Chapter 193: Searching for Clues before attacking

Following that, the skeleton turned away. It patrolled slowly between the human laborers and Goblins, its whip descending upon anyone whose pace flagged, its mouth endlessly screaming out orders in a tongue Kei recognized with absolute certainty from his memories.

"Keep working! Excavate every last shard of ore!"

"If you slaves don’t work, don’t even think about eating! You pathetic Goblins and inferior humans!"

Kei surveyed the sprawling mine. Humans bowing their heads to hack at ore veins, Goblins driven onward by leather whips, and minecarts overflowing with Golden Mithril rolling toward the dark tunnels.

Only then did he comprehend why humans and monsters were mining this place together.

Monsters and humans alike were nothing more than slaves to these skeletal overlords, forced to extract Golden Mithril until they dropped dead!

"Bastards... These skeletal freaks... Damned to hell!"

Kai gritted his teeth, the muscles across his arms bulging taut. The instant he made to step out of hiding, Kei clamped a hand around his wrist, halting Kai from immediately rushing out to throw punches.

"Don’t."

"Just how much longer do you expect us to wait?" Kai lowered his voice, yet fury still blazed fiercely within his eyes. "They’re assaulting both humans and monsters alike! I want to charge down there and smash those skeletons to pieces first."

"Kei! Let me go!"

"And then what?" Kei locked eyes straight onto him. "We still have no clue how many skeletons there are, where the exit is once we successfully rescue the people, or precisely where Thunder and Emma are being imprisoned. If we rush out blindly right now, everyone in this mine could end up in mortal peril."

Kai continued glaring toward the prison guard. His hand tightened into a fist so hard his knuckles turned stark white.

Kei lowered his voice to soothe Kai.

"Give me a little more time. We need to figure out what’s actually going on before deciding our next move."

After a long beat, Kai finally offered a reluctant nod.

Kei likewise couldn’t fathom what use those skeletal freaks had for Golden Mithril. They lacked the capacity to forge weaponry bare-handed, though operating a metallurgical furnace presented a different story entirely. He needed to investigate where the harvested ore was being transported, who was commanding the mining operation, and whether the captives stood any realistic chance of escape.

The two of them backed away from the miniature cavern entrance, skirting along the rock face to locate an alternate route descending toward the extraction sector. They navigated narrow, winding tunnels, several segments shored up by crude timber pillars. On multiple occasions, the sound of approaching footsteps and cracking whips forced them to plaster themselves against rocky alcoves, holding their breaths as the patrol squad passed by.

Ultimately, Kei pinpointed a substantially wider corridor. The muddy earth beneath their boots was churned flat, while fresh cart tracks scarred the walls. This pathway was clearly heavily trafficked.

"Someone’s coming!" Kai whispered excitedly; possessing exceptional auditory acuity, he easily picked up the approach of a human.

A man clad in grimy miner garments, his hair disheveled and caked in filth, radiating an aura of utter despair and hopelessness, was trudging alone down the corridor. Bowing his head with exhausted strides, he remained completely oblivious to the two figures lying in ambush beside him.

Kei offered a subtle hand gesture.

Kai lunged forward instantly, grabbing the man and violently dragging him into a dark side-tunnel. Kei followed closely behind him. The stranger struggled frantically in blind panic, but Kai clamped a hand tight over his mouth, suppressing every sound before it could escape.

Not until they reached a concealed corner tucked behind a stack of rotting wooden crates did Kai release his grip, per Kei’s nod.

Crouching down before the man, Kei kept his voice carefully modulated and calm.

"Calm down. We’re scouts who came to rescue whoever’s being imprisoned inside this Dungeon. We’re humans, not monsters."

The man stared blankly at Kei. For several seconds, he failed to utter a single word, before his knees suddenly turned rubbery and his entire body slid down against the floor.

"No way..." He trembled, his breathing coming in ragged gasps. "You... are you guys really here to rescue us?"

His complexion was ash-white, eyes blown wide with stark terror. Kei realized mere words fell short of pulling the man out of his hysterical panic. He immediately channeled a low-tier healing spell. A soothing radiance washed over the man, alleviating his ravaged physical state and stabilizing his erratic breathing.

Before long, his hunched shoulders relaxed incrementally. Lowering his head, tears streamed down the man’s dirt-streaked cheeks.

"Thank you... Thank you so much."

"What’s your name?" Kei asked.

"Argus. I’m a hunter belonging to a minor guild out of Ji-pong City." He swallowed hard, struggling to steady his composure. "I’ve been trapped down here for two whole weeks. They force us to mine ore like slaves. Anyone whose speed lags gets beaten, and whoever collapses..."

Argus trailed off. His gaze drifted aimlessly, coming to a rest upon his own raw, calloused hands.

Kei gave a solemn nod. He refrained from asking further regarding those who had fallen. The grim answer was etched plainly across Argus’s face.

"Do you happen to know a miner named Emma and a blacksmith named Thunder?"

Kei inquired with a voice that quivered ever so slightly.

The plight of these involuntary miners was horrific; indeed, many likely had already... Kei desperately hoped those two names weren’t tallied among the fallen!

Thunder has been gone for about 1 week, and Emma has been missing even longer before that, so hoping both of them are safe is very difficult.

Fortunately, Kei didn’t have to be disappointed!

"I... I know Miss Emma!"

Argus stammered.