The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 162 The Adventurer's Way

Chapter 162 The Adventurer's Way (10,000 words, please subscribe and vote!!!)
"After all, I don't have a father who has arranged everything for me."

Tang Qi spread his hands helplessly.
"Although we are friends, there's only one treasure vault. You know what I mean, right?"

Wendy clenched her fist, ignoring Tang Qi's teasing, and said instead:
"I thought you would at least ask whether the treasury should be divided equally."

"No one knows how much the Red Turban Gang stuffed into the treasure vault; even if it's divided equally, it might not be enough to make a profit—"

And it's really infuriating that you, the 'pre-selected champion,' got the treasure.

Three full days of exploring the maze left Tang Qi seething with anger.
"Do you know how I spent these three days? First, I ran into a troll, then I encountered a petrified cow. I finally had some time to rest, and then I was chased by several gelatinous blocks attracted by flesh and blood."

After finding a secluded room, a hidden teleportation beast fell from the ceiling. He finally managed to get some sleep, but when he went outside, he ran into a troll that the Red Scarf Gang had deliberately sent in.

Near the bend in the road, the gargoyles seemed endless no matter how many I killed. If Kuru hadn't detected the trap beforehand with his wand, a disintegration spell would have torn me to pieces.

So, we finally arrived at the treasure vault's gate, and guess what? Haha, without the key, we couldn't open this door that was never intended for us in the first place.

I arrived three days earlier than you, and I dealt with all the monsters we encountered along the way. All you need to do is take the key, look at the map, and make your way to the end to open this door.

Are you now asking me to split it equally with you?

Although Wendy already understands that the so-called "Dragon Vault" may just be a gift from her father.

Even though it's been exposed to my face, it's still hard not to feel a burning sensation on my cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to be a farce."

"No, you don't need to apologize for this. In the end, no one could have imagined that the entire Deep Well Underground City was just a game that Dragon Gold City prepared for adventurers."

"What do you mean?"

"It's too complicated to explain. If you're really curious, why don't you ask your father?"

Tang Qi didn't want to waste his time on this kind of thing.

"Now we only need to discuss one question—would you be willing to hand over the keys to us, considering how hard we've worked?"

Wendy shook her head.

“Although this is just a ‘game,’ I also have a responsibility to my teammates. I promised to divide the treasure equally among them, and as the captain, I probably can’t break my promise.”

"I think so too."

Tang Qi was not surprised. After all, if it were him, he would never have given up the key when he had already reached the door of the treasure vault.

"So let's solve this problem the way adventurers do?"

Wendy put the stone tablet back into his pouch and raised his sword and shield.
"If you can defeat us, the key will naturally fall into your hands."

"To be honest, it's fairer than I expected."

Tang Qi said sincerely.

If it were him, he would accept all of this with a clear conscience and mock the other party, saying, "Blame it on not having a good father"—in reality, he would strike first with malicious words.

In contrast, this young lady from a noble family was far too dignified in her actions.

But in reality, Wendy also had her own selfish motives:
"Otherwise, how can it be considered an adventure?"

She craved surprises, obstacles, and the chance to escape this 'hunting ground' where the prey had been carefully positioned beforehand.

Since entering the underground city, only when Tang Qi appeared in front of her could she feel the urgency of being 'out of control', allowing him to invade every inch of her skin.

Regardless of victory or defeat, she wanted to cherish this precious memory.

“I’ll cut off his goatee, and when we get back to the surface, I’ll definitely make fun of you.”

The rubble also seemed eager to try, and every dwarf joke from Tang Qi's mouth was like a gushing geyser washing over his eardrums, awakening his vigorous will.

"The ground is so high, can you really walk back?"

Tang Qi asked curiously.

The dizziness in his brain confirmed that Tang Qi had already verbally abused him.

At the same time, a sharp roar suddenly erupted from the corridor—

It seemed to be coming from the depths of the labyrinth.

A loud rumbling sound followed, causing the white crystal floor tiles beneath their feet to tremble twice.

Wendy looked at Tang Qi in surprise and suspicion: "You did this?"

Tang Qi simply responded with a smile.

"Who cares who did it!"

The pain traveled through his nerves in the rubble, causing him to rush forward, his face flushed, swinging his mace with a whooshing sound.

"Rua!"

A cloud of white mist filled his vision, and as he lost sight of it, a dark shadow suddenly slashed down before him.

As she raised her shield to defend herself, Shattered Stone realized that only Dawn possessed this power—she 'observed' with her soul, making her perception in the mist far more accurate than that of the naked eye.

"[Shield Charge]!"

With a flick of her arm, the shield suddenly unleashed a powerful force, sending Chenxi flying several meters away, causing her sword-wielding hands to tremble uncontrollably.

"Others may not know your physical condition, but do you think I don't know it?"

He pressed his advantage, charging into the mist, and then struck her leg armor—

The hammer is the most effective weapon against heavy armor, but after a clang, he found that he couldn't budge the Dawn even an inch.

Through the thick fog, he could vaguely glimpse that the opponent's leg armor seemed to be covered by a layer of bluish-black leather with dragon scales—

It was clearly the outer skin that had been peeled off the Displacement Beast.

"You're right. Do you think I don't know that you can only hit her thigh?"

The biggest challenge in turning against former teammates is that they all know each other's weaknesses.

"【Wind-Making Technique】".

In the brief exchange, the distant stars finally finished chanting their spells.

A strong gust of wind suddenly swept through the fog, scattering it to a corner of the open space. The people who had been concealed by the fog were also blown off balance by the strong wind.

"[Magic Blast]!"

Two repulsive forces pierced through the strong wind and shot towards the stars with a roar, but due to their unsteady footing, they deviated from their course.

Rumi and Wendy stepped forward simultaneously, charging through the dawn's struggle against the rubble, their clubs and swords aimed directly at the kobold surrounded by Tang Qi and Hope—

Taking out the spellcaster first was their unspoken agreement.

The two attacked fiercely and cunningly, arriving just as Kuru was maintaining his focus on the spell, giving him no time to react.

Tang Qi could only stand in front of him, wielding his black blade:
"【Defensive Sword Dance】!"

The flashes of blades swirled around Tang Qi, as if they had been unleashed in an instant, blocking all of the two men's weapons before him.

Seeing the long staff blocked in front of him, Rumi took advantage of the situation to twist his waist and leap into the air. His legs seemed to turn into a blur, kicking towards Tang Qi's chest during a gap in the sword dance.

[Combat Skill - Gale Combo] makes his punches and kicks like a raging storm, continuous and relentless.

Alert, Tang Qi had no choice but to dodge to the side, allowing Wendy's longsword to slice through Kuru's dragon scales.

Fortunately, it reacted quickly and ran away in advance, so the sword only grazed its skin.

The focus of the [Cloud and Mist] spell was thus interrupted, but the strong wind continued to push its body. Seeing that it was getting closer to Wendy, it had no choice but to hastily take out a gem, wave its wand, and release a beam of azure electricity.

Lightning crackled around the gemstone, filling it into a sphere woven with lightning.

Wendy quickly raised her round shield, but when the crackling lightning struck her shield, the current seemed to have a life of its own, climbing up her armor and numbing her muscles.

Taking advantage of the brief moment of paralysis, it quickly shrank back, used the strong wind to slip under Wendy's crotch, and then tried to escape into the distance.

But Xingchen simply made a hook, and the strong wind suddenly changed direction, blowing the fleeing Kuru back.

Wendy snapped out of her daze, raised the hilt of her sword, and slammed it into the back of Kulu's head.

"Rua!"

Even with the protection of the dragon scales, it only served as a buffer.

The dizziness from the shock to his brain caused Kuru to spit out his tongue, cry out in pain, and collapse to the ground.

However, based on Tang Qi's understanding of it, this thing was probably faking death. After all, this wasn't a life-or-death struggle, and they wouldn't kill it, but that also meant that Kuru no longer had the right to secretly stand up and cast spells.

Having dealt with the spellcaster, Wendy was about to swing his sword and slash at Tang Qi—

"【Forced Showdown】!"

A golden light enveloped Wendy, forcing her to turn her sword, take a step forward, and rush towards the dawn—

This first-circle spell, unique to paladins, commands a creature to duel the caster. To defy this divine command requires a sufficiently strong will to resist.

But this was, after all, a 'competition,' and Wendy did not intend to kill Don Qi, so she obviously did not have the means to do so.

With the blessing of the [Peerless Warrior], the power of Dawn was no less than that of Shattered Stone, thus creating a stalemate.

The invitation to a duel forced Wendy to flank from the side, and the pressure suddenly came, leaving her no choice but to raise her golden blade—

"【Supreme Saint Slash】!"

The sword light swept across the shield, making it difficult for Shatter and Venti to hold on, and they almost lost their grip on the shield.

But the slash still sent them flying, crashing into the cratered wall.

She rushed toward Rumi, who was entangled with Tang Qi—

"Hey, is every poet as skilled in martial arts as you? Why do I only encounter singers in the taverns who can only recite boring legends? To be honest, these bards of Dragongold City are no match for us in Sandalwood Forest. We have natural musicians, yes, I'm talking about the birds, their chirping at dawn is more pleasing to the ear than most poems!"

Using his "Alertness" ability, Tang Qi quickly took steps to defend himself.

He felt that Rumi's sharp tongue was perhaps more deserving of the title "stormy and fierce" than his martial arts skills.

As he parried, the sticks repeatedly struck his shoulders and chest.

He tried to retaliate by slashing at his opponent with his scimitar, but Rumi's body was like a slippery fish, easily dodging his dragging and slashing as he moved about.

During the exchange, he could only feel a churning in his lungs.

Seeing that another blow was about to strike his head, he simply cursed:

"Rather than saying my martial arts skills are superb, it's more accurate to say that you've spent all your time honing your skills on talking, or perhaps you've been listening to songs and birdsong all day long, never focusing on anything important. And I'm curious, everyone says that you dwarfs have big heads that can hold a lot of things, but why does it seem like your head is only filled with sandalwood forests? Are you some kind of little baby who can't stand being away from home?"

"Can you two shut up?! [Magic Explosion]!"

An invisible spear caused a shockwave, tearing through the air and piercing the strong winds before hurtling towards the stars on the floating disc.

But perhaps annoyed by the two chatterboxes, one of the repulsive forces slammed into the wall behind Xingchen, while the other was easily blocked by the erected [Shield Spell], without even shaking her floating disc in the slightest.

Tang Qi's insults seemed to be quite effective. As the blow to his head veered to his side, he was about to swing the back of his knife and smash it onto Lumi's broad head.

But Rumi raised his arm and blocked it.

He grabbed Tang Qi's arm, and using the force of Tang Qi's swing, twisted his waist and kicked at his shin—

The next moment, before Tang Qi could even react to what had happened, his feet suddenly gave way, and he felt his vision suddenly reverse.

With a "bang," it fell to the ground.

Just as he was about to get up, a fist, twisted by an invisible current, slammed down towards his chest—

【Qi】is a chaotic magical power that martial monks discover through the tempering of their bodies.

They linger within the human body, connecting the meridians and weaving together to create vitality.

Because of their chaotic nature, monks are able to mold them into entirely different kinds of 'magic' through practice.

For example, you can rub 'qi' together to generate heat and burn it, turning it into a raging fire... Of course, since this method is not as practical as a mage's 'Burning Hand', not many people have studied it in this direction.

The most common 'magic' used by monks is to infuse 'qi' into the enemy's body, causing it to impact the nerves and thus paralyze them.

This magic is called the "Shock Fist".

Tang Qi understood that once his nerves were disrupted by the airflow, the ownership of the treasure vault key would likely be revealed immediately.

"【Silver Light Sharp Words】!"

A short syllable burst from his throat, and drawn by the silver light, Rumi felt his fist uncontrollably shift to the other side.

A halo of light flowed, clinging to the curved blade. Without regard for anything else, it slashed towards Rumi's waist and abdomen in an instant—

"You have no martial spirit!"

What was initially thought to be a contest of martial arts prowess turned into a shock as Rumi, clearly sensing the effects of magic, could only gasp and channel her inner energy throughout her body, forcibly propelling herself backward.

[Combat Skill - Strong Defense]

However, Tang Qi's slash still cut through his waist and abdomen, and blood dripped continuously as he retreated. He then had to drink a bottle of [Life Potion].

Without hesitation, Xingchen raised his wand and chanted the spell he had prepared beforehand:

"[Fireball]".

Tang Qi still wanted to take the shell out of the dimensional bag, but as he reached for the dimensional bag, a force of gravity suddenly pulled him into the air.

The force of gravity came suddenly and then abruptly departed, leaving him momentarily adrift and causing him to lose the opportunity to remove the shell.

Before they could even realize what was happening, that bright, sun-like point of light had already traced a dazzling trajectory through the air, about to land on the center of Tang Qi and his group—

"[Spell Counter]!"

The instant Hope chanted the incantation, the ray of sunlight vanished as if extinguished—

This third-circle spell, like [Silver Light Whisper], can be cast instantly.

It disrupts the order of the magic network through spells, interrupting the gradual formation of spells and causing them to fail, making it an important reliance for spellcasters in their battles.

Sorcerers have very few spell slots, so they must use them only at crucial moments.

However, as a spell, it can also be interrupted:
"[Spell Counter]".

Therefore, when the stars chanted in near-short syllables, the extinguished radiance once again traced a path, trailing bright light, and bloomed before their eyes.

Hope tried to use the same trick again, but the spell was already formed and she didn't have time to interfere with the magic network again. Before she could even finish half of the incantation, the 'fireball' showed signs of exploding.

"【Supreme Saint Slash】!"

The sword's edge, more dazzling than the sunlight, resembled a golden crescent moon, slashing at the very center of the 'fireball,' prematurely unleashing the flames and heat it contained!

The light that burst forth upon impact filled the corridors and pierced everyone's eyes.

Tang Qi felt a flash of light before his eyes. As the light faded, a strong sulfurous fumes mixed with a surging heat flowed out, like fire snakes clinging to his clothes, causing the burning pain to spread to every inch of his exposed skin!
Fortunately, the dawn had blocked most of the power in advance, preventing the explosive flames from reaching his skin. Otherwise, he should have been worried about whether he could survive the flames...

He hurriedly patted the flames off his body, ignoring the afro on his head, and quickly looked around.

The magically formed flames had not yet dissipated, still scorching every crystal and turning the once white floor black:
"Two fireballs and one counterspell, and she's used up all her third-circle spell slots."

He quickly checked on Chenxi's injuries, only to find that the situation was still far from optimistic.

Having been repeatedly struck by rubble and frequently unleashed the power of the oath, Dawn's right hand, which she usually used, broke off when she finally slashed the fireball, and fell to a corner of the charred stone slab.

She knelt on one knee, her legs trembling uncontrollably as she was eroded by both flames and holy light, barely managing to stand up.

"Do you want to continue?"

Looking at his opponent's miserable state, Wendy hesitated and asked.

"of course."

Tang Qi drank a bottle of [Life Potion], ignoring the pain, and forced himself to stand up.

"I won't pay for the medical expenses," Wendy still advised.

Aren't you afraid your teammates will say you're a heartless boss?

"What do you mean?"

Tang Qi pointed to his ear: "Listen."

Wendy shifted her attention to her hearing and noticed what sounded like rustling in the distance.

The sound grew clearer, it seemed...

Is that the sound of waves crashing against the stone wall?