Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Inside the camp were just a few rows of simple wooden houses with obvious Mizobudapi characteristics. The ones on the left were relatively tall and clean, seemingly residences for the guards. The capacity of these wooden houses was obviously limited. It seemed that the estimation of the enemies' defense given by the mission department of ‘around a hundred people' was not unfounded.
The wooden houses on the other side were relatively small and looked a little shabby. There were tools such as mine carts outside each door, which meant that these should be the residences of the miner. On the sides of the two rows of wooden houses was a fenced up area in which more than a dozen rhino-like creatures were snoring.
On the inner side of the camp was the location of the mine, and there was only one entrance. It was located at the bottom of the mountain wall on the north side. Even across such a long distance, w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai could feel the overflowing energy aura from the mine. At the entrance of the energy cave, there were two Mizobudapi guards on duty, but because of the rainstorm, both of them were standing closer to the inside of the cave entrance. In addition, there were also two teams of about ten people, and they seemed to be patrol soldiers. However, due to the heavy rain, they appeared listless as they hid from the rain under the eaves. They would occasionally mutter some things to each other, but under the cover of this torrential rain, naturally, nothing could be heard.
Although the torrential rain here was not as violent as it was in the muddy swamp, it too didn't stop falling. With the sound of the falling rain, it made the whole camp seem more peaceful.
It seemed that everything was normal, and things were almost as expected. Although they had just experienced a lopsided victory, the commander's mind was still relatively clear and remained vigilant. It was just their luck to have encountered such heavy rain. With such a small mining camp, even though there were patrol teams on duty, they merely needed to stand guard at the eaves of the houses. None of them would really stand guard under the rain.
This heavy rain had caused everyone in the swamp to suffer greatly, but it also gave w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai a rare opportunity.
They had to act fast. Although there were guards in the cave, the two guards did not look powerful. If they waited till dawn, the only entrance to the mine might be filled with miners and guards, and there would not be such a great opportunity to act again.
w.a.n.g Zhong carefully observed the terrain to find the route of infiltration. He then gestured to Grai to inform him of the plan. He first pointed to himself, then to the guard on the left side inside the mine, and lastly signaled Grai to handle the other one.
Grai immediately got the message, and both of them acted swiftly. Under the cover of the dark and the sound of the heavy rain, they carefully shifted from the edge of the mountain wall to the top of the cave entrance.
They arrived at their position at the same time. Sharing a look, the two figures slid down from the mountain wall silently. The two guards who had been targeted by them had no time to react before their sight went dark. Both of their actions were almost completely synchronized. They covered the guards' mouths at the same time and twisted their necks fiercely.
Both guards were merely at the level of a swordsman, which was equivalent to a mere Casted Soul. With w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai's skills, it was naturally a piece of cake for them to handle the guards. In addition, in this sneak attack, the guards didn't even have a chance to make a sound before they lost their lives.
Both of them supported the lifeless bodies of the Mizobudapi guards at the same time and used the big swords in their hands to sustain their upright standing postures. It only took a second or two for them to pull this off.
Everything seemed normal. Hiding at the side of the cave, w.a.n.g Zhong glanced at the patrol guards who were under the eaves. They still looked lethargic, completely unaware of what had just happened at the entrance of the energy cave.
w.a.n.g Zhong signaled an ‘OK' sign to Grai, and the two of them entered the cave quietly as though they were ghosts. The energy cave was very quiet. They could sense the presence of some guards in the distance, but their combat power was all similar to that of Casted Souls. It was highly possible that the KD Squadron had attracted the enemies' attention to themselves on purpose. Grai and w.a.n.g Zhong shared a glance as they proceeded deeper into the cave.
The sides of the cave pa.s.sage had countless small or huge dents that were shaped in circles or diamonds. The small ones were the size of a cobblestone, and the large ones could be as wide as a bucket. These were raw ore and could be used only after intensive processing. This was also the energy foundation of the Mizobudapi people, similar to oil in the old human civilization or the soul crystals of this era. It was just a little strange that there were no workers in the mining area. They went deeper into the cave, specifically, more than three hundred meters. After using their Soul Power to scan the area, they could feel the boundlessness of this energy cave. This was a natural crypt structure, and it was even larger than one found in the Federation. From the outside, it was impossible to see how huge this cave was. At this moment, it seemed that they had found an important mining area for the enemy.
They both sensed a little doubt in each other's eyes. How could there be no workers here? Especially during times of war? Were they resting? Or were there any other reasons?
Whatever it was, the two couldn't go back empty-handed as it took them a lot of effort to come here. With that, they could only go deeper into the cave. Although Kenso's Stink Bomb was extremely powerful, it had to be detonated deeper inside to be useful as it was such a large mining area. They didn't waste any time in moving forward. Kenso's Stink Bomb had a timer function. After being unlocked with Soul Power, the timer of the bomb could be set at five minutes before detonation. That was more than enough time for them to get away.
At this point, they could feel that they had gone into the deeper part of the energy cave and that the energy response around them was getting richer. The duo could already see that the energy crystals, which were exposed on the walls of the cave, were emitting a soft colorful light, lighting up the dark cave with a kind of dreamlike beauty.
The area right in front of them was different from the narrow pa.s.sages that they had pa.s.sed through before. There was a large hole, with openings in all directions leading to the deeper parts of the cave. This was obviously the center point of a mine pa.s.sage. w.a.n.g Zhong began to estimate the time they needed to move from this midpoint to the exit. If they activated their Speed Circuits and charged at full speed, they would be able to reach the exit in about five minutes. With the cover of the heavy rain outside now, he and Grai would be long gone when Kenso's Stink Bomb detonated.
This was the ideal detonation point that the two had been looking for. The two nodded at each other as their plan was going rather smoothly, and everything seemed to be in order. As such, w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai's face finally revealed a knowing smile. w.a.n.g Zhong was about to take out the bomb from his spatial bracelet when he suddenly heard a slight noise behind him.
It was footsteps that were made deliberately, as though the owner wanted to attract the attention of w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai on purpose. Instantly, w.a.n.g Zhong grew wary.
The two of them turned back abruptly and immediately saw a light flash in front of them. The flash was like the lightning that cut through the night sky as it shone abnormally brightly in this colorful energy cave, appearing without warning. Grai was the target!
At this moment, all of Grai's hair stood on their ends, and his entire body instinctively turned red. His skin and body turned translucent in a flash, and he was nearly see-through.
Blood Shadow!
It was the strongest survival technique of the Blood Race. His reaction was already extremely fast, but it was still a step too slow. When his body was about to disappear, the streak of light had already pa.s.sed through him directly. The excess power of that sword flash pa.s.sed through his almost-faded body and landed on the walls of the energy cave behind him, leaving behind a sword mark that directly penetrated the wall.
Grai, who was in the mid-Blood Shadow state in mid-air, was instantly sent flying backward by that powerful inertia, and his body was directly knocked out of the Blood Shadow state. With a pained moan, he stumbled more than ten steps backward. It could be seen that the flesh on his left chest was directly split open, and the huge wound began from his left shoulder, all the way to his chest cavity. Countless drops of blood splattered to the surrounding, and his ribs could be seen from the outside!
w.a.n.g Zhong wasted no time in moving in front of Grai. They were done for! Indeed, they couldn't depend on luck. This was a trap laid by their enemies!
Thud thud thud…
The sound of footsteps sounded slowly, as though the other party was taking a leisurely walk. Within three to five steps, a Mizobudapi soldier had appeared at the entrance.
Unlike those big-sized soldiers they saw in the mining camps previously, this Mizobupadi was not very tall. He was about 1.8 meters tall and comparatively thin. In fact, he was comparable to normal humans. However, his dressing was extremely sophisticated. Actually, the Mizobudapi World was not a poor world, and their civilization was even older than the human one. They were rather particular when it came to dressing up, and this was the most gorgeous Mizobudapi soldier they had ever seen.
His shiny and gorgeous golden armor was engraved with smooth, beautiful lines. Even people from Earth, who did not have the same aesthetic as them, would be in awe of such a magnificent sight. The long tentacles on his head were not scattered like with ordinary soldiers. Instead, they were bundled up by a golden headband emitting strong energy fluctuations, and each tentacle appeared crystal clear. There were also countless streaks of blue light shuttling back and forth between those tentacles reflected in his golden armor. It was absolutely eye-catching.
Even more special was the longsword in his hand. Not to mention the crystal-clear slender sword body, at the sword's hilt hung a pendant which was made from two interlaced mini golden swords.
The faces of w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai changed instantly. Although they had already sensed that the other party was very powerful due to that sword slash just now, they never imagined that they would be faced with the worst situation.
From the warfare when they landed and the various intelligence reconnaissance done by the Holy City Army during this time, they now knew the characteristics of the different Mizobudapi ranks. In addition to the sense of oppression they felt and the other party's combat power they had just witnessed, they could also identify his rank by his attire. The Mizobudapi people followed a strict hierarchy as well, and the different ranks could be identified directly by the color they wore. They would adhere strictly to their dress code, or else they would face grave punishment.
A Swordman was at the lowest level of the hierarchy, and he would wear gray. A Great Swordsman would wear silver, and as for gold… it could only belong to that rank…
Sword Saint!
How could there be a Sword Saint here?!
At the level of a Sword Saint, one was definitely part of the core strength of the Mizobudapi Army. In this war situation, shouldn't such people be guarding big cities or other important places?
Wasn't this just an energy cave?! What's more was that this place was less than four hundred miles away from the human command center. How could they openly station such an important person here? Weren't they afraid of being found out by humans?
It had to be noted that the top exploration teams were all gunning for Sword Saints. When necessary, they would get a Great Teacher to help them. Killing a Sword Saint was definitely an outstanding deed in this Holy Battle.
“Grai!” w.a.n.g Zhong realized the seriousness of the problem immediately. The more critical the situation was, the more he had to keep a clear head. “Try to leave first and get the news to the others!”
This was not the time to dilly-dally as the opportunity was fleeting. As w.a.n.g Zhong spoke, he flicked his wrists, and a burst of Soul Power erupted.
He put his left hand on his right hand, and the runic array on his right hand roared loudly. He had managed to skip the many preparation steps which he had to go through previously. At the moment he activated his Soul Power, a fiery phoenix had already taken shape in the runic array. At the same time, the round runic array bloomed from his hands, as though it was a beautiful flower.
“With Will Comes Power — Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven!”
Boom!
A flaming phoenix charged out from w.a.n.g Zhong's palm, and its surging energy whistled and roared in the cave. After all, they were in the Mizobudapi Phoenix World, and they had a special worship complex for phoenix totems. As such, the Sword Saint was also a little stunned.
It took only that split second for the flaming phoenix to arrive in front of him.
However, he did not attempt to dodge at all. With a slight wave of his longsword, the phoenix formed by w.a.n.g Zhong's energy was directly split into two halves by a streak of light. Originally, it should have exploded with ma.s.sive force, but now, it was like a balloon with a hole. Before anything could happen, it dissipated into sparks and disappeared in the air.
As the fire sparks dissipated, the two mere ant-like humans in the cave disappeared, but the Sword Saint's face revealed a playful smile.
“Do you think you can run from me?” He unexpectedly spoke the human language, and his taunting voice thundered throughout the cave.
These two humans were actually not stupid. During the moment of attack just now, they had split up. One ran deeper into the cave while the other ran out. Did they think that he could only chase one? What wishful thinking.
He only had to chase one, the one that was not injured. As for the other one, he had been struck by his sword. Even if that guy was lucky enough for him to have missed that guy's vital organs, did that guy really think he could survive? Moreover, the cave entrance was not empty.
Human beings were just lowly creatures who got lucky. All their achievements were due to them occupying the Holy Land by chance. They were proud and stuck-up creatures. Who was actually the hunter, and who was actually the prey in this battle?
The Sword Saint lifted his foot and began his hunt. His feather-light steps, although seemingly small, were capable of traveling huge distances, similar to that of teleportation. His att.i.tude was leisurely, just like a cat playing with a mouse.
The one who rushed out was definitely dead, but the one inside, he would have fun with him!
At the moment when Grai ran past the Sword Saint, he could sense that the Sword Saint had glanced at him. It was as though he was looking at a dead man. The Sword Saint had a playful smile on his face, as though he didn't care about him getting away.
This look almost made Grai's heart stop, and he could taste his own death. This had made him feel more fearful than being intercepted by the other party. This Mizobudapi soldier was too powerful. It was not that he ran away fast enough or that w.a.n.g Zhong had managed to fully distract the Sword Saint with his sudden attack. It was more like the other party couldn't care less about stopping him at all…
He knew the reason for this. There was still a little Sword Qi from the opponent remaining in his terrifying, huge wound. It was acting like a poison which prevented his body from healing. If he was in his normal state, he might have been able to deal with this remaining sword energy, but at this moment, the severe blood loss had consumed too much of his Soul Power and physical strength. The Blood Race was not immortal, and this sword injury was simply not something he could handle at his current level.
