The cave entrance was located at the base of the mountain, shaped like a funnel—wide on the outside and narrow on the inside. The cave walls were extremely smooth, suggesting it might have once been the entrance to an underground river, though it had unfortunately gone dry with the passing of time.
Max controlled the skeletons to form a phalanx and walked ahead to scout the way, while the others trailed slowly behind. Soon, everyone adjusted to the limited visibility within the passage.
The area inside the passage was much larger than the Den of Evil, and the paths were more complex, filled with jagged rocks, numerous forks, and the sound of rushing water echoing from within.
Leo was at a bit of a loss, unsure of how long they would have to crawl and scramble through this intricate limestone cavern before finding the exit.
"Why is no one moving? If no one knows the route, let me lead the way." Seeing Leo hesitate before five or six branching paths, Thales stepped forward with confidence.
Leo scanned the group; seeing that no one had any objections, he nodded in agreement. He watched as Thales took out an arrow, held the fletching, and stood the arrowhead upright on the ground. Then, she let go. The arrow fell over, with the feathered end pointing toward the rightmost cave entrance.
Without a word, Thales walked directly into that tunnel. Shika, having a superstitious faith in Thales, followed right behind her.
No way, the legendary "Go-With-The-Flow" navigation method! The remaining members looked at each other in dismay, unsure whether to follow.
Leo took out his axe and pretended to hack a mark into the corner of the cave: "Forget it, there aren't any other options right now. I have a good sense of direction, so I'll be responsible for making markers along the way."
The further Leo walked, the stranger it became. Along the way, they encountered many Fallen Rogue and Carver camps, but they were all mysteriously abandoned.
Throughout the journey, they only met some undead and wild beasts; even the most common Carvers had vanished without a trace.
It had been the same back in the Stony Field—they mostly encountered beasts, Moon Clan, and undead, but specifically no Fallen Rogues or Carvers. Now the situation was identical here. Could it be they had all followed Bishibosh's lead, gathering together to prepare an ambush for him?
Leo had Buckle release his Dire Wolves and Ravens to guard the front and rear respectively, making this journey a nerve-wracking one.
"Huh, what's this? I've never seen a glowing altar like this before." Thales's sudden exclamation gave the jittery Leo a fright.
This eerie environment was too taxing on the nerves; the appearance of something new was a welcome distraction. Taking two steps at a time, he caught up to Thales, who was leading the way.
In the middle of a fork, three glowing skulls were set upon a stalactite pillar, with holy fire still burning atop them. Oh, it's just a shrine from the game, what's the big deal?
> [Beep beep beep! World Power Convergence Point discovered: Fire Shrine.]
>
"Wait, don't touch that!" Seeing Thales preparing to reach out and touch the shrine, Leo panicked and lunged forward. In the game, a Fire Shrine would fire a ring of fireballs upon activation, causing a violent explosion that could instantly shave off half one's health. How could his squad be so unlucky to have the first shrine they encountered be this kind?
Leo was like a hero saving a goal, using his face to block the ball. The two of them rolled twice on the ground, clinging to each other. Blood sprayed directly from Leo's nose. Man, those two "metal footballs" are really hard.
"Everyone, don't touch it!" Leo scrambled up, blocking the shrine like a mother hen protecting her chicks. "Get back, this thing will explode with massive force."
Thales stood up with a look of lingering reluctance, as if Leo's "hit and run" had caused her to miss out on a big advantage.
Continuing the "Go-With-The-Flow" scouting, Thales missed her mark this time; the arrow fletching pointed toward a nearby wall.
"Hahaha, this is killing me! What now, are we going to dig a hole to move forward?" Having followed this way the whole time, Max was full of complaints, but pressured by her combat prowess, he hadn't dared to speak up until now. Seeing Thales fail, he laughed happily.
"What do you know? My tribeswomen call me the Goddess of Luck. There's only one possibility when the fletching points here," Thales said with a straight face, as if everything was under her control. "There's definitely a secret room here, and there's treasure inside. Majesty, please have a look."
Though she thought this woman was a freak for constantly pestering her brother, Majesty could distinguish between priorities in serious matters and began searching the surroundings.
Before long, Majesty discovered a certain torch on the wall that could be rotated. The stone wall pointed to by the arrow fletching emitted a mechanical clacking sound and slowly rose, allowing a chilling blast of air to escape and revealing a flight of stairs heading downward.
Thales shot Max a smug look, lifted her long legs, and walked inside. The others, fearing she might encounter danger, hurriedly followed.
The scene below was completely different from above. The cave wasn't very large—a few hundred square meters—and was encased in transparent ice with massive icicles everywhere. The glow from everyone's equipment reflected off the ice, refracted into a shimmering, ethereal light that made the entire cave look like a fairyland. Unfortunately, a bizarre altar standing in the middle ruined the aesthetic.
No matter how beautiful the scenery, it couldn't enter the eyes of vulgar men. Leo and Max had already run over to a pile of large chests, incessantly rummaging through the gold coins inside: "Boss, it's really here! This woman is a rich lady blessed by the heavens! Why don't you just give in to her? Then your brother here can follow you and enjoy the good life."
Leo actually felt a bit tempted. Marrying a rich beauty like this would save him thirty years of struggle.
Seeing the two of them acting so pathetic, Majesty gave a cold snort and glared at them fiercely.
Ignoring her, the two excitedly tallied the loot: besides a Perfect Sapphire, there were 500,000 gold coins.
"What kind of thing is this altar?" Buckle was more practical, and his focus was more grounded.
Seeing that those who hadn't gone to the Den of Evil together were all curious, Gerdie patiently explained to them. After hearing it, the group's faces filled with bitterness and hatred as they tore the altar to pieces.
If only we could find "loopholes" like this every day. Leo reluctantly left the secret room.
Now Max was truly impressed, spending the rest of the way flattering Thales in every way possible. It looked like he was not only willing to sell out his brother for glory but also willing to sell out his own dignity.
Under Thales's heaven-defying luck, the group quickly found the exit to the Underground Passage.
Unfortunately, their luck turned; on the flat ground below the exit, there were many strange beasts. They had a pair of long horns and heads somewhat like bulls, with terrifyingly long tongues lolling out of blood-filled maws lined with sharp teeth. Their front claws were thicker than their hind ones, and the sharp talons on them proved they were not vegetarians. They moved on all fours somewhat like gorillas.
> [Brute: Level 37.]
>
He hadn't expected this place to be so heavily defended. A large pack of Brutes stood guard here. Although there were no Champion types, this kind of monster possessed long-range strike capabilities.
The group quickly finished applying their buffs and hid around a corner. Leo signaled Max to have his skeletons lure the monsters. The poor skeleton had barely walked out a short distance when a wave of lightning bolts flew out; the skeleton was vaporized instantly, with the excess lightning bolts striking the ground.
Leo felt as if someone was tickling the soles of his feet—a tingly, numb sensation. If he were to go out and take a direct hit, he would surely be killed without even a speck of dust remaining.
Three skeletons in a row were "passed on" by the volley of lightning bolts. The Skeleton Warriors and Clay Golem lacked the intelligence for the task, Buckle's summons were raised as pets, he didn't dare let Majesty's Shadow Warrior die again, and Thales's Decoy could only perform simple actions.
Before he could figure out how to lure them, Thales had already swaggered out. With a flick of her hand, she fired a Multiple Shot. The fan-shaped spray of arrows had no accuracy to speak of, but her goal was achieved. The monsters swarmed forward in a frenzy. Thales immediately flashed back and threw a flirtatious wink at Leo to claim credit.
Damn it, you call that luring? You're poking a hornet's nest!