NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Golden Leopard
Chapter 19: Golden Leopard
The battle didn’t last long.
As the smoke thinned, the sounds of fighting had already ceased.
The skeleton warrior stood still, and the skeleton dog dragged back a corpse that had tried to flee.
After confirming there were no other threats, Wu Heng turned his attention to the bodies on the ground.
He was curious about who these people were.
Why did they precisely enter the village from the other side after the crazed crowd had been lured away?
And what did they take?
Wu Heng pulled back the cloaks on the bodies, revealing their faces and armor.
No recognition.
Moreover, the armor was not standardized, making it impossible to identify their affiliation.
Wu Heng moved to the last body, the one dragged back by the skeleton dog, and continued to check under the cloak.
The moment the face was revealed, Wu Heng’s brow furrowed deeply.
It’s him!
The steward of the mine owner, Archdo.
So, it was Archdo behind this?
What could he possibly gain from this?
As the curly-haired investigator had said, the mine’s troubles would hurt Archdo the most.
Wu Heng searched the steward’s body thoroughly.
Aside from weapons and leather armor, there was nothing else.
It seemed their mission was clear-cut—quick in, quick out.
Seeing no further gains, Wu Heng ordered, "Take these bodies back; leave the rest."
The waiting skeleton warriors moved into action.
They lifted the bodies off the ground and carried them back through the gateway.
……
On the road outside the village.
A cloaked figure was quickly fleeing into the distance.
"Damn it, there’s a necromancer in the investigation team! Why is he there?"
The figure cursed under his breath, quickening his pace.
The situation in the mining village had gone beyond the original plan.
If the bodies were identified, they’d all be hunted by the guards.
Damn it, how could a necromancer be part of the investigation team? When did necromancers start being accepted by the guards?
Fortunately, he had been keeping watch from afar; otherwise, he’d be lying there as a cold corpse too.
"I’ll take what I came for and get out of here."
Hm?
Muttering to himself, he suddenly halted.
In front of him, a carriage was blocking the road.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the intricate designs on the carriage were faintly visible.
The man’s eyes flickered, and he took a few steps back, intending to slip into the forest.
Just as he was about to move, a yellow leopard leaped from the carriage, pouncing towards him like a flash of lightning.
The man’s face changed drastically; he quickly drew a short blade from his waist, slashing at the leopard.
Slash!
But the leopard was faster.
It bit down on his wrist, breaking bones and making him drop the short blade.
The man was thrown onto his back, the leopard standing on his chest, cold eyes staring down at him. Its crimson tongue, rough like a bone-scraping scythe, licked his face, leaving bloody streaks.
"Wolfhead Mercenary Corps, reporting to Lady ‘Slater,’ please call it off," the man shouted.
"Kuro!" A woman’s lazy voice came from inside the carriage.
The leopard jumped off the man but didn’t leave, circling him with eyes like a hunter assessing its prey.
The man sat up, cradling his injured arm, his face contorted in pain.
"What are you doing here?" the woman’s voice came again.
The man quickly glanced at the leopard beside him and said, "I just completed a mission and was on my way back."
"Kuro!"
Roar!
The leopard pounced again, biting his arm and tearing viciously.
The man struggled and screamed, "I’ll talk! We took a job in the mining village."
"What did Archdo have you do?"
The man froze, not expecting her to know about this.
After a moment of thought, he asked, head bowed, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"Depends on whether you're honest."
The man glanced at the leopard, gritting his teeth, and said, "We helped Archdo retrieve something from the mining village. Everything was going smoothly until a necromancer from the investigation team blocked our way. He killed everyone; I’m the only one who escaped."
"What did you retrieve?"
"I don’t know, it was a small package, taken from the innermost part of the mine, wrapped up tight."
There was a brief silence from the carriage.
The man, swaying slightly, asked in a low voice, "Can I go now?"
"Go ahead."
"Th-thank you." The man stood up, clutching his limp arm as he ran towards the forest.
But then the voice from the carriage spoke again, "Kuro, kill him."
The leopard darted into the woods, followed by the man’s screams and curses.
Moments later, the blood-covered leopard returned, leaping onto the carriage.
"Let’s go back."
The carriage turned around and disappeared into the night.
……
As dawn broke.
The guard team and the professional team regrouped.
An hour ago, the crazed villagers suddenly stopped attacking, collapsing in droves like cut wheat.
The group took the opportunity to escape the village and gather together.
As they regained their strength, they were relieved that the lunatics had lost their combat power; otherwise, none of them would have made it out alive.
"Captain, we didn’t find Wu Heng," Karvina reported as she emerged from the village, her face grim.
She didn’t have much of a bond with Wu Heng, the newly joined member, but she didn’t dislike him either.
It wasn’t good for morale to have a teammate die on their first mission.
The guard team had also suffered heavy casualties.
Of the six guards, only three were left, all injured.
"Not finding him might be good news; let’s wait a bit longer," said Captain Ottluk.
Despite saying this, he knew the situation last night was dangerous.
It was Wu Heng’s first mission, and being separated from the group made survival unlikely.
Karvina, though reluctant to admit it, had no better option.
She sat down to recover her strength.
At that moment, Commander Pramon approached.
"Captain Ottluk, what do you make of this?"
The investigation of the mining village had raised many suspicions.
But they had yet to find any concrete evidence to guide them.
If no one had died, they might have let it slide and left the matter to Blackstone Town.
But now that members of both teams had died, they couldn’t just let it go.
Ottluk spoke softly, "We should report the situation to Blackstone Town, request reinforcements to inspect the mining village, and investigate the source of the information. We might find some clues."
"Agreed." Pramon added, "Archdo is suspicious, but it’s hard to tie him directly to this. We haven’t found any concrete evidence linking him to the incident, and even the intelligence he provided could be justified."
As long as Archdo insisted that the information he provided was what he had at the time, it would be hard to hold him accountable.
After all, no one could demand absolute accuracy in intelligence.
Especially when it comes from civilians, some errors are to be expected.
"Then we have no choice but to investigate necromancy. Those villagers were clearly not normal," Ottluk suggested.
"Yes, that’s all we can do. Let’s head back."
Just as they were preparing to leave.
Two figures emerged from the village.
Wu Heng!
And his skeleton.
Not only was he alive, but he also seemed uninjured.