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Chapter 89: The Sand Painting Group (1)
1.
The Malgur Oasis.
More abundant than any other oasis in the Nihal Desert, this oasis is overflowing with powerful monsters due to its richness.
Therefore, it is the most barren place for adventurers.
However, the Malgur Oasis was not harsh and cruel to all adventurers.
There were exceptions.
For example, adventurers of the 6th Circle or higher.
For them, the Malgur Oasis was by no means a dangerous stage.
The Mace of Adin, one of the executives of the Sand Painting Group, proved that fact right now.
“You damn monster bastards!”
Woosh!
He swung a huge mace, the size of an adult man’s body, like a toy.
Crack!
And the Lupins, the monkey monsters that rushed at Adin, were crushed like toys by the mace he swung.
It was a breathtaking sight.
Keeek!
A breathtaking sight, enough to make the vicious Lupin flock run away in fear without looking back.
“Sniff!”
Thud!
Adin, who had dealt with the Lupin flock in an instant, put the mace down on the floor, and at that sight, his subordinates, the members of the Sand Painting Group, looked at him with admiration.
“As expected of Adin-nim!”
That’s how overwhelming Adin’s strength was.
“Don’t get too excited, everyone.”
That’s why Adin’s face was stiff.
“We didn’t come here to hunt monsters.”
Originally, there was no reason for a strong person like Adin to come to the Malgur Oasis.
It was an unsuitable stage.
Moreover, Adin the Mace, he was an executive of the Sand Painting Group.
A core member of the Sand Painting Group, who gladly raised the flag of rebellion to stop the tyranny of the Ariant Kingdom!
He was the one the Ariant Kingdom was trying to get rid of by any means possible.
“We have to take over the Prince’s Tomb.”
The fact that he appeared in front of the Prince’s Tomb, which was the focus of the Ariant Kingdom’s attention?
It was crazy.
The story of his appearance would have been immediately conveyed to the Ariant Kingdom, and now powerful experts would flock to catch him.
In other words, there was a reason why Adin, the Mace, came here despite the risk.
“We have to let them know that all of this was a ploy.”
In fact, the Sand Painting Group’s initial goal was simply to interfere with the capture of the Prince’s Tomb.
Anything more than that was not easy for the Sand Painting Group.
If they made a mistake, they could end up making enemies of the adventurers participating in this capture of the Prince’s Tomb.
In many ways, the Sand Painting Group could lose that important justification, which was important to them.
However, the moment the Mystic Gate raid began, the situation changed.
“That everything was already rigged beforehand.”
This capture of the Prince’s Tomb was not a fair festival, but a ploy that the Ariant royal family had already prepared in advance to make a fool of the gathered adventurers.
It was an opportunity to inform the adventurers of Maple World of the immorality of the Ariant royal family.
Of course, there was no definitive evidence yet, and that was why.
“We have to catch the Royal Family’s lackeys somehow.”
That’s why Adin the Mace came directly to the Mystic Gate.
Because the adventurers coming out of the Prince’s Tomb would be clear and definitive evidence.
“By whatever means necessary.”
Naturally, Adin the Mace had no intention of sparing his mace in the process of securing that evidence.
“As soon as they come out, I’ll start by crushing their arms and legs. They’re the Ariant Kingdom’s dogs anyway.”
Moreover, the adventurers in the Prince’s Tomb right now were not pure and sincere adventurers, but rather the Ariant royal family’s, or rather Queen Areda’s, dogs who participated in her plan.
From the perspective of the Sand Painting Group, who hated the Ariant royal family more than anyone else, it would be strange to spare them.
Anyway, that was the situation.
A situation where they had to catch anyone who came through that portal, no matter what happened.
The moment they had to break at least one of their arms or legs as soon as they saw them.
That was the moment.
Splash!
‘The portal!’
The yellow portal of the Mystic Gate, which had been like the calm surface of a lake, started to shake.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Everyone got ready.
Each of them held their weapons, preparing to attack the adventurer who would come over.
Tight!
Adin the Mace also raised his mace.
With the determination to strike down in an instant.
And everyone pictured it in their minds.
‘They’ll be surprised to see us as soon as they come out.’
‘They might come in to attack.’
‘They might try to run away.’
All the possibilities.
So everyone was confident. That they would not panic no matter what situation came.
Then, an adventurer appeared from beyond the portal in front of them.
“Ugh!”
And the adventurer who appeared collapsed on the floor.
‘Wh-what?’
It didn’t end there.
Four more adventurers appeared in succession, and all of them collapsed on the floor without exception.
Their faces were blackened as if they were about to die, no, as if they were already dead.
Everyone knew what that meant.
“Assassin’s poison!”
It was one of the characteristics of the poison used by the Assassins who terrorized the Nihal Desert.
In many ways, it was an unexpected situation.
That was why no one could move as they had prepared in this situation.
In fact, there was no need to attack.
What reason was there to attack someone who was already dying?
That was when it happened.
“Pl-please.”
One of the collapsed adventurers, the one who came out first, opened his mouth, and at that voice, Adin moved.
There was no hesitation.
An adventurer dying from Assassin’s poison was unlikely to be a threat.
At the same time, he had another thought.
‘If they were hit by the Assassins, they must have been hit by Queen Areda.’
The fact that they were hit by the Assassins, who were practically minions of the Ariant Kingdom, meant that they were likely adventurers close to the Sand Painting Group.
“Pl-please. This… give this to Prince Kashan…”
And the moment he heard the adventurer’s request, Adin the Mace no longer hesitated.
“Shio!”
“Yes, Adin-nim.”
“Bring the antidote. We’re taking them alive.”
2.
“The Sand Painting Group is on the move.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s impossible to get any more information from the Prince’s Tomb.”
Prince Kashan didn’t say anything at his subordinate’s report.
‘So this is how it’s going to be.’
As his subordinate said, there was nothing more Prince Kashan could do at this point.
It would be nice to catch Adin the Mace, but it was virtually impossible to catch him in this situation.
‘It’s not bad.’
And in fact, from Prince Kashan’s point of view, there was no need to catch Adin the Mace.
Because he knew.
‘Adin the Mace is moving to get evidence that the competition for the Prince’s Tomb is not fair.’
The reason why the Sand Painting Group was moving.
‘Queen Areda planned this. In the end, all the blame will be directed at Queen Areda.’
The goal that the Sand Painting Group wanted was also beneficial to Prince Kashan.
In fact, that alone was enough of a harvest.
In other words, Prince Kashan did not expect.
“The El Pam Party is.”
The El Pam Party, he didn’t expect them to do anything.
He couldn’t.
Because Prince Kashan was sure.
“They must have been wiped out.”
That they no longer existed in this world.
3.
“Thank you for saving us.”
As El Pam raised his head with those words, he saw three people.
He couldn’t tell who the three were. They were all covering their entire faces with cloth.
He couldn’t even see their eyes.
It wasn’t strange.
Their identity was the Sand Painting Group, an enemy of the Ariant Kingdom, and it was important for them to hide their identity more than anything else.
In other words, hiding their identity meant that they were still wary of El Pam.
This wasn’t strange either.
From the Sand Painting Group’s point of view, all the adventurers who entered the Mystic Gate were Queen Areda’s dogs.
The El Pam Party was no different. The investigation of the El Pam Party was not yet complete.
That meant they couldn’t reveal their identity to El Pam.
“We didn’t save you.”
Naturally, it meant that they were willing to eliminate El Pam at any time if necessary.
In fact, it was strange that they had saved him in the first place.
Originally, at least two of his limbs should have been broken.
“He’s been poisoned by the Assassins.”
The only reason they saved him was because of the Assassin’s poison.
“Why was he attacked by the Assassins?”
Being attacked by the Assassins practically meant being attacked by Queen Areda.
At least that’s how the Sand Painting Group saw it.
‘They’re falling for it as expected.’
And that was exactly what El Pam intended.
If they were poisoned by the Assassins, at least they wouldn’t attack first.
Of course, he had also prepared for exceptions.
‘Thanks to that, I won’t have to use the antidote I prepared.’
He had already hidden the antidote to the Assassin’s poison in his mouth. He had also given it to his comrades.
He told them as he handed it over.
If the situation wasn’t favorable, they would take the antidote and immediately go into battle.
It would be much more advantageous to fight in a state where the opponent was off guard, thinking they were weakened by the poison, rather than fighting as soon as they came out of the Mystic Gate.
Anyway, the alternative plan he had prepared was meaningless.
Now he just had to go with the best plan.
“Is this the Assassin’s poison?”
“You didn’t know?”
El Pam pretended not to know.
“I am El Pam, I made a contract with Prince Kashan. To capture the Prince’s Tomb. And we proceeded with the capture quickly.”
He disguised himself as he spoke.
“And we found the relic of the Fourth Prince, and at that moment, we were poisoned. From then on, we moved for our lives to find the exit. To deliver this to Prince Kashan.”
As an adventurer who risked his life for Prince Kashan.
As a noble adventurer.
Of course, the Sand Painting Group did not believe his acting.
El Pam wasn’t acting this way to make the Sand Painting Group believe him in the first place.
‘I brought the relic of the Fourth Prince.’
What he was aiming for was a trade-off.
‘That could mean I’m the one who brought the Fourth Prince’s will.’
For the Sand Painting Group to weigh whether El Pam was useful or not.
Indeed, the Sand Painting Group began to weigh the options.
‘A survivor of the Prince’s Tomb, and he has the relic of the Fourth Prince.’
‘Prince Kashan is opposed to Queen Areda. If he follows him, he will eventually attack Queen Areda.’
And the result of that weighing tipped towards saving El Pam, towards using him.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were going to rush into it.
‘He could be Queen Areda’s dog.’
They still had to be suspicious of El Pam’s identity.
“I can’t believe your words.”
In fact, there were many reasons to be suspicious.
“The fact that the five of you in your party made it to the exit is even more so.”
The most suspicious thing was El Pam’s skill itself.
How did only five of them manage to capture the Mystic Gate, which even the Fourth Prince couldn’t do?
El Pam answered that question.
“We were able to capture the exit because we followed the traces left by the Prince’s rescue team.”
“Even so, it wouldn’t have been easy, would it?”
“I am El Pam. I’m not confident in my monster hunting abilities, but I’m more confident than anyone in finding the exit in the Mystic Gate.”
I will prove it with my skills.
At those words, the members of the Sand Painting Group remained silent.
‘The scales will tip differently.’
That’s how El Pam’s words sounded to them.
‘The opportunity to use me has come.’
An opportunity to capture the Mystic Gate, which no one had been able to capture before, by using the party that had also captured the Prince’s Tomb.
The weight was shifting towards saving El Pam.
Of course, it wasn’t a situation that would be easily resolved.
There were still many suspicions.
‘This is just the beginning.’
El Pam didn’t think it would be resolved easily either.
Creak!
“I’m from Cross Hunter. I will prove his identity.”
Until Cheryl appeared through the opening door.
[Translator – Pr?ks]
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