"Is that so? Then, esteemed adventurer of grand experience, how did you come to be a cat that couldn’t even beat the lowest of Blood Demons?"
He said with a slight smile.
Nisi’s face darkened with obvious discomfort, and he bristled instantly:
"Who says I can’t beat it! With just one Void Exile, I can take it down, alright! Let alone a Blood Demon, even if the Evil God revived, I wouldn’t be afraid! Back in the day, even the Holy Royal Court asked me to seal away the Evil God!"
"Ah, yes, and subsequently you became a pet on a perpetual diet."
Sebastian nodded in agreement.
The cat and the dog glared at each other, showing a propensity to clash again.
Charlotte gave them a look.
They snorted at each other and turned their heads away.
These two had notable abilities and were full of secrets. Yet, somehow, they just couldn’t cooperate when put together.
But the Black Dragon...
Charlotte considered Sebastian’s speculation.
Though it sounded reasonable, she still had a nagging feeling that something was off.
It wasn’t until she looked again at the mounds of Mithril deep in the cave that she suddenly realized what was wrong.
A greedy giant dragon... wouldn’t likely leave so much Mithril unguarded here, nor would it only use a seal that Nisi could easily break to seal the mine!
With that thought, Charlotte turned to Nisi and asked:
"Nisi, is there a trace of the giant dragon here?"
Nisi immediately became serious:
"That’s exactly what’s troubling me. I haven’t sensed the smell of a giant dragon here, so either... it has been gone for a long time, or it never existed at all."
He looked at Nisi speechlessly:
"If you didn’t smell the dragon, why didn’t you say it earlier?"
"Why say it so early? I just love to see certain people embarrassed when their judgments are wrong."
The cat and the dog seemed ready to fight again.
Until Charlotte gave them a cold glance, and they both fell silent.
Charlotte withdrew her gaze and looked at the living corpses in the cave. A faint light swirled in her eyes, and after a moment, she lowered her gaze and said:
"These living corpses are indeed the most low-tier, not even as strong as the Undead that attacked us the other day."
"Apart from looking scary, they are not dangerous, and they will likely just carry out the orders given by the Caster mindlessly..."
"I haven’t sensed the spirit fluctuations of an Undead Mage, so presumably, these living corpses have been left here to work the mines alone."
"Let’s go down and take a look. We might find something."
After saying that, she led the way into the cave.
Sebastian and Nisi followed on either side, with Luf coming after.
Little Werewolf Noah, though clearly frightened, looked at the others moving away, felt even more uneasy staying put, and hurriedly ran to catch up.
Charlotte arrived in the cave, and, as she had predicted, these mining living corpses paid no attention to the intruders.
They continued to work the mines, stiffly and mechanically.
Only those that appeared fresher, likely not having been transformed for long, still seemed to possess a high degree of Spiritual Sense. As the group approached, they slowly turned their rigid heads, and eye sockets blazing with faint green fires faced Charlotte and the others directly.
Even worse, some of the less thoroughly Undead still had their original eyes, and their rotten, pale cheeks and hollow eyes were exceptionally eerie, scaring Noah pale. He quickly tucked his tail and hid behind the tallest Luf, clutching his clothes.
"If you’re scared, you don’t have to look at them."
Luf glanced at the little Werewolf and said.
However, despite his immense fear, Noah’s gaze still rested upon the living corpses.
Or, more accurately, it wandered among them, as if searching for something.
Charlotte took it all in and asked:
"Noah, how many years has your brother been missing?"
"This place should be relatively safe; we have limited time, so let’s split up and look around. Luf, you take Noah to check on the Bone Spiritified miners."
If Noah’s brother had been transformed into a living corpse, now it would likely be very difficult to recognize him.
Luf silently nodded and led the little Werewolf toward the miners who had been transformed earlier.
"Sebastian, go check the workshop area."
Charlotte commanded Sebastian.
There wasn’t any unfamiliar presence there, but it looked like it had an Elf style to it, perhaps Sebastian would find something.
Sebastian agreed and left. Charlotte continued to walk among the living corpse miners, hoping to discover something new.
Yet, as she passed a living corpse that had clearly been transformed not long ago, it suddenly reached out towards her.
Even though her keen Spiritual Sense had prepared her, she was still startled. However, the living corpse didn’t attack her but shook, its gaze vacant as it said:
"Save... save... me..."
Charlotte paused for a moment, then her expression became solemn.
This living corpse... still retained some semblance of consciousness.
But when she looked at it again, the living corpse had resumed its stiff movements and continued to mine the ore.