"How come you are all together? Did you gather all the warriors from Geldern to form a team or what?" Gerald questioned the two team leaders.
"That's right! Good observation!" Kerius confirmed it immediately. "If we are going to form larger groups, it's better to have some familiar faces, don't you think?"
Gerald nodded in agreement. It was indeed better to work with people you knew than some complete strangers from who knows where.
"Oh, that's right! Gerald, would you like to join us?" Derrick extended an invitation.
"Me? Join you?" Gerald pointed at himself, a bit surprised. "Are you sure, I don't think I'll be of much use..."
"Sure! Don't worry about it! We already decided to split the rewards based on the amount of work done. Besides, having more people would make our expedition safer and you could also be more at ease exploring, right?" Derrick almost sounded like a salesman, trying to sell him a membership to join their group.
Gerald looked around, across the familiar faces, and then back to Derrick, "Is everyone okay with it?"
Most people nodded without complaints. Those who interacted with him in the past knew that he was quite capable with combat magic. Even though he wasn't as physically strong as the rest, that didn't matter that much.
They were all from the younger generation, in their early to mid-twenties. Gerald was actually one of the youngest there, so him being weaker was understandable.
"Okay then, I'm in!" Gerald eventually agreed.
Kerius slapped him on the back and laughed with a big smile, "Great! Let's find a place to camp tonight. We should make plans and gather information today so we can be ready to begin tomorrow!"
Nobody hand any complaints, as they traveled for the last few days and were exhausted. A day of rest was exactly what they needed.
They found an empty space away from the rest and set up their tents there. And after creating a campfire, Gerald took out some of the processed Warg meat and shared it with the twenty-or-so people.
It was a great change from eating dried jerky and bland crackers every day, so nobody wanted to be left out.
He still had more than a hundred kilograms of it, so sharing a dozen or so to establish a good impression was not a problem at all.
In the evening, while the guys were discussing the plans for the next day around the campfire, Gerald sat alone and focused his thoughts elsewhere.
At first, he didn't plan on joining any team or group, but after getting invited by his former comrades, he decided to change his plans a little.
Apart from having an easier time hunting with a big group, he could hide his true abilities and rely only on widely-known spells that would not attract any attention.
And there was one more thing… Loitering around a battlefield he would absorb the Mind Energy much faster than hunting Minecrawlers, one at a time, by himself.
"I have to make sure to collect a few Demon Mushrooms for my potions! Luckily that shouldn't be a problem."
The sun slowly dipped below the mountains and the campsite around the fort quieted down. The area was peaceful through the night and only the sounds of nocturnal animals were heard.
***
A sound of laughter and shouts woke him up and rubbing his eyes Gerald slowly got on his feet.
Following a light breakfast with the guys, they made their way to the entrance to the underground.
The sight of the entrance was breathtaking.
Five-meter-tall wooden door blocked their path as it stood erect from the ground. Massive door latches prevented it from being opened, and metal hinges as big as a child held it all in place.
A stone tunnel led from the front door deep underground, reminding Gerald of a fantasy dungeon entrance. A crowd of people waited before it, armed to the teeth with warhammers, maces, and heavy sabers.
Nobody had a dagger, sword, or bow, and only a few big men carried powerful war crossbows with heavy metal bolts.
They needed something that could break through the strong armor of the beasts, and light cutting, stabbing, and slicing weapons were out of the question.
They all waited as more people gathered, and about twenty minutes later, when it seemed that everyone was gathered, an old man stood up from his chair on a wooden platform.
"Warriors!" He shouted to gather everyone's attention.
"Thank you all for gathering here! We are here to defend our kingdom and exterminate the dangerous beasts that live underground! Same as yesterday, when the doors open, a few of those filthy Minecrawlers might come rushing out! Do not be afraid and crush them!"
The old man then gave a sign and guards near the door removed the latches with difficulty and the doors slowly opened wide.
Skreeee!
Almost immediately a few Minecrawlers madly rushed out, however, being surrounded by hundreds of seasoned warriors, they were piled upon and crushed by the mass of greedy humans fighting for wealth.
"Okay! Those of you who kill a Minecrawler can bring its head to the fort and get a mark! I wish you well, and good luck on your hunt!" The old man who spoke was precisely Bishop Argoch.
He was the one who was in charge of things happening around the Black-Iron Fort for the duration of the Minecrawler-slaying expedition.
"Let's go! I got a map of the underground labyrinth, we can quickly find uncharted territory!" Kerius shouted in excitement and followed the mass of people underground. The rest of the group followed suit.
Every day the warriors would clear the tunnels and each night the Minecrawlers would already be back, trying to reclaim their territory.