Chapter 507 - 506: The Giant Purple Worm

Chapter 507: Chapter 506: The Giant Purple Worm

"If they start spewing some bullshit about reviving the Shadow Anvil Clan and ask for your help entering the Undercity, don’t you dare agree. It’d be a suicide mission!"

With that, Balende clapped Colin on the shoulder and got up, heading toward the noisy dwarves.

"If so many dwarves have failed, does that mean Langgrin and his group will fail and die too?" Orelia asked anxiously, her small hands clutching a half-eaten giant frog leg.

"Dying for one’s ancestors is a respectable death," Kase said with rare seriousness. "Those short guys are tough, I’ll give them that."

Ale, however, spoke up. "I think that dwarf had a point. It’s better to take care of the people around you than to get hung up on something impossible."

"That’s where you’re wrong, pointy-ears. Matters of ancestry are absolutely important," Kase retorted. "The black-bearded dwarf is the one who’s right."

Colin said, "You don’t really think Balende is against Durkin’s expedition, do you?"

Ale, who had been about to continue arguing with Kase, tilted her head. "He isn’t?"

Colin watched the old dwarf’s swaying back and said flatly, "If that were true, he wouldn’t be on this expedition."

After eating and getting some sleep, the expedition set out once more.

The group proceeded slowly down the tunnel. Before long, the ground beneath their feet was covered in water, though it was only a few centimeters deep.

Another ten meters or so, and the expedition reached the end of the tunnel.

Sunlight streamed in from the tunnel’s mouth, illuminating the dwarves’ heads. Colin looked out to see a vast underground lake beyond the tunnel’s end, its shores lined with verdant trees.

Birds chirped and insects flitted through the air.

It was an enormous cavern. For a moment, Colin was so disoriented he thought they had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the Supreme Forest.

Looking up, the uneven rock walls and sharp stalactites reminded him that this was the Underground City beneath Thousand Masts City, not some forest in the wilderness.

Dark openings also dotted the cavern ceiling between the rock walls and stalactites. They peppered the entire expanse, truly resembling black eyes. No wonder this place was called the Lake of Thousand Eyes.

In the center of the cavern ceiling hung a glowing, spherical mass, like a miniature sun.

Colin held out a hand, feeling the light shine down on him, and was surprised to feel a genuine warmth.

"Hey, Ale!" Langgrin called over his shoulder. "You’ve got that cold wind magic, right? The nearest shore isn’t far. Can you come up and freeze a bridge for us?"

"No problem," Ale answered, making her way to the front of the group.

She began casting, chanting as she raised her magic staff.

A biting wind howled forth, and the surface of the lake before her flash-froze, quickly forming a thick, triangular sheet of ice.

The expedition immediately started across the ice toward a small patch of solid ground on the shore.

Halfway across, Colin suddenly felt the ice begin to tremble beneath his feet. Startled cries erupted from the dwarves ahead of him, and a cluster of them began scrambling to keep their balance, terrified of falling into the lake.

"Hold steady! Don’t move!" Colin shouted, quickly reaching out to grab two dwarves in front of him who were about to fall.

Durkin, at the head of the expedition, also bellowed a few commands. The dwarves quieted down, huddling tightly together until they resembled a colony of penguins.

"What in the world is happening?" "Doesn’t feel like an earthquake." "No shit!"

The dwarves chattered amongst themselves on the ice.

Just then, a plume of dust rose from the distant treetops, followed by a cloud of gray mist erupting from the ground.

Then, a purple shape emerged from the dust.

The purple shape writhed forward, segment by segment, like a worm. Earthy-yellow barbs studded its body. Its head was a gaping maw—or rather, the creature’s entire front end was its mouthparts.

Right now, that giant mouth was holding a creature resembling a wild ox.

’Could that be a Rothe?’ Colin thought. ’They’re the favorite livestock of the Underground’s inhabitants. That thing is nearly the size of a wild ox, and the worm snatched it in a single bite!’

The worm continued its forward writhing, then bent its front end and burrowed back underground. A few seconds later, it had vanished completely.

"So that’s a purple worm? What a magnificent sight," Colin said.

"’Magnificent?’ Hmph. You’d better pray it doesn’t decide to come after us," a dwarf ahead of him grumbled. "That worm has no eyes. It relies on vibrations for prey Perception. With so many of us, it’s bound to feel our movements."

"Damn it, then let’s get moving!" "Dorn, which way do we go?"

At this, the surrounding dwarves began to clamor again.

"Don’t panic. Just follow me," Dorn said, hopping off the ice. He led the expedition into the dense woods.

Map in hand, he led the group along a narrow path through the forest.

Although the forest looked much like an Ordinary dense wood, it was clear that most of the creatures living here were from the Underground. A great many of the insects were grayish-white and much larger than their Surface counterparts.

In the Undercity, the areas around rivers and lakes were relatively stable, making the fifth level one of the most structurally consistent zones. The fourth level’s swamp region followed a similar pattern: while the shallows shifted, the deep-water areas remained relatively constant.

Because the terrain was more stable, Dorn navigated with greater confidence, managing to steer them clear of many monster lairs.

Under his guidance, the expedition even managed to evade a pair of Wyverns out hunting together.

Accomplishing such a feat while leading more than thirty dwarves was incredibly difficult.

Of course, they still ran into the occasional minor creature, like Blights.

For Colin’s group, these things were hardly worth mentioning, especially with Donkexes and his people helping out.

After making camp one more time, the expedition replenished their drinking water from the lake and finally arrived at the entrance to the next level.

Like the entrances to the previous levels, this one was constructed from stone bricks. Judging by the wear on the stone, it was almost certainly another ruin left by the Shadow Anvil Clan.

"Our destination is just ahead," Durkin said, stopping at the front of the expedition. He looked back at Colin. "This is your payment."

With that, Durkin tossed him a small pouch.

Colin caught the pouch and pulled it open. Inside were five colorful Gemstones.

"The quality of these Gemstones is quite good..." Ale started, then swallowed hard. "Sorry. These Gemstones could easily sell for five hundred Gold Coins."

"Ale must think those Gemstones are candy," Orelia teased with a laugh.

Hearing this, Ale said nothing, merely swallowing again.