CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: AMBUSHED

When Ethan rejoined Shane’s group, Ryan was still glaring at him with open hostility.

Ryan drawled: "Back already? If you’d taken any longer, I would’ve thought you ran off."

Ethan ignored him. He wasn’t going to waste time on someone like that.

Seeing Ethan stay quiet, Ryan assumed his words had left him speechless.

Puffing out his chest, Ryan took the lead and was the first to step through the cave entrance.

Ethan brought up the rear. As per his deal with Shane, he didn’t need to fight—he just had to read the map and point out the right path.

Soon, they were all inside the underground cave.

At first, no monsters showed up; it was just very dim. Ethan could only see four or five meters around him.

Luckily, Shane was ready. He pulled a glowing orb the size of a fist from inside his coat, and it lit up more than ten meters around them.

Once he could see, the first thing Ethan did was study the area carefully.

The space they were in wasn’t big. The soil underfoot was a bit damp, from snow falling in through the entrance and melting.

Ethan looked down and saw the ground thick with footprints, all leading deeper into the cave.

Shane immediately ordered Ryan and the others to get ready for a fight.

Only then did Ethan notice Shane’s weapon. It wasn’t the usual sword or spear, but a big black iron hammer.

Ethan had never seen a weapon like that before, and he couldn’t help taking a longer look. Shane noticed.

He swung the black hammer with no effort and said to Ethan:

"With this, you don’t need any fancy moves. If you’re strong enough, you can smash the enemy into pulp."

Ethan nodded without thinking. A big iron hammer like that counted as a heavy weapon. It would be brutal against enemies in heavy armor.

The others in Shane’s team carried more usual weapons—short blades and daggers. No long spears or long swords.

Maybe they had long weapons on them but didn’t take them out.

The cave was narrow; using long weapons here would only get in their own way.

It looked like Shane’s team had prepared well to clear the Thieives in the cave.

That put Ethan more at ease. Soon, he could lead Shane and the others to wipe out the Thieives near the treasure.

Then he could get the treasure in the cave with hardly any effort.

Ethan followed behind Shane’s group. Soon they reached the first fork.

Three passages led in three different directions.

They stopped and looked back at Ethan. He checked the map and, without hesitation, pointed to the passage on the right.

Shane took a deep breath, then said to Ethan, very serious:

"The Thieives in Frost Valley do all kinds of evil. They don’t just kill and rob—they also snatch innocent girls from nearby. This is our chance to wipe them out."

"I hope nothing unexpected happens. If anyone tries to ruin this on purpose, I won’t let them off."

As he spoke, a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

Ethan knew the warning was aimed at him.

He nodded and said: "Work together, win together. I’m not stupid."

He looked at Ryan as he said it. It was clear who the "stupid one" was.

Ryan noticed Ethan looking at him and flared up. He was about to sneer at Ethan when he saw Captain Shane staring his way.

Ryan shut his mouth. He knew how important this mission was to Shane.

Soon, Shane’s five people, plus Ethan, headed down the passage on the far right.

They had walked for less than three minutes when Shane, leading the way, suddenly raised his big iron hammer and slammed it into the wall with lightning speed.

A deafening crash rang out, and the ground shook a little.

Ethan quickly looked at the spot the hammer hit.

A mangled body slid down the wall, its chest caved in like paper.

It had been a bandit, cleverly disguised to blend perfectly into a recess in the wall, almost impossible to notice.

Anyone else who missed that disguise would’ve been ambushed for sure.

No wonder Shane’s group had wanted to give up clearing the Thieives and head back to the Ice City base when they heard the Thieives had gone underground.

Ethan felt more and more that his plan to use—no, to help—Shane’s team clear the Thieives was the right call.

Shane shook bits of flesh off his hammer, looking disgusted. He let out a slow breath and said:

"Keep moving. Finding disguised ambushers is a good sign. It means we’re on the right track."

"Let’s go. Not a single bandit hiding here is getting away today."

Shane walked on without hesitation. The others followed. Only Ethan stopped by the bandit’s corpse.

He didn’t mind the gore. He searched the body carefully and picked up a dagger from the ground.

[Ambusher’s Dagger]

[Quality]: Blue

[Requirement]: Thief class

[Effect 1]: Reduces the user’s Speed by 2

[Effect 2]: Backstab Crit — when the user attacks a target from behind, it triggers a critical hit, dealing 150% damage.

[Note]: You never know if the thing stabbing you in the back is a dagger or something even worse.

...

Ethan looked at the dagger, eyes lighting up a little. The [Backstab Crit] effect was pretty nice.

Too bad the [Ambusher’s Dagger] not only lowers Speed, but only Thief-class players can use it.

So far he’d met two Thieives, and both had dropped good-quality gear.

He had a rough idea now: once most players finish their class change and come to the area near the Ice City base to grind and level up, the number of Blue-quality weapons on the market will shoot up.

The Blue-quality weapons, gear, and items that only top players and big spenders can afford right now will soon drop in status, ending up like Green-quality gear is today.

Ethan needed to move fast and upgrade his own gear.

Then he’d sell the extra weapons, gear, and items in his [Inventory].

He remembered the first [Frost Black Wolf] he killed didn’t drop anything.

He started to wonder if enemies like these cave Thieives just have a much higher drop rate for gear and items than normal monsters outside.

If that was true, the haul from this cave run would be way above what he expected!

After putting away the [Ambusher’s Dagger], Ethan hurried to catch up with the team.

Shane glanced back at him and said: "That dagger can count as part of your advance payment."

"Just lead the way. Once I clear the Thieives here, I’ll give you more."

Right now, Ethan had no intention of just standing by and watching Shane’s team kill all the Thieives.

He answered: "Okay. If needed, I’ll jump in and help you take down the Thieives."

No sooner had he spoken than Ryan let out a scornful snort and said in a mocking tone:

"You? Don’t try to act tough. If you get in danger later, I won’t save you again."

Ethan glanced at Shane and replied calmly:

"If I hear one more word from you, I’ll turn around and leave. No hesitation."

Ryan’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected Ethan to threaten him like that.

He was about to talk back when Shane’s gaze snapped to him.

"Shut up," Captain Shane barked.

Ryan’s face flushed red. He felt a surge of anger in his chest, but he couldn’t say anything now. All he could do was glare at Ethan.

Ethan walked past Ryan and moved in behind Shane.

He had said he’d step in when needed to kill the Thieives in the cave. As for when it was "needed," that would be up to Ethan.

As the group moved on, a strange sound rose—like something mechanical turning, gears scraping.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He stepped back fast, slipping to the rear of the group under Ryan’s surprised stare.

The next moment, countless small holes opened in the walls on both sides of the passage.

Arrows poured out like a rainstorm, right beside Shane—exactly where Ethan had been standing a moment earlier.

There were even traps in this tunnel!

Shane raised his hammer at once to shield his weak spots, and the other soldiers reacted quickly too.

Ryan, though, had been focused on Ethan and moved a bit slower.

An arrow slipped through a joint in his black armor and sank into his flesh.