Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: Chapter 52. Lion King (2)
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4.
Adventurers in the Maple World always enjoyed lavish banquets after their adventures ended.
El Pam's party was no different.
El Pam had anticipated his companions' arrival, including Dibo, and prepared the banquet in advance.
Ready to enjoy right away.
But now, El Pam's party couldn't properly savor that banquet.
"The food here's pretty good."
It was because an unexpected guest had joined them.
Of course, it wasn't just the fact that a guest had shown up.
"What're you doing? Everyone, eat up. It'd be awkward if I was the only one eating, right?"
It was because that guest was the phantom thief Phantom.
An utterly unimaginable guest.
Who would've thought he'd show up so suddenly?
"Come on, let's all eat together. Oh, I finished this one. This spaghetti's pretty tasty. Can we order more?"
On top of that, the phantom thief Phantom was devouring the banquet dishes at an astonishing speed.
It was a scene that made their minds reel in every way.
Of course, El Pam was different.
Far from being surprised, he was eating as well.
"Order as much as you like."
"You're a big spender. Hey, take my order!"
He was beyond just eating—he was accepting the phantom thief Phantom's presence and actions with complete composure.
"Have the two of you planned to meet beforehand?"
Seeing that, El Pam's companions thought.
"No, we've never made any such promise."
"Yeah, if we'd planned it, we wouldn't meet in a place like this."
But there was no such promise between the two.
From El Pam's perspective, the phantom thief Phantom showing up was something he honestly hadn't anticipated at all.
"Something major must have blown up."
But if he'd come all this way, it couldn't be for anything ordinary—that much he could guess.
That was what mattered to El Pam.
"Getting straight to the point, huh? Let's eat some more first."
As for that, the phantom thief Phantom kept his words brief.
"Once you hear my story, you'll lose your appetite. Eat up for now. Better to overeat and get a stomachache than starve."
And with his following explanation, everyone's expressions hardened.
If he was saying this much, it really wasn't ordinary.
That was why.
"Yeah, better the ghost who died from overeating."
Led by Dibo, everyone focused on their meal.
That was the way of adventurers.
Adventurers who never knew when danger might strike had to eat properly whenever they could.
This was such a moment.
If this banquet might be their last, the right answer was to enjoy it fully!
Moreover, El Pam's party was quite exhausted now.
Filling their stomachs properly was crucial, one way or another.
It was around then, as everyone began eating, that it happened.
"You really went wild in the abandoned mines, huh?"
The conversation resumed.
"Yeah."
"Pretty impressive, from what I heard."
Around that point, Dibo quietly spoke up.
"Looks like our party's exploits reached even your ears, Phantom."
"Huh?"
At the question, the phantom thief Phantom shrugged and said.
"I didn't hear about it."
"Yeah?"
"I saw it myself."
"Yeah?"
And at his following words, everyone's expressions stiffened.
"You were there?"
"Yeah, I was in the abandoned mine area too."
He'd been there?
"Oh, not because of you guys. Our paths barely overlapped. The place I went was the actual abandoned mines."
His next words were all the more shocking.
The Dead Tree Forest was part of the abandoned mine area, sure, but the real abandoned mines in the Maple World were literal mineshafts—extremely dangerous.
"Why did you go there?"
"There's only one reason I came to the Elnas Mountains."
In other words, there was a reason worth braving the danger.
"So nothing else would bring me."
He didn't need to explain what that reason was in detail.
Aran's item!
Everyone knew that was it.
Naturally, their expressions hardened even more.
Which meant the next destination was the true abandoned mines.
More than enough to ruin their appetites.
"Anyway, let's leave the story there for now. Finish eating. The next part might really make you choke."
"Yeah?"
But astonishingly, the phantom thief Phantom's tale had only been the prologue.
"What's next?"
At Dibo's question, the phantom thief Phantom tilted his head and said.
"There's more. You didn't think you'd choke just on this, right? This is dessert level."
As if it was hard to believe they'd be shocked by this much.
"Look at your boss. He's not even paying attention."
Indeed, El Pam was focusing on his meal without giving the phantom thief Phantom's story a single ear.
El Pam knew.
The phantom thief Phantom hadn't come here just to tell a story like this.
Above all, El Pam knew.
'If it's inside the abandoned mines, then it's there.'
Exactly where the phantom thief Phantom was referring to.
He couldn't not know.
"What could make you say that?"
"I told you, eat first. What if you choke?"
"After hearing this much, does it even matter? Just tell us."
But El Pam's companions, led by Dibo who had no way of knowing that, pressed the phantom thief Phantom for the story, and he gladly obliged.
"Fine, if you insist. There's a Mystic Gate deep in the abandoned mines. Rank is Green."
"Green rank?"
"But the form of this Mystic Gate is completely different from any I've seen before."
With that explanation, everyone understood.
"Don't tell me it's a 400-man Mystic Gate?"
If it was a 400-man Mystic Gate, choking on their food wouldn't be surprising at all.
And for good reason—it was the abandoned mines.
A 400-man Mystic Gate in the abandoned mines, cursed by Zakum, was no different from a 1,200-man one.
It defied common sense in difficulty.
Hell itself.
"Nah."
Against everyone's expectations, the phantom thief Phantom said.
"It's worse than that."
"What? Worse?"
"Yeah."
Worse than anything they could imagine.
"In my view, the boss monster inside is Zakum."
"Pfft!"
The moment he said it, Dibo spat out the food he was eating onto the dishes on the table.
But no one scolded him for it.
No one even cared.
"Za-Zakum?"
Zakum.
Before the name of that terrifying monster—the Devil's Tree that turned the abandoned mines into hell—nothing else mattered.
Of course, questions arose.
"Something like that in a mere Green rank?"
Zakum's power was overwhelming even for the heroes.
"Zakum grows stronger the more resentment and curses from the living pile up. A freshly born one isn't that strong."
The phantom thief Phantom explained.
"Still, the fact that it's Zakum is a nightmare in itself. Impossible to take down."
It was no comfort at all.
In any case, the phantom thief Phantom's words became reality.
The moment he spoke, no one could eat properly anymore.
Except for one.
'As expected.'
El Pam didn't seem particularly shocked.
'It was there.'
He knew.
'The Judge of the Abandoned Mines.'
No, it was more than knowing.
'The place I barely escaped from.'
El Pam had experience conquering that Mystic Gate where Zakum appeared.
Of course, the result had been the worst.
'Only five of us survived, including me.'
A catastrophe, no exaggeration.
That was why, at this moment, El Pam knew exactly what the phantom thief Phantom intended to say.
"Let me say this clearly first. Don't go in there. Absolutely."
Don't be reckless.
In other words, the phantom thief Phantom had come here to warn them.
El Pam nodded.
'It's extremely dangerous right now.'
Even El Pam had no intention of tackling it right now.
And there was no need to.
'No one can conquer it anyway.'
There was no reason to rush.
That was why.
"Phantom."
El Pam's expression was gravely serious.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking."
The phantom thief Phantom was the same.
He knew too.
"An ant hell only has meaning if ants pass through it. If not a single ant can even approach, what's the point of making it?"
The Black Mage's followers couldn't possibly be unaware of that.
Which meant they had intent.
"El Pam, this trap isn't meant to catch you."
It was to catch something far greater.
"You're right. This is a trap to catch them."
"Them?"
And El Pam had a rough guess.
"Yes. There's only one being in the Maple World who has no choice but to fall into this trap."
"Who is it?"
5.
"What?"
Oz, captain of the Fire Knights, showed a surprised expression at the sudden news of the guest before her.
"Hawk Eye is here?"
The Lightning Knight captain, who should be in the Elnas Mountains right now, had come to see her.
Naturally, they met immediately.
"It's hot here, sweltering. I was in the cold just a bit ago, so maybe that's why it feels even hotter."
And at their first meeting, Lightning Knight Captain Hawk Eye started the conversation with a smile.
"But I prefer hot over cold, don't you?"
But Fire Knight Captain Oz was different.
"What's this about?"
She looked at Hawk Eye with a more serious expression than ever.
She had no choice.
It wasn't just anywhere—the Lightning Knights were operating in the Elnas Mountains right now. There was no way their captain had come to the Nihal Desert just because he hated the cold.
Moreover, Lightning Knight Captain Hawk Eye was currently on a top-secret mission.
He should be moving with utmost caution, yet he'd traveled this far?
It meant something worth the risk had come up.
Hawk Eye knew that too.
"Let's cut to the chase."
That was why he skipped the small talk and got to the reason.
"I've learned where Aran's item is."
The moment she heard that, Oz's eyes narrowed.
It was certainly important, but not enough for the Lightning Knight captain to rush here like this.
"They say it's in a Mystic Gate that appeared deep in the abandoned mines."
Oz nodded faintly at the continued explanation, but very slightly.
It was undoubtedly tough, but still not reason enough for Hawk Eye to come running.
"Rank is Green, but the Mystic Gate's form is extremely unique."
"A 400-man Mystic Gate?"
But from the next part of the explanation, Oz's expression had to change.
If such a Mystic Gate had appeared deep in the abandoned mines of all places, it was practically impossible to conquer.
Of course, Oz didn't see it as gravely serious.
"Aran's item has become something no one can claim."
At this point, it was an item no adventurer would dare go after.
From the Cygnus Knights' perspective, that wasn't so bad.
Recovering Aran's item was undoubtedly crucial.
The renown of the Six Heroes in the Maple World was beyond words, and securing the items they used was only natural in preparation for their return someday.
But what the Cygnus Knights saw as the greatest danger was adventurers and outlaws waging bloody wars over Aran's item.
In this situation, at least that wouldn't happen.
"Yeah, if we leave it, no one will take it."
Hawk Eye knew that too.
"Who do you think I heard this from?"
In other words, his coming here despite that meant another problem had arisen.
"Who?"
A real problem had indeed occurred.
"The Lion King."
"What?"
"The Lion King personally asked the Cygnus Knights to conquer that place."
A massive problem.