Slime Immortal.

Chapter 142 Deep into the Dark
Arno and the three stood there in silence, an awkward atmosphere filling the air.

Not far away, the alarms at the Black Fang Mercenary Group's camp grew increasingly shrill, and the sounds of hurried footsteps and shouts were rapidly approaching.

"What are you waiting for? Run!" The most agile assassin in the lead roared, and the three of them instantly took off running into the depths of the dark place.

Arno quickly followed.

"stop!"

"The intelligence is wrong. There are four attackers, not three. Don't let them escape!" came the mercenary's furious shout from behind.

Arno's heart skipped a beat; how did he become an accomplice?

Although he did have the idea of ​​shutting down the warehouse, he just didn't have time to do it.

"Boss, things seem to be going badly!" Arno cried out in his heart as he ran.

"Just follow them. They're all stone men anyway, so you'll blend in perfectly."

Chen Yu lay inside the leather lining of Yano's armor, feeling the jolts, yet his thoughts were as leisurely as if he were on vacation.

Arno: "..."

He was speechless.

The assassin in the lead, named Leon, glanced back at Arno, his brow furrowed. He seemed to think Arno's speed was slowing down the overall pace, and then gave a look to his companions on either side.

The other two instantly understood.

We must bring this Stoneborn of unknown origin along. If he is captured by the Black Fangs at this time, the Stoneborn's attack on the warehouse will be completely exposed.

Ella, the most slender and agile of the three, moving like a cat, immediately approached Arno and whispered, "Don't resist!"

She grabbed Arno's wrist with her fingers, and the next second, Arno felt as if the shadows around him came alive, and a thick black curtain enveloped the four of them.

【Shadow Glide】

The four figures seemed to transform into real shadows, gliding silently and rapidly along the ground and the shadows of obstacles in a way that defied the laws of physics, disappearing completely into the intricate ruins and darkness in a few flashes.

He left far behind the mercenaries' furious curses and the light of their torches.

……

Half an hour later, at the edge of the dark land, in a secluded wooden cabin built against a natural cave.

The dim glowstone light barely illuminated the small space, and the atmosphere became tense once again.

"Alright, Mr. Stone, you're a stranger."

Leon, the leader, gripped his dagger in reverse and asked warily, "Now, can you tell us where you come from? Don't try anything funny; you should know how powerful we are."

"Cough um."

Arno cleared his throat, and instead of being afraid, he straightened his back and responded seriously.

"I'm sorry, but judging from the current situation, you are surrounded by me and my boss. I suggest you give up the futile resistance and surrender as soon as possible."

"Boss? He has accomplices?!" The three men were startled and immediately retreated, nervously scanning the dark corners.

Then, they saw Arno's leather armor wriggle, and a small green slime struggled to squeeze out, landing with a "plop" on the wobbly wooden table in the center of the room, blinking as it stared at the three Stoneborn assassins who looked on high alert.

"That's it?"

Ella, the only woman among the three, couldn't help but chuckle.

The other two visibly breathed a sigh of relief, their tense muscles relaxing as they prepared to step forward again to subdue Arno.

Just then, the seemingly harmless slime twitched slightly.

"call out--!"

A sharp stone dagger shot out of its body like lightning, grazing past Ella's ear and precisely severing several strands of her hair before embedding itself deeply into the wooden wall behind her with a muffled "thud".

Instantly, the air inside the cabin froze again, Ella's smile froze on her face, and her pupils contracted sharply.

Leon and Max gripped their weapons tightly again, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

"Oh no, something's wrong with this slime."

"Strike first, strike hard!" Lyon growled.

"If you want to hurt the boss, you'll have to get past me first." Arno drew his broadsword from his back almost simultaneously, standing horizontally in front of the table, displaying an imposing aura of one man guarding a pass against ten thousand.

In an instant, the narrow wooden hut was filled with the cold glint of weapons.

The dagger and broadsword clashed violently at an astonishing speed, producing a dense, rain-like "clanging" sound.

However, whether Arno's broadsword struck his opponent or his opponent's dagger sliced ​​at Arno, they could only create a series of dazzling sparks on their petrified skin, leaving not even a white mark.

Neither can break the other's defense.

The four of them hacked wildly for a while, their petrified bodies smashing through the wooden wall and dulling the blades of their daggers. Finally, they started punching and kicking each other.

The poor little cabin was damaged; the walls were pounded and splintered, and it looked like it was about to fall apart.

Chen Yu, who was watching the show from the sidelines, seemed to enjoy it immensely, giving the impression that he was always eager for a good spectacle.

"Huff... Huff... Stop! Stop!"

In the end, Arno, with his superior stamina, had a slight advantage. The three of them were so exhausted that they were panting heavily while holding their knees. Leon was the first to raise his hand to signal a stop.

"Alright... spare me..." Leon gasped for breath, looking incredulously at Arno, who was only slightly out of breath. "How come you have so much brute strength? You're nothing like a normal Stoneborn assassin."

Arno sheathed his broadsword, grinned smugly, and flexed his arm to show off his muscular physique: "Because I am a true warrior."

These words enraged Ella, who pointed at him with a trembling finger: "Heretical! A heretic among the Stoneborn! To actually become a barbarian wielding a broadsword."

"Alright, enough nonsense. Tell me who you are. My boss is watching." He pointed to Chen Yu on the table.

Having finished eating the melon, Chen Yu hopped over at the opportune moment, jumped back onto Yano's shoulder, and slowly swept his scrutinizing eyes over the three of them.

Being scrutinized like this by a slime made the three of them feel incredibly strange and absurd, but the intimidating power of the stone sword from before still lingered.

Leon exchanged a glance with his two companions, slowly exhaled, and said in a deep voice, "You don't know our identities. It seems you are indeed not from the Underdark, and you should have nothing to do with those scumbags from the Black Fang Mercenary Group."

Arno's expression grew even stranger: "Could it be that the Stoneborn are quite famous in the Underdark?"

Ella picked up the conversation, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible pride, "Hmph, anyone who's been in the gray area for a while knows the name of the Belmont family. Our 'Stone Blade' is renowned throughout the Underdark."

“Belmont…”

Arno's expression instantly turned extremely strange, his eyes scanning the three of them with a complex look.

Could it be that his ancestor was really so promiscuous back then, and left behind another bloodline in the dark place?
He took a deep breath, straightened his chest, and said formally, "I am Arno Belmont, from Ironboot Town on the border of the kingdom."

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, all three wore expressions of disbelief.

"Lyon Belmont, a seventh-generation stone descendant."

“Ella Belmont, he is Max Belmont, we are the eighth generation of Stone descendants.”

After a brief moment of surprise, the three of them simultaneously opened the hoods that had been covering their faces, revealing their relatively youthful appearances.

Unlike Arno, their petrified state seemed very unstable. Even in their normal state, their skin clearly showed grayish-white stone-like textures of varying shades, like some kind of indelible mark.

Chen Yu was slightly surprised.

Good heavens, it's all Belmont.

This is truly a massive family reunion!

An eerie silence fell over the cramped wooden cabin. The four people stared at each other, the air seemingly frozen.

After a long silence, Leon pulled his hood up again, covering most of his face except for his taut jawline. "No matter what Belmont you came from, we must leave here immediately and return to our family."

"If you don't want to be bitten by the tail by those hyenas of the Black Fang Mercenary Group who smell blood, you'd better come with us."

"At least Belmont's castle will not discriminate against any of its kind who have the blood of stone flowing through their veins."

The taciturn Max added in a muffled voice, "Perhaps... our ancestors know your origins."

"This……"

Arno didn't agree immediately, but subconsciously turned his head to look at Chen Yu on his shoulder.

Arno only breathed a sigh of relief and nodded after the blob of green gel shook up and down, indicating its agreement. "Okay. But you have to tell me where we're going."

This time, it was Ella who answered him, and she also pulled up her hood.

"Belmont's castle is located deeper in the Underdark, and we need to pass through the ancient, abandoned city of 'Gol,' which is inhabited by gargoyles, to reach it."

"That area is teeming with monsters that possess the petrifying gaze. Ordinary adventurers would have no chance of surviving unless they prepared high-level petrification immunity spells or amulets in advance."

"However, this is not a problem for us."

Finally, Arno followed the three suddenly appearing members of his clan and quietly left the dilapidated cabin, entering the darkness and ruins of the Underdark.

The three walked ahead, their figures weaving through the broken walls and ruins, occasionally turning back to look at Arno and the green slime on his shoulder.

Their curiosity about the slime, in particular, was almost overflowing.

A stone warrior, suspected to possess ancient Belmont blood, actually addresses a slime as "boss."

Could this little thing be a magical projection of some ancient and noble being?

Or does it possess the ability to manipulate minds?

Various speculations swirled in their minds.

Chen Yu originally thought that the so-called "Belmont Castle" was like a camp at the outpost ruins, at most a half-day's journey away.

However, following the three professional divers at breakneck speed, they still hadn't arrived by the next day, so the three decided to set up camp and rest under a secluded rock crevice.

Because the Underdark is perpetually dark, with no distinction between day and night, the three Stoneborn's daily routines are quite peculiar.

Arno was so sleepy that he was yawning when they remembered they needed to rest.

As the group sat around the campfire, Chen Yu learned from Arno's brief conversation with them that it would take at least four or five more days of arduous travel to return to the castle.

As for why these three guys went to such lengths to steal those "bloody scrolls" from the Black Fang Mercenary Group's warehouse at the outpost ruins, they remained tight-lipped and kept their mouths shut, clearly still wary.

The journey was tedious and tense, and Chen Yu left only a part of his consciousness with Arno, observing this bizarre underground world.

The main consciousness returned to the sun-drenched and vibrant swampy territory.

(End of this chapter)