71: Chapter 71 Touch and Run

Inside the pitch-black tunnel, two beams of light slowly moved forward.

Zhang Mu felt like they had been walking for a long time, and the tunnel was growing wider.

From being wide enough for four people to walk abreast at the start, it was now wide enough for four carriages to drive side-by-side.

Fortunately, the two of them were traveling together.

There was no telling how far the end was. Aside from the area illuminated by the beams, the surroundings were dark and silent, with only the sounds of their own footsteps and water dripping to the ground.

After a long time, someone with low pressure resistance would likely suffer a mental breakdown.

"We're here."

Zhang Mu was wondering if Leah's journey back to Kas Town was going smoothly and planned to visit Kas Town after leaving the labyrinth. He looked up suddenly upon hearing Frederica's words.

The flashlight's beam fell upon a stone door adorned with strangely shaped reliefs.

The stone door was incomparably tall. As Zhang Mu walked to the doorframe and looked up, he felt like an ant standing at a human's feet.

Frederica followed and sized it up.

The two massive doors were not completely closed, leaving a sliver of a gap in the middle.

Of course, that was relative to the doors themselves; for the two of them, this "gap" was wide enough to pass through easily.

The two took a few steps forward, placed their hands on the edge of the door, and peeked inside, one head above the other.

Behind the door was a cavern even more exaggerated in scale than the entrance hall.

In a clearing not far away, there were Undead Knights surrounded by swirling ash and ice shards, the pitch-black spears in their hands reflecting a cold glint.

By a rough estimate, there were at least a hundred of them.

To their left and right, dozens of Silver Treasure Chests were scattered haphazardly.

Looking past the wandering Undead Knights, there was a stone staircase leading upward.

At the end of the stairs sat a throne built of white bones, upon which sat an ordinary-looking humanoid skeleton. Its right hand leaned on a bone sword, its left arm rested on the armrest, and its head hung slightly as if it were in a deep slumber.

Although the skeleton was only the size of a normal human, the two would never underestimate its strength.

Zhang Mu glanced briefly at the dozen or so golden wooden chests stacked on either side of the throne, and he nearly started drooling from greed.

Having more or less scouted the situation in the cavern, they quietly pulled their heads back and retreated a hundred meters down the path before stopping.

"Zhang Mu," Frederica said, holding her flashlight, "unfortunately, this was a wasted trip."

"That is a Skeleton King; it could crush us with a single finger. Even if it doesn't act, those Great Knight-level Undead Knights alone are more than we can handle."

She was certainly right, but Zhang Mu didn't want to give up.

Normally, only top-tier magic families and Adventurer Groups had the chance to lay hands on a labyrinth's final treasure room.

This was because teams of average strength couldn't even dream of reaching the doors of the final treasure room; they couldn't even get past the monsters and magical beasts along the way.

Even if Zhang Mu used his resurrection function to push through stubbornly, a high-tier monster could hack him to death with a single blow. If he moved one step per resurrection, he probably wouldn't get very far before the labyrinth closed.

But now, with explosive good luck, they had fallen into a secret passage and reached the doors of the final treasure room without encountering a single monster.

If he didn't snatch something, Zhang Mu wouldn't be able to rest in peace even if he died.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I think I still want to try."

"Mr. Zhang Mu!"

"Don't worry." Zhang Mu waved his hand and pulled a grenade and a smoke grenade from his Storage Pouch. "Look, with these, I can guarantee I'll get at least one Silver Treasure Chest."

His tone was full of confidence, but Frederica's face remained stern. "Even two, three, or even more chests..."

"...are not worth more than the preciousness of life."

"Zhang Mu, treasure only has value on the premise that you are still alive."

"Let me try."

Frederica fell silent, her eyes fixed on Zhang Mu.

After a long while, she whispered, "Even if I turn and leave, you'll go in alone, won't you?"

"Yes."

"Zhang Mu, I acknowledge your courage, but courage isn't meant to be used like this. This is suicide."

"I definitely won't die at the hands of monsters, I promise."

The two were silent for a moment, then Frederica gripped her bow and turned toward the door. "I will use my arrows from outside the door to help draw the Undead Knights' attention."

"But please note, if you are surrounded by Undead Knights and cannot break out, I do not have the ability to save you."

"If that really happens, just turn around and run."

"I will."

They arrived at the gap in the door.

Frederica leaned against the door, silent.

Zhang Mu didn't say anything either. He summoned his inventory and scrolled to the slot containing grenades and smoke grenades.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he reached into the Storage Pouch at his waist and feigned pulling out five smoke grenades.

He pulled the pins and threw them with all his might into the cluster of Undead Knights.

*Hiss—*

Thick white smoke instantly spread. Zhang Mu slipped through the gap in the door and sprinted toward the corner where the Silver Treasure Chests were scattered.

On the way, he kept throwing smoke grenades to completely envelop the Undead Knights while tossing grenades toward the opposite cave wall to mislead them.

The effect was excellent.

"How dare you disturb my lord's slumber! Die!"

The chaotic sound of hooves charged toward the direction of the grenade explosions.

Zhang Mu sprinted around the smoke and finally touched the first Silver Treasure Chest before the Undead Knights could react.

I'm rich, I'm rich!

The moment he touched it, the Silver Treasure Chest vanished into thin air, followed by the second and the third.

As his right hand reached for the fourth, Frederica's alarmed cry rang out: "Zhang Mu!"

"Escape!"

At the same time the shout reached his ears, Zhang Mu sensed a strange fluctuation of magic power from the throne.

But he ignored it, stowing the fourth Silver Treasure Chest into his inventory and dropping a smoke grenade at his feet for good measure.

"Hu... man."

The harsh, grating voice, sounding like a sharp object scraping against a blackboard, caused Zhang Mu's consciousness to blur for a split second.

By the time he snapped out of it, the white smoke had already submerged him.

Exhaling in relief, he turned and started running toward the massive doors.

The big guy's awake. Better run fast; it won't be fun if I get corpse-camped.

Meanwhile, the Undead Knights that had been lured to the other side seemed to receive guidance from their boss.

The sound of hooves paused for a few seconds, then rapidly approached Zhang Mu through the pitch-black smoke.

Zhang Mu had no intention of turning back to fight—that would be suicidal—so he just kept his head down and ran.

*Whoosh—*

The sound of something cutting through the air approached from behind. Before he could react, a spear pierced through his chest.

Stabbing pain flooded his brain. Zhang Mu endured it, grabbed the tip of the spear, and forcibly pulled it out, blood gushing like a fountain.

The fatal wound took his life, and he fell forward while running. The moment he hit the ground, the wound seemed to be kissed by a god and healed instantly.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he scrambled up and continued running.

A few seconds later, he burst out of the smoke. Zhang Mu grinned and waved at the door gap ten meters away. "I got them, let's get out of here!"

"Watch out!"

Seeing him unharmed, Frederica's tense expression relaxed, only to suddenly turn into horror.

Fear was in her voice as she shouted and stepped through the gap, rushing toward Zhang Mu while drawing her bow and firing three arrows in rapid succession behind him.

"Disturbing my lord shall be punished with death!"

The horse beneath an Undead Knight leapt high out of the smoke, and the knight raised its spear, aiming for the center of Zhang Mu's back.

Mid-descent, the three arrows accurately struck the tip of its spear, knocking the spear slightly off course.

Taking the chance, Zhang Mu accelerated again. "Don't come in! Run!"

The Undead Knight, whose attack had missed, landed safely. It was about to ride in pursuit when, for some reason, it suddenly stopped and moved toward the cave wall.

"Hu... man..."

The raspy, ear-grating voice echoed through the cavern, faintly tinged with rage.

Zhang Mu didn't bother responding and continued running without looking back.

He passed Frederica, who was facing him and aiming at the Undead Knight. He crouched down, and when he stood up, he had already hoisted her onto his shoulder.

The gap in the door was only a few steps away. Zhang Mu happily carried Frederica, preparing to slip out.

"Die..."

A terrifying fluctuation of magic power swept over Zhang Mu. Instinctively turning his head, he saw a pitch-black, crescent-shaped energy blade flying straight toward them vertically.

"Holy crap! You're going that far?!"