Chapter 655: Chapter 247: The Road Beyond the Mists
Everyone looked at Bamuta with surprise on their faces.
"Elder, why? As long as the Deity gives guidance, even protection, we can take action!" Andarila said with confusion.
Bamuta, having been disciplined by Rahul, was already lean and was now even thinner, appearing more frail, yet his gaze remained resolute. "Our sin stems from laziness and greed, which is why the Deity abandoned us. Now that we’ve finally gained hope, we can’t make the same mistakes again. The path of redemption must be walked by us, or else it’s just begging and demanding, where is the redemption in that?"
Everyone froze for a moment and fell silent once again. Wanting to take shortcuts is instinctive, but this is the very root of their sins, repeating the mistake whenever they see a glimmer of hope.
"Besides, that Deity should still be in the stage of recovery, having only taken notice of Batty. This is a gift and a stroke of luck, not what we are entitled to, and certainly not to be relied upon. We should feel gratitude, not demand endlessly. Batty, don’t find me nagging, you must remain devout under any circumstances," Bamuta said.
Batty nodded; he understood this naturally. Without special circumstances, he would not disturb the gentleman, and he also judged that the gentleman was likely in the process of reclaiming his divine status, as confirmed by the information encountered at the Round Table Conference. They said the changes of epochs and the revival of the old Deity was probably such.
Others looked at Batty with expressions that seemed to be validated by Elder Bamuta.
"Then what do we do? Are we just going to wait like this, constantly oppressed by Rahul?"
"No, this time, we’ll explore by ourselves!" Bamuta declared.
Bamuta knew that the Illuminati viewed them merely as expendable tools, but being able to serve as a tool was already a fortunate thing. He dared not rebel, but now with Batty, another possibility arose.
Batty and Aramu rejoiced upon hearing this; they had been waiting for this message the whole time. The seven leaders had all explored before but never went very deep. Among them, Bamuta had the most seniority, having ventured the deepest, so if he didn’t agree, no one could proceed.
Bamuta’s expression remained calm. "Settlement day is approaching soon; work hard these few days."
Everyone’s eyes brightened, knowing the opportunity had arrived.
Every three months, the settlement day is the time when the overseer Rahul leaves the mining area to report in town to Karoni. Usually, he would be gone for seven or eight days. Life in the mining area is dull and arduous; if not for benefits, no one would be willing to work as overseer. Naturally, Rahul and the others would cherish this time to enjoy themselves, especially this time with abundant production, they would certainly return to seek rewards, which also provided an opportunity for Batty and the team.
Sure enough, with everyone’s performance, Rahul also felt his strategy of driving them hard had paid off. That’s right; a hard-working Roto is a good Roto, even dead, they are good fertilizer.
Once Rahul was satisfied and escorted the minerals back to the city, Batty, Bamuta, Aramu, Jose, Andarila, Kolan, and Roshan, seven of them, took supplies and entered a secret passage for exploration. Among the seven leaders, Clark was relatively agile, so he stayed behind in the mining area to handle any emergencies under the pretense of overtime, and specifically selected two hundred strong Roto to present as gifts for Rahul’s return.
The remaining overseers, seeing them so sensible, were naturally too lazy to manage. The boss was having fun in the city, and they certainly wouldn’t take things too seriously. They even specifically arranged for brokers to bring some prostitutes, pleased as can be.
Clark watched as the exploration team entered the pit in the mining area, while he led the Rotos outside to work, also providing cover. These two hundred people were their core.
The supplies for exploration were gradually saved ahead by these very people.
In the dark depths of the mining area, this was the maze zone, a natural cave, extremely complex, where one could easily get lost, not to mention the echoes here were more vicious than elsewhere. Once lost, either one would die of starvation or go mad. Rotoh rarely ventured here, and Batty judged that it should be here, but he was unfamiliar with the routes; coming here wouldn’t be useful.
The gaunt Bamuta held the black oil lamp at the front as he walked, each person carrying black tar and oil lamps, not knowing how long this exploration would last, they were prepared. The seven had already wound through quite a distance, Bamuta showed no hesitation, clearly very familiar with the paths.
Batty kept recording as they walked, naturally endowed with good memory, especially enhanced after merging with the Black Saber, sharpening both his memory and observational skills. He noticed that whenever Bamuta chose a cave entrance, he would also lift the oil lamp and observe the surroundings. However, Batty saw no obvious man-made marks around the entrances, but was certain Bamuta was surely making some sort of judgment.
Aramu and others followed Bamuta silently, even though they knew Bamuta had interactions with Karoni, Aramu and others still trusted Bamuta deeply. Batty harbored half-doubt for Bamuta. If it were him not having been involved in the Round Table Conference, he might have followed blindly, but now he had the capacity to contemplate.
"Below is the Echo Cave, the first fatal zone we face during exploration. Once any life steps in, intense whirlwinds and echoes emerge, we need to endure until they subside," Bamuta said. "Many former explorers died here, those with unstable minds would directly fall into madness or depravity, but with Batty now, things might change."
Everyone looked towards Batty, knowing he could resist echoes, which would be immensely helpful for the exploration.
Bamuta led the team to a towering and rugged minecave, where holes of varying widths, from a meter to several meters, permeated the ground and the surroundings. All around were visible dried bones, some fragmented, others merged into the stone.
Before anyone could react, a howling whirlwind surged out from the cave, accompanied by a powerful echo attack. Spiritual Abilities flared from everyone’s bodies to resist.
As leaders of the mining area, Bamuta and the others possessed strong abilities. The six immediately grouped around Batty, forming a solid barrier of Spiritual Ability, while Batty sat on the ground, starting to beat a wooden fish.
With the sound of the wooden fish, the ubiquitous echo weakened significantly. Batty focused on the beats, calming his mood, surpassing Bamuta and the others’ expectations. Though anticipating decent efficacy, they hadn’t envisioned such potency. With the echoes thwarted, their abilities remained solid, the fierce wind akin to blades failed to harm them. Each person held their black oil lamps steadfastly, which flickered in the wind but never extinguished.
They had no idea how long it lasted; gradually, the wind subsided, and the echoes disappeared, thus dispersing their Spiritual Ability, looking towards Bamuta.
Bamuta’s gaze roamed around, filled with sentiment. "The usual exploration teams would see half their members consumed right here, rendering us unable to leverage our numbers advantage."
"Elder, my current power can only protect this many people, any excess would be beyond my capacity," Batty mentioned.
"As your power grows, the number of people you can protect will surely increase. Let’s proceed," Bamuta smiled slightly, raised the oil lamp, and advanced towards a cave entrance.
Aramu and others followed silently. Batty earnestly observed, evident Bamuta had some judgment method among the dozens of cave exits to swiftly discern which provided a path.
Batty constantly searched for possibilities, not direction or size, yet he could only keep observing.
The entrance was jagged and narrow, cumbersome for tall individuals, yet with Bamuta’s small stature, agile enough. Bamuta led with the oil lamp ahead, alerting others to obstacles occasionally. Batty was wedged in the middle, prepared to respond to surprises.
Once accustomed to the path’s conditions, everyone’s pace naturally quickened. The road was lengthy; they didn’t know how long they’d traveled when a hazy blue light emanated ahead.
The people of Divpo City were highly sensitive to any light, seeing it akin to hope, an instant surge of strength.
"Ahead is the Blue Crystal Cave, filled with luminescent blue crystals possessing a bewitching soul-stealing power. Never be captivated by this light, once touched, one’s body becomes part of the crystal," Bamuta’s voice echoed, dousing everyone’s excitement.
Taking Bamuta’s warning, everyone heightened their alert. "Elder, will this area also have echo attacks?"
"It will, but not as intense as before; we can rely on our willpower to pass. Remember, do not be lured by the light," Bamuta reminded.
Carrying black oil lamps, they entered a domain suffused with blue light. For anyone from Mist City, light was always a coveted presence. All present, except Batty, had been here before, though mentally prepared, they still displayed traces of infatuation.
