Parting Ways

(I'm back now that I'm done with work. There are a bunch of relatives' kids over there, Fututu back to my old writing spot. Three chapters today.)

Rumble.

A sudden, violent tremor came from underground.

The Dwarf Heavy Warrior was scavenging for spoils, swayed and nearly collapsed to the ground. The others around him exchanged surprised and uneasy glances. The desert warrior quietly put away a pure gold statue before casually turning to look at the group of people present.

"What happened?"

The Dwarf Warrior picked up a few Crystal that were stored well on the wall, blew on them, and whispered, "Has something happened down there?"

The four people present exchanged glances.

"I don't know." The Gale Ronin, holding his weapons, frowned slightly. "The captain's expression just now seemed a bit off, and his aura was too menacing. I reckon something big must have happened down there!"

The desert warrior's eyes darted around, his expression knowing. "I've heard that Demon might be sealed inside such underground ruins."

"That commotion just now didn't look good!"

Upon hearing this, the Eastern Dancer's expression changed slightly, a hint of worry appearing on her beautiful face. She suggested, "Why don't we go down and look for him?"

"No!" the desert warrior decisively rejected.

He glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, "The captain just told us to stay here. We have no idea what's going on here. If we go down rashly and there's something really terrible down there, we'll all probably die here."

At this point, the desert warrior lowered his voice and said, "I see that everyone has had a good haul today, and more importantly, almost no one has been injured. How about we stop here for today, go up and divide the spoils, and then wait for the captain to come out? Anyway, he's a very skilled Rogue; if he wants to leave, very few people can stop him. If he can't even leave, going there would just be suicide for us!"

He wanted to slip away.

Something's not right about the underground ruins. The recent tremors even caused some landslides, suggesting that something major might have happened down there.

There were very few injuries in the recent battles.

After Soren left, they found some chests and hidden rooms, discovering a considerable amount of valuable loot—enough to make several thousand Gold Daler even if divided among everyone. Given the unfavorable situation and the abundance of loot, and thankfully no one was injured, the desert warrior was already considering grabbing what he could and running. After all, he and Soren had only formed a temporary team. Such teams typically lacked genuine connection, so it wasn't unusual for them to seize the spoils and flee if things went wrong.

The desert warrior's words clearly resonated with one person.

The Gale Ronin silently stroked his sword. He had come to the Desert Region to train, only taking on this mission because he was short of travel funds. The situation here was rather dangerous. To encounter Legendary Tier ancient Mummy so easily, and this was only about the second level of the underground ruins, he didn't want to lose his life here. Since he already had spoils and wasn't injured, leaving with the benefits to continue his training was undoubtedly the wisest decision.

The Dwarf Heavy Warrior looked somewhat hesitant.

He seemed to want to leave, but also looked a little guilty. Dwarf are a race that values their word, and leaving in this situation would be tantamount to abandoning his comrades.

Of everyone present, the one with the most complex expression was undoubtedly the Eastern Dancer.

Her face showed hesitation, as if she wanted to stay but also wanted to leave. After all, Soren had just saved her life, and reason told her that leaving now was the wisest decision, but she also felt that doing so was going too far. The underground ruins were quite difficult, and she knew very well what was down there. If Soren had really encountered that kind of monster, his chances of coming back alive were probably slim.

Balor.

It would be extremely difficult for a Legendary Rogue to kill Balor alone!

Rumble.

The explosion from underground caused the first collapse, which seemed to break the support in some places, clearly forming a chain of collapses. The sound of collapses could be heard in many places, and a large amount of dust fell down.

"We can't stay here any longer."

The desert warrior glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, "You can stay if you want, but I'm already preparing to leave. It looks like this place might collapse, and we might get trapped here."

After saying that, he ran straight towards the square.

The Gale Ronin glanced at the others and quickly followed. This was Desert Region; if the cave collapsed and blocked the entrance above, it would be very difficult to get out.

The Dwarf hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the Eastern Dancer and said, "Shall we go out too?"

The Eastern Dancer's expression gradually calmed down. She glanced at the Dwarf Heavy Warrior before her and said solemnly, "No! I'm going down to see! He just saved me; I can't abandon him like this. I'll definitely feel guilty about it in the future!"

Upon hearing her words, a hint of guilt appeared on the Dwarf Warrior's face.

He then took out several bottles of Healing Potion and a bottle of fiery red liquid, tossing them to the Eastern Dancer and saying in a deep voice, "I'm sorry! I'm about to leave. These are Healing Potion I bought from the Sub-Deity, and this is Grey Valley Dwarf Strength Potion that can temporarily boost your combat power."

"Good luck!"

The Dwarf Heavy Warrior shouldered his axe and ran outside. A lot of dust had already settled, and the sound of vibrations could be heard in the distance.

The Eastern Dancer glanced at their retreating figures, gritted her teeth, and ran into the dark passage ahead.

"I'm only doing this for the mission!"

The Eastern Dancer rushed into the dark passage, muttering to herself, "The task the Imperial Princess assigned me isn't finished yet. If I go back like this, she'll definitely be unhappy!..."

"Yes."

"I have to go in and check! He couldn't have died so easily, could he?..."

The surrounding scenery rushed past.

The tremors continued to be heard in the distance, indicating that a fault had likely occurred below, causing large areas of the ruins to collapse.

Boom!

The Eastern Dancer twisted to avoid a falling rock, then stopped. A large crater appeared before her, clearly created by some terrible explosion; the bottom was littered with rubble of all sizes. The path was blocked; to get through, she would have to jump down and then find a way forward.

But just then, a rather disheveled figure climbed up from the broken section ahead.

"You're not dead!?"

The Eastern Dancer's face lit up instantly, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief, and she said, "That's wonderful!..."

Pooh.

After climbing up, Soren spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with dust. He had been almost directly engulfed in the initial explosion; had he not reacted quickly enough to withstand the blast, he might have been buried alive. Soren was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. He spat the dirt out of his mouth, wiped his face, and then asked, "How did you get here? Where are they?...?"

Soren glanced behind him but didn't see anyone else.

Even before the Eastern Dancer could speak, he seemed to know everything, and slowly said, "They've left? Tsk tsk! These temporary teams really can't be relied on in crucial moments!"

"Next."

Just as the Eastern Dancer was about to say something, she suddenly saw Soren toss her a gem that shimmered with an unusual luster. She quickly caught it, glanced at it, and her face immediately lit up with surprise.

These are the items she needs for her quest.

Rumble.

The sound of further collapse could be heard from behind.

Soren's expression changed slightly. He rushed forward and said in a deep voice, "Let's get out of here first! The area below has been blown apart! This whole area could collapse."

The two of them sped off along the original route.

Soren appeared to be seriously injured; his body was covered in dust and blood, which had congealed into clots. Even though they were moving quite fast, by the time they reached the plaza where they had started, it was pitch black. All the torches had been extinguished, and the entrance to the dug passage was blocked by fallen sand.

The passageway has collapsed.

The makeshift tunnel couldn't withstand the shock of such a landslide, but it seems the others had already escaped.

"What do we do now?"

The Eastern Dancer glanced at Soren and said softly, "The passage has collapsed."

Clang.

Soren turned and glanced at her, then tossed a shovel at her, saying irritably, "What can we do now?"

"Dig it out!"

...(To be continued~^~)