Chapter 385: The Cave

Chapter 385: The Cave

Lena’s words drew the attention of the others. Her voice was very quiet, and only Oss and the others nearby heard her. The entrance she pointed at was not only very hidden but also blocked by a few scattered rocks. Light could not reach it from a normal angle, so it was hard to notice.

“……” Oss glanced at Lena with a hint of helplessness. Why were her eyes so sharp? They had already planned to leave this place, but she had pointed out such a hole. Clearly, they could not just leave normally now. Since it was discovered, they had to go check it out. Although this passage was hidden, it wasn’t impossible to find. It was just that for some reason, no one had noticed it yet.

“Be careful. Find an opportunity to go in quickly. Don’t let anyone notice.”

The others were all busy exploring. If they moved fast enough, they would not be spotted immediately. With the cooperation of Oss and the group, Lena was sent into the hidden entrance first. Although this was a bit dangerous, it would be too risky to let her go in last. Oss went in last. After activating the first stage of his eyesight, his Insight became very strong, always allowing him to find the best opportunity. Therefore, none of the people there noticed that a team had disappeared inside.

As soon as Oss entered the small opening, Gale and the others, who were already prepared, quickly blocked the entrance with stones they had gathered from around the area.

It was a simple disguise, not very tight. Someone else could have kicked it open with one foot. The main purpose of this disguise was to prevent others from discovering it too early. After all, the passage was very hidden. Without Lena’s guidance, they had wandered around here for a while and still overlooked it. With this simple layer of disguise, it would be even harder to discover.

“Where does this passage lead?” Gale held his weapon and cautiously scanned the surroundings. The passage was a bit broken, and many places showed signs of damage from external forces, with many cracks. However, from the obvious construction traces around, this place had existed for a long time. “And this place—could it be that the disappearance of the Wind Element Vein wasn’t because of a Witch… but because it was mined a long time ago?”

“It doesn’t seem so,” Wood shook his head, picking up a handful of broken stone fragments from the ground. “These things have been here for a very long time. If the Ore Vein had been completely mined, it wouldn’t have attracted Wind Dragonflies here. This place was probably abandoned.”

“Maybe someone once tried to develop here but failed because of interference from Wind Dragonflies. That time should have been before the Empire added this area to its maps,” Rick added. Without the Empire’s permission, who would dare to develop a mine under Windwhisper Valley? If some faction had bought the land before the Empire discovered it and then an Ore Vein appeared, the Empire would have nothing to say. But that clearly wasn’t the case here.

The Empire had long known what was here and kept a tight watch. It was one thing for Mercenaries and Adventurers to enter Windwhisper Valley—after all, the Empire couldn’t completely seal off the valley. When too many people gathered here and caused unrest among the Wind Dragonflies, the Empire would still suffer losses. That’s why the Empire allowed it. But as for the mine—anyone who touched it would die…

Even if they couldn’t develop it themselves, they wouldn’t allow others to do so either. Of course, things weren’t absolute. If someone had the ability to bypass the Wind Dragonflies, the Empire wouldn’t mind sharing some of the profits—though keeping the larger share was certain.

“Ooh! A country before the Empire? Maybe some Ruins remain here! That’s worth searching thoroughly!” Gale’s spirits lifted at the thought. After all, among the things left behind by fallen countries, some were worthless and could only be sold as scrap iron. But artworks, coins, and such items often fetched very high prices.

Some Nobles or collectors loved to collect such things. Having antiques at home—like saying this vase was left behind by the XX country from the extinct XXX era, one of a kind, nowhere else to be found—how impressive would that sound?

As for those coins, they could often be sold for dozens of times their value… They weren’t meant to be used as currency but as small toys to fiddle with in one’s hands.

If they could find some remains, it would still be a profit.

Oss didn’t interrupt much during Wood and the others’ discussion. He hadn’t been an Adventurer for very long. Although he had gained a lot of experience, compared to the older Wood and Gale, his related encounters were still too few. Their years of adventures had given them far more knowledge than Oss. These things took time to accumulate; you couldn’t get them just like that. After all, they couldn’t be like scholars who often had access to a lot of literature for detailed research.

If they wanted to know something, they had to experience it themselves or learn from others’ experiences.

“Let’s explore carefully first. This place has been abandoned for a long time. Some areas might have collapsed and become impassable,” Oss said after thinking for a moment. From the cracks all around, it was clear that the state of this passage wasn’t very good. Even walking here was a risk. “Also, pay attention to changes around us. If anything seems wrong, retreat immediately.”

“Yeah!” Wood nodded solemnly. Although this place had exploration value, the risks were also great. If a collapse happened carelessly, they might all be buried here.

Walking in such a passage meant not being picky about the path. They had to take whatever route was passable. Along the way, they left many marks, especially at corners. They stopped and started frequently, and when they encountered collapsed areas, they had to carefully move away the fallen stones.

“Could it be an illusion? Why do I feel like we’re going upward?” After asking Oss for the time, Gale stared at his feet, puzzled. Although the changes along the way were subtle, he had been paying attention to this. They had passed many upward steps, but not a single one going down.

“I’m not sure, but even if we’re going upward, it doesn’t matter. We haven’t found anything substantial yet… This place might not have much exploration value,” Wood said, slightly frowning. There were many collapsed areas along the way. The digging here seemed extensive, but they hadn’t found any related chambers. Many areas, although old, could still be identified as unfinished.

If it wasn’t even completed, there was no hope of finding anything valuable inside. So leaving was a good thing. The only uncertainty was where the exit would lead.

“It’s blocked,” as they walked, they encountered another collapsed area. Rick touched a large, intact Stone Slate in front of them, tapping it. It wasn’t a result of the collapse but had been placed there originally. “It shouldn’t be too thick. We can break it directly… Team leader, can you drill a hole first?”

Out of caution, Rick didn’t choose a straightforward kick-to-break method. They should check the situation first.

Oss nodded and walked up to the Stone Slate. It was just ordinary stone; drilling a hole was easy. He channeled his Blood Essence, condensing it into a Bloodline Power drill bit. Soon, he drilled a hole through it. Once the hole was made, light immediately shone through. Rick peeked through the small opening. “It’s an exit. Outside is a Cave with a view of the outside.”

Since it was an exit, there was no need to hesitate. The Stone Slate was cut open to create a passage large enough for a person. From the outside, the exterior of the slab looked just like the rocks of the cave, almost indistinguishable. Only from inside could one tell the difference. “This Cave must have been created by the people who built the passage originally… What’s this?”

Wood noticed something on the ground and immediately signaled the others not to move carelessly. A Magic Rune Array covered the ground, its area vast, nearly covering the entire floor of the cave. The energy waves it emitted indicated it was still active. “Be extremely careful! Don’t touch the lines of those Rune Patterns!”

An active Magic Rune Array was very dangerous. Without knowing the effect of this Magic Rune Array, touching any part of its lines could cause a backlash against whoever touched it. The complexity of this Magic Rune Array made them dizzy just looking at it; it was clearly not ordinary. A backlash could easily be deadly.

“Could it be something left by the Undying Witch?” Gale suddenly said. Seeing everyone staring at him, he coughed lightly. “I’m just guessing… Well, Windwhisper Valley was fine before, and now we’ve found this thing. Surely it wasn’t made by people from the Sanctuary Church, right?”

Though this Magic Rune Array made them dizzy and they couldn’t look at it for long, a quick glance showed its eerie nature. It clearly wasn’t a proper, standard Magic Rune Array. Would the Church make something like this? That was overthinking it.

Others? Even less likely. Based on those Adventurers or Mercenaries—who had the skill to create such a terrifying Magic Rune Array? The materials alone needed to maintain the array’s operation were beyond their means. If someone had something like this, who would keep it as a disposable item?

They would have long sought out interested buyers.

“Should we go back?” Lena said. She turned to look back and couldn’t help but gasp. From the passage behind them came a series of faint collapsing sounds, very light. The collapse was probably far away, but the sound reaching here meant the way back was blocked. They remembered that the section behind them was a straight passage without any branches.