Chapter 214: Roll The Die! A Game of Death Along The Way
Casillas had a die-like tool in his hand. According to the setting, numbers from 1 to 17 would appear immediately after throwing. When a number appears, the respective individual or the respective team would crack the trap.
To be fair, No. 1 would start to roll the die, then No. 2… and so on.
This magic die might repeat the same number. For example, No. 1 rolled No. 3. Then, No. 3 must walk frontmost and crack a trap. Subsequently, No. 2 rolled No. 3 again and No. 3 must start cracking again. Surely, it was also possible to roll one’s own number, so it was all depending on luck.
Luck was also a kind of strength. All experienced veterans present naturally understood that.
Casillas also had a special compass with a shape similar to sinan [1] from Chen Rui’s original world. It could avoid the interference here and detect the location with the strongest signal, but it required manual adjustment and positioning.
After determining a simple route forward according to the compass, Casillas numbered everyone’s team accordingly. There were a total of 17 teams. Then, he took out a magic tool and inserted 17 numbers. After everyone checked that there was no problem with the magic die, No. 1 started rolling the die. No. 1 was Casillas’s own team. He picked up the magic die and rolled. It landed on the ground with a “4” symbol.
No. 4 was Chen Rui’s three-man team.
Everyone’s eyes fell on Chen Rui and his team. Many of them seemed to be gloating. If this trio couldn’t crack or avoid the first trap, then they must try to find out the attributes and the range of the trap. Over the years, countless people tried to crack the traps, but those traps were quite powerful, and it couldn’t be completely destroyed. They could also automatically recover and change attributes, so it was endless. There was no way to crack at all.
Although the treasure was tempting, lives were more important. If it wasn’t for the weakening of magic traps every 3 years, no one would seek death themselves.
Magic traps were very weird as they couldn’t be seen with the naked eye or sensed by abilities. To test the range or attributes, one couldn’t solve it by merely throwing a stone. One had to personally trigger the trap, and there was only one result which was death.
Chen Rui didn’t expect his team’s luck would be so “good” to be the first group that was selected. Although Delia ignored Roman, their tacit understanding didn’t need to be expressed in words.
The three-person team walked far from the front of the party and distanced themselves from the people behind them. Although it wasn’t themselves who would be “stepping on the mines” in front, the people behind were still cautious like they were facing a strong enemy.
Delia glanced at Roman. Then, Roman walked in front of Chen Rui while Delia walked behind. Chen Rui was in the safest middle position. Roman’s <The Eye of Evil> glowed a faint light to scout the situation ahead. <The Eye of Evil> had the ability to “see through”. It was advantageous in detecting danger.
Chen Rui knew that these so-called traps were all Dragon Inscriptions set by Paglio. However, knowing was one matter and cracking was another. It was like the minesweepers, he was also in danger of being exploded to death at any time.
Moreover, the inscription around the treasure was set by Paglio at his peak. According to the poison dragon’s boast, even if a Demon Overlord dragon rushed in, that dragon would suffer a huge damage. Although the power of inscription would weaken every 3 years, it wasn’t something he could break through forcibly.
Chen Rui “gathered” all the Dragon Inscription knowledge in his brain and began to think quickly while observing the surrounding movement in detail. His footsteps stopped suddenly. At the same time, Roman’s left eye detected something.
Roman was about to walk forward, but suddenly, someone patted his shoulder. He turned back and looked, and it was Chen Rui.
“Let me do it.”
Roman shrugged, “Didn’t you say that when there is trap, I’ll trigger it; if there is a pit, I’ll fill it; if there is a demonic beast, I’ll feed it?”
“Such an unforgiving guy. I remember that very clearly.” Chen Rui glanced at Delia. “It’s not the time to throw you out yet. We’ll slaughter you after you get fatter. From now on, I’ll be the team leader. Both of you have to listen to me.”
“Get fatter?” Roman looked aggrieved. As he was about to continue moving forward, his shoulders were held tightly by Chen Rui. He saw the strong confidence in Chen Rui’s eyes. After thinking about it, Roman stopped moving.
Chen Rui nodded at Delia, walked up, looked closely at the big tree, calculated the distance and walked straight toward the most dangerous grassy area. Under the surprised gaze of Roman and Delia, Chen Rui walked safely through the most dangerous area.
The inscription set by Paglio didn’t have the common principle of weak to strong. This inscription at the outermost was exactly one with extremely terrifying power.
<Chain Explosion> – it could trigger the continuous explosion of runes that were chained, especially those that were extremely powerful when combined together.
Chen Rui walked precisely through the extremely small gap between the chained runes. If it weren’t for his familiarity with Dragon Inscription that he was able to discuss with Paglio, even another dragon wouldn’t be able to pass so easily.
Chen Rui shouted at Delia and Roman, “Step on my footprints and walk with your body straight. Don’t move around!”
Before Delia stepped forward, Roman had already rushed forward. He stepped on Chen Rui’s footprints and walked straight up, and he indeed passed through safety. Delia at the back also passed in the same way.
“Those at the back, hurry up. This trap will change again in 10 minutes!”
Those behind saw Chen Rui and others passed safely. Upon hearing that, they immediately rushed over and passed according to the method he said. The way they looked at Chen Rui had changed. They never thought this High Demon was actually proficient in magic traps. He could actually easily pass.
Chen Rui ignored the crowd’s eyes and said, “It’s time for No. 2 to roll the dice.”
No. 2 rolled “No. 11”. No. 11 was an early Demon King named Fako. Initially, he wanted to follow the party to pass with luck, but he didn’t expect he would be the second one that was chosen. He suddenly shivered.
“There wasn’t anything there just now. It’s clear that this Higher Demon is just trying to make it mysterious!” Fako thought of something and pointed at Chen Rui, “They should continue to explore the way!”
As soon as that was said, some people immediately followed suit. The more Chen Rui’s team explored, the more secure they were. Akui snorted, walked toward Fako and slapped him. Fako’s figure suddenly flew backward and fell right onto that <Chain Explosion> rune.
“Poom! Poom! Poom!” The ground was quaking, and a continuous explosive sound rang. Fako couldn’t even scream before he was shattered into pieces by that power. It terrified everyone.
“This is the end for those who flinch and falsify!” Akui said coldly. The woman looked beautiful and sexy, but her heart was cruel and chilling. Casillas also stood up and expressed his support. None of the guys who followed the protest just now dared to speak up anymore.
No. 11 on Casillas’s magic die had disappeared, then it was No. 3’s turn to roll. After No. 3 rolled No. 7, a duo walked to the frontmost.
It was like a game of death. The chosen must go through the test of death. After paying the cost of one life, No. 7 had only one person left. When he thought he had passed the danger and relaxed, he didn’t expect there was a new inscription trap immediately after. He was torn into pieces after a few steps.
The death of the duo provided information of the inscription to those after. After another roll, a new game continued cruelly.
The treasure hunters who came here weren’t simple characters. They obviously had some knowledge on magic arrays and traps. However, Dragon Inscription wasn’t comparable to ordinary magic traps after all. Besides, it was set by Paglio during his peak. Along the way, the party’s members continued to decrease, and the numbers on the magic die were constantly being erased. Even Casillas’s team members began to reduce. There were also some people who couldn’t withstand the mental pressure and tried to escape, but they were all killed one by one.
A lot of dead bodies could be seen along the way. Some had become skeletons and some were “fresh”. They should be the treasure hunters who had died in the traps over the years. Some might have just died in these few days.
Strangely, the corpse puppet named Hart was very lucky. He wasn’t even selected once. Could it be that Casillas controlled the dice. In reality, he is the true owner of the corpse puppet? In other words, is he the one that’s hiding at the back to benefit after everyone fights?
“Wait! Don’t go!” Chen Rui suddenly stopped No. 8 that was selected just now. During the journey, Chen Rui’s No. 4 team was selected 3 more times, and they passed without any casualties. The crowd dared not to underestimate this “weakest” Higher Demon anymore. They faintly considered Chen Rui as a master in this profession.
Particularly, when Delia first heard Chen Rui claiming to be proficient in magic circle, she didn’t care. She never thought that he wasn’t lying, and his proficiency was so great. Along the way, Roman and Delia didn’t take any action at all. It was all done by Chen Rui.
The woman from No. 8 was called Solan. She looked suddenly relieved when she heard the words. After the previous adventure, only Solan was left in her team.
“Everyone, we seem to be moving forward, but we are actually moving in circles. Inly the surrounding scenes are constantly changing, giving us an illusion. If Casillas’ magic compass isn’t wrong, the location with the strongest response should be around here.”
Everyone was pleasantly surprised: The strongest response? That must be the treasure’s location!
At once, many people had already secretly mustered their strengths, preparing to take the lead at any time. Chen Rui wasn’t rushing because Paglio said that the treasure was in an underground cave. They were currently only on the ground, and there must be more powerful traps in the cave.
Chen Rui looked around carefully, walked into the woods on one side, and began to observe. If it was other times, these people wouldn’t bother looking at a Higher Demon at all, let alone wait. However, their eyes were all on this “master” now. They were looking forward to his judgment.
Chen Rui walked to a pond, squatted down, grabbed a handful of dirt and sniffed. Finally, he smiled.
Double compound inscription!
<Illusion> and <Hidden> in between <Teleportation> and <Mirror Image>. No wonder we kept circling in this area. If I weren’t familiar with Pagio’s character, I would really be fooled. However, this double inscription is very sinister. Even if someone notices there is a <Hidden> inscription, but he didn’t notice the <Teleportation> behind, then congratulations. He is already close to the treasure, but his effort will be in vain as he will be sent to some weird island.
This is the style of that stubborn dragon! Well, after this point, it should be very close to the underground cave already.
Should I let these people teleport away? Or should I bring them in?
Since it was Paglio’s style, these should still be appetizers… Chen Rui thought quickly and finally made a decision.
He walked toward the pond. What was weird was that his figure disappeared into the pond. Those who witnessed it knew there was something wrong and rushed over there.
Just when these people thought Chen Rui was going to the treasure’s hiding place by himself, Chen Rui’s figure appeared again. He came out of the pond without a drop of water on his body.
“Everyone holds each other’s hands and follows up. Walk according to the method before and remember to walk lightly!”
Delia didn’t hesitate and held onto Chen Rui’s arm immediately while Roman was behind. Subsequently, everyone held onto each other. Delia’s skin was very smooth and there was some nice smell from her body. Yet, Chen Rui had no extra thoughts. Although Delia was extremely cold and even hated Roman, he could tell that Roman was still in Delia’s heart.
Those who were holding hands while passing through the pond had an amazing feeling. It was like stepping on stones to cross the river and also being washed by the water current. If they didn’t follow this trajectory, once they missed, they would definitely be washed away.
Actually, if <Teleportation> was triggered, it wouldn’t be “river” but definitely the force of the “sea”.
After passing through the pond, everyone saw a bright light, and it had changed into a brand new scene.
It was a huge, dark cave in front. The soil around the cave was black. There was no green like the surrounding jungle.
Someone already couldn’t hold back and rushed into the cave first. This sentiment drove more people. There were only Casillas, Akui and others who didn’t move. That weird Hart didn’t move as well.
There didn’t seem to be any traps along the way, and these people successfully stormed into the cave. Casillas set his gaze on Chen Rui and asked, “Master, shall we go in together to have a look?”
Chen Rui smiled when he heard that address, “Since sir invited sincerely, I obviously can’t refuse it.”
There was really no trap on the way into the cave, but the huge cave didn’t have anything. There was only one way to the underground.
This road was more than 20m tall and nearly 10m wide. It was obviously convenient for dragons to pass. Faint magic lights on both sides could be seen, but it was completely incomparable to the main pit layout at Mountain Xilang. After all, it was just to hide treasures. Paglio wasn’t a dark goblin who cared about craftsmanship that he would make the passage beautiful. It would be fine as long as it lit up the place. The point was, how many scary traps were there under that faint light?
Those in front should have entered the cave, but there was no more sound. Until Chen Rui and others carefully walked through the long road into the “somewhat big” burrow that Paglio mentioned, he realized it wasn’t a burrow, but it was clearly a huge underground maze!
[1] The first compass invented in China; also called the ‘south-governor’.