Chapter 35: Magic Crystals

Chapter 35: Magic Crystals

As William and Nichole surveyed the rare kobold sorcerer, Jason was busy inspecting and clearing the walls of the surrounding caves.

All adult kobolds had been slain by Nichole and Jason, leaving only some kobold hatchlings and unhatched eggs in the cave.

Yes, kobolds laid eggs.

They would place the eggs they produced in communal incubation chambers. There was no distinction between their own offspring; instead, the entire colony would collectively nurture and educate them, forming a standard tribal survival system.

Jason systematically killed each and every kobold hatchling in the cave, including those that hadn't opened their eyes yet. There was no room for mercy towards these creatures that posed a threat to human survival.

If they spared a few hatchlings, given their exceptional reproductive speed, it wouldn't be long before another kobold nest appeared here!

William observed the kobold sorcerer in the cave, flipping through the belongings of the obvious leader. 

Using his sword to overturn the miscellaneous items in the cave, amidst bones and animal skins, William made a new discovery.

Several translucent crystals were piled together, each about the size of a finger, emitting a faint glow.

William picked up a small piece with Mage Hand and carefully examined it, testing it with magical energy. He confirmed that it was indeed a magic crystal.

Although not as valuable as magic gems worth tens of thousands of gold coins, due to its excellent mana storage and conduction properties, magic crystals were often used in magical equipment and valuable elemental research equipment. A small piece in his hand was worth hundreds of gold coins.

Looking at Nichole, William thought to himself, "This must be the luck that comes with being a protagonist!" After all, his own luck was pitifully only three points!

William decided to keep all the magic crystals in his storage ring and said to Nichole, "This is the team's gain. I'll hold onto them for now, and we can split them after completing the mission and returning to the city."

Nichole wasn't interested in this and waved her hand, indicating that William could handle it. Instead, she picked up the kobold sorcerer's staff and kept waving it around, seemingly more interested in some patterns in the kobold cave.

Seeing this, William didn't say much. After thoroughly inspecting the kobold sorcerer's cave and finding nothing else besides some gold nuggets, he stood up and walked out.

Jason had already cleared the entire kobold nest, wiped the red blood off his sword, and returned it to its sheath.

Seeing William walk out, Jason asked, "William, are we done?"

"Yeah, we've made some gains."

"Okay, let's go out. Once we're out, could you use earth-based magic to bury this nest?"

"No problem."

After saying that, the two of them pulled Nichole, who was wandering around, and returned to the surface through the passage.

As soon as they emerged, William couldn't help but take a deep breath of fresh air. Even though the kobolds had ventilation shafts in their nest, the strange smell still made him uncomfortable.

After catching his breath, William took out his emerald staff from his ring, gathered mana, and began chanting a spell.

"Earth Claw!"

Although he hadn't learned Earth Tremor, a high-level spell, yet, the third-tier spell Earth Claw he had recently mastered could also achieve the effect of destroying terrain.

Under William's control, black three-fingered stone claws continuously emerged from the ground and crashed towards the entrance of the kobold cave.

Boom!

After several loud noises, the entrance of the cave had been destroyed, and the small mountain above it had collapsed. The entire kobold nest was buried under the shattered rocks.

"Job done."

William waved his hand, and after confirming that everything was in order, he called Jason and Nichole to head towards the direction of the carriage.

Waiting on the carriage, Elena and Lumbro felt relieved to see the three return unharmed.

However, Elena tossed aside the kobold sorcerer's staff that Nichole had picked up. It was nothing but a piece of junk made of bones and twigs. She couldn't understand why a young girl like Nichole would bother bringing it back.

Nichole shrugged, accustomed to Elena's scolding, and climbed onto the carriage with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

The group continued their journey towards Baron Tony's vineyard. Although delayed by the kobolds for a while, they were still on track to reach their destination before dark.

As the sun began to set, the group caught sight of Baron Tony's estate.

Perched atop a small hill, the town wasn't very large. A clear stream flowed from the foot of the mountain, and the castle with deep gray walls at the top of the hill stood out prominently among the low brick houses. Judging from the appearance of Baron Tony's domain, there should be around a thousand residents.

Looking around, vast vineyards extended into the distance, but there were few farmers tending to them.

Seeing their destination ahead, the spirits of the group lifted. The fatigue from a day's carriage ride dissipated slightly.

As the carriage approached the town, a middle-aged man paced back and forth in front of it. Upon seeing the group's carriage approaching, he greeted them eagerly.

"Are you the gentlemen from the Mercenary Guild? I am steward Zeman. Baron Tony has been waiting for you in the castle. Please follow me."

Zeman knew that these gentlemen were all silver-ranked strong individuals, so he dared not treat them with the attitude he used for laborers, even though he had been waiting here for a day.

The group disembarked from the carriage, and the Baron's stableman arranged the carriage properly. Then, they followed steward Zeman towards the Baron's castle.

As they walked, William observed the houses on both sides of the road. The doors and windows were tightly shut, and there wasn't a single pedestrian in the entire town. Only a few guards remained near the castle gate not far away.

"What's going on? Has that unidentified monster invaded the town?" Jason also felt something was amiss and asked Zeman.

"Yes, it's like this. Two residents went missing in the town last night, only bloodstains were found. This is the first time that the monster has attacked people in the town, so everyone is too scared to leave their homes."

Zeman said anxiously, occasionally glancing around the corners, fearing that the monster would suddenly appear and attack him.

"Has it become this serious?" Jason's expression became serious. It was quite rare for a monster to directly invade a town and attack its residents.

No wonder the town felt so lifeless. If this continued, merchants might not even come to this town for trade in the future.

This would be a huge blow to Baron Tony's livelihood, which relied on grape cultivation and winemaking.