Chapter 542 Friends & Foes (1/2)

Rhode and Emily had to listen closely to the faint voices that resounded in the tunnel. Leaning against 'Miss Seren', Emily held her breath and stared at the dark end of the tunnel. Her heart was pounding. She clenched her fists and placed them on her chest. An indescribable nervousness clouded her mind and she couldn't breathe.

Rhode noticed Emily's nervousness, but he didn't have the time to console her. Instead, he leaned against the wall on his side and listened carefully. The voices were dull and stammering and it didn't seem to be coming from the other side of this wall. In other words, the voice was most possibly coming from in front of them… Rhode knitted his brows and waved his arm before him. However, he realized that this wasn't the gaming world and there weren't any map plug-ins available for him…

But even so, Rhode had some other ways.

He kneeled down and scanned the ground cautiously with the radiance of the torches hung on the wall. He slid his fingers along the wall to the ground and rubbed the broken ore fragments gathered at the corner. Emily blinked curiously and was about to ask when she changed her mind after gazing at the dark tunnel ahead. What is Miss Seren doing?

After several minutes, Rhode grabbed a nail-sized smooth stone from the pile of gravel and held it before him. He shut his eyes and transmitted a tiny bit of spiritual energy into it and a system prompt emerged before him.

[Discovered shattered crystal fragment]

I was right.

Rhode nodded slightly. The crystal fragment had solved his doubts. It seemed that they were almost arriving at the other mine; the crystal mine that belonged to the Howard Family. But… weren't they moving too slow to reach the Howard Family's mine?

Rhode turned to Emily and said softly, ”Miss Emily, is there anyone else around apart from us?”

”Hmm…” Emily pondered for a moment and said hesitantly. ”… If I recall correctly, the Howard Family owns a mine around here too. But… theirs is far away from ours.”

After all, the Edward Trade Association produced mainly silver and iron ores while the Howard Trade Association's main business relied on magical crystal ores. Both families had different material requirements and it wasn't possible for them to operate on the same piece of land. Besides, the iron and silver ores buried in the soil were unlike the magical crystals that usually grew out of the soil. Due to the magical properties in them, the rock qualities around them were poor and high purity silver and iron ores couldn't possibly exist. This was why it wouldn't be easy if both sides were to lay hands on one another. Although tunnel cutting was a common occurrence in a huge city like the Deep Stone City, a Trade Association in this small place didn't have sufficient manpower and equipment for it. This was why they mostly searched for naturally formed caves to explore and dig for mineral resources. Such caves were common below Fiat and sometimes it wouldn't be surprising if a cave had bored through the mountain.

Rhode explained to Emily in detail swiftly and she gaped in astonishment. After all, she wasn't familiar with such knowledge since she had been living her days in the Trade Association. No matter what, they wouldn't allow a girl like her to mine.

”Miss Seren, what you meant was… We might have entered the Howard Family's mine?” Emily's voice was filled with a joyous tone. She felt as though they had spent a long time spinning around this dark underground maze. Was it 10 minutes? 20 minutes? An hour? Two hours? Half a day? Or a whole day?

No matter how long the time had passed, she was extremely exhausted and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Every inch of her body was aching and she had to stay vigilant against the threat of terrifying creatures lurking in the darkness. She was delighted and hopeful after hearing Rhode's explanation. Although the Howard Family and Edward Family didn't have the best of relationships, surely they would still prefer to be with humans than to be left alone in this scary place, right?

”Not yet. The voices sound far away. But I think there should be a tunnel leading us there from the front. Miss Emily, please be careful. The cave ahead hasn't been dug through yet, so we have to proceed cautiously,” Rhode stood up and grabbed the torch by the wall. He smiled at Emily. ”Let's go, Miss Emily.”

”Okay, Miss Seren,” Emily calmed down unknowingly after looking at 'Miss Seren's' gentle smile. Not too long ago, she was still anxiously hoping to leave this dark, terrifying underground world. But now, she had the sudden urge to spend more time with her here.

While Rhode and Emily entered farther down, the surface was in utter chaos.

Celia gazed at the screaming and quarreling crowd from the side. She held her forehead and sighed hopelessly.

The members of the Edward Trade Association arrived at the scene hurriedly and they broke out in disputes after listening to the explanations of the miners and Celia. The disputes had gotten worse after the members were informed that their Chairman had died. Some of them believed that they should clear the blocked tunnel as soon as possible to rescue Miss Emily and 'Miss Seren'. After all, one of them was their Chairman's daughter while the other was a guest from the Country of Light, which made it difficult for them to answer to any mishaps. The other half of the group objected their suggestion violently because the mine was oddly fragile and it wouldn't withstand further pressure. It might cause even more damage if they forced their way in and it wouldn't be too late if they searched for other entrances and dispatched men to rescue the victims.

Both sides quarreled endlessly. One party accused the other that they were unwilling to rescue Emily because they were looking to annex the entire Trade Association. The other party expressed that their decision was purely for the sake of the miners and their own safety. If they were to unblock the tunnel under such circumstances, it would equal to committing suicide and they couldn't possibly do that!

Celia didn't join their fight. Even though, strictly speaking, she should be the one who was most worried, Rhode had given her an order through the spiritual communications that her job would be done after she had spread the news that Edward had died in the accident. She was dubious of Rhode's decision and she finally understood after witnessing the scene before her. She didn't wish to get involved with such troublesome matters either.

Celia let out a long sigh. She shut her eyes and contacted another person. ”Big Sister Celestina?”

”… What do you want?” Celestina answered unwillingly.

Her voice sounded as though she was still brooding over the incident last night. It was no wonder that she was upset. Her virginity had been taken away in such a horrible manner, and she was like a pitiful slave at the mercy of a Human. Celestina gritted her teeth at this thought. She had never been this humiliated in her life! If it was possible, she wished that she could commit suicide and end this nightmarish experience. But it was a pity that she couldn't do so… Because as summoned spirits, they would revive even if they were dead.