abcnovels
Chapter 269: ????? ??? ???? (3)
Chapter 269: ????? ??? ???? (3)
Chapter 269: ????? ??? ???? (3)
“. . . . . .”
The inside of the cave was always cool, but this time, an uncommonly cold silence lingered around. In times like this, only the one with the highest status could open their mouth.
“As expected, the marks left by the dwarves are hard to recognize, so it’s not hard to get mistaken in dark places.”
“. . . . . .”
‘???? ?? ?????.’
Sometimes, wounds that are inflicted on the inside are scarier than wounds on the outside. Jyanina’s condition right now was the perfect example.
Johan whispered to Caenerna.
“Isn’t there anything you can do as a fellow wizard?”
“Wizards are not gods. . . Not everything is possible!”
Caenerna, despite being a wizard, had no way to restore the confidence of a shamed wizard.“Time heals all wounds. She’ll be fine if we wait. Jyanina-gong is someone who worked in the Imperial Court. She can’t be that weak.”
“. . . . . .”
‘??? ????? ???? ??????. . .’
Johan had many things to say, but he did not say it out loud. It didn’t seem like it would be helpful anyway.
??????
Schweibeck carefully picked up a pebble and threw it.
?????
????????!
The pebble was pierced through as it flew with a sharp sound.
“Is the spirit still angry?”
“I think so.”
The expedition dwarves frowned.
The underground mines were filled with all sorts of dangers because they were deep and dark. An angry spirit was also one of those dangers.
Though they didn’t stubbornly chase after you like monsters made of flesh and bones, hungry for blood, spirits were more dangerous in some ways.
There was no way to fight them.
“Was it a waste to shoot the sling?”
“Weak spirits usually back down.”
The dwarves clicked their tongues. It was a mistake to act rashly while coming down, searching for the vein.
Whether if it was coiled up somewhere in a puddle inside the mine or not, the quicksilver spirit appeared and started attacking the dwarves.
If it was a weak spirit, it would have been terrified and ran away after being hit a few times, but the quicksilver spirit was considerably strong and fierce. It blocked the way, its fighting spirit ablaze.
The dwarves couldn’t go back up the same way under these circumstances.
The dwarves were looking for another way while holding their ground, but it wasn’t easy, surprisingly.
“The ones above should be moving soon, so isn’t it unnecessary to hurry?”
“Yes. We’ll go down carefully.”
It was best to call wizards to deal with spirits. The party above probably didn’t have wizards, but since the communication was cut off, they would have come down with the appropriate preparations.
“There are wizards in His Excellency’s fiefdom, so maybe they came together with them?”
“Would the dwarves above have done something like that if they weren’t crazy?”
“Wouldn’t it be safer though Your Highness?”
“Safer, what. . . A dwarf’s pride is at stake. They wouldn’t bring wizards with them.”
The dwarves were sitting and chattering in a safe corner of the cave. Schweibeck’s expression was the only stiff one among them.
“Uncle. Is there something wrong?”
Holgretz could not understand his uncle’s reaction. Of course, they were blocked at the moment, but incidents like this happened often during exploration.
There were still enough supplies left, and the rescue team from above would be coming soon, so all they had to do was hold on calmly.
“My instinct. . . is strange.”
“Your instinct?”
“Yes, my instinct.”
Even if they weren’t wizards, dwarves who stepped foot in a mine for a long time and submitted their body to its mysteries were bound to have a keen sense for danger.
Schweibeck had an instinct similar to magic.
“Is that quicksilver spirit chasing after us?”
“I don’t think so. . . Hmm. In any case, we shouldn’t let our guard down. Don’t leave behind too many traces.It’s not like only spirits live in this cave.”
“If there is a spirit, aren’t there any other monsters?”
If there was a violent spirit like that, other monsters couldn’t even set foot nearby. Everyone knew that much.
However, Schweibeck did not back down. The other dwarves grumbled as if they couldn’t help it.
“Drop it, Holgretz. When Schweibeck-nim gets stubborn like this, he absolutely does not back down.”
“He’s as stubborn as his age.”
The dwarves didn’t understand, honestly, but they didn’t refuse Schweibeck’s orders. Because the captain’s orders were absolute.
And that was fortunate.
??????. . .
‘????’?? ???????!’
The dwarves, on lookout, were shocked.
Goblins appeared with torches in the passageway below.
For goblins to settle in while there’s a spirit here. It was beyond common sense.
The goblins of the mines were quite well-equipped, thanks to the place they settled in. They even had crude silver necklaces around their necks.
“Silver! There’s a silver vein here!”
If there were humans, they would have said ‘??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ????’, but there were only dwarves here.
“Looks like it was definitely silver! Good!”
“Really?!”
Rather than the fact that they had to fight the goblins, the dwarves rejoiced over the fact that the goblins were next to a vein.
Wasn’t it proof that the veins inside here were rich?
????. . .
While the dwarves rejoiced ignorantly like that, the goblins carefully approached the spirit.
And they threw one of the goblins forward. That goblin was tied up and struggling.
“?!”
????!
The quicksilver stretched out its milky white body to swallow the goblin whole. The liquid mass turned red and slowly sank back down, satisfied.
????! ???!
The goblins cheered in delight. Schweibeck, who came late, frowned at that sight.
The goblins here were in a symbiotic relationship with the quicksilver spirit.
‘????? ???? ??????!’
Depending on the region and history, the scale and level of goblins varied wildly. The large, old tribes often schemed surprisingly.
Judging by the fact that they were maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the quicksilver spirit, they weren’t fools.
?????!
The quicksilver spirit suddenly raised its pointed end and pointed at a direction. It was in the direction where the dwarf expedition team was hiding. The goblins started running, screaming.
“How dare that damn spirit?!”
“Retreat!”
The dwarves retreated to the path they prepared in advance while aiming their slingshots. Though they were equipped well, the goblins weren’t sturdy enough to withstand the powerful slingshots of the dwarves.
???!
The goblins, running one step after the other, fell down on their buttocks one after the other as the goblins chasing from behind stopped.
“Come if you dare, you fools!”
The dwarves were not scared at all, even though their position was revealed. They already understood the layout of the complicated tunnels in this area like spiderwebs.
Even if the goblins came running, they were confident that they could handle them in these narrow passages.
???? ??!
???? ??!
Whether the goblins knew that too, they started to back off. Seeing them running away so cleanly, the dwarves were curious.
“Why are you giving up so easily?”
“What is it?”
“. . .Those guys are erasing the marks!!”
The dwarves looked ahead with shocked expressions. The goblins who discovered the marks that they left on their path were erasing them.
“They’re not just erasing them!”
“What?”
“They’re making new ones!”
“!!!”
It was surprising enough to erase the marks after figuring them out, but to make new fake marks on top of that.
They couldn’t believe it.
They had to leave that mark no matter what. Wouldn’t the rescue team come looking for them after seeing that?
And if they changed the marks like that. . .
“How do those. . .those guys know about our marks? The rescue team will notice something strange.”
“No.”
Schweibeck shook his head heavily. The marks left behind by the goblins looked quite plausible when he glanced at them.
They must have had a chance to learn about the dwarven marks before or after they came in. Leaving it alone and using it like this was quite a clever move.
????!
????!
The goblins started laughing smugly. It was a burst of laughter because they thought they had won easily without having to fight the fierce dwarves.
??????
“Did they really go this way?”
“Yes!”
“. . .??”
Johan thought for a moment.
Was it the dwarves’ wisdom that he didn’t know about?
‘?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????’
No matter how much he thought about it, he only felt an eerie vibe inside. The spirits that dwelled within Johan were also stirring, sensing the enemies lurking within.
It felt more like monsters were in ambush rather than a vein.
‘???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?????????’
“There seems to be monsters inside. Let’s prepare to fight.”
“Yes!”
“???”
Unlike Johan’s subordinates, the dwarves couldn’t accept it.
“Are there monsters inside? Can you see them?”
“No, I can’t see them.”
“Then how did you judge that?”
“. . .This wizard looked into the future with his fire divination.”
“?!”
Johan, who got tired of explaining, grabbed Caenerna’s shoulder and spoke. It was unexpectedly hard to explain his instincts and the stirring of spirits.
“You’re amazing, wizard-nim!!”
“. . .It’s nothing.”
Caenerna glared at Johan. Wizards didn’t like being complimented for something they didn’t do.
“Tsk.”
Caenerna clicked her tongue as if she was displeased and threw light forward. The firefly-like spirits bounced around and lit up the path ahead.
-???!
At that, the goblins, who were in ambush, screamed in surprise at the light.
“It’s goblins.”
“They’re hiding behind a rock. Be careful!”
The dwarves pulled out their slingshots and shouted while aiming at the goblins hiding behind the rock. Johan nodded and grabbed the bedrock next to him.
“. . .?”
The dwarves and goblins who were there had the experience of having their lifelong common sense overturned that day.
So the rock embedded in that wall could actually be peeled off!
????!
The goblins behind the rock were sent flying along with the explosion. Johan’s subordinates ran forward with their shields up, as if it was nothing surprising.
The goblins were slaughtered after a brief clash. Actually, half of them had already collapsed because of the rock that flew in.
“It’s over!”
“Something’s. . . strange, Your Excellency.”
“Yes, the vein doesn’t seem to be here.”
Even after looking around, it was a terrain suitable for hiding, but not a terrain that looked like there could be a vein. The dwarves mumbled with confused expressions.
If there were originally goblins in a place like this, they should have left a mark on the sign.
Could the previous exploration team have missed that?
“And this place is weird too. It’s not a place where a vein would be. I may have less experience than Schweibeck-nim, but I don’t think he would have guided the party in this direction.”
“What could he have meant?”
“But even so. . .”
Johan spoke thoughtlessly as he listened to the dwarves’ opinions.
“Do you think the goblins changed the signs?”
“Hahahahahaha! . . .Oh, I’m sorry. Was that not a joke?”
The dwarves burst into laughter at the count’s joke, but they quickly straightened their expressions after seeing his serious face.
“No. . . Couldn’t they have changed them?”
“How would the goblins know and change our marks?”
“Wouldn’t it be possible if the goblins were smart? I heard that goblins get cunning if they stay in one place for a long time.”
“Even if they get cunning, there’s a limit. How would they know our marks, Your Excellency? You know our marks well. . .”
The dwarf who was about to speak, stopped. Thinking about it, Johan was more familiar with the dwarves’ marks. He seemed like an idiot showing off in front of them.
“. . .You do know though. . .”
“Is what I said so absurd? Caenerna?”
“It’s not impossible, but it’s not common either.”
Even Caenerna was skeptical of Johan’s opinion. It was because goblins that cunning were hard to find.
“Jyanina. Can you find any traces of the goblins nearby?”
“Me?”
Jyanina asked in a small voice once again. Johan was slightly annoyed, but he endured it and spoke.
“Yes. It’s something that only you can do. In this dark, unfamiliar place, who else could find traces of monsters?”
As Johan spoke, he discovered a mark carved at the bottom of a nearby wall. It was a little lower than a dwarf’s height, and it looked like the mark that was made by goblins passing by and bumping into it.
“. . .Please!”
‘??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????’
Caenerna wondered curiously.