After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 96 - 13: The Underground Kingdom_2
Long, long ago, before monsters existed in this world, there were only races favored by All Gods.
Until a witch of unparalleled beauty and talent was born, her name was Tifeng, the creator of countless monsters.
Numerous powerful monsters came into being at the hands of Tifeng, filling the world with monsters and posing a severe threat to the races favored by the gods.
And then came the inevitable outcome; Tifeng, the creator of countless monsters, met the punishment of the gods: thunder descended from on high, and Tifeng perished alongside it.
However, the countless monsters created by Tifeng managed to survive, becoming part of the world’s ecosystem.
But the danger posed by the monsters remained as ever.
Yemengade, lurking in the deep sea, the extinct Fenrir Wolf Pack, the Hydra Hydra, and other such monsters.
And she was one of the monsters personally created by the Monster Witch, Sleipnir, the most dangerous of them all.
With just a gentle tap of a hoof, this knight would have died.
Hmph, his guard is really too low.
The little mare lifted her chin disdainfully, then glared at the pack of hungry wolves that appeared in the bushes. After scaring the wolves away, she lowered her head again.
In gratitude for the stories this human had told her, she would provide a little protection for his safety.
The next day.
Early morning.
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
"Ah... crap!" The knight woke up, but his expression was somewhat embarrassed. He looked over at the little mare beside him.
"I seem to have forgotten to replenish my magic power."
"..." The little mare stared at the human devoid of magic power, her eyes showing a hint of speechlessness. Had this human forgotten the fact that he was cursed to be devoid of magic power for three days? How dare he spend the night alone outside?
Now he doesn’t even have the strength to return.
"I got so caught up in telling stories that I forgot to go back." Xi Mu sighed with annoyance, and the little mare felt a slight twinge of guilt upon hearing this.
This knight had indeed stayed too long in order to tell her stories; otherwise, he should have returned to the village by now to drink the Magic Potion that would replenish his magic power.
After some thought.
The little mare stood up, then flicked Xi Mu onto her back, tossing the knight onto her back, after which she picked up the helmet on the ground and set off towards the village.
Since the human knight had spent the previous night telling her stories and playing pleasant music for her,
she would return the favor a little... by taking the knight back to the village.
Back in the village. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Under the frightened gazes of the villagers, an eight-legged horse carrying a knight in silver armor entered the village.
This eight-legged horse held its head high, exhibiting unusual pride as if it looked down upon all the humans present. The knight on horseback was helplessly explaining and apologizing to the people, clarifying why he had returned on the horse’s back.
The villagers also relaxed a bit upon the knight’s explanation, casting curious glances at the unusually proud eight-legged horse.
An eight-legged horse kind enough to bring someone back to the village could not be very dangerous; otherwise, the knight would have died long ago,
instead of safely returning to the village.
Not long after.
At the inn’s entrance.
"Boss, I was worried about you all night!" Jed ran out with a suitcase, helped Xi Mu down from the mare’s back, then took out a bottle of sustained Magic Potion and poured it into Xi Mu’s mouth.
Seeing this, the little mare also eased her mind. Her eight legs kicked forcefully, propelling her through the air towards the sky, and in an instant, she disappeared from view.
Xi Mu stood up, "Luckily, I was brought back."
"Boss, next time, don’t leave my side." Complained Jed, then he took Xi Mu back to the inn.
After the shortest possible time spent bathing and eating, the two set off in a horse-drawn carriage, heading towards where the Magic Queen’s star had fallen.
On their way, they encountered many others who were also on the road, including mercenaries, mages, and even small armies.
It was clear that they were all planning to snatch the Magic Queen’s meteorite.
"Boss, aren’t there too many people?" Jed tugged at the corner of her mouth, driving the carriage, and turned her head to ask Xi Mu beside her:
"Can we really snatch the Magic Queen’s meteorite?"
"Well, that will depend on whether we have the strength," Xi Mu glanced at the clouds on the horizon, just as a small eight-legged mare dashed by and disappeared into the clouds.
He smiled and said:
"Besides, isn’t it more lively with more people?"
"Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to fight with armies again?" Jed complained, "Boss, you fought with the giant army in Forge City, with the Dwarf Army in the Iris Flower Kingdom, and with mages in the Magic Castle."
She held her forehead.
"Now it’s just a big free-for-all."
"Once we get the Magic Queen’s meteorite, we run," Xi Mu waved his hand and explained to Jed, "I’m just too weak right now to mess around as I used to, so don’t worry about me joining the fray."
"I hope things turn out how you hope, Boss," Jed sighed with fatigue, having thought that joining Sky City meant a secured job for life, only to find life now more thrilling than ever.
She didn’t know if she was unlucky, or if her boss had a special knack for getting sucked into big events.
Noon.
Following the main force, they arrived at the edge of a circular mountain range.
In the center of the mountain range, a huge meteorite crater came into view, bottomless, with several fragments of rock floating in mid-air, as if some mysterious force was keeping them from falling.
"Boss, what do we do next?" Jed turned her head and asked Xi Mu, who was beside her.
The mercenaries and armies that had arrived did not dare to descend rashly, worrying about dangers; for now, they only sent a few people down to investigate.
Once it was confirmed safe below the meteorite crater, the main force would act and begin competing for the Magic Queen’s meteorite.
Xi Mu didn’t answer immediately, staring into the crater in thought.
In the Mysterious Gate, meteorites granting a +10 boost were not easy to come by: some were hidden in dragon lairs, requiring the slaying of the dragon to obtain, or simply placed in front of a boss’s door, guarded by a horde of followers.
But the Magic Queen’s fallen meteorite had crashed into an Underground Kingdom where the dominant belief was in witches.
They harbored strong malice towards surface dwellers.
"Let’s go, down." Xi Mu made a decision, grabbed Jed’s hand, and with a leap, they both jumped down, running down the meteorite crater.
Upon reaching the bottom of the crater, Xi Mu, pulling Jed, leaped powerfully onto a floating rock and then with several jumps disappeared into the crater.
This scene was naturally witnessed by those stationed around the crater’s edge; they didn’t know what to make of these two rash adventurers.
"Ha~ those are some bold folks." A beastman with a wolf’s head and a cape guffawed loudly, unsheathing his greatsword from his back and leaping after them.
"If we delay any further, we might really miss out." Following his descent into the crater, a group of mercenaries quickly followed suit.
Even the watching armies finally made up their minds, realizing they couldn’t keep stalling.
Otherwise, the Magic Queen’s meteorite might indeed be taken.
However, facing this delicate situation, the army from the Magic Kingdom felt conflicted and somewhat at a loss.
"Isn’t that Lord Hecate’s disciple?" Laila smirked, standing at the edge of the crater, watching the mercenaries rush down.
She was now a teacher at the Magic Academy, a true success.
And she was one of the few who had contact with Lord Hecate’s disciple.
"If something happens to Lord Hecate’s disciple?" she turned to ask the Knight Captain beside her, "Will we be held accountable by Lord Hecate?"
Knight Captain: "..."
He didn’t know what to say; he was just a Knight Captain, not even sure what Lord Hecate’s disciple looked like.
But if Lord Hecate’s disciple came to harm here.
They probably would be in trouble, as to how much trouble, that would depend on how much Lord Hecate cared for her disciple.
