Chapter 329
Chapter 329
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 329
Chapter Title: Treasure Hunt (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“There! Over there!”
Following Baek Mu-gang, they saw the entrance to a mine shaft nestled between towering rock formations.
“If we go in there… Whoa!”
“Please wait a moment.”
Oh-jin grabbed Baek Mu-gang, who was about to charge in recklessly, and hid behind a rock to survey the entrance.
‘No guards… I guess.’
He endured the headache and even activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici, but there were no Moin who looked like guards.
“What should we do, Mr. Oh-jin?”
“We’ll have to go in for now.”
Other than entering themselves, there was no way to confirm if Deimos’s territory was inside the mountain.
“Looks like an anthill entrance.”
“The inside is probably just as complicated.”
Though they hadn’t gone in yet.
It was hard to imagine that the interior of a mine carved out of such a massive mountain wouldn’t be complex.
“Poppi, you stay around here and watch for anyone coming in.”
“Grrr!”
Poppi was too large to fit into the narrow mine shaft, so they had him wait outside.
Oh-jin carefully entered the shaft, lowering his voice.
“From here on, no one uses magic.”
There could be artifacts installed to detect magical energy.
Ha-eun and Isabella nodded in response.
“Huh?”
“Shh. Just follow me quietly.”
Isabella was tasked with keeping the uncontrollable Baek Mu-gang in check.
*Splash, splash.*
They walked through the damp interior of the mine shaft.
Since they couldn't use magic, Oh-jin had considered making a simple torch, but there were lighting fixtures installed inside, so visibility wasn't an issue.
*Clang! Kang! Clang!*
After walking for about another ten minutes, they heard the faint sound of pickaxes in the distance.
“……”
Oh-jin raised a hand to halt the group, then knelt on one knee.
A smirk spread across his lips as he fiddled with the dirt on the mine floor.
“The path to Deimos’s territory is definitely in here.”
He muttered in a low voice.
“Huh? How do you know that?”
“This isn’t an abandoned mine. They’re still actively mining ore.”
“…So?”
“They’re constantly mining, but there are no traces of them taking it outside.”
Gold wasn’t just found lying around in neat ingots.
It was created by breaking up gold veins with pickaxes and putting the gold-laced dirt through various refining processes.
But here, there were no signs of the gold-laced dirt being carried out of the mine.
In other words.
They were taking the gold inside, not outside the mine.
“Ooh. Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
Ha-eun let out a soft gasp and nodded.
She looked down at Oh-jin, who was crouched on the ground examining the traces like a detective from a mystery manga, and swallowed hard.
“W-Why does my Oh-jinnie suddenly look so sexy?”
What was she talking about?
“Can you cosplay as Conan for me later?”
“If I cosplay as him, I feel like people around me would start dying.”
And the culprit would be among us.
“It’s not like I made some grand deduction. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“No, I just wanted to see you in a cosplay, that’s all.”
Why would she want to see something like that?
“Quiet down. Let’s head that way.”
They cautiously approached the source of the pickaxe sounds.
As they navigated the winding mine shaft, they saw a group of figures diligently swinging pickaxes.
‘Lizardmen?’
As expected.
The valuable Moin forces weren’t doing the manual labor themselves.
Monstrous creatures resembling Lizardmen, bound in chains, were silently swinging their pickaxes.
“They look like Salamanders.”
A minority race that had originally settled in the Black Rock Mine.
Unlike beastmen or dragonkin, they weren't highly intelligent, but they possessed enough intellect to form a primitive tribal society. They were now being used as mine slaves by Deimos.
‘This is like the colonial era.’
Seeing the Salamanders chained and swinging pickaxes left a bitter taste in his mouth.
But this wasn't the time to worry about their plight.
“Kirik! Kiririk!”
Two Salamanders were seen pulling a minecart full of dirt somewhere.
Oh-jin’s group silently followed behind them.
Whether their ability to sense presence was poor, or they simply didn't have the luxury to care about anyone else, the Salamanders didn’t notice the group.
Following the minecart down the long shaft.
‘So this is… Deimos’s territory.’
Beyond a sign that read ‘Glory to Gold,’ an underground city came into view.
Just as Isabella had surmised, various buildings were situated beneath the Black Rock Mine.
‘The scale itself isn’t that large.’
Perhaps because the Moin population was so small, the underground territory of Deimos wasn't very big.
Only a magnificent castle, presumed to be Deimos’s, boasted a certain grandeur. The rest of the buildings were quite modest in appearance.
‘Did he want to make his own castle stand out?’
It was a city that perfectly matched the greedy nature of Deimos.
“…He made the entire damn castle out of gold.”
Ha-eun clicked her tongue as she gazed at the golden castle, brilliantly lit by ornate lights.
Just looking at that castle, one could instantly understand why Deimos was called ‘Deimos of Gold.’
“Bad guy! The bad guy is in that castle, right?!”
Baek Mu-gang’s eyes sparkled as he clutched a rusty iron sword, about to charge toward the castle.
Oh-jin quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him into a crevice in the rocks.
“Wait.”
“Why? You said the bad guy is there, right?”
Baek Mu-gang tilted his head, not understanding why he was being held back.
“A frontal assault is too dangerous.”
They couldn't just rush into the castle without knowing how strong Deimos was or the size of his personal knight force.
“Hmm. Okay. I’ll listen to Oh-jin.”
Contrary to expectations that he would throw a tantrum, blinded by the thought of his treasure, Baek Mu-gang obediently followed Oh-jin’s command.
“My grandma said I should always listen to good people.”
Baek Mu-gang smiled innocently and sat down quietly on the ground.
Oh-jin turned from him and surveyed the underground city once more.
‘We don’t necessarily have to fight Deimos.’
The goal, after all, was to retrieve Baek Mu-gang’s stolen treasure.
‘First, I need information.’
He couldn't just sneak away with the treasure without any information.
Just as he was looking around for a potential source of intel.
“Mr. Oh-jin. That looks like the gold refinery.”
The two Salamanders who had been pulling the minecart were seen entering a large, factory-like building.
“Let’s follow them.”
Given his fanatical love for gold, Deimos must have invested heavily in the refining facility.
“Why aren’t you things moving faster?!”
Inside the factory, unlike the unguarded mine shaft, several Moin were seen hurrying the Salamanders along.
“The delivery date is today!”
“Move it, you lazy slugs!”
*Crack!*
Moin holding whips struck the Salamanders’ backs.
The Salamander slaves, their faces contorted in pain, poured the dirt from the carts into a machine.
Oh-jin slowly assessed the Moin guarding the Salamanders.
Most of them radiated an aura weaker than the ‘Knights of Gold’ he had fought before.
But among them, one stood out.
A Moin stood with his arms crossed, impassively looking down at the Salamanders.
‘The manager of this factory, perhaps.’
The armor he wore was gilded with brilliant gold, much like Jakal's.
He was clearly a Moin of at least commander rank.
“Hmm?”
Sure enough, unlike the Salamanders, he immediately sensed their presence as soon as they entered the factory.
The Moin, who had been looking down at the Salamanders with his arms crossed, turned his gaze toward Oh-jin's group.
“Isabella, Ha-eun.”
“Yes, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Got it.”
The two women prepared for battle, understanding without needing further explanation.
Before the engagement began.
“Vega, can you block out the sound around here?”
[It will be possible if I deploy a Sanctuary.]
Using a Sanctuary in the material world placed a great burden on a Constellation.
However, a Sanctuary that only had a minimal effect, like blocking sound, could be deployed by accepting certain restrictions.
[Then I shall deploy the Sanctuary now.]
Vega flew high and spread her arms wide.
A silver mist spread out, enveloping the factory.
“Intruders!”
“Humans? How did humans get in here…?”
The Moin guarding the factory hastily drew their weapons.
“Should I rough them up?”
“Yes, feel free to give them a good thrashing.”
“Hehe! Got it!”
Baek Mu-gang grinned brightly and charged at the Moin.
And so the battle began.
“Gah!”
“Aaargh!”
The fight itself didn't last long.
Although a considerable number of guards were stationed at the factory, given its importance, they were no match for Oh-jin’s group, each of whom could take on a hundred foes.
“Ugh! To think that old ghost would come all the way here…”
The captured commander-rank Moin, recognizing Baek Mu-gang, bit his lip and glared fiercely.
He pulled a communication artifact from his pocket and tried to send a desperate message to the main castle.
“Not so fast.”
“Gah!”
*Crack!*
Oh-jin brought his spear shaft down, shattering both of the Moin’s arms.
“Here, bite on this.”
To prevent him from committing suicide like Jakal, Oh-jin stuffed a cloth into his mouth.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
The Moin writhed like an insect.
“Mr. Oh-jin.”
Isabella, who had gone outside to check the surroundings after subduing all the Moin, returned to the factory.
“Fortunately, it seems no one has noticed the situation here. But…”
For now, the fact that their group had infiltrated the territory remained unknown.
“At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we’re discovered.”
“I suppose so.”
With communications from the factory cut off, word of an intruder would spread within a few hours.
‘In that case.’
Oh-jin’s eyes glinted sharply.
“We’ll have to raid the treasury before we’re found out.”
“…Raid the treasury?”
“Yep.”
Given Deimos’s fanatical obsession with treasure, the amount he had accumulated must be substantial.
Unless he carried it all around in a bundle, there had to be a place in the castle where he stored his treasures.
“But that place will be the most heavily guarded.”
Raiding the treasury was more dangerous than sneaking into Deimos’s bedchamber.
“It’s fine.”
Oh-jin smirked and turned his head toward Isabella.
“Do you know when people are most easily deceived?”
“…Pardon?”
Isabella tilted her head at the sudden question.
Without answering, Oh-jin shrugged lightly and approached the Moin lying on the ground with two broken arms.
“Hey.”
“Kugh…!”
The fallen Moin looked up at Oh-jin, his face pale with terror.
Oh-jin crouched in front of him and patted his shoulder amicably.
“You can help me out a little, can’t you?”
*Hic.*
A terrified hiccup escaped the Moin’s lips.