Chapter 71 - 26: [Lord of Kana, King of Blood-Rust Crows]

Chapter 71: Chapter 26: [Lord of Kana, King of Blood-Rust Crows]

SWISH! A wave of heat struck his face. The scorching flint gunhead was only two inches from Norman’s throat. He swallowed the rest of his words, feeling the sweat on his neck evaporate from the smoldering weapon.

"I told you to scram. I won’t repeat myself a fourth time." Augusta slowly withdrew his spear. "If you want to retreat, do it yourself, you piece of trash. I won’t stop advancing at a time like this."

"I’ll tell all the adventurers in the camp about the current situation," Norman replied. "I’ll let them decide for themselves."

"Do as you please." Augusta continued to stare blankly at the map on the wall.

He heard Norman Passat exit the tent and shout about the current circumstances across the camp. Norman frankly took the blame for the failed grain transport and pointed out that if they evacuated now, everyone would still leave with a net profit of at least several hundred thousand.

"Those who are willing to retreat with me now, please raise your hands!" Norman shouted outside the tent.

Augusta scoffed and strode out of the tent. He watched as roughly a third of the people raised their hands, another third hesitated, and the final third cursed Norman for his incompetence while continuing toward the gathering points outside the camp.

"I know our current food situation, and I understand your thoughts." He looked around.

Everyone quieted down, their eyes fixed on the leader of this operation—the level-eleven adventurer, Augusta the Flame Spike.

"You are free to choose," he said.

"Those who want to leave can retreat with Norman Passat," Augusta shouted. "However, according to the adventurers’ rules, when we breach the Second Ring and the Core Area of the Demon King City, only the brave ones who stayed behind will be qualified to share the spoils."

The crowd broke into fervent discussions, teammates arguing over whether to retreat now or stay a little longer.

The materials in the Inner Ring of the Underground City were worth more than Gold. Almost every piece of high-level demonized material and Demon Race artifact could be put on the auction block in the Habitable Zone.

"We’ve already secured nearly a million in loot per person! As long as we safely bring these Demonized Materials back to Luojie City, more than half of us could even take the money back to the Habitable Zone and retire on the spot!" Norman yelled. "Running out of food is a wake-up call for us. It’s time to retreat!"

"That is true, and I also advise you to retreat," Augusta shouted. "However, I will stay. Fortune favors the bold. Brave souls who desire wealth beyond measure, Warriors seeking ultimate power, Mages and Alchemists pursuing absolute truth—you can stay with me. The choice is yours."

Chaos. It was complete chaos. People argued and debated with each other throughout the camp.

After hours of turmoil, the crowd split into two factions. Half of the adventurers continued their gathering and hunting, while the other half began packing up their teams’ loot from the past few days, preparing to leave.

Of the thirteen level-nine adventurers, eleven chose to stay.

Both of the two level-ten adventurers stayed.

"I suggest you leave too, Augusta," Norman said, looking at the leader with deep concern.

But Augusta had already turned and walked away.

Norman Passat sighed.

"Don’t worry, old friend, Kara-Za—the Flame Spike, he’ll be fine." A familiar gruff voice came from near his elbow, muttering a mouthful of Dwarven words. "He’s a level-eleven adventurer, after all."

"I hope so, old friend." Norman looked down at the Dwarf Hammer Wielder holding a war pick next to his elbow.

"I support you, long-legs Norman." The Dwarf with the massive brown beard laughed heartily. "It’s about time we call it quits. Even though I really want to test my mettle against the Demon Monarch, it’s just too unfair if we have nothing to eat. If you ask me, a fight shouldn’t happen unless both sides have full bellies!"

"Yeah, Barkley." Norman stared blankly into the distance of the underground dome, where the opulent silhouette of the Demon King’s Fortress was clearly visible in the shadows. "If only everything in the world could be fair. How wonderful that would be."

"You’re thinking too far ahead! Just mine the stones in front of you for now! If you keep your head down and dig enough rocks, you’ll hit gold sooner or later. It’s only a matter of time." Barkley the Dwarf chuckled as he turned away, heading off to find his team to move their loot.

Norman closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. When he opened them again, the Little Mage from his team had already come up to him.

"Mr. Norman?" she asked. "Did you take the blame for us again?"

"I didn’t take the blame for you; this was my problem to begin with. Naturally, I have to bear the responsibility for what I messed up," Norman Passat explained calmly. "Get ready to leave... We’ve made hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins on this trip. You can go back to the Floren Royal Capital now."

"...Go back... go back to what?" the Little Mage asked blankly.

"I promised your mother I’d take good care of you, Julian." Norman leaned down and grasped the Little Mage’s shoulders. "I left the Floren Royal Capital and traveled thousands of miles to become an adventurer just to earn enough for your tuition at Lunos Academy.

"Now that you’ve successfully graduated and earned your Silver Star Badge, I continued being an adventurer to make enough money for you to test for the Golden Star and join the Tower of the Stars. You’re a little genius; being an adventurer in the Barren Land and dangerous Underground Cities is a waste of your talents.

"The money from this trip is more than enough for you to take the Golden Star exam, so you can return to the Floren Royal Capital. It’s been hard on you, suffering with me in a godforsaken place like this for the past two years since your graduation."

"I..." The Little Mage hesitated. "I... I don’t want to go back."

"Be good. This was your mother’s dying wish." Norman didn’t say anything more. He just turned to pack up their loot. "I made a promise to her."

"I want to keep being an adventurer," the Little Mage’s voice came from behind him.

Norman ignored her.

...

The camp was soon half empty. The moment the silhouettes of the departing half of the adventurers vanished, the ground abruptly began to shake violently.

BOOM!

The passage leading back to the Fourth Ring exploded with a deafening roar. A cluster of drill-like spiral fangs firmly blocked the retreat route, trapping the remaining half of the adventurers in the Third Ring of the Underground City!

"Oh, an Earth-Devouring Demon Insect," Augusta said. He stood atop a fortress on the flank of the camp, calmly observing the steel fangs that had sealed off their escape.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Arrogant, maniacal laughter echoed among the buildings of the Third Ring, laughing so hard it seemed breathless!

The laughter of the Lord of Kana reverberated beneath the dome. In an instant, hundreds upon thousands of Demon Crows flew out from the distant castle, circling like a storm beneath the ceiling.

On the elevated bridges between the fortresses, crowds of crouching, black-robed figures suddenly revealed themselves. Some extended arthropod-like claws, hanging upside down and rapidly descending along silk threads. Some spread massive wings from their backs to circle above the camp. Some brandished thick, scaled talons, while others exposed half-insect exoskeletons resembling heavy Knight armor. Some swiftly burrowed into the soil, and others extended green, plant-like tentacles from beneath their robes.

Hundreds of demonized beings rapidly converged on the camp!

CRASH!

In the distance, the castle’s drawbridge came crashing down!

"Throw the minnows back into the pond, but keep the fat fish for the net."

Amidst the wild laughter, the Monarch in auburn armor appeared from the castle structures at the edge of the Second Ring. He wore a raven-beaked helm, donning skirt armor that flared like wings and a dust-colored long cape. A massive, crested Demon Crow perched on his hooked, beak-like shoulder armor.

CAW! CAW! the Demon Crow shrieked weirdly.

Wielding finely crafted, pitch-black twin blades—one long and one short—in his hands, he crossed the drawbridge and looked down upon the adventurer camp from his high vantage point.

"You didn’t actually think my Burrower Legion would be wiped out by a single squad of Imperial Sword Guards wielding Blood Steel Swords, did you?" Valak grinned from beneath his raven-beaked helm. He clashed his long and short twin blades together with a loud CLANG, sending a few clusters of sparks flying.

Accompanied by a rumbling roar, the sound of rhythmic marching echoed from the gates of the Second Ring. Thousands of fully armored Burrower Knights, wielding savage heavy hammers and giant blades, strode proudly out of the city gates.

"Lord of Kana! For the Lord of Kana!" they roared, charging headlong toward the adventurer camp.