Book 8: Chapter 44: Silver Shadow in the Mountain Fortress |
Publish Time: 2026-06-14 11:23:17
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«Volume 8 Chapter 43: Inside the Fortress
Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »
The passage Kelly chose was not as massive as the ones outside the castle. It was only about three meters wide and high, making everyone feel a bit suffocated and uncomfortable at first.
The passage was not very long, but it had several turns and thick stone walls along the way. It was unclear how Kelly’s ears worked; anyone else would not have been able to hear the sounds from the other end of the passage.
This passage inside the castle also had glowstones embedded in the ceiling. At regular intervals, there were neat recesses in the stone walls. In ancient times, these were likely used for holding torches for lighting.
As they neared the exit of the passage, the sound Kelly had heard earlier reached everyone’s ears. It was a faint, intermittent hissing, somewhat sharp to the ear, and seemed to be accompanied by a strange chewing sound, making everyone look at each other in surprise.
“We’ve reached the exit. Let those behind us hide first. The rogues will go forward to investigate!” Kelly looked at the exit ahead, her expression unusually serious. She vaguely sensed a strong threat to her life. Martial artists’ intuition was often sharp, and creatures that could make her feel this way were rare, so she had to be extra cautious.
A strange glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. “Gannett’s Left Eye” allowed him to see the scene in the hall ahead without even leaving the passage.
At the end of the passage was a spacious hall. At the back of the hall, there was a raised stone platform that might have been the Dwarf King’s throne or some kind of altar for rituals in the past. But now it was empty, and its original purpose was impossible to determine.
Apart from this stepped stone platform, there were dozens of huge stone pillars on both sides of the hall, each so large that it would take three people to wrap their arms around them.
After thousands of years, these stone pillars remained intact, seamlessly integrated with the floor and the vaulted ceiling. Perhaps they were originally part of the mountain’s rock layer. The dwarves had intentionally left these pillars when carving out the space to support the hall’s ceiling.
Naturally, serving the same purpose as the pillars, there were also large horizontal stone beams spanning the upper sections. The ends of these beams pressed against the left and right sides of the hall, while the middle sections connected with the numerous pillars, forming a solid, three-dimensional grid structure above the hall.
The floor of the hall was covered with countless items piled into small hills, making the vast space feel cramped and crowded. Although in Qin Lun’s vision, all items appeared as black and white sketch lines, their shapes made them easily recognizable.
Gold coins, jewelry, silverware… Unlike the abandoned Dwarf Plaza, this hall inside the castle was filled with all kinds of gold, silver, treasures, and luxuries, almost comparable to the royal treasury of some human kingdoms.
However, these treasures were not Qin Lun’s main focus. His attention was drawn to a giant beast coiled around the grid of stone beams above the hall.
It had a dragon’s head, a snake’s body, deer antlers, phoenix claws, fish scales, and whiskers by its cheeks—it resembled the legendary divine creature of the Earth Federation, the Chinese dragon!
Of course, compared to a true Chinese dragon, this beast had some differences in certain body parts. Its tail was not a fish tail but covered with thorny spikes, somewhat like a giant morning star. Its narrow, long eyes were also covered by a thick white membrane, with no visible pupils, making it seem like a blind dragon.
This dragon-like beast was covered in shimmering, fine silver scales, appearing beautiful and elegant. It was about a hundred meters away from them, and with the many pillars in the hall, it probably hadn’t noticed them hiding at the passage entrance yet.
“This is an Earth Salamander with dragon bloodline… but how is it so huge? It’s almost dozens of times larger than a normal Earth Salamander!” Milleras, who had somehow made his way to the passage entrance, was utterly shocked, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
“What are you doing here? Get back!” Kelly, who had been focused on the Earth Salamander, snapped out of her trance when she saw Milleras beside her. She scowled and yanked him away from the passage entrance.
“Are those dwarves?” Before Milleras could retreat to the back of the group, another curious voice chimed in from behind Kelly. Iristin pointed at some figures standing under the stone beams and asked softly.
“Yes, you can tell by their height. But I’m not sure if these dwarves have always lived here or if they, like us, just entered Ironstar Fortress from the outside mountains.” Another head leaned in; this time, it was Robin’s slightly teasing voice.
Seeing the whole group crowding around, Kelly finally rolled her eyes and gave up on stopping these curious kids.
“So many gold coins, so much treasure!” Iristin, who had grown up poor in Qiongda’er Forest, stared at the hills of gold coins on the floor, her eyes turning starry.
Just as the group was watching, the scene in the hall changed again. The Earth Salamander coiled around the stone beams suddenly tightened its body, raised its dragon head, and flicked out a snake-like tongue. Seeing this, the dwarves on the ground immediately tensed up, raising their weapons but not daring to move.
“What’s going on?” Kelly quietly asked Milleras, who had recognized the Earth Salamander.
“Earth Salamanders have very poor eyesight and can barely see. Only the shiniest precious metals catch their attention. However, their hearing and sense of smell are very sharp. They can detect any unusual scents in their territory with their tongues.” Milleras wiped cold sweat from his forehead before lowering his voice to explain.
“All creatures with dragon bloodline have a strong sense of territory and an unimaginable greed for shiny precious metals. This place is probably the Earth Salamander’s habitat. These dwarves are in trouble—they’ve stumbled into the Earth Salamander’s ‘bedroom’ and treasure trove, which it guards with its life.” Iristin added softly from the side.
“Your Highness, how powerful is an Earth Salamander?” Robin asked cautiously.
“Earth Salamanders aren’t magical beasts; they don’t have elemental talents. They’re just a bit faster, that’s all!” Milleras thought carefully before speaking slowly. “However, I’ve never heard of an Earth Salamander this big. It’s hard to judge the specifics.”
“If it can’t use magic, then it can’t use magic. Its size shouldn’t affect its elemental talents, right? And being this huge might even slow it down.” Hearing Milleras’s answer, everyone felt a bit relieved.
“Should we save these dwarves? Perhaps…” Nicole leaned in and asked with a slight smile.
Robin and Stark exchanged glances. The leaders of the two teams saw a flicker of eagerness in each other’s eyes. Although Nicole hadn’t finished her sentence, they understood what she meant.
Since these dwarves had unknowingly stumbled into the Earth Salamander’s nest, they were probably outsiders like them. They might also be involved in some related Historical Plot. If they killed the Earth Salamander and saved the dwarves, they might gain access to this storyline.
“Let’s wait and see!” Kelly frowned, sensing something was off. A creature that could make her feel threatened shouldn’t be weak. However, Milleras’s explanation made sense, so she patiently signaled everyone to observe quietly first.
Everyone stopped whispering and held their breath, waiting for the impending battle. Although the giant beast before them was startling, no one felt particularly afraid.
Whether they were elves or Apostles, they had all dealt with large beasts before. A wild giant beast with only size, no intelligence, and no elemental talents—even the First-Rank Apostles in the team wouldn’t be scared of it, let alone a high-rank Apostle like Kelly.
At that moment, the Earth Salamander, which had assumed an attacking posture, finally took action. Its dragon head lunged forward, and its coiled body shot down from the stone beams like a spring.
Everyone saw a flash of silver light, their retinas filled with a trail of silver afterimages stretching from the stone beams to the ground. Qin Lun and the others felt like they were watching a silent movie. Below, the hills of gold coins flew into the air before drifting down like rain.
Even from a hundred meters away, they felt a gust of wind blow against their faces, making their hair flutter and forcing them to squint.
A moment later, a sharp, piercing sonic boom reached their ears, while the sound of the gold coins sliding down seemed insignificant in comparison.
When everyone regained their senses and looked closely, they saw that one of the dwarves on the ground was missing. The Earth Salamander was still coiled around the stone beams. It hadn’t actually come down—its tail remained wrapped around the beams while it used its elastic, serpentine body to hunt, leaving the dwarves powerless to fight back.
Amid the sound of crunching and chewing, a pair of twitching legs could vaguely be seen between the beast’s two rows of blade-like teeth. Streams of blood dripped from the corners of the Earth Salamander’s mouth, painting its silver body with a bloody glow. The interplay of silver and crimson created a bizarre, captivating charm.
Seeing this, everyone, including the violent Kelly, felt their bodies stiffen, frozen in place with beads of sweat covering their foreheads.
“Just a bit faster…” Qin Lun’s face twitched slightly. Now the Serial Killer understood where the sounds Kelly had heard came from, as well as the origin of the thick white liquid they had encountered earlier in the pit.
“We can’t handle this thing. Let’s go!” Kelly took a deep breath, glanced at everyone, and showed a hint of reluctance.
The Female Martial Artist felt her blood boiling. If she were alone, she could fight it. But the others couldn’t keep up with the Earth Salamander’s speed and would only hold her back. Suppressing her fighting spirit, she decided to retreat safely first.
The dwarves, having lost another companion, could no longer contain their grief and rage. They cursed at the Earth Salamander, which was leisurely eating on the stone beams.
“Gulp!” The Earth Salamander raised its head, its throat moving as it swallowed the food. It then flicked out its long tongue, licking its lips as if it still wanted more.
The group hiding at the passage entrance carefully retreated. Nicole, who had earlier suggested rescuing the dwarves, had long fallen silent. Only the kind-hearted Iristin still looked uneasy.
“Wait, Milleras, you said earlier that Earth Salamanders can detect any unusual scents in their territory?” Qin Lun, who had been silent all along, suddenly frowned and turned to ask cautiously, “What’s the usual range for that?”
“I’m not sure. The Earth Salamanders I know are probably smaller than one of its claws. But this distance…” Milleras seemed to realize something, swallowing hard with a grimace uglier than crying.
At that very moment, the Earth Salamander, having finished eating a dwarf, suddenly turned its dragon head. Its eyes, covered in white membranes, fixed on the passage where everyone was hiding. The corners of its mouth lifted slightly, and its ugly dragon face showed a remarkably human-like smirk.
“Perhaps it discovered us a long time ago!” Kelly and Stark, who were covering the rear, along with Qin Lun, who was still observing the hall with “Gannett’s Left Eye,” all felt a chill run down their spines.
«Volume 8 Chapter 43: Inside the Fortress
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Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »