Chapter 90: Elm Mine

Chapter 90: Elm Mine

It was deep autumn, and as the group gradually headed southwest towards Flashgold Town, the scenery on both sides began to change.

The vast fields of half-harvested wheat transformed into undulating hills.

The trees on the hills had turned yellow, creating a beautiful golden landscape under the sun's rays.

Since everyone was riding horses, it took about an hour for the official investigation team, led by Hamilton, to reach the halfway point of a hill.

This was the main entrance to the Elm Gold Mine.

A middle-aged man dressed as a gold mine overseer, accompanied by several miners in rough half-length cloth coats and knee-length shorts, was already waiting at the mine entrance.

Rain looked around and saw that behind the mine entrance, there was a large area filled with wooden huts, apparently the residences of the miners. Faint cries could be heard, likely from the families of the miners who had lost their loved ones.

The dark mine entrance was surrounded by a dozen stone carts, and a one-meter-wide iron track extended into the mine.

A two-meter-high wooden fence made of beech wood enclosed the entire mine entrance and living area, providing a sturdy barrier.

Captain Velen stepped forward and asked a few questions. The miners, with their disheveled hair, indeed had no idea what was happening inside. They only mentioned hearing strange collision sounds followed by chilling screams.

When they gathered a group of people and rushed over, they found only traces of blood.

After several similar incidents, they dared not investigate further.

Especially after the bounty hunters who came to help also disappeared without a trace, the miners were too afraid to enter the mine.

Clearly, these answers were of little help to the group's goal of understanding what had transpired within the mine.

Soon, Hamilton, who had been listening, made a decision. They needed to directly investigate the mine.

Three bounty hunters took the lead, followed closely by several Night Watchmen, including Rain and Velen. Schmidt, Endry, and Hamilton positioned themselves in the middle of the group, with the remaining seven or eight elite Night Watchmen bringing up the rear.

The entire team formed a long line and slowly advanced into the depths of the mine.

It wasn't that they didn't want to adopt a denser formation, but the mine tunnel's unique terrain dictated their strategy.

The entrance tunnel was relatively spacious, and after years of excavation, it could accommodate three to four people walking side by side. Oil lamps hung on both sides of the wall, providing clear illumination, allowing for a faster pace.

However, as they ventured deeper, especially after passing a fork in the tunnel, the mine tunnel gradually narrowed. Many of the wall-mounted oil lamps were damaged, significantly reducing visibility within the mine.

"The fork we just passed leads to the old mine pit, which was almost depleted of gold several decades ago."

"The new tunnel we're in now was dug about twenty years ago. Although the gold reserves are not as abundant as the old pit, they are still considered moderate."

The mine overseer explained as they walked.

"The new pit is where the problem lies."

As they went deeper, almost none of the wall-mounted oil lamps were lit.

At this point, everyone had to rely on their own torches for light.

The group's vigilance heightened to its maximum.

"Why aren't these oil lamps lit? Did they run out of oil?" One of the bounty hunters muttered.

"These oil lamps can only last for a couple of days without refilling. It's been some time since they were last filled..." The overseer tried to explain.

But Rain felt something was amiss.

As he ventured deeper into the mine, his Danger Sense, having reached Level 2, kept alerting him of potential danger hidden within the mine tunnel's depths. This made Rain tense up, ready to dodge or attack at any moment.

"Something's not right. Look at these oil lamps; it's as if something tore them off the wall." At that moment, the leading bounty hunter held up his torch, illuminating one side of the wall. There were several clear scratches on the wall, seemingly made by some beast's sharp claws.

As everyone's attention focused on the indicated direction, a blood-filled mouth suddenly lunged from the intersection of the mine tunnel floor and wall, biting towards a Night Watchman.

"Watch out!" Rain, always on high alert, immediately shouted.

However, his position was behind the Night Watchman, so he couldn't possibly block the attack in time.

But Rain reacted swiftly, lashing out with a kick that narrowly missed the biting mouth!

The next second, everyone cried out in surprise, realizing what had happened.

In the flickering torchlight, one of the bounty hunters, his face contorted in horror, shouted, "There's a Crystal Lizard here!"

"There's a Crystal Lizard here!"

Rain, with his Dark Vision, could clearly see the attacker's appearance.

The Crystal Lizard, a three to four-meter-long monster with a stone-textured skin, had gone unnoticed by 'Cookie' just moments ago.

But now, it lashed out with its tail, hitting a Night Watchman in the back.

A loud 'crack' was heard as the Night Watchman was sent flying, slamming into the mine wall. His spine seemed to have suffered a severe blow, and he writhed in pain on the spot.

Two bounty hunters nearby reacted immediately, aiming their hand-and-a-half swords at the Crystal Lizard and stabbing it several times.

"Ding! Ding!"

Sparks flew, but to little effect.

The Crystal Lizard's stone-textured back defense seemed as sturdy as an equally thick stone, rendering the bounty hunters' attacks almost useless.

"Be careful! The Crystal Lizard's strongest defense is its back. Attack its eyes or belly instead."

An aged voice from the middle of the group sounded like that of the renowned bard, Endri, offering a warning.

However, knowing and doing are two different things.

At this moment, the one who could act on this advice was Hamilton, the official Knight positioned in the center of the group.

Rain was also doubtful, as the difficulty of stabbing the eyes with a two-handed greatsword and poking the belly with a single-handed sword were not comparable.

Within the dim and narrow mine tunnel, the Crystal Lizard's movement speed was not slow, though not as fast as a cheetah, but compared to a wild boar, it was a close match.

Stabbing its walnut-sized eyes with the longsword in hand was no easy task.

As for the belly, it was even more challenging.

The Crystal Lizard needed to be flipped over entirely.

Despite its short body length, its muscles were taut, and its weight was substantial. Rain estimated its weight to be no less than six to seven hundred pounds.

So, while they knew their opponent's identity and weaknesses, the three Bounty Hunters at the forefront were momentarily at a loss against the Crystal Lizard, allowing it to scratch two Elite Night Watch members.

The Night Watch members immediately drew their longswords, aiming at the Crystal Lizard.

Seeing that its ambush had failed, and with no opportunity to exploit, the Crystal Lizard swiftly turned 180 degrees and whipped its tail, fleeing deeper into the mine.

"Chase it!"

"Don't let it escape!"

If the Crystal Lizard managed to flee, finding it again would be extremely difficult, given its exceptional hiding ability.

Rain, at the forefront of the group, took a leap forward and slid his greatsword under the Crystal Lizard, then lifted it with both hands, surprisingly flipping the six to seven hundred-pound lizard into the air.

Rain's strength was skillfully controlled, turning the Crystal Lizard's body 90 degrees, exposing its pale grey belly to Rain.

If someone were to see the Crystal Lizard's front, they would notice a rare glimpse of panic in its walnut-sized eyes.

Its powerful limbs flailed helplessly in mid-air.

"Swoosh!"

A silver arc flashed, and the Crystal Lizard's relatively soft belly was sliced open, revealing a narrow, meter-long gash.

A pale green, fluorescent blood gushed out! The Crystal Lizard thudded heavily to the ground, instantly forming a large puddle of pale green, fluorescent blood, writhing a few times before becoming still.

This scene instantly impressed the three Bounty Hunters, who couldn't help but look at Rain with newfound respect.

Initially, when they entered the mine, they had assumed that Rain, with his youthful appearance, was a new Night Watch recruit, inexperienced and unaware of many things. Therefore, the three had not exchanged a single word with him.

But a master reveals their skill with a single move!

Even if they had tried to flip the six to seven hundred-pound Crystal Lizard with their longswords, they couldn't have done it, not even with a preparatory power surge, let alone with the swiftness Rain had displayed.

It was evident that the Night Watch member before them was no novice but a highly skilled and powerful individual.

At this moment, Hamilton, Endri, and Schmidt finally made their way from the center to the front of the group.

Hamilton, witnessing Rain's successful takedown of the Crystal Lizard, patted Rain's shoulder and said, "Well done!"

Schmidt, after appraising Rain, smiled and said to Hamilton, "Lord Hamilton, can we conclude this investigation? It seems the culprit behind the Elim Mine incident has been found and defeated by your subordinate!"

"I can also return to the County City soon and deliver the good news to the Earl and Baron!"

Endri, the bard, holding his wooden staff, approached the Crystal Lizard and squatted down to examine it closely. "So it's indeed the rare Crystal Lizard. No wonder the affected miners mostly didn't have a chance to cry out before meeting their demise."

"They have a strong sense of territory, and usually, only one will inhabit a mine."

"However, sightings of these creatures are becoming rarer. This Crystal Lizard can fetch a good price. Lord Hamilton, its blood has some use for me. May I purchase some?"

Hamilton glanced at Rain, who showed no objection, and smiled, "Of course, Master Endri. But as Master Schmidt said, let's exit the mine first."

"Haha, of course!" Endri laughed.

Thus, the four Elite Night Watch members carried the Crystal Lizard at the front, while Hamilton and the other two remained in the center, with Rain being closely surrounded by the three Bounty Hunters.

The group retraced their steps through the winding mine tunnel, their spirits high due to the successful mission.

Moreover, according to the bard Endri, the Crystal Lizard was valuable, and both the Elite Night Watch members and the Bounty Hunters would receive substantial rewards or compensation for this mission.

Although two Elite Night Watch members were injured, it was still significantly less than the anticipated potential losses.

After all, Lord Hamilton had stated before their departure that this was a mysterious incident.

The Elite Night Watch members were mentally prepared for the challenges of a mysterious incident.

Unnoticed by anyone, a pair of fist-sized yellow eyes suddenly opened on the mine tunnel wall, silently observing Rain and his group as they passed by.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end