Since both of them had made it into the hollow, it was clear to say that no one would come out.
Even though the mud wall is sturdy, it is not strong enough to prevent the marauding monsters from going through. Even so, the hole created is not very big. The concentration of the force is uneven, and as a result, the gap created is only enough to fit in a car.
And because of this, the giant tentacles could not follow in.
Tentacles that were wound snugly hissed as they struggled to break free of the small space, but this action worsened their condition as more tentacles became entangled with one another.
Being squeezed made the tentacles react vigorously, spewing noxious odors as if complaining, filling the closed space with a distinctive rotten smell. Chase didn't dare to swallow, as it would only make him gag more.
The two figures were drenched with dirt and mud.
They are no longer recognizable.
The prince's once-silvery white locks had turned a muddy brown, and the soot and ashes blasted at him by the exploding bugs had turned his face black. The only thing that remained clean and clear was his emerald green eyes, which glowed slightly against the dark light.
On the other hand, the assassin is in a better condition. Except for half of his face, his entire body was covered. He merely had to take his outer garments off to get the mud off his clothes.
In any case, it didn't matter at this point. They could not even see each other; therefore, their current appearance is irrelevant.
Chase grasped his chest as he panted noisily, flipping over so he would be facing up to the sky. The horrible scents around him made it very challenging to breathe, and the fact that he had dirt all over his place did not make the situation any better. He blew his nose out forcefully, eliminating any obstructions while staring at the hanging screen before him.
The system flickered in the darkness with a notification.
「The danger level had decreased by five percent. Total danger level: 93%」
「Please exercise caution.」
That was yet another narrow escape.
Chase really thought he was going to die there. If it weren't for Evreux's knowledge of the hidden mechanism behind the mud wall, he would have been running around aimlessly, squandering his energy, until the monster finally ate him. It looks like the assassin has a significant impact on his safety.
All of a sudden, he felt fortunate.
Evreux took a few moments to relax and collect his thoughts. He was feeling a little lightheaded. He was already been seriously injured and poisoned by the vine previously, so his state wasn't good.
There is also not enough energy left because he has been moving around since last night with no chance of replenishing it. If this keeps up, it will take a while to fall apart.
But they are still not done here. They are still inside the snail king's territory. It will only take a little time for the giant monster to recover.
"We need to get out of here quickly. This wall can only keep the snail king at bay for a short time."
Nobody objected, and the two people stood on their own to continue their escape.
The mud wall is quite warm and mostly dry on the half part. There is no light within the passage, so they have to blindly trek by patting the walls until they reach the end of the route. Evreux reached out to touch the drywall and tested its hardness. It is also tough, but lesser sturdy than the mud wall.
"Can we break this?" Chase knocked on the wall.
En. It's solid.
"It's no 'we can'. It's we 'should'." Evreux corrected him.
They won't get anywhere by punching and kicking the wall. It will only waste their energy. Evreux gave the situation some thought before proceeding to aimlessly scour the area for sharp stones he could use to scrape the wall. The wall has been dried out for a considerable amount of time, so it should not be difficult to create a gap.
Chase retrieved the expensive lamp from his spatial storage and raised it up to provide some illumination. Evreux simply glanced at the prince before going on with his search for stones.
The wall is made of dirt and rocks, so it didn't take him long to find a sharp stone and get to work. Chase followed by using the small knife he confiscated from the assassin.
Now that they are relatively safe, Chase asked the assassin about the snail king. Evreux has no intention of concealing the truth and briefly describes the abyss-dwelling creatures.
The snail king is simply one of the many giants dwelling in the abyss. It doesn't even have a name; it only goes by the title "King" because it has control over that region. There are also king frogs, king ants, king beetles—you name it.
The snail king's floor was not deep in the abyss. It served as a dividing line between Level A, which was closer to the higher ground, and Level B, which was considered the middle ground.
The levels are called Level A, Level B, Level C, and Level Z, with Level A being the safest and Level C being the most dangerous. Level Z grounds are unexplored sections of the abyss that are supposed to be abode to the most ferocious monsters and flora.
There had been attempts to cross the Z-level, but none of them had succeeded, thus leaving it as one of the grey areas that should not be approached.
"The floors are decided through the giants residing in a certain area," Evreux said, explaining the concept used to classify the steep arrangement of the lands within the abyss. "Each territory will be considered as one floor. And the territory of the snail king is the last floor of the territories belonging to Level A."
"That doesn't sound good," Chase commented.
"Of course not." Evreux rolled his eyes. "But I guess we are a bit lucky. You are lucky. If you didn't walk your way up here, you will cross the middle ground, which you wouldn't really want to see."
"Stop talking. Just hearing about it gives me goosebumps."
Chase hugged himself to comfort himself. Though his drenched clothes only made him feel colder.
After scraping the soil at a certain point, the drywall somewhat crumbled on its own, creating a large gap enough for three people to fit in. While coughing, Chase brushed aside the dust with a wave of his hand and then raised the lamp to look at what was on the other side of the wall.
Yet, when he looked up, he found a fascinating scenery.
If on the other side, it was very dark with uneven terrain and thick foliage; this area looked relatively magical, as if he was looking at a scenery out of a picture book. The entire area was littered with bugs akin to fireflies along the enormous dead, dried thorny vines scattered all over the place.
It wasn't pleasing on a closer look, but the effects it contained resembled those CGIs created in movies.
A bug flitted past in front of him, giving them a closer look at its enormous size. Chase didn't dare to touch it, just curiously observed it hover around until it bypass them. Evreux scanned the whole area with one swoop before crouching down to pick a pebble.
"This is one of the safest areas of the nest. But, also one of the places you have to be careful with."
"Why?" Chase is about to step forward but halted after Evreux said those words.
The assassin did not answer his question; instead, Evreux threw the pebble up in the air until it hit a particular bug. The bug buzzed loudly, seemingly in rage after getting hit.
Chase thought the bug would chase them like bees do when someone provokes them, but instead, the bug exploded, releasing a sweet, pungent smell he's pretty familiar with.
It smells gasoline.
"The bugs explode even with the slightest touch. They rarely bump on each other since it is unnecessary to interact with each other aside from during mating. But it would be different if they were disturbed."
"Are those vines dangerous too?" Chase pointed the dead vines around.
"They are former vines used by the snail king. They were harmless now."
Taking everything into account, the two began marching forward. According to Evreux, the snail king's domain is shaped like a circle with three circular boundaries. It has a diameter of five kilometers and is separated into three sections: the breeding grounds, the wasteland, and the poisonous swamp.
The breeding ground, which doubles as a hunting zone for the snail king, occupied most of the land. For the purpose of fostering the growth of the snail king's progeny, the location was designed to trap rain and water, which is why it is covered in dense vegetation. Snails and slugs eat a wide variety of things, although the abyssal flora is their primary source of nutrition.
The succeeding area is the wasteland. By its name, you can tell that it is where waste goes. Only tentacles will be produced by the offspring of the snail king, and these tentacles will wither and perish. The main body will cut off the dead parts to protect itself from further decay.
The decaying carcasses will be thrown out onto the wasteland, where they will take root and form thorns. Scavenging bugs inhabited the area to feed on the "corpses," but they eventually developed after ingesting enough of the remaining energy left on the vines and now had become like time bombs sensitive to touch.
The last section is the poisonous swamp. This is the initial line of defense, and its purpose is to capture any critters who try to invade.
The swamp is claimed to be at least three feet deep and, in some places, much deeper, and extended soaking will assure dissolution owing to the mixture of poisons and acids that contaminated the region.
The area is also home to creatures that look like crocodiles and have developed electric charges as a result of their prolonged exposure.
A series of loud screeches could be heard behind them as they spoke. Upon looking back, they discovered that the mud wall had been breached, and a very enormous snail that was carrying a colorful hard shell on its back appeared.
The snail let out a loud cry that seemed to shake the heavens and the skies. The bugs that were drifting quietly were disturbed and began to buzz incessantly.
"Run!" Evreux yelled.
But Chase was unable to hear it because of the tremendous explosions that followed. In spite of this, the two of them dashed ahead, pushing and crushing the dead vines, which were surprisingly robust even though they were dead. The snail king saw them move and went after them right away.
Despite being a snail, it was pretty quick.
"I don't see how that thing can go that quickly! This is impossible!" Chase let out a loud scream.
"Who knows? I'm not a snail!" Evreux came back with a response.
As more tentacles sprang beside them, the insect continued to erupt around them. Although it took the opportunity to seize them, they were able to escape its grasp. In the case that they were unable to do so, they would slash them with the weapons at their disposal. The tentacles in this area were thinner, so they were able to untangle it quite easily.
Chase looked back and saw that one of the tentacles was getting closer. He grabbed a nearby buzzing insect and used it as bait. The tentacle grabbed it out of reflex, and the bug blew up.
Prompted by the sudden inspiration, he gathered the buzzing bugs around him and tossed them on the snail to delay its movement. The bugs somehow contain some lethality that turned most tentacles into minced meat.
Evreux pointed to a wall of dead vines ahead and said, "The border is now in sight."
It was a wall formed up of vines and branches, and because there were gaps where one could lay their feet, it made the wall simpler to climb this time. Evreux first reached the wall and instantly positioned himself at the base in a crouching position while extending both of his arms, signaling Chase to leap upward and grab hold of the branches.
Chase took advantage of the momentum and stepped on the assassin's hand to launch himself upwards, reaching over a third of the wall. Evreux did not waste any time; instead, he stepped back a few paces and surged forward. Even without the support of a second person, Evreux was able to stick on the wall a few feet higher than Chase.
The two hurriedly climb the wall. As expected, the assassin quickly made it to the top. Despite his injuries, he could still surpass Chase. On the other hand, Chase is already feeling tired. The body he took up residence clearly lacks exercise, so it quickly gets tired.
Even willpower could not help him climb faster.
Evreux was high enough to see the snail king approaching. He got down on his knees and, for some reason, decided to cheer Chase up. It didn't really help, though. His words are not enough to fuel the poor prince's poor physique.
"Hurry, the snail king is very close! You don't want to be eaten, right?" Evreux yelled.
"I'm hurrying, ah!" Chase yelled back. But he's in so much pain that he can hardly move. "This body is so weak! How can I survive if it's already this hopeless!"
Chase's climbing got slower and slower. Evreux could not stand still and had to make his way down to Chase. Without hesitation, he stated, "You must hang on to me. I will you bring you up."
"I'm heavy. Can you do it?" Chase studied the assassin's physique, which was slightly larger than his own.
"Just hurry and stop asking. If I leave you here any longer, I will implicate many people."
If Chase died here, the Norbumin royal family would perish. Chase grasped his situation and no longer questioned whether or not he could carry him.
It wasn't easy to change places, but Chase clung to Evreux's back like a child. Then, after making sure the prince was safe, Evreux began to climb up. It wasn't fast and somewhat slower than his climbing rate, but it was faster than Chase's turtle gait.
In every inch they take, the snail king crosses a meter. But it doesn't matter. They are also closer to the top. The two felt a sense of happiness when Evreux finally touched the top of the wall.
"Go on, quick! Step up first and help me," Evreux said.
Chase hauled himself, stepping on Evreux's shoulders, then hopped to the wall's top. He immediately turned around, accepted Evreux's extended arm, and pulled him up. The two collapsed on the top of the wall with heavy breaths.
They finally reached the top!
Nobody talked as they strained to keep up with their breath. The snail arrived at the bottom of the wall, but the wall was too tall for it to reach the top. It hissed loudly, prompting the nearby bugs to burst one after the other. If Evreux did not pull Chase up, Chase would have been caught up in the explosion.
In the face of the raging snail, Chase sprang to his feet. He was startled enough that he could feel goosebumps rising on his arms. He doesn't fear snails, but the slimy way they look grosses him out. It made him feel like tiny insects were crawling around his neck.
He cocked his head to the side and cast a perfunctory glance at the assassin next to him. The man is lying down, taking advantage of every minute of relaxation to recharge his batteries. Evreux was aware of Chase's gaze and saw him reach out a hand.
"Thank you," the white-haired prince said sincerely. "If you didn't help, I might be dead now."
Evreux inhaled a deep breath before chuckling. He accepted the hand and pulled himself up while Chase supported him. He replied, "If not, many people will die. What do you think?"
Chase did nothing but shrug. Even though they helped each other, they don't trust each other yet. They are only taking the necessary precautions to protect their family. Both of them took a few moments to observe the activity going on at the base of the wall before turning to leave.
But because of the brief distraction, they were unable to notice a large tentacle circling behind them. Evreux had barely taken a foot forward when he felt a familiar wrapping feeling on his legs.
When he looked down, he saw a tentacle feverishly looping around his ankles. He didn't have enough time to assess the situation, and he was yanked out indiscriminately.