15: Return to the cave entrance

Wizard Wedell's sudden disappearance was like a sharp blade piercing my heart, bringing me endless sorrow.

If only all of this were just a nightmare, how wonderful that would be.

Yellow-green smoke surged at the entrance of the stone chamber, like the sharp claws of a vicious beast, stirring restlessly, as if it could break through the confines of the stone chamber at any moment.

I turned and ran frantically, the old mage's final expression replaying in my memory—

At that moment, as the corrosive smoke swallowed his snow-white beard, his bloodshot eyes suddenly became clear, as if he had finally shed the heavy burden he had carried for a century.

The deathly smoke pursued me relentlessly from behind, but fortunately, it only spread a short distance into the corridor at the stone chamber's entrance before rapidly receding.

I dared not look back, only desperately flew forward.

When I reached the bottom of the stone coffin, there was no longer any sound of fighting above.

Judging by the footsteps of the Meat Golems, they seemed to have resumed their previous methodical patrol routes.

"What happened to Alton and Lavinia?" Smelling the scent of blood wafting from above, an ominous premonition surged in my heart.

"Thump, thump, thump…"

I hid on the steps beneath the stone coffin, carefully listening to the golems' walking patterns.

They seemed to walk to the entrance of this stone hall and then turn back and walk out, a round trip taking about twenty minutes.

After the two golems had walked far away, I quietly climbed up and peered out from the edge of the stone coffin.

The stone hall was still completely dark, unchanged from before.

Except, the sight in front of the left passage filled me with dread—

Scattered on the ground were blood-stained, torn mage robes, Lavinia's broken slender staff, and the surrounding ground was covered in red flesh fragments and a large pool of dark red blood.

A surging wave of nausea rose to my throat, and I retreated into the stone coffin, lowering my head to vomit.

The sound of my retching echoed in the stone hall, but my movements did not elicit any reaction from the Meat Golems.

Just as when we entered, they seemed completely oblivious to sound.

After the golems turned back again, I once again stood up from the stone coffin; this time I looked to the right side of the stone hall.

Alton's body was torn into pieces and embedded in the stone wall at the edge of the passage entrance, dark blood flowing onto the ground, forming a small pool.

Arrows and two glowing hunting knives were scattered around.

All four Halflings had perished.

Suppressing my grief, I ran to Alton's feet, collected some arrows and inserted them into the quiver on my back, picked up the two magic hunting knives, and once again hid in the stone coffin.

I wiped the tears from my face, looked inside the stone coffin, picked up a cloak from the edge, and spread it out nearby.

Then I scooped up a handful of treasures onto the cloak, then two more handfuls, arranging them into a long strip, and then rolled the cloak into a long strip and tied it around my waist.

After the footsteps of the Meat Golems approached, I heard the sound of them turning back.

This time, I seized the opportunity and leaped out of the stone coffin; the golems were no longer visible at the entrances of the two passages.

I quickly ran towards the right passage, the one we came through.

As I approached the entrance of the passage, I activated the Shadow Hide and Silent Movement skills.

When the Shadow Hide skill was activated, my body seemed to merge with the darkness.

However, my skills were not yet proficient, and my figure flickered in and out of sight as I entered the passage.

I was constantly forced out of the shadows and then constantly reactivated the skill, trying to become invisible again.

As I entered the next section of the passage, I saw that Lavinia's Ice Binding spell had begun to melt, and water droplets were slowly flowing down the rock wall.

"There's no more time for me," I thought to myself, "I must rush out in one go; the mechanisms here won't give me a second chance."

Stepping out of the passage, I saw the golem's figure just entering the passage at the far end of this small stone hall outside.

I carefully observed the terrain of the stone hall, pondering, "I can only look for an opportunity here!"

In the middle of the small stone hall were the glowing mosses Alton had left earlier; although the center had been trampled beyond recognition by the golem, I could still discern the rough rectangular outline from the faintly remaining edges.

After carefully bypassing this magical trap, I unfastened the retaining clip of the magic arrows in my quiver and drew out a vine arrow.

I stealthily walked to a rock wall on the far right of the stone hall, waiting for the golem to return.

In less than 1 minute, the golem appeared.

I prayed not to be seen by the golem, but this massive monster, its green flame-like eyes on its face, looked at me.

"I've been discovered!" My heart pounded with fear.

"Thump, thump, thump…"

This colossal creature ran towards me.

"There's no other way, I can only try."

I gritted my teeth, quickly stood up, drew my bow, and shot an arrow.

Vine arrows could temporarily trap golems, Alton had verified this before. But I only had 5, and I wasn't sure if they would be effective.

Before the first vine arrow hit the golem, I shot the second and third with the fastest speed possible.

The first vine arrow struck a corpse fragment on the Meat Golem's belly.

"Buzz… Swish…"

The magic on the arrow was instantly activated, and several vines seemed to grow from the golem's wounded area, rapidly climbing in all directions across the golem's body.

The second and third arrows successively hit the golem's two legs, and more magical vines bound the golem.

When dozens of vines began to intertwine, the golem's movement seemed to pause for a moment.

"It's working!"

My heart was in my throat, but my hands dared not stop; the fourth and fifth arrows were also shot out consecutively.

These two arrows struck the golem's two stitched forearms.

More and more vines wrapped around the golem's body, and several vines even coiled around its face, covering its eyes.

The golem stumbled and tilted a step to the side.

"Now's my chance!" I rushed with all my might towards the passage on the opposite side.

Just as I passed by the golem, I heard a "crack, crack, crack…" the sound of vines breaking.

So fast, the golem was about to break free!

I dared not hesitate for a moment and quickly ran into the fork in the path.

As I ran past the gentle slope outside, my hand on my pounding chest, I listened intently to the golem's footsteps, which seemed to have resumed their previous patrol rhythm.

"That's great, it really didn't pursue me outside." I breathed a sigh of relief.

Before entering, Wizard Wedell the mage had analyzed that the Meat Golems' patrol range was inside, and this outer passage was too narrow, so they were unlikely to pursue me outside.

It's a pity that he is no longer here. While escaping just now, the staff he entrusted to me before his death also fell in the passage.

After confirming that the golem hadn't pursued me, I didn't stop and began to run towards the cave camp outside, to rendezvous with McLock and Jones.

However, when I finally returned to the temporary camp, it was empty, their figures had vanished without a trace.

"Perhaps they are all at the cave entrance?" I thought to myself with a glimmer of hope.

I cautiously approached the cave entrance.

But when I stealthily reached behind the cave entrance, what met my eyes was: Jones and McLock lying on their backs, life already gone, with several Siren arrows embedded in their bodies.

Dark red blood stained the sand and hard rock beneath them, and it also pierced my heart.

At that moment, I was once again alone.

How was I to face this unknown and terrifying world?

My heart was consumed by endless loneliness, filled with fear, confusion, and sorrow.