Hearing Carlos Bartel’s words, astonishment flashed in Howard’s eyes.
To tolerate such a provocative excuse, Carlos indeed had remarkable restraint.
Such an opponent was far more challenging than the likes of Sterling!
However, Howard didn’t seem overly concerned.
With his current strength, unless he was to act recklessly, even if Carlos Bartel called upon all his guards to attack, they couldn’t lay a finger on him!
Moreover, half of Carlos Bartel’s ten guards were already dead, significantly reducing their overall strength… They should be the ones worried.
The students, in their naiveté, believed Carlos Bartel’s words, and they consoled him. “Oh, dear Carlos, don’t be upset. Dungeons are naturally filled with dangers.”
“Indeed, the next time we encounter bat monsters, we’ll give it our all and teach them a painful lesson!”
“Damn it! From now on, whenever I encounter a bat monster, I won’t let it leave alive!”
Hearing the students pledging their loyalty, a twitch formed at the corner of Carlos Bartel’s mouth.
He had no real interest in these students.
The reason he brought so many was purely to lower Howard and Abby’s guard, thus facilitating the assassination of Howard while keeping his hands clean.
The only person he genuinely cared about was Abby, who had grasped an S-level talent.
Taking a deep breath, Carlos Bartel smiled and said, “Thank you all for your comforting words. I’m fine. Let’s continue exploring this dungeon.”
“Olynda, lead the way.”
“Yes!”
At Carlos Bartel’s command, a guard wielding a dagger marched forward.
As he passed Howard, his gaze turned fierce and cold. .
For Howard, however, this was of no consequence.
In his eyes, Carlos Bartel and his entourage were already as good as dead.
With so many students around, it wasn’t opportune for him to strike them down directly.
He decided to let them enjoy their fleeting moments of freedom for a bit longer.
With a guard paving the way up front, Howard, hand in hand with Abby, slowly trailed behind the group.
Before the recent incident, Howard hadn’t hesitated to intervene, speeding up the students’ experience gains.
But now, he had a change of heart.
Why not let the remaining five guards expend more effort and simply reap the benefits, soaking in the free experience for himself?
In this way, by the time the dungeon was cleared, Howard could remain at the peak of his strength, ready to easily dispatch these few guards.
Consequently, the five guards immediately felt the strain.
Previously, with ten guards and Howard consistently intervening, they had effortlessly vanquished foes.
Now, with their numbers halved and Howard deliberately holding back, it took them at least a dozen attacks to kill just one bat monster.
To make matters worse, the bat monsters were incredibly agile.
A single misstep in their attack would invite a counterattack.
Luckily, their full set of silver-tier equipment provided decent defense, allowing them to withstand the onslaught.
“Hey, why has our monster-slaying speed slowed down so much now that we’re down five people?”
The students quickly noticed the change.
Carlos, mistakenly thinking they were begrudging his previous decisions, gritted his teeth and snapped, “Is this what the Bartel family has been paying for? To feed slackers?”
Upon hearing his words, the five guards felt incredibly frustrated, but they remained silent, unable to voice their grievances.
They were puzzled as to why the bat monsters, which were so easily killed before, had suddenly become so resilient.
Biting the bullet, they kept unleashing their skills, paying no heed to their potion consumption.
As they ramped up their ferocious attacks, the swarm of bat monsters fell at a quicker pace, and Howard’s group advanced further, moving into broader pathways.
Unexpectedly, there were no more bat monsters to be seen.
“Hmm?”
“Why are there no more monsters?”
A guard, looking confused, remarked, “I remember there being Cave Bats here, and deep within lies the Bat Boss. Once we’ve taken care of these monsters, we would’ve cleared the dungeon. So why aren’t there any more monsters appearing?”
At this, not just the guards but even the students exchanged puzzled looks.
Howard’s brow furrowed slightly as he quietly moved in front of Abby.
There’s an old saying: “When things seem too quiet, mischief is afoot.”
Though no monsters were in sight, the lurking dangers hidden in the shadows were surely more treacherous than any visible threat.
“Forget it, let’s press on to the very depths!”
“It’s just a dungeon. Once the BOSS is dead, the other monsters will become our rewards. We’ll only miss out on the loot.”
“We can’t waste any more time. Let’s move!”
The guards exchanged glances, fear of reprimand driving their decision.
They promptly led the group of students deeper into the dungeon.
Arriving at the deepest part, they found a small opening.
The guard with the dagger suddenly became transparent and, to the astonishment of the students, vanished entirely.
It was the signature skill of the assassin class – Invisibility!
Carlos Bartel spoke up, “Let him scout ahead with that skill. Once he confirms it’s safe, we’ll proceed.”
“So, that was the assassin’s Invisibility skill?”
“Wow, these skills are amazing! An entire person just vanished before our eyes.”
“Imagine using that skill to steal… hehe.”
At this, a few male students chuckled mischievously, earning disdainful tuts from Abby and the other girls.
“It’s clear, young master. Come in quickly. It seems we’ve hit the jackpot this time!”
Soon after, the guard’s voice echoed from within the cave.
Hearing this, both Carlos Bartel and the students couldn’t hide their elation and hurriedly ventured in.
Inside the cave, it was not too dark, and the guard, who was now visible, looked on in astonishment at a coffin.
“Hmm?”
“Where’s the BOSS? Why isn’t the BOSS here?”
Carlos Bartel, scanning the area and finding no sign of the Bat BOSS, voiced his confusion.
“I have no idea,” the guard responded, shaking his head. “It seems there’s a glitch in the dungeon. The Bat BOSS vanished into thin air. When I came in, there was only this coffin here.”
Hearing this, the students finally noticed the coffin in front of the guard.
Their eyes widened in shock, and they took sharp, cold breaths.
Even Howard was taken aback by the sight of the coffin.
The coffin, resplendent in a silvery-white hue, shimmered as though carved from pure jade.
Set into each of its four corners were massive, red gems.
“Gems!”
“My God, those gems are so large, they must be worth a fortune!”
For a moment, the students’ eyes were alight with avarice.
Even Carlos Bartel found himself catching his breath, his heart racing. Disbelief flashed across his face. He had always believed the talk of dungeons connecting to the Ruins to be pure folklore designed to deceive.
Yet, this dungeon seemed to defy normality.
After a prolonged silence, Carlos Bartel managed to suppress his greed, saying gravely, “Something’s not right. Typically, everything within a dungeon remains constant, refreshing to its original state with every entry.”
“This coffin shouldn’t be in this dungeon. It’s very likely a trap. Everyone, be cautious.”
It must be said, Carlos Bartel’s ability to rein in his greed was commendable.
“This… I understand now! It has to be related to the Ruins!”
“Oh my dear Carlos, you truly are magnificent. To think you’d bring us to a dungeon related to the Ruins.”
“Oh, venerable Carlos, I apologize for doubting you earlier. I mistakenly thought you were deceiving us.”
Once one student shouted, the entire group was in an uproar, their excitement palpable.
Had they been alone, they wouldn’t dare to venture into the Ruins. But with the protection of the Bartel family’s guards? Those would serve as their buffers.
Howard looked on, astonished. He had initially believed Carlos Bartel’s talk of the Ruins to be a ruse to lure them into a trap.
He hadn’t expected this dungeon to genuinely have a connection to the Ruins.
For a moment, Howard’s demeanor turned grave.
The challenges within the Ruins were a notch above those of ordinary dungeons.
“This coffin might very well be a special passage to the Ruins.”
“Why don’t we open the coffin and see?”
Several students exchanged glances, then turned expectantly to Carlos Bartel.
Though Carlos Bartel initially hesitated to open the coffin, feeling the weight of everyone’s gaze on him, he gritted his teeth and commanded, “Open the coffin!”
As his words settled, the five remaining guards moved to the coffin’s forefront, trying to decipher a way to open it. .
Seemingly struck by a sudden realization, Carlos Bartel quickly warned, “Be careful.”
“Worry not, young master, we are seasoned warriors,” one responded confidently.
“We’ve delved into such dungeons dozens of times.”
The guards chuckled among themselves, not overly concerned. Frankly, deep down, they held little regard for the wealthy young heirs and the so-called elite students.
“There’s a crack here, seems like we can lift it.”
“On three, let’s all push!”
Having reached Level 30, their strengths weren’t to be underestimated. With a collective effort, they managed to slightly raise the coffin’s lid.
Olynda, one of the guards, boldly reached into the gap, aiming to pry the lid off entirely.
However, the moment his hand ventured within, a piercing scream echoed!
This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝗇t