1766: The Connected Caves

The Connected Caves

1Translated by XephiZ0

Edited by Aelryinth

"Impressive, Fan Mo! It feels like the whole bunch of us are weaker than you," Liang Junheng came up and patted Mo Fan on the shoulder.

"He would be dead by now if it wasn't for my Rock Barrier," Zhou Donghao instantly said defensively.

"Zhou Donghao, how shameless can you be? I wondered who ran away the quickest just now? If Fan Mo hadn't stepped forward, we wouldn't have been able to save Cao Juan and Su Jindu. We aren't blind or that stupid to not see how much Fan Mo has done to help us, yet you still have the mood to utter cynical remarks here?" Liang Junheng grunted. 

"He's right, we would all be in danger if Fan Mo wasn't here. Brother Fan Mo, what was that spell just then? It was so cool!"

Everyone surrounded Mo Fan energetically. As expected of a bunch of inexperienced students, they still had the mood to chat in the dangerous situation.

Lin Qihui took a few men to chase after the Rock Monster, but they soon returned.

Mo Fan asked, "Why did you come back? Did you lose it?"

"No, the Rock Monster went inside a burrow. We didn't dare pursue it any further," Lin Qihui answered.

"Bring me to it!" Mo Fan ordered.

Mo Fan followed Lin Qihui to the burrow that the Rock Monster had disappeared into. It was very deep, with uneven edges. They could not see the bottom at all. 

Lin Qihui and his men did not dare to go down because it was too dark, and its depth was uncertain. They could not help but wonder what kind of demon creatures they would encounter down there.

"It's getting dark. Why don't we head back first? We'll come again with the rescue squad. We might be in danger too if we try to do it ourselves," someone in the group spoke up uneasily.

After all, the Rock Monsters were Warrior-level creatures that could endanger their lives. They still had plenty of room to run away from the Rock Monsters on the spacious mountain, but going into the burrow was like a lamb entering a tiger's den!

"I'll go down there to take a look. If I don't find anything, we'll head back." Mo Fan was worried about Tao Jing's safety. She was such a youthful, adorable young woman. He did not want her to die just like that!

"Isn't that too dangerous?" Lin Qihui asked.

"It's fine, if I don't come out in ten minutes, you will head back to the city and send the rescue squad here," Mo Fan said.

"Al...alright!" Lin Qihui gulped.

The rest of the group did not have the guts to go inside the burrow like Mo Fan. They decided to wait on the surface. They were planning to use a rope or a vine to drop Mo Fan down into the burrow slowly, yet he simply jumped into the burrow before anyone could react!

Everyone was dumbfounded by his actions. They could not help but respect him. It was rare to see someone so brave in the world!

"What is there to be impressed with?" Zhou Donghao grumbled when he saw everyone admiring Mo Fan so much.

"Try jumping in there if you think you are so capable! Anybody can act tough with their mouth." 

---

Mo Fan kept falling into the darkness. He finally landed at the bottom after falling between two and three hundred meters. Luckily, the height was still bearable for his physical attributes. The body of a Super Mage was much stronger than an Advanced Mage, not to mention Mo Fan's Demon Element. 

It was dark and wet around him. The bottom of the cave was very spacious, and Mo Fan's vision in the dark was not too bad. He was able to see the rough appearance of the cave.

Cries of agony came from above him, followed by the sound of something slamming heavily to the ground.

"That hurts… my ass!" A dark figure rose to his feet. His eyes were glittering faintly in the dark.

"Zhou Donghao?" Mo Fan recognized the idiot's voice.

"It's me! So you think you can come down here, but I can't? You think only you care about Tao Jing? I care about her more than you!" Zhou Donghao said righteously.

"Are you retarded? Can you please lower your voice in a place like this? Or do you want to be smashed into pulp by the Rock Monsters?" Mo Fan snarled.

"I..." Zhou Donghao was lost for words.

Mo Fan was speechless. Why did he have to carry this burden around?

Mo Fan sighted. Forget it, having another man might come in handy. My other Elements are not available for now. I might be able to sacrifice this retard if necessary. 

"Why is it so spacious down here?" Zhou Donghao asked.

"You can see?" Mo Fan asked.

"Of course I can, my secondary Element is the Shadow Element. My vision is sharper than demon creatures in a place like this," Zhou Donghao answered.

"It must be some kind of a secret cavern," Mo Fan muttered.

"Seriously? Aren't we on a hill?" Zhou Donghao exclaimed.

"The hill we were on was between two to three hundred meters tall, and we have fallen two to three hundred meters into this cave. We've basically landed in a cavern. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so spacious in here," Mo Fan went on. 

The surroundings were a little wet, most likely because it had been raining recently. Mo Fan managed to spot the fresh footsteps of a Rock Monster that had been left on the ground not long ago.

Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao followed the footsteps into an area with countless stalactites. They were as thick around as the pillars of a palace. Some were only half-grown and did not connect with the ceiling, but most of them had turned into pillars with a layer of fluorescent substance on the outside, giving the pitch-black cave some light. 

"Don't move!" Mo Fan suddenly stopped Zhou Donghao, who was behind him.

He seriously wondered how Zhou Donghao had practiced his Shadow Element. Why was he making so much noise when moving around? Even Servant-class creatures with slightly better hearing could hear him easily, let alone Warrior-level creatures!

"What did you see?" Zhou Donghao asked softly.

"The mud monsters!" Mo Fan pointed ahead.

"Why do I have a feeling this place is more like an underground river?" Zhou Donghao poked his head forward and glanced in the direction Mo Fan was pointing in. He immediately shivered upon getting a clearer look.

He could see the mud monsters that had attacked them, just as Mo Fan had mentioned. He had only described the place as an underground river because he saw the mud monsters wriggling across the ground. Their numbers were so high that they had formed a flowing river!

"Isn't that going in the direction of the city?" Zhou Donghao whispered.

"Mm, it seems like the Barrier Core has indeed attracted a bunch of troublesome monsters to the city."

"They can pounce on humans and turn them into those Rock Monsters… my Heavens, weren't the soldiers gathering to clear the cave of demon creatures before we left the city? If the soldiers end up stumbling into these mud monsters-!" Zhou Donghao was not completely brainless, and immediately thought of a terrifying possibility.

pqdm.com