Warriors will die if they charge.

Rye was the first to leave the alluring palace. They entered the dark exit and were greeted by an underground tunnel with three branching paths.

Marcus stroked the hard, dry rock wall, narrowed his eyes, and said with a fierce tone, "Emmael said we shouldn't fight in the vault, but this place is more like a goblin's lair, Bardin."

"The devil's rules," Bardin muttered, stroking the obsidian collar around his neck.

The collar seemed to be alive, feeding a voice into the brain—the end, the end, the next treasure trove.

The dwarf looked at the fork in the road and pointed to the wider tunnel on the left:

"Let's figure out the terrain first. Those three traitorous stray dogs must die here!"

The devil's game only delays the reckoning; the fiery rye will not let any traitor escape.

On this matter, the two share the same consensus.

Marcus swung his left arm, which had regained some feeling, and laughed as Bardin looked on in bewilderment:

"Brother Dwarf, you're not the only one hiding a smokescreen. I've got something up my sleeve too. I'll use this arm as bait to kill those three stray dogs later."

-

"Emmael might be a devil."

This was the first thing Duncan said after entering the Golden Palace.

"The devil? No, he is a god, the god of gold, a god of gold countless times greater than Delaware!" Oha's backpack was already stuffed full of gold bars. He held a ten-kilogram long gold bar in both hands and handed it to Duncan.

"Quickly, the God of Gold said we can't take treasures that exceed our weight. I've already packed 95 kilograms of gold bars. You and Kelly should be able to carry 130 kilograms. Trust the gold miners; they won't add even a gram more."

The orc was both greedy and cunning. He used to live in Lake Yanor, where mixed-race people lived, and made a living by digging for gold in the lake. Every evening, the foreman would make the gold miners take off their clothes and use a magnifying glass to check every part that might contain gold.

Do not hoard gold sand, but you must hoard gold sand.

He remembered the taste of the whip, but he remembered even more the taste of gold—those shiny, luminous, heavy, and reliable treasures that could buy anything in the world.

Duncan looked at Kelly, as if asking for her opinion, while Kelly was looking at him.

The severed finger glanced away, staring at the gate at the far end of the palace, instinctively hiding its right hand behind its back.

"Marcus and Bardeen are likely lying in ambush outside. They've brought too much gold, which will prevent us from escaping. Marley has mentioned things like potions, artifacts, and immortality before. This golden palace might just be the lowest level of temptation. That's my advice."

He glanced at Oha, who was still greedily eyeing the golden palace, and rejected the suggestion to leave empty-handed: "Oha, take the gold, and I'll leave with you empty-handed."

Kelly nodded, her crimson eyes sweeping over Oha's face: "Oha, after you leave, you won't forget me and Duncan, will you? This is nearly a hundred kilograms of gold, more gold than a stray dog ​​has ever seen in its entire life."

A hint of displeasure flashed in the orc's eyes. He was the one who carried the gold; why should he share it with the other two?

But he also knew that Rye Wine wouldn't give up easily, and carrying the heavy weight of gold on his back would become a significant weakness.

"Of course, Kelly, do you think I'm an ungrateful person? If you hadn't saved me from the slave traders, I would have died in some mine long ago."

Kelly nodded, picked up a gold brick from the pile on the ground, put it in her backpack, and waved for Duncan to pick one up as well.

This is a safety net strategy. Ten kilograms is very light, and if it's spread across your shoulders, it won't affect anything, but you can exchange it for nearly a thousand gold coins after you leave.

The ceiling clock began to urge them on as they walked to the end of the palace gate.

Oha looked back with lingering affection at the goddess statue holding a water bottle that sprayed sand. He put his hand to his lips and bid farewell to his lover: "One day, I will make a pure gold sculpture of you, even though I don't know who you are."

The exposure was fleeting; the warm glow of the gold vanished, and the cold, dry tunnel caused the stray dog ​​to suffocate briefly. Duncan was right; there was more than one treasure trove. How could they avoid the rye wine ambush in this tunnel?

Duncan squinted, observing the three tunnels ahead: the left one was wider, while the middle and right ones were narrower—a one-in-one probability.

The obsidian collar transmitted the devil's words to his mind—that the end led to the next treasure trove.

They must find a way to avoid the rye wine in order to reach the next treasure vault. Marcus and Bardin, who can fight trolls head-on, will not be afraid of the stray dog's fangs.

"Go to the middle," Duncan said. "Ambushes are usually not in the middle, and even people who know there is definitely an ambush will subconsciously move to the left or right."

Kelly lifted her ample bosom and nodded gently. "What about the left side?"

Duncan shrugged: "We can give it a try. The left side is wider, which is just right for O'Ha to cover the rear."

"Get lost, you severed finger! I'm carrying a hundred kilograms of gold; you should be bringing up the rear!"

"Nobody told you to be stupid and stuff your backpack full. If you encounter an ambush later, you'll have to throw away the gold in your bag, otherwise you won't be able to escape."

"Then let's kill them all. I can punch Marcus's head down his throat and turn him into a dwarf."

"Are you sure? He's a warrior who took a punch from a troll and could still keep fighting. He's a completely different kind of coward like you who likes to play dead."

"Enough!" Kelly forcefully interrupted the increasingly heated argument between the two, her murderous gaze sweeping over Duncan and O'Ha's faces:

"Do you want to reveal your location now?"

The captain thought for a moment and came up with an idea: "We confirmed in the Golden Palace that they were unarmed. Marcus's left hand is broken, so his fighting ability is definitely impaired. O'Ha and I will take care of him first. Duncan, you go and stop the short guy, use your best method."

No one could refute Kelly's choices; she repeatedly demonstrated, with her cunning and cruelty, how stray dogs should survive.

Duncan led the way, followed by O'Ha, who carried a heavy load of gold, in the middle, with Kelly bringing up the rear.

The tunnel was quiet, with only Oha's heavy footsteps and breathing. The nearly 100 kilograms of gold were heavier than expected, causing sweat to drip from his hair onto his bent spine.

He couldn't help but complain, "It shouldn't be this heavy."

"Shut up and be quiet."

Kelly scolded in a low voice, the sound from the obsidian collar growing louder, indicating they were close to the next treasure vault.

As she guessed, the rye wine did not choose the spacious tunnel on the left as an ambush point.

At a bend with an arc, the rock wall on the left protrudes about half a person's height. Duncan raised his hand to signal caution, slowed his pace, and slowly approached the rock wall.

He seemed to hear faint breathing...

As Duncan's foot stepped over the protruding rock face, in the dim magical light of the tunnel, a fist as thick as knuckles emerged from the shadows.

Prepared, Duncan instinctively raised his hand, crossing his forearms to shield his face, but the fist suddenly drifted downwards and struck him in the chest.

Marcus licked his dry lips, emerged from around the corner where he had been hiding, swung his right hand—which had nearly knocked Duncan to the ground—and watched the stray dog ​​approach:

"Let's settle this here, you little bastard."