Mason held his giant axe, breathing heavily as he aimed to protect his teammates behind him.
In front of him stood a monstrous creature resembling an upright goat, strong and mighty, holding a massive club with eyes full of cruelty and bloodlust.
Hannah, from the former Giant Axe Adventurer's Team, had already "disappeared," and several other members were injured. Mason now deeply regretted allowing Charlotte to join, as otherwise, he and his companions wouldn't have encountered such danger.
The goat monster charged forward, and Mason's eyes were filled with a sense of heroic sacrifice as he prepared to face death.
In an instant, the goat monster suddenly vanished into thin air.
Charlotte stepped out of the darkness with a relieved smile, shouting, "Luckily, I arrived just in time! Mason, Hermonsa, everyone, follow me. I'll take you to a safe place." This was his first time controlling the maze, intentionally creating a crisis and appearing at the most critical moment for a few familiar faces.
Mason's anger quickly dissipated, replaced by the relief of having survived, and he led the team to follow Charlotte.
Charlotte soon gathered all the adventurers and brought them back to the meeting hall.
Fortunately, the hastily assembled adventurer team didn't suffer heavy losses, with only seven or eight deaths, maintaining a size of over a hundred people. Most were injured but not seriously, and timely treatment ensured no one was in life-threatening condition.
The mazeification of Machu Picchu had absorbed the animals, monsters, anomalies, and evil spirits wandering within the ancient fortress. These beings roamed around, somehow clashing with the adventurers.
Under normal circumstances, the adventurers would have been wiped out.
However, due to the mazeification process, these adventurers had become maze NPCs, benefiting from the maze's rules and avoiding widespread casualties.
Over ten small adventurer team leaders gathered, subtly opposing Charlotte. Being experienced adventurers, they guessed that everything they encountered was related to Charlotte.
A leader of a small adventurer team named Yas stepped forward and said, "We are not Baylon spies, nor do we want to get involved with those vampires. Let us leave, and we can guarantee to keep quiet and forgo the reward."
Charlotte didn't respond to him but instead cheerfully addressed everyone, "First of all, I want to thank everyone!"
"I have found the family treasure!"
This statement silenced everyone, as nearly every adventurer was drawn to the topic of "finding treasure," their minds no longer occupied with anything else.
Treasure, wealth, money! These have always been more captivating than any other topic.
"I swore to the goddess that if I found the treasure, I would give five percent to those who helped me find it."
"I will keep my promise!"
The enthusiasm of over a hundred adventurers was instantly ignited, with no one questioning why they were left in Machu Picchu or why they faced such dangers. Everyone was only thinking about how much money they could get.
Charlotte scanned the crowd, ensuring he had everyone's attention before continuing in a devilish tone, "But unfortunately, the treasure I found is not the official currency of Falster!"
"So, I can't distribute the money now."
"You all know that this treasure belongs to the ancient orc nobility and needs to be liquidated in Strasburg to convert it into gold Ecoin and silver Flor..."
"As for shillings, what are those?"
"Everyone here will be rich in the future."
His words immediately elicited cheers from the adventurers.
Charlotte spread his hands and shrugged, loudly saying, "So, I need everyone to accompany me to Strasburg to retrieve your rightful share of the wealth."
"No problem."
"We will go with you to Strasburg!"
"Your generosity is unparalleled."
"Can I ask how much approximately we can get?"
"Is going to Strasburg considered an employment?"
The adventurers asked noisily, and Charlotte patiently answered each question. After calming everyone down, he led the adventurers out of Machu Picchu.
Before leaving, he glanced towards the depths of Machu Picchu and murmured to himself, "I said last time that I would find you and expose you to the sun, watching you turn to ashes."
"I misspoke!"
"I was in a hurry to handle some private matters at the time."
"Now..."
Charlotte found that the monster that killed Hannah, although trapped by the maze, still resisted and had not yet become a maze NPC.
As for why Earl Leo could easily become an NPC while this monster couldn't, Charlotte had no time to investigate.
"I will return sooner or later to fulfill my promise and expose you to the sun, watching you turn to ashes."
Earl Leo was in a very embarrassing situation.
He only wanted to leave with his servants but didn't expect the ancient orc fortress to suddenly turn into an endless maze, making it impossible to escape.
Fortunately, vampires have extremely strong survival abilities. Although usually elegant, in such a predicament, they can eat anything.
Earl Leo even ate several field mice, the most abundant creatures in any desolate ruin.
Charlotte didn't know how to deal with this Earl of Baylon for now, so he temporarily avoided meeting him. After all, vampires are hard to "starve."
His carriage was loaded with food, water, and wine, all purchased when he left Strasburg.
The adventurers, once out of the Machu Picchu maze, ate their fill, drank wine, and regained their spirits, eagerly following Charlotte back to Strasburg.
Of course, Charlotte wouldn't bring so many adventurers back to 58 Elysee Garden Street. Instead, he took them to the abandoned Lucca Varo District patrol office at 1 Falcon Street.
Although it had been abandoned for many years, the basic structure was intact. With some repairs and cleaning, it could accommodate people.
These adventurers, accustomed to camping outdoors, weren't picky about living conditions. With the anticipation of getting paid soon, they had no complaints about Charlotte's arrangements.
After settling the adventurers, Charlotte didn't even have time to go home. He headed straight to the Central Government Office to find his "old boss," Mrs. Aldegonde, a stern and authoritative senior government official.
Mrs. Aldegonde was surprised by Charlotte's visit and asked, "How are things at Kilmainham Prison? Is the work going well?"
Charlotte replied with a smile, "I've been transferred to Lucca Varo District to join the patrol."
Mrs. Aldegonde looked slightly puzzled and asked, "Is there a patrol team there? As far as I remember, the patrol teams in the outer fifteen districts... you know, they're just ghost employees."
Charlotte certainly knew that. Even if he didn't initially, a visit to 1 Falcon Street in Lucca Varo District had made it clear.
He smiled and said, "So, I need to reestablish the files, or I won't be able to get paid."
Mrs. Aldegonde nodded in understanding. Having once been her subordinate, she was willing to do Charlotte this small favor. She immediately issued a document for him, but her assistance ended there. For the rest of the bureaucratic process, Charlotte would have to handle it himself.