novelraw Chapter 92: Comfortable Expedition Team (3)
Chapter 92: Comfortable Expedition Team (3)
Translator: Dreamscribe
The city in front of the massive hole, the Underground Labyrinth, was magnificent.
Originally, other territories had been situated surrounding the underground labyrinth, but when the moon fragment fell, they were all blown away. Thanks to this, they were monopolizing a considerable portion of the profits coming from the underground labyrinth.
‘They’ve been steeped in luxury and pleasure for so long....’
Jinwoo lightly shook his head.
They were no different from livestock raised by the Lord of Greed. They flaunted only hollow honor while indulging in greed and pleasure. With the severance of the connection to the Lord of Greed, it seemed many changes had occurred even within the Empire.
Even such an environment would become enjoyable content for the Heroes.
On top of the city walls, Kumel and the knights were observing the Heroes.
“Wahaha!”
“We’re rich now!”
“Let’s go back!”
The Heroes pretended to be delighted at the sight of treasure. Some even fought over the loot, showing foolish behavior.
“This is fun.”
“Think they bought it?”
“Hehehe!”
The Heroes were more sincere than ever.
Their acting was excellent, on par with the Arsilan people trained in acting by Tia.
Though multiple expedition teams had competed to get here, the city was too large for a single team to claim alone. There was ample reason to form an alliance.
“Alright! Time to return! We say goodbye to this dreadful place!”
“Wuaaaa! Let’s go home!”
Around sunset, all the Heroes boarded the fleet, and as darkness fell, the fleet slipped away behind a large sand dune.
After confirming the fleet’s departure, Kumel and the knights withdrew from the city wall. Thousands of Heroes had already disembarked secretly from the ships, burying themselves in the sand and quietly observing the situation.
“It’s quiet.”
“This is when unity really shows.”
Haebyul and UruBear said so.
Thousands of Heroes were holding even their breath as they waited for the right moment.
“A Hero who went to scout the city just turned on a broadcast.”
At HandGenius’s words, the Heroes pulled up their Information Windows. Since only the Heroes could see them, no light leaked out. Heroes with classes like assassin or thief had infiltrated the city. Each expedition team had turned on their respective broadcasts, and one Hero in particular stood out.
‘SockThief’s Infiltration Broadcast!’
It was SockThief’s broadcast. She had joined this expedition as part of the Luxury Expedition Team.
“Wow....”
“Her movements are amazing.”
“No wonder she’s the number one thief. Her tastes are a bit insane though.”
“A named Hero really is something else.”
“No surprise she almost stole Helby nim’s socks.”
So skilled that the other Heroes spoke of her this way, SockThief moved with incredible agility. She seemed like a shadow in motion.
Rustle!
SockThief melted into the darkness, then quickly began scaling the wall. From atop the wall, she raised her camera and showed the scenery of the city.
There were quite a few soldiers on the city wall, but few inside the city. The remaining soldiers were hurriedly moving as if to support something elsewhere.
SockThief descended below the wall and ran across rooftops, broadcasting the internal situation in detail. She identified the locations of the lord’s mansion and warehouse, the dazzling temple, and the positions of various mansions.
In the lord’s mansion, knights had gathered, and a figure who appeared to be the lord rode off through the eastern gate with the knights. His family and retainers were seeing him off.
SockThief grinned.
[How lucky.]
-Where’s everyone going?
-Something must be up.
-This timing is insane.
SockThief approached the western gate of the city and concealed herself.
‘Is it because of that incident?’
Jinwoo recalled the previous event. He had tried to connect willpower to a noble’s son, but due to a tragic accident, the boy’s head had burst.
That incident seemed to have sparked a conflict.
The Heroes all lowered their bodies and began to approach the city. Those who moved to the western gate looked up at the wall. A soldier holding a torch tilted his head and looked in the Heroes’ direction.
Slash!
His head was cleanly cut off and fell to the base of the wall. The soldiers near the gate collapsed one by one, and all the torches that lit the area were extinguished.
The crouching Heroes rose to their feet and drew their weapons from their inventories.
NorthernGrandDuke rested her two handed axe on her shoulders and looked at the expedition leaders. When the expedition leaders met her gaze, they all grinned wickedly and nodded.
Jinwoo was the same.
Jinwoo created a small light using sacred technique. At that signal, SockThief gave a sign to the Heroes on top of the wall.
Clatter!
At SockThief’s signal, the Heroes opened the firmly shut western gate wide. Thousands of Heroes slipped through the gate and entered the city like a wave.
“Shall we go rob it together, then?”
At Jinwoo’s words, the expedition leaders chuckled and nodded.
“How about we make it a wager?”
NorthernGrandDuke suggested.
LifeHunter, for once, agreed with her suggestion. KimLuxury and the other expedition leaders also showed interest.
"It would be good to give a portion of the loot to the expedition team that brings back the most precious treasure."
"5% of the loot."
At NorthernGrandDuke’s words, LifeHunter responded briefly.
“And in addition, how about letting them take the lead when we return?”
Jinwoo added another condition.
All the expedition leaders agreed. When the expedition leaders sent the message to their Heroes, everyone was ignited with motivation. Though they had formed an alliance, the sense of competition among them still remained.
Jinwoo and the expedition leaders nodded at one another, then returned to their respective teams.
Jinwoo looked at the Heroes of the Comfortable Expedition Team. They had all thoroughly prepared. They had painted symbols on their faces and were fully armed.
“We’ll loot the lord’s mansion first.”
At Jinwoo’s words, everyone smiled deeply.
The lord’s mansion was such a sweet treasure trove that every expedition team had their eyes on it. Since the Comfortable Expedition Team was an elite, small group, they could move faster than the other teams.
-Wow! This is getting exciting!
-It’s finally starting!
-I'm watching while having chicken and beerㅋㅋㅋ
Jinwoo had memorized the fastest route to the lord’s mansion. When Jinwoo ran in the lead, the Heroes followed. As they ran quickly and got close to the lord’s mansion.
“Uwaaaa!”
“Kyah!”
Screams rang out from within the city, followed by flames erupting.
Jinwoo and the Heroes paused and looked back.
Boom! Boom!
The fleet reappeared in front of the pit and began bombarding the city. Since the Heroes had transmitted the bombardment coordinates to the fleet, the accuracy of the shelling was extremely high.
The monsters born from the Great War.
During the Great War, the Heroes had fired cannons to the point of nausea. The cannons had also been upgraded, and now even long-range howitzers were loaded on board.
The city was filled with nothing but explosions and screams.
As the massive explosions and tremors reached the Heroes, their faces flushed with excitement.
“This feeling... it's a first.”
Haebyul gripped her bow tightly in thrilling pleasure. UruBear’s face was also full of excitement.
-They’re really doing it right
-We’re just paying them back for destroying our cities and villages.
-This looks really fun.
Jinwoo and the Heroes started running again. In front of the lord’s mansion, knights and soldiers had already come out.
“S-Stop them!”
“Intruders!”
As soon as they spotted Jinwoo and the Heroes running toward the mansion, they shouted in panic.
Jinwoo held his mace and sacred technique book.
“Let’s kill them all.”
When Jinwoo cast a load of buffs on them, the Heroes charged in with wide smiles.
“Gugh!”
“Argh!”
Though the knights were quite strong, the Heroes were among the best of the vanguard.
When UruBear swung his shield, multiple soldiers exploded on the spot. Haebyul’s arrows pierced through the necks of five people at once. Magic rained down, devastating the surroundings, and the Heroes’ skills sliced through the knights.
“Hehe, these bastards are wearing good stuff.”
“Their swords are pretty decent too.”
“Let’s just pick them up for now.”
When the knights were killed, their bodies crumbled and everything they were wearing dropped. The Heroes collected anything useful with happy smiles.
“M-Monsters!”
“D-Devils! They must be devils!”
They feared death. Though corrupted by Erosion and capable of being resurrected through replication, there was a high chance they would lose everything they’d built and become slaves or have their souls eroded into mummy soldiers.
There was no rest.
It was a pain worse than death.
Their desperate resistance meant nothing to the Heroes.
Thud!
The Heroes simply killed everything in their way.
They passed through the wide garden and entered the mansion directly. The inside of the mansion was luxurious. Artworks were displayed, and even large paintings were hung on the walls.
“It’s really spacious.”
“So extravagant!”
The mansion’s interior was more fitting to be called a palace than a mansion. There were thousands of rooms, each filled with luxurious furniture and decorations.
“Let’s split up and search. Communicate through the expedition message system.”
Jinwoo said this as he looked at one of the paintings.
Looting the lord’s room or the vault took priority.
The mansion’s windows trembled.
The sounds of explosions continued, mixed with the cheers of the Heroes. The other expedition teams would soon rush in, so they had to secure things quickly.
“Let’s go!”
“Bwahahaha!”
-It’s a treasure hunt!
-Let’s snatch the best stuff first!
-Damn, I’m so jealous!
-This is dopamine overload ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The Heroes scattered and moved swiftly. The servants in the mansion screamed and fled. The territory’s officials seemed to have already run away, they were nowhere to be seen.
The Heroes were merciful.
They left alone those who appeared to be slaves, but instantly decapitated anyone wearing fine clothes.
‘So this is an imperial-style mansion.’
Jinwoo used magic to grasp the mansion’s layout. He could see in detail what was where. As he climbed the stairs, Haebyul and UruBear followed him.
“Comfortable nim! Let’s loot together!”
“I feel like this would make a great broadcast scene with Priest-nim!”
Haebyul and UruBear joined up with Jinwoo.
They went up to the third floor and walked down a long hallway. UruBear glanced at the ornate shields and weapons mounted on the walls and picked up a shield.
“Do I look like a noble?”
Large jewels were embedded in the shield. It looked quite valuable.
“You look like a bear wearing weird makeup.”
Haebyul’s judgment was cold. In the middle of the corridor, they found the largest room. It was the lord’s bedroom. It was sealed with imperial magic, so not just anyone could enter. When Jinwoo looked at UruBear, he grinned and raised the shield.
Boom!
He charged forward and blasted the door away along with the magic.
“Wow! Amazing!”
“Insane....”
Haebyul and UruBear were awestruck.
The lord’s bedroom was the epitome of luxury.
Treasured swords, artworks, and high-rank accessories and magic items were on display. And in one corner stood a massive vault.
“Kyaaaaa!”
“This is crazy! Grab everything!”
Haebyul and UruBear stuffed their inventories until they were full, then began piling everything into the large sacks they’d brought with them.
Jinwoo wasn’t interested in treasure, but he opened a sack anyway. A bet was on the line, and he couldn’t afford to lose. He wanted to make sure the Comfortable Expedition Team won comfortably.
Jinwoo walked toward the display cabinet.
“Comfortable nim?”
Haebyul, who had been shoving treasures into sacks, approached Jinwoo. She had already filled four sacks and was working on another.
UruBear was even more intense.
“Uaaaaaa!”
He physically ripped the giant vault out of the wall.
-That Strength stat was all for this day.
-He's just pulling out what's in the wall
-Is this a Hero or a monster? ㅋㅋㅋ
-A walking dump truck ㄷㄷㄷ
A Hero is someone who performs miracles.
That sight must have looked like a miracle to their enemies. Truly, it was the ideal image of a Hero.
“What’s in the display cabinet?”
At Haebyul’s question, Jinwoo gave a gentle smile.
“This part seemed a little out of place.”
“Oh? You’re right.”
Jinwoo opened the display cabinet and touched one of the artworks inside. It was fixed to the bottom and couldn’t be lifted, but it could be rotated.
-It’s a hidden spot!
-Wow! Priest-nim has sharp eyes!
-As expected of the expedition leader.
-Is this some kind of secret vault?
Haebyul and UruBear’s viewers admired and praised Jinwoo every time he did something.
Jinwoo enjoyed that, quietly.
“UruBear nim.”
“Yes!”
With strength, there was no need for the head to suffer.
UruBear, as if he had been waiting, strode straight to the display cabinet. He grabbed it and ripped it off entirely. Inside, a hidden room was revealed behind the cabinet.
“Oh.”
“Wow!”
“Whoa!”
Jinwoo, Haebyul, and UruBear all admired the sight within the room.
At this level, it seemed they wouldn’t lose no matter what rare treasure the other expedition teams found.
“Let’s keep this secret until the results of the bet are announced.”
At Jinwoo’s words, Haebyul and UruBear nodded.
Even the viewers curiously followed Jinwoo’s suggestion. Jinwoo had lightly filtered the broadcast, so there was no concern about information leaking out.
* * *
The Comfortable Expedition Team gathered at the mansion entrance. The sacks filled by the expedition team were piled high, and the Heroes brought out carts to load them. The vault gave off an overwhelming presence.
The Heroes of the Comfortable Expedition Team were taking group photos around the vault. Heroes from other expedition teams who arrived late to the lord’s mansion saw it and were amazed.
“Wow, you guys are crazy fast.”
“You already looted this place?”
Grin!
There are still places left unlooted, so go ahead and look around!
The Heroes of the Comfortable Expedition Team nodded and smiled. The Heroes from other expedition teams started to approach but flinched and backed away. That was because RomanticBard was in front of the vault, stuffing a variety of instruments into a sack.
“A new melody has come to me!”
RomanticBard had even gained a powerful weapon!
UruBear loaded what he found in the secret room onto the cart.
“Should we stash this on the ship and come back once more?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s loot more places!”
“I wonder if the temple’s already been hit?”
The Heroes of the Comfortable Expedition Team, either pulling carts or carrying sacks, exited the lord’s mansion. Moving the heavy secret vault wasn’t easy, but the Heroes all smiled as they cheerfully carried it.
The city was being devastated.
The Heroes burned and destroyed every place they looted. Places that were hard to destroy were either shelled or blown up with bombs.
“Now that’s an explosion!”
“Let’s do another one.”
There were quite a few Heroes who weren’t interested in treasure and were fully absorbed in blowing up buildings. Jinwoo and the Heroes loaded the treasures onto the ship, then quickly returned to loot more.
Boom-boom-boom!
Temple as large as the lord’s mansion exploded and collapsed completely. The Heroes paused to enjoy the scene, cheering and applauding.
-The heretics’ temple has fallen!
-The thing Earthlings do best...
-History does prove that, indeed.
A message arrived that the troops who had gone outside the domain were returning. It seemed they had heard that the city was being pillaged.
“Retreat!”
“Fall back!”
The Heroes quickly withdrew from the city.
* * *
The Heroes had returned, but they didn’t leave for Arsilan yet. They gave a few more bombardments to the returning city forces. As if teabagging, they checked the results of the bet in front of the ship.
Each expedition team brought forth the rarest item they had looted. Jinwoo’s Comfortable Expedition Team did the same.
“Then, let’s check the results of the bet!”
Jam-sik of the Hunter Expedition Team stepped forward to host the event. It would have been great if Kim Seok-jun had joined, but he had multiple events scheduled in Arsilan.
The moment Jam-sik turned on the broadcast, the number of viewers exploded.
Rumors about the bet had already spread across Arsilan Worlds. All the Heroes from the various expedition teams also focused closely to see the results.
“First, let’s take a look at the treasure from the Northern Expedition Team!”
NorthernGrandDuke stepped forward and raised a treasured sword. It had already been appraised with an appraisal certificate, so it could be checked via the Information Window.
[B-] Flame Magic Sword
A magical sword containing immense power of flame.
Infused with powerful magical energy. Even without magic skills, strong flame magic can be used through the Magic Sword of Flame.
Recorded as one of Arsilan’s top 1,000 swords in ancient times.
-Source: Sillion Kingdom Underground Library-
* Flame Attribute Enhancement
* [B-] Blessing of Flame
Negates flame-attribute attacks of B-rank or lower.
* [C+] Flame Storm (Cooldown: 3 hours)
Creates a storm of fire to incinerate a wide area.
* [D] Fireball (Cooldown: 20 minutes)
“Insane....”
“Wow....”
“That’s incredible.”
The Heroes were amazed.
The reason was that the stats were absurd. When NorthernGrandDuke held the magic sword and swung it forward, flames surged up and swept across the front.
-That thing must be literally priceless.
-I have to go on expeditions no matter what. The farming is insane!
-Wow...
Even the viewers were left speechless.
“Next is the treasure from the Hunter Expedition Team!”
LifeHunter brought out a necklace.
It was the ‘[B-] Necklace of Protection’. It could generate a shield and had an auto-healing feature that restored health over time. It looked quite formidable as well.
The Luxury Expedition Team's item was ranked C+.
It was a statue made from rare materials taken from the Church. Most of the items from the other expedition teams easily surpassed C-rank. No one could confidently claim victory, because the Comfortable Expedition Team had stolen a secret vault from the lord's mansion.
Jam-sik deliberately pushed the Comfortable Expedition Team’s turn to the end.
“In the secret vault looted by the Comfortable Expedition Team, what could possibly be insid... huh?”
Jam-sik couldn’t finish his sentence. That was because instead of a vault, a sack was brought out.
“What is this?”
“They tore out the secret vault from the lord’s room.”
“I saw it too.”
“Is there something better than that?”
The Heroes murmured among themselves. NorthernGrandDuke, KimLuxury, and LifeHunter also looked at Jinwoo with curious expressions. UruBear placed the sack in front of Jinwoo.
“Then please reveal it!”
At Jam-sik’s words, Jinwoo grinned and tore open the sack.
“Huh?”
“Wow...”
“Ooooh!”
The Heroes each reacted differently to what came out of the sack.
“Mmgh!”
“Mmmph!”
It was none other than the Countess and Kumel, perfectly bound. The Countess had tears streaming down her face, and Kumel looked completely terrified.
Jam-sik was at a loss for words for a moment.
“T-This is definitely a treasure with immense potential!”
UruBear brought out another sack.
Inside were all the territory’s administrators. They were all people who had been hiding in the secret room.
Jinwoo looked at the Heroes with a gentle smile.
"When I saw the portraits hanging in the mansion, it seemed he had special love for family. It's right to kill all the heretics, but I figured I’d bring them anyway.”
At Jinwoo’s words, the Heroes burst into applause.
“As expected... that’s amazing.”
“That’s definitely a treasure.”
NorthernGrandDuke and LifeHunter couldn’t help but acknowledge it.
The other expedition leaders also expressed great admiration.
The territory owned by the Count was vast. With those hostages, they would be able to do all sorts of things.
-Um...
-Did they just... kidnap them?
-Look how meticulously they tied them up. That’s pro-level work ㅋㅋ
-This is a Priest! This is... is this a Priest?
-I nominate Comfortable nim as Hero of the Year.
-Is he experienced in this? His technique’s on another level.
-We’re still the good guys, right?
A photo of Jinwoo smiling benevolently in front of the terrified, tearful hostages was uploaded to Arsilan Worlds.
“Should we go ahead and strap some bombs to the hostages?”
HandGenius asked with a cheerful, innocent expression, and the Heroes nearby nodded in admiration.
That’s a really good idea! Let’s do it right now!
For the first time ever, hostage content had debuted in Arsilan Saga!
*****
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