Chapter 297: Murray’s Suspicion.

The snow-covered mountains were bitterly cold at night. Campfires alone offered nowhere near enough warmth, so adventurers had to rely on fire-element magic stones to heat their tents and keep the cold at bay.

The Light Squad, however, wore belts embedded with Crystals of the Blazing Sun. Untroubled by the cold, they slept soundly.

Seidler and Moresy also possessed magical artifacts made from Crystals of the Blazing Sun.

Five years earlier, they had traveled to the Ergoja Desert in search of the Fire God's temple, which had vanished ten thousand years ago. Following the tracks of a fire dragon lizard, they had discovered a lake and unearthed Crystals of the Blazing Sun beneath its bed.

According to legend, the crystals had formed from the solidified blood of the Fire God. They were the finest material for crafting fire-element magical artifacts and could even significantly increase a mage's magical power.

Yet the ease with which they had found the crystals buried beneath the lake had aroused the adventuring party's suspicions.

Moresy had stated outright that someone had buried them there recently, deliberately leaving them for the party to discover.

All five adventurers had been thoroughly unnerved.

Who could have followed them without their knowledge, then gone so far as to bury Crystals of the Blazing Sun in advance for them to find?

The other members of the party believed the Fire God's temple lay beneath the lake and wanted to dig deeper to investigate. Seidler refused. They had obtained the crystals, accomplishing their objective, and he had no desire to waste any more energy in the desert.

More importantly, Moresy had been pursuing him so relentlessly that he simply couldn't take it anymore.

Unable to reach an agreement, the hastily assembled adventuring party had divided the crystals equally and gone their separate ways.

Seidler had assumed Moresy would take the hint and leave. Instead, the Dark Elf had stuck to him like glue. Over time, Seidler had grown so accustomed to his suggestive remarks that they barely registered anymore.

"This kid sleeps like a log every night. I'm almost jealous." Moresy gazed at Budno, who lay between them, and felt an irresistible urge to pinch his nose.

"Don't wake him," Seidler said. "Get some rest while we can, before the hunting party arrives."

Moresy pursed his lips and withdrew his hand. He was just about to pull up his blanket when Budno suddenly kicked out, throwing off his covers and exposing half his body.

"Is he that hot?" Moresy wondered aloud.

The boy kicked off his blankets every night. What sort of cold-resistant magical artifact could he possibly be wearing?

Curiosity got the better of him. He examined Budno more closely, his gaze eventually settling on the boy's belt.

There was nothing particularly unusual about it. It complemented his mage's robe perfectly. The only oddity was that magic stones appeared to have been sewn into its lining.

Moresy reached out and felt a hard lump beneath the fabric.

Sure enough, it was a magic stone that gave off warmth.

But what element did it belong to? And why conceal it inside the belt instead of leaving it exposed?

Seidler frowned. "You'd even go after a child?"

Moresy stared at him in disbelief. "Do I look like that kind of person?"

Expressionless, Seidler pointed at the wandering hand resting on Budno's belt.

Moresy blinked, then flashed him a wicked smile. "Jealous?"

Seidler couldn't be bothered to answer. He slapped Moresy's hand away and tucked the blanket around Budno.

Moresy shook his stinging hand. "His belt is a cold-resistant magical artifact. There are high-grade magic stones embedded inside it... They feel a little like Crystals of the Blazing Sun."

Seidler froze in the middle of tucking in the blanket.

"Crystals of the Blazing Sun?" he asked with a frown.

The crystals had once been nothing more than legendary divine treasures. Back then, they had gone looking for them on the off chance they might get lucky. To their astonishment, they had actually discovered some beneath the lake, and each member of the party had received several pieces.

Seidler was certain that no one else on the entire Austin Continent could possibly possess Crystals of the Blazing Sun.

Refusing to believe it, he lifted Budno's blanket and examined the belt himself. He extended his magical perception into it.

Then he fell silent.

There was no mistake.

They were Crystals of the Blazing Sun.

Ten crystals were embedded in the belt, each about the size of a marble, evenly spaced along its length.

Moresy stroked his smooth chin. "All eleven of them have cold-resistant magical artifacts. If they're all made with Crystals of the Blazing Sun..."

That would be an astonishing number of crystals.

Seidler looked at the peacefully sleeping Budno, his expression complicated.

Was this boy—or rather, were all of them—really ordinary mountain villagers?

The backgrounds of Seriu, Halis, Hector, Nasha, Siti, and Ace were perfectly clear. Only Sperien and the other five mountain villagers remained shrouded in mystery.

"They call Ilio their instructor's brother," Seidler said.

Ilio was a Saint Mage, and a generous one at that. There was nothing strange about him giving his "younger brothers" a few treasures.

Moresy shrugged and tucked Budno's blanket around him again.

He had a theory of his own, but for now, he intended to wait and observe. Once he was certain, he would tell Seidler.

The fruit the youngsters served at every meal consisted of rare varieties he had never encountered before. Their flavors were perfectly suited to a Dark Elf's palate.

Grown in the Cesis Mountains? Local specialties cultivated by mountain villagers?

A convenient excuse.

Then there were the sea fish Amanda casually produced. Moresy had never heard of such fish, much less seen them.

These boys were hiding an awful lot of secrets!

Moresy found them more fascinating by the day.

"Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep!"

The two of them lay down, but they had barely dozed off when a piercing sound suddenly rang out outside.

The hunting party hadn't even waited until midnight. They had launched their surprise attack early.

At that hour, many adventurers were still awake. The sudden commotion caught them all off guard. Hearing the shrill alarm, they hurriedly threw on their fur coats, grabbed their weapons, and rushed out of their tents, ready for battle.

Fortunately, the defensive ice walls erected by the Light Squad had blocked the first wave of attacks, giving everyone time to react.

The instant Shu Li heard the alarm cutting through the night, he rolled over and sat up.

"The hunting party's here!"

He grabbed his fur coat and pulled it on.

Ace and Kumandi were just as quick. They threw on their coats without hesitation and followed Shu Li out of the tent.

"Why are they here so soon?" Dixio complained, yawning as he took out his magic staff. "Couldn't they have waited until the second half of the night?"

Angel hunched his shoulders and pulled his fluffy scarf tighter around his neck. "Better now than later. The sooner we kill them, the sooner we can get back to sleep."

Seeing that everyone had emerged from their tents, including a bleary-eyed Budno whom Moresy was carrying by the scruff, Shu Li said solemnly, "Let's put the tents away first."

Once the fighting started, stray spells could easily destroy them.

Besides, they had storage pouches, so packing everything away was simple.

Before long, nothing remained in the campsite but the campfires.

Shu Li spotted Falm lounging in the flames, lazily rolling around. He promptly prodded the creature's back with his magic staff.

"Get up. Go outside and see what's happening."

Falm gave its wings a flap and rose into the air. Opening its mouth in an enormous yawn, it muttered disdainfully, "Just a bunch of small fry."

They weren't even worth its trouble!

But Shu Li insisted, so Falm reluctantly flapped its wings and flew beyond the ice walls.

The Light Squad stood ready, prepared to meet the enemy at any moment.

Meanwhile, the hunting party's vanguard was having a thoroughly frustrating time.

They had marked this group of adventurers as prey the moment they entered the snowy mountains. After spending two days tracking their movements and learning their route, the hunters had waited until the adventurers entered their territory before eagerly launching their attack.

But when they approached the campsite, they found rows upon rows of ice walls, each two or three meters tall.

As for the adventurers themselves, not a single one was in sight.

The walls were clearly magical constructs, erected specifically to keep the hunting party out.

The vanguard commander was furious. He immediately ordered his men to tear them down.

Dozens of burly men charged forward, swinging their axes at the ice.

The moment their blades struck, however, magical formations suddenly appeared across the walls. The men were hurled backward as a piercing, shrill alarm rang out.

The commander's expression darkened.

These adventurers had actually dared to resist! Worse, they had prepared formidable defenses in advance.

"Necromancers, forward!"

At his roar, four necromancers stepped out, raised their magic staffs, and began chanting spells.

All four were Junior Magic Instructors, yet their spells struck the ice walls without so much as making them tremble.

"...There's a Senior Grand Mage among these adventurers!"

The vanguard commander was beside himself with rage.

He had expected his forces to be more than enough to overwhelm these adventuring parties. Who would have thought they were hiding someone so powerful?

"Go! Bring Lord Borut here! Tell him we need these ice walls smashed to pieces!"

While sending a subordinate to fetch reinforcements, he ordered everyone else to attack.

Borut was a necromancer of Saint Mage rank. A mere Grand Mage would pose no challenge to him.

The hunting party attacked ferociously. The ice walls surrounding every adventuring party's campsite came under assault, but those protecting the cave were the first to develop cracks.

Sensing a weak point, the hunters concentrated their attacks on the cave entrance.

Inside, the hundred-member adventuring party watched as the ice wall blocking the entrance teetered on the verge of collapse. Everyone seized their weapons and prepared to fight.

"Damn it! We should've paid those rookies to build us some ice walls!"

"It's too late for that now! Ram, stop standing around and repair the wall!"

"Quit crowding the entrance, damn it! Spread out! Spread out!"

"If those other parties hadn't deliberately put up ice walls, the hunters wouldn't have targeted us first!"

"SHUT UP!"

Their leader, Nasak, let out a furious roar.

The cave fell instantly silent.

"Squad leaders, keep your men under control! Be ready to charge out and fight at any moment!"

The cave offered too little room to maneuver. If a battle broke out inside, it would be difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and they could easily suffer unnecessary casualties.

What had originally seemed the ideal defensive campsite had become a liability now that the other adventuring parties were no longer available to serve as targets.

While the battle raged outside the cave, the adventurers sheltering behind the other ice walls secretly congratulated themselves.

Those five hundred gold coins had been worth every last one!

The ten ice walls functioned like ten high-ranking defensive formations, effortlessly withstanding the hunting party's attacks.

As for the hundred-member party, they must be regretting their decision by now!

Falm concealed itself in a snowdrift and leisurely surveyed the surrounding battlefield. Once it had seen enough, it returned to the campsite to report to Shu Li and the others.

"The hunting party's all gone to attack the cave?" Siti laughed with undisguised satisfaction. "Serves them right!"

The hundred-member party had wanted the other adventurers to serve as targets, only to become the primary target themselves.

They had refused to spend money on ice walls. They could hardly complain about being singled out for attack.

"We can't just sit here and watch, either," Shu Li said. "It won't do us any good if the hundred-member party suffers heavy losses."

They still had another three or four days of travel before reaching the Land of Snow. The journey ahead was dangerous, and they needed the hundred-member party to continue leading the way and drawing enemy fire.

Dixio rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Then let's launch a surprise attack while we have the chance!"

The Light Squad, together with Seidler and Moresy, consisted entirely of mages. Every one of them excelled at ranged attacks. Casting spells over the ice walls would be child's play.

Rumble! Rumble!

Spells of every element came crashing down from the sky.

The hunters were caught completely off guard and took the full brunt of the assault.

One moment, enormous chunks of ice were raining down on them. The next, fireballs were falling from the sky. Then came whirlwinds, followed by spikes erupting from the ground.

One attack after another, without the slightest pause.

What an absolutely delightful experience—for everyone except the hunters.

Never before had the hunting party faced an onslaught from so many powerful mages at once. By the time the chaos subsided, half their number lay dead on the ground.

Seeing this, the mercenary company and the other three adventuring parties promptly sent out their ranged fighters.

Dwarves and goblins leaped onto the ice walls, took aim with bows and mechanical crossbows, and let loose a volley of arrows.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Their arrows finished off the remaining hunters.

Watching his men get slaughtered to the last, the vanguard commander panicked. He scrambled away on hands and knees, fleeing beyond the range of the attacks.

"That's it? He's running already?" Falm clicked its tongue twice. "Pathetic!"

It hadn't even had a chance to do anything!

"They don't seem nearly as terrifying as I imagined," Hector remarked.

"Exactly!" Budno yawned and said to Moresy, "If we'd known they were this weak, we could've just slept through the whole thing."

Dixio and Angel nodded in agreement.

Moresy narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze traveling back and forth between the six mountain villagers, occasionally drifting toward Ace.

Something about the power of those spells had been extraordinary.

It had almost seemed as though seven or eight Grand Mages were casting spells together.

Was he being overly suspicious, or were the hunters genuinely that weak?

Shu Li noticed the suspicion in Moresy's eyes and cleared his throat.

"Don't let your guard down!" he declared sternly. "The hunting party has been notorious for a thousand years. There's no way this is all they're capable of. Their real powerhouses are probably still waiting in the wings!"

When the Little Fairies and the young dragon had cast their spells just now, none of them had held back.

No wonder Moresy was getting suspicious.

As for Ace...

Shu Li stole a glance at him.

He had paid particular attention to Ace during the battle, and he could say with absolute certainty that the power of Ace's spells was no weaker than that of a Grand Mage!

As though sensing his gaze, Ace turned his head, a faint smile spreading across his face.

Shu Li wanted to cover his face.

Why do I get caught every single time I sneak a look at him?!

Uncomfortably, he looked away and addressed the others with an air of perfect seriousness.

"Let's get some rest and prepare for the next battle."

Standing beside Shu Li, Kumandi noticed the faint flush spreading across his ears and grew thoughtful.