Chapter 542 - Friends & Foes
Rhode and Emily had to listen closely to the faint voices that resounded in the tunnel. Leaning against ‘Miss Seren’, Emily held her breath and stared at the dark end of the tunnel. Her heart was pounding. She clenched her fists and placed them on her chest. An indescribable nervousness clouded her mind and she couldn’t breathe.
Rhode noticed Emily’s nervousness, but he didn’t have the time to console her. Instead, he leaned against the wall on his side and listened carefully. The voices were dull and stammering and it didn’t seem to be coming from the other side of this wall. In other words, the voice was most possibly coming from in front of them… Rhode knitted his brows and waved his arm before him. However, he realized that this wasn’t the gaming world and there weren’t any map plug-ins available for him…
But even so, Rhode had some other ways.
He kneeled down and scanned the ground cautiously with the radiance of the torches hung on the wall. He slid his fingers along the wall to the ground and rubbed the broken ore fragments gathered at the corner. Emily blinked curiously and was about to ask when she changed her mind after gazing at the dark tunnel ahead. What is Miss Seren doing?
After several minutes, Rhode grabbed a nail-sized smooth stone from the pile of gravel and held it before him. He shut his eyes and transmitted a tiny bit of spiritual energy into it and a system prompt emerged before him.
[Discovered shattered crystal fragment]
I was right.
Rhode nodded slightly. The crystal fragment had solved his doubts. It seemed that they were almost arriving at the other mine; the crystal mine that belonged to the Howard Family. But… weren’t they moving too slow to reach the Howard Family’s mine?
Rhode turned to Emily and said softly, “Miss Emily, is there anyone else around apart from us?”
Celia should be glad that Celestina couldn’t hear her thinking aloud.
Sneeze! Rhode rubbed his nose as he gazed into the pitch-dark cave before him. Unlike the previous cave with signs of excavations, the dense natural essence was still retained around here. Above him were full of ice-cold stalactites hanging down, and the ground beneath his feet was uneven and slippery. Rhode had long gotten used to such an environment, but Emily shambled her way behind him. It was apparent that this environment was too harsh for this young lady. But even so, Emily didn’t grumble, and she moved forward with determination glinting in her eyes.
She still isn’t aware, it seems…
Rhode had received news from Celia about the situation outside. As he had expected, Edward’s members had gone into a frenzy after hearing that their Chairman had died. Authority was the best bait for fishes. Edward had died and Emily wasn’t around to take over. What future was there left for Edward Trade Association? Also…
Rhode glanced at Emily.
After she returned to the surface, perhaps it wouldn’t be the same Edward Trade Association that she was once so familiar with anymore. Will she continue to say there?
“Miss Seren?” Emily came to a stop and called out in uncertainty.
At that moment, they heard sounds of clashing weapons and human voices, and lights could be seen vaguely.
Rhode grabbed her hand with a smile. “Don’t worry, come with me, Miss Emily. Everything will be fine.”
Rhode lifted the torch while leading Emily with his right hand, striding forward. Soon, they reached the end of the tunnel and turned into the corner where the light had spilled in from. They saw a hopeful sight.
A land of shining magical crystals bloomed like flowers in the wide cave. In the middle of the magical crystals garden stood some fully-armed men. The men turned toward the sound of footsteps and drew their weapons hurriedly as soon as they spotted Rhode and Emily.
After all, this place was in the deep mines and it was surely strange for anyone to meet two young ladies here. To Rhode’s surprise, there wasn’t a single miner in this magical crystal mine! The men before them were equipped with steel armor, crossbows, with a sword and shield on their backs. They seemed like private soldiers and adventurers!
But how was this possible? The mine was a private territory and surely they wouldn’t allow adventurers in, so what were they doing in the Howard Family’s mine? Could it be that the Howard Family had fallen to this pathetic state that they couldn’t even guard their own mine? This wasn’t logical… Besides, wasn’t it strange that these people appeared during this sensitive period?
“Who are you?!” One of the men bellowed immediately.
The other men raised their crossbows and aimed at Rhode and Emily. Compared to Rhode, Emily was more familiar with the Howard Family. She stepped out bravely. “Uncle Carter! It’s me, Emily!”
“Emily?” The man puckered his brows and gestured to his men to lay down their weapons. He narrowed his eyes, scanned Emily from head to toe, and asked in astonishment. “It’s really you. What happened? Who is that woman with you? What are you two doing here?”
“There was an accident in our mine, Uncle Carter. It collapsed and monsters attacked us. We came here because we have no choice and we didn’t expect to stumble into your mine…” said Emily.
When Emily mentioned the word ‘monsters’, Rhode sharply detected that the man revealed a slightly strange expression. He scrutinized the man with knitted brows and he discovered that not only were these people dressed strangely, but the items in their hands also weren’t mining tools. Instead, they seemed like mysterious-runes or odd ornaments that were obviously not used to repair the mine or to worship the gods.
It seems that the situation is indeed not that simple…