Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 142 Murder and Robbery 5

Compared to the unbearable heat during the day, the nights in the volcanic area are exceptionally cool. As the night progresses, the coolness gradually deepens, making people feel a little chilly, as if they were in the vast desert at night.

When Caesars slowly awoke from his deep sleep, the sky above him was still shrouded in endless darkness, like a huge, thick piece of black velvet. This night's sleep was simply perfect for him, like a sweet rain falling on a long-dry land, sweeping away all his fatigue.

However, at this moment, he suddenly felt something heavy pressing down on his chest. He knew without hesitation that it was the mischievous black snake again. Sure enough, when he reached out and groped for it, his fingertips touched its slippery, warm, and elastic body.

"Damn you, Saint Paul! How did you get into my sleeping bag!" Caesars grumbled, mercilessly reaching out and grabbing the black snake, throwing it out of the sleeping bag. After doing this, he slowly sat up, picked up the magic robe lying nearby, and skillfully put it on. Then, he straightened the sleeping bag and put it away.

After everything was packed up, Caesars walked to a relatively flat and open place, took out an exquisite magic telescope, and began to carefully observe the situation in the camp in the distance.

Several sturdy mercenaries were on guard duty around the camp ahead. They sat quietly behind their crossbows, motionless like statues. Due to the distance and the dim light, even with darkvision, it was difficult to tell whether the mercenaries were asleep or not.

Caesars glanced at the magic clock and saw that it was still two hours until dawn. He turned and walked towards the volcanic rocks. Standing at the edge of the volcanic rocks, he unbuckled his belt and released the accumulated urine in his body with a hearty release. The hot stream cascaded down like a silver waterfall, hitting the volcanic ash ground beside the rocks.

He walked with firm yet light steps, slowly advancing towards the Golden Viper Mercenary Group's camp. As he walked, he pulled out a few pieces of cheese, emitting an alluring aroma, and began to chew them vigorously. Each bite seemed to bring endless satisfaction, soaking his taste buds in the rich, milky aroma. After finishing the cheese, he raised his canteen and tilted his head back to gulp down several deep gulps of cool water. The sweet taste instantly moistened his dry throat.

A pitch-black black snake slithered behind him. Its body was slender, its scales gleaming with a dim light. Its golden eyes stared intently ahead, drawn in by the scent of food wafting from afar. The lightning rat held a deadly allure for the black snake.

About seventy or eighty meters from the camp stood a prime observation point. A massive obsidian stone, like a black crystal, stood abruptly there. This obsidian not only effectively blocked magical detection, but was also incredibly hard. While slightly inferior to magic steel, it was still strong enough to withstand most attacks.

Carefully hiding behind the obsidian, he poked his head out and began to closely observe the Golden Viper camp. A complex defensive array was set up outside the camp, emitting faint magical fluctuations, clearly possessing strong protective capabilities. However, this did not worry him too much. What really troubled him were the traps set around the camp. They seemed extremely hidden and difficult to disarm silently. A single mistake could trigger the traps, attracting the magic steel bolts fired from powerful crossbows. These bolts were incredibly powerful, and if they were hit, the consequences would be disastrous.

At this moment, Caesars fell into deep thought, his brow furrowed. The high-powered alchemical bomb he carried was rather heavy, and its throwable distance was limited; it couldn't reach the center of the camp. As he pondered this, his gaze suddenly fell on the black demon snake beside him, flicking its tongue. Instantly, he remembered the giant red snake's venom. It was incredibly potent, and could easily kill dozens of people.

"Saint Paul, stay here and don't move. I'm going to use something very dangerous!"

Caesars placed the black demon snake in a hide pouch, placed it next to the obsidian, and covered it with a layer of volcanic ash. He knew the power of the giant snake's venom. Although he was immune to the poison, the black demon snake was not. He then produced a small crystal bottle, half filled with a faintly glowing scarlet liquid.

Caesars used Fade, Invisibility, Swiftness, and other speed-boosting spells. Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, he quickly walked towards the Golden Viper's camp.

Outside the Golden Viper Mercenary Group's camp, the night watchmen yawned relentlessly, their eyes straining with sleep. They'd been marching all day, and after just two or three hours' sleep, they were on duty. The mercenaries, leaning against their powerful magic steel crossbows, slept soundly, oblivious to the shadowy figures stealthily approaching the camp.

About thirty meters away, the crystal bottle filled with deadly poison was tightly wrapped in a layer of dense magic. Caesars' face was solemn, his right hand tightly grasped the crystal bottle, and then he threw it with all his strength.

After completing this action, Caesars didn't hesitate at all, quickly turned around, and cast the Flash spell. With a flash of light, his figure instantly disappeared from the spot, fleeing into the distance at an extremely fast speed.

The crystal bottle, enveloped in magic, flew rapidly through the air, emitting a dazzling red mist of magical light. The moment it passed through the defensive formation, a sharp and piercing alarm echoed throughout the camp, as if waking everyone from their slumber.

Then, a red crystal bottle landed heavily in the center of the camp. With a loud bang, the bottle exploded. Suddenly, a thick, bloody red liquid splattered everywhere like a fountain, wisps of red smoke rising from the splashes, and a sweet, fishy smell filled the air.

At this moment, the mercenaries on night watch outside the camp were awakened. They frantically pulled flares from their waistbands and threw them into the distance without hesitation. In an instant, bright beams of light streaked across the night sky, illuminating the surrounding area.

Caesars, desperately fleeing, was startled by the sudden flash of light behind him. The moment the flare landed, he distinctly heard the powerful snap of a bowstring. Before he could react, the whistling sound of a crossbow bolt piercing the air followed.

Fortunately, Caesars ran fast enough, and the light at night was not very good, so the three crossbow arrows made of magic steel and flashing with cold light all missed the target and passed by him.

At the same time, several magicians in the camp were awakened by the commotion. Without even bothering to tidy up their messy pajamas, they rushed out of the tent in a hurry, trying to figure out what had happened.

Laudeno, with his snow-white hair loose, asked anxiously, "What happened?"

"Someone attacked us by surprise. He threw something into the camp!"

Following the direction pointed by the mercenary, several magicians saw a lot of red fluorescent things in the camp, evaporating rapidly and producing a large amount of bright red mist.

Laudno used his magic tentacles to explore, and the red mist that his magic just touched was quickly corroded.

"Drink the antidote immediately, the smoke is highly toxic!"

Laudeno screamed in terror. He quickly took out a powerful antidote and drank it. The other magicians and mercenaries on duty also took out their potions and drank them.

Kaisas, who had been hiding and observing from a distance, swaggered out and quickly walked towards the Golden Viper Mercenary Group's camp. The alarm sounded again, but this time no magic steel crossbows were fired.

"Hi there!"

Caesars walked into the camp and greeted the Golden Viper's men enthusiastically. He walked over to Laudno and gently patted his shoulder, as if he had met an old friend.

"Do you feel that your sea of ​​magic power has been corroded and your sea of ​​vindictiveness is riddled with holes? You could have resisted for a while longer, but who knew you all drank the antidote? How unfortunate!"

Caesar grabbed Laudno's hand without saying a word, forcibly took off his storage ring, and took off the magic accessories on his body.

"Why are you trying to kill us?"

Laudeno's magic veins, which extended to the magic sea, were all corroded by severe toxins, and he has now become a complete cripple.

"I hate the rural nobles in the southern part of the Roland Empire, and I hate the Golden Viper Mercenaries even more. Not only do you want to steal my Dragon Bloodwood Staff, you also want to take my wealth and even kill me. What I'm doing now is returning everything to you: I want to kill you and take all your wealth so that the gold coins can come faster!"

As soon as Caesars finished speaking, several mercenaries began to convulse all over their bodies and soon fell to the ground.

"This poison is truly potent. The more you resist, the faster you'll die. If you hadn't taken the antidote, you could have lived for two or three minutes, but now you can only live half that time. Oh, your luck is truly unfortunate!"

Caesars said this with a smile, speeding up his movements and searching the storage rings of these people.

"Can you dig a hole and bury us?" asked Laudno.

"You provided me with cultivation resources. Burying you would have been a trivial matter, but I have more important matters to attend to. I will hand over your bodies to the Roland Empire. I can collect a substantial bounty, and they will probably bury you in the end!"

To bury dozens of people, a large pit would need to be dug. The bodies of these people could be exchanged for gold coins, and Caesars was planning to hunt down Trudeau, so the easiest way was to take the bodies away.

Laudenuo burst into tears, regretting his original choice. People around him fell one by one, their lives coming to an end. Laudenuo's body twitched continuously, and he slowly fell to the ground.

After looting everything and putting the bodies into a storage ring, Kaisas was about to travel hundreds of miles to hunt down another group near the lava river.

The snow-white lightning rat had long since become a corpse, contaminated by the giant red snake's deadly venom. The golden-eyed black demon snake, unable to enjoy its delicious meal, held a hint of resentment in its small eyes.

"Saint Paul, how dare you look down on Master Caesars with such contempt? This is a low-level magical beast, the Lightning Rat. There are countless of them on the Northern Plateau. I will take you to the plateau and then stuff you into a Lightning Rat's hole, letting you spend the winter there!"

When mentioning the Northern Plateau, Kaesus's thoughts drifted back to the time he met the Northern Ogre, Melissa. Back then, he was still a young child, full of curiosity and longing for the world. Melissa, on the other hand, was a tall, rugged-looking female Northern Ogre, yet possessed a heart of kindness.

Caesars still clearly remembers the first time he met Melissa. It was the first time he ate a large piece of bacon, drank a large cup of hot milk, and had a hot milky bread.

Melissa's strong, sturdy hands expertly kneaded the dough, as if breathing life into it. After a series of meticulous baking steps, the fragrant, milky bread emerged from the oven, its alluring aroma making Caesars' mouth water. He then summoned the courage to ask Melissa to teach him the craft, and to his surprise, she readily agreed.

During his time there, Caesars not only learned to make delicious milk bread but also forged a deep friendship with Melissa. Melissa generously gifted him three wolf pelts. Although slightly damaged, they were invaluable treasures to the then-struggling Caesars family. These three pelts helped them survive several harsh winters, and whenever he recalled these memories, Caesars felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Today, Caesars is no longer the innocent child he once was. He carries a heavy mission. He is determined to kill Trudeau, solely to obtain the legendary premium Barton Black Tea. This tea is produced in the Duchy of Barton, in the hills near the Cold Wind Mountains, and is known as the king of teas for its exceptional quality. Ordinary Barton Black Tea can be purchased with just gold coins. However, premium Barton Black Tea is difficult to acquire, even with a large amount of gold coins, without the corresponding status and identity.

Premium Barton black tea is sold in a similar manner to the Solomon family's Fire Maple Wine. It's exclusively available to members of the royal family and prominent nobles, and its price is staggeringly high. Within the entire Duchy of Barton, the annual production of premium black tea is less than 10,000 kilograms, of which only 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms are sold. The remainder is stored in the duke's mansion's warehouse, only used when entertaining distinguished guests.