Black Hearted Mage

The tattered staff in Caesar's hand was ultimately unable to escape the fate of being chopped off by Elon by about a foot, and the chopped-off end of the staff was directly thrown into the firewood pile.

"Kaisas, your staff is infested with worms! I've been a mercenary for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen this!"

In the mercenary group, Elon was the oldest, a fifty-year-old widower. He was stirring the end of a stick in the fire while teasing Caesar.

Hearing this, Caesar's heart sank, but he said calmly: "I spent a thousand gold coins on this rotten staff, and now it's only worth five hundred gold coins after you chopped it like this!" After saying that, he began to carefully observe the reactions of the other people.

"Kaisas, your staff is too dirty. You can't even see the magic patterns on it. I think you should find an opportunity to clean it up and then add a magic gem to it. This will definitely make it more powerful!"

After taking the staff, Evenk looked at it carefully and then handed it to Eric.

After Eric looked at it, he passed it on to others, and everyone expressed their opinions and suggestions on the staff.

"I'm so poor! I can't even afford magic crystals, and I'm still thinking about buying magic gems? It's fine as long as it can be used. I can buy it later when I have gold coins!"

Caesars noticed that everyone's gaze towards the staff was slightly different, and he silently memorized each expression. Of this mercenary group, he could only trust Rodman at the moment, and as for the others, he needed further observation and understanding.

His ancestors had once taught him a way to see through human nature, but while this method was good, it required him to disguise himself first and rely on strong personal strength to implement it. Therefore, the best strategy for him at the moment was to continue pretending to be poor, and to do so in a way that was obvious to everyone.

Evenk took Caesar's staff to be cleaned, and even used a brush to scrub it clean. This action surprised Caesar, because it was definitely more than just a simple favor.

"Kaesas, your staff is cracked!" a voice sounded.

Kaisas looked down at the staff in his hand and said nonchalantly: "It's okay, the magic pattern avoids the cracks, it doesn't affect the transmission of magic power, but the appearance...tsk tsk tsk tsk, now it's only worth a hundred gold coins!" After saying that, Kaisas shook his head with a distressed expression.

Caesars carefully examined the crack on the staff and found that the crack was quite large. He frowned and thought about how to repair the staff.

Caesars noticed the stain on the staff was gone, revealing the original wood grain. The staff was made from blackthorn branches, with two simple magic runes engraved on it. Since there was no magic gem embedded in it, he needed to use his own magic power to charge the magic runes.

Caesars stuck his staff into the ground, then took out a piece of bread and a sausage and began to chew slowly. As he ate, he observed his surroundings. He noticed the black snake in the linen bag was wriggling. He tossed it into the tent, thinking it was so full it couldn't even swim.

At this time, Evank looked over and saw that Caesars had casually thrown away the black snake. He asked in surprise: "Caesars, you just throw the golden-eyed black snake around like this?" Evank's eyelids twitched because he knew that the venom of the black snake was deadly.

Caesars replied with a smile, "This guy ate too much. I'll let him keep watch for me tonight. By the way, you three brothers and Luke always snore so loudly at home. Why weren't you snoring so loud yesterday?"

Caesar discovered this problem last night and he also found it a little strange.

"When sleeping in the wild, you can't snore too loudly, otherwise it will attract malicious mercenaries and may also attract monsters. We wear masks when we sleep, so the snoring sound is smaller and it won't affect your sleep!" Evank explained with a smile.

After a day of walking, everyone in the mercenary team was a little tired. After dinner, they all lay down in their tents.

The mist in the Felwood Forest was still spreading, and Kaesus gradually fell asleep in meditation.

Night, slightly cool.

The forest gradually awakened from the night, and numerous insects emerged from their hiding places under the fallen leaves. The clumsy Chocobos also began their delightful dinner, feasting on all manner of forest insects. Smaller snakes and lizards also became targets of the Chocobos.

Chocobos are over six feet tall and weigh nearly a hundred pounds. The patterns on their feathers resemble dead tree bark. When in danger, they never run away. Instead, they crouch down and hide their heads under their wings, disguising themselves as rotten tree stumps.

No mercenary would hunt a chocobo. Because these clumsy birds have eaten so many poisonous insects, their flesh not only contains toxins but also has an extremely unpleasant odor. If a person's body is contaminated with chocobo blood, the nauseating odor can linger for two weeks, and even washing clothes will have little effect.

Several figures in leather armor quietly approached the mercenary group's camp. In the distant dense forest, there seemed to be several more figures hidden.

"Fizz!"

As Caesars drifted off into sleep, he heard a rustling sound. Turning his head, he saw a golden-eyed black demon snake crawling toward him. The snake's body had become round, evidently undigested. It crawled to Caesars's ear and hissed again, as if conveying some message.

Kaisas was still asleep when he was awakened by the Golden Eyed Black Demon Snake's actions. He knew that the Golden Eyed Black Demon Snake had a keen sense of perception and could detect someone intruding into its territory. At this moment, its behavior made Kaisas realize that danger might be approaching.

Caesars quickly activated his darkvision and carefully lifted a corner of the tent to peer outside. He noticed subtle sounds, the twang of fallen leaves being trampled. Though faint, they were clearly audible. However, despite his careful observation, he saw no sign of anyone. This made him frown, thinking the person might be a stalker.

At this moment, Rodman came out of the next tent, fully dressed, with two short knives hanging from his waist and a longbow slung over his back, looking well prepared.

"Rodman, it seems that the person coming is a stalker!" Caesars said in a low voice.

Rodman smiled slightly and signaled Caesars to keep quiet. Then, something surprising happened - Rodman disappeared without a trace in front of Caesars.

Caesar's eyes widened, his heart filled with confusion and surprise. He suddenly remembered the elves in the crater. He remembered that the elven archers were all skilled in stealth. Perhaps Rodman was the same. At this thought, Caesar couldn't help but gain a new understanding of Rodman's strength.

Caesars quickly donned his magic robes and retrieved the severed staff. He quickly cast Magic Shield, Magic Armor, and Swiftness on himself, then immediately emerged from the tent. The small golden-eyed black snake also struggled to crawl out, slowly swimming towards the camp.

Kaisas cast the mage's Invisibility spell, his body became blurred and he followed the black snake from a distance. Although Invisibility was not as powerful as Stealth, it was still difficult to detect in the dark.

The black magic snake led Caesars into the dense forest, but there was still no sound of fighting from the camp, only slight snoring sounds coming from time to time.

The black snake seemed to be deliberately taking Kaisas on a detour. After a while, it suddenly stopped. Kaisas carefully observed the front and found six or seven figures hiding under a big tree in the dense forest not far away.

Caesar was startled. He had never thought he would encounter so many people here. But what surprised him even more was that the golden-eyed black snake continued to swim slowly, its speed so slow that it made almost no sound.

"Why haven't they sent a signal yet?"

A low voice came out. The man was wearing heavy magic steel armor, holding a heavy metal shield in one hand and a short-handled axe in the other. He was a heavily armored warrior.

"Don't worry, they should be successful soon. There are no stalkers in this mercenary team!" another person said confidently.

Next to the heavily armored warriors, there were four wind warriors wearing leather armor, an archer, and the last one was actually a magician.

A ray of light suddenly appeared in the dark forest, but it only flashed for a short moment.

"We'll go first, the mage will attack from the rear, and archers, please keep an eye on the mage's safety!"

Following the order, the men sprang into action. The heavily armored warriors raised their shields and axes, ready to charge; the wind warriors, swords in hand, followed behind. The magician and archer also slowly followed behind.

Caesars quietly followed them, closely observing their every move. He noticed their coordination was perfect, evidently a result of extensive training. The stalkers launched the first strike, striking their targets swiftly and accurately. After eliminating the key targets, the others prepared to surge forward.

Suddenly, the sound of fierce fighting erupted from the front. The magician and archer halted and hid in the nearby bushes. They remained vigilant, not daring to act rashly. The magician began to chant a spell, while the archer steadily placed his arrow on the bowstring, aiming at the enemy ahead.

At that moment, a golden-eyed black demon snake silently crept up behind the two men. Caesars, sensing his opportunity, cast a verbal curse and an elemental curse at the magician. While these two spells wouldn't cause any substantial damage, they successfully interrupted the magician's spellcasting, putting him in a difficult position.

Because his spell was interrupted, the magician, whose age was unclear, suffered a severe backlash. He clutched his chest in pain, his staff no longer able to support him, and he fell to the ground.

At the same time, the golden-eyed black snake quickly raised its body, bared its fangs, and bit the archer's buttocks. The archer screamed, but in a short moment, the golden-eyed black snake's venom quickly injected into his body.

As the black snake released its jaws, Caesars' spells rained down upon the archers. First came the Corruption spell, which caused the archers' bodies to rot and also eroded their vitality. Then came the Curse of Pain, which rapidly drained their vitality. Then came the Sacrifice spell, which mercilessly burned the archers' vitality. Finally, the Fear spell, which sent the poisoned archers into extreme panic, forcing them to flee like headless flies.

The fallen magician spotted Caesars coming from behind. However, due to the influence of the language curse, he was now unable to speak, and couldn't even beg for mercy.

Like a torrent, Kaesus' curses continuously assaulted the mage. He chose not to use Shadow Bolt, instead saving this powerful ability to avoid damaging the mage's robes and magical accessories. Finally, when Life Siphon struck the mage, his life came to an end.

The magician died a miserable death, powerless to resist. Even after death, his eyes were still wide open, as if expressing his resentment and anger.

The intense magic battle just now made Kaisas' heart pound. He was very nervous, but not afraid at all. In the past, he practiced magic with metal puppets, and pouring spells on the enemy was a completely different feeling.

Caesars quickly touched the corpse, putting the valuables into the storage ring, and putting the things that could not be put into the pocket. In just a short while, the magician's body was naked.

Caesars put on alchemical gloves and a protective mask and took out a bottle of undead rot. The dead magician was quite wealthy, so in order to prevent the other members of the mercenary team from finding out, he had to destroy the body.

It wasn't that Caesars didn't want to share his knowledge with others, but rather that he was worried about his own strength being exposed, and he preferred to avoid further trouble. He couldn't fully trust the other members of the mercenary team, at least for now.

After two drops of undead decay fell, the corpse quickly dissolved, and after a moment nothing was left.

The fighting in the camp had ended, and Caesars returned to the camp in the dark. Several people had suffered minor injuries, and they all looked at Caesars in surprise.

"Caesar, where have you been?" Elon asked with concern.

"I went out to pee and saw a guy hiding in the woods over there. He looked so sneaky, so I let a golden-eyed black snake bite him. I cast a few spells on him and he ran away in fear. It was too dark, so I didn't dare chase him, but I'm sure he couldn't get far!"

When Caesars said this, Rodman silently raised his thumb. He had been paying attention to Caesars the whole time.

"Who was bitten by the black snake?" Elon asked.

"The other party seems to be an archer, and I even picked up an arrow!"