This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Brother Long's voice, amidst this collapsing, deathly abyss, carried a resolute air of fearlessness.

The bespectacled strategist and another subordinate had already escaped to the safe passageway. They watched this scene with lingering fear, but showed no intention of helping.

Especially the bespectacled strategist, who merely watched indifferently, as if observing a play that had nothing to do with him.

Brother Long gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms stretched to their limit.

The weight of him and his two men far exceeded the capacity of that lone brick.

Cracks have begun to appear on the edges of the bricks and stones.

He himself is being dragged little by little into the abyss.

At this critical moment.

The bespectacled strategist, standing in the safe zone, suddenly had a ruthless glint in his eyes.

Instead of trying to rescue him, he silently pulled a sharp dagger from his waist.

He lowered his body, like a venomous snake hunting, and quietly approached Brother Long, who was doing his best to save people and had his entire back exposed to him!

The bespectacled strategist raised his dagger, aiming it at Brother Long's unsuspecting back, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.

"Brother Long, I'm sorry."

His voice was as cold as a snake, clearly penetrating everyone's ears amidst the deafening roar of the collapse.

"You and your people, just go and be buried with us!"

"Brother Long, watch out!"

Seeing that he was planning to betray Brother Long, another henchman immediately realized what was happening and hurriedly reached out to stop him.

However, the bespectacled strategist was prepared. He dodged the attack with a quick step and pushed the underling with his backhand. The underling immediately lost his balance and fell headfirst to the ground.

Brother Long was holding his subordinate tightly when he heard the warning and turned around abruptly.

What he saw was another henchman falling directly towards him.

Without thinking, Brother Long grabbed the other person with his other hand.

However, to his surprise, another figure also peered over.

It was that bespectacled strategist who always wore a humble smile, but now his face was filled with twisted malice.

In his hand, he still held a dagger that gleamed with a cold light.

Unbelievable anger and the burning pain of being betrayed by his friends instantly overwhelmed Brother Long's rationality.

His eyes were bloodshot, he wanted to roar, he wanted to dodge.

But he can't.

All his strength was concentrated in his arms; if he loosened his grip, his brother, who was clinging to him, would immediately fall into the abyss.

He could only watch helplessly as that glint of cold light rapidly magnified in his field of vision.

It’s over.

Just as the tip of the dagger was about to touch Brother Long's back muscle.

A whooshing sound rang out!

Zhang Chen barely moved; with a swift flick of his wrist, a pebble the size of a fingernail flew out, leaving an afterimage barely perceptible in the air.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

The pebble struck the bespectacled strategist's wrist, which was holding a knife, with perfect accuracy.

"Ugh!"

The strategist let out a painful groan. The sharp pain in his wrist made his fingers go numb, and the dagger flew out of his hand, silently disappearing into the slowly rotating quicksand below.

When his first attack failed, the bespectacled strategist reacted with astonishing speed.

Without lingering in the fight, and without even glancing at Brother Long again, he pushed off with his feet and leaped backward like a cat, instantly retreating to the safe zone at the entrance of the stone chamber.

He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled a loud, sharp whistle towards the dark passage outside!

The whistle was piercing and echoed through the tomb.

Almost the instant the whistle fell, a series of swift and powerful footsteps came from the entrance.

A dozen or so figures filed in.

They were all dressed in matching black outfits, each carrying a gleaming crossbow and a standard short sword at their waist.

These people had cold eyes and a calm demeanor; they were clearly not the rabble under Brother Long, but rather highly trained professionals.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a sinister face.

He was around fifty years old, not very tall, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, scanning the room with an indifferent look as if he were looking down on ants.

He walked up to the bespectacled strategist, reached out, and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

"Xiao Li, well done."

The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse, with a metallic, friction-like quality.

The bespectacled strategist, known as Little Li, immediately bowed, his face returning to its humble demeanor, but the smugness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"It's my job, boss."

The middle-aged man nodded, his gaze passing over them and landing on Brother Long and the others who were still struggling between life and death in the stone chamber.

That look in his eyes was like a butcher examining meat on a chopping board.

"Brother Long, right?"

He spoke, his tone carrying a hint of cruel irony.

"Let me introduce myself. We are from the Ksitigarbha sect. You can call me 'Professor'."

"To put it simply, we are a professional underground cultural relics excavation and trading group."

He leisurely dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeves, as if introducing a prestigious profession.

"We've been eyeing this general's tomb for a long time. Unfortunately, the traps inside are too dangerous, so we always need some... exploratory stones."

His gaze fell on Brother Long's face.

"And you, and your brothers, are the stones we've chosen. As for Xiao Li," he pointed to the bespectacled strategist beside him, "he's the supervisor we've placed next to you to ensure you all stay put and explore the path safely."

"It seems you're using this pebble quite well now."

boom!

These words made Brother Long feel even more dizzy than the collapsing ground beneath his feet.

He stared intently at the man named Xiao Li, his eyes bloodshot, almost dripping with blood.

All the doubts were answered at this moment!

Why does he always seem to find the right path? Why does he always come up with ideas at crucial moments? Why can he understand some strange formations?

It turns out, it was all a setup!

A scheme paved with the lives of him and his brothers!

"You surnamed Li! How dare you share the same surname as someone else!"

Brother Long let out a heart-wrenching roar with all his might, his voice distorted and deformed by extreme anger.

"Boss Qian has treated you very well! He's never shortchanged you in terms of food or clothing! We treat you like a brother! Why did you betray us!"

Faced with Brother Long's questioning, the bespectacled strategist, Xiao Li, simply pushed up his glasses indifferently.

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."

He looked at Brother Long with a pitying gaze, as if he were looking at a fool.

"Brother Long, you're just a reckless brute who'll do anything for money, while we're pursuing a great cause."

"Your ultimate goal is money, but our journey is to the stars and the sea. Do you understand?"

"I understand your mother!"

Brother Long was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood, but his body had finally reached its limit.

He was already exhausted, and now that his mind was in disarray, the muscles in his arm suddenly relaxed.

"what!"

The underlings below let out a desperate scream, and all of them lost their grip and fell into the quicksand.

With the immense pulling force gone, Brother Long himself lost his last point of balance.

The brick beneath him let out its final groan and shattered completely with a "crack".

In the final moment of his fall, his bloodshot eyes did not look at "Ksitigarbha" and his group, but instead stared intently at Wang Xiaoer and Zhang Chen, who were still standing on the stone bricks in the distance.

The ferocity in his eyes was gone, replaced by the sorrow of a wild beast on its deathbed.

Splash!

He and his two brothers were completely swallowed up by the swirling black quicksand, leaving not a ripple behind.