"Hmm...What's that sound?"
Sixteen minutes had passed since Cabrera killed off the snake.
In that time, shockwaves kept resounding as a result of the fight still ongoing above ground, but it had now stopped after a last big bang that gave Cabrera goosebumps.
Cabrera also found one more tree within that time. This one was in its infancy and didn't have anything guarding it, so he was able to extract it without much trouble.
He also grouped the eggs together, 25 in total. A number not small but not too big either.
But that was it. He hadn't found any other treasures within the underground cave. Now, he was hearing the subtle sounds of vibrations along the walls.
As he strained his ears to pinpoint the sound, all he got was that it was originating from the opposite end of the cave.
His brain also clicked at that moment as he facepalmed himself.
'That's where the tracks of the snake came from'
The moment he landed in the underground cave, he saw two sides, one was flattened ground and the other was a heap of eggs.
At the sight of the beast eggs, he had immediately moved in that direction without much thought. Thinking about it now, he should have gone in the other direction because those tracks on the floor were proof that the snake had come from there, and it was far more likely for treasures to be there!
This was why Cabrera blamed himself for being stupid. The vibration could be caused by someone else, and judging from the amount of people he lured, it wasn't an impossibility for one or two to have ended up here…and now, they must have found some treasure!
Well, he was here first, so it was rightfully his.
Cabrera had already bolted towards the other end of the cave with such thoughts, not even considering the fact that it might be a beast, or even that there was another beast like the one that went up. Maybe he just trusted Ezra's advice that much.
As Cabrera ran, he tried to pinpoint the origin of the vibrations, only to discover that it was almost elusive.
After another three minutes of running at full force, he arrived at a place…with no one around?
Cabrera's head grew question marks when he found no one to be around, but the walls were still vibrating, this time far fiercer and clearer than the last.
*crack*
"Ouch"
A piece of stones fell on Cabrera's head as he looked up and it became clear, the vibrations were coming from above.
"Huu…" Cabrera exhaled and gradually calmed down as he found himself in front of a huge entrance with its insides shining a blue light.
He approached it with caution while surveying every step of the way till he arrived at the wide entrance. What he saw though, left him jaw smacked.
It was a beautiful scene of a very small pool of shining water with a cerulean color reflecting on the walls, and along these walls…he found mana stones!
They were small in number when compared to that which Fredrick found, but Cabrera didn't know that.
The mana was so dense that Cabrera was momentarily dazed. To his shock, he found a tree like the ones he had stolen in this cave as well, but it was three times bigger and a lot more vibrant than the others.
Multiple fruits were also dangling upon it, numbering almost twenty from what Cabrera could see.
Cabrera immediately knew he had stumbled upon the motherload! Now it was a matter of how he would steal this, considering that its roots were located right in the middle of the pool, and that it might be a bit too big for his space ring.
The trail of the snake body had begun from this cave. Specifically, it seemed to have started from the pool, which meant there might be something else there.
He could only sigh.
'To think the preparations would still be inadequate, but there should be a way. Let me take these first before thinking of a solution'
With such thoughts, he approached the walls and brought out a pickaxe from within his space ring, before coating it with mana and beginning to mine the stones.
By substituting speed for destructive power, his swings were slow, but the effects were far reaching, spreading cracks across the walls so that, by the time he finished mining here, other places would be easier.
The vibration spreading along the walls never stopped all this while.
Cabrera knew that whatever was causing it was right above him, and he didn't want to test the idea of meeting such an existence here.
Why fight an unnecessary battle when one could simply avoid it?
These were Ezra's words. And while Cabrera would've left the place in similar cases, the presence of treasures deterred his fear.
He would be worthless if he missed something like this because he was afraid of a fight.
That said, he made sure to hurry. The best thing was still to avoid a fight, and with such a conclusion, he focused on amplifying his body with mana and slammed his pickaxe against the walls.
*Bam!*
The cave quivered slightly with every swing as some debris fell from the cave's ceiling onto the ground, only for him to see the pickaxe snap after three swings.
'Hmm, I should tell Nathan to bring better equipment next time'
That said, the pickaxe was at least a bronze rank item to have withstanded three swings of such massive power.
The walls already had web-like cracks through them, so Cabrera was able to easily dislodge the nearest mana stones and remove them with his hands.
Without thinking about it too much, he took out another pickaxe from his space ring and repeated the same thing.
While doing so, he wondered.
'Was this why he told us to buy so many pickaxes? Did he predict this situation?'
It was because of Ezra's directive that they bought a surplus of pickaxes, and at the time, neither he nor Fredrick understood why, but it was coming in handy.
Also…
'The rumbling sounds seemed to have stopped for a while now. Does that mean Fredrick has killed the beast? What's holding him up then?'
Cabrera swung his pickaxe as he thought so.
What happened next though, was completely out of his expectations.
*BAM!*
A part of the ceiling was broken apart in the next moment and Cabrera's vigilance was raised to maximum, only for him to see a familiar face raise his head after falling into the tree standing in the middle of the small pool.
The moment the two men made eye contact, they asked the same question simultaneously.
"How are you here?"
Fredrick and Cabrera were both baffled at the turn of events.
Meanwhile…
"Hoo…"
Ilyon had a look of astonishment on his face once the man finished telling him his plan.
The man in question also had a smile on his lips as two fingers pushed his glasses in place as he said…
"So…what do you think?"
The next moment however…
*Slash*
Ilyon's sword moved as a blur and, before the man could even comprehend the situation, he was beheaded.
His head held an expression of unfairness and injustice as it landed on the ground.
The culprit didn't even flinch as he flung the blood of his sword and took a minute to check his condition.
'My stamina has recovered to a decent amount'
His gaze stretched further as he checked the situation of the troops fighting the snake horde.
'Not bad' he thought as he turned to assist them, before turning his head to the scene of Rowan being treated behind him, and Motavu who lay unconscious.
'But first, I'll have to take care of these two'
A thin, cruel smile blossomed from Ilyon's lips at this moment.
The glory would be all his, and his alone.
Ilyon didn't know it at this moment, but his next actions would set forth a terrible fate for his guild, and funny enough…he wouldn't be there to see it.
