“Let’s go,” Sylvia said, looking down at the slippery ground. “Don’t waste any more time.”
So, the group headed deeper into the cave.
After walking about a few hundred meters, they suddenly heard the sound of fierce fighting ahead.
Franklin’s face changed slightly. “How can there be other people in a place like this?”
Everyone immediately became highly alert and moved forward more cautiously.
As they got closer, they heard shouting and the sounds of battle growing louder.
“There’s Princess Sharon’s treasure here! How dare you try to take it!”
“Kill them all! The treasure will be ours.”
“Quick, kill them!”
Rough voices echoed continuously.
Sylvia frowned as she looked at the two groups fighting ahead. “They said there’s treasure here.”
“Could this be the Palace of Elegance? Was it once the residence of some princess?” Franklin squinted at the scene ahead, the smell of blood filling the cave.
The ground was already littered with the dead and wounded, indicating that both sides had suffered losses.
“Let them fight it out first. We’ll wait. It’s best to act after nightfall,” Sylvia observed their surroundings. They were hiding behind a cliff in the cave, unnoticed by the two fighting groups.
As long as they didn’t make any noise, they would be fine.
“Good idea. Let’s wait and see who wins,” Franklin nodded. Everyone watched the fight intently, eager to see who would emerge victorious.
Suddenly, Sylvia spotted two familiar faces among the fighters. She whispered, “Casey? Damn it! What’s he doing here?”
“Casey? The young master of the Blood Medical Sect?” Franklin remembered Casey. When he was poisoned, the Blood Medical Sect had helped.
Sylvia said in frustration, “Looks like we can’t just stand by. Let’s go!”
With that, she dashed out like a swift swallow.
Casey, who had no martial arts skills, saw a killer’s knife coming at him and closed his eyes in fear. But the expected pain never came. Instead, he heard a thud.
He opened his eyes to see a graceful figure standing in front of him, kicking the killer several meters away.
Was he saved by a heroine from heaven?
Casey excitedly grabbed Antwan’s hand and stood up. Just then, Sylvia turned and slit another killer’s throat, spraying blood all over Casey’s face.
“Ah!” He screamed in shock.
Touching the warm blood on his face, he was almost paralyzed with fear.
Antwan finally recognized Sylvia’s face and was stunned. “Miss Andrews? What are you doing here?”
Sylvia glanced at the disheveled master and servant. “Get out of the way!”
Casey hurriedly wiped the blood off his face and called out emotionally, “Miss Andrews, did you come specifically to save me?”
Franklin threw a killer aside. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Casey then noticed Franklin and the others who had joined the fight.
“Mr. Maskelyne? You’re here too? Are you…”
He twitched his mouth. “Are you also here for Princess Sharon’s treasure?”
“No,” Jasper replied, stabbing a killer’s arm with a dagger. “Don’t get in the way.”
“Oh, okay.” Casey quickly helped Antwan move away from the fight.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and her group continued to fight fiercely against their opponents.
Everyone was extremely tense, constantly overshadowed by fear and on the brink of death.
Especially their opponents, who couldn’t understand where these five or six skilled fighters had come from. They had been winning just moments ago.
But after these newcomers joined the fight, their side suffered heavy casualties.
The smell of blood grew stronger in the air, causing extreme fear among their ranks. They dreaded being killed by Franklin and Sylvia, this terrifying couple.
“The treasure is just ahead! No one retreat! Kill them, and the treasure will be ours!”
The leader in black shouted as he charged at Sylvia with his knife raised.
He aimed to kill this woman first. After all, she was just a woman!
What was there to fear?
“Kill this woman!” he yelled, brandishing his long knife.
Sharp blades aimed at Sylvia. If they hit her, she would be turned into a pincushion.
Sylvia sneered and swept her leg, kicking several killers away.
Franklin leaped down and charged at the killers. With his movements, an entire row of killers fell dead instantly.
Blood gushed from their necks.
The scene was extremely bloody.
An hour later, Sylvia and Franklin had wiped out all their opponents.
Casey’s group had lost about ten people, leaving only a few survivors.
Casey tearfully hugged his clansmen, crying out loud. “Aydan! John! Ah! You all died here. How will I face your families?”
“Don’t be too sad,” Antwan knelt beside him, wiping his tears. “No one wanted this to happen.”
Sylvia was covered in blood as she helped treat everyone’s wounds.
Except for Jasper and Franklin, everyone had varying degrees of injuries.
“Luckily, we brought a full range of medicines,” Jaden said. He was injured but had killed several killers and was now exhausted, sitting on the ground unable to get up.
Casey and Antwan also started helping treat everyone’s wounds. Many hands made light work.
Soon, all the injured were bandaged up.
Sylvia then looked seriously at Casey. “How could there be treasure in a place like this? Are you here for treasure?”
Casey sighed deeply and wiped away his tears. “We’re not here for treasure. We’re looking for a drug that supposedly makes people lose their minds and become puppets. Our family is influential in the medical field, so my father sent me to find this drug. If it falls into the wrong hands… the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“A drug that turns people into puppets?” Sylvia was stunned. She thought of the purple crystal Jaden had given her. Could it be related to that?
Her heart pounded before she calmed down.
“Yes, it’s a terrifying drug. It’s said to be hidden in the Palace of Elegance,” Casey said sadly. “But I didn’t expect to encounter killers here looking for treasure. We have no interest in treasure. They attacked us without a word.”
As he spoke, his eyes reddened again. “We brought twenty or thirty companions with some martial skills from our family. But I didn’t expect… the enemy to be so ruthless.”
“Thankfully, you arrived in time to save us. Otherwise… no one would know if we died here,” Antwan said tearfully, wiping his eyes. “Miss Andrews, Mr. Maskelyne, thank you for saving our lives. Our Blood Medical Sect will never forget your great kindness.”
Last time, Sylvia had given Healing Herb to the Blood Medical Sect.
This time, she saved them again.
“No need for thanks; we’re all friends,” Sylvia said as she helped the two up from the ground. “We must look forward and not dwell on sadness.”
Franklin glanced at the killers’ bodies scattered on the ground. “This cave is very damp; it will get cold at night. We should move quickly to avoid getting arthritis.”
“We don’t know who these people are,” Jasper said after examining several killers but finding no clues about their identities.
“Let’s not worry about them now; we need to keep moving,” Sylvia said as she looked at Vaild and Mark, the twin brothers. “Can you keep going? If not, stay here and wait for us to return.”
“We can go,” Vaild quickly replied. No way were they staying behind; they couldn’t handle any more treasure seekers alone.
It was safer to stay with Sylvia.
Casey composed himself and followed Sylvia and Franklin further into the cave.
They walked about three or four hundred meters and took several turns before stopping.
The twin brothers’ faces lit up with joy as they stared wide-eyed.
“Oh my God! I’ve never seen such a large golden statue in my life!”
“It’s… so beautiful!”
About seven or eight meters away stood a life-sized golden statue facing the cave entrance. Under their flashlight beams, it shone brilliantly.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the statue.
“Is this Princess Sharon’s statue?” Casey wondered as he examined it. “It wears ancient clothes and hair ornaments.”
“Maybe,” Sylvia said as she touched and knocked on the statue. “It seems to be made of pure gold. This statue is priceless.”
“Is there really treasure here? Is it her burial goods or something else?” Casey circled the statue curiously.
Others also examined the cave with their flashlights.
“I don’t see any coffins,” Franklin said calmly. “And there’s no sign of Puppet Dust.”
“Is this really the Palace of Elegance?” Sylvia began inspecting their surroundings too. She wanted to know what was inside and what connection it had with that powerful figure.