Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 174 The Beginning of Calamity

Deep in the Dwarf Mountain, in the high-speed tunnel, the tunneling beetle hanging on the overhead track is still moving at high speed. Inside its belly, screams, even vomiting and cursing can be heard with each turn.

"Vanhart!"

Cheng Lang, who had already tied himself, Yun Ji, Ya Fu Suo, and Shen Ba to the same row of seats with a whip, cursed, "Tell me the truth! How much longer is it going to take!"

"Almost there! We'll be there soon!"

"You just said that too!" Yavso shouted, her face pale.

This time it's for real.

As Vanhart responded, he even yawned. He was firmly strapped to his seat by his octopus legs, so he was naturally unperturbed.

"Can we sit in this seat when we go back?" Yun Lan asked excitedly, as the undead Xiao Bao pressed her firmly into the seat.

"cannot!"

Cheng Lang, Yun Ji, and Ya Fu Suo refuted her in unison, while Shen Ba hugged his backpack and started vomiting again.

"Did the dwarves cross the Dwarf Mountain in the same way back then?" Yun Ji asked, gripping the whip wrapped around her tightly.

"of course not"

Van Hart explained, "There used to be many high-speed tunnels inside Dwarf Mountain, but they were all destroyed."

"Destroyed? Which bastard destroyed it?" Shenba asked angrily, having already run out of things to say.

“Elves, orcs, and of course, Rika,” Vanhart said matter-of-factly. “It can’t be pirates, can it?”

So where are we?

"Emergency escape route"

Van Hart shouted, "The exit is just ahead! Everyone, hold on tight!"

"I have a bad feeling."

Before Cheng Lang could finish speaking, a blinding light suddenly appeared in front of him.

“No, no, no, no, no!”

As Cheng Lang chanted frantically, the digging beetle shot out like a bullet, but after a brief leap through the air, it lost its momentum and began to spin and fall in a parabolic arc.

"puff!"

After a disgusting commotion, the digging beetle plunged into a clump of dark, mushy mud.

Fortunately, Cheng Lang had tied everyone up with a whip beforehand, and the spirit Xiao Bao had held Yun Lan down securely enough, so although their luggage bags were scattered and various items were flying everywhere, no one was injured.

We'll be there soon.

As Vanhart spoke, the burrowing beetle, which had been lying on its side, straightened itself and emerged again after diving down.

Before the metal elytra could fully open, the crowd, covering their mouths, stumbled out and collapsed to their knees to vomit.

"Vanhart, I'm going to cut off all your octopus legs. Ugh!"

Before she could finish speaking, Yun Ji, who was gripping the dagger tightly, squatted down again and began to vomit—she had been holding it in all the way.

"Where is this?"

Cheng Lang looked around listlessly and asked, "This journey has been just as thrilling as when I was carried by the Devouring Island when I left the Sea of ​​Despair."

But looking around, the cave is like an inverted bowl, with blinding sunlight streaming through skylights only at the very top, the "bottom" of the bowl.

"The end of the escape route"

Vanhart subtly distanced himself from Yun Ji, who was making a rare fool of herself, and then kindly changed the subject by pointing to a pool of water in the distance, "You can go there to wash up. If I remember correctly, the water there is very cold."

At this point, Vanhart had already extracted the snake molts from the mess of the digging beetles. "Once you've cleaned yourselves up, I'll take over that pool to help you forge your armor."

Hearing this, everyone became interested and quickly helped each other to the edge of the calm pool, where they cleaned themselves off as much as possible.

"Luckily, Grandpa Gerta didn't come."

While cleaning the vomit off his body with the icy, sharp pool water, Shenba said thankfully, "Otherwise, he probably would have needed to rest for several months."

"It would have been better if you hadn't come either."

Yavso complained with a long face as she washed a clump of vomit off her arm.

"Do you really think Vanhart would be so kind as to forge armor for us?" Yun Ji asked in a low voice while cleaning the stains off her body.

"He's making armor for us, so it can only be because we'll definitely need it later," Yun Lan said. She was in the best condition, practically unaffected.

“I now think it’s not just Vanhart who has a problem,” Cheng Lang said in a low voice. “I think the entire dwarf race has a problem.”

"Why?" Yun Lan asked in a low voice with great interest.

At first, we thought the elves were the mastermind behind it all.

Cheng Lang said in a low voice, "But that's on the premise that the dwarves are extinct. But look at Vanhart. Since he can be resurrected, what about the other dwarves? How could they be willing to perish when they have such an absolute technological advantage?"

"But they weren't dwarves according to legend."

"If gluttony is something cultivated by dwarves, then what truth is there in those legends?" Yun Ji asked quietly.

Be wary of him.

Cheng Lang pointed silently behind him and said something. The others nodded almost imperceptibly in response.

After cleaning themselves in the cool pool water, the group returned to the digging beetle, where the diligent Vanhart had already set up their hunting tent.

You can rest here.

Van Hart said, "It's best to stay in the hunting tent and not come out, as the smell of these snake skins is very strong."

Shenba shuddered under Yun Ji's threatening gaze, then said warmly and proactively, "Mr. Vanhart, may I do something for you?"

"If you're not tired and don't mind the smell, come and help out."

As he spoke, Vanhart unwrapped bundles of snake images and threw them into the icy pool.

I'm more afraid of my older sister.

Shenba muttered something to himself, picked up several bundles of snake skins and threw them into the pool. Then, resignedly, he jumped into the icy water and began to carefully wash the snake skins.

While Shenba was openly and secretly monitoring the resurrected Fanhart, Cheng Lang and the others naturally rested comfortably in their hunting tents.

Or rather, the only ones who could rest peacefully were Captains Yun Lan and Cheng Lang, whose cooking skills were really not that great, while the other two first officers were busy preparing dinner—their gluttonous captains were hungry again.

Amidst everyone's busy schedules, Cheng Lang enjoyed a hot and plentiful meal of orcish food. Outside the spacious hunting tent, the air was filled with an intense, almost irritating, smell and the clanging and banging of Vanhart's hammers.

Just as Cheng Lang and the others were preparing to head to Ganquan Town to help Vanhart find Eleanor, the orc father Gerta was also hailing an ordinary-looking moose cart, carrying some Rika wine purchased from Frostflower Harbor, and queuing up to enter the territory of the Elf Duchy.

I don't know if this fish oil is enough.

Gerta pressed the bottle, which was securely tied to his abdomen with strips of cloth, through his clothes, then shook the reins hard to increase the speed.

As he tirelessly traveled day and night, the elven capital drew ever closer, and the enormous, verdant sacred tree became increasingly visible. The day after they saw the sacred tree in Gerta, Cheng Lang and his companions finally emerged from their tent as the foul odor gradually dissipated.

After these days and nights of continuous work, the most noticeable change is actually that of the burrowing beetle that was once riddled with crossbow bolts.

It has been completely restored, and even has a semi-transparent snakeskin covering its exterior.

Compared to the obviously transformed burrowing beetle, the protective gear that Vanhart made for everyone consisted of nothing more than wide belts with python patterns.

"Are these belts the result of all this hammering and clanging these past few days?"

Cheng Lang picked up a belt that felt as light as a feather and asked suspiciously.

"certainly"

As he fastened a belt, Vanhart confidently replied, "Big guy, you demonstrate."

"Look at me!"

As the brainless Shenba spoke, he drew his large scythe and swung it around, slashing it hard at Vanhart's lower back.

There was no splatter of blood, no screams or last words, not even any sound or change.

The sharp, large scythe was bounced away without even touching Vanhart's body. The force of the rebound caused Shenba, who had used all his strength, to spin around and stagger, slashing the tip of the scythe into a boulder, easily splitting it in two.

"These belts also allow users to breathe underwater. As long as the belt is not damaged, they can even live in the water like a fish indefinitely."

As he spoke, Vanhart untied the belt he had just tied around his waist and handed it to Shenba. He then put on his own tattered leather belt and reattached the pickaxe to it.

"Vanhart, it's time to talk about the enemy we're facing."

Cheng Lang bent down to pick up a belt, and while tying it around his waist, he asked, "It's always better for us to be prepared in advance than to deal with it hastily at the last minute."

"Since we've promised to help you find Eleanor, we won't leave halfway."

"Alright"

Vanhart was quite straightforward: "Next, we're going to the dwarven water forge, which is heavily guarded."

"What kind of guards?" Yun Ji asked, looking at the belt that had been given to her.

"Monsters, all sorts of defective monsters are dumped there."

"Those monsters are not easy to deal with," Vanhart said.

"So one of the two treasure maps we obtained pointed to the Water Forge?" Yafso asked.

"Maybe"

Vanhart said, "Also, it's a huge maze there, and we can't use the burrowing beetles, so everyone must make sure not to get separated."

"What if we get separated?" Yun Lan asked.

There's no way around it.

Van Hart shook his head. "Those labyrinthine waterways can change at any moment."

"Then let's set off," Cheng Lang urged. "We're in a hurry to get to the Elf Kingdom."

“I thought you would refuse,” Vanhart said, quite surprised.

“The more dangerous it is, the greater the reward,” Cheng Lang said. “Besides, I don’t have the habit of abandoning my companions.”

Upon hearing this, Vanhart opened his mouth, then solemnly patted his chest and bowed, "Thank you, you are a qualified captain, I will do my best to ensure your survival."

"Stop wasting time, how are we going to get out?" Cheng Lang asked.

"Digging beetle, of course it's a digging beetle."

"and many more"

Yun Ji stopped Cheng Lang, asking with extreme caution, "Won't things turn out like before?"

"Please rest assured, Miss Yun Ji, I swear on my tentacles that such a situation will never happen again," Vanhart said sincerely.

It's best not to.

After Yun Ji finished speaking, she turned around and was the first to walk into the burrowing beetle enclosure, which had been cleaned up.

Once everyone was seated, Vanhart manipulated the beetle to close its metal elytra, then crawled into the muddy pool that served as a buffer against objects thrown from above.

After struggling to swim in the bottomless mud for a long time, the burrowing beetle began to rise to the surface.

Finally, when the elytra unfolded again, they saw a view completely different from the other side of Dwarf Mountain.

Bright sunshine, a cool breeze, endless green forests as far as the eye can see, and of course, a small village next to a waterfall that can be vaguely seen in the distance.

The waterfall flows out from inside the Dwarf Mountain, cascading down in a parabolic arc. Although the water flow is not very large, the rushing sound of the water is clear enough.

At this very moment, they were in the muddy ground in the middle of a small hill that was also right next to the Dwarf Mountain.

At the edge of this muddy area, a dozen or so wild boars were grunting and playing in the mud.

"Ganquan Village is just ahead."

"The waterfall pool in Ganquan Village is the only way we can get into the water forge," Vanhart explained.

After saying that, the digging beetle had already reached the edge of the muddy swamp, and everyone quickly got ashore.

"Put away the digging beetle and hand it to Cheng Lang," Vanhart said. "Enter the cave in Dwarf Mountain from this side; it's on the other side of the waterfall."

So you'd better be careful; there might be a lot of elven hunters hiding around here.

Upon hearing this, without any further instructions, everyone changed into an elven face.

"Do you need to take a break?" Vanhart asked finally.

"Let's rest after we rescue Ms. Eleanor," Cheng Lang said, already taking steps toward the white waterfall in the distance.

It must be said that the environment on this side of Dwarf Mountain is much better than that on the other side, Beast Reef.

There was no miasma here, and no adventurers either. Along their journey, they even saw large tracts of farmland at the foot of the mountain, as well as winding streams flowing close to the foot of the mountain.

Naturally, there weren't many caves on this side either; instead, the skeletons of exiled elves could be seen on the rock walls every so often.

"Elves are creatures that admire perfection."

"Even executions must adhere to their aesthetic standards," Van Hart said.

At this point, Vanhart paused for a moment, then said, "I think I can answer the question from before: the clues about the Dark Elves in the Fire Seed."

"What does it say in there?" Yun Ji asked subconsciously.

"Elves are creatures that admire perfection."

Vanhart sighed, "And the dark elves, the most perfect life created by the elves who worship perfection, are also the beginning of calamity."

(End of this chapter)