The group hurriedly drew their weapons. Weasley from the Luigi Commerce Association instinctively pulled out the scimitar at his waist, while the accompanying guide took down the shield from his back.
But before everyone had fully armed themselves, Paladin Alfred charged to the front. He raised his standard longsword high and shouted.
A strong platinum glow, imbued with immense Divine Energy, shot towards the swarming Vampire Bats. Once the glow touched the bodies of those bats with blood-red eyes, they disintegrated into ashes as if melting. The remaining bats scattered and quickly vanished.
"Such powerful Holy Light Skill," Weasley sighed, putting away his weapon.
"Mr. Paladin, could you give me a heads-up next time you do that? My eyes are almost blind from the flash!" Estelle complained.
"I didn't want to do that either, Mr. Estelle. But these Vampire Bats are shrewd. Once they acknowledge our counterattack, they remember our figures. Fearing death, they wouldn't attack us again." Alfred's expression was serious: "We're here to investigate anomalies, not to waste time dealing with these Vampire Bats."
"Fine, it's why I don't like teaming up with Paladins." Estelle muttered, grudgingly agreeing with Alfred.
"Are there always Vampire Bats in the mine?" Laine noticed something unusual. Normally, a functioning mine shouldn't have so many Vampire Bats.
"When there are miners, certainly not. But we've stopped mining this vein for nearly three months. Perhaps these cursed creatures thought humans left, so they reappeared?" Weasley was also perplexed and made a guess.
This guess seemed reasonable to Laine, who didn't question further and continued deeper into the tunnel.
The passage of Mine No. 1 was long. Laine held the Warhammer in one hand while a blue-glowing Spiritual Blade in his right. Using the dim light from the Spiritual Blade, he realized many rock walls were damp and covered in ice: "Is there underground water seeping in here?"
"Yes, Mr. Laine, there's underground water seeping." Weasley nodded and pointed above the rock wall: "Viscount Casanova explicitly told us about the seepage when selling this mine, which is partly why he sold it cheaply."
"To prevent flooding, we fortified many areas." Weasley pointed to seeping spots: "Although there are minor leaks occasionally, it doesn't affect extraction much. The only problem is increased mining costs."
"Hmm." With that, the group continued deeper into Mine No. 1.
Laine noticed the candles were burning out fast and sighed inwardly. If only Veronica were here, her torches were bright, had a wide range, and lasted long. These flimsy candle lights couldn't illuminate far and burned quickly.
As they advanced further, the path became increasingly narrow, and the ground and rock walls became more slippery. Weasley wiped bits of ice off his head, pointing to the bend ahead and whispered: "That's the end of Mine No. 1; it's an underground lake … what's wrong, Mr. Laine?"
"Hold on … I think I hear something." Laine signaled for everyone to be quiet.
"Rustle~ Clack~" Strange noises came from around the bend.
Realizing the situation, everyone drew their weapons and prepared for combat.
The Half-Elf peered around the corner, seeing as clearly in the dark as in daylight. Original content can be found at Nove1Fire.net
Once he saw what was happening, Estelle's eyes widened instantly.
Several rats taller than humans gathered on the frozen ice of the underground lake, gnawing at something. They had blood-red eyes and massive bodies with sharp claws and teeth. Estelle couldn't clearly see what they were chewing, but the scattering bones and flesh indicated it was something living.
The Half-Elf turned and whispered: "Rats, huge rats."
"Skaven Ratmen?" Laine asked quietly.
"Not quite … just mutated giant rats." The experienced Half-Elf quickly discerned they weren't the notorious Skaven Ratmen, only regular mutated rats.
"Then let's take them down!" The group nodded and prepared for battle. Laine's hand blazed with a blue Spiritual Flame; he found his target and extended his right hand towards the feasting rats.
Blue electricity struck the indulgent rats, causing immense pain under the scorching assault. Two rats fell dead under the Spiritual Storm's attack, while the rest swiftly reacted, dodged the blue lightning, and charged towards the exploration team.
Estelle nocked an arrow swiftly.
"Whizz!" The first feathered arrow hit the lead rat's left eye, and it flopped to the ground lifeless immediately.
The second feathered arrow nocked the Half-Elf's longbow; this time, the cunning rats knew to evade, immediately dispersing. One rushed at Alfred, while the other two sped towards Laine.