Before long, the group found a downward-opening trapdoor.
Most of the crates here were stuffed full, but the ones around this trapdoor were empty.
Colin reached for the handle and gave it a gentle pull, and the trapdoor swung open.
Beneath the door was a wooden ladder leading down to a man-made tunnel.
Kase, Battle Axe in hand, grabbed the edge of the trapdoor and vaulted down.
The moment he landed, the Half-Orc silently hurled the Battle Axe in his hand forward.
THWACK!
Judging from the sound and Kase’s expression, the Battle Axe must have lodged itself in a wooden plank.
’The ambush has been discovered?!’
Colin’s heart sank. He swung himself onto the ladder and began to climb down quickly, calling out to stop the Half-Orc who was about to give chase. "Don’t pursue! What did you see?"
"I didn’t see nothin’, just heard the sound of flapping wings and felt a bit of a cool breeze," Kase said, picking up his fallen Battle Axe.
"That must have been an invisible Imp."
After climbing down, Colin took a closer look. Sure enough, the blade of the Battle Axe was stained with blood.
The two of them now stood in a clearly man-made underground tunnel. An oil lamp hung inside, providing light, and the sides were reinforced with wooden planks and sticks.
"It’s fine. They must be holding refugees here. It takes time to move them, so the Demons won’t have had enough time," Colin said reassuringly.
The other two scrambled down, and the group hurried forward along the narrow tunnel.
They hadn’t gone far when they saw a small room filled with bedding.
Colin glanced inside as he strode past. The place could probably house a dozen or so people, but the small room was now empty.
Judging by the disheveled bedding, people must have been sleeping here just moments ago.
They left the room and walked another dozen or so paces.
Just as Kase, who was in the lead, was about to round the corner ahead, he suddenly stopped. Colin, following behind, quickly braced himself against the wall to halt his own momentum.
THWACK!
A Crossbow Arrow flew out from the other side of the corner and embedded itself in the wooden plank supporting the ceiling right in front of Kase.
"Kase, the Shield!" Orelia offered to hand him her own Shield.
"Don’t need it!" Kase roared, instantly entering a state of [Frenzy]. The guy had been holding back for too long; his roar was filled with pent-up fury and a thirst for battle.
He reached back and unslung his massive Battle Axe. Gripping the handle with one hand, he held the axe head up to his chest with the other, literally using the Axe as a Shield as he charged forward.
Since the handle had been shortened, Kase could indeed just about use it this way.
"You..."
Seeing he couldn’t stop him, Colin dropped his Giant Sword to the ground so it wouldn’t hinder his movements and charged out of the tunnel right behind Kase.
Beyond the tunnel was a narrow room.
The moment he charged out, Colin’s eyes darted around, taking in the entire environment.
The ceiling was only two meters high. Although the room was spacious, it was filled with wooden sticks supporting the roof. Just as he’d predicted, long weapons like a Giant Sword were impossible to wield here.
At the same time, he saw cages on the far side of the room, constructed from thick wooden sticks.
The ground around the cages was covered in bloodstains. A few dying refugees were huddled in the corners of the cells, lifting their eyes to stare with despair and numbness at the intruders.
The gang members, meanwhile, had built a makeshift barricade out of tables and crates. A group of them were hiding behind it, preparing for the next volley.
Colin began preparing for Casting.
Through the eye slits of his Helmet, he could clearly see several opponents aiming at him with Light Crossbows.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
The instant the enemies pulled their Crossbow Mechanisms, Colin began Casting, and [Shield] took effect immediately.
A glowing Magic Shield appeared around his body. The moment the Crossbow Arrows made contact, the entire Shield rippled like a calm pond touched by raindrops.
The incoming Crossbow Arrows were instantly deflected.
Colin clearly heard a CLANG from his Chest Armor, but he felt almost nothing.
He knew that getting shot while wearing Chain Armor would have left a bruise.
A few thugs ducked back behind their cover to reload their Light Crossbows.
Every one of these guys wore a savage grin; they didn’t look at all like they were being coerced by the Demons. Of course, even if they were forced at first, the Demons had a million ways to make them fall to evil over such a long time.
It was hard to call them human anymore.
Colin took out the Mica Plate he had bought and began to chant the spell he had practiced every day back in Thousand Masts City. It was also the strongest area-of-effect Magic he could currently muster.
[Shatter]!
As he chanted the Spell, the Mica Plate in his hand began to vibrate slowly.
The instant Colin was Casting, a sound of something slicing through the air suddenly came from beside him.
He ignored it and continued Casting.
The tables, chairs, and crates piled up as cover also began to emit a piercing hum. Pale yellow shadows started to appear around the wooden planks, and the gang members hiding behind them suddenly went silent.
CRACK! CRACK!
The wooden planks exploded, filling the room with splinters. Even a few of the load-bearing pillars were shattered by the vibration.
Several gang members lay dead amidst the debris.
They were bleeding from their noses and mouths; they were definitely dead.
"I surrender, I surrender!"
A sharp cry came from beside him.
Colin looked to his side. The ground was covered in black ichor, and there was a red, barbed tail that looked like a scorpion’s.
Kase was holding a creature about the size of a cat with one hand. It had red skin extremely similar to Orelia’s, a cluster of small horns on its head, and looked like a skinny, hairless monkey.
The creature also had a pair of bat-like wings, and its long tail had been lopped off by Kase.
’That thing was probably trying to sting me with its tail,’ Colin thought.
"What the hell is this thing?" the Half-Orc yelled.
"It’s an Imp! That’s the one that turned invisible and warned them!" Orelia walked over, Nail Head Hammer in hand. Kase took the cue and slammed the Imp to the ground.
"I-I have information! I know lots of things!" the Imp hurriedly said. "For example, about this Cambion, I can tell you..."
Before it could finish, the Nail Head Hammer smashed its head to a pulp.
Before the room could fall completely silent, the sound of clashing metal came from the doorway at the other end.
The moment this sound arose, the silent, pitiful people in the cages suddenly began to struggle and scream, the chains binding them clattering harshly.
Three figures emerged from the exit on the other side.
Two of them were burly men wearing Long Chain Armor and Chain Armor Headbands. Each one held a Hand Axe in one hand and a Short Sword in the other.
The last was a young man in Leather Armor. He had curly hair and a handsome, debonair face; one look was enough to tell he was no commoner.
Colin used the light of the oil lamp to get a good look at the two burly men.