Chapter 473 - Countdown Begins (1/2)
The long, narrow passage was dark and tortuous.
The seemingly unnatural scenery from the beginning had disappeared and was replaced by artificial, smooth walls and stone steps. The ceiling of the entire passage was as low as the heights of Anne and Rhode and spider webs were just hanging above them as they lifted their heads. It was apparent that this wasn’t a passage built for humans.
The mercenaries advanced cautiously as only God knew what in the world would appear in this historical underground passageway. Rhode recalled that apart from some Goblins lurking in this underground passage, there was almost nothing else present that could hinder them.
Rhode sensed the astonished and confused stares from the Chairman behind him. The stares were also filled with strong, inconspicuous vigilance and hostility.
Rhode was clear about where this hostility stemmed as Soraka Mountain had a lot of legacy ‘historical problems’. One of them was the most important issue of Soraka Mountain’s ownership. Although logically speaking, Soraka mountain was ruled by humans, the Dwarves had sought for the ownership of Soraka Mountain in the past. According to the stubborn Dwarves, Soraka Mountain was first discovered by their ancestors and humans had gotten involved later and took over the ownership with their large numbers. This violated the original covenant signed by humans that sought for the Dwarves’ protection and this was why the Dwarves wanted to regain ownership of Soraka Mountain.
This definitely wasn’t a piece of great news for Soraka Mountain’s Parliament. They denied the Dwarves’ accusations flatly and at the same time, they claimed that Soraka Mountain was discovered and built up by both the Dwarves and humans. As the architectural style of many buildings including Mithril Hall was designed for the Dwarves, Soraka Mountain’s Parliament didn’t deny the fact that the Dwarves had participated in the building of this city. However, they couldn’t accept the saying that the Dwarves had discovered this place.
It had been over a few centuries between the conflicts of the Dwarves and Humans. Although Dwarves possessed longevity and the ancient records had been passed down, humans didn’t believe them. After all, generations of humans had changed along the centuries and the crucial humans that knew who exactly built and discovered Soraka Mountain were all dead. The newer generations of humans were educated by their parents on the history of their homeland and they believed that Soraka Mountain was discovered by the Dwarves and humans together. Due to this reason, Soraka Mountain was dissatisfied with the persistent and demanding Dwarves. Furthermore, a few centuries had passed and you Dwarves are still hanging on to this matter?
However, the concept of time for the Dwarves was completely different from that of the Humans. In the eyes of the naturally stubborn Dwarves, humans were untrustworthy and scheming. Therefore, this conflict might go on forever as long as both races were still alive…
The disputes between the two sides were even reported to the Country of Light, Country of Darkness, and Country of Trial. But the Light and Dark Dragons refused to get involved with this complicated historical issue. On the contrary, the Judgement & Ruling Twin Dragons suggested to carry out an investigation, but there was no follow up to it. After all, the Country of Light and Country of Darkness preferred to deal with humans than the stubborn Dwarves. As a result, the conflict about the ownership of this region extended endlessly. Staring at the pitch-black figure before him, the Chairman had a bad hunch.
Rhode lifted his head and looked the path before him.
The narrow passageway had widened gradually as they entered deeper. A large, arena-like structure presented itself in a massive, empty hole. With the powers of the night-vision pendant, Rhode easily spotted the neatly aligned sculptures and murals that symbolized the victors.
It should be here…
Boom… Boom… Heavy rumbles sounded. Rhode scanned the still surrounding and there were no signs of life. However, Rhode sensed the slight tremors on the ground sharply. He sheathed his daggers and retrieved pocket watch from the fold of his clothes. Three hours left before the start of the parliament meeting.
“… Sir!” Viktor and the group caught up to Rhode and they stared with widened eyes at the massive arena. However, Viktor knew that this wasn’t the time to admire the ancient ruins. Moreover, he also sensed the dangers hidden within. “This is…”
“Be careful. This is one tough enem-” before Rhode finished his sentence, the flat ground rose abruptly and a gigantic, black earthworm-like creature emerged from within.
“It’s the Giant Megadrile!” Viktor witnessed its hextuple layers of razor-sharp teeth and recognized its identity instantly. The Master Swordsman raised his sword and its blade erupted in green, lightning radiances. He struck his sword towards the incoming Megadrile heavily on its body.
Bam! The ear-deafening collision resounded in the massive arena and filthy dust engulfed the entire place. However, this attack wasn’t powerful enough to annihilate the Megadrile. This gigantic, terrifying creature had a thick, protective layer of rock on its skin and Viktor’s attack wasn’t able to shatter them.
Fortunately, the vision of these underground creatures was terrible even though they had sensitive hearing. Although Viktor’s attack wasn’t effective, the loud explosion had stunned the Megadrile. In an instant, the Megadrile paused its movements as it couldn’t spot its target with its hearing. Then, it dove right back into the ground.
“Leave it to me, Sir!” Viktor yelled out to Rhode as he gazed at the arena in his attacking stance attentively. Viktor was aware of Rhode’s intentions as he didn’t summon any of his spirits along the way. “Continue to escort the Chairman. You must make it before the meeting begins!”
“…” Rhode nodded and turned towards Anne. “… Let’s go!”
Anne replied instinctively. She lifted the Chairman on her shoulder while Lize cast a defense spell on him. Then, the group charged towards the exit under Rhode’s lead.
Viktor shifted his attention to the arena with his sword quietly.
Shortly after, the ground ruptured once again.