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Chapter 164: Returning to Underground

Sein himself took an active role in this operation. He ventured into one of the mineshafts recently overrun by a mutated quasi-ranked magic beast just half a month prior.

While navigating the mineshaft, Sein asked the owl that was flying ahead of him, “Any findings, Sev?”

Sev hooted and replied, “Indeed. Traces of a quasi-ranked magic beast lingered here, but it’s unlike any I’ve encountered before. It’s wildly aggressive.”

He halted before a groove in the mine wall, clearly not a natural formation but rather the result of a powerful creature’s sharp claws.

Sein carefully collected a few brownish-black fur from the center of this groove using tweezers.

Before he could gather more evidence, the echoes of intense combat and shouting resonated from deeper within the mine.

It was the mercenary groups clashing with some unidentified creatures.

Sein swiftly stored the fur he collected in a test tube before hastening toward the battle site with Sev.

The dark, cramped confines of the underground mine was a challenging battleground for knights, especially those unaccustomed to such environments.

On the surface, these skilled mercenaries would confidently face any foe of their caliber, but underground, their lack of visibility and familiarity with the terrain put them at a disadvantage against even weaker underground creatures.

That was why the previous suggestion to explore these mines was met with strong opposition from all three mercenary groups.

Sein, as a divine tower mage, valued his time highly and had little patience for the trivialities and grievances of these mercenaries.

He was even less concerned with the fate of those unrelated to his quest.

After all, these mercenaries were compensated for their efforts.

Despite her earlier threats of withdrawal, the red-armored female knight did not follow through with leading her mercenary group out of the Brinescorch Basin when they were forced to storm the underground mine.

When Sein reached the scene of the skirmish, the battle was almost at its end.

The underground creatures assaulting the mercenaries were indeed those familiar to Sein.

Among them were underdwarves, cavemen, and a dark-skinned demihuman.

These underground demihumans, typically small and agile, rarely confronted human knights and mages directly.

They preferred ambushing and attacking from the shadows.

These underground adversaries often retreated after a single strike, never engaging in prolonged combat.

This surprising hit-and-run tactic was particularly vexing for any fighter.

At that moment, the red-armored female knight was surrounded by a ring of red battle qi particles.

Despite her young age, it was impressive that she was a capable senior squire capable of establishing and leading a large mercenary group.

Beside her lay three defeated underground demihumans, all dispatched by her formidable greatsword. The sheer force she wielded was unmistakable.

“Chief, Daz and Hank are down. These creatures’ weapons are laced with poison. The others got hurt too, but they’ve managed to treat their wounds,” a voice from ahead.

Responding to her comrade’s call, the female knight picked up her greatsword and hurried forward.

Just before departing, she also caught sight of Sein, who had arrived just in the nick of time.

She vengefully shot one last menacing glare in Sein\'s direction before hurrying away.

The mine’s darkness, punctuated by scattered torchlight, could not dispel the gloom that hung heavily in the air.

The weak groans served as a grim reminder of the mercenary group’s diminishing numbers as they ventured deeper into these depths.

The Scarlet Scales Mercs was a sizable force with dozens of official and external members.

Their leader had wisely brought only their strongest—those with significant battle qi and battle strength—for this perilous mission.

In a moment of anger and frustration, the group’s leader swung her sword and cleaved a black ore beside her.

Her fury was palpable, casting a somber mood among her comrades.

They were a group of veterans that had undergone numerous years of growth and weathered countless life-and-death trials.

The members of this group shared a strong camaraderie, devoid of the scheming or underhanded tactics that typically afflicted other mercenary groups.

This sense of unity was largely attributed to their leader’s personality.

The loss of two team members weighed heavily on the mercenaries, a rare moment of vulnerability for these hardened warriors.

It was in this tense atmosphere that Sein’s voice unexpectedly broke through.

“What are you guys doing? These two aren’t dead yet,” Sein said, stepping into view. “If we dawdle like this, they’ll really die!”

Undeterred by the knights’ mix of astonishment and irritation, Sein retrieved some black herbs from his space ring. He deftly crushed them into a powder and applied it to the wounds of the two poisoned knights.

These herbs were discoveries Sein made in the underground mine.

Though slightly different from Gloomhaven’s underground space, it was still a familiar environment to Sein.

These herbs, nestled in rock crevices, were easily overlooked by most, but Sein recognized their dual nature as both antidote and poison.

The toxin used by the underground demihumans was derived from these very herbs.

Fortunately, the poison was of a lower grade, not requiring the sophisticated antidote needed for something like the paralyzing blue moss toxin.

Upon arriving here, Sein noticed the absence of any blue moss, likely because the environment here was not conducive to the growth of moss with paralyzing toxins.

On the contrary, such species was more commonly found in the Gloomhaven region.

As the condition of the poisoned mercenaries stabilized, the group’s perception of Sein shifted.

At least, the initial hostility and skepticism directed at him had lessened.

The leader of the Scarlet Scales Mercs, in particular, seemed to reassess her view of Sein.

She sheathed her greatsword, then turned to a fellow mercenary and ordered, “Take those two away from here, and be sure to demand compensation from the Earl of the Gypson Dukedom for their medical expenses!”

***

As the group ventured deeper into the mines, the intensity and frequency of attacks escalated, suggesting that this situation was more than just a simple case of mutated magic beasts.

The brazen manner in which the underground creatures tried to stand in their way raised questions in Sein’s mind and prompted him to reflect on the nature of his quest from the academy.

“Could it be that the academy is already privy to certain information? Maybe this isn’t just a simple ‘investigation’ into the frenzied magic beasts. Even so, the quest’s danger level couldn’t be too extreme. Otherwise, the academy wouldn’t have entrusted it to senior initiates,” Sein shook his head and thought to himself.