Dragonslayer’s Class Regression Chapter 143

Chapter 143

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Zeke and Boris headed towards Death Valley, escorted by Salmak assassins including Shadia.

After crossing the desert on horseback for two days, the literal valley of death revealed itself.

Shadia spoke to Zeke.

“Sir, are you really going in there? That place is forbidden  once you enter, you can’t escape.”

Zeke nodded at Shadia’s words.

“I know. But we have no choice. Our destination is in there.”

The location where the sacred relic was hidden, as told by the hermit of the story, was deep inside Death Valley.

Zeke said to Shadia.

“Only Boris and I will enter.”

Then Shadia said to Zeke.

“There are enemies targeting you nearby, Sir. If you command, we will carry out our protection duties even inside Death Valley.”

Zeke shook his head.

“I’ll handle those Scorpion bastards and Holy Kingdom guys myself. Shadia, you remember the points I marked yesterday? Wait there. We’ll regroup there after we finish our business inside.”

Shadia nodded at Zeke’s words.

As she turned her horse’s head, she said.

“Those Scorpion bastards are relentless and vicious. It’ll be dangerous if you let your guard down.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

Shadia led the other assassins back into the desert and disappeared.

After the Salmak assassins disappeared, Zeke said to Boris.

“Boris, do you know why even Salmak assassins avoid that place?”

“Not really.”

“Not a single blade of grass grows in there. No animals, not even insects. Obviously no water either. The moment you enter, you lose your sense of direction and endlessly wander through the winding canyon maze.”

“How is that possible?”

Zeke recalled Death Valley from his previous life.

During his time as a southern hitman, he once drifted into this Death Valley while fighting Salmak assassins.

Even the Salmak assassins wouldn’t enter this place, so Zeke was barely able to escape being tracked.

But afterwards, Zeke realized why this was called the valley of death.

There was absolutely nothing to eat or drink, and the temperature difference between day and night was beyond imagination.

During the day, you felt like dying from heatstroke under the blazing sun, but at night the temperature dropped dramatically and you could freeze to death.

Although Zeke hadn’t awakened as a healer class at that time, perhaps his survival instinct activated healing, as he survived and didn’t die in the valley.

After wandering the valley for over two weeks, he barely managed to save his life by relying on his senses to find his way out the opposite side.

Zeke looked down at Death Valley while recalling those memories.

Then he grinned.

“Boris, let’s prepare to welcome our guests.”

* * *

“Captain, the Salmak guys are just leaving?”

One of the Scorpion’s dark mages reported while watching the situation outside the desert through a scorpion’s vision using magic.

They could see Salmak’s escort personnel leaving, kicking up sand dust.

The captain of the Scorpion Clan’s tracking unit’s seventh division, who was eating a lizard in a sand cave, spat out the lizard in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes. All the escort personnel went back. Seems they left only the young Draker and his subordinate?”

“Damn, those bastards didn’t take them out?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. There’s no sign of fighting.”

The captain smiled maliciously.

“Is that so. Hey, where are the guys from units 8 and 9?”

Another dark mage who was crouching behind spoke.

“They shouldn’t be far. Should I call them?”

The captain threw dirt at the mage who answered.

“You idiot. Why give those bastards the good stuff? We should go first and claim the treasure.”

The mage watching outside through the scorpion said.

“Captain, it’s not treasure, it’s a sacred relic.”

“Damn, treasure or sacred relic, whatever. Hey, forget it. Quickly get out the desert worm. Let’s catch those bastards, torture them, and find out where the treasure is.”

“Captain, but that’s Death Valley area, isn’t it a bit…”

“You bastard. Want to die? You want to die in Death Valley, or you want to die by my hand right now?”

The other mages quietly shut their mouths at the captain’s words.

They knew they would only get hurt if they needlessly provoked his nasty temper.

Finally, the mage who handled desert monsters immediately began chanting a spell.

Then the sand cave where they were began to shake.

SWOOSH!

At the same time, the desert worm revealed itself next to where the mages were.

It looked like a long, giant larva – a monster that dug tunnels under the desert and ate desert travelers and animals.

When the Scorpion’s 7th unit grabbed the handles attached to the desert worm’s back, the mage gave orders.

The desert worm advanced quickly toward Death Valley where Zeke’s group was, digging tunnels.

Since it was much faster than horses or camels, the Scorpion Clan mainly used desert worms as transportation when moving through desert areas.

After arriving at Death Valley instantly by digging tunnels like that, the dark mages quietly poked out only their heads and looked around.

“…There’s no sign of anyone at all?”

The captain shouted in an irritated voice.

“Damn it, send out the crows!”

The mage took out a crow and released it into the sky.

Then he shared the crow’s vision to observe all of Death Valley.

‘Where did you go, child of Draker?.’

While scanning Death Valley through the crow’s eyes, the mage discovered something.

‘What’s that?’

At the entrance to Death Valley, items that appeared to be Zeke’s group’s belongings were scattered around.

The inner area was obscured by the canyon, making it difficult to confirm with the crow’s vision.

When this situation was reported, the 7th Unit commander pondered.

“Inside Death Valley.”

Although he was boasting earlier, he too was a dark mage who had lived in the desert region for a long time, so he was well aware of the ominous rumors about that area.

It wasn’t easy to decide to enter rashly because of rumors that no one could return alive if they went in there.

‘Damn, are the 8th and 9th Units already in there searching for the treasure?’

Because the reward for this treasure was so great, the commander overcame his fear with greed.

He emerged from the pit and said to his subordinates.

“We’re going into Death Valley.”

At those words, the unit’s mages made uncomfortable expressions, but they followed without protest since opposing the commander could immediately make them monster food.

So the 7th Unit members slowly headed toward the entrance of Death Valley.

And they found Zeke’s group’s belongings scattered near the entrance.

One of the mages put the items to his nose and smelled them.

“Commander, I smell blood.”

It was likely they had fought and hurriedly discarded their belongings before going inside.

The 7th Unit commander grew anxious, thinking other units were clearly pursuing the target.

“Track them quickly! Hurry!”

The mages took out scorpions and other venomous creatures from their pouches and released them on the ground.

The venomous creatures scattered in all directions to find Zeke’s group.

The 7th Unit slowly entered deeper into Death Valley, hoping they would bring back information.

After some time passed, one mage raised his hand high.

“Commander, I found them.”

The mage controlling the scorpion discovered Zeke’s group treating their wounds inside the valley.

“What’s the situation?”

“The knight following them seems dead, and the young Draker appears to be fatally wounded.”

The commander grinned.

“Perfect. We need to find out where the treasure is before he dies. Guide us.”

The 7th Unit went deeper into the valley toward where Zeke’s group was hiding.

For a canyon in the middle of the desert, it was eerily cold.

Going further in, surprisingly, white breath could be seen.

Even for the Scorpion Clan operating in the desert region, this was their first time in such a place.

“Over there, Commander.”

The mage who scouted with the scorpion pointed to a cave inside the canyon.

The commander gave hand signals to his unit members.

The members immediately prepared dark magic, seeming familiar with ambush.

When the commander gave the signal after confirming they were ready, the members entered the cave first.

Simultaneously, loud noises were heard from inside.

BOOM!

WHOOSH!

The commander was confident the ambush had succeeded hearing the poison mist and explosions rising from the cave.

He slowly entered the cave.

“Take it easy, you guys. If you accidentally kill that kid, we won’t find the treasure…”

But what the commander saw upon entering was his unit members sprawled on the cave floor.

He instinctively tried to turn and flee immediately.

That’s when Boris, who had been hiding, revealed himself and struck the mage’s throat with his scabbard.

“KUHEK!”

Boris habitually stepped on the mage’s neck and drew his sword to cut the tendons in both arms.

This was because magic cannot be cast without forming spells and hand seals.

The 7th Unit commander was completely subdued.

Zeke slowly walked out from inside the cave.

Zeke, who had been pretending to be hurt by spilling fake blood, grinned seeing the captured Scorpion Unit commander.

“Let him go, Boris.”

When Boris removed his foot from his neck, the commander coughed and steadied himself.

Zeke approached him and said quietly.

“The greedier they are, the easier they fall into traps.”

As Zeke approached and removed the commander’s hood, a bald face covered in tattoos was revealed.

“Why did the Scorpion Clan come here?”

The commander said nothing.

He tried to commit suicide by biting a poison pill in his mouth.

That’s when Zeke grabbed the commander’s jaw.

Zeke had already poured an antidote into the commander’s mouth.

“Kuhek!”

While Zeke kept the 7th Unit commander alive with the antidote, Boris subdued all the fallen mages and propped them against one wall.

Then following Zeke’s instructions, he dragged the commander and sat him in a stone chair they had carved inside.

Zeke took out a dagger and pinned the commander’s hand to the armrest of the stone chair.

“URGH!”

After pinning both of the mage’s hands with the dagger, Zeke said.

“This friend here is from the Imperial Intelligence Agency.”

At those words, the commander’s face turned white.

He too was well aware of how cruel the Imperial Intelligence Agency’s torture techniques were.

Seeing this reaction, Zeke smiled and raised aura in his finger to make a deep hole in the stone chair next to the commander’s face.

The torture by knights who can handle aura is on a different level from ordinary torture.

That’s when the commander finally opened his mouth as if screaming.

“I, I don’t know anything! We just followed orders from above!”

Zeke nodded.

“Well, they all say that at first. The 8th Unit commander we caught earlier, he was like that too. Right, Boris?”

“Yes. But after a little touching, he spilled everything.”

The 7th Unit commander was shocked to hear that the 8th Unit commander had already been captured and revealed everything.

“That, that can’t be…”

Zeke rotated his wrist, then concentrated mana in his finger and dug into the commander’s side.

“URGHH!”

The finger digging into his side went down, breaking all his ribs.

“URRRRRGH!”

The commander nearly passed out from the unimaginable pain.

That’s when.

Zeke took out a potion from his chest and sprayed it on the broken ribs.

Hiss!

Foam rose and the wound healed instantly.

“HUFF, HUFF.”

When the wound was healed by the potion, the commander could barely breathe again.

Zeke patted the commander’s cheek and said.

“Now this my professional friend will play with you. Take a deep breath, and think about your life.”

Zeke put five potion bottles on the ground.

Seeing that, the commander’s eyes shook violently.

“Wa, wait…!”

Before the commander could speak, Boris gagged him with a bundle of cloth.

“MMMMPH!”

Boris started the torture while whistling.

Zeke made a satisfied expression seeing the effect of the potion that restored the Scorpion Clan mage.

‘The potion made with the item crafting function is quite useful.’

The item crafting function was an additional administrator function obtained after clearing the Light Magic Book mission earlier.

If you had the necessary materials for crafting the desired item, you could craft not only various potions but also weapons and armor.

Among them, recovery potions could be crafted by combining ingredients that were easily available in the market.

Nevertheless, the effect was far superior to regular potions refined from troll blood.

‘It’s good that I don’t have to spend karma points on potions anymore.’

And an hour later, Zeke could hear the answer he wanted from the 7th Unit commander’s mouth.

“We, we came… to find the holy relic…”