Chapter 447: Bandit Cave
“Are you tired?”
Tilting her head, Siya blinked her eyes as her smooth, beautiful hair slid down slightly. Her delicate face, like a doll’s, suddenly lifted gently, and she smiled at the young man:
“With Brother Andiel taking care of me, how could I feel tired… Besides, Brother Ig and Sister Vera aren’t traveling with any attendants either?”
The girl’s clear voice was not only cute but also very sweet, making it hard not to feel good about her.
“Attendants… Haha, Young Lady doesn’t like too many people around her. I guess my presence is enough.”
Ig replied with a smile. Looking at Siya’s little head with its soft red hair and her sparkling big eyes, he felt a strong urge to ruffle her hair. However, such an obviously inappropriate action had to be forcibly suppressed.
En, I’ll find a chance to ruffle that little phoenix’s head later… Ig found that these days, as long as he found a good excuse beforehand, and it didn’t harm the girl’s ‘Young Lady’s dignity,’ she didn’t seem to mind too much.
“Hmph hmph… Brother Ig and Sister Vera really seem to have a good relationship.”
“A good relationship…?”
Looking at Siya’s happy expression with her big eyes like rubies on her little face, Ig couldn’t help but wear a smile.
The scene in front of him reflected the time he and the girl had spent together… from being unfamiliar and wary to now accepting and being close to each other. In just half a year, even Ig couldn’t believe it had really happened to him.
“But, Siya and I have been chatting for so long, why doesn’t this little phoenix seem to care at all?”
Ig thought about this question. Being with pretty and very cute girls like Siya, wasn’t the Young Lady afraid he would be fickle?
Thinking of this, Ig’s gaze naturally shifted upwards. While walking in the forest, the girl, who had been somewhat interested earlier, now seemed completely bored, playing with the vampire princess’s silky smooth hair beside her as if she were fiddling with a doll.
However, when Ig looked up, Verafia quickly noticed. Her scorching gold eyes lifted, and she blinked her eyelashes at the young man. Clenching her little fists slightly, a look of encouragement appeared on her porcelain-white, jade-like face.
“This Young Lady… was she serious about what she said earlier?”
Ig clicked his tongue.
Although it was not uncommon in history for nobles or powerful heroes on the entire continent to openly have multiple spouses, in such situations, it was almost always the male who held absolute dominance, or the female who, due to her love, had to accept sharing her lover with other women.
“But looking at it, that Young Lady completely overwhelms me, how could she dare to make such a demand… Besides, I’ve never had feelings for any other girl.”
Ig thought to himself. Even trying to put himself in her shoes… if another man proposed to share Verafia with him, he’d be a fool to agree.
After thinking for a long time, Ig could only attribute it to this Young Lady of extraordinary status having a completely different concept of love compared to humans and ordinary beings.
Just then, Andes, who was walking at the forefront, suddenly stopped, lifting his cheek slightly and letting out a soft sound of surprise.
“Brother Andiel, have you found the bandit’s lair?”
Hearing Siya’s voice, Ig quickly looked up, but in his eyes, there were still only trees and rocks, with no trace of any man-made structures.
“The traces of its existence are probably hidden by magic. However, this is not difficult to break… Look, the entrance should be over there.”
The blue-haired youth said to Ig, his gaze turning to Verafia: “Miss Verafia, this bandit cave doesn’t seem ordinary. Do you need a moment to rest?”
“Tch… Just a few petty bandits. Why would this young lady need to rest?”
Verafia raised her snowy cheeks and replied in a lighthearted voice.
Upon receiving the girl’s reply, Fran and Ophi naturally had no objections. The knightly youth nodded, then stood by Siya’s side and walked towards the place he had indicated.
—
Just as Andes had said, the magic concealing the bandit cave wasn’t even very sophisticated, only able to fool someone like Ig, who knew nothing about elements. As they approached, it was blasted to pieces by a fire spell casually cast by Verafia.
With a gentle wave of her slender jade hand, she extinguished the flame elements burning in the air. Verafia’s delicate feet, clad in small boots, lightly landed on the rocks, her scorching gold eyes scanning the surroundings:
“Here… there are signs of battle, and quite a few bandit corpses. However, elemental traces still remain in the air, it looks like the battle happened not long ago?”
She muttered softly, and then Verafia furrowed her beautiful, delicate brows, lifting her little face in surprise: “Wait, if that’s the case, has someone gotten to my bandits before me?”
After saying that, the girl didn’t bother with anything else, holding her staff and her small boots stomping on the ground as she ran towards the depths of the cave.
Ig and the others, along with Andes and Siya, followed behind her.
Along the way, there were also quite a few bandit corpses, clearly indicating that a battle had occurred recently.
However, for the other party, apart from subtle elemental residue, not many traces were left. This showed that such a battle was not strenuous for them, perhaps even a casual attack.
The deeper they went, the more Ig realized that the space became wider. After Verafia raised her hand to attack and shattered the barrier, they could even see magic-grade alchemy equipment and boxes of magic crystals in their field of vision.
“Alchemy equipment… and magic barriers, these are not things ordinary bandits should possess…”
Ig murmured. Although that magic barrier couldn’t withstand Verafia’s attack, judging by the increasingly near sounds of battle, it was clear that this barrier had been broken through once, but within a not-too-long period, it had recovered its power.
Magic that possesses the ability to reshape itself would never be an easy feat for any mage.
“The alchemy equipment is clearly used to process the high-energy magic crystals they plundered… It’s obvious that it’s not for military supply, but for other purposes.”
“Wait, if that’s the case, then the magic crystals from Siya’s merchant caravan, although nominally smuggled, were actually prepared by the master behind the scenes for these bandits, intentionally allowing them to be looted and then transported to this place… If that’s the case, then the people behind these bandits…”
Ig’s footsteps suddenly slowed, and he couldn’t help but think in his mind.
“Ig, be careful!”
The girl’s voice suddenly sounded. Ig quickly looked up, and suddenly, the sounds of battle ahead intensified, followed by a loud bang. Immediately after, the reinforced magic runes on the rock wall cracked under the powerful ripples, and shattered stones fell!
“Boom!”
Verafia instantly raised her staff to cast a barrier that blocked the tsunami-like impact, and ripples of fire spread out.
After the dust and smoke dispersed, Ig lifted his eyes. Before his vision, all obstacles had been destroyed by the immense impact.
What appeared before them was an incredibly vast field of vision, as if expanded by spatial magic. And within the not-too-distant sight, rows upon rows of bandit corpses were scattered, appearing to have been killed by the aftermath of the attack.
However, even though they had only died a few seconds ago, their bodies were rapidly decaying, revealing bare white bones!
– I won’t detail this mini-dungeon… (otherwise, I don’t know how many more chapters it will drag on…)
PS: I’d like to recommend my friend’s new book, “Reincarnated as a Witch, I Fell in Love with You in Another World.”
