As the minutes ticked by, the tunnel began to slope upward, and the group's breathing grew heavy.
Just as they were reaching their limit, Stark, who was leading the way, suddenly called out, his voice filled with unconcealed joy.
“I see the exit!”
Everyone looked up and saw a faint glimmer of light filtering in from the end of the tunnel. This news revitalized them, and their pace quickened instinctively.
“Finally, we’re out of that hellhole...” Po Kong squeezed his way out of the opening. He was about to complain when Xia Duo lunged forward, clamped her hand over his mouth, and gave him a warning look with her blue eyes.
“Quiet!”
Starlight, who was the last to crawl out, witnessed this scene. Just as he was wondering why Xia Duo was reacting so strongly, he finally took in their surroundings.
The sight before him made his blood run cold. They were standing on the edge of a massive underground cavern, a space even larger than Yserazor’s nest.
But what was truly spine-chilling were the countless greyish-white stone figures standing densely throughout the cavern. In the dim light, they looked like a forest of grim tombstones.
Starlight held his breath, his pupils narrowing slightly.
He estimated that there were at least several thousand Stone Trolls standing there, their greyish-white bodies as still as statues. If not for the slow rise and fall of their chests, they would have been indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks.
Maela tiptoed back to the group and whispered in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, “These Stone Trolls are hibernating. Unlike normal creatures, they don't need to eat. Instead, they absorb energy from the mineral veins...”
She pointed at the feet of the Stone Trolls. Starlight immediately activated his mana perception and saw countless hair-thin threads of earth element seeping from the cracks in the rock, slowly flowing into the soles of the Stone Trolls' feet.
“Their vision is poor. As long as we don't get too close, they won't notice us.” Stark carefully picked up his pack and looked toward a rift on the other side of the cavern. “We need to circle around to that side. Once we pass through that gap, we’ll be back on the main path.”
Though the plan was incredibly risky, they had no other choice. After a brief exchange of looks, everyone nodded in silent agreement, deciding to take the chance.
After a quick adjustment, the group lightened their steps. Led by Stark, they began to move slowly toward the other side of the cavern.
Stark’s small frame became his greatest advantage. He moved nimbly between the stalagmites, scouting the path ahead to ensure they didn't make a sound.
According to Maela, although Stone Trolls had poor eyesight, living underground had made their hearing exceptionally keen. They were also highly sensitive to the flow of mana, meaning the group absolutely could not use magic.
The Moen sisters fared well enough; accustomed to walking among the treetops, they left almost no trace on the ground.
Po Kong, however, was less fortunate. To minimize noise, he had to take off his boots and wrap the joints of his armor in cloth to prevent them from clanking. It worked well, but it made his movements quite awkward.
Starlight remained at the rear, expanding his mana perception to its limit to constantly scan their surroundings.
The cavern was eerily silent, save for the faint rustling sound made by the Stone Trolls as they absorbed energy.
The group moved like shadows through the stone forest. Each time they passed a motionless troll, they could feel a mineral-like aura emanating from it.
Just as they were about to reach the target rift, Xia Duo suddenly froze.
She slowly raised a slender finger and pointed toward the center of the cavern. There, a gargantuan creature nearly twice the size of the other Stone Trolls stood tall.
Its greyish-white body was covered in dark red patterns, and a massive crystal cluster resembling a crown grew from the top of its head, pulsing with a dangerous red light in rhythm with its breathing.
“What is that thing...? It feels completely different.”
Through his mana perception, Starlight could clearly see an exceptionally dense amount of ley line energy swirling around this unique individual, flowing across its surface like veins.
“Hiss... It’s a Stone Troll King! The legendary existence that rules the entire tribe...” Maela sucked in a breath. “According to dwarven records, the strength of such an individual... exceeds that of an ordinary Saint Rank expert.”
“Let’s move, quickly! If we get caught by something like that, we’re in big trouble!” Stark made a silencing gesture, urging everyone to stay as quiet as possible.
But at that moment, the crystal crown atop the Stone Troll King’s head suddenly flashed violently, and a dark red light instantly illuminated the entire cavern...
The air in the cavern seemed to freeze, and everyone involuntarily held their breath.
Starlight stared intently at the behemoth, magic already silently gathering within him. Xia Duo and Maela also drew their weapons.
Po Kong instinctively reached for the weapon on his back but grasped thin air, only then remembering that Sacred Wood Phantom was still stored in Starlight’s storage space.
The crimson light rippled through the cavern like a wave. Wherever it passed, the Stone Trolls it touched began to glow with the same dark red patterns.
The previously deathly silent cavern was suddenly injected with life, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.
In the next instant, the Stone Troll King snapped its head up. Two fist-sized crimson eyes locked onto the group like searchlights.
In that moment, Starlight felt a bone-chilling cold crawl up his spine to the back of his neck.
He was certain the Stone Troll King was targeting him, and its gaze held not just murderous intent, but a strange, eerie longing.
This sensation caused Starlight’s mind to wander for a moment, and he actually forgot what he was supposed to do.
“Damn it! What on earth influenced this guy? Why is it coming for me!?”
Before he could ponder the question further, the Stone Troll King opened its massive mouth, filled with yellow teeth, and let out an earth-shattering roar.
The massive sound wave created a visible ripple in the air, making everyone’s eardrums ache.
With that roar, every Stone Troll in the cavern opened its crimson eyes simultaneously. Thousands of murderous gazes fixed upon the fleeing group.
“Roar—!”
As if receiving a command, every Stone Troll in the area began to move, surging toward them like a tide.
“Little Star, what are you dazing for!? Run!” Po Kong grabbed Starlight’s arm and dragged him along in a sprint.
Fortunately, they weren't far from the rift. Stark, who had been the first to notice the shift, had already reached the opening and was waving frantically at them.
Moen and Maela summoned tree roots and crystal walls, respectively, barely managing to block the first wave of pouncing Stone Trolls.
Po Kong, weaponless, dragged Starlight along and reached the rift in a few large strides.
Just as they were about to dive into the rift, a beam of dark red energy suddenly shot toward them from behind.
Starlight instinctively dodged. The energy beam grazed his cheek and melted a deep, smoking hole into the rock wall. Looking back, he saw the Stone Troll King slowly retracting its arm, glaring at him with ferocity.
He reached up and lightly wiped the blood from the scratch on his cheek, only to find that his blood had solidified into crystals the moment it left his body.
“This monster’s skills are troublesome!” Alarm bells rang in Starlight’s mind. If he had taken a direct hit from that attack, his entire body might have been crystallized.
Blocked by the blast, flying debris instantly separated Starlight and Po Kong from Moen and the others.
In the blink of an eye, the swarming Stone Trolls filled the gap, their rough stone bodies packing the passage tight.
“Get out of the way, you damn piles of rock!”
A golden light flashed in Po Kong’s eyes, and his muscles instantly bulged.
With a roar, he wrapped his arms around a stalactite several meters high and, with a violent surge of strength, wrenched it free from the ceiling.
The stone pillar became a massive weapon in his hands. With a whistling sound, he swung it out, smashing the front row of Stone Trolls into pieces.
Rate on N.U.
