Plan (IV)

Roy Brando had not expected the orcs to bring him to the Duru Basin.

There was a gold mine in this godforsaken place?

He stared at the steep cliffs at the basin's entrance. Though he knew orcs almost never lied, a powerful suspicion still rose in his heart.

Suspicion made one cautious. Roy raised a hand to grasp the pendant engraved with his family crest at his neck, periodically lifting his eyes to survey the surroundings.

"We're here."

The burly orc abruptly stopped, making the knight following at his heels stumble. His muffled voice rumbled from his mouth. "This is the place."

Gar pointed at a corner of the Duru Basin.

It was a man-made mine shaft. Its entrance was fairly wide, filled with smoke, dust, and particulate matter, clearly excavated only recently. Within lay utter darkness; none could tell how deep it went or what it contained.

"Let's go."

When their emotions were stable, orcs did not like to overexplain themselves. Their words had always been brief. Gar said only two words before taking the lead inside.

Out of innate caution, Roy did not enter the mine immediately. Instead, he casually assigned two knights to follow the orcs inside and investigate first, while he waited outside for news.

The knights obeyed. After waiting roughly ten minutes, they emerged from the long, pitch-black tunnel, sweaty and with their heads lowered as they ducked out of the cave.

"How is it inside?" Seeing that they were safe and sound, Roy immediately asked.

A knight wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. "There is indeed gold inside, but, my lord..."

"But what?"

"This subordinate does not understand how to survey minerals. You will need to take a look yourself, my lord." The knight's expression was somewhat strange.

"You fool."

Roy cursed, but still decided to move. Led by the knight, he entered the cave, lowering his head and bending at the waist as he made his way into the dim underground tunnel.

The passage was not large, capable of accommodating at most two people abreast. Heaven knew why it was even hotter here than outside. The knight leading the way had entered for the second time, and his shirt was already soaked through. From Roy's position, he could clearly see sweat continuously seeping from the man's pores.

These stupid orcs haven't dug into the Underdark, have they? As Roy walked through the deep, shadowy passage, the thought could not help surfacing in his mind.

Everyone knew there were quite a few spatial nodes in Eladia. Through hidden nodes, one could connect to an underground realm filled with savage and brutal creatures—though it also held no shortage of treasures. Those on the surface called it the "Underdark."

However, Roy quickly dismissed the notion. The knights could not possibly have entered the Underdark without realizing it. They were his trusted men; if there were truly danger, they would never have allowed him to come down.

The tunnel was dark, and time passed as they felt their way forward.

About two minutes later, they reached an excavated open space. Roy heard his attendant say, "We're here, my lord."

Roy Brando looked around. This godforsaken place was so dark that he could barely see anything. The only source of light was the fluorescent red earth lining the edges, leaving visibility at less than two centimeters.

"That idiot Anrien."

At that moment, he could not help thinking of the only priest in the party. Before he could curse again, Roy heard a rustling sound, and a green-skinned hand thrust itself before him. "Here, human. Gold."

Roy saw a handful of crushed stones in that hand, among which were several granular golden objects.

It was difficult to see in the darkness. He seized the orc's wrist. "Take me to where it was dug out."

The orc then led him several steps forward. Roy crouched halfway down, and as the orc's so-called "gold mine" came into view, the fury in his heart began to surge.

There was indeed gold here, but the amount was pitifully small, scattered sparsely among the gravel and red earth, each piece scarcely larger than bird droppings.

"This is the gold mine you spoke of?"

Roy laughed in anger. If the mineral content here was what he was seeing, then even if he sent men to turn the entire Duru Basin upside down, the gold they could smelt would probably not be enough to cover the Brando Family's expenses for a single day.

How could I have believed them? These damned orcs—what could they possibly know?

He rose in irritation, thinking that in a couple of days he would send a dwarf or goblin prospector to take a look and be done with it.

Roy had already given up hope and wanted to leave, but the orc suddenly grabbed him again.

"Over here. More."

The other party seemed to have noticed his dissatisfaction and pointed in another direction.

Suppressing his anger, Roy followed with patience to take a look. The result was still far from satisfactory, leaving him deeply disappointed.

As he stood back up, he inadvertently noticed that several knights had gone somewhat pale. They were drenched in sweat from head to toe, and did not seem to be in good condition.

Was it too hot?

Roy subconsciously touched the pendant at his neck.

"This way..."

At that moment, the orc grabbed him again, intending to lead him toward another corner.

"Enough!"

The Brando Family's upbringing had allowed Roy to endure until now, but he had completely run out of patience. He gave a heavy sweep of his hand and cut off the orc's words. "I already understand. In a few days, I'll have a prospector come here. Consider those first few sacks of grain a gift to you."

"Now, we're leaving!"

Roy turned around and ordered the knight who had led him down earlier, "Go."

The knights acted as though they had been granted a pardon. Ignoring the orcs' reactions, they clustered around Roy and quickly began heading back. In the darkness they failed to notice, the orcs remained where they were, staring at one another with red pupils.

"Almost time. Just like the timing of the last experiment, the Flame Demon Curse is about to descend."

Orkash mouthed the words to Gar. The orcs nodded to one another, then silently caught up with Roy, who had left ahead of them.

It was noon when they exited the mine. The sunlight was so vicious it made one dizzy. Having seen daylight again, Roy's opinion of these orcs instantly plunged to rock bottom. Their brains were no smarter than pigs'.

Thud. The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out ahead.

Hearing it, Roy instinctively looked up, only to see the attendant at the front collapse stiffly to the ground, his eyes shut and his head covered in sweat.

The others hurried forward to inspect him.

One person crouched down and wiped the sweat from the fallen knight's face. They were all experienced warriors and quickly understood what was wrong. Looking up, he reported in a low voice, "It's the Flame Demon Curse, my lord."

"The Flame Demon Curse." Roy repeated the words through gritted teeth. He knew this thing all too well.

In the Northern Kingdoms, many poor folk were easily robbed of their lives by this curse. Every year when the dry season came, the priests in the churches were so busy they could barely stop.

At that moment, he noticed that his other attendants were pale as well, sweat constantly streaming down their bodies. These were signs that the Flame Demon Curse was about to invade.

Where the hell has that bastard gone?

Roy had already cursed Anrien ten thousand times in his heart.

"My lord, you need to leave this..." Before long, another attendant fell unconscious.

At the same time, several green-skinned orcs had just emerged from the cave.

After the second came the third, then the fourth... Before long, every knight Roy had brought lost their strength, fell unconscious, and lay limp on the ground.

Roy himself leaned against the wall and slowly slid down as well, seemingly affected by the curse and unable to move.