Chapter 332: What is Effort Worth? Welcome to Join the [Zhila Alliance]

The captain’s cold sweat streaming down made the several team members involuntarily tense their nerves, quickly adjusting their gazes to stare fixedly at the man draped in a gray cloak!

"Captain, do you know him?"

A team member spoke up nervously.

They were a "Gold-ranked" adventurer team; an enemy capable of making their captain this nervous must possess strength far exceeding their own level.

"Brain Unglaus?" The captain’s tone was filled with astonishment and uncertainty.

Whoosh—

A commotion broke out among the others in the team, and some even had expressions of fear appearing on their faces.

"Is it *that* Brain?"

A weak voice rose, as if seeking confirmation.

In the entire kingdom, those who did not know Brain were as rare as those who did not know the "Head Warrior" Gazef.

Especially for adventurers like them, how could they not know such a renowned figure, even if they hadn't met him?

The three characters "Brain" now represented not just strength, but also danger!

This was thanks to the recently famous and sensational second "Adamantite-ranked" adventurer team in the kingdom, "Freedom Will."

Last year.

"Freedom Will" was targeted by a bounty from the Baharuth Empire and was attacked by the famous mercenary group "Death Spreading Sword Group"; in the end, the entire mercenary group was wiped out, with only Brain escaping alone.

Rumor had it that this news was false.

How could the illustrious Brain join a notorious mercenary group?

Now, as "Freedom Will" became an "Adamantite-ranked" adventurer team, the old rumors were dug up again, and it was discovered that the news was true!

However.

Brain’s fame did not diminish; instead, it grew even larger.

Narrowly losing to the "Head Warrior" Gazef and managing to escape from an Adamantite-ranked adventurer team—all of this proved the magnitude of Brain’s strength.

"I think you are thinking about some annoying things."

Brain’s sharp gaze held a chill; he rested one hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and tilted his head slightly:

"I don't want to say this a second time. Get lost!"

During the course of speaking.

Brain’s footsteps did not pause at all; his pace was calm and elegant, yet it revealed a certain beast-like, terrifying aura.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

Both adventurer teams looked toward their respective leaders, waiting for orders to be issued.

The two captains exchanged a glance, both seeing the conflict in the other's eyes, yet neither gave any order to retreat.

If the enemy were a powerhouse like Brain, even retreating or abandoning the mission would be understandable; at worst, they would just have to pay compensation and face the penalty of the team being demoted!

—But!

"Being able to fight a powerhouse of this level is a rare opportunity! Right, Captain Mokaria?"

"That's right, the opponent is only one person, and we have two 'Gold-ranked' teams!"

The two adventurer team captains communicated briefly and quickly issued the order to attack.

"Magic Arrow!"

"Sleep!"

"Acid Arrow!"

The magic casters in the teams launched magic attacks at the first opportunity, while the warrior and thief-class adventurer members rushed forward immediately.

Seeing this scene.

"There have been more self-righteous guys lately."

Brain grinned coldly and slowly drew the long blade from his waist.

"—Ah!"

"Ah!!"

"No, no, run!"

In just a moment.

The two adventurer teams were already lying on the ground, blood flowing and mingling on the earth.

Wiped out!

Brain stepped onto the blood-soaked ground without a scratch, flicking the long blade in his hand lightly to let the blood droplets staining the edge slide off.

"I gave you all a chance to run."

"As adventurers, if you can't even accurately judge the strength of the enemy and yourself, even if you don't die here, you will die somewhere else."

Ignoring the corpses on the ground, Brain muttered to himself indifferently and walked toward the carriage at the very front.

The merchants originally responsible for transporting the goods, having realized things were going poorly, had long since fled in terror with the drivers of the carts.

Only ten carriages remained, sitting lonely on the road.

Brain did not care about those ordinary people who had fled; he could easily catch up if he wanted to, but he disdained attacking ordinary people.

Rip!

The cloth curtain covering the carriage cargo was pulled open.

Beneath a pile of ordinary ore, a wooden box the length of an arm was pressed down at the bottom.

Pushing aside the ore on top.

Brain lifted the wooden box out with one hand and used the back of his blade to knock off the chain on the box.

With a "click."

Under the sunlight, a bright silver metallic luster reflected from inside the box; these were pieces of silver metal of varying sizes, the very "Mithril" whose price rivaled gold!

Possessing the sturdiness of steel, excellent magical affinity, and extremely light weight, adding even a little Mithril to any weapon could greatly increase its durability and value.

"This box of Mithril metal could sell for at least 3,500 gold coins on the black market, maybe even 4,000."

A hint of joy appeared on Brain’s face as he closed the wooden box and lifted it with one hand: "Adding my previous assets, it's enough to buy the 'Divine Blade'."

Thinking of the rumors from this period.

Brain’s heart skipped a beat; he raised his arm to pull up his gray hood, feeling that after getting the Divine Blade, he needed to find a place to lay low.

"I still need to continue training!"

Brain gripped the hilt of his blade tightly and pursed his lips in annoyance.

Where on earth did those two guys come from!

Before participating in the "Imperial Tournament," he had never tasted defeat, always walking on the path of victory.

As a result, first Gazef defeated him, and then he encountered his first crisis on the verge of death.

The leader of "Freedom Will"—Tang!

A guy whose appearance and strength were severely mismatched, someone even stronger than Gazef!

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was suddenly attacked by assassins, Brain felt he would have died there just like that group of mercenaries.

"I must think of a strategy, otherwise if we meet again, I might not have the same luck as last time." Brain picked up the box, pondering as he turned and left.

During this time, he had been cramming relevant magical knowledge.

He had learned that the angel Tang summoned was a powerful 4th-tier high-level angel, and he could actually summon two of them.

Facing such a formidable enemy, if he couldn't break through the blockade of the two angels, he would have no chance of winning and could only run away again.

Run?

It wasn't shameful!

He craved fighting strong opponents, but he was not a pedantic person who would fight to the death against an unbeatable foe; he pursued only one goal.

To wash away his shame and turn defeat into victory!

Whoosh~

A whirlwind formed, sweeping up a cloud of sand and dust.

Brain stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sand and dust forming out of thin air, blocking his line of sight several dozen meters away.

A faint, dangerous aura permeated the air!

"There were others escorting this caravan?"

Brain gripped the long blade he had been preparing to return to its scabbard once more.

The sand and dust dispersed.

A figure in a black robe, wrapped tightly from head to toe, stood in the spot where the sand and dust had just been.

This pretentious way of making an entrance... a magic caster?

Brain sneered inwardly, but his eyes became sharp.

A swordsman's intuition told him the other party was extremely dangerous, completely different from the adventurers just now, which also meant the other party was likely not someone from the caravan's escort.

"Do you want to defeat 'Freedom Will', Brain Unglaus?"

The black-robed figure’s hoarse voice came through: "I can help you."

"Ha~"

Brain raised an eyebrow, his eyes becoming deep.

Bang!

In an instant.

The ground beneath Brian’s feet shook; his body lunged forward like a compressed spring, and he forcefully threw the wooden box in his hand.

The box flew into the air.

The pieces of mithril metal of varying sizes inside scattered in mid-air; because mithril is relatively light, it possesses the hardness of steel.

These mithril fragments smashed toward the mysterious magic caster all at once, simultaneously obstructing the opponent’s vision to a certain extent.

"I was still planning to continue our conversation."

Tang Zheng, disguised as the mysterious magic caster, felt a bit helpless and chanted in a low voice:

"Dimensional Move."

Swish!

The figure vanished.

Brian’s sharp gaze caught the moment Tang Zheng’s figure disappeared; he froze for a second, his pupils darting rapidly.

Not there?

"Gravity Reversal."

A faint voice sounded from behind him.

Brian’s forward momentum slowed down unnaturally, like a slow-motion shot; the heavy pressure caused his body to stiffen and stand in place.

The effect of a binding spell.

Without movement obstruction resistance, it was clearly impossible to avoid this influence.

Tang Zheng, appearing behind Brian, walked toward him unhurriedly and mocked in a hoarse voice: "At this level, you are a bit unworthy of your reputation."

"Perhaps I should have invited Gazef."

"Who are you looking down on—!"

Blue veins bulged on Brian’s arms, and he suddenly roared: "Magic Resistance Enhancement!"

"Ability Boost!"

Brian, who had been affected by the magic, actually forcibly broke free from the spell’s restraint; the muscles in his neck tightened as he twisted his upper body, then swung his blade with both hands:

"Four-Fold Slash of Light!"

Four flashes of the blade appeared in the air, slashing over with killing intent, making one feel as if they were facing an incoming weapon.

"Now this is interesting." Tang Zheng’s lips curled slightly.

As expected of Brian, he had already mastered Gazef’s signature move so quickly.

Boom!

The magical radiance exploded between the two, and in a fleeting moment.

Brian’s arms hung down unnaturally, the long blade in his hand fell to the ground, and the intense pain surging through his entire body caused him to twitch uncontrollably.

So strong!

It was not even on the same level; he was simply a monster!

"Cough..."

Fear surged in Brian’s eyes; his throat tickled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his chest already stained red.

"Who... who exactly... are you?" Brian’s vision blurred; he knew that even if he wanted to run now, he couldn't escape at all.

Another unbeatable opponent...

His luck was truly good, to be able to encounter such strong enemies one after another.

"The leader of [Zuranon]."

Tang Zheng spoke indifferently; he had come to find Brian this time naturally intending to recruit him into [Zuranon].

The leader?

Upon hearing these words, Brian’s somewhat hazy mind became a bit clearer.

During this period, even in such a remote town, rumors of what happened in the Abelion Hills had spread; such a major event had already transcended national borders.

Although some important intelligence was concealed, strong individuals like Brian naturally had ways to obtain information, and he had learned for the first time about the evil secret society known as [Zuranon].

"You aren't dead!"

Brian took a step back, looking in astonishment at the black-robed magic caster opposite him; even his fear and pain were diminished by the shocking news.

According to the intelligence he had obtained, the leader of [Zuranon] had already been wiped out by the elite troops of the Holy Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy, and "Free Will" together.

Even in his current situation!

Brian’s mind remained exceptionally clear; could the news be false?

No!

The intelligence came from the Adventurer’s Guild; there was no reason to lie about such major intelligence, so the person in front of him simply hadn't died!

Or was the person before him just using the identity of the [Zuranon] leader?

Tang Zheng did not answer this question; he flicked his black sleeve, and a blue potion flew toward Brian.

"Do you want to become stronger?"

Tang Zheng’s hoarse voice contained a playful tone: "Drink the potion."

Plop—

The crystal-clear potion bottle fell from the air to the ground and rolled to Brian’s feet.

"I hope this potion doesn't taste too bitter."

Brian, at this moment, instead showed a carefree demeanor; he simply stopped supporting his weak body, sat on the ground, picked up the potion, and poured it all into his mouth.

According to the information he understood, this leader possessed the ability to create legendary undead; how terrifying his strength was exceeded the imagination of mortals.

An outlier above the Realm of Heroes?

Regardless of whether this guy claiming to be the leader was real or fake, he was no match for him.

The warm liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach.

An indescribable taste.

Fishy, sweet, and a burning sensation!

Heat began to expand from his stomach, then quickly flowed through his blood to his entire body.

Brian’s pupils dilated; he clearly felt a powerful force suddenly surging from his body, his muscles slightly bulging, emitting a tightening sound.

A faint red light flickered on Brian’s body, causing his skin to flush, and imperceptible heat continuously seeped out from the pores all over his body.

"Strengthening potion?"

The first thought flashed through Brian’s mind, but he immediately realized that this was completely different from a strengthening potion.

This power was continuous; it was not at all the feeling of a temporary boost in strength like a strengthening potion—what kind of potion was this!

He had... become stronger!

"Ninja Art: Detection."

Tang Zheng activated the ninja’s detection skill to observe the increase in Brian’s strength after drinking the "Dragon Blood Potion."

"Level 28, stuck at this level again?"

Tang Zheng frowned slightly.

Reinasse and Imina were the same; to him, it was just a difference in level, but to people of this other world, it was like a "bottleneck" standing in the way.

The "Realm of Heroes" did not seem to be a level that could be easily broken through.

Tick～

Tick～

Brian slowly stood up, knelt on the ground, and scalding tears slid from his eye sockets.

This man was actually crying!

"What was all my previous effort for—"

Brian tilted his head, looking up at Tang Zheng in front of him; his voice was hoarse, as if he were asking himself or questioning himself.

Slowly.

Brian bent his spine and pressed his forehead heavily against the ground.

"Welcome to [Zuranon]." Tang Zheng said indifferently.

(End of chapter)