The Last Adventurer - Chapter 100

———

Chapter 100: Pharaoh (3)

5.

Pharaoh Snake.

The moment those words came out of Pir’s mouth, most of the adventurers had a similar reaction.

‘What is that?’

Question marks appeared on their faces.

But some were different.

Some of the adventurers from the Nihal Desert had a look of horror and shock on their faces that was hard to fathom.

‘What is this? Is this for real?’

And that expression immediately spread to those around them.

“Hey, what’s a Pharaoh Snake?”

“It’s a giant cobra that exists in the Nihal Desert.”

“A cobra?”

“Its head is shaped like a pharaoh wearing a crown, so it’s called a Pharaoh Snake.”

“Wait, something like that exists? Then why didn’t I know about it?”

“Its existence could only be confirmed in pyramid murals. Even in the Nihal Desert, it was only told in stories, and no adventurer has ever seen it in person.”

It was an explanation that was impossible to understand just by hearing it.

Because of that.

‘Oh my God.’

The faces of everyone who heard the story hardened.

They knew.

“Then there’s no known way to deal with it?”

There weren’t many things more terrifying for an adventurer than hearing about something for the first time.

“I don’t know how to deal with it. But I do know one thing.”

Pir said to the adventurers.

“The Pharaoh Snake carries a powerful poison.”

Chilling words.

“If it’s poison, what kind of poison is it?”

“If you get poisoned, you become a mummy.”

And in the face of the following explanation, no one felt chills anymore.

“A mummy?”

“What does that mean?”

It was virtually impossible to feel and express any emotion in a situation that defied common sense.

Pir gladly explained to them.

“You become a mummy and are controlled by the Pharaoh Snake.”

No matter what one imagines, what they will face would be even worse than that.

“Controlled?”

“You become a slave. It means you become a mummy who dedicates his whole body to protecting the Pharaoh Snake. A mummy that doesn’t die.”

Everyone who understood those words felt a chill down their spines.

It meant that the moment their comrade next to them was poisoned, they would become an enemy.

And not just any enemy.

A mummy was no different from a zombie, no, it was a much different existence than a zombie.

It meant that their precious and trustworthy comrades would become enemies that wouldn’t die easily.

The eyes of El Pam’s companions wavered at that fact.

“Boss, this situation is crazy.”

The stronger the faith in one’s comrades, the greater the shock when imagining them becoming enemies.

El Pam told them.

“You don’t have to worry about your comrades becoming enemies.”

Don’t worry about that.

At those words, the eyes of Divo and the others sparkled.

“Boss, do you know how to deal with it?”

If there was nothing to worry about, didn’t that mean there was a way to deal with it?

To that expectation, El Pam replied.

“There’s something else to worry about.”

“Really?”

“Literally. One of us getting poisoned isn’t something to worry about right now. What’s more important are the monsters here.”

“Ah!”

Only then did everyone realize.

“Most of the monsters here can be considered mummies of the Pharaoh Snake.”

What they really needed to worry about.

That’s when it happened.

“El Pam is right.”

Pir stepped forward.

“The monsters here are mummies of the Pharaoh Snake. So there’s only one surefire way to deal with the Pharaoh Snake that we can try right now.”

He suggested a strategy.

“We have to eliminate all the monsters here.”

A daunting strategy.

But no one complained, grumbled, or got angry at the daunting strategy.

Yellow rank, any adventurer who had come this far knew.

Getting angry or frustrated would never change the reality they were facing.

“After we eliminate all the monsters and the Pharaoh Snake is alone, we’ll strike then. That’s the strategy with the highest chance of success right now.”

More than anything, Pir’s words were valid.

To catch a boss monster, it was basic to eliminate all the factors that could hinder them.

“So we’ll split up into teams.”

“Split up into teams?”

“If we encounter the Pharaoh Snake while we’re all together, there’s a risk of annihilation. So we’ll split up into at least five parties and eliminate as many monsters in this jungle as possible.”

“What if we encounter the Pharaoh Snake?”

“Run. With all your might.”

Of course, it wasn’t easy to do the basics.

Far from it, the chances of survival decreased as they divided their forces.

But there was no other way.

As Pir said, moving together was dangerous in many ways in the current situation.

So no one complained about the strategy.

In fact, at times like this, adventurers usually held a positive outlook, a hope, in their hearts.

That’s what adventurers were like.

‘But we have Rick.’

Moreover, there was someone here who was worthy of their hope.

“This may be difficult for everyone.”

And that person said.

“I will do my best to hunt down the monsters. So please trust me and endure.”

At those words, the eyes of all the adventurers changed.

They were filled with confidence.

‘It’s possible, with Rick.’

The certainty that they would survive here.

The El Pam party was no different.

“If Rick’s party helps us hunt monsters, it might be easier than we thought.”

No, the El Pam party was more confident than any other party.

“Yeah, no problem. We have El Pam.”

“Of course, we have an even bigger monster on our side.”

Because they knew El Pam’s skills well.

So there was no sense of crisis.

‘With the boss and Rick, even that Pharaoh Snake or whatever snake bastard is no problem!’

No matter how much they thought about it, it was hard to imagine the two monsters being defeated by monsters.

And it wasn’t just the two of them.

Thanks to Rick’s party, there was a complete force gathered here on the third floor without a single dropout.

And although they were overshadowed by Rick’s party, the skills of the other adventurers were by no means comparable to those of ordinary people.

They were skilled individuals selected by the Cross Hunters.

Of course, there were exceptions.

“Why is everyone so optimistic?”

Ralph’s face was stiff.

Seeing his expression, Divo, Kiri, and Minerv soon realized.

“Yeah, you’re right. We were too optimistic.”

“I’m sorry. It’s a matter of life and death, and we were too reckless.”

“I think I’ve lost my mind lately too. Thinking like this in a place like this. You never know when you’re going to die, that’s the pirate life.”

Even with Rick and El Pam, this was clearly a very dangerous stage.

Crucially, as Ralph said, it was a place where Phantom Thief himself had made the request.

“This is the place that the Phantom Thief designated.”

It meant that it was arrogant to think it would be easy.

“If we don’t perform well here, we might miss the chance to get Phantom Thief’s treasure!”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, huh?”

Of course, what Ralph was pointing out was different from what everyone else was thinking.

“Phantom Thief wouldn’t give his treasure to everyone, now would he? Even if he did, he’d only give one or two, but at this rate, who would get the treasure?”

The point was that they had to do their best for the treasure.

“Huh.”

Divo and the others laughed at the fact.

But they didn’t blame Ralph.

“Yeah, Ralph is right. Just sitting here like a mouse is not being an adventurer.”

In this situation, you had to be more active than anyone else to be able to call yourself an adventurer.

“Don’t you think so, boss?”

To Divo’s question, El Pam answered briefly.

“Rick’s party cannot be trusted.”

“What?”

“From now on, Rick will try to kill us.”

6.

“We’re going to start hunting now.”

The moment they split into parties to annihilate the monsters in the jungle, Rick said.

“All the adventurers except us.”

“What?”

Rick’s subordinates were surprised by his words.

“Why are you surprised?”

Rick, in turn, asked a question about that fact.

“We’re just carrying out our original plan. To massacre everyone here for the sake of our great master, wasn’t that our plan? So why are you surprised?”

One of his subordinates, Marcel, opened his mouth at the question.

“Didn’t you make a deal with the El Pam party?”

He had heard the rough story.

El Pam was also a follower of the Black Mage and had to complete this mission.

So he gave him the amazing item, Zeus’s Ring, in exchange for helping him.

But to massacre everyone here?

That would be breaking the promise.

“There’s only one thing we need to keep in mind and one thing only…”

But Rick didn’t put any meaning into that fact.

There was nothing to put meaning into.

“Following orders. I received an order from Will to massacre them.”

He had no intention of making a deal with El Pam in the first place.

At Rick’s words, his subordinates no longer questioned him.

The Rick they knew was that kind of man.

“Massacre them all. Everyone should be dead except for us.”

A man like a robot who would do anything to carry out the orders given to him.

But they hadn’t given up on asking questions.

“Rick, the Pharaoh Snake here is still dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the adventurers after they’ve eliminated some of the monsters?”

The monster hunt was about to begin, but to find and kill the adventurers here?

Then the hunting difficulty of the absurd monster called Pharaoh Snake would naturally increase.

It was dangerous.

“It won’t be a problem.”

But Rick wasn’t worried about it at all.

“I alone am enough.”

“What?”

“Literally. No matter what kind of monster the Pharaoh Snake is, our party is enough.”

Because he was confident.

“Right now, I can even conquer a Green-rank Mystic Gate alone.”

And none of his subordinates could dare to refute Rick’s confidence.

Considering the abilities Rick had shown so far, it would be laughable to discuss danger in front of him.

At that point, the subordinates changed their plans.

“Understood.”

To follow Rick’s words unconditionally.

Without a word.

“Then who will you start with?”

“The El Pam party.”

“What?”

But at Rick’s following words, the subordinates couldn’t help but speak up again.

“Um, Rick, this is…”

It was fine to massacre the other adventurers, but the El Pam party was the subordinate of another commander.

And not just any subordinate, but one who was carrying out a very important mission.

But to kill even them?

It was on a completely different level from hindering the mission.

“It could be a problem.”

Honestly, “it could be a problem” was putting it mildly. The moment El Pam died, the commander who had El Pam as a subordinate wouldn’t stay still.

And the commander not staying still meant a strong retaliation against Rick’s party.

“I’ll say it again, Will said.”

But at his subordinates’ reaction, Rick said with a faint smile.

“To kill everyone except us.”

There wasn’t a single word in the order he received that said to spare the El Pam party.

That’s why Rick prepared to hunt down the El Pam party.

“The El Pam party is the strongest. They’re also quick-witted. If we start hunting, there’s a very high chance they’ll notice and react.”

Thoroughly.

“But the first time is different. It’s impossible for them to notice what our intentions are…”

That was the moment.

“Cough!”

Just as Rick was about to finish his sentence, a cough cut him off.

Everyone looked at the comrade who coughed.

With angry expressions at the one who interrupted Rick at this important moment.

In response to the anger of his gathered comrades, the one who coughed replied.

“Ugh!”

He vomited bright red blood.

At that moment, Rick shouted.

“Poison!”

————