We jumped aboard one of the five mine-trains that were waiting next to the entrance of the mine and the dwarf driver immediately shifted gear and drove it. There was a loud blare from the mine-train's horn and the transport lurched forward at high speed. It reminded me of a bullet train, the high velocity railway transports that had been built all over the country.
The scenery outside blurred as we sped past it, and though I could faintly recall the interior of the subterranean networks that made up the mines, I couldn't make much sense of it while riding the mine-train.
Not that they were memorable anyway. From what I remembered, it was mostly granite walls with sparkling spirit stones and dull minerals and ore. Having been buried in the dirt for a long time, they had lost their shine and were covered in layers of grime, which was why it was hard to see them. Mining tools had been left all over the place, from pickaxes to modern drills, metal detectors, hydraulics, electric lamps and automated carts. Right now, the mines were deserted save for a patrolling company of experienced dwarven miners to ensure that the enemy didn't dig their way into the mines or something, so most of the tools were scattered about, untouched.
Even so, I couldn't help but admire the scenery when I had first stepped into the mines. They were similar to the rich lodes of spirit stones that my Collector Crabs dug into, but with more familiar modern machinery and tools. Also, they had laid out tracks and an entire network of railway for the mine-trains to travel through at top speed. It was almost an underground city in itself, with several resting posts placed strategically for miners to take breaks, eat, and do whatever they needed to do when not working. Dwarves were people, after all. They couldn't work nonstop.
The mine-train was fast, though. Despite the several kilometers of distance between the two dungeons, which was lengthened further by the winding tunnels of the mines that often doubled back and took detours, it was able to launch from Hel Dungeon and reach Moran Dungeon in about ten minutes. There was a warning blast from its horn before it screeched to a stop.
"Go, go, go!" Einhard ordered, gesturing for his shock troops to disembark.
Already, the were-beasts were leaping out of the carriages and bounding to the fray at incredible speeds, their naturally ingrained agility allowing them to circumvent the obstacles placed about the mines, whether they were carts, mining tools or heavy equipment. I joined them, running alongside Jun Hai and Myria.
Sylvie and Silvia had opted to stay back in Hel Dungeon to help with the cleanup. They had set up passive spirit arrays in the Moran Dungeon that would activate even without them there to wield them, but they were mostly defensive barriers and screens, with a couple of offensive ones. Without the fairy sisters present to wield them, they weren't as powerful, but to change them from passive to active would require resetting them and setting up a new spirit array from scratch, so it wasn't optimal for Sylvie and Silvia to do so.
Besides, the main threat was gone, so the were-beasts and the other reinforcements should technically be more than enough to deal with the remnants of the Mystic Demon Sect. The demonic cultivators in Moran Dungeon most likely didn't even know that their sect leader had been slain. Mystic Tian Yuan might have tried to send a communique to them, but given how the majority of her uncle's followers flat-out ignored her, it was likely that the enemies wouldn't give up so easily.
"You…!" One of the demonic cultivators snarled. A commander in the Mystic Demon Sect, he appeared to be a lieutenant that Mystic Demonic Divine appointed to lead the invasion of Moran Dungeon. He was about Earth ranked too, and he looked up just in time to see the were-beasts pounce on his dwindling troops. He swung his saber, demonic qi pouring out of the thick blade to cleave apart a phalanx of hard-pressed dwarves who were attempting to stay his charge. Their squat figures fell apart, splattering blood all over.
"No!" Einhard bellowed, racing forward to avenge them. But he was too slow. The lieutenant turned to face him with a snarl, his saber gleaming and ready to erupt in violent fury once more.
He never got to swing his saber fully.
Lionel Jonson ripped the stunned lieutenant apart with his claws, swiping the poor dude's head from his shoulders. The horned head bounced on the ground, the eyes still wide open and blankly staring up at the ceiling of the dungeon.
"The Silver Eyed Lion King!"
"He's here!"
"The commander's dead!"
"What speed…I couldn't even see him coming!"
The survivors of the Mystic Demon Sect began to panic, a few of them turning tail to flee. However, the were-beasts pounced on them with a vengeance, tearing and biting them into shreds. I joined in, having drawn my bow, and fired from afar. Azure arrows streaked across the courtyard of the Moran Dungeon's fortress, the almost comet shaped projectiles slamming into running demonic cultivators and piercing through their backs. They fell over, twitching as the life left their bodies.
Not to be outdone, Jun Hai summoned his spirit beasts. His Violent Salamander and Venus Serpent unleashed ranged elemental attacks that swept over fleeing demonic cultivators like a tide. His Swamp Lord slammed his fists against the ground and created a tsunami of muddy water that drowned the flailing demonic cultivators, who were then finished off by an Earthquake attack. Jun Hai himself was casting water spells, making use of his contracted Undines to help him sweep the enemy away in a tide.
Myria dashed into the fray, her Deep Sea Sword transforming into a whip that cut through the mob of demonic cultivators and throwing sprays of blood into the air. The dwarves rallied, and they even shut the gates to trap the running demonic cultivators, refusing to let even one escape. There was a series of barks as they fired their rifles, and thunderous pounds when Einhard's shock troops joined up with the close combat dwarves already in Moran Dungeon and hammered them to oblivion. Or cleaved them apart with axes, depending on what weapons they were wielding.
It was a massacre.
"Hmph. Not much of a challenge."
Lionel returned to his human form after ripping apart another demonic cultivator. He sniffed the air for a second before turning to us and sighing.
"Seems like that's it. I don't sense any other demonic cultivators in the vicinity."
"The Mystic Demon Sect has been annihilated!" Einhard bellowed, raising his hammer to the cheers of the dwarves. I watched them celebrate before putting away my bow and dropping to sit on a ledge at one of the battered towers. Like in Hel Dungeon, a few of them had been leveled or demolished, testament to the fierce struggle here. Unfortunately, without our assistance, the dwarves weren't able to prevent the demonic cultivators from breaking in. On the other hand, without Mystic Demonic Divine, the demonic cultivators weren't able to massacre the stalwart dwarves, and they had been locked in a stalemate until the arrival of the were-beasts.
"Thank you," one of the dwarves said, coming to us. He removed his helm, revealing an aged face half covered by a snow-white beard. "You have our gratitude for coming to our aid."
"It's only natural that we help each other," I replied with a smile. "The demonic sects are a mutual threat, and if we don't band together to fight them off, we'll all be eventually conquered by them. Their wickedness knows no bounds."
"Thank you…"
"And to think you still haven't specified a reward." Einhard shook his head. "You told chairman Crowley that you will negotiate with us later, but quite frankly, we can give you all the ores in our mines and it might not be enough to repay you."
"Don't exaggerate. You know it'll be pointless for me to take everything from Hel-Moran Combine right after saving you guys from the Mystic Demon sect. It'll make me no different from Mystic Demonic Divine."
"Big bro isn't that greedy," Jun Hai added. I glanced at him, and then thought of something.
"Oh, I would like you to forge a sword for my brother as a reward."
"Sure!" Einhard replied enthusiastically. "We'll make sure to smith the best weapons we can offer! We'll craft as many weapons as you need! We'll give all of you a treasure weapon!"
"I don't need one, but check with Myria, Sylvie, Silvia and the rest. Oh, and Lionel and the were-beasts too."
"Huh?" Jun Hai gaped at me. "Big bro, why don't you accept a treasure weapon from the dwarves? This is a rare chance!"
"I already have the weapons that I need." I drew my Obsidian Drake and Azure Dragon to emphasize the point. "As much as I admire the treasure weapons that the dwarves forge, I don't intend on betraying the blacksmiths who crafted these weapons."
"I understand." Einhard nodded. "As blacksmiths ourselves, we take pride in the weapons we make, and having our weapons being pushed back in favor of another would be…insulting."
"We don't really need weapons," Lionel said, joining us. "For obvious reasons."
"Yeah, I thought we should still ask, just in case."
"We don't need payment," Tiger Woods said, his wife beside him. He wiped the blood off his fingers, which were now normal because he had returned to his human form. "We were seeking vengeance on these bastards anyway."
"You'll benefit from the spirit stones they pay our dungeon anyway."
"Oh, sure. That works for us." Lionel nodded. "We'll leave it to you then."
"We should return to the palace. You've done so much, so it's time for you to rest. Like in Hel Dungeon, we'll call in the reserves to help with the cleanup." Einhard nodded toward us and waved toward the mine-train. "Once again, thanks for everything."
Not wanting to make our hosts uncomfortable, we complied for now and rode the mine-train back to Hel Dungeon. As we did so, I was alerted to a notification window from my system.
-Mission accomplished. The following reward will be granted: Elemental spirit contract. –
"What?" I blinked and looked around. I wasn't sure what I could use the elemental spirit contract for, but when I alighted from the mine-train, I suddenly found myself greeted by a group of squat, pudgy elemental spirits that were brown in color, the color of the earth. They looked a little like dwarves, except that they resembled more like clay dolls or clay puppets. Thickset, despite their tiny sizes, they also reminded me of my golems.
I immediately recognized them as Gnomes.
"You should make a contract with them," Sylvie told me, having arrived with Silvia to greet us upon our return to Hel Dungeon. I shook my head, amazed that she was on top of things. Even though I hadn't told her anything, she could see the elemental spirits that were otherwise invisible to normal people, and was aware of the elemental spirit contract I now possessed because…of our telepathic connection?
"Sounds like a good idea." I knelt down to speak to the Gnomes. Even though they didn't talk the same way as we humans did, they could communicate in a similar fashion to the Undines and Sylphs. I could sense their thoughts, somehow, and understood what they were trying to convey. "Ah, I see. So that's how it is."
With the threat of the demonic sects and their attempts to invade the dwarven dungeons, the Gnomes had gone into hiding. But now that they had witnessed my strength and seen how I had made use of my contracts with the Sylphs and Undines to crush the enemy, their confidence had been buoyed, and they wanted to be a part of the war effort. They also wanted to lend me their strength because they believed I could make a difference.
"Thank you," I whispered as I accepted the elemental spirit contract. "I will be borrowing your power then."
"That leaves just the Spirit Salamanders then!" Silvia said brightly, always next to her sister. "Once you find a way to contract those Spirit Salamanders, you will have made elemental spirit contracts with all four major elemental spirits!"
"Sounds good to me." I nodded, though I wasn't sure how I could make that happen. One thing at a time. Still, I couldn't help but feel excitement welling up in my chest. "I look forward to it."