73: Chapter 73 Even Feuds Have an Order of Occurrence

When Vag said they had obtained the treasure chest, Zhang Mu was already pondering how to solve the upcoming trouble.

After a brief moment of thought, he felt that smoke grenades could achieve a very good effect.

Previously at the final treasure site, he had used smoke grenades to conceal his figure specifically to grab the treasure chest.

But that wasn't the only purpose.

Both Frederica and Alice had told him—they couldn't sense his magic power fluctuations.

Zhang Mu wasn't sure of the reason, or if it was related to his strength level.

So, taking the opportunity to grab the treasure chest, he used smoke to make the Undead Knight lose sight of him, threw a grenade, and used the violent explosion to mislead the Undead Knight's judgment.

Inferring from the fact that the Great Knight-level opponent was successfully lured away, it seemed indeed that no one could sense his magic power fluctuations.

Otherwise, even if the entire cave were filled with thick smoke, the Undead Knight could still locate him through his magic power fluctuations.

Similarly, this fellow in front of him calling himself Fritz naturally couldn't use Mental Energy to find his position within the thick smoke.

That would make things easy.

Zhang Mu reached his right hand into the storage bag at his waist, preparing to pull out a smoke grenade.

"Vag!"

Over here, Saldari gripped the collar of Vag's armor tightly, his knuckles turning white: "Do you know what you're doing!"

"Of course I know." Vag brushed his hand away, his tone flat, "Humans are greedy and despicable."

"Look, for the sake of treasure, they can kill each other."

"Bastard!" Alice cursed loudly, "Mr. Zhang Mu is not like them!"

"They're all the same; you've just been deceived by his disguise."

"Vag." Frederica interrupted their argument and took a deep breath, "You are expelled from the Elf Clan."

"Your Highness." Vag smiled dismissively, "I respect you greatly, but you have no right to strip me of my status as a clansman."

"I shall give you punish..."

Catching a glimpse of Fritz's clansmen closing in from the corner of her eye, Frederica stopped mid-sentence and ordered the other two elves:

"Engage the enemy!"

"Yes!"

The three moved to step in front of Zhang Mu, but he raised his hand to stop them.

Zhang Mu held a smoke grenade, his profile turned toward them: "Actually, Vag is right; I really am deceiving you."

"I originally planned to flee far away with the treasure chest after getting out, but since I've been exposed here, I might as well stop pretending."

The three elves remained silent, their eyes fixed on him with trust, showing not the slightest change.

"Heh, don't look at me like that. This sentence is true; I'm not lying to you."

"I have no interest in watching you perform a ridiculous display of sincere friendship. You four elves can leave; you only have one chance."

Magic power fluctuations surged from the staff in Fritz's hand, and his clansmen of the Knight class surrounded them.

"There's a good show to watch." Not far away, Dante watched the scene, smiling as he whispered to himself.

Seeing that the three elves had no intention of backing down, Zhang Mu sighed: "Why be so stubborn?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he dropped the smoke grenade at his feet, and dense smoke spread wildly.

"Watch out!" Fritz had never seen this kind of "magic item" before. He shouted a warning to his clansmen while raising an oval Magic Shield to wrap around himself.

"Don't worry, this thing isn't lethal." Zhang Mu's smile was instantly swallowed by the smoke.

Fritz, who had already realized he wasn't actually under attack, snorted coldly in his heart. So it was just ordinary smoke, a toy for children to play with.

Mocking him, Fritz swept his Mental Energy around, but the feedback left him stunned.

Where was he?

Why couldn't his Mental Energy find him?

Frowning deeply, Fritz raised his staff. Several Wind Blades carefully avoided Frederica and the others, dispersing the thick smoke.

The smoke dissipated, leaving only a few wisps.

Looking around, Fritz was dumbfounded.

The man was gone, having escaped right under his nose.

"Cunning bastard!" Fritz slammed his staff heavily against the ground, "Half of you stay here, the rest follow me!"

The clansmen who were slightly further away returned to the center of the hall, while the others followed him, rushing into the entrance to chase him above ground.

Frederica silently gazed at the stone staircase opening, as if she could see Zhang Mu's smug back as he slipped inside.

After a long time, she turned to stare at Vag: "Do you understand now?"

"Understand what?" Frederica's calm attitude left Vag somewhat bewildered.

"The Great Elder told you that elves possess noble blood, but this nobility is not innate; it was fought for by the ancestors of the Elf Clan through excellent character and fearless courage."

"Vag, the Great Elder's original words were: noble elven blood never betrays, bullies the weak, or becomes greedy, corrupt, or selfish."

"You, who claim to be noble, have only a jealous heart, while Zhang Mu, whom you have always considered lowly, chose to lure the enemies away alone for our safety."

"His courage is second to none!"

"Alice, Saldari, let's go support Zhang Mu."

Watching the backs of the three elves disappear into the cave entrance, Vag's eyes were confused. After a while, he started laughing to himself: "What are you talking about?"

"An elven princess who didn't have the guts to fight for the throne of the Elf King and chose to leave her homeland to wander in far-off places is talking to me about courage?"

"Ridiculous."

Vag felt that he had won.

Pressing his hand on the hilt of the longsword at his waist, he laughed cheerfully as he entered the cave opening and jumped out of the stone door.

Standing on the small island, he scanned left and right, but not a single figure could be seen on the vast grassland by the river.

A boring journey. Vag shook his head, deciding to return to his homeland alone.

Frederica wasn't worth following. Once back in the clan, he would serve Her Highness Ailu from now on.

Just as he took two steps, the void a few seconds in front of him suddenly distorted, and a familiar figure slowly emerged.

"Frederica said your courage is second to none." Vag looked at Zhang Mu in front of him, a mocking sneer appearing on his lips, "In my view, it's beyond stupid."

He drew his longsword and settled into a stance, the tip of his sword pointing at Zhang Mu:

"You have escape magic but didn't flee far away; you actually dare to wait for me at the entrance of the labyrinth."

"Could it be that you, who don't even know the lowest-tier Magic Shield, think you have a chance to kill me?"

"Kill you?"

Zhang Mu's face was full of smiles: "That would be far too easy on you."

After running behind the small island under the cover of the smoke, Zhang Mu immediately activated the Shadow Technique and lay in ambush on the spot, cheerfully watching the two groups of people pass by him one after another.

Fritz wanted to snatch his treasure chest; that was a grudge. Given his personality, he would definitely have to snatch it back.

But grudges have a sense of weight and urgency.

Snatching a treasure chest could be said to be driven by interest; Zhang Mu was unhappy, but at least he could understand it.

But Vag was different.

Honestly, even with Zhang Mu's easygoing nature, he was indeed thoroughly disgusted.

What for? What exactly were you after?

Did I kill your whole family, or did I steal your wife?

Raising his staff, Zhang Mu said calmly: "You really aren't much of a person, but I can see that your fear of death isn't that heavy."

"So, how about I help you change your bloodline?"

Hearing this, Vag lowered his body, magic power surging through him: "With just you."