aircannonsinc Chapter 195 Mining
Chapter 195 Mining
Chapter 195 Mining (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
Noticing Tang Zijun's movements, Gloriand's already wary heart instantly tightened, and she gripped her weapon tightly. "Something's there?"
Without saying a word, Tang Zijun simply nodded slightly.
The mine was, after all, an unknown place for Tang Zijun. He didn't know anything about the creatures there, and acting rashly would only ruin the original plan. It would be better to let these two more experienced mercenaries figure it out.
Gloria looked in the direction Tang Zijun was looking and sure enough, she saw a furtive figure at the entrance of a cave.
It was a gray, humanoid creature that looked like a skinned monkey; its eyes were narrowed to slits.
His skin was dry and his appearance was extremely ugly.
Having confirmed the other party's identity, Grilando breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Those are cave dwellers, refugees from the north. These guys are generally mentally challenged; as long as we don't attack them first..."
They generally don't provoke humans who are armed.
"Wasn't the mine taken over by the Blood Church? How come they're letting these cave dwellers stay here?" Tang Zijun asked, puzzled.
"Both mining and establishing churches require manpower. These cave dwellers were actually captured and enslaved. They have been affected by the curse and cannot escape."
Deske gave an explanation, then buried himself in his work. After a short while, he lit the oil lamp, assembled it onto his hat, and put it on. Tang Zijun noticed that Deske's operation was somewhat similar to the lamp hats used by the workers, only it wasn't very convenient.
Desk handed a torch to Tang Zijun and continued, "That guy is probably on lookout duty. We need to speed things up."
"Wouldn't it be better to just kill him?"
"There's no need. This is the territory of the cave dwellers and the lair of the Blood Church. If we try to go in, we'll inevitably be discovered. Killing one won't solve the problem; the smell of blood will only drive the other cave dwellers into madness."
Listening to Desk's words, Tang Zijun nodded silently in understanding.
Actually, he was just asking casually. Whether to enter openly or sneak in didn't matter to him. He could feel the caveman's heartbeat.
Judging from the strength of the heartbeat, that thing wasn't much of a threat. Any adult could take it on one-on-one, and someone with even a little bit of fighting skill could easily take on two or three.
Such an existence is not enough to make Tang Zijun hesitant and timid.
Holding the torch, Tang Zijun quietly followed behind Desk.
Since entering the mine, Tang Zijun could clearly sense that the two mercenaries beside her had become noticeably tense.
Their heartbeats had quickened considerably, and their breathing had changed, indicating that the environment had instilled fear in them.
No wonder, if they hadn't asked, they probably would never have ventured into such a godforsaken place; it would have been tantamount to suicide for them.
After walking a while deeper, the surroundings became completely dark, with only torches emitting light and heat, blocking out the darkness and cold in the air.
Gloriandau dared not be careless in the slightest; her hand gripping the knife was already soaked with sweat, and her eyes were warily fixed on the darkness ahead.
All I could hear was a faint rustling sound.
Unlike them, Tang Zijun wasn't too nervous. Thanks to the enhancements brought by the wolf riders, he had a certain level of night vision. In fact, he didn't need fire to see his surroundings clearly, although it was a bit blurry.
In the darkness, Tang Zijun could see dozens of cave dwellers watching them from afar. The ugly creatures moved nimbly through the cave on all fours, completely unaffected by the darkness. On the contrary, they avoided the light of the torches.
It seems these creatures have long since adapted to dark environments during their evolution.
"I feel like something's off here, it's so uncomfortable..." Hyacinth poked its head out of Tang Zijun's pocket.
"That means we're very close to those guys," Deske replied.
Just then, a distinctive sound of footsteps caught Tang Zijun's attention.
The footsteps were incredibly heavy, but strangely, Tang Zijun couldn't hear a heartbeat that accompanied them.
Turning my head, I saw several swaying figures rise from somewhere deep within the cave, emitting faint, low growls.
It came toward the crowd.
"Looks like those guys sent people to welcome us," Tang Zijun murmured.
Upon hearing this, Grelando and Desk changed their expressions. They didn't think Tang Zijun was joking. Since the adults said so, it must prove that something was approaching.
Thinking of this, Grilando immediately got into position.
"Prepare for Battle 1"
"No need, you can just stand behind me."
Although he was eager to see how mercenaries in this world fought, Tang Zijun only wanted to find his target as soon as possible.
Both Grelando and Deske were taken aback by these words, but they obediently remained still and turned to look at Tang Zijun.
"Just a few zombies, I'm in a hurry."
Before he finished speaking, Tang Zijun raised his palm, and the next moment, a strange weapon appeared in his hand amidst a flash of silver light.
Desk recognized it instantly; what Tang Zijun was holding was the hilt of the knight's sword from before.
He was puzzled as to where the blade had gone, and even more puzzled as to how the knight before him could use a sword hilt as a weapon.
Before he could come to a conclusion, he heard a loud "shattering" sound.
The flames tore through the darkness, and the explosives roared out, engulfing the group of undead in the narrow cave.
The powerful impact didn't even give the survivors time to react; the monsters couldn't even get close before being riddled with bullets.
Both mercenaries were startled by Tang Zijun's shot, staring at her in shock. Then they heard muffled thuds coming from the darkness—the sound of zombies falling.
"Sir, what is this...:"
"magic."
Tang Zijun shook the shotgun in her hand and smiled slightly.
"It works very well."
Desk was curious why he had never heard of this magic before, but after thinking about it, he ultimately didn't dare to ask.
Gunshots echoed through the cave, adding an eerie touch to the silent darkness, while the cave dwellers scattered in terror and fled back into the shadows.
Tang Zijun was not worried that her shot would alert the enemy.
As Descartes said, once you've stepped into the other side's territory, there's no point in hiding anymore.
It would be better to be bolder and play our cards straight.
This shot was meant to tell those guys that I was in, and in a very unceremonious way.
"keep going."
This time, Tang Zijun replaced Desk as the leader, and the group moved forward much faster.
The caves were a maze of interconnected passages, but fortunately, Desk had the original mine's operational map, which allowed him to easily navigate the area.
Of course, finding the Blood Church with just a map is not an easy task, so Grilando specially took out a rune.
This is a very common rune, used to sense evil energy, and almost every human settlement or mercenary group has one.
Although this rune has no combat power, it can effectively warn of the presence of evil energy. When evil energy appears in the vicinity, the corresponding location will glow.
This can effectively prevent people from encountering evil entities, and also prevent them from being ambushed or accidentally falling into dangerous situations; it is a very convenient thing.
As for now, it's simple. Everyone just needs to follow the runes. Go where the light is. The brighter the light, the closer they are. It's extremely quiet around them. Since Tang Zijun killed the few living creatures, there hasn't been any sound. Even the cave dwellers have disappeared. It's so quiet that you can only hear your own breathing.
The torch flickered and grind began to blur.
In the depths of that darkness, a vivid red hue appeared, like a flower in full bloom, beginning to spread from the darkness and exuding an eerie aura.
The red color grew richer and closer, flowing along the stone wall as if it were alive and beginning to spread.
Gloriam tried to speak to warn them, but found her body frozen in place; she couldn't even open her mouth.
Even blinking is difficult.
The crimson had spread to her feet, and the cold touch made Grilando tremble involuntarily.
A deep, resonant sound echoed in her ears, like the sigh and weeping of a soul, a sound that filled her entire mind.
With a sound, the blood had already reached above her ankles.
The crimson blood, like a tide, was incredibly viscous and gradually submerged her legs, waist, and chest. Grilando's consciousness began to blur; she only felt difficulty breathing. Her survival instinct made her raise her head, but the blood had already reached her neck.
All that remained before her eyes was a sea of crimson. At the last moment, Grilando tightly closed her mouth, afraid that the blood would be forced into it.
"Feed".
Just then, a hand slammed heavily on Grelando's shoulder, startling her so much that she jumped.
Suddenly snapping out of her daze, she saw Tang Zijun staring at her with a puzzled expression.
Looking around, he saw nothing at all; the scenery was still completely dark, there was no blood at all, and even his own body was perfectly clean.
"Are you alright?" Tang Zijun frowned. "Why did you suddenly start spacing out while we were walking?"
"Me.Me"
At this moment, Grelando's back was already soaked with sweat. She greedily breathed in the air, her eyes filled with terror as she looked at Tang Zijun.
"...Something's coming...I've been infected...I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Grelando's pupils suddenly contracted, and she stared in shock at Tang Zijun's back.
"careful!!"