Chapter 182: The Cliff's Collapse
Chapter 182: The Cliff's Collapse
Ah!
You're starting already? I still have questions!
Red's actions and words were lightning-fast, leaving Lindsey momentarily stunned.
But in that instant, the Meteor Spear had already descended from the sky, piercing through the Stone Puppet's hands upon contact.
A second later, the Vine Elder below would have surely died.
And in that brief moment, only Lindsey was able to react.
Slap!
In a split second, Lindsey caught the Meteor Spear thrown by Red and simultaneously slammed his fist into the ground.
Boom!
This strike appeared to be with his bare hands.
However, the Flail in his equipment was still in effect, so the actual power unleashed far exceeded expectations. At the same time, the power of the Ice and Fire Emblem took effect, directly shattering the Stone Puppet's hands.
Dazed by the impact, the Vine Elder was pulled back by Lindsey.
"Lindsey?"
Red was perplexed by Lindsey's action of stopping her from killing the enemy:
"Why did you save him? A creature that surrenders to power, betrays in times of crisis, and acts so sneakily."
On Lindsey's map, the Vine Elder was marked as a Neutral Unit.
If they were alone, Lindsey could have explained it this way, but with an outsider present, he changed his explanation:
"Red, your goal is to kill the Dragon Beast, right?"
The girl answered without hesitation:
"Of course!"
Lindsey continued, persuading her through their conversation:
"Then you should also understand that no matter what it did before, its stance is ultimately opposed to the Dragon Beast. Even to achieve our goals, we can't just kill it so easily."
Red crossed her arms, turning away from Lindsey.
"Hmph! I don't believe a word this creature says!"
Red's thoughts were simple.
The Vine Elder before them, who had once served the Dragon Beast that imprisoned him, later became fickle and disloyal, seeking survival. She had no desire to converse with such a creature!
However, Red accepted Lindsey's persuasion and abandoned the idea of killing the Vine Elder immediately.
Lindsey turned his attention to the Vine Elder in his grasp and the motionless Stone Puppet beside him.
"You all saw it too, I..."
Rumble!
Just then, Lindsey felt the ground beneath his feet give way.
Earlier, the Vine Elder had fled to the cliff, and they were now standing on the edge.
After the Stone Puppet's rescue attempt, the ground shook, and with the actions of Lindsey and Red, the cliff's edge finally gave way, starting to collapse.
"Ah?"
"Hmm!"
Everyone reacted differently.
Lindsey opened his bag and took out items from within.
Red moved towards Lindsey, clearly intending to push him back to safety first.
But the sudden downward slide of the earth and stones made it difficult to relay, and halfway through their actions, they still fell into the deep valley below the cliff.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
A few seconds later, strange sounds echoed from the cliff below.
Falling from the collapsing earth and stones, they plummeted down the cliff—a situation that could have been deadly.
But Lindsey, using his resource conversion ability, thrust a block of earth horizontally into the cliff, barely forming a foothold.
Then, Lindsey held the Vine Elder with one hand and Red with the other.
The three of them came to a halt in this perilous position between the cliff's sheer walls.
"Human, what did you do?"
They were all a bit shaken, but the Vine Elder had a keen perception of the earth. It was certain that Lindsey's abilities had nothing to do with the earth, yet they somehow altered the terrain, saving them.
It couldn't comprehend this phenomenon and asked, unable to hold back:
"What did your skill do to the earth?"
Meanwhile, more strange sounds came from the cliff below.
Three people looked down and saw that it was the rock puppet that had just fallen. At this moment, it was climbing up again.
However, its state was a bit peculiar. Its lower half merged with the earth and stones due to its ability, while its upper half was exposed on the cliff face.
As for the rock puppet, its upper half was exposed, and the sound it made while rubbing against the mountain rocks was audible.
Lindsey pondered.
Previously, the rock puppet had demonstrated its ability to fully infiltrate and move within the earth and stones.
At this moment, it moved in a way that created this sound.
Perhaps it was to remind Lindsey that it was approaching, ensuring that this contact wouldn't lead to further misunderstandings.
Before long, the rock puppet 'swam' up in this manner.
As Lindsey had anticipated.
It didn't launch an attack but seemed to acknowledge a certain reality. With a solemn expression, it spoke to the two humans:
"Humans, you're right. We have a common enemy."
"To resolve the crisis facing the world, we shouldn't be fighting here."
It clearly expressed goodwill, and the rock puppet turned to look at the Vine Elder:
"Zongsu, bring them to me."
"..."
The Vine Elder was obviously reluctant, but the voice from the rock puppet continued:
"I understand your caution and your attitude of protecting me."
"But look, the misunderstanding has already been born."
"Now, what we have left is scarce. The advancement of that evil beast is almost within reach. At this moment, every bit of hope must be firmly grasped."
The Vine Elder couldn't refuse the voice emanating from the rock puppet.
It nodded slightly, indicating its acceptance of the command:
"Humans, follow me."
"..."
With the help of the rock puppet, descending from the cliff became much easier.
During this time, Lindsey opened the map.
This purely instrumental entity, as expected, wasn't displayed on the map. It served as a reminder to Lindsey that he couldn't entirely rely on the map's reconnaissance function.
Otherwise, one day in the future.
He might encounter such a situation and make a mistake because of it.
After some time, with the help of the rock puppet, they directly reached the bottom of the canyon.
The subsequent journey was somewhat unexpected but also reasonable.
The person behind the Vine Elder was far from their current location.
For an entire day, they shuttled between the canyons and even entered some underground tunnels with the help of the rock puppet.
Even so, it was only until the next morning.
They finally found an inconspicuous cave hidden at the bottom of a canyon.
"This is the place."
The Vine Elder introduced himself and took the lead, while Lindsey and Red followed with lit torches.
The cave hidden at the bottom of the canyon was just an entrance. There was a very deep tunnel leading further down.
Without mentioning its length, let's just say the depth of their descent.
After walking down for over twenty meters, the narrow passage ahead suddenly opened up into a hidden underground stone chamber.
This was a peculiar being composed of rocks, resembling a rock puppet but with joints that emitted a radiant glow.
Upon seeing Lindsey's arrival, it seemed to want to stand up.
However, a sense of weakness enveloped its body, and it could only move slightly before giving up in resignation.
In the end, it could only sit in its original spot and greeted Lindsey:
"Humans sheltered by mountains, I'm glad to meet you."
"Between us, there might be some unpleasant issues, but I believe that sincerity and genuine intentions can resolve them."
(End of Chapter)
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