Chapter 41 (1/2)
Chapter 41: Lightning Intrusion!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The bandits in the cave had long heard the cries and commotion outside the cove. But they hadn’t expected the intruders to be able to get inside so fast. When the three mercenaries emerged at the cave entrance, the bandits were completely unaware. They were impossibly fast!
Between the cries outside and the arrival of the intruders, no more than three minutes had passed. It was so fast that they had no time to draw up a plan.
Facing two strong guards at the cave entrance, the mercenaries noticed that the two bandits were clad in a different armor than those inside. It was noticeably of finer quality. In the dim lights of the cave, they saw that the weapons in their hands also glowed with a dim light—they were boosted by magic!
This made the three mercenaries hesitate, their charging footsteps slowed down at once.
These were magic weapons, and magic weapons were extremely expensive. Not only that, but the power of these weapons were not to be underestimated either.
They’d always known that Viktor, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, was very wealthy. They’d heard that even his sh*t was gilded with gold. But they never expected him to be so opulent to the extent where he would arm his guards with magic gears and weapons!
Link was shocked too. A real magic sword was worth at least 100 gold coins. Viktor was, after all, just the leader of a pack of bandits—where did he find all that money?
He examined them closely, then a mission notification popped up on the interface.
Silent Cave Guard
Level-2 Elite Swordsman
Main gear: Silent longsword
Link then averted his attention to the Silent Longsword, and the gear’s description appeared on the interface.
Silent Longsword
Quality: Average
Material: Hundred Layered Steel
Effects: Lesser Sharpness Potion
After reading these notifications Link breathed a sigh of relief. The lesser sharpness potion was one of the cheapest alchemy potions in the game. In fact, Link’s body’s original owner had a relevant memory of it too. This weapon potion, made with wild Steelbloom, would cost one gold coin per bottle, and each bottle could be used five times, the effects lasting for an hour.
As the name might suggest, the potion could enhance the sharpness of weapons. For such a low-level potion, even if the effects were small it was still very effective.
Link saw how the three mercenaries were reluctant to make a move, so he assured them, “They’re not real magic weapons. Those swords were just doused with an alchemy potion. It’s nothing to worry about. Go!”
The mercenaries trusted Link’s knowledge, so when they heard his affirmation, their doubts cleared. The Warrior Jacker roared out a battle cry, then lifted his thick heavy shield to protect his body as he charged towards the guards like a bull.
Lucy followed closely at his heels, but Gildern stayed behind to guard Link. At the same time, he kept his arrows nocked, ready to shoot.
Jacker was a Level-3 Warrior; he emitted Combat Aura when he charged forward, his shield was shrouded in a hazy earthy yellow light, and he stood at nearly seven-feet tall. All this combined to make Jacker’s assault a wild and brutal one.
The two swordsmen didn’t even dare to block the attack, they bolted to the side to evade instead.
These two were Elite Swordsmen, so their limbs were decidedly agile. They could predict the direction of the attacks and successfully escape from being hit.
“Have a taste of my hammer!”
Jacker’s other hand held a war hammer. The moment he saw the guards evading his attack, he flung his hammer at one of them.
Clang! Bash! The swordsman attempted to block the attack but to no avail. The force of Jacker’s hammer was just too ferocious to counter. With a swing of the hammer, the sword in the guard’s hand was sent flying, and without any hesitation, Jacker swung the hammer again at the guard’s chest.
On impact, the swordsman’s chest was instantly dented, and he was flung back about ten feet. He was dead before he even hit the ground.
The other bandit did not retreat, but he used the opportunity to charge towards Jacker with his sword. Just as his sword was going to cut Jacker’s waist, it was suddenly blocked by another sword—Lucy’s.
The bandit was stunned, and in that moment Gildern saw the perfect opening. He shot his arrow, then, whoosh! The arrow hit the bandit in the face, and he fell backward, instantly slain.
The three mercenaries worked together seamlessly. Those two Level-2 Elite bandits were both killed in a single joint attack.
This was not out of Link’s expectation. These mercenaries had been working in the North and therefore could not have been mediocre people. Those who had average skills would have been killed long ago, it would have been impossible for them to survive up there.
Link saw Lucy trying to raid the belongings on the bandits’ corpses, so he urged her in a low voice, “Not now, go on forward!”
Jacker added, “We must kill Viktor first! We can’t let him escape!”
Fine, thought Lucy. These men don’t appreciate how much these expensive things are hard to come by. Hesitantly, Lucy left the dead bandits, stealing a lingering glance at a perfectly good longsword that lay on the floor before following Jacker into the cave.
On their way, they met with more elite members of the Dark Brotherhood, but the cave’s passage was narrow and so the elite bandits could only attack them, at most, four at a time. They, like the guards, did not expect these intruders to reach inside so quickly, so they were all caught off guard and hurried out with absolutely no preparation. The mercenaries, on the other hand, were ready for anything that came at them. Their attacks were fierce, violent and decisive.
When the opposing sides converged, the bolder side won. In a short period of time, the elite bandits dropped like flies.
During the battle, Link did not lift a finger. The only move he made was to cast a Physical Avatar on himself, and so in the cave, there were two Links. He did this to prevent Viktor’s sneak attack.
In the game, Viktor was a Level-3 Assassin and the Silent Cave was a dark, dimly lit place. That would certainly give him an upper hand because Assassins thrived in the darkness. Therefore, it would be foolish for Link not to use extra defensive tactics.
The only problem was the fact that controlling this Physical Avatar required his full concentration, otherwise, it might even attack the mercenaries.
Not long after defeating the onslaught of bandits, they reached a large underground hall.
This was a spot in the cave gouged out to make room for this large meeting space. The ground was paved and leveled and covered with wooden planks making the top smooth and flat. The four walls around it were deliberately cut too, and on the ceiling, there were a lot of candles which brilliantly lit up the whole hall.