"If this damn place didn't have no electricity or broadcasting, we could have caught even more fat sheep, and this job would have been even easier."
The conversation paused here.
I could feel them exchanging glances, followed by a sharp, jerky blow to the back of my neck.
Okay, this guy must be a complete novice.
He did manage to cut the back of my neck, but the point of impact was slightly off, and the force was much less than he intended, for fear of killing or paralyzing me. I even had to find a way to cooperate in order to successfully complete this scene.
With my eyes closed, I noticed them move me onto a hard object, and after a series of shaking and jolting, they released me from that narrow, damp space and shoved me haphazardly into a room.
"etc!"
Sheng suddenly spoke, interrupting me.
I turned my head and noticed him looking me up and down with an incredulous gaze, as if to confirm my safety and well-being once again: "Big brother, you mean... you deliberately let those strange guys kidnap you?"
I raised an eyebrow: "What, is there a problem?"
The fingers gripping my sleeve tightened, revealing Sheng's anxiety: "Didn't I tell you before that those guys were strange? I had a vague feeling that something was wrong. I told you several times before you left to be extra careful... And you were this careful, Brother Uriel?"
"You can rest assured for now. I don't think there's anything there that could threaten me."
I patted his hand, signaling him to let go: "Besides, I'm back safe and sound, aren't I?"
"Instead of those trivial matters, let's focus on this first. What do you think? Based on my analysis, this special form of magical entanglement and flow seems more like an activated curse or ritual than a spell cast by a mage. However, I haven't found anything related to it within the safe zone..."
"Big brother—"
The complaining tone forced me to stop trying to change the subject, and I sighed, "I'm listening."
"You haven't forgotten about the attack, have you?"
Of course I remember, along with that lingering emotion.
Although it was mostly due to my carelessness and negligence, it was I who, after defeating the liger, subconsciously relaxed my guard because I assumed there weren't many stronger beings around, leaving no room for defense against a sneak attack, and also failed to react quickly enough.
The guy who ambushed us from the shadows and took down the three of us was obviously not much stronger than us, but he managed to do that in that instant, and even deliberately appeared in front of us and waved, which naturally made me feel an uncontrollable rage.
I lowered my voice and said, "I won't make the same mistake again."
“I…I didn’t mean to blame you.”
Sheng opened his mouth in silence, then shook his head: "I just want to say, Brother Uriel, you should be more careful, instead of doing things that might put yourself in danger."
Are we in danger? I don't think so.
Pretending to be kidnapped by those two, even though it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, I had made thorough preparations beforehand. My senses, which were constantly being deployed, replaced my eyes in observing the surrounding environment, and I also took note of the distribution of sentries.
No further questions.
Sheng stared at me silently for a while, this time without interrupting or refuting.
"Did you confirm anything there?" he asked.
“A huge, flimsy, dark room containing at least several hundred people who had been knocked unconscious and left there.”
My answer made Sheng frown deeply.
“Furthermore, around the perimeter of that room, there are double rings carved in blood, which look like a large-scale sacrifice prepared to be offered to some being.” I paused, then added, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be a human sacrifice.”
The sinister, cruel, and disgusting atmosphere almost made me think I had returned to the scene of the cult's blood sacrifice that I had accidentally stumbled upon.
"Human sacrifice!"
Sheng's body stiffened instantly. After a soft gasp, he cautiously turned to look around and whispered, "Are those guys really all crazy?!"
I shrugged indifferently: "In this situation, do you think anyone can't guarantee complete mental health?"
"...That's true."
Even the young boy in front of me has changed a lot since we first met, not to mention those who failed to find protection and were forced to face the world's upheavals and monster attacks alone.
He then looked at me with expectant and admiring eyes: "Since Brother Uriel was able to return here, and seems to be safe and sound... that means you successfully rescued all those people, right?"
"Yes. It's simple, just kill all those damned guys. The rest are all good people."
Sheng stared wide-eyed, mouth agape. After a long while, he stiffly turned his head to look in the direction I had come from—I only noticed now that he was observing through the plants placed at the doorway—and muttered to himself in confusion, "But, none of them followed?"
"Although it may be a bit far, this is, after all, a very large and safe enough security zone. As long as we can resolve the current situation smoothly and redistribute the tasks to each person, there shouldn't be any other problems..."
"I don't have time to deal with those guys."
I abruptly cut off Sheng's train of thought, causing him to gape open for the second time: "Why don't you guess who I saw in there?"
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