I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 403: Blackmail

Gauss wasn't asking the other party just for the sake of it; he was genuinely curious.Out here in the middle of nowhere, the other man hadn't communicated with his companions yet, and was just silently reaching his hand into his clothes, all while wearing an extremely smug, triumphant smile on his face.

Had no one ever told him he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions?

He might as well have written 'I have a big secret' on his forehead.

Noticing Gauss's gaze shift towards the direction of his map, even though it was hidden under a layer of clothing, Felix's heart still tightened.

He immediately pulled his hand out.

He comforted himself internally, thinking that he hadn't clashed with the man before him; before today, the two hadn't even met once.

The other party coming here was probably just scouting the area around the temporary perimeter, and happened to run into them.

Although it was a bit strange for a Guild Leader of an adventuring guild to personally scout the perimeter environment, it wasn't completely impossible.

Relax, relax...

Just as his brain was rapidly working, thinking about how to strike up a conversation with Gauss and vaguely skirt around their purpose for being here,

Gauss spoke again.

He saw that Gauss's hand had, at some unknown time, flipped over to produce a small, familiar-looking vial of liquid.

"Is this the drug you were planning to give Levin and the others next?"

Gauss said it as if talking to himself.

As he cast his Identify Spell on it, the item's specific information quickly appeared in his mind.

"Oh ho, it's a potent poison."

He raised an eyebrow, his face revealing a meaningful expression.

These guys really wanted Levin and his team dead, didn't they? That's a bit too much hatred, isn't it?

Not long ago, they had just schemed to have Orcs kill Levin, which failed, and not much time had passed before they hatched another plan.

According to the information Levin and Meva provided, before this, there had only been one minor conflict between them.

They had their stuff stolen. The Night Owl Squad not going after him for trouble was one thing, but this Rogue team captain relentlessly pursuing the victims instead? That's a bit of putting the cart before the horse, isn't it?

Someone who didn't know might think it was the Night Owl Squad who stole *his* stuff.

Gauss shook his head.

He completely couldn't understand these people's thought process.

He often felt out of place among villains because his personality was too normal.

When did he take it?

Felix felt his jacket pocket and indeed found that the poison vial was gone.

Beads of sweat the size of beans slowly seeped out from the roots of his messy hair covering his forehead.

Was it sweat?

He looked at Gauss, who had put away the poison, his pupils rapidly contracting.

For some reason, in front of this man, he felt as if he had been completely seen through.

This man seemed capable of doing whatever he wanted, and he was powerless to resist.

"Senior, who is this Levin you mentioned?"

"I don't know him."

"Is... is there some misunderstanding between us?"

"For Rogues like us who lack frontal combat ability... carrying a few vials of po... poison on us is pretty normal, right?"

Gauss had pinpointed his next step in one sentence, making him even more nervous inside.

And it seemed Gauss knew Levin and the others?

So he clearly understood that in this situation, he absolutely could not think about confessing for leniency.

However, he might have overlooked one thing.

That was the massive gap in strength between the two of them. Even Felix, with the highest level, was only level 2.

Hearing his flat denial, Gauss didn't mind.

As powerful mana fluctuations surged around Gauss, everyone present simultaneously felt an invisible force wash over them.

The next moment... their consciousness plunged into darkness.

"Hypnosis Charm."

Gauss cast the Hypnosis Charm.

Normally, for a Hypnosis Charm to take effect, the target must be in a willing state, but that major prerequisite is when both parties are on a similar level.

Given the strength gap between Gauss and these few, their resistance was negligible.

So they were hypnotized by Gauss in the blink of an eye.

The reason for being so decisive was also that he felt there was no need to waste time.

Compared to the people before him, he naturally trusted his former teammates' account more.

After being "controlled" by the Hypnosis Charm, the few entered a state where they answered any question asked.

Gauss quickly confirmed the whole story.

The first fact was that they had indeed come here to harm Levin and the others, and even after Gauss rescued Levin's team, they still had a next step planned.

Then came...

Gauss held two pieces of leather-made maps, one large, one small.

These two things were what the Rogue team leader named Felix had been clutching inside his clothes.

They were also the root cause of him targeting Levin's team.

For some reason, the more Gauss looked at them, the more familiar they seemed. Then, as if remembering something, he took out a similar piece of leather map from his Storage Bag.

He spread them out and placed them together.

Soon, he discovered that these three maps seemed to have parts along their edges that could correspond.

Clearly, they were a set.

Moreover, when he fitted them together, a faint magical fluctuation seemed to flicker within.

"A pity, it seems we're still missing two pieces."

Gauss frowned.

The fragment he had was a trophy he looted from a Goblin last year when he went to Coral Bay, accepted a commission in Sena City to clear out sea monsters.

At the time, he had briefly been interested in this fragment that seemed like a treasure map. After failing to decipher it using Tongue of Languages, he had set it aside temporarily.

He never expected that just as he had given up researching it, he would unexpectedly obtain other fragments.

And according to the hypnotized Felix, this was actually a secret treasure map from his ancestral family, and the one he held was the master page capable of sensing the other fragments.

"What great luck."

Gauss put the three maps away.

He then continued questioning Felix about the treasure map and his family's information.

The ciphertext on the treasure map, after Felix provided a translation book, Gauss quickly learned through the Tongue of Languages spell.

Unfortunately, this wasn't an ordinary map but a special magical item. It seemed only after collecting all the map fragments would it reveal its true face.

"Where to find the other two pieces?"

Felix's ancestors were supposedly a Count's family, and back then, most of Coldjade Province's land was their family's fiefdom.

But that was too long ago. That meant the maps could appear anywhere within the entire province, or even broader surrounding regions.

Like his fragment, which was obtained from a Goblin nest isolated out at sea.

With bad luck, one might never collect them all in a lifetime.

He could only trust Felix's claim that this master page had the power to guide its owner to collect the fragments.

However, Gauss still had doubts in his heart.

Was this thing really a treasure map?

A once extremely prosperous family preparing for a rainy day, burying a large fortune sufficient to revive the family somewhere in advance, waiting for descendants to dig it up and use it to restore the family.

How does that sound so suspicious?

As the saying goes, children and grandchildren have their own fortune; don't be an ox or horse for them. Shouldn't a normal person's thinking focus on the present? After all, after death, who cares about the floodwaters?

He temporarily put the eight leather pieces away.

Since they weren't complete yet, whether there was something fishy about them before, or whether it was an unknown treasure, he'd worry about it after collecting them all later.

He decided not to overthink it prematurely.

After Gauss dispelled the Hypnosis Charm, the Rogue team slowly woke up.

At first, they were utterly confused. Only after seeing Gauss's figure did they seem to suddenly understand something.

Damn it, I was hypnotized! Felix supported his dizzy head.

How could this person be so underhanded, not leaving him any chance to defend himself, suddenly using a spell on him?

Feeling the empty inner lining of his clothes, his mood sank to the bottom.

It's over!

He looked at Gauss, whose face no longer held curiosity, knowing that under the other's hypnosis, he must have said everything, whether he should have or not.

His plot to harm Levin, his family's secret treasure, even those incidents where he killed for money to get startup funds to recruit followers... all were exposed.

Thinking of this, he looked at Gauss.

He took a deep breath.

"Gauss, you took my family's heirloom treasure map, right?"

"Mhm, it's my treasure map now."

Although Gauss didn't have such a strong desire for treasure hunting in his heart—after all, he knew that in this world, only strength was the most reliable; everything else had lower priority—the people before him were plotting against his former teammates, so he naturally wouldn't return the treasure map to them.

Hearing Gauss admit it without changing his expression, he swallowed another mouthful of saliva, his face turning a few shades uglier.

This was his family heirloom.

Beside him, his subordinates looked at him with blank faces.

They had only thought that this time, murdering that adventurer team was just for profit like before. They had actually done such things quite often; murder and arson bring golden belts.

Otherwise, how did they, ordinary people without any family background, manage to overtake others and obtain resources for professional advancement? Could it be through hard work?

But this treasure map matter, the boss had never mentioned it to them.

A staff appeared in Gauss's hand.

Noticing his movement, Felix, whose brain was racing, hurriedly spoke.

"You... you... you can't kill me!"

"Killing people is illegal, right?"

Felix's face was pale with fright as he spoke incoherently.

It wasn't that he didn't want to resist Gauss, but just thinking about how they were instantly hypnotized and lost consciousness a moment ago, it was clear that Gauss could take their lives with extreme ease.

"But, you haven't killed few people either, have you?"

Gauss shook his head; this reason couldn't convince him.

Although he considered himself not a villain, he also wasn't pedantic enough to rigidly adhere to all rules.

In those two or three years of being an adventurer, the number of people who died by his hand wasn't actually small.

Adventurers who wanted to harm him, bandits, robbers, and other scoundrels...

"Moreover, only descendants of our bloodline can use the power of our blood to open our family's treasure at the treasure site. Otherwise, even if you collect all the treasure map pieces, you won't be able to obtain the treasure you want." Felix said with conviction.

"So you can't kill me."

"I'm willing to join your adventuring guild."

"When Guild Leader you collect the complete treasure map, I'm willing to go with you to the treasure site."

Felix spoke rapidly, afraid that if he spoke too slowly, the glow of Gauss's spell would land on him.

This reason of his wasn't completely fabricated just to save his life. At least, what he saw on the treasure map said that; it required the bloodline power of a family descendant to possibly open the treasure at the site.

Furthermore, the reason he could read that ciphertext was also because the moment he saw the treasure map, the content suddenly surged in his mind.

It seemed to be a power originating from bloodline. As long as a descendant of the bloodline touched the treasure map, they would naturally master those lost family ciphertexts.

He knew that Gauss, perhaps because of the earlier hypnosis, also knew this extremely important condition for opening the treasure.

So a confident expression gradually appeared on his face.

That was the legacy treasure of a powerful ancient Count's family. Even a strong person like you would be tempted by it, right?

And as long as you coveted the treasure, you had to let him live.

Otherwise, even collecting the map would be useless.

He had already thought it through; for now, he must endure humiliation to preserve his life.

Since it was his ancestral secret treasure, and it must be opened personally by a descendant, perhaps inside the treasure site, there were means left by the ancestors. By then, he might be able to kill this treacherous man who coveted his family's treasure.

Thinking of that future scene, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but slowly curve upward.

He, Felix, would, like the protagonists in those stories, go through countless hardships and dangers, finally obtain the power that belonged to him, and kill everyone who opposed him.

"Chk!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out.

A moment later, a line of blood appeared on his neck.

He felt the world in his vision spinning. With a "thud," his head seemed to hit something.

"Huh?"

"Why does this headless body look so familiar? This seems like..."

A moment after his consciousness appeared, no more information surfaced, because he had already fallen into the eternal darkness of slumber.

Gauss looked at the four headless corpses, summoned clay constructs to gather them together, then used Burning Hands to burn them to ashes in one go.

He hated being threatened, especially by scoundrels like these who were clearly harboring ill intentions. He didn't want to leave a hidden danger for himself, even if right now they seemed completely incapable of threatening him.

It was better to deal with them early.

As for the treasure used to threaten him, forgive Gauss for saying so, but Felix might have had some misunderstanding, mistakenly thinking the treasure held too much weight in Gauss's heart.

Gauss might be somewhat curious about it, but that was it.

Even if it really couldn't be opened, so what? Even if there really was a treasure, by the time he collected all the map pieces, his strength would likely have reached another level. Perhaps those so-called treasures would have become insignificant additions.

After disposing of the bodies, Gauss checked the surroundings again.

"Time to go back."

His body, under the effect of the Fly spell, quickly rose into the air, ascended to a high altitude, then swiftly flew towards the direction of the Red Dragon Guild's perimeter.

Arriving above the perimeter, he descended beside Levin and the others.

They were currently looking for a place to pitch tents. Turning their heads, they discovered Gauss had appeared beside them.

"It's done. Those Rogues indeed wanted to harm you."

"But from now on, you don't need to worry. They won't trouble you again."

Hearing Gauss casually mention a few details of the situation, Levin and Meva exchanged glances.

They knew that group of Rogues wouldn't be a match for Gauss, but this was too fast. Gauss had just left, and in the blink of an eye, he returned to tell them it was resolved.

"Oh, right. The reason they targeted you is related to this treasure map."

"This treasure map is related to that Rogue leader's ancestors. He's been collecting these fragments. But it's not complete yet."

Gauss took out the piece of leather Levin had purchased earlier and explained.

He really didn't take this so-called treasure map to heart much.

"Oh, I see." Levin also nodded in understanding. "In that case, then this should be left in your care, Gauss. Besides, we don't know how to repay you for saving our lives."

"Don't mention it." Gauss smiled and shook his head.

But he also thought it was better to keep these leather maps in his own hands. It was hard to say whether this thing was a blessing or a curse.

Gauss shared some of his speculations with Levin and the others.

"Don't worry, I understand." Levin said this.

They had almost died once because of this map. Besides, collecting the other fragments wasn't a simple task. It was better to leave it in Gauss's hands.

Having cleared things up, Gauss felt relieved.

The next day.

Gauss's Red Dragon Guild began entering the swamp.

Because the teams that went out yesterday hadn't returned for a long time, and the subsequent teams sent to check on the situation also disappeared, the Orc clan in the swamp had sensed the surrounding danger. At this moment, the entire nest was on high alert. Orc patrols were circling the nest's surroundings in multiple layers.

Gauss floated in the air, his body shrouded by an invisibility spell. Perhaps before, he would have needed to plan carefully, ensuring others could eliminate escaping monsters as much as possible.

But now, after his Red Dragon Guild merged with the members of Fang of the Pale Wolf, his team's strength was no longer what it used to be.

In the hazy swamp, agile and nimble figures rapidly darted about.

"In position!"

"Positioned!"

Gauss saw the positioning of all team members clearly. After everyone reached their designated positions according to the plan.

"Move out!"