NOVEL NEXT Chapter 283 Unwelcome Guest
Time rewound by half an hour.
On the outskirts of Delis Town, near the entrance to the Labyrinth of the Aqua Nest, the disheartened Babur came to take a glance at the entrance before leaving in despair.
As a representative of Madison Town, Babur regretted not being able to join the expedition team into the labyrinth.
In order to achieve success within the labyrinth, he fabricated a lie about passing the Orange Trial and even brought along some followers at his own expense, only for it all to amount to nothing.
Babur lamented that the labyrinth raid team was too deep for someone like him to handle.
Having seen the entrance with his own eyes, he fulfilled a wish and spat at the glowing entrance before turning back towards Delis Town.
On his way back, Babur encountered a tall, thin old man clad in tattered gray robes, walking towards him. Seeing the old man's destitute appearance, Babur dismissed him as a beggar and walked past without a word.
However, the old man initiated conversation with Babur, asking, "Hey, you're just in time. Do you know someone named Banning?"
The old man's crude speech further irritated Babur. Couldn't he be more polite when asking questions? Already in a bad mood, Babur snapped at the old man, "Get lost if you don't want to die, you stinking beggar!"
After yelling, Babur disdainfully spat at the old man.
In Babur's view, his spit would land squarely on the old man's face, but he was mistaken.
Babur's saliva did not reach the old man's face, for his head had already left his neck before the spit could land.
"Young people these days, so impolite."
The ragged old man moved so quickly it seemed like teleportation. Before Babur's spit and head hit the ground, he appeared behind Babur, a red skull-headed scythe with a chain wrapped around its end materializing in his hand.
As Babur's spit and head fell to the ground, blood gushed from the severed neck. The old man threw the scythe, piercing Babur's carotid artery, and the blood ceased to spurt, instead being absorbed into the scythe.
"Have you eaten, Draven? Once you're done, we'll continue searching for Banning."
The old man spoke to the scythe, but it did not respond; it was merely his own monologue.
After a few minutes, the old man saw that the man he had killed was now pale and bloodless. He retrieved the scythe, casually tossed it into the air, and it transformed into a red light, disappearing into the atmosphere.
.
The old man in tattered gray robes continued on his way until he saw two labyrinth entrances.
He stopped, recalling that his employer had mentioned a young man named Banning who intended to enter a labyrinth called the Aqua Nest.
"Let me see... what's the name of this labyrinth..."
The old man approached and discovered that the labyrinth was indeed called the "Aqua Nest," which greatly helped him.
"Fufufufu... it seems the gods above treat murderers with equal care!"
The old man chuckled, stroking his unkempt beard, and walked straight into the glowing entrance.
All of this was witnessed by a small sparrow perched on a nearby tree. The sparrow's eyes were directly connected to the brain of the Heavenly Ghost, who was shocked by the scene!
"Earthly Ghost! Earthly Ghost!!"
The Heavenly Ghost ran and shouted through the Temple of Myriad Demons, and upon finding the Earthly Ghost, he immediately recounted what he had just seen.
"Earthly Ghost! Your 'ultimate combatant' just entered the 'Aqua Nest' on his own!"
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ghost was dumbfounded, for the development of events was unlike what he had anticipated.
Shouldn't that murderous maniac with the "highest power" have started a massacre in Delis Town first? How did he directly enter the "Aqua Nest"? Could he have taken a wrong turn?
"Heavenly Ghost, are you certain you saw the 'Bloodbane Serpent - Erosk,' that psycho?"
"Of course, I'm not mistaken! How could I be wrong about someone of this caliber?"
The Heavenly Ghost was adamant, and the Earthly Ghost believed him. With the Heavenly Ghost's surveillance capabilities, there was no room for error.
The situation had developed beyond the Earthly Ghost's expectations.
"Fine... The highest power is indeed uncontrollable... This maniac has no patience at all..."
The Earthly Ghost, frustrated and disordered, slapped the Heavenly Ghost's thigh. Now, the development of the situation was even more difficult for him to control.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Ghost patted the Earthly Ghost's shoulder and comforted him with a few kind words.
"Earthly Ghost, this isn't entirely a bad thing. With this psycho entering the labyrinth, it's like sending another Liberation Stone in there. The difficulty inside the labyrinth has probably risen another level, and it's definitely not an environment where someone like Banning can safely escape."
"Besides, even if he enters the labyrinth, he will surely continue to hunt Banning. In this way, isn't our success rate in achieving our goal even more stable?"
After the Heavenly Ghost's analysis and comfort, the Earthly Ghost's mood improved significantly.
Indeed, they now had a double insurance policy. Banning, trapped in the labyrinth, had no chance of escape.
.
Time rewinds to the original timeline.
After witnessing the changes in the demons within the military camp, Tyler had already considered fleeing.
It took considerable effort for Tyler to defeat a single third-tier demon, and now, just within this military camp, he had to face four to five hundred third-tier goblins and forty to fifty fourth-tier goblin squad leaders!
Without a doubt, no matter how the battle unfolded, Tyler's fate would be miserable.
The only consolation was that these goblin troops were on the outskirts of the core area, somewhat like an outpost camp.
As long as Tyler didn't attract their attention, he could sneak into the core fortress.
(Idiot loli: Yeah, and then you'll see even more terrifying monsters.)
(Tyler: Indeed, this journey is truly a no guts no glory one.)
Idiot loli's teasing had a playful tone, but the current situation was just as she described: the deeper they ventured into the labyrinth, the more likely they were to never return.
Tyler now faced a choice:
Should he retreat here?
Or should he continue towards the labyrinth's core?
In the sky, the red light beam still marked the location of the labyrinth's core. Tyler looked at this not-so-distant position and began to weigh the pros and cons, as well as the risks:
If he moved forward, he would find the truth behind the Scarlet Family's plan, the favor of Shelly, and perhaps some unexpected gains... but also the possibility of unexpected death;
If he retreated, he would have relative safety, but nothing else.
Should he take a gamble?
The question that had appeared countless times before was once again before Tyler.
And Tyler's choice was: to take a bold gamble!
With Moto-chan in tow, Tyler carefully bypassed the goblin military camp and continued towards the labyrinth's core hidden within the mountains.