Chapter 474

Chapter 474: Hidden Ruins

The timing of this strike was flawlessly precise.

The massive lizard had stretched its neck to bite a fighter, leaving itself fully exposed and at its most vulnerable.

Midi channeled his entire weight and the heft of the Horn King Greatsword, combining them with speed and momentum to unleash a devastating downward slash from above, striking from the creature’s blind spot.

The blade cleaved through the unprepared lizard’s neck. Blood sprayed as the strike severed half its throat. Though its formidable Vitality kept it alive for now, the beast lost all attack power.

A fierce figure had plummeted from above, striking without warning. Both sides in the clash froze in confusion.

The lizards shrieked hoarse roars while the three fighters gaped in shock.

“Who are you?” the eldest fighter demanded warily.

“Questions later. Deal with the lizards first.” Midi dismissed the inquiry and barked orders. Though doubtful, the fighters complied—they had no better choices.

Under Midi’s command, the four easily handled the remaining lizards. The crystallized beasts that had pushed the fighters to the brink were swiftly isolated and eliminated.

Staring at the corpses, the three dark elves felt as if they’d been pulled from hell to heaven.

“Who… are you?” the older fighter repeated after catching his breath, this time with deference.

“Midi Asreks,” he answered curtly, already harvesting the lizards’ heart blood. The Eighth Apostle Rot wasted no time extracting their cores.

Though potions made from crystallized lizard heart blood no longer benefited Midi, rare materials were never to be wasted. He left the eyeballs untouched this time.

“Midi! The Death Scorpion family’s human core disciple!” the female dark elf blurted.

During the Fighter Selection, Thor—the Level 67 “Warrior”—had drawn crowds. Midi, entering under Thor’s protection, had gained notoriety. A Level 63 human becoming a Death Scorpion core disciple was remarkable enough to be remembered.

The trio’s eyes burned with envy—a Death Scorpion core disciple’s status in Mososbury City held immense weight. Yet Midi detected faint wariness beneath their admiration.

“What’re you doing?” the youngest fighter asked.

“Harvesting heart blood. Top-tier potion material. Sells for fortunes in Mososbury.”

The trio’s expressions shifted. The prideful young male darkened—they’d weakened the lizards through prolonged combat, so shouldn’t the spoils be shared? How else could this human have slain the largest so easily?

But now, Midi was keeping it all to himself, which the young fighter couldn’t accept.

"Mr. Midi, since we fought these crystallized lizards together, shouldn’t…" After long hesitation, the young fighter finally spoke up.

The older fighter beside him cut him off with a raised hand.

"Mr. Midi, the heart blood is rightfully your spoils. But might I ask a small favor?"

"What favor?" Midi stared directly at him.

"We didn’t come to this ruin by chance." The older fighter stamped the ground dramatically. "There’s treasure buried deep beneath us!"

The two younger fighters gasped, but the older man waved them off. "Fifty years ago, fighters from our three small families found clues here but couldn’t explore further. Now we aim to claim that treasure. Will you help? We’ll give you thirty percent!"

Their plan made sense. The underground Dragon Tower belonged to core members of powerful families – far beyond Level 64 fighters like them. The older gunner, young female assassin, and male Demon Swordman stood no chance there. Better to target this ruin before their Black Dragon Remnant Tokens expired.

For Midi, still below Level 64, this offered both resources for breakthrough and practice with alchemical mechanisms before tackling the Dragon Tower. Yet their quick secret-sharing seemed suspicious.

A glint flashed in Midi’s eyes before he smiled warmly. "I’ll help."

"Excellent!" The older gunner beamed while the other two frowned but stayed silent.

They cleared more crystallized lizards before reaching a crumbling structure. Using ancestral notes, the gunner soon found the hidden entrance – a tight passage requiring single-file movement.

"I’ll take point," Midi offered.

The gunner pretended to protest: "We can’t let you risk yourself!"

"I know Mechanics besides potion-making," Midi countered, watching their reactions. "I’ll handle the traps."

The party crept through the narrow tunnel. Midi’s Half-Sight Perception spotted every detail – spiked pits, whirling blades, explosive magic arrays. Behind him, the trio grew increasingly uneasy as trap after trap emerged. Without Midi, their tokens would’ve expired halfway.

After hours of disarming devices, they reached a massive quartz door. The room beyond offered rest, but Midi volunteered to scout ahead. This time, the gunner didn’t offer to accompany him.

When Midi disappeared, the gunner glared at his companions. "See? Our ancestors never mentioned this many traps. We’d still be stuck without him."

The Demon Swordman grumbled, "But he’s taking all the rare materials! Why give him a third of our families’ treasure?"

The gunner smirked. "Let him collect scraps. Whatever I promised…" He drew a finger across his throat. The message was clear.