Unas gathered the young men who had responded first and taken his weapons and formed them into a patrol team, which he led to patrol between the mine faces.
News of the Smolderthorn Trolls' defeat by the humans had already spread. The Dark Iron Dwarves, who lived next to the Trolls, sent a messenger to investigate, but Unas dismissed him with an Unas words. Apart from that, no one else came to visit, and the day passed peacefully.
The patrolmen were exhausted, Unas ordered them to disperse and go back to rest. He himself returned to the White Cave, only to find Riedel waiting for him at the entrance.
They ushered him into the room, and the bald, burly man immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, revealing his true intentions.
It turns out that his informant was Jinsai. Humans Trolls are neighbors, so it's normal for them to exchange information to reduce misjudgments. Jinsai was also Blackbeard's slave, and the two were both under Half-Face's command, so they developed a close relationship and would exchange information with each other.
He had heard the news that the Orcs were going to attack the Dwarves from the Troll chieftain the day before. He had only intended to watch the show, but suddenly a Paladin fell from the sky and threatened him. So, he had a sudden idea and decided to use Jinsai to get rid of Unas.
This was largely in line with Unas's guess. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "You didn't leak the information about the discovery of the Dark Iron Vein, did you?"
"That place will fall sooner or later; it's a source of trouble. We might as well get rid of it before it attracts other wolves," Riedel justified his actions.
What benefits did he give you?
Facing Unas's piercing gaze, Riedel, remembering the corpses he had moved that day as if a giant saw was about to fall on his head, quickly replied, "I get a share too!"
"Your warehouse doesn't look that full. Do you have other private storage facilities?"
"Your guess is absolutely right, sir," Riedel complimented. "I'll take you there to see for yourself right away."
The two arrived at Riedel's residence next door, one after the other. They pushed aside a large rock next to the hot spring pool, revealing a round, dark hole. Riedel jumped in first, and Unas followed without thinking.
As soon as he entered the cave, he sensed something was wrong. A spray of water rose from his feet, and there was a layer of shallow water up to his ankles on the ground. This was no warehouse for storing things. Looking around, there was no sign of Riedel in the Cave, which was seven or eight meters in diameter. Suddenly, the ceiling went dark. The entrance to the cave had been blocked, and the only source of light disappeared, plunging the cave into complete darkness.
His first reaction was to pull out his Silver Hammer and raise Sacred Shield. The Holy Light illuminated the Cave. He aimed and jumped up to smash the boulder blocking the entrance, but it seemed that someone was pressing the boulder down hard. After smashing it more than a dozen times, all that came down was a pile of broken stones. Jumping was really tiring, and he couldn't get his full strength out of the upward strikes, so he had to stop.
Riedel couldn't have vanished into thin air; there must be a second exit, but there's no trace of it. Where can we look for it right now?
I was so careless. I was fooled by Riedel's honesty and thought he wouldn't dare to resist. I didn't expect him to have this trick up his sleeve. It seems that from now on, I should kill those who deserve to be killed and not be soft-hearted just because they are my compatriots.
Unas searched the entire Cave, stomping his feet on the waterlogged ground and striking the walls with his Silver Hammer, trying almost every spot, but still couldn't find a second exit.
Suddenly, five or six fist-sized cracks appeared in the walls, and steaming hot spring water gushed out, causing the water level to rise slowly. It turned out they were trying to drown themselves!
Now all that was left was brute force. Unas took out his twin hammers and began to swing them wildly at a crack where water was draining. The entire Cave shook, and rubble rained down with a crackling sound.
After being pounded relentlessly for five or six minutes, finally, when the water level rose to the upper thigh, the wall, which had been struck thousands of times, cracked open from the water-filled gaps. Bang, bang, bang! A deafening roar, like the earth collapsing, came from the stone, and the Cave was about to collapse.
Unas took out his giant shield and held it above his head, glancing up every now and then. The cracks had spread to the ceiling, and the water flow suddenly increased, reaching up to his shoulders.
At that moment, a loud boom resounded, and the exit at the top cracked open. The huge rock blocking the top crashed into the water with a splash. Unas seized the opportunity, spread his wings, and flew away with a whoosh.
The Riedel brothers and their men, armed and panicked, stood around the collapsed hot spring, hesitating whether to flee. A golden figure suddenly flew out, relieving their worries. They dropped their weapons and ran.
Unas spun sharply in the air, flying so fast he almost crashed into the ceiling again, leaving only the back view of his last henchman.
These guys tried to escape using the complex underground tunnels, but they were facing a Paladin with outstretched wings. The huge speed difference meant they didn't have time to scatter before they fell one by one to the Silver Hammer.
Unas showed no mercy, smashing skulls with his hammer and quickly killing all five henchmen. The three Riedel brothers knew they couldn't escape, so they turned around to fight back. After only one exchange, two of the Riedel brothers had their skulls smashed, and that was only because Unas had deliberately let the bald giant go.
Riedel stood frozen in place, drenched in cold sweat, knowing his death was imminent. Despair had robbed him of the strength to run or resist; he could only close his eyes and await his demise. Unas smashed his leg bones with two blows. "Tell me where your little warehouse is, and I might give you a quick death."
Riedel lay on the ground screaming, stammering, "Not... here, I can... lead the way."
Unas deactivated his wings, lifted his collar, and followed the direction he pointed. They soon arrived at the territory of the Smolderthorn Trolls. Along the way, they encountered five or six sentries, and Unas told them to follow. The group stopped at an abandoned cave on the outskirts of the Troll settlement.
Unas asked, "Your secret stash is in the Troll district? If you dare to lie to me again, I guarantee I'll make you suffer every kind of torture the church can inflict before you die."
"This is a secret warehouse that Jinsai and I shared. It was originally his place, but he later shared it with me." Riedel's wounds had begun to numb, and his speech became clearer.
"Your secret alliance with him is so tight. I wonder how many of your own people you've killed. I thought you had some sense of loyalty."
Riedel, dejected, silently pointed to a wall in the cave. It turned out that the wall could be pushed open, but it required a lot of strength. Unas, carrying a person, easily pushed it open with one hand.
There were no hidden weapons or traps inside, only a dozen or so bags of dried meat and other fine food, and six or seven decent weapons, all of which were knives, spears, swords, and halberds.
Unas picked out a few bags of food, then swept away all the weapons, and handed the rest over to the Sentinels who had come with him to divide.
"Your collection is too shabby."
"In the Black Furnace, this is the best we can get our hands on..."