Chapter 90: The Elym Mine Shaft
Chapter 90: The Elym Mine Shaft
It was deep autumn, and as the group gradually headed southwest of Shiny Gold Town, the scenery on both sides began to change.
The once vast fields of half-harvested wheat had transformed into undulating hills.
The hills were covered with forests, their leaves turning yellow under the sun's glow, creating a beautiful golden landscape.
Since everyone was riding horses, it took about an hour for the official investigation team led by Sir Hamilton to reach the halfway point of a hill.
This was the main entrance to the Elim Gold Mine.
At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a gold mine supervisor, accompanied by several miners wearing coarse half-length jackets and knee-length shorts, was already waiting at the mine shaft 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 family members of the miners who had lost their loved ones, mourning their loss.
At this moment, Sir Hamilton, the formal knight trapped in the center of the group, was one of the few who could maintain his composure.
...
A loud 'crack' was heard, and the night watchman was knocked away, slamming into the mine shaft wall. It seemed like his spine had suffered a severe blow, causing him to roll around in agony on the spot.
After a moment of chaos, everyone began to react, drawing their longswords and aiming at the crystal lizard.
As Rain ventured deeper into the mine shaft, his level 2 danger sense kept alerting him, indicating that something dangerous was lurking in the depths of the tunnel. This feeling became increasingly intense.
It wasn't that they didn't want to adopt a more compact safety formation; it was due to the unique terrain of the mine shaft.
In the flickering light, a bounty hunter exclaimed in horror, "It's a crystal lizard!"
According to the wandering minstrel Endry, crystal lizards were worth a fortune. Both the elite night watchmen and the bounty hunters could expect substantial rewards or compensation for this mission.
"Ding! Ding!"
"The problem is with the new mine shaft."
It was clear that the young night watchman in front of them was no novice but an extremely skilled expert.
But when a master makes a move, you know the truth!
"Swish!"
"Haha, of course!" Endry laughed.
The monster known as the crystal lizard was three to four meters long, with a thick, mineral-like skin covering its body. When it lay on the ground at the junction of the gold mine tunnel, it was difficult to distinguish it from the surroundings, even for someone like Cookie, who had just passed by.
"Chase it!"
However, the bounty hunter was positioned right behind the night watchman, so it was natural that he couldn't block the attack in time.
The tunnel at the entrance of the gold mine was relatively spacious, having been excavated for so many years. The entrance tunnel was wide enough for three to four people to walk side by side, and oil lamps hung on both sides of the walls, providing clear illumination for faster movement.
But Rain reacted swiftly, kicking the night watchman who had been attacked by the crystal lizard.
"Why aren't the oil lamps lit here? Did they run out of oil?" muttered the bounty hunter at the front of the group.
This kick had narrowly missed, allowing the night watchman to avoid being bitten by the huge mouth of the crystal lizard by a hair's breadth. The next second, everyone cried out in surprise, finally realizing what had happened.
At this moment, two bounty hunters reacted immediately, drawing their half-swords and stabbing at the crystal lizard.
"Be careful! The crystal lizard's back is its strongest defense. Attack its eyes or abdomen."
Although Rain had kicked his companion, the night watchman, the crystal lizard lashed out with its long tail, striking the night watchman's lower back.
Sparks flew, but to no avail. The crystal lizard's back was covered with a layer of mineral-like skin, making its defense comparable to that of an equally thick piece of rock. The bounty hunter's attacks seemed like mere tickles to the lizard.
Finally, Sir Hamilton, Endry, and Schmidt managed to squeeze through the crowd and reach the front of the group.
If someone could see the crystal lizard's face at this moment, they would notice a rare look of panic in its walnut-sized eyes.
Sir Hamilton glanced at Rain and, seeing no objection, smiled and said, "Of course, Sir Endry. But as Sir Schmidt said, perhaps we should exit the mine shaft first."
The wandering minstrel Endry gripped his wooden staff and approached the crystal lizard, crouching down to examine it closely. "It's indeed the extremely rare crystal lizard. No wonder most of the affected miners didn't even have a chance to cry out before they were killed."
So, although they knew who their opponent was and its weakness, they still had to be cautious.
"However, it's rare to see this creature nowadays. This crystal lizard can fetch a very good price. Sir Hamilton, the crystal lizard's blood is of some use to me. May I purchase some?"
At this moment, the crystal lizard began to howl.
An aged voice came from the group, apparently from the legendary wandering minstrel Endry, offering a reminder.
At this point, the only source of light was the torches held by each person.
"There's a crystal lizard here!"
This caused Rain to tense up, ready to dodge or attack at any moment.
Rain, possessing dark vision, could clearly see the attacker.
The entire group formed a long line, slowly advancing deeper into the mine shaft.
"Don't let it escape!"
If the crystal lizard escaped, it would be extremely difficult to find it again due to its camouflage abilities.
"Something's not right. Look at this oil lamp. It seems like something grabbed it directly from the wall and smashed it." At this moment, the bounty hunter at the front seemed to have noticed something.
When Sir Hamilton saw Rain slay the crystal lizard, he couldn't help but smile and pat Rain on the shoulder, saying, "Well done!"
As for the abdomen, that would be even more difficult.
Although two Night Watchmen Elites were injured, it was still much less than the expected potential losses.
When they first entered the mine shaft, they thought that Rain's young and inexperienced face meant he was a new Night Watchman who didn't know much. As a result, the three of them had no desire to chat and barely spoke to Rain throughout the mission.
Soon, the observing Sir Hamilton made a decision to enter the mine shaft for a direct investigation.
"I can also return to the City Capital as soon as possible to inform the Count and the Baron of this good news!"
The dark entrance of the mine shaft was surrounded by a dozen ore carts, and a one-meter-wide iron track extended into the shaft.
After Captain Valen asked a few simple questions, several disheveled miners confirmed that they didn't know what was happening inside. They only heard strange collision sounds followed by chilling screams.
After that, they dared not investigate the situation when similar incidents occurred repeatedly.
"Crystal Lizards usually lie in ambush and then launch surprise attacks on their prey. They prefer to inhabit human mine shafts like this."
A silver arc flashed! Instantly, a narrow slit over a meter long appeared on the relatively soft belly of the Crystal Lizard.
Schmidt appraised Rain up and down, then smiled and said to Sir Hamilton, "Sir Hamilton, can we end this investigation trip? It seems that the culprit of the Elim Mine has been found and successfully killed by your men!"
Even if they tried to flip the 600-700 pound Crystal Lizard, they couldn't do it, even with prior preparation. It was even more impossible for Rain to do it so swiftly and naturally.
The Crystal Lizard needed to be flipped completely.
Obviously, these answers were of little help to the group's desire to investigate what had happened inside the mine shaft.
"Careful!" Rain, being vigilant, reacted immediately and shouted.
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"The new tunnel we're walking through was dug about twenty years ago. Although the gold mine reserves are not as rich as the old mine shaft, it's still considered a medium-sized deposit."
Rain, who was at the front of the group, took a leap forward and slid his fine steel greatsword under the Crystal Lizard, then lifted it with both hands, surprisingly flipping the 600-700 pound lizard into the air.
Although its body wasn't long, its muscles were tight, and its skin was thick and rough, indicating a considerable weight. Rain estimated its weight to be no less than 600-700 pounds.
Four Night Watchmen Elites carried the Crystal Lizard at the front, while Sir Hamilton and the other three remained in the middle of the group, with Rain being enthusiastically surrounded by the three bounty hunters.
Especially after the bounty hunters disappeared without a trace, these miners dared not even enter the mine shaft.
They saw him holding a torch high, illuminating one side of the rock wall, which had several clear scratches on it.
The group's vigilance gradually rose to its peak.
This scene instantly made the three bounty hunters look at Rain with newfound respect.
As everyone's attention focused on the direction Rain pointed, a huge mouth suddenly sprang from the ground at the junction of the mine tunnel and the rock wall, biting towards a Night Watchman.
Rain's strength in this lift was quite clever, flipping the Crystal Lizard's body 90 degrees, exposing its greyish-white soft belly to Rain.
"They have a strong territorial instinct, and usually only one appears in a mine shaft."
At this moment, its strong limbs were flailing helplessly in mid-air.
As they ventured deeper, most of the wall lamps along the rock wall were unlit.
But knowing and being able to do something about it are two different things.
The contrast between the beginning and the end of the mission was astonishing! The group slowly retraced their steps through the winding tunnel of the mine shaft, their spirits high as the mission had gone smoothly.
When they gathered a group of people and rushed over, they only found some residual bloodstains.
But as they went deeper, especially after passing a fork in the tunnel, the mine shaft gradually narrowed. The wall lamps along the tunnel were also damaged, reducing the visibility inside the entire mine shaft.
"These oil lamps can only last for two to three days if not refilled in time, and it's been quite some time since they were lit..." The foreman tried to explain.
A pale green, fluorescent blood spurted out! Immediately, the Crystal Lizard fell heavily to the ground, and a large pool of pale green, glowing blood instantly formed beneath it. It struggled a few times before becoming still.
The gold mine foreman narrated from the side.
The entire gold mine entrance and living area were surrounded by two-meter-high wooden fences made of beechwood, making them quite sturdy.
Even Rain found it challenging, as the difficulty of stabbing an eye with a greatsword in both hands was incomparable to doing so with a single-handed sword.
Stabbing the walnut-sized eyes of the opponent with the longsword in his hand was no easy task.
The three bounty hunters at the forefront were momentarily at a loss regarding the Crystal Lizard, allowing it to continuously scratch two Night Watchmen Elites.
But at this moment, Rain felt that something was amiss.
In the dark and narrow mine shaft, the Crystal Lizard moved quite swiftly, although not as fast as a leopard, but comparable to a wild boar.
"That fork in the tunnel leads to the old mine shaft, where the gold mine was almost depleted decades ago."
It seemed to be caused by the claws of some kind of beast.
Seeing that its ambush had failed, the Crystal Lizard quickly turned 180 degrees and fled deeper into the mine shaft, its tail lashing.
After all, before their departure, Sir Hamilton had already stated that this was a mysterious incident!
The Night Watchmen Elites were mentally prepared for the difficulty of mysterious incidents.
What no one noticed was a pair of fist-sized yellow eyes suddenly opening on the rock wall of the mine shaft tunnel, silently observing Rain and his group from behind.
Chapter 3, totaling over 11,000 words. Thank you for your support! (`) Heart
(End of Chapter)
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