Chapter 846 Chapter 845: Terracotta Grottos (11)
"Now this... this looks like a place we'll be stuck in for a long, long damn time..."
I smiled wryly as I stared out over the vast multilayered grotto in front of us, the hundreds upon hundreds of feet of grass, vines, roots, herbs, rock and ore sprawling out above, below, in front and even behind us, the entrance that we took to get here placing us smack dab in the middle of the grotto.
"This place... is far too massive... like, seriously, how the hell did this get formed..?"
Jahi's muttering made me shake my head, unsure of how to answer as I joined her in looking around, taking in this incredible view for a few quiet seconds before asking "How do we want to tackle this place then..? It's... massive. Goes up, goes down, connects to other grottos..."
The Demoness kept taking it all in, eventually looking back towards us and inspecting the large party of Demons that were also basking in the natural beauty during this moment, her lips curling into a frown as she let out a deep sigh, mulling over the problem some more as she tried to come up with a solution.
Even Satanya was momentarily stumped as she scanned the various paths leading up and down the grotto, each plateau laden with new riches and dangers aplenty and requiring a new plan to take on thanks to the sheer amount of distinct territories within this singular grotto.
There was a few Goblin encampments throughout the area, and between them were all sorts of beast monsters that were roaming and prowling around silently, looking for anything to eat and also avoiding those larger than them.
Monsters with wings flew around the grotto and nested far above us, small outcroppings in the rocky walls allowing them to rest far away from every other monster whilst also allowing them to stealthily hunt whenever they pleased.
Some monsters burrowed into the dirt, others swam within the lakes and rivers, and some stomped around without a care in the world, assured that nothing would target them thanks to them being the larger, strongest monsters around.
"Honestly... we just chip away at it until something happens I guess? There's not much we can do besides pick an area and just go for it, y'know?"
Anput nodded and instantly pointed towards a giant spire of rock that was a jutting out from a few floors below, leaning against the plateau we were on and saying "Then let's go there!"
The Jackalkin just grinned at us as we turned to stare at her, not caring that she was being so brazenly open about her selfish desires as she continued to point at the spire, causing Satanya to chuckle as she said "Course that's where you want to go, Anput. Showing your desires far too easily huh?"
"Of course I am! All y'all being indecisive and awestruck by some pretty scenery! Someone's gotta have their head on straight!"
"I think that's just greed, Anput. Just greed."
My mate clicked her tongue and glared at me, before shrugging her shoulders as she said "Fine, then I'm greedy. Can we get going to the spire and mine up some more ore? I'm itching to get back and start forging again..."
"And that's an addiction."
She clicked her tongue again before smirking, her obsidian eyes glowing with mischief as she cooed "You'd know about addiction, wouldn't you Kat~? The way you were pleading for-!"
Leone clamped her hand over Anput's mouth, silencing the Jackalkin before I could reply, though I did give her a simple stare that made the Jackalkin shiver, though she had no remorse as Leone released her, just grinning at me and winking before making her way towards the spire.
"It's a start, I guess... Besides, we can use the ore we mine to get better gear and kit ourselves out for specific areas, I guess. Anything we make that we don't want to keep can be stored inside Custodia's armory afterwards, so... let's get going, I guess."
Everyone nodded, and we followed the excited Jackalkin as we walked across the grassy grotto, avoiding the herds of monsters and keeping far away from the Goblins; the things around us kept a wide berth, curious but not wanting to risk anything with the unknown.
Along the way, we got to better scout out this grotto, and honestly... every moment spent was incredible in terms of scenic beauty, the spherical cavern covered in Glow Flis, shining crystals, and various greenery and flora, whilst the area around us was a wonderful globe of nature kept hidden away from the world.
In the distance, an entire portion of the wall was covered in giant crystals that glittered beautifully, whilst nearby a grove of trees bearing succulent fruit grew tall, their canopy home to various monsters that lazed around as they watched us from afar.
Everything around us was beautiful, but what mattered here and now was the gigantic rocky spire that rose from the depths of the grotto and scaled up towards the ceiling, almost like it was a supporting pillar for this entire grotto.
Ores, crystals and gemstones littered the dark rock in front of us, and I could already feel Anput getting more and more excited as the various veins of material goodies came into view, each vein a different color and size waiting to be harvested and utilized.
Nesting on the side of the pillar were various avian monsters, whilst a large herd grazed on the abundant grasses that sprouted around the edge of the plateau, using the cliff to protect them as they faced out towards us.
Every step that we took away from the way we got into this grotto was careful, and as we approached the herd, they raised their heads to stare at us, snorting and stamping at the ground in warning.
"Well... maybe we can get some good meats here too~? Actually... that's a bovine monster, right? Anyone thinking thin steaks on some nice bread?"
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