Chapter 72: Encounter

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Encounter

The rock walls on both sides were heavily carved with twisted magic runes, radiating a gloomy, freezing green light.

That eerie light inadvertently illuminated the countless stark white skeletal remains scattered all over the ground. Among them were the bones of magical beasts, of humans, and even the distinct bone structures of the Beastmen and Elven races.

Just counting roughly in the entrance section alone, the number of corpses already reached hundreds. Delving deeper inside, the situation would likely be even more horrific.

Jeremy maintained high vigilance while walking briskly downward, his muscles slightly tense, not daring to let his guard down for even a single breath. After over ten minutes of carefully groping their way down the steep staircase, the group finally truly set foot into the underground world.

But the moment the heels of their shoes touched the ground, a few sharp, wind-tearing sounds suddenly shrieked. Four pitch-black magic-infused arrows tore through the space, shooting straight toward them!

Leon, leading the formation, had incredibly sharp reflexes.

The corner of his lips curled up slightly, and the Crescent Blades in his hand spun rapidly as he flung them forward, clashing head-on with the rain of arrows. "Clang!" A harsh metallic sound rang out, and sparks illuminated a corner of the dark tunnel. The sharp arrows were ground into fine dust.

Leon leisurely retracted his weapons, his dagger-sharp gaze sweeping straight toward a hidden corner behind a large rock.

The sneak attacker was not a magical beast, but a Beastman girl. She had light brown long hair braided into two pigtails resting on her chest, her amber eyes wide with fear. Although she bore a human form, the beast markings at the corners of her eyes and the small deer antlers atop her head clearly revealed her identity.

Her hands were still tightly gripping the wooden bow, proving that the volley of arrows just now was precisely her masterpiece.

Leon casually glanced at Jeremy, his voice freezing cold and devoid of any warmth: "Captain, how should we handle this? Kill her directly?"

Hearing that blood-soaked sentence, the deer girl’s face instantly turned as pale as a sheet of paper. She clutched her bow tightly, taking a half-step back, her shrill voice trembling: "...S-sorry! I thought it was magical beasts rushing over, I didn’t know you guys were humans. I really didn’t mean to, I’m truly sorry!"

"It’s fine, just a natural reflex, completely understandable." Jeremy took in the other’s panic entirely. He stepped past Leon’s shoulder, walking forward a few paces, the corners of his lips curling into a gentle smile: "My friend has a slightly extreme personality, he was just joking earlier. Please don’t take it to heart."

Joking?

Ailinda cautiously stole a glance at Leon, but the moment she met his freezing gaze that looked ready to skin her and pull out her tendons, she shrank her neck in fear and immediately withdrew her sight. She stammered in reply: "O-okay... thank you."

Jeremy took this opportunity to observe the surrounding environment. Magical beast corpses were piled up, black blood flowed across the ground, and the traces of battle were extremely clear and fresh. The concentration of magic power around this Beastman girl was not particularly outstanding; her realm was estimated to be roughly equivalent to Tier Two, One-Star of the human cultivation system.

Jeremy feigned nonchalance, asking casually: "Are you training in this area alone?"

"No, I came with a group of friends." Ailinda hurriedly shook her head, pointing her finger toward the six massive, tightly shut stone doors in the distance: "But they split up and went inside those stone doors to scout the way. Up until now, I still haven’t seen anyone return."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, following the direction of her hand. The tops of all six stone doors were carved with gloomy, blood-colored magic runes, so intricate and eerie that looking at them for too long could easily induce hallucinations.

"May I ask how long they have been in there?"

The question seemed to hit a sore spot for Ailinda. Her expression fell, her voice mournful: "Ten days. Ten days ago, we split up and entered different doors, agreeing that whoever found an exit would immediately send a signal to gather here. Half an hour ago, I was lucky enough to find a way to survive and return to the starting point, but I found that no one was here. Moreover, all magic communications have been cut off. Left with no choice, I had to stay here and wait for them..."

Completely lost contact?

Jeremy slightly lowered his eyes, hiding the calculation in the depths of his gaze. Outwardly, he maintained his composed demeanor, offering a perfunctory word of comfort: "Don’t worry too much, they will probably find their way out soon."

"I hope so." Ailinda raised her head and glanced over Jeremy’s group of five, but in a split second, she hastily and timidly lowered her head again: "The thing is... you guys must also be here looking for an exit, right?"

Jeremy calmly admitted: "That’s right."

"The thing is..." Ailinda bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before pointing at the six stone doors: "Once night falls, not only the forest above, but even inside these stone doors, countless monsters will pour out. The forest outside will turn into a sea of magma when night comes; lingering there will get you burned to ashes.

To escape from here, the only way is to constantly use your lives to undergo trial and error in this underground labyrinth. Right now, I don’t know the life or death status of my teammates, but I know for sure that at the very end of that middle stone door, there is an exit leading straight outside and connecting to other areas of the wasteland. If you guys want to go, then go early; when night falls, the monsters will swarm out in huge numbers."

Jeremy slightly raised an eyebrow: "What about you? Are you still determined to stay here and wait for your friends?"

Ailinda nodded vigorously, her tone incredibly resolute: "Yes, I absolutely cannot abandon my teammates and escape alone."

She shifted slightly to the right, yielding the path leading to the middle stone door. "You guys should hurry up and go, there are many complex traps inside; waiting until night to try and successfully reach the destination will be as hard as ascending to the heavens."

On the Sylva continent, aside from the Demon race being the common enemy, the relationship between the Human race and the Beastmen or Ghost races had never been peaceful. Races such as Dwarves, Dragons, Merfolk, or Elves mostly maintained a neutral stance. However, with tens of thousands of spatial rifts opening randomly, opposing races encountering each other in the same wasteland was a common occurrence. Coupled with the temptation from unexplored ruins containing treasures, massacres and plundering between factions occurred countless times.

The attitude of this Beastman girl in front of him towards humans had to be said to be excessively mild. Could her branch of Beastmen belong to the neutral faction?

Knowing perfectly well that the situation at night would be a hundred times more horrific, Jeremy couldn’t be bothered to expose her or argue. He went along with her words: "Then we’ll be going first, thank you for the reminder."

Ailinda lowered her head, replying softly: "You’re welcome, you guys hurry and go in."

Seeing Jeremy’s group stepping closer, she reflexively backed away a few more steps, her gaze still occasionally stealing glances toward Leon; it seemed she was still traumatized by his oppressive aura from earlier.

The wind howled through the crevices in the rock walls, blowing a bone-chilling cold into the underground world.

Just as he was about to step over the threshold of the middle stone cave, Jeremy suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around, tossing a sharp gaze straight toward the Beastman girl standing huddled to one side.

Being stared at so suddenly, Ailinda froze, tilting her head slightly in confusion: "What’s wrong?"

Jeremy offered a faint smile, proactively taking a step closer to her and extending a hand: "Nothing, I just suddenly remembered that I forgot to ask your name earlier."

"..."

Ailinda lowered her eyes, looking at the slender, distinct-knuckled hand extended in front of her. Her hand tightened slightly, hovering in mid-air for a second before instantly retracting.

She seemed to be extremely repulsed by touching others, taking two consecutive steps back and forcing a stiff smile: "Just call me Ailinda. Wait until I regroup with my teammates, who knows, we might still have a chance to meet again. You guys hurry and go, don’t waste your precious time because of me."

"Alright."

Jeremy withdrew his hand, saying not another superfluous word, decisively shifting his gaze away from her. He jutted his chin, signaling his teammates: "Let’s go."

With that said, without waiting for anyone to answer, he directly took long strides deep into the darkness of the door.

Lucius, who had been standing to the side all this time, cast a cold glance at the stone door located at the very deepest end. Just as he was about to speak up and expose something, his wrist was grabbed by a hand. The grip wasn’t strong, but it was enough to make him halt.

"..."

Lucius lowered his eyes, quietly looking at Jeremy’s fingers tightening over his sleeve, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. He swallowed the words he was about to say back into his stomach, entirely obediently retracting his thorns, allowing Jeremy to pull him straight into the tunnel.

When the silhouettes of the five were completely swallowed by the darkness of the stone door, the timid, docile look on Ailinda’s face instantly evaporated without a trace.

"... Foolish humans."

She let out a sneer. Her tone, demeanor, and gaze all turned sharp and ruthless, completely devoid of any remaining trace of a coward.

It was exactly as if she had been possessed by something.