Chapter 61: 61 Three People Have Worked Hard

Kicking the vicious dog that lunged at him, Wells quickly adjusted his stance and blocked an arrow aimed at his face.

After dealing with that, he looked at the hunter opposite and saw they had put seven or eight paces of distance between themselves and him again.

What the hell did Ralph mean by "you go deal with that hunter"?

Isn't the hunter and his dog together just a two-on-one?

He should consider himself lucky if he wasn't kited to death.

The battle started too suddenly; a second ago, Ralph was arguing with the opposing leader over the price of the monster corpses they hadn't finished buying yet, and neither would budge on the price.

The next second, the other side suddenly attacked them.

Caught off guard, the dwarf was injured in the arm, putting the situation at a severe disadvantage for their side.

Wells just couldn't figure out why they would launch a preemptive attack, since it wasn't their side that had obtained that A-rank Magic Crystal.

Besides, although their side was at a disadvantage, they were not without the power to resist, and fighting to the end would inevitably result in mutual destruction.

That small A-rank Magic Crystal was indeed precious, but surely it wasn't worth risking one's life over?

Could it be that someone among them wanted to use their hands to kill a few teammates to get a larger share?

No, that method was far too risky and too stupid.

Turning his head, he dodged another arrow that had clearly been imbued with a spinning skill, and Wells spared a glance at his teammates.

Ralph was locked in combat with the opposing leader; both were agility types, and Wells felt every blade strike was perilous, yet no one had truly received a fatal wound.

Jenny's position was still relatively safe; she was healing the dwarf on the other side, and after a flash of gray-white light, the dwarf's condition improved significantly.

Jenny noticed Wells at that moment as well; showing no favoritism, the gray-white light also washed over him.

In an instant, Wells felt a ceaseless flow of power surging through his body.

Now he felt he could do anything!

The hunting dog lunged from the side once more, and at the same time, the hunter actually fired two arrows in rapid succession.

One arrow shot straight at Wells' face, while the other blocked off his retreat.

If it had been just a moment ago, he might have really crashed under such an assault, but now!

He flipped his longsword upward, deflecting the arrow coming from the front, then immediately brought it down in a slash directly against the hunting dog rushing at him.

Wells displayed speed and strength far exceeding his previous limits.

With one downward slash, the hunting dog's furious barking turned into a wail; a wound stretching from its shoulder and neck down to its abdomen nearly ended the beast's life, and after suffering such a heavy blow, it could only flee in a wretched manner to a distance.

Wells' chest heaved slightly, and his cheeks flushed with excitement.

Looking up again at the opposite side, his eyes filled with battle intent; this time, the hunters were going to become the prey.

However, was there something he had missed?

Right, where is the mage?

——

In the Mushroom Forest, the law enforcement unit that Lin Jun had arrived with seemed to have lost their chance to make an appearance.

The two teams of adventurers hadn't been fighting inside the cave the whole time; they had moved the battlefield outside.

Since the Fatty and whatever was inside its stomach were fine, this struggle between humans had nothing to do with him.

Both sides looked like they were about to decide the victor.

Although the dwarf had been ambushed and the mage had slipped away, thanks to that woman named Jenny, who used Potential Excitation repeatedly and recklessly drained her teammates, she had directly boosted the squad's strength to a level a notch higher than the opposition.

These guys would probably be bedridden for half a month after this fight; the other side lost without any injustice.

——

Clang—

After deflecting Ralph's blade once more, the leader of this squad suddenly retreated a few steps and pulled out that A-rank Magic Crystal from his chest.

"We're done fighting! We surrender! Here's the Magic Crystal, let us go! Otherwise, I'll detonate it!"

As he spoke, he injected a surge of mana into it, causing the Magic Crystal to emit a blinding purple light—this leader actually possessed a mana manipulation skill.

He didn't want to give up such a huge windfall just like that, but the current situation left him no choice but to pay to avoid disaster.

Since the middle of the fight, his group had been under constant pressure; he had nearly had his throat slit by the dual-blade wielder on the other side several times.

His own hunter had lost his pet and was forced to fight in close quarters with a short axe, barely surviving.

If he had surrendered any later, the hunter's life would likely have been lost.

Fortunately, Ralph was clearly unwilling to let go of the Magic Crystal.

Seeing the Magic Crystal appear to be approaching its critical point, he hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Wait, don't be impulsive."

Actually, Ralph still hadn't figured out why both sides had started fighting.

He was indeed craving that Magic Crystal, but these people looked like they weren't easy to mess with, and he wasn't about to make the first move.

The sudden attack from the other side was even more baffling; aside from the equipment displayed openly, their side hadn't revealed any wealth, so how did it attract an attack?

Of course, not understanding the reason didn't stop him from collecting the spoils; since they had already fought, wouldn't it be a huge loss if he didn't take the Magic Crystal?

"Fine, hand it over, and you can go." Ralph extended his hand and said.

The opposing leader was so angry he almost laughed: "Do you think I'm a Bai Chi? Clear the way, and we'll give it to you once we ensure our rear is unblocked!"

"Tch." Ralph waved his hand, signaling his teammates to move closer to him, and cleared a path.

When the opposing side had walked to the outer edge but hadn't yet created distance, Ralph called out to them: "That's enough, give me the Magic Crystal, and I guarantee I won't chase you."

That leader clearly knew that this position was probably Ralph's bottom line; if he didn't hand it over now, they would likely start fighting again.

He exchanged a glance with his teammates.

The A-rank Magic Crystal was thrown over with force, even flying past Ralph towards the Mushroom Forest.

After tossing the A-rank Magic Crystal, the group turned and ran at full speed; the hunter didn't even have time to carry the unconscious dog lying nearby.

Fortunately, the Magic Crystal was only thrown to the edge of the Mushroom Forest; Ralph cursed as he went to pick it up, as he truly had no intention of pursuing them to the end.

"We hit the jackpot!"

Suddenly having a large influx of income, Wells almost forgot the minor unpleasantness with the captain.

"Pity, a coward abandoned his teammates and ran."

Ralph was naturally referring to the mage; the others felt the same anger.

Wells went so far as to say directly, "Next time we meet, I'll make sure he gets a good beating."

"That fight really wore me out," Ralph complained, rubbing his shoulders.

He now felt more exhausted than if he hadn't slept for two days and two nights, and the feeling was growing worse.

"They left behind plenty of monster corpses in the cave, and we still have a few here—anyone still got the strength to carry them? I need to rest a bit."

With Ralph saying that, Wells and the dwarves also felt a bit drained.

In the end, the task of moving the bodies fell to Gene, who still had some energy left.

The captain apologized: "Sorry, we're forcing you, a priest, to do manual labor."

"Don't mention it—you three are the ones who truly suffered. Go rest well; I'll keep watch after I finish moving everything."

Gene's smile was still as reassuring as ever!

The three simply rested behind a relatively hidden mushroom not far from the cave.

They didn't want to find a safer spot—they were simply too exhausted to move.

Soon after leaning back and sitting down, all three fell asleep.

——

A faint voice by his ear woke Wells.

Huh?

How long have I slept?

Wells tried to get up but found he couldn't move!

He had been tied up!

Who did this? Ralph?

He saw no one else around.

"Damn it, where the hell is this? Ralph? What the fuck are you doing?"

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

The sudden scream startled Wells.

That voice was… Ralph?

(End of Chapter)