This was the outermost area of Snowfall City on a street with no NPC shops selling common items, only NPC residents' houses. Apart from occasional players passing by, it was difficult to spot anyone else, making it even more desolate under the cold night sky.
Suddenly, a sewer grate on the roadside creaked slightly and lifted up, then moved aside, revealing a head. The cautious eyes quickly scanned the surroundings before the body rapidly climbed out and walked step by step toward the right side of the street.
Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two!
When Xiao Hua reached the twenty-second step, he stopped and looked at a nearby house!
There was nothing particularly special about the house; it looked almost identical to the surrounding ones. However, upon closer inspection, it was evident that the wooden door had a thin layer of black grime, a result of dust and frost interacting. The copper lock on the door was also covered in greenish patina.
"Indeed, this is the residence of one of the missing citizens!"
When Abooli confirmed that the pattern on the ground of the sewer passage was a miniature magic array, Xiao Hua had suspicions. He then found an exit, climbed up, and confirmed his thoughts.
As the City Guardian of Snowfall City, Leiter handled all property sales. Anyone buying a gray house had to go through him. Setting up a dark magic array beneath the house and then killing the occupants was too easy. The reason, Xiao Hua suspected, was that Leiter had hidden something in the missing residents' houses that he didn't want discovered.
"Are there any other magic arrays elsewhere?" Returning to the sewer, Xiao Hua asked the big rat.
The rat squeaked twice and continued running forward. After a short distance, it began circling again.
"It's a magic array!" Abooli confirmed once more.
With Abooli's confirmation, Xiao Hua climbed to the surface, verifying that another missing citizen's house was indeed above, leaving no doubt in his mind.
"Leiter has escaped!" Returning to the sewer, Xiao Hua intended to look for other problematic areas when Piaoling messaged him in the party chat.
"Escaped?"
"Yes. We reported to the profession mentor, and they led us to the mayor's mansion. We found that Leiter had fled through the sewers. Another female guardian in the mansion said that the dark sewers were Leiter's domain, and we couldn't defeat a dark mage in such confined spaces. She instructed us to take a special carriage to intercept Leiter at the sewer exit, implying that Leiter would have support there, and a battle was inevitable. Possibly because of our low level, she assigned us a few apprentice guards and a cleric, but it was uncertain if we could win."
The development was unexpected, and Xiao Hua regretted having them report back earlier. After thinking for a moment, he decided, "I can't make it in time. You guys go ahead and try to eliminate the support. I'll try to slow Leiter down in the sewers."
Leiter, as the boss, was undoubtedly the strongest. If Xiao Hua delayed him, the others could easily take out the support and then focus on defeating Leiter alone, increasing the chances of completing the task.
"Abooli, try to locate any strong dark energy users in these sewers!" Remembering Abooli's other abilities, Xiao Hua had an idea. With Abooli, finding Leiter would be simple.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Abooli nodded, closed its eyes, and an invisible wave of energy spread through the dark sewer like ripples on water. The map of the sewers gradually became clear in Abooli's mind. Soon, a black dot appeared on the miniature sewer map in Abooli's head.
"Found him! This way!" Abooli exclaimed and flew forward.
Xiao Hua followed Abooli closely. Without the threat of unknown dangers, Xiao Hua sped up, racing through the dimly lit sewers. Though he feared colliding with a wall, the thrill of the unknown was exhilarating.
"He's in the left sewer tunnel ahead, moving forward, but not very fast." After navigating through the twists and turns for over ten minutes, Abooli suddenly stopped and pointed to a three-way sewer tunnel.
Illusion!
Xiao Hua immediately summoned an illusion and stealthily approached.
Leiter, dressed in a black robe and holding a gleaming black magic staff carved with eerie dark-red patterns, walked confidently through the dark sewers as if he could see every detail in the darkness.
Stepping along the narrow passageway beside the sewer, Leiter's steps were steady and confident, unlike someone attempting to escape. Anyone unaware of the situation would wonder why a city guardian would be in the sewers. However, seeing Leiter's grim face would quickly dispel such thoughts. His face, etched with wrinkles, was shrouded in a sinister aura!
His plan was almost successful; in another year or so, Leiter would become a renowned dark mage. Unexpectedly, a flaw appeared, and worse, it was his own doing that infuriated him the most!
Despite years of interaction with Montu, Leiter knew that even if everyone in Snowfall City died, Montu wouldn't betray him. Yet, to be safe, he turned a missing youth into a big rat and threatened him with the one he loved most to monitor Leiter.
During a recent magic experiment, he accidentally expended too much dark energy, temporarily restoring the youth's original form, which was unfortunately seen by others, leading to a situation spiraling out of control. Now, he had to abandon years of work and flee to the distant forest.
While walking, Leiter felt someone brush past him from behind!
"Who's there!" Leiter shouted, turning swiftly and casting a black fireball!
Steal failed!
Xiao Hua was frustrated seeing this system prompt. He was sure he was the first to use the Steal skill on Leiter, but the system didn't seem to care!
—1100!
Leiter's black fireball was an instant cast dark magic spell, yet it still instantly killed the illusion, dealing high damage even without a critical hit. This attack was truly extraordinary!
"Hmph!" Seeing the illusion die, Leiter sneered and began chanting a magic incantation.
What was Leiter planning?
Leiter stood under a magical lamp, and Xiao Hua peered around the corner, watching Leiter's every move. Suddenly, a black flame appeared from Leiter's chest and shot directly toward Xiao Hua!
"Damn! How could he detect me from so far away? That's cheating!" Xiao Hua exclaimed in shock. He was nearly thirty meters away, yet he was detected. It was unfair!
He hastily retreated, intending to avoid the spell. But could anyone outrun magic? Perhaps Queen of Silence or Andrew could, but not Xiao Hua! Before he could run far, the black flame struck him!
"Aah!!" Expecting to die, Xiao Hua closed his eyes, but surprisingly, he didn't die. His HP was still high!
Only 150 HP lost? What was happening?
Opening his eyes, Xiao Hua was astonished to see his HP still intact. Leiter's flame attack was unexpectedly weak!
But how could that be? A ruthless dark mage like Leiter wouldn't use a low-damage spell just to scare someone. Moreover, the instant-cast spell dealt over 1100 damage, so how could a spell chanted for two to three seconds be weaker?
Having narrowly escaped death, Xiao Hua should have run away, but his suspicious nature made him wonder why Leiter's attack was so weak.
"Should I risk death to verify a possible theory?" Xiao Hua pondered this question.
"Well, experience is given by the system anyway!" Deciding that losing 20% experience wasn't a big deal, he made up his mind.
After casting one spell, Leiter didn't check the result and continued walking.
In this straight sewer, Xiao Hua couldn't interfere stealthily as before. Following Leiter from a distance, he waited for the illusion's cooldown and summoned it again. When the Steal mark on Leiter disappeared, both Xiao Hua and the illusion stealthily approached.
Steal!
Steal failed!
"Damn it! He's penniless!" Enraged, Xiao Hua and the illusion drew their weapons, applying poison immediately!
—10! —10! —10! —10!
As expected, Xiao Hua's attacks couldn't break Leiter's defense, but the poison damage from the poisoned weapons was unstoppable, affecting Leiter immediately!