Chapter 142: Easily Annihilated 1

“Hmph!”

Kent had originally intended to avoid these people altogether. They were much like the adventurers found on the surface, but there was no Mercenary Guild in the Underdark. Here, armed groups generally belonged to powerful noble families or individual cities, though they often referred to themselves as adventurers when operating outside their own territories.

And the wilderness beyond the cities of the Underdark was an extremely dangerous place.

These adventurers would resort to almost any means necessary to rob and kill others. Even large merchant caravans sometimes fell victim to their attacks. Every year, dark elves disappeared without a trace, especially those who traveled alone. Most of these disappearances were the work of adventurers who cared about nothing but money.

Kent simply didn’t want any unnecessary trouble.

However, he hadn’t expected this particular group to be so professionally organized that they had even deployed a scout. Judging by their conduct, the force backing them was probably quite powerful.

Now that they had encountered one another, however, Kent wasn’t afraid of them.

If these people were foolish enough to provoke him, he would simply wipe them out.

With that thought, Kent let out a cold snort.

“Which city do you people belong to?”

Amid the sound of hurried footsteps, nearly twenty people gradually emerged into view.

Their party was remarkably well balanced, consisting of swordsmen, warriors, archers, rogues, and even a water-element mage.

The swordsmen wielded two-handed greatswords and were renowned for their formidable offensive power. The warriors, by contrast, carried one-handed swords and shields, combining offense and defense in a single fighting style.

Archers served as long-range marksmen, while rogues specialized in concealing their movements, navigating unfamiliar terrain, and identifying and setting traps.

All things considered, this was clearly a well-organized adventuring party.

Kent discreetly raised his guard.

Among the group, an archer carrying a horn bow slung across his back stepped forward. He glanced at Kent and Daphne before asking his question.

“We’ve lost our way. May I ask where you came from?”

Kent’s attention immediately returned to the horn bow, and his vigilance increased another notch.

A horn bow was crafted from the bones or horns of magical beasts. Such weapons possessed tremendous power, but they also demanded exceptional endurance and physical strength from their users. Ordinary people simply couldn’t handle them.

A horn bow could deliver several times the power of an ordinary bow, while its effective range was considerably greater as well. Naturally, this placed even stricter demands on the archer’s abilities.

Generally speaking, anyone capable of wielding a horn bow effectively was an expert marksman.

Still, Kent merely remained cautious. Compared with his current strength, the archer didn’t pose much of a threat.

“Boss, why waste so much time talking? I’ve already checked the area thoroughly. There’s nobody else here except these two. One’s a useless mage, and the other is just a—”

Before Kent could respond, a rogue suddenly appeared beside the archer and interrupted him.

He looked at Kent and Daphne with undisguised contempt, a strange glint flickering in his eyes. Most of the time, his gaze lingered on Daphne.

“Shut your mouth! Have you forgotten your manners?”

Before the rogue could finish his sentence, the archer barked at him angrily, cutting him off at once.

The archer then turned back to Kent with an apologetic smile.

“I’m Cluri, the leader of this adventuring party. Please don’t take offense at my subordinate’s foolish remarks. We’re from Salt City. May I ask where you’re from?”

“Hehe, we’re adventurers too. We got separated from our main group and lost our way. We happened to stumble upon this place by accident.”

Kent knew that Salt City was located on the second level of the Underdark. It was home to the largest salt mine discovered in the Underdark to date and ranked among the region’s largest cities.

From Cluri’s explanation alone, Kent could roughly estimate the strength of the people standing before him. They were most likely all intermediate-rank professionals. After all, possessing at least intermediate-rank strength was practically a basic requirement for surviving on the second level of the Underdark.

For that reason, Kent had no intention of provoking them unnecessarily.

He also had no desire to attract attention to himself.

As for the credit for discovering this enormous cavern, he didn’t particularly care about it. If these people wanted to claim the discovery for themselves, Kent saw no reason to object.

After all, the place was vast enough to accommodate a city, and he had far more important things to worry about than fighting over who would receive the credit.

“Hehe, why don’t we travel together, then? We can look out for one another along the way. Besides, now that we’ve discovered this place, we need to return and report our findings as soon as possible. We even have a map of the area.”

Cluri was no fool. If a mage could survive on the second level of the Underdark while traveling with a young dark elf girl, he must possess some measure of ability.

Of course, Cluri was also tempted to seize the dark elf girl and sell her off for a handsome profit. Dark elves had been fetching astronomical prices on the black market in recent years.

However, Cluri hadn’t become the leader of an adventuring party by being stupid. His men might act recklessly, but he knew better than to underestimate a stranger without first assessing the situation.

His eyes shifted slightly as he approached Kent, wearing a warm, friendly smile as he extended his invitation.

Kent studied Cluri’s sincere-looking expression without lowering his guard in the slightest.

In a situation where they were vastly outnumbered, there was little reason to believe these adventurers had such generous intentions. Kent was a mage, and the other party was a well-seasoned adventuring group. Judging by their equipment, coordination, and conduct, they were clearly experienced explorers of the underground world.

As far as Kent could tell, there were only two things that might attract their attention: Daphne standing beside him and the discovery of this enormous cavern.

An ordinary human mage like himself would be little more than a useless burden in their eyes, someone neither particularly valuable nor entirely worth ignoring.

That made Cluri’s unusually friendly behavior all the more intriguing.

“Then I’ll have to thank you for your kindness. Once we return to the city, I’ll make sure our captain expresses his gratitude. By the way, who has the map?”

Kent rubbed his nose and answered with a cheerful smile, appearing completely unguarded.

“Hahaha! You’re a straightforward fellow, aren’t you? A map is essential equipment for any adventurer. We draw as we travel, gradually filling in the details of the places we explore. I daresay our maps are among the most extensive in the entire Underdark. We’ve been in this line of work for more than a decade and have discovered countless mineral deposits. We’ve even found several locations suitable for building cities, though none of them was nearly as large as this place.”

Cluri laughed heartily as he spoke, his manner open and easygoing.

He glanced toward the volcano in the distance, while one hand slowly drifted toward the dagger at his waist.

A cold sneer flickered through Kent’s mind.

He quietly began gathering his magical power.

His favorite spell was Wind Blade. Not only was it fast, but it was also relatively inconspicuous. Under these circumstances, the faint cyan glow of wind magic would be difficult for the others to notice.

“Hehe, that’s certainly true. If this place were properly developed, it could easily accommodate a population of a million or more. And with a river nearby, it would be an ideal location for a settlement.”

Kent readily echoed Cluri’s praise, speaking as though the two of them were old friends discussing a promising discovery.

Yet out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cluri’s men slowly spreading out and approaching in a broad semicircle.

They were trying to surround him and Daphne.

Their movements were subtle, and they clearly had experience doing this sort of thing.

Meanwhile, Daphne was still busy playing with Big Nose, completely unaware of the danger gathering around them. She had little understanding of just how cruel and treacherous people could be.

Seeing her innocent behavior, Kent actually felt a little more at ease.

Having lived two lives, he had witnessed far too much filth and darkness to be easily deceived by a friendly smile. No matter the era, wherever people gathered, there would always be conflict, and darkness would inevitably find a way to exist alongside them.

Kent glanced at Daphne’s innocent face, then at the adventurers surrounding them, their cold and calculating expressions hidden beneath layers of hypocritical smiles.

A faint, icy glint flashed through his eyes.

When Cluri finally got a good look at Kent’s face, the last trace of apprehension in his heart disappeared completely.

Kent looked as though he hadn’t even reached adulthood yet. An underage mage!

Cluri could barely contain his laughter.

He had never imagined that this expedition would turn out to be so profitable. Not only had they stumbled upon a place large enough to accommodate a population of a million people, but the discovery itself was potentially worth a fortune.

In the Underdark, the growth of human populations had always been severely restricted by one major problem: a lack of suitable places to live.

When establishing a city in the underground world, its potential population was largely determined from the very beginning. The size of the available land and the abundance of resources in the surrounding area dictated how many people the city could ultimately support.

Cluri had already noticed along the way that this cavern was extraordinarily rich in food resources.

There were countless ferns and mushrooms growing throughout the area, and numerous small groups of magical beasts roamed the surrounding terrain. Even the underground river was warm to the touch.

That last detail was particularly important.

In the Underdark, rivers heated by nearby volcanoes were known to support abundant fish populations. Such waters could provide a substantial and reliable food supply for a growing settlement.

As for the finer details of how the area might be developed, that was hardly something Cluri needed to concern himself with.

His immediate concern was much simpler.

This discovery was going to make every member of his party a fortune.