10. Meet the Underground People (2)
“High-quality steel and folded iron with beautiful patterns (格鐵), high-quality metal full of magical energy, true silver (眞銀), and dragon gold (鳥金), which has the highest strength except dragon bone. )until. There is nothing that is not treated with respect. Therefore, regardless of the race, we try to be friendly with charcoal workers and are careful not to harbor resentment.”
Alex’s explanation came to an end.
“Are you saying there is no reason to attack them even if they are from the Demon Realm?”
Zeke asks, and then Yulgeum speaks.
“Isn’t it possible to take away their technology by force?”
Alex shook his head strongly.
“It’s impossible. Charcoal workers would rather die than lose their skills. “Charcoal workers have learned over a long period of time that there is nothing more valuable than technology.”
Deus stood up.
“Let’s just stop making noise and let’s go. “If you make a guess without any basis, it’s just nonsense.”
“That’s right.”
As I walked through the hemispherical cave and along the corridor with complicated pipes, I came across another cavity.
The situation there too was miserable.
The corpses of dwarves were lined up in every house.
There was also a dead dwarf sitting at the table holding a teacup, probably enjoying tea time.
The poison seemed to have taken everyone’s lives in an unexpected moment.
Zeke frowned at the scene in front of him.
“It’s terrible. Really…
Deus looked around with indifferent eyes.
“What does it mean? “Away from doing something like this.”
Yulgeum said with a frown.
“What does it mean? He’s just crazy! Indiscriminately, even children…
“Let’s go to the next block.”
Following Deus’ words, the group headed down the hallway again into the depths of the cave.
Zeke’s steps were heavy.
I was in a bad mood in advance because I thought I would encounter a dead body again.
Pity gave rise to anger.
The warrior’s anger was a power in itself. In response to the inner energy, the weapons made of dragon scales gave off a faint light.
Right then.
“It’s you guys!”
Suddenly, dust rose in the hallway.
Numerous holes opened in the walls, floors, and ceilings, and hundreds of dwarves jumped out of them.
Armor made of iron, gauntlets with hook-like hand saws, and even an ax with a pickaxe.
They wore armor similar to the symbol of the dwarves.
They raised sharp axes threateningly and surrounded the group.
Zeke drew his sword and stood in front of the group. I was so nervous that I raised my shield and looked at the enemies.
Deus pressed Zeke’s sword.
“Now, just put it in.” As Zeke slowly sheathed his sword,
Deus took a step forward.
The average height of short charcoal workers was around 120 centimeters. It only reached about Deus’s navel.
As he approached, several dwarves raised their ax blades forward.
Everyone was wearing a gas mask, so I couldn’t even see their faces. Deus, who was looking at them blankly, opened his mouth.
“Whose head is it?”
A man walked out from among the dwarves.
“You are a frivolous person.”
“Is that you?”
“I am Baron Kielce, leader of the Southern Root Knights.”
He took off his gas mask.
The dwarfs had round faces and low noses, giving them an overall cute appearance.
He had a somewhat harsh expression, but there was no sense of intimidation at all.
“Are you demons spreading poison?”
“What if I say yes?”
“I will kill you!”
“Then what if I say no?”
“Then let me ask you what you are doing here.”
“Home… Then I’ll answer that I didn’t.”
“is it! So what are you doing here? “This is the land of our Southern Root Clan.”
“Do you believe me?”
“Did you lie?”
“What if I say yes?”
“I will kill you!”
“What if I say no?”
“I will ask what you are doing here.”
Deus felt like he was going to burst out laughing and turned his head slightly.
They were really strange guys.
“We weren’t the ones who sprayed the poison. The reason I came here was because I wanted to find out something. Is the answer sufficient?”
Baron Kielce nodded at Deus’ answer.
“I understand why you came here. However, this is the land of our Southern Root Clan. “I will not allow you to stay here.”
“I want to meet the queen.”
“Not permitted.”
“Is this something you’re going to do without your permission? “Isn’t it the queen’s heart?”
“That is correct. “However, the priority now is to find the culprit who poisoned this place.”
“I want to know including that…
Deus’s words suddenly cut off.
An earthquake came right after that.
The ground shook violently, and a mound of dirt in about a portion of the cave collapsed.
Zeke raised his shield
to protect Yulgeum’s head.
The sound of rocks hitting the shield rang out non-stop.
“It’s all Earth Dragons!”
cried one of the dwarves.
But his voice could not continue any longer. The monster called Toryong had already swallowed him.
The wrinkled earth dragon that appeared through the wall swallowed up all the dwarves around it.
Baron Kielce shouted.
“Knights! In battle formation! “Maybe it’s that earth dragon that’s been spreading poison around here
!”
“Ayeayit!”
A long snake-like monster scanned the cave with its body hidden in the ground.
It opened its wrinkled mouth wide and swallowed the dwarf in one go.
The surrounding dwarves chopped the earth dragon’s mouth with an axe, but the swallowed dwarf could not come back.
Even though they lost several of their comrades in an instant, the dwarves were unfazed.
He wielded his ax even more bravely and faced the monster.
Deus had his arms crossed as he watched the battleground of destruction.
“My lord.”
” why’?”
“Are you just going to watch?”
“What 7”
“Aren’t you feeling it too, master?”
Alex looked at his feet below.
“If ‘that’ steps forward, all the dwarves here will die.”
“Well, it’s comfortable and nice. “If the knight commander or something dies, you can go to the clan queen in one go.”
“Isn’t the purpose of meeting each other? Wouldn’t it be easier to have a conversation if you show a little grace?”
“Is that so?”
“Then,
“Okay. “Why don’t we send Zeke out?”
“It’s too much for him to do alone.”
“Then you did it?”
“Do you mean…?”
“huh. You do it.”
“Oh, I have respect, do I have to go to this extent?”
“Then should I do it?”
“That’s what
Deus said while looking at Zeke.
“Zeke.”
“Yes, Deus.”
“It’s all about dispatch.”
“yep! “We will help the dwarves!”
“There’s something even scarier moving under the ground. be careful. “Because even you can’t handle that guy.”
Zeke looked at the ground. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s probably not a lie as Deus said.
Zeke drew his sword and jumped among the dwarves.
Zeke himself
was only a warrior barely above his grade, but the weapons he was carrying were unusual.
When the sharp sword attacked the earth dragon, its skin was instantly torn and black blood poured out.
The dwarves cheered.
“It’s awesome!”
“strong! boy!”
Kielce, leader of the Southern Root Knights, was surprised by Zeke’s power and changed his formation.
“To the wedge side formation! “Let’s push that boy to the forefront!”
“Ayeayit!”
The dwarves surrounded Zeke and set their ax blades to the side.
Dozens of knights became shields to block the earth dragon’s attack and open Zeke’s attack path.
Although it was his first time experiencing group tactics, Zeke could instinctively know what the dwarves were trying to do.
He focused his attacks and stabbed and slashed with his sword.
The blade made from Blue Rhino’s bone was extremely sharp.
In an instant, the dragon’s skin was cut off and torn to shreds.
The dark pink earth dragon writhed in pain. The black blood pouring out colored the surroundings.
“Be careful, boy hero! The earth dragon’s blood is full of poison!”
Knight Commander Kielce stood shoulder to shoulder. He rolled on the floor and cut down the earthen dragon with his axe, then rolled backwards again and returned to Zeke’s side.
As Zeke and Kielche took the lead and faced the earth dragon, the monster, which could not endure it, began to wriggle and retreat.
The dwarves cheered in excitement of victory, and
Kielce encouraged everyone to deliver the final blow.
But at that moment, a strange tremor shook the underground corridor once again.
The earth dragon that was running away leapt forward.
“be careful! “That guy is attacking again!”
At the knight commander’s shout, Zeke also tightly grasped his shield.
However, the earth dragon’s movements were strange. The protruding body suddenly shrunk and instead retreated.
No, I think it would be more accurate to say that I was dragged in
.
Zeke watched the scene in bewilderment and then turned around in surprise.
Deus and Yulgeum were seen standing side by side talking about something.
Zeke shouted to those around him.
“Careful! The real thing will appear!”
Baron Kielce did not know what Zeke meant. Nevertheless, he did not ignore the words of his young comrade.
“In the words of the boy warrior, don’t relax! Dwarves, hold tight to the handle of your axe! “Tighten the
loosened leather straps of your armor again!”
“Ayeayit!”
pop!
The body of the earth dragon, cut in two, was thrown out from within the wall.
The long, snake-like body, nearly 20 meters long, wriggled for a moment and then went limp.
A soft cry was heard from the hole he had popped out of.
It was like the sound of 100 lions and tigers roaring at the same time.
“Hydra.”
Yulgeum nodded at what Deus suddenly said.
” also.”
“Surely you didn’t feel it?”
“Because now I am human. “I was just guessing what kind of underground monster could make an earthen dragon like that.”
Yulgeum said this and looked behind Deus. The man I always saw was not by my side at this moment.
“Are you planning on pampering Alex?”
“huh.”
“The Prince of Pride.”
“Now that I think about it, my nickname is Pride. “For some reason, it didn’t seem cheap.”
“But it’s okay to be arrogant. In terms of combat power alone, he is ranked first and second in the Demon World. “You won’t even need to use anything like Hydra.”
“I won’t use that much force. I like playing tricks behind that guy’s back. “I’m going to give all the credit to Zeke, so I’ll use just that much effort.”
“Then shall we take a look? “How the Prince of Pride mocks Hydra.”
Hydra is the name given to a large reptile with three or more heads.
According to the exact family tree, there were at least five different species, but unless you were a biologist, such distinctions were meaningless.
The common name for a monster with multiple heads and over 5 meters tall was Hydra.
Its power is said to be similar to that of a dragon, and its entire body is full of poison, so it was not easy to deal with it.
It was a monster that a D-class hero could barely hunt down with
several of his companions, but the one blocking it from the front was Zeke, a novice warrior who had barely obtained a B-class license.
However, grades are just numbers on paper.
Whenever Zeke needed courage, he looked into the eyes of Deus, his greatest guardian.
Just by looking into his eyes, my courage soared 100 times.
A spirit that seemed to never break even if I had to face the devil rose from my stomach.
