Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 298: Chapter 59

Maxi stared dazedly at Kuahel before her legs gave out. She landed on her behind with a dull thud. Around them, the goblins’ torches lay scattered on the cave floor, still blazing. An eerie silence hung overhead like a dark cloud.

Kuahel scrutinized the end of the passageway. Satisfied that there were no other imminent threats, he sheathed his gracefully curved, crescent-moon sword.

“This passage must lead somewhere.”

His calm voice snapped Maxi out of her trance. Doing her best to collect her wits, she said, “I-I think... we should look for a way to open the door first. ‘

As she shakily rose to her feet using the wall for support, something bumped against her heel. She looked down in surprise. A goblin’s head stared back up at her. She jumped, stifling a scream. The flickering torches shone a stark light across the monster’s dark red face, contorted in pain.

Fighting the urge to hurl, she tore her gaze away. It appeared she now had one more traumatic experience involving goblins.

“Allow me,” Kuahel said, sighing.

Maxi glanced over her shoulder to see him kick the goblin’s head with his armored boot, sending it rolling to its decapitated body. He tossed the cloth he had used to wipe his sword over the carcass. Soon, blue flames crept over the monster corpses.

She covered her face with her sleeve in horror. The flames consumed the corpses in no time, leaving nothing but ashes. After a perfunctory scattering of the remains with his foot, Kuahel cocked an eyebrow.

‘Why are you still there? Did you not say you were going to open the door?”

“I-I was just about to.”

Maxi hastily turned around to reexamine the snake’s head. Clearly, this trigger operated differently from those they had found at the ruins. No amount of maneuvering was able to make it budge. Biting her lip, she studied the rune on the wall. She had presumed it would not be difficult to understand. After all, the goblins had been able to use it. But as the time she spent staring at it stretched on, she realized it was impossible to get her head around it.

Feeling defeated, Maxi furrowed her brow.

Kuahel Leon walked up behind her and said dryly, “Is there a problem?’

“I-I cannot figure out how it works,” she admitted, a flush coloring her cheeks.

Frowning, Kuahel tried pulling on the snake’s head. When that failed, he stepped in front of the steel door and banged his fist against it as if to appraise its thickness.

‘We could breakdown the door, but I would rather not leave any evidence of our intrusion.”

“R-Ruth... may be able to figure out how to open it from the other side.

Maxi walked up next to him and pressed her ear against the steel. She could faintly hear Elliot’s overwrought voice, as well as Ruth’s frantic efforts to dissuade him. It seemed that both of them were quite flustered by the sudden turn of events. She anxiously bit her lip.

“I think the others are worried about us. W-What should we do?”

“It is you they are worried about,” Kuahel corrected curtly before whirling around.

He picked up a torch and set off down the dark passage. Maxi, who had been groping the wall in search of other devices, looked over in alarm.

‘W -Where are you going?”

“We cannot wait here forever. Surely this leads somewhere. And where that is, I must find out. ‘

“A-Are you mad?” Maxi shrieked.

She hastily covered her mouth when her voice echoed off the stone. She scurried after him and chided in a hushed voice, “What could the t-two of us possibly do? It’s too dangerous! We should figure out how to open the door first so we can—

“We do not have time to waste,” Kuahel said firmly without slowing his pace. “And if my assumption is correct, this passageway is likely connected to the monster base. It is vital that we confirm this.”

Maxi grew wide-eyed. “You think this leads to the monster base?”

“The goblins were not armed, nor were they wearing armor. It is improbable that they traveled all the way here from the city so defenseless. Which means...

they used a safe route free from outside threats.”

He summoned a fireball in his hand to light the dark and seemingly endless tunnel.

“Or they may have another hideout besides the city. Either way, we must confirm it.”

“B-But... it’s too dangerous! If something went wrong—”

Kuahel stopped to stare at her intently. He seemed to be weighing something. Maxi instinctively backed away from the flash of raw brutality she caught beneath his cold facade.

Fear began to gnaw at her. Was it safe to be alone with this man? She barely knew anything about him. It was possible he might not care all that much about her safety — or her life. Throughout the journey, he had made it clear he was willing to take any risk, make whatever sacrifice, to complete the mission.

As if sensing her fear, Kuahel’s expression turned cynical. “I doubt asking you to trust me would be much of a reassurance to you. I’m not suggesting we follow this tunnel all the way. If I am correct, you should be able to use your tracing spell again once we’re a certain distance away from the basilisk farm. We will only go as far as that. You can then tell us where this tunnel leads with your magic. ”

“‘I’ll -That’s... a good idea. They certainly... would not have placed magic-suppressing runes further than necessary,” Maxi stammered, her face growing red. She felt a pang of guilt for her unfounded mistrust.

“We shall return here once we’re done. If the other mage fails to open the door by then, we will do so by force.”

“V-Very well. Let’s do that.”

As soon as Maxi nodded, Kuahel resumed his march down the shadowy passageway. Maxi awkwardly followed, sweeping her eyes over the dark walls, rugged support columns, and the slightly muddy ground as she went. A swamp-like stench seemed to be seeping in from somewhere.

The goblins probably relieved themselves freely in this tunnel as they traveled back and forth. As soon as she had formed the thought, she banished it from her mind. It was not something she wished to dwell on.

‘What if... other monsters come to check on the goblins from earlier?”

“That is a possibility,” Kuahel replied, unconcerned. “Who’s to know what those goblins intended to do at the breeding farm? But their absence might cause enough concern for others to come looking.”

“Th-Then we should abandon this plan and turn—”

“However, this appears to be quite a long tunnel,” he cut her off rather impatiently. “If it is connected to the city, it should take at least half a day to reach it. That will be more than enough time for us to investigate. And even if we do run into anything, I will deal with them as I did just now.”

Unable to come up with any more objections, Maxi pressed her lips together. Even if she were to state a hundred reasons to abandon this investigation, she was certain this man would not back down. She swallowed a sigh. If she wanted to get out of this place safely, she would have to finish the task as quickly as possible.

Every few steps, she brushed her fingers along the wall to check if her magic was still bound. As the Temple Knight had predicted, her mana began to flow freely once they were about ten minutes out. She exhaled in relief and placed both hands on the wall to start the tracing spell.

Once linked to the mana pathway of an earth spirit, she extended her mana down the tunnel. She weaved her mana net as loosely as possible to search a wider area. But even then, the tunnel seemed to stretch beyond the limits of her reach. When the edges of her perception began to muddle, she focused her mind as much as possible.

At long last, she reached the end of the long tunnel. She cried out breathlessly,

“Y-You were right, Sir Kuahel! It leads to the monster base.”

“Excellent. ‘

Kuahel pensively peered down the dark tunnel, and Maxi could guess what he was thinking.

With this passageway, they could infiltrate the city without needing to break down the ramparts. This was a discovery that tipped the war in their favor. However, the monsters would no doubt render this secret route useless if they found out it had been discovered by humans.

Growing anxious, Maxi urged, “I really think.. we should hurry back. If the monsters—”

“Shh.”

Kuahel coiled an arm around her and stepped them both behind one of the columns. Maxi’s eyes widened above his hand that clamped over her mouth. Meanwhile, his gaze was fixed on the empty wall ahead.

A moment later, the wall slid open and something stepped out. Maxi held her breath. The creature had a wrinkly face, a hawk nose, strangely bent joints, and limbs covered in long fur. A kobold.

The hyena-like monster sauntered into the passageway and started moving in their direction. Kuahel made an instantaneous decision. He released Maxi and sneaked up behind the kobold, his dagger drawn. In a swift, single stroke, he sent the creature dropping to the floor in a fountain of blood. It did not utter so much as a groan. Kuahel then turned the corpse into ashes with his divine magic.

“I’ve stained my clothes.”

He eyed the spatter of blood on his habit in repulsion before motioning with his head at Maxi.

“Can you check where that tunnel leads?” he asked, pointing to the entryway the kobold had come through.

Maxi promptly rushed to the door and used the tracing spell. This time, it did not take long for her to reach the end. This newly discovered passageway was rather short and led outdoors.

“I-It appears to lead outside.”

“That certainly seems to be the case,” Kuahel replied, picking up the spear the kobold had dropped.

He swiftly burned the weapon to ashes as well, then indicated to the door with his head.

“We can go out through here.”

“B-But the others are—”

“We will tell them we’ve found another way out and have them leave as well. ‘

With that, he began to retrace his steps. Maxi practically had to run to keep up with his long strides. As expected, Ruth had failed to figure out how to open the door. When Maxi pressed her ear against it, Elliot’s muffled, anxious talking filtered through.

Kuahel stood facing the door and called for his subordinate in a clear voice. It was nothing short of astonishing that he was able to make himself heard without shouting.

“We have found another way out, so you and the others are to leave at once as well.”

His subordinate responded that he understood.

“And before you leave,” Kuahel added, “wake some of the basilisks. We must make the monsters believe they went berserk and killed the goblins.”

“Th-That’s too dangerous. Basilisks could injure—”

Ignoring Maxi’s protests, the Temple Knight turned around. She glowered at his back in disbelief. Could there be a more self-righteous man? She eyed the steel door with concern before reluctantly trailing after him.

When they broke free of the tunnel, they were greeted by a raging blizzard across a purple sky. Maxi inhaled sharply. They were in a wide clearing. Off to the side was a mound of basilisk heads, their fleshy crests sticking out of the snow. Goosebumps prickled over her whole body at the ghastly sight.

“First a breeding farm, now a slaughterhouse?” Kuahel muttered. He set off across the snow. “We must search for shelter first. Hurry.”

“First a breeding farm, now a slaughterhouse?” Kuahel muttered. He set off across the snow. “We must search for shelter first. Hurry.”

Maxi dashed after him as he led them out of the clearing with such quick steps that she barely had a chance to be afraid. By the time they began clambering down a rocky path, she was gasping for air and using the last of her reserves to keep up.

The Temple Knight moved so briskly with so little consideration for her that she began to fear he had completely forgotten about her existence. He forged ahead without a glance back.

After what seemed like forever, Kuahel pointed to a hollowed-out boulder.

“This will do. ‘

Maxi panted like a hound under a scorching sun. Her breath felt stuck in her chest, making her feel woozy. She sank to the ground without bothering to take in the shelter Kuahel had chosen..