Chapter Fifty-Eight: Parting Ways
2015-06-14
Author: Floating Tower
(Rushed back after finishing. Now there are a bunch of relatives’ kids over there, Floating Tower has returned to the original place to write. Three updates today.)
—————————————
Rumbling.
A violent tremor suddenly came from underground.
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior, busy searching for loot, shook slightly, nearly falling to the ground. The others beside him exchanged surprised and uneasy glances. The Desert Warrior quietly stashed a pure gold statue, then turned to look at the few people present as if nothing happened.
“What happened?”
The Dwarf Warrior tapped a well-preserved crystal on the wall, blew on it in his hands, and whispered, “Is something happening below?”
The four of them exchanged glances.
“Unknown.” The Gale Wanderer said, holding his weapon with both hands and furrowing his brow slightly, “Just now, the captain’s expression seemed off, his hostility was heavy. I suspect something big must have happened below!”
The Desert Warrior glanced around, his expression suggesting he had a point: “I’ve heard that underground relics like this often seal demons.”
“The recent commotion doesn’t look good!”
The Eastern Dance Maiden’s face changed slightly upon hearing this; a hint of worry crossed her pretty features. She suggested, “Should we go down to find him?”
“No!” The Desert Warrior decisively rejected the idea.
He glanced at the others and said in a low voice, “The captain just told us to stay here; we have no idea what’s going on. If we rashly go down and something terrifying really is down there, we might all d*e here.”
Having said that, the Desert Warrior lowered his voice and continued, “I see that everyone has gathered quite a bit of loot today, and more importantly, nobody is injured. How about we call it a day, head up to divide the spoils, and wait for the captain to come out? After all, he’s a formidable Wanderer; there aren’t many who can stop him if he wants to leave. If he couldn’t escape, going down there would be tantamount to seeking d*ath!”
He wanted to slip away.
Something felt off with the situation in the underground ruin. The recent tremor had caused some areas to collapse, indicating that something significant must have happened below.
In the previous skirmishes, not many had sustained injuries.
After Soren left, they discovered some chests and secret chambers, unearthing many valuable spoils. Even if they divided it, they could still have several thousand Gind. Since the situation felt off, and they had found plenty of treasures without anyone getting hurt, the Desert Warrior was already entertaining the thought of grabbing the rewards and leaving. After all, he and Soren had merely formed a temporary team. Such teams had little in terms of bonds, so it wouldn’t be surprising to leave with the loot when things looked inappropriate.
The Desert Warrior’s words clearly resonated with one person.
The Gale Wanderer silently polished his sword blade; he was here in the desert area to train and had only taken on a task because he was short on travel funds. The situation here was somewhat dangerous. Encountering a Legendary Rank ancient mummy so easily was unexpected, especially given that this was only around the second level of the underground ruin. He didn’t want to lose his life here. Since he already had loot and wasn’t injured, leaving with the bounty to continue training was undoubtedly the wisest decision.
The expression of the Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior appeared somewhat hesitant.
It seemed he wanted to leave, but he felt a bit guilty inside. The Dwarf race traditionally valued trust, and abandoning his comrades in this situation felt like betrayal.
Among everyone present, the one with the most complex expression was undoubtedly the Eastern Dance Maiden.
Her face seemed indecisive, as if she wanted to stay but also wanted to leave. After all, Soren had just saved her life; logic told her that leaving now was the wisest decision, but deep inside, she felt it was too extreme to do so. The difficulty of the underground ruin was significantly high; she understood well what lay beneath. If Soren truly encountered that kind of monster, the chances of him returning alive were slim.
Balroth Fire Demon.
A Legendary Wanderer would find it difficult to k*ll Balroth Fire Demon alone!
Rumbling.
The explosions from underground caused the first wave of collapses, as if breaking the support of certain places, clearly initiating a chain reaction; the sounds of collapse echoed from many areas, sending down a thick cloud of dust.
“We can’t stay here any longer.”
The Desert Warrior glanced at the others and said solemnly, “You can stay if you want; I’m preparing to leave. The situation here may collapse, and we might end up trapped.”
Having said that, he ran directly toward the square.
The Gale Wanderer shot a glance at the others and quickly followed him. This was the desert area; if a collapse blocked the exit above, it would be troublesome to get out.
The Dwarf hesitated for a moment, then looked at the Eastern Dance Maiden and said, “Should we go out too?”
The Eastern Dance Maiden’s expression gradually calmed down. She looked at the Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior in front of her and said firmly, “No! I’m preparing to go down and take a look! After all, he just saved my life; I can’t leave him behind like this; I would definitely feel guilty about it in the future!”
Upon hearing her words, a hint of guilt appeared on the Dwarf Warrior’s face.
Then, he took out a few healing potions and a bright red potion, tossed them to the Eastern Dance Maiden, and said in a deep voice, “Sorry! I’m preparing to leave here. This is a healing potion bought from the temple, and the other one is a power potion from the Gray Valley Dwarves; it can temporarily boost your combat power.”
“Good luck!”
The Dwarf Heavy Armored Warrior hoisted his axe and ran outside, as a lot of dust had already fallen, and distant tremors could still be heard.
The Eastern Dance Maiden glanced at their departing figures, gritted her teeth, and ran into the dark tunnel ahead.
“I’m just doing this for the mission!”
The Eastern Dance Maiden rushed into the pitch-black tunnel, muttering to herself, “The mission assigned by the Empress is not yet completed. If I go back like this, she will definitely be unhappy! …”
“Exactly.”
“I must go in and take a look! He should not d*e so easily, right? …”
The surroundings rapidly receded.
The tremors in the distance continued as shifts below led to the large-scale collapse of many relic structures.
Boom!
The Eastern Dance Maiden quickly dodged a falling rock, then halted as a large pit appeared in front of her, clearly formed by some terrifying explosion. The ground was littered with stones of various sizes. The road here was cut off, and in order to move forward, she could only jump down and then look for a tunnel to continue.
Just then, a somewhat disheveled figure crawled up from the front edge.
“You’re not dead!?”
The Eastern Dance Maiden’s face instantly brightened as if she sighed with relief, “That’s great! …”
Pfft.
Soren climbed up and spat out a mouthful of bl**d mixed with dust. He had been directly enveloped in the initial massive explosion; if he hadn’t reacted quickly enough, he might have been buried alive. Soren was covered in a thick layer of falling sand, and he spat out the dirt from his mouth, wiped his face with his hand, and then asked, “How did you come here? Where are the others? …”
Soren glanced behind him without finding any sign of the others.
At this moment, without the Eastern Dance Maiden having to say anything, he seemed to already know everything and slowly said, “They left? Tsk tsk! Such a temporary team is indeed unreliable at critical moments!”
“Continuing.”
The Eastern Dance Maiden had just opened her mouth to say something when she suddenly saw Soren toss a gem shimmering with a strange glow toward her. She quickly reached out to catch it and looked at it, her face immediately lighting up with delight.
This was the item she needed for her mission.
Rumbling.
The sounds of collapse came from behind.
Soren’s expression changed slightly as he hurriedly ran forward and said in a deep voice, “Let’s leave first! The area below has been blown apart! This section may collapse.”
The two of them dashed at high speed down the original path.
Soren seemed to be injured severely; his dust-covered body was soaked with bl**d, congealing into clumps. Even though their speed was already not slow, by the time they reached the original square, it was all in darkness. All the torches had been extinguished, and the opening of the dug passage was filled with fallen sand.
The passage had collapsed.
Such a temporarily dug passage could not withstand such tremors from a collapse, but the others seemed to have escaped in advance.
“What do we do now?”
The Eastern Dance Maiden glanced at Soren and said softly, “The passage has collapsed.”
Clang!
Soren turned to look at her, tossed a shovel toward her, and said irritably, “What else can we do now?”
“Dig out!”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
