90: Chapter 90 Treasure Map

Having deactivated his Transformation Technique, Zhang Mu wove through the crowds on the street, his mind churning over how to deal with Dante.

The gatling was useless.

He was only able to take out Fritz because Zhang Mu had used a full magazine from his AK to mislead him regarding the damage potential of the bullets.

Under attack, the mage had instinctively used his Mental Energy to channel magic into his shield, not expecting the gatling's assault to be so sustained and dense.

By the time he realized he needed to dodge, his mana was already exhausted—it was too late.

But Dante had seen the ferocity of the gatling with his own eyes; he would never be foolish enough to stand still and let himself be shot.

The agility and speed afforded by the powerful physique of a High-level Knight would allow him to dodge without taking any damage.

The power of a grenade probably wouldn't be enough to kill Dante, whose skin was comparable to steel.

He had to use armor-piercing rounds and ensure a one-hit kill.

Zhang Mu thought of the anti-materiel sniper rifle in his inventory—the barrett.

He summoned his inventory and scanned from top to bottom, his gaze quickly settling on a single slot.

Inside the slot was the M903 SLAP armor-piercing discarding sabot round, which was a segment longer than a normal bullet.

This thing was designed to counter about 2.8 centimeters of alloy armor at a distance of 1500 meters.

It was undeniable that the skin of a High-level Knight like Dante was hard enough, but compared to 2.8 centimeters of alloy armor, it should still fall short.

He closed his inventory and looked ahead at the street, where the crowds had thinned out significantly.

The wide road was paved with brand-new bluestone slabs, flanked by luxurious villas with their own private courtyards.

In the deepest part of the area, there were two expansive building complexes with pointed roofs of varying heights.

This was the "rich district" of Bala City; of those two complexes, the one on the left belonged to the Fritz family, and the one on the right to the Dante family.

Zhang Mu gazed over there, muttering to himself.

"My magic fluctuations cannot be sensed, and I have the Shadow Technique for stealth. Plus, with the church's regulations prohibiting armed conflict in human settlements, Dante, who is staying at home, should not have much vigilance."

"Sneaking in without alerting anyone will be a piece of cake."

Stepping onto the much wider street, Zhang Mu ducked into a narrow alley between two rows of courtyard walls and activated his Shadow Technique, making his way all the way to the Dante estate.

Standing outside the main gate, Zhang Mu looked up.

The structure in front of him could no longer be described as a villa or a large courtyard; it was practically a city within a city.

With walls over ten meters high built from square stone blocks and a heavy gate made of steel, if one were to dig a moat along the walls, calling it a castle would be no problem at all.

If it were any local trying to get in, they really wouldn't have a way to deal with Dante.

Zhang Mu summoned his inventory, took out the barrett, and loaded the magazine filled with armor-piercing rounds.

Slinging the meter-long sniper rifle over his shoulder, he leaped directly over the tall wall and entered the courtyard.

Looking around, the sheer number of buildings made his scalp tingle.

"I'll just have to look slowly."

He picked a direction at random and strode forward.

After returning to the city, Dante hurried back to his family's estate, had the gate opened for him, and twisted and turned through the unevenly arranged buildings.

He ducked into a low house that appeared very plain and simple compared to the other luxurious buildings.

Although he hadn't heard of any armed conflict occurring within the town for thousands of years, Dante still chose not to live in the tallest, largest building.

Collapsing onto the animal-hide sofa in the center of the living room and shooing away the cleaning servants, Dante finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who on earth is that guy? What level of mage is he?"

"No, that's not right. Is he actually a mage, a knight, or some other profession?"

Recalling that Zhang Mu had only been holding a staff when he first emerged from the labyrinth tunnel, and had been empty-handed ever since, doubts rose in Dante's heart.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Shaking his head, Dante's expression turned grave.

"Having offended a Professional whose family size is unknown, I can no longer stay in Bala City."

"Before their clansmen come to surround Bala City, I must leave for another city immediately."

Although he was certain the other party wouldn't dare enter the city to deal with him, Dante didn't want to rot away in this remote Bala City for the rest of his life.

Due to the church's regulations prohibiting the use of force in human settlements, acts of retaliation on the Saul Continent usually dragged on for a long time.

Everyone was used to this situation.

Therefore, Dante understood that if he stayed in Bala City forever, the enemy would absolutely surround the city until he died of old age.

For a Professional who wielded extraordinary power, this was a fate harder to accept than death.

Dante felt somewhat vexed and slammed a palm heavily onto the sofa armrest. "I've been cautious for so many years; why did I have to let greed rise over a single magic item!"

"Being stripped of my magic crystal mine and forced into this remote, desolate Bala City is a bone-deep hatred I can never forget for as long as I live."

"I absolutely cannot die in Bala City!"

He stood up abruptly and paced back and forth in the living room.

"I have no choice but to abandon the 'Marvin Magic Family' I've painstakingly built up for years. Moving with my clansmen will make it impossible to shake off the enemy, who is likely traveling light."

"The treasure map my grandfather entrusted to me before he passed away from his severe injuries..."

"The Silent Forest is too dangerous. Even for a Great Knight entering alone, there is a risk of death at any moment."

"And I've only been a High-level Knight for a few years..."

"Now that the situation is urgent, I don't have another fifty years to build a magic family from scratch to collect resources for myself. I have no choice but to take the risk."

"Although I am clear that going to the Silent Forest now will most likely be a one-way trip, it's still better than being stifled to death in Bala City."

He turned and walked to the bookcase against the wall, pressing on the spine of a book and pushing it inward.

"Click, click, click—"

The bookcase slid to the left, revealing a wooden door behind it.

After pushing the door open and going in for about five minutes, Dante walked out carrying a drawstring animal-hide bag on his back.

Leaving the door to the secret room, which only he knew about, wide open, he adjusted the animal-hide bag on his back and walked toward the door of the house.

He had only walked two steps when he suddenly stopped.

His body stiffened like a statue, and he turned his head left and right, scanning the small living room.

"Why do I feel... as if I've been locked onto by the predatory gaze of a powerful magical beast?"

A faint killing intent drifted in the air, but he searched for a long time without finding the source.

His empty left hand reached into the storage pouch at his waist, subconsciously wanting to pull out his spear.

It was only after grabbing empty air that he remembered he had left his spear in the labyrinth entrance hall.

"Impossible. No one has the guts to [do anything] within the city..."

The cold sensation of steel against his lips cut off his thoughts.

"What's going on?"

There was no one in front of him, which caused him to freeze for a fraction of a second.

"Bang—"

At the same time as the violent explosion that nearly shattered his eardrums, Dante's head exploded instantly, like a watermelon smashed by a giant rock.

Soft, slippery bits of red and white matter scattered in all directions as the headless corpse fell backward to the ground.

A figure holding a barrett in one hand slowly materialized. Looking at the headless corpse lying supine on the ground, Zhang Mu's mouth twitched.

"Why did I have a brain fart and shove the barrel into his mouth? Now look, his head is gone. How am I supposed to 'perish together'?"

Hearing the chaotic footsteps outside and shouts of "Notify the church," he hurriedly put away the gun and, while he was at it, stuffed the animal-hide bag that was pinned under the corpse into his inventory.

He then lifted the corpse and used the Transformation Technique to attach a head to it.

He took a few close looks. It was alright—not very similar, but it would pass from a distance.

The footsteps outside were getting more chaotic, and the noise was gradually growing louder. Not wasting any more time, Zhang Mu hoisted Dante's corpse and rushed out of the house with his Shadow Technique activated.

After glancing around for a moment, he sprinted toward the tallest building with the pointed roof.