Chapter 627 - Gathering (Part 1) (1/2)
”Our defenses? You were there?” Lith asked.
”Of course, I was. That's my turf and the Kingdom spends big money to protect something like a crystal mine. They are more valuable than even platinum. Their production can't stop even during winter because even magical research would be affected.
”Thanks to their weapons and arrays, the guards managed to hold on until my arrival, but there wasn't much even I could do. You know goblins, right? Well, they were a frigging army, each one capable of using normal magic and those black rays as well.
”Once I realized we had no chance against such an assault, I detonated the arrays to buy us some time and lead the survivors inside the crystal mines. We went to its deepest tunnels and then I used earth magic to bring us even deeper.
”Usually doing such a thing is idiotic, raw crystals are unstable and earth magic could make them detonate. That's why you need specialized personnel and Crystalsmiths to work in the mines. Yet between a likely death and certain death, the choice was obvious.
”We walked for days, with only my rations to feed dozens of people, constantly on the run. Somehow, the goblins would always find us, and to make matters worse, they seemed to become better at magic over time.
”Long story short, we found the ruins by sheer luck. While escaping, we crossed an underground network of tunnels we weren't even aware of. At that point, our luck turned. The goblins stopped following us and I finally had the time to wait for reinforcements. You can easily guess the rest.” Morok said.
'F.u.c.k me sideways! This means that the Abomination inside the goblins had enough time to completely reform and is waiting in the area, or that even such a powerful creature is scared of those ruins. Either way, this is bad.' Lith thought.
Solus opened all of her senses at once. Lith's dirty mind wasn't the only thing that had rubbed off on her over time. Her paranoia was now fully developed too.
”Is that the moment when you consumed monster flesh?” Lith asked.
”Yeah, but not the goblins'. There was something off with them. Their smell, how they moved, heck, they could even talk.”
When they landed, Lith casually sniffed his partner. He trusted Solus, but after the experience with the Awakened assassin, he had started to consider that her senses could be fooled.
Morok kept talking like a magical beast. A normal human wouldn't have the time to perceive the goblins' smell in the middle of a crisis. Yet all of his enhanced senses told him the odd Ranger was human.
The entrance to the mines resembled a military fort. A tall, round wall made of stone one meter (3.3 feet) thick surrounded an area the size of a village. Four guard towers stood 10 meters (33 feet) tall, allowing the guards to notice incoming enemies from afar.
Life Vision showed Lith a series of arrays surrounding the fort. All the buildings within the walls were made of stone and in mint condition. At the fort's very center, there was an arch made by stone and huge wooden beams that lead to an underground passage.
”Are you sure this is the place? It's in perfect condition. I don't see any traces of the attack.” Lith said,
”Told you. The Kingdome spares no expenses for a crystal mine. Winter or not, they rebuilt it in less than a month.”
”Then why not put a Warp Gate? It would allow moving reinforcements and crystals way faster than any other common means of transportation.” Lith asked.
”Crystals are unstable. Even the number of arrays in place here is fine-tuned to not trigger a chain reaction. A Warp Gate would be a liability since bending space for such long distances creates ripples that might make the crystals explode.