Chapter 2565 Little Hero <TOC> Chapter 2567 The Cellar
Previous page password is bold portion: TrewA_9T@P1&
Translator: SumTLMan
When Angel and Mia passed through the narrow corridor and arrived at the cellar door, they first saw the woman and the little boy they had observed earlier with a scouting puppet.
The woman, still disguised as a “young boy,” stood in a corner, shielding the child behind her.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” she asked in a clear, youthful voice.
It seemed that the woman was not only adept at disguising herself but could also alter her voice, enhancing her ability to remain undetected.
“Brother, I’m scared,” said the little boy dressed as a hero, shivering behind the youth. He leaned against the wall for support, which slightly calmed him, but his trembling was still intense, especially his hand holding a little wooden sword.
“Don’t be afraid. As long as I’m here, I won’t let them bully you,” the youth replied, his eyes filled with stubborn pride and a feigned toughness.
As they conversed, a lazy voice spoke out.
“Kids, stop sliding against the wall and don’t try to shake so you can use your sword to trigger the mechanism behind the cupboard. It won’t be nice to be whipped.”
There was no doubt that this frivolous manner of speaking belonged to Daus.
As soon as Daus finished speaking, both the youth and the child’s faces changed, and the youth quickly said: “Hurry up, I’ll cover you.”
The little boy stopped pretending and squatted down, pushing his wooden sword into a gap behind the cupboard.
If the cupboard were moved now, one would see a tightly tied cord on the wall behind it, which would break if slashed with the sword. This cord was also connected to a hidden crossbow trap.
However, as the little boy was about to insert his wooden sword to cut the cord, he suddenly screamed in terror, sat down abruptly, and then tried to move back, but he was already in a corner with only the wall behind him.
Still terrified, the boy scrambled to his feet, wanting to get away from the place.
The youth, initially standing in front as if ready to sacrifice himself, turned around when he heard the little boy’s scream: “Colo, what’s happening?”
“There, there…there’s a ghost, there’s a ghost! Mom, there’s a ghost behind the cupboard. I saw it, eyes lurking in the dark gap, staring at me!”
At this point, the little boy Colo could no longer maintain his pretense and directly called out “Mom,” clarifying their relationship.
“A ghost?” The youth initially didn’t understand but then suddenly changed his expression and turned to look at several men who were calmly watching: “Did you do this? Are you wizards?”
No one answered her because, by that time, Angel and Mia had already entered the cellar.
Angel didn’t immediately look at the Mother and Son across from him; instead, he turned his head toward Daus and asked: “Are you being influenced by Mordiya? Always resorting to a whip.”
Daus, with a face that wasn’t entirely serious, replied: “Isn’t it normal to whip naughty kids? And it’s best if the whip has spikes and blood grooves.”
Angel: … I must be crazy to think of talking normally with Daus.
Angel didn’t bother to engage further with Daus and turned his attention to the mother and son opposite him: “One is a master of disguise, and the other, despite his young age, can act. True to form, a mother and son, talent for disguise runs in the family.”
His words made their faces grow even more unpleasant.
Children are still children, after all. The boy had indeed acted maturely before, but a scare from the “ghost” had broken his courage, making him cling to his mother’s legs and tremble.
Feeling her son’s tremors, the “young” mother suppressed her fear and spoke in a calm tone: “I’ve seen Mia, are you the backing of the White Crocodile Adventure Group?”
Angel didn’t respond, but the young mother took his silence as affirmation.
“The White Crocodile Adventure Group indeed has a feud with us, but it was you who struck first and stole our spoils of battle.”
Mia couldn’t hold back anymore and interjected: “You’re definitely from the Hero Squad! It wasn’t us who started it; you overstepped!”
“How about that? Are you going to argue about monopolizing again? Let me ask you, the Black Dragon Adventure Party, the Wildcat Squad, the Ruins Guard Squad, they also operate often in Area Three, do you dare mess with them?”
“They… they are different from you!”
A cold laugh followed: “What’s different? They are just stronger than you, and you’re too scared to act.”
Mia: “Even if that’s true, the law of the jungle is the rule of this place.”
“This place is just ruins; there are no rules, only human hearts and bottom lines. The so-called rules are just a smokescreen for excuses.” The youth still laughed coldly: “And your White Crocodile Adventure Group has no bottom line, using self-righteous rules to trap and devour I don’t know how many adventure groups. You deserved the retribution that came to you.”
“Retribution?” Daus repeated the word playfully: “The retribution for the White Crocodile Adventure Group is your Hero Squad?”
“Heroes exist in the heart; setting a bottom line for ourselves is our squad’s motto. We truly disdain retaliation against them; it was they who came to us first. In the end, they lost, and we didn’t wipe them out completely because that’s the hero’s bottom line. In battle, the sword is blind, but after the battle is over, as long as there’s a breath left, we’ve spared them. Otherwise, how do you think Mia survived?”
Daus: “However, the White Crocodile Adventure Group was eventually wiped out, weren’t they?”
“In this place, those who follow the law of the jungle, once they lose power, are inevitably devoured. Those who wiped them out were other adventure groups, not related to us.”
Mia: “It was your squad that directed them to do so, and moreover, you lured the Wizard Eye Ghost here and caused the death of my last two teammates!”
As soon as Mia finished speaking, Daus pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief. Had this girl forgotten her own words? She had sold out two of her teammates, which means, essentially, she was the cause of their direct demise!
“We scorn such actions, and whatever you’re talking about, this ‘Wizard Eye Ghost’, I have no idea. Believe it or not, it’s up to you!” With that, the boy fell silent, watching everyone with cautious eyes.
Although she was a woman with strong disguise and acting skills, these were merely the talents of an ordinary person. Angel and other transcendents didn’t even need to use truth detection magic; they could simply sense the emotional fluctuations to know she was telling the truth.
The Hero Squad didn’t strike at the White Crocodile Adventure Group; instead, it was the latter who came looking for trouble and lost. After the defeat, they didn’t kill the captives but let the remaining members go.
Of course, while Mia had lied, most of what she said was true from the standpoint of the White Crocodile Adventure Group. They saw “bullying the weak” and “reserving rights” as natural, and from their perspective, the Hero Squad had meddled with their “cake,” which they couldn’t tolerate.
However, from an observer’s viewpoint, the White Crocodile Adventure Group clearly deserved their fate.
As for the Hero Squad, it wasn’t clear if they were good or bad, as everyone has a moral baseline that can shift, and nobody knows if yours has shifted. Such idealistic philosophies are better left unheard; they’re just manipulative rhetoric.
“Alright, we understand your situation. We are not backers of the White Crocodile Adventure Group; we just used Mia to find you,” Angel finally spoke.
Hearing that the suspected transcendents were not affiliated with the White Crocodile Adventure Group, the young man’s expression eased somewhat. The Hero Squad was quite renowned in both Areas Two and Three, with few enemies. The White Crocodile Adventure Group was one of their rare adversaries. As long as the other party had no ties with them, there might still be a chance for survival.
After Angel spoke, he turned to Mia: “Now that we’ve confirmed you’re a member of the Hero Squad, you can leave. I won’t forget what I promised; the moment you step out of the cellar door, a protective spell will activate, lasting six hours. As long as you don’t linger in the ruins, you’ll safely make it out alive.”
Even though Mia had done many things that Angel disliked, and her stance was also displeasing to him, these were minor issues and none of his concern. Considering that Mia indeed held clues to entering the underground labyrinth and had led them to the Hero Squad, Angel would keep his word and ensure her safe departure.
“You mean you aren’t here to kill the Hero Squad?” Mia, hearing Angel’s words, was somewhat incredulous. She had thought her story had moved them to come and cause trouble for the Hero Squad. But now, listening to Angel, it seemed she had misunderstood?
“To kill or not, that’s none of your concern. Your role is over; just go, and don’t obstruct our view,” Daus spoke, then looked towards Angel: “You even cast a protective spell for her, what a waste. She managed to escape Area Three by betraying her teammates; I don’t believe she can’t leave without a protective spell.”
Angel ignored Daus and continued to gaze at Mia.
Even without any murderous intent or malice in Angel’s eyes, Mia still felt a chill down her spine. Moreover, under Angel’s watchful gaze, she had a premonition that if she didn’t leave now, she might never be able to.
Mia nodded stiffly: “I’ll leave now, right now.”
As she spoke, Mia slowly backed away. The moment she left the cellar doorway, a faintly glowing protective spell descended from the sky, enveloping her…
Meanwhile, inside the cellar.
“It’s really a waste to use it on her; it would be better to bestow a protective spell on Kael instead of dragging us down,” Daus muttered.
“You had enough time to bestow a protective spell on Kael while you were talking to me,” Angel replied with a look that said: “If you haven’t done it, why blame me?”
Kael, inadvertently dragged into the conversation, quickly waved his hands: “No need, no need, I have my own magic rune scroll for defense.”
No one paid attention to Kael, for he was not the focus of the discussion; he was just an “example” devoid of any sentiment.
At that moment, the Black Count suddenly spoke up: “I thought you were like that old-fashioned academic Holy Light Wanderer, but it turns out, your heart, once cut out, is also dark.”
Angel didn’t want to engage in idle chat, nor did he understand the meaning behind the Black Count’s words, simply responding: “Both black and white have their reasons to exist.”
Daus, curious, asked: “Lord Black Count, why would you say that?”
The Black Count, with a meaningful tone, said: “As you mentioned, not giving her a protective spell, the woman’s chance of survival is still quite high. But with the protective spell, it’s not certain that she’ll continue to live.”
Daus pondered deeply and quickly grasped the Black Count’s point.
Human nature changes, driven by self-interest and greed.
Initially, Mia might have truly wanted to escape the ruins, but now with the protective spell, might she entertain other ideas? Those dangerous forbidden areas are filled with what she considers treasures.
Once her thoughts change, Mia might not be able to make it out of the ruins. Greed is the original sin and could devour her chance to escape.
Daus patted Angel on the shoulder, admiringly saying: “I felt back in Princess Castle that you were a bit cunning, and I wasn’t wrong. You have quite a knack for manipulating human emotions. Well-versed in the art of illusion, aren’t you?”
Angel offered no explanation. A good deed turns bad, and a bad deed becomes good; it’s quite common in daily life, like good outcomes or a cruel fate, just a matter of a moment’s thought, and making a choice is all it takes.
All Mia needed to do was make a simple decision.
As for what she would choose, Angel didn’t care.
Rather than concerning himself with Mia, Angel was more focused on the real entrance leading to the deeper levels of the underground labyrinth and what secrets might be hidden behind that wall.
Thinking this, Angel looked towards the mother and son across from him.
As the woman dressed as a young boy saw Angel looking over, just as she was about to speak, she felt a moment of dizziness as if colors were changing into a spectrum, eventually forming a vortex that pulled her consciousness directly into it…
When facing Mia, Angel, wary of interfering with the divination, did not exert too much extraordinary power on her, and each question was asked verbally.
Now that the members of the Hero Squad have been found, there’s no need to worry about interference, and direct questioning will suffice.
As for other matters, such as the stories of their mother and son, as long as they are unrelated to the target location, there’s no need to pay attention to them.
The “young man” who was drawn into the Nightmare Illusion finally revealed her true face amid the mist of illusion, a woman about thirty years old, with fair skin but an otherwise plain and unremarkable face, with eyebrows so faint they were almost non-existent. It looked like a blank slate, which was probably why whatever she disguised herself as, she resembled. After all, painting on a blank slate allows for clearer and more distinct impressions compared to a colored picture.
“What is your name?” Angel asked softly, also testing whether the Nightmare Illusion had successfully infiltrated.
The woman blankly replied: “Marsha, or Camila.”
“Two names?”
“Marsha is the name my parents gave me; Camila is the name I’ve used the longest.”
Simply put, this woman changed her disguise often, and with each change, the name given by her parents became more and more unfamiliar to her. Instead, the names she used frequently in her disguises gradually replaced her real name.
This could be considered professional integrity, or perhaps, professional sadness.
“Then I’ll call you Marsha. Next, I will ask you a few questions, but remember, you not only need to answer my questions, if there are further details to some answers, you don’t need to wait for me to ask; you must explain everything.”
Angel gave a precautionary warning.
Marsha remained in a stiff state, nodding to Angel: “Okay.”
“Then let’s begin, the first question: Does your Hero Squad possess a secret underground passage, where is it and how does one enter?”