Chapter 301: Cunning as a Fox
First, Edward asked the General once. Then, after giving the Military Strategist a good smack to wake him up, he asked the same question again.
When the strategist opened his eyes and saw the situation, he quickly became honest and answered truthfully.
Looking at the two answers side by side, Yuliya finally connected the dots.
The two of them had stumbled upon a ruin resembling an underground palace where they found a bunch of useful treasures, boosting their abilities to where they were now, and eventually establishing a foothold in this area.
They recruited soldiers, employed various tactics, and managed to control a region.
However, despite their many attempts, they couldn’t get into the deepest part of the palace, only finding what appeared to be an ancient teleportation array.
That’s when they set their sights on Yuliya.
If it hadn’t been for Yuliya fixing the teleportation array in front of them, they might have thought twice about stirring up trouble with the Verdant Empire.
But that was all beside the point—when greed sets in, one must pay the price.
“Teacher, can we go take a look?”
Edward furrowed his brow. “There’s no rush, but why do you want to go see it? That so-called treasure should hold no charm for you.”
Yuliya gazed up at the gray sky.
“I just want to see this place more.”
“Fine… do as you wish,” Edward relented.
He had initially intended to dissuade her, but ultimately changed his mind.
Yuliya was destined to seek broader horizons; she wouldn’t be kept in a garden forever.
So why not let her get some contact with the outside world? It couldn’t be all bad.
Edward turned and yanked the General to attention, then gave him a swift kick in the rear. “Lead the way. And you, carry this!”
He tossed the immobile Military Strategist straight at the General.
The General froze for a moment, but once he realized who it was, he shot daggers with his eyes. “Hey! You traitor! Sneaking up on me!”
“Wait! Big bro! I had no choice! Ah—! Stop! Don’t pull my hair!”
“Shut it!” Yuliya huffed impatiently.
Both of them immediately zipped their lips and dared not move too much, simply leading the way ahead.
The group followed along.
And trailing behind them were the cursed chaotic troops, rising like the undead, shambling along.
Yuliya frowned in discontent.
They’d drop dead if they strayed too far, so it made sense they would follow.
“Can the curse on those guys be lifted?”
Yuliya didn’t want to go on a killing spree. To her strict definition, she had never killed anyone.
During earlier battles, she had done her best to divert attention, not observing the gruesome fates of those involved.
“They can’t be saved. In a place like this, their lives are as worthless as dirt. Once cursed, it’s game over; who’s going to waste time thinking about breaking a curse?”
Those guys were all at the Bronze Level; if we’re being honest, they weren’t particularly weak. In the remote towns of the Jade Emperor Kingdom, they could still serve as bodyguards or something.
But here, they were nothing but cannon fodder.
Those weaker than them had either bolted before the battle or had already turned to dust, mixing in with the ground.
Yuliya glanced at the Military Strategist, then towards the people trailing behind, not sure what thoughts were running through her head.
Finally, she just shook her head. “Let’s not concern ourselves with them. Let’s go.”
After an hour of walking with the General, the group arrived at a spacious clearing surrounded by some crumbling walls.
A closer look revealed that this should have been a square, but after a series of battles, it had long lost its former glory, leaving only a scarred ground.
The General provided a few comments, mentioning that it was precisely because of these cracks that they stumbled upon the underground palace.
He had been doing a great job all along, seemingly trying hard to curry favor with Yuliya.
But she merely nodded nonchalantly.
Arriving at what was dubbed the entrance, they found a gap that was slightly larger than usual.
The General and the strategist squeezed in first.
Edward peeked inside, then turned back to Yuliya. “It should be safe in there.”
“Yeah, I don’t feel any danger either.”
They exchanged a glance and then stepped inside.
The guards split into two groups: one followed in, and the other remained behind.
Meanwhile, the cursed chaos troops were left outside.
The General and the strategist continued leading the way, describing what they had encountered inside.
Yuliya pulled out a crystal orb.
The orb shone with golden light, illuminating the area around them.
Taking advantage of the light, she looked around.
Withered vines, green moss, cracks, and broken pots.
This place had likely existed for a long time, boasting a history.
But neither the General nor the strategist cared about history—they were focused solely on the present.
They kept walking, narrating instances of treasures they had found here.
The teleportation orb had come from this place as well.
However, by now, they had pretty much taken everything useful, leaving only the unreachable deepest section behind.
“This is it; this should be the teleportation spot we discovered. What do you think?”
They flashed Yuliya simpering smiles, but she ignored them entirely.
“Get out of the way!” Edward kicked them into a corner. “You take a look instead.”
“Uh-huh.”
Yuliya bent down to inspect.
After a while, she stood up and nodded. “It ought to be a teleportation array, but it’s pretty ancient. Whether I can restore it is questionable.”
“Hmm, just be careful.”
Yuliya squatted down and began tinkering away.
In the corner, the General and the strategist were staring at Yuliya with wide eyes.
This was their shot!
They exchanged glances.
“This is our last chance.”
“I understand. Let’s put our differences aside for now and deal with that later.”
If it wasn’t for the last-ditch effort, the General would really love to rip the strategist apart with his bare hands.
In the distance, Yuliya slightly furrowed her brow.
Some people have no memory, thinking they can lower their voices and not be heard.
“Those two are something else…”
Even though she had guessed they wouldn’t be honest with her, it was clear now.
Honest folks didn’t survive in a place like this.
Thanks to having seen the teleportation orb’s formation earlier, Yuliya quickly grasped the design of the array on the ground.
Both were of the same type, but the one on the ground was much safer and more stable.
But that didn’t stump Yuliya.
She swiftly deconstructed it and began to restore it.
After a bit, the teleportation array began to glow faintly.
As the brightness dimmed down, it started operating again.
“Now’s the time!”
Suddenly, the General in the corner shouted, tossing the strategist toward the array.
At the same time, the strategist clamped a glowing object in his mouth.
Edward reacted quickly, ready to intervene, but Yuliya tugged at him.
He looked at her in confusion.
But Yuliya merely shook her head slightly.
In the next instant, the General sprang up and appeared beneath the falling strategist.
He caught him and landed on the teleportation array.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
However, his joyful laughter was abruptly cut off, replaced by bl**d-curdling screams.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Even so, he pushed through the teleportation array with all his might.
