Chương 188: Page 188

"That's it! The strange things happening in the village must be the work of these guys. Let's rush in and take them all out, and the mission will be complete!"

As he spoke, he excitedly tried to rush to the top of the mountain.

But before he could run two steps, Erza's merciless hand grabbed him by the back of his collar.

Natsu, who was starting at full speed, was nearly strangled to death by the sudden force of 02.

After coughing several times while clutching his neck, he finally heard Erza's stern warning:

"Don't be so reckless. Let's avoid them before we confirm the situation."

Without waiting for Natsu's agreement, Erza, guided by Happy, went around to the side of the temple, preparing to sneak up the mountain.

On the mountaintop, in the open space outside the temple, just as Harpy had said, a group of mysterious men in black robes were sitting on the ground in twos and threes, resting and chatting.

Inside a secret chamber within the temple, several visiting mages were plotting something.

The leader of the group was a mysterious man wearing a horned helmet. He sat on a stone chair on a high platform in the secret chamber and calmly asked a short, hunched-over strange man below him who also wore a mask:

"Sarudi, why are you here looking for me instead of preparing for the ceremony?"

"We'll achieve our goal in just one more night at most, and I don't want anything to go wrong along the way."

The mysterious man wearing a horned helmet is named Leon, but those around him prefer to call him Zero.

The little old man called Saludi chuckled and said:

"It's a pity, Lord Zero, I have brought some bad news with me this time."

Saludi's words caused Leon's brows to furrow deeply beneath his helmet, and a murderous intent gradually rose in his heart.

This guy named Saludi appeared suddenly not long ago. As soon as the two met, he proposed to join his plan and help him complete the ritual.

Leon, confident in his own abilities and recognizing that Leon could indeed help the plan, temporarily accepted him.

But Leon didn't fully trust the other party, especially now that the plan was about to succeed.

If this guy has any idea of interfering with or interrupting my plans.

Leon would always deal with the other party immediately, physically dissuading him from having that idea.

The fleeting killing intent emanating from him did not escape Saludi's perception.

Knowing what he was thinking, Saludi chuckled softly and began to explain in a slightly gentler tone.

"Don't misunderstand, I have no idea about your plan."

The accident I'm referring to comes from the village on the island inhabited by demons.

They appear to have issued a public commission, inviting a mage from a legitimate guild.

A team of three mages has already accepted the request and entered the village.

I'm here to warn you to be careful of those mages; they could very well become an obstacle to our plans.

After recounting what he knew, Saludi bowed respectfully and stepped aside.

The next second, the other three mages in the secret room, besides the two, started shouting angrily.

"How outrageous! A bunch of ignorant demons! If it weren't for Lord Zero's kindness in letting them go, they would have been wiped out on the very first day we arrived on the island!"

"Lord Zero, let me deal with them. For love, I will eliminate every single one of those demons, along with the mages they summoned."

The speaker was a beautiful 170cm tall girl with pink twin tails, dressed in a maid-like outfit.

However, her words were not as charming as her appearance suggested; they revealed a cruelty, coldness, and a visible infatuation with Leon.

Besides her, a short man with overly thick eyebrows and his hands behind his back also stepped forward and said in a cold voice:

"The ceremony has reached its final stage, regardless of who they are or whether they will find this place."

We must nip any potential threat to our plans in the bud.

They can only blame their bad luck; if they had come a few days later, they might have survived.

Finally, seeing that his two companions had spoken, the strange man with dog ears, not to be outdone, loudly echoed:

"Woof——!!"

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Seeing that three loyal subordinates had come forward to share his burdens, Leon's anger subsided somewhat.

However, Leon wasn't going to let those ungrateful villagers off the hook, nor the three unfortunate unknown mages who had hindered his plans. He coldly snorted and ordered the three who had spoken:

"Sherry, Yuka, Toby, the three of you set off immediately and deal with that group of mages and villagers."

"Sarudi, you did a good job. Anyone who might get in the way of our plans should be eliminated."

Upon receiving the order, the three immediately responded, turned around, and left together to deal with the trouble.

Saludi maintained his respectful demeanor and bowed slightly to Leon once again.

"This is all I should do. Since you have already made your plans, I will take my leave."

I will guard that guy and not let anyone get close to him until the ceremony is complete.

Leon nodded slightly, agreeing to his request.

Watching Saludi's hunched figure turn and leave, a cold glint flashed in Leon's eyes, and he muttered to himself: You had better be truly loyal to me. If you have other motives, don't blame me for dealing with you before dealing with Deliora.

As Sherry and her two companions stepped out of the temple, a huge gray rat dressed in a maid outfit approached them, chattering away.

Yuka and Toby couldn't understand, so they stopped and looked at Sherry, the owner of the big rat.

Shirley nodded repeatedly, then said with surprise:

"Angelica, you mean someone touched me?"

"Squeak!"

The giant rat nodded in a very human-like manner and pointed to the side of the temple.

Upon seeing its actions, Shirley quickly told Yuka and the other person:

"Angelica said someone came looking for us, most likely a mage brought by the villagers."

Yuka wasn't angry when she heard this; instead, she gave a cold laugh with the corners of her mouth turned up.

"Hehe, what a coincidence, they came to us just as we were about to leave."

"Let's go take care of them first, then we'll deal with that village."

After saying that, Yuka took the lead and walked in the direction the big rat was pointing.

Sherry and Toby followed behind him without any objection, and Angelica, the big rat, also consciously led the way.

Meanwhile, Yan's team had already climbed up to the temple from the side of the hill.

Perhaps because they never expected anyone to come looking for them, they were allowed to enter the ruins without any guards.

Seeing the scattered rubble and cracked walls all around, Erza immediately spoke up to warn them:

"Be careful, this ruin is very old. Move gently to avoid it collapsing."

"what?"

Natsu, who had been stomping his feet on the ground as soon as he entered the ruins, looked over blankly when he heard this.

Erza's eyes widened at the sight, but before she could say anything, a large hole appeared in the ground beneath their feet.

Caught off guard, Natsu, Gray, and Erza all screamed and fell down.

Only Yan and Habi, who had wings, were left looking at each other, and finally let out a helpless chuckle.

The sound of the ruins collapsing was naturally noticed by Yuka and the others who were pursuing them.

The three of them immediately changed their expressions. Yuka, no longer calm and composed, urged them urgently:

"Oh no, it must be those little mice! Quick, stop them! We absolutely cannot let them interfere with the ceremony!"

Shirley and Toby knew the urgency of the situation, so they immediately took a shortcut and ran at full speed toward the direction from which the sound came.

Only Angelica, the big rat, was left outside because of her enormous size, and waited anxiously.

Besides them, Leon, who was deep inside the temple, also heard the noise.

Instantly, he stood up from his chair and turned his gaze toward the direction from which the sound came.

"Damn it, what's going on? Could it be those foreign mages' staffs?"

Leon was instantly enraged. Completing the ritual, freeing Deliora, and then personally defeating him was his lifelong dream. He absolutely would not allow his three years of hard work to be ruined, and no one could stop him from surpassing Uru!

Thinking this, he flicked his cloak and strode out of the secret room toward the direction from which the sound came.

Deep within a cave beneath the temple, a monster, its entire body frozen solid, is hidden.

Saludi, or rather, Urutia in disguise, sat cross-legged on a large rock, staring blankly at the huge block of ice in front of him, lost in thought.

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"Boom~~~" A loud noise behind him interrupted Urudia's thoughts. He turned around in surprise, and then a look of realization appeared on his face behind the mask.

"They found us so quickly, that's really fast."

"Sigh~ Of all times, you had to come and disturb us. I can't let you discover this big guy and disrupt the ceremony."

Muttering to himself, Ultear propped himself up on his knees, hunching over like a little old man, and slowly walked toward the only exit with his hands behind his back.

"Cough cough cough~ Natsu, you idiot!!!"

Gray angrily fanned away the dust flying in front of him and cursed the culprit who had caused it all.

"Huh? I was just trying it out, who knew this temple would be so dilapidated."

Natsu wanted to argue a bit more, but Erza, who had also fallen and looked terrible, made him realize his mistake with her fists, her face turning ashen.

"Yes, I'm sorry, it was my carelessness."

Natsu, with a large bag on his head, readily bowed his head and admitted his mistake to everyone.

Yan, who had gracefully descended from the cave entrance with her wings spread, crossed her arms and remarked:

"Can you even do it, kid? If you don't even have this basic awareness, then I have to question whether you can complete this S-rank mission."

"of course can!"

Natsu clenched his fists and retorted, "This time it was my fault. I will be more careful from now on until I complete the mission and prove that I have the ability to become an S-class mage!"

"Heh, you can't become an S-class mage just by talking."

"Alright, hurry up and lead the way. If you make another such basic mistake, I'll take over the task myself."

"I told you not to underestimate me. How could I possibly make the same mistake twice?"

Natsu muttered a resentful remark under his breath, but in his heart, he still remembered this lesson.

Looking up at the not-so-low cave entrance, and then glancing around at his surroundings, Natsu suddenly brightened up, pointed to a passage ahead that seemed to lead nowhere, and laughed:

"Hey, there's a road here. If we follow it, we might make a really interesting discovery."

After saying that, he took the lead and began to guide the way.

Looking at the pink-haired kid who was inexplicably full of energy, Yan was puzzled.

He actually found the right answer. In this world where people act against their conscience, some things really can't be explained by simple theoretical data.

Thinking it over, she shook her head and followed the others.

At the same time, she was also thinking about how she should bring the mission target back later.

Natsu, who was walking ahead, stopped after only a few dozen meters.