One by one, a pillar of smoke rise from one edge and another. And where there's smoke, soon comes the fire. Besiege by an army smaller in number, Ri desperately sent out their troops to break through the thin encirclement. Probing one side at a time trying to figure out any weak point only to be met with heavy resistance and crushing defeat each time. Lowering not only the morale of those that guards the walls but also those hiding behind closed doors.
Mutiny was inevitable, Ri's fate is akin to a burning thread and not even a miracle can save it. And the commanders of the siege knows they shan't let them have any opportunity. As the port is the only viable way to escape, many have gathered near the coast trying to flee by building their own ships or stealing some of the military boats but...
"Commencing to shell the ports! Cut them off their last supplies!"
*************************************
*Drip* *Drip*
Using my echolocation, we were able to map out 28 km of the dungeon from the entrance in width, height, and length. And so far we have descent 1.8 km deep and the path has been unstable as some path becomes narrower and smaller before becoming bigger again while temperature is being regulated by Ye-Hua to keep us warm, and with my ability...
I could notice dead ends, branching paths, interconnected ways, and even if we found steep paths that for e us to use cables and leaps of faith, I was able to found different longer path that doesn't requite us to take dangerous risks, and with my ability I was able to find water ways and even underwater ways to avoid those steep cliffs and just swim on shallow waters. But with Ye-Hua and Zenon we can easily dry easily.
"Hahahaha! My god, Sova! You are amazing! Your hearing ability is overpowered, you should use it more!"
Zenon smacks my back as he jumps from joy. But I rebutted saying:
"I wish I could but if I use it too much it would hurt not only my ears but my head as well. It was only just last year I was able to control it."
(And I bled through my ears and nose using my powers to the absolute limit when I was training with Sis and had to skip training for a week).
"Well, I suppose moderation is key. Don't hesitate to tell us if you're tired okay and we can rest."
"Yea, thank you."
San-Min, Ye-Hua, and Jana follow closely behind us as they help map the place while asking me about specific details.
"But still, screw wasting magic when we got some super human on our side. Even my location magic can only sense around 1 km with my artificial artefacts, so having a natural sonar that can sense multiple times farther and read past water is so useful! Quickly tell us about the path to the right, where does it lead us?"
Ye-Hua asks enthusiastically as she rights details and draws according to what I said. The dungeon so far has been a winding road of endless caverns and hollow river openings. It seems this giant mountain is connected to the ocean so some of the water inside this caves are salt water. As for hostiles... So far the Hunters have been amicable as we went our separate ways.
"Hmph! It seems the hunters are pretty Peaceful for now... I can only imagine what will happen after we acquire the artefact."
Juha comments walking beside me as she is the one providing the lighting where the Hunter's equipment doesn't shine. The position so far is Zenon up front, Juha and I at the centre while San-Min's group is at the back.
So far, the only reason we're exploring is to find the so called, artefact that resides here and as to how we know its here is that they have sense and feel its presence. If there's one huge problem is this dungeon is massive and sometimes those water chambers might have holes that leads to secret rooms which would lead to the bottom floor. Also, with water there seems to be common molds and other life forms inhabiting this place like crustaceans and insects.
(This place is a maze and it's better if we find somewhere that doesn't require us to swim. Is this what it feels like to explore? No wonder Sis looks so Exhausted whenever she return home and just wants to sleep. Here I'm on my first exploration and I already feel like schnitzel. Even worse...
I've already used my echolocation 3 times since we entered in the afternoon and from Juha's watch we've been here for more than half a day... How big is this place? And is it really worth it to find the artefact that's hidden so deep? And when will I be safe with Yoo-Gisa after me?)
I march on with heavy steps as we delve deeper as I ask,
"By the way what is this artefact anyways? Do we have a clue?"
*Twitch*
Seeing San-Min and Ye-Hua react, I turn to them but Zenon walks beside me replying:
"Nope, and that's just how it is! That's what it means to be an adventurer. Though worry not, wether there's an artefact or not... I can assure you its deep down there, I can feel it the moment we arrive here."
*Crawl* *Crawl*
Zenon then walks ahead of me as I soon realize something as well. Scanning such a huge place I notice one unusual thing. Unlike the natural formed caves, there are smaller tunnels that looks like it is artificially made... And I also notice huge movements after my second echolocation.
"Hey, Sova, seems those moving objects you said are finally here."
Zenon summons a spear of light and fire upon the darkness beyond as to reveal a monster with no eyes but brown fur and massive claws slowly coming towards us. The entire party raises their weapons and prepares for battle.