303: Chapter 257: The Dark Magic King’s Trade Tent 303: Chapter 257: The Dark Magic King’s Trade Tent My Riff would not lose, tiptoeing with heels raised and keeping his body low as he walked down the path.

Night had fallen, and this area was not under the jurisdiction of Star Dragon City.

Calamities appeared frequently, and those things were exceptionally sensitive to sounds.

While the Undead was not a Rune Messenger, he knew some simple methods to reduce the noise made while moving, and this content was also covered in Knight courses.

A Great Knight must necessarily be well-versed in close combat fighting skills, unarmed combat, archery, stealth reconnaissance, and many other areas.

According to Riff, the strongest infantry in the Rand Kingdom used to be the Archers, each of whom could easily wield a Two-handed Sword without any strain.

Those with less strength couldn’t even draw their bows.

There were always standout individuals in every type of soldier, but no one could be all-powerful because human strength has its limits.

However, things were slowly changing; the Supernatural Power of the Great Knights allowed the Soldiers to surpass ordinary humans.

The Soldiers were unpressured in both close defense and long-range attacks; a single individual was equivalent to a powerful army.

He kept the noise to a minimum.

But the light was growing dimmer, the moon above stingy with its glow tonight, and visibility was very low.

He groped his way forward.

“Splash!”

The terrain ahead suddenly gave way, and the Undead instinctively withdrew in shock.

A cliff face!

Thump, thump, thump— his heart was racing.

“This is a dead end!”

Just as My Riff was about to turn around and leave, he noticed something familiar on the ground, glowing faintly under the moonlight.

It looked like an Admonition Dagger.

[You cannot pass from this side]

“Damn!”

This Admonition Dagger was slightly different from that of the Undead, more uniquely fashioned, probably supplied by the system.

My Riff turned back, but didn’t forget to inform the others of his discovery.

“I found a path, but it’s a dead end, and there’s also an admonition from the system.

Clearly, the game developers knew we would take this route.”

“What, that thing too?” The other Undead immediately began searching around themselves, indeed finding an admonition at the end of every dead-end path.

“The more they do this, the more I feel something’s not right.

There’s definitely something hidden around here,” My Riff was certain.

He was distracted as he walked back the way he came, all the while privately messaging the others.

The route on the way had been safe without alarming anything, but on the return trip, something was off.

A gust of wind suddenly hit the back of his head, and My Riff instinctively crouched down, the oppressive wind grazing past his scalp.

“What is that?” he supported himself with one hand, staggering forward before quickly pivoting on his elbow to change direction.

He wore heavy equipment to achieve high defense and attributes, so he tried to avoid falling.

Actions like forward rolls, which could otherwise be avoided, were last resorts—getting up once fallen proved not just strenuous but also stiff.

It was a lean shadow with long arms that moved swiftly.

He drew his sword almost by instinct to block in front, the collision with the arm sparking fire.

“Mediocre!” My Riff uttered the judgment as his knees exploded with power.

The sword that had been held in front in a defensive posture instantly turned into an upward thrust as he lunged forward.

The sword he wielded was a short-bladed two-handed sword with a hilt that could be used as a small hammer for close-range heavy blows against an enemy.

The material wasn’t very robust, but it was infused with Mystic Runes.

Frost covered the palm-wide blade in an instant, and amidst the gradually heating air, a sudden chill arose that made one shiver uncontrollably.

The sword caught under the shadow’s chin, effortlessly tossing it into the air.

Once the fight started, My Riff would not let up.

He surged forward, his blade fiercely targeting the thin shadow’s throat.

But the shadow reacted swiftly, and as My Riff waited for it to fall to the ground for execution, it extended its arms in a grab, aiming for a mutual demise.

Pchht—!

The sword plunged into its throat successfully, and a viscous fluid that wasn’t quite blood gushed out, thick to the ear.

“Combat IQ is low, all it knows is to attack,” he said, stepping on the chest of the motionless corpse and pulling his sword free.

There was a big commotion, so he did not dare to stay; he quickly turned and left.

Nothing but trails!

Testing each winding trail one by one, they encountered numerous battles.

The number of calamities in this area was astonishing, and they were very adept at lying in wait.

They wouldn’t attack head-on as they approached, only striking suddenly when their backs were turned; many suffered losses unwittingly.

It was only at daybreak that the group reconvened.

They stood before a cliff.

If it were just a dead end, that would have been one thing, but there were rope bridges on both sides, simply broken for some reason.

“Now we’ve really found the right path!”

As expected, there were admonitions before the broken bridge.

[The bridge that has been destroyed, you cannot pass from here.]

Cannot pass from here?

Had they forgotten about their bird?

There was no need for a bridge; they could simply fly over.

A low-flying undead blew a signal through his mask, and a group of strange birds trailing behind circled around; a bare-feathered strange bird flew over.

“I’ll go over first!” The undead grabbed the bird’s claws and leaped up.

The volcano monster bird flapped its wings with effort but because the undead had worn his best gear for this journey, the enormous weight made it very difficult for the volcano monster bird to get airborne.

After struggling with a couple of flaps, it couldn’t take off and eventually just had to glide.

A distance of a few dozen meters was not far for gliding, but after covering a third of it, the volcano monster bird suddenly began to circle in place.

“Damn, there’s an air wall!

I’m too heavy, I can’t fly back—ah—ah—!”

The undead watched as the volcano monster bird was barred by an invisible force and couldn’t pass.

Exhausted, they were dragged down into the abyss by the undead.

Fortunately, in the last moment, the undead reacted and let go of the volcano monster bird’s claws, avoiding crashing with his “parachute” and saving on expenses.

“This path is also a dead end.”

“But this direction should be correct.”

As they turned back to continue searching, they suddenly noticed a wisp of smoke rising from afar.

“There are people!”

When the undead reached the location, they found it was a small campsite with people moving back and forth and some cooking breakfast.

They also saw a familiar figure among them.

“Voldemort!

No, it’s Renzo!”

Renzo was still dressed in his black robe, his bald head and cadaverous frame making him look almost like a ghost.

There were not many popular male NPCs, with Lind being a favorite due to his strength and frequency of appearances, while Dome and Renzo were entirely because of their looks.

Especially after Lind intentionally styled them in this direction, it wasn’t that they looked alike so much as they shared an uncanny resemblance in terms of aura.

“Undead?” Renzo’s voice was hoarse.

“What are you doing here?” the undead asked.

“Of course, because of…” Renzo chuckled hoarsely, “because of some interesting things.

Would you like to make a trade?

A trade concerning Snake Catcher Fortress.”

The undead exchanged glances, seeing excitement in each other’s eyes.

So, the starting point for the Snake Catcher Fortress story was here.

“What trade?”

“I need things about Snake Catcher Fortress, some precious, um, interesting things, anything!

If you can bring me something that interests me, I can pay a certain reward…”

Renzo took out a stone and with a cackling laugh that suggested Avada Kedavra was next, said, “The reward will surely satisfy you.”

“Star Dragon Stone!”

Now they simply had to accept the mission!