Chapter 553 – Arrival at the Ancient Ruins
Led by the A-minus team Blue Thunder Beast, Tauro and the others continued descending deeper underground, illuminating the dark cave with magic.
Along the way, they encountered several groups of giant worm-like monsters called Dark Worms. The B-minus team Silver Twin Mages and Tauro’s B-minus team Black-Gold Wings each had chances to show their strength. Aside from that, however, they encountered no further groups of Olog-Hai.
“Even though there are many places where the footing’s been bad, we’ve been descending for hours now… We must be pretty deep by this point, right?”
Tauro glanced back the way they had come and asked Jack, leader of Blue Thunder Beast, for confirmation.
“Yeah… We’re almost at our destination, so don’t worry. — The real battle starts from there.”
For Jack and his team, their main objective was to defeat what was believed to be the guardian of the ancient ruins: the Guardian Stone Golem.
Of course, investigating the ancient ruins was also one of their goals as adventurers. But before they could do that, they first had to defeat the stone guardian protecting the site.
According to Jack, the stone figure stood around four meters tall. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to subjugate.
“We’ll make sure to clear the path up to that point and provide full support during the main fight. You can count on us.”
For Jack and his team—who would likely have their names etched into history for discovering the ancient ruins—Tauro and his companions intended to fulfill their support contract to the very end.
“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”
Jack responded with a grin. Then Longa, the longsword wielder, spoke up.
“Jack, we’ve arrived. Once we go through that gate, we’ll reach our destination, the ancient ruins.”
Just as Longa said, a gate-like structure emerged from the darkness ahead, unmistakably artificial.
“It’s weathered from age, but it’s definitely man-made…”
Gemma, leader of Silver Twin Mages, held her breath as she gazed upon the gate.
“To think there’d be something artificial this far underground… It’s almost as though it was built on the remains of a dungeon…”
Aeris voiced the thought as she passed through the gate.
“Now that you mention it… that’s possible,” Tauro agreed.
With Blue Thunder Beast leading, the party opened the gate and passed through the cave beyond. Ahead, they saw light.
As they moved toward it, their view suddenly opened up.
A vast underground space stretched before them. Its ceiling was so high they couldn’t tell how many dozens of meters it rose, and the ceiling itself glowed, illuminating the entire cavern.
The underground space was filled with numerous buildings, almost like a city. Tauro and the others stared wide-eyed at the unmistakable traces of civilization.
This was undoubtedly a tremendous discovery.
After all, it was clear evidence that people had once lived this deep underground.
“…This is unbelievable,” Ankh muttered, stunned by the grand scale of the ruins.
“… Tauro-sama, I hear a sound coming from deeper within.”
Zion, whose mixed human–catfolk ancestry gave her sharp hearing, twitched the ears hidden beneath her hood as she informed Tauro.
“[True Eye]… Jack-san, it looks like we’ve got company ahead. Quite a lot of them.”
Tauro used [True Eye] to see several hundred meters ahead and caught faint silhouettes in the distance.
“! …Which way are they?”
“They seem to be surrounding something. I think they’re about three hundred meters that way.”
Tauro answered Jack’s question by pointing in a direction.
“…That’s the direction where we encountered the Guardian Stone Golem before. Looks like there’s another group with the same objective as us.”
Jack clicked his tongue at the report, exchanged glances with his companions, and continued.
“From here on, suppress your presence as much as possible and move quickly toward the site. How many of you have abilities that can conceal your presence?”
Jack raised his own hand as he asked.
Every member of Blue Thunder Beast raised a hand. So did Tauro and the other members of Black-Gold Wings.
Every member of Silver Twin Mages raised a hand except the twin sisters Gemma, the leader, and Gemis.
“Silver Twin Mages, follow us from behind and keep your distance. I’ll send you a signal, so don’t miss it,” Jack told Gemma and the others.
Though she looked frustrated, this was an emergency.
Reluctantly nodding, they followed behind Blue Thunder Beast and Black-Gold Wings while keeping their distance.
The members of Blue Thunder Beast and Black-Gold Wings used the shadows of the buildings to advance toward the center of the ancient ruins. Naturally, the sounds grew louder.
Once they were close enough that anyone—not just Zion—could hear the noise clearly, they stopped.
“…Looks like they’re fighting the Guardian Stone Golem.”
Jack spoke while continuing to conceal his presence and moved to a position where he could faintly see the battle unfolding.
Ahead stood the massive Guardian Stone Golem, moving its enormous body as it struck down the enemies swarming around its feet.
The creatures swarming around its feet and fighting it were Olog-Hai.
There were about sixty of them in total.
Roughly half lay motionless at the golem’s feet, likely already defeated.
“If that many formidable monsters attacked us at once, we’d be wiped out for sure…”
Jack shuddered at the sight of the Olog-Hai horde.
Tauro and the others felt the same.
If that many of them attacked together, it would be more than a difficult fight—it would be disastrous.
Yet the Guardian Stone Golem showed no fear, counterattacking and crushing them without hesitation.
“This is a stroke of good fortune in the middle of a bad situation. They aren’t human, so we don’t need to help them, and they haven’t beaten us to the prize—they’re monsters, after all. Let’s let them wear each other down and observe how they fight until one side loses.”
Jack proposed taking advantage of the situation.
Tauro agreed.
Charging in now would be foolish.
From the looks of it, the Olog-Hai had no way to turn the tide. Once the outcome was decided, we could proceed with the original plan and focus all our efforts on defeating the Guardian Stone Golem.
After receiving Tauro’s agreement, Jack beckoned to Silver Twin Mages, who were waiting in the rear, and explained the situation.
“…Understood. Everyone, remain on standby and be fully prepared until then.”
Gemma accepted Jack’s explanation and gave orders to her team.
Likewise, Tauro and his companions checked their weapons and quietly observed as the two sides continued to clash.