather armor that perfectly outlined her charming curves.

This woman was Stella, and at this moment she was anxiously urging Rodman, "Rodman, hurry up and leave! If we get blocked here by the notorious Roland Mercenaries, we'll be doomed! They've always been rude and unreasonable, and now that they've arrived in the lawless Yellowstone Mountains, they're even more unscrupulous and lawless! And they're outnumbered, we're no match for them!"

"Don't forget about Kaisas. He's much stronger than what's shown in the photos. He practiced magic very diligently when he was young. Every day he would circle around a magic target and cast spells while running, not stopping until he had completely exhausted all his magic power!"

Rodman was lost in deep recollection, his thoughts surging like a tidal wave as he spoke without stopping. The young wizard beside him listened quietly, but as time went on, her brows gradually furrowed, a hint of doubt on her face. Ever since she began studying magic, her teacher had repeatedly warned her: no matter where or when, a wizard must never allow their magical power to be exhausted! However, what Rodman was describing was so diametrically opposed to what she had learned, leaving her deeply confused and puzzled.

Beatrice didn't press Rodman for more details. She pondered inwardly, deciding to wait for an opportunity to verify this with Caesars in person. After all, she believed Caesars could offer a reasonable explanation for these claims that contradicted conventional wisdom.

Meanwhile, Caesars was speeding down the road like a gust of wind. His goal was clear and resolute: to capture the two enemies and obtain crucial information. He knew the Roland Mercenary Group was wealthy, and if he could successfully pry useful information from these two men, it would be easy to get hundreds of thousands of gold coins.

The other members of the expedition team also sprinted through the passage. Soon, they were forced to stop because the dark vision granted to them by Caesars had failed. They began to search their storage rings, looking for moonstones to illuminate the way.

After a long time, Caesars arrived at the stone gate. Two figures sat in the passageway just inside the stone gate, their backs against the wall, looking rather forlorn. Their leather armor was torn in places, and their bodies were stained with blood, indicating they had sustained significant injuries.

"Since you're not planning to run away from me, it seems you know you can't escape. Hand over your valuables and identify the person who tipped you off. I can give you a chance to live!"

Kaisas walked up to the two men and looked at them with some amusement, his magic tentacles probing each other's injuries.

"You are a great magician, you must keep your word!"

A middle-aged man saw hope of life and agreed immediately.

"Although you are children of the nobility, you have no inheritance rights. To me, you are just trash. I'm looking for the big fish with inheritance rights. Who made the two alchemical bombs? And who gave them to you?"

Kaisas crossed his arms. He had already detected the strength of the two men. They were only advanced professionals. And because they were seriously injured, their strength was no longer as strong as that of an intermediate level. Kaisas walked outside the stone gate and took a look. Someone must have been blown to pieces. There were bloody pieces of flesh on the ground.

"Phili Barton, he's an intermediate magician. He was the one who took out the alchemical bomb. It must have been made by someone from the Magic Guild!"

The middle-aged man glanced at Caesar and answered the question directly.

"It's good that he's a magician. He's a fat fish! Is Fili here?" Caesars continued to ask.

"They haven't arrived yet. They shouldn't be here for another hour!"

Just as the middle-aged man was answering the question, Rodman and the others hurried over. Caesars gestured to the two people sitting on the ground, asking them to identify the person who had leaked the information.

"Wagner, don't blame us. Only by identifying you can we both survive."

The middle-aged man had a look of apology on his face. He pointed at Wagner in armor and continued, "It was because of the special marks he left on the road that we were able to find our way here!"

Hearing that it was Wagner who lured the Roland Mercenaries here, the other three members of the expedition team glared at him.

"What kind of special mark? I haven't found any unusual patterns along the way, especially repetitive patterns!" Caesars asked in confusion.

"The juice of fluorescent mushrooms!"

"I understand!"

The juice of the fluorescent mushroom has a slight blue tint, and once it dries, it becomes colorless and odorless. It glows faintly at night, and through a special magic crystal, the glowing mark can be seen during the day.

"Wagner, why did you inform the Roland Mercenary Group and guide them?"

Stella was very angry and questioned Wagner loudly. Due to her excessive emotion, Stella's chest kept heaving.

Beatrice's face was filled with anger. During their last exploration of the cave, Wagner had left a special mark on the Roland Mercenaries. By doing this, he had undoubtedly pushed the mercenary group into the abyss. Given the Roland Mercenaries' overbearing behavior, they were likely to die.

Rodman didn't say a word. He just looked at Wagner, who was embarrassed. He was sticking to the wall of the passage and slowly backing away.

"Wagner took two thousand gold coins, and he will get another eight thousand gold coins after the task is completed!" said the middle-aged man sitting on the ground.

Wagner was terrified, his body trembling. His actions had been discovered. He hadn't expected the mercenary group to return so soon, this time with a great magician.

"Wagner, are you going to harm us for the sake of gold?"

Beatrice asked angrily, and Wagner continued to retreat, seeming not to want to make any explanation.

"Let me tell you, Wagner doesn't want to serve the Roland Empire. He wants to join the Roland Mercenary Group. He contacted us when he was at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy. He's just a mid-level warrior, and the Roland Mercenary Group doesn't need him. During the battle for the map in Red Stone City, he contacted us again!"

The middle-aged man in leather armor told Wagner everything he had done.

Caesars did not express any opinion. Wagner was a man who would do anything for gold. His life and death should be decided by the mercenary team.

The two people sitting on the ground silently took out their storage rings and handed them to Caesars who was standing beside them. Caesars opened it and checked it, and returned the things he didn't need.

"I'm going up there to wait for the big fish from the Roland Mercenary Group. You guys can take your time to deal with things here. Oh, and don't kill these two guys. I promised to let them go!"

Caesars put the storage ring into his pocket and walked out of the stone gate.