Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 223 - 77: The Desire to Possess that Blinds the Heart_1

Chapter 223: Chapter 77: The Desire to Possess that Blinds the Heart_1

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"Your treasure?" Everyone was dumbfounded. Catherine asked, "This treasure is the heritage of the Naren Kingdom, isn’t it?"

"But our family discovered it first." Elrad glared fiercely at Catherine and raised his voice, "For three generations, our family has been researching this treasure, but we’ve never been able to venture in here. My father and grandfather both died in the jungle because of this treasure. This is rightfully my treasure. All of you are robbers!"

"According to usual practice, ownerless treasures belong to those who first make true contact." Catherine spoke seriously, "There’s no such rule as ’whoever hears of the treasure first owns it.’ Even if there were, your family probably wasn’t the first to discover it. After all, rumors about the treasure of the Naren Kingdom have been around from ages long before the combined age of three of your family’s generations. Therefore, the treasure does not belong to you."

"It’s better than you claiming possession," Elrad exclaimed fiercely. "You’re merely thieves trying to take the treasure from me. I’ve seen people like you many times in my family’s history."

"Oh? In the past, did many people come here searching for the treasure?" Lina interjected curiously, "The secret of this treasure shouldn’t be widely known."

"That’s not strange." Pannis replied, "While our treasure map’s location is hidden, considering the status of the Naren Kingdom back then, numerous members of their royal family probably had their own maps. After all, no one knows which royal could survive and restore the kingdom should it fall. Several royals likely kept such treasure maps deeply concealed. This ensures the treasure isn’t stolen by outsiders and isn’t permanently lost due to the death of the map holder."

"Now that you mention it, it makes sense." Lina nodded in sudden realization, "Hey, Elrad, have many people really come looking for this treasure?"

"Of course, as recently as four months ago a team came by." Elrad said maliciously, "They called themselves the Mountain Hawks Adventure Team. Just like you guys, I led them, one by one, to hell. Hahaha, unfortunately, you escaped. Such a pity."

"So, you were behind the unanticipated disappearance of the Mountain Hawks Team four months ago, their eradication with not a single survivor." Catherine rested her hand on her sword hilt, speaking in a deep voice, "No wonder the Guild was unable to find any trace of them."

"Of course, ahahaha. They thought they could plot to kill me after the fact to avoid sharing the wealth." Elrad was somewhat manically thrilled, his eyes shining as he licked his lips, "So I sent each one of them straight to hell. Those fools had no idea it was me. Hahaha."

"You have a lot of guts." Catherine held her sword hilt, "Are you not afraid to die now that you’ve confessed to all this?"

"If I didn’t tell the truth, would you spare me?" sneered Elrad, "But when I’m dead don’t feel happy, guys like you will be killed sooner or later. Hahaha, I’ll be waiting for you in hell."

"Actually, from the start we never planned to harm you." Catherine took several deep breaths, struggling to suppress her anger, then spoke in a low voice, "If you had clearly explained the situation earlier, we could have agreed to divide the treasure equally. However, you shouldn’t have risked the life of one teammate and the health of another. Had those incidents hadn’t occurred, we wouldn’t hold this against you at this stage. We could even still offer you 20%, but now it’s too late, the damage is irreversible."

"Twenty percent? Hahaha, it all belongs to me, all of it! Without our family’s inability to find a way in, could you even have come in to rob?" Elrad laughed insanely, "Kill and rob away you bandits. I’ll watch you from hell."

"No, we won’t kill you." Catherine shook her head, "Quite the contrary, we’ll still share twenty percent of the treasure with you."

"Sis." Lina exclaimed in surprise, "Have you gone mad?"

"It’s only fair. Since he also has a treasure map and is also seeking the treasure, he’s not just a guide but a partner. Therefore, we should share with him accordingly." Catherine explained, "But, I will take you to see Dora. We four haven’t suffered any real life-threatening injuries, so we don’t have the right to decide what happens to you. Dora, however, is the victim, and she has the right to determine how to handle you."

"You, you, you." Elrad stood slack-jawed, pointing at Catherine, unable to put a sentence together.

"Can’t comprehend?" Catherine sighed, dispelling her anger, "But, this is my concept of fairness. I won’t take a single penny that’s rightfully yours. Similarly, I won’t let you escape from what you owe."

"Sister, you’re doing it again." Lina said with frustration, "There’s no need to be like this with him... Oh well, it’s pointless saying anything, you decide."

Elrad stood motionlessly at his spot and weakly said after a while, "I really can’t understand what’s going on inside your heads. But it doesn’t matter now. If I can’t dissuade you, then just do as you please."

"Then, let me ask you a key question." Pannis asked, "You previously said you didn’t know how to open the door, so you never entered this place?"

"Of course." Elrad said sullenly, "Or else, would it be your turn to take the treasure?"

"But if you’ve never been in here, how do you know about the traps that are set inside?" Pannis asked suspiciously, "Is it that you have more information?"

"Hmph, my information is more extensive." Elrad snorted dismissively, "Not only do I know about these two traps, but I also know that there’s a fork in the road up ahead. One path leads to an exit portal, the other leads to the treasury. There’s a door outside the treasury with one last trap. I just don’t know what kind of trap it is."

"You’re being cooperative?" Lina said with some surprise, "Just a moment ago you were about to curse us."

"Three generations of our family’s hard work is finally going to pay off, why wouldn’t I cooperate?" Elrad said, "Since I can’t stop you from taking these treasures, getting a share isn’t a bad outcome."

"I’m glad you understand." Catherine said, "Pannis, you go up front. I will be at the rear."

The five of them filed into the narrow tunnel. Once the Array of the hurricane was defused, the windy tunnel could no longer pose any threat. They easily passed through the area which was originally full of hidden dangers.

"Hey, Dum-Dum Vivian." Lina, who was walking behind Elrad, nudged Vivian, "What’s the principle behind these Arrays? Do they just keep blowing wind forever?"

"I’m not exactly sure." Vivian shook her head, "Unless we break open the rock wall for direct observation, it’s hard to tell their power system. But I guess they won’t keep blowing forever, we don’t have a geothermal energy support here like we do at our lab."

"But this place is really weird." Lina continued, "Pannis, if the real inheritor would come in here, they would also have to face that trap my sister encountered, right? Just like you said before, for the trap at the entrance, if you know about it, you can easily disable it just by standing still. But not here. They can’t possibly have their inheritor struggling against the wind to get through the trap."

"That is... what I’ve been thinking about for the past few minutes." Pannis sighed and said helplessly, "We’ve done something very stupid."

"In what way?" Lina asked with confusion.

"We simply shouldn’t have tried to barge in." Pannis said, giving a wry smile, "I’m guessing that the energy system for this trap is probably the same as the teleportation gate at the entrance; it uses the Mana Tides brought about by the Azure Moon to store mana. Which is to say, this trap is time-limited too. We just need to wait for the Array to exhaust its energy, which I’m guessing, is the correct way for the real heir to gain entry. This time shouldn’t be too short, otherwise it would be pointless, and it shouldn’t be too long either. The true heir trying to get the treasure doesn’t have that much time to waste here. So I estimate, it should be something like three to four days. Just stay here for three to four days, and we can easily get past. The linked metal wire traps on both sides have gaps wide enough for an adult to crawl through effortlessly when there is no wind."

"Whew, it’s fine this way though." Hearing Pannis’s conclusion, Catherine sighed vaguely, but then immediately thought of the positive side. "At least we don’t have to waste three to five days huddled in that cramped space. Knowing that countless treasures are beckoning me just up ahead, but all I can do is to watch and wait, oh God, I would definitely go nuts."

"I think sister, you’ve already gone insane." Lina muttered softly, "You’re actually willing to share the treasures with such a man, and also let him off for the time being, I really have no idea what you’re thinking."

"Actually, theoretically speaking, he didn’t do anything." Catherine said solemnly, "He just deliberately withheld information about the potential dangers we could face. Strictly speaking, aside from his two initial failed attempts, he never actively created any danger for us, and that’s a fact. I won’t deceive myself by ignoring this fact. So, as a knight, I can’t pass judgement on him; it would not be in accordance with the moral principles of a knight. I know the simplest thing would be to kill him with a single swift strike, but if I were to do that, I wouldn’t be worthy of being called a knight anymore."

"Okay, okay, you’re always right." Lina sighed, "Maybe that’s why our peers see you as a model for the new generation of knights, and probably why most adventure teams and mercenary groups trust Nellie’s adventure team. I don’t completely agree with your approach, but since you’re the eldest among us, we’ll stand by you no matter what."