Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 69: Magic Stone Mine Cave
At the entrance to a mountain valley, Owen and his group dismounted. The destination wasn’t far, but from here on out, they had to proceed on foot.
The black horse that had carried Lusha all the way had its head drooped and was panting heavily. Lusha patted its mane and turned to Owen with a complaint.
“Lord Eisen, your horses really don’t have much stamina. Just this little stretch and it’s already exhausted.”
Owen shot him a glare.
“The snow is hard to walk through as it is—and you’re carrying that massive battle axe. Of course the horse is tired.”
Lusha was already much larger than the average human, and with that giant axe of his, the total weight easily surpassed that of a fully armored knight.
“Can’t help it. I’m used to this axe.”
Lusha said, grabbing the handle strapped to his back.
“Facing a vampire whose strength we don’t know—I can’t afford to be careless.”
Mapel shot Lusha a look of disdain.
“There aren’t that many horses in Bianshu Town. If you keep this up, you’ll work one to death. You’d better start running alongside the team instead.”
“Hey! With my build, I can’t run fast. I’ll keep a better eye on the horse next time, alright?”
Lusha glared at her.
Off to the side, Theresa covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
[If the fight happens inside a narrow cave, will that lizard guy even be able to swing his axe?]
Winston posed the question in Owen’s mind.
[Who knows? Maybe he has his own combat techniques.]
Owen replied mentally.
Two soldiers were left behind to look after the horses. The rest followed Xilong up the mountain.
Though some of the snow had melted on the mountain path, it was still difficult to walk, and the journey took a good amount of time before they finally reached the vicinity of the mine.
Behind a clump of bushes, Maddy crouched on the ground with a musket in hand, keeping watch on the abandoned magic stone mine ahead.
Upon hearing movement behind him, he quickly turned his head.
Seeing that Xilong had returned with a team, Maddy’s face lit up with relief. He slung the musket over his back and hurried over.
“Buddy, what took you so long? How many people did you bring?”
His eyes shifted to the figures behind—and he froze when he spotted Lord Owen himself. His expression turned serious, and he snapped to attention.
“Marquis, sir…”
He was about to bow in greeting when Owen raised a hand to stop him.
“No need for formalities. Thank you for your hard work on this search.”
“It’s nothing, sir!”
Maddy replied excitedly.
Ever since joining the rifle unit and witnessing the power of firearms, he had developed a deep admiration for Lord Owen.
Moving closer to the bushes, Owen craned his neck to look ahead. In the distance, there was an old, long-abandoned mine entrance. A few icicles hung from the top, and the surroundings were overgrown with weeds, lightly covered in snow.
This magic stone mine had once produced several high-quality Blazing Magic Stones, which fetched a good price at auction and had greatly boosted Border Town’s finances.
Unfortunately, the stone yield had diminished over time, and quality declined, leading to the mine’s eventual abandonment.
“The vampire’s inside?”
Removing his battle axe from his back, Lusha looked eager for action.
“Yes, Chief.”
Xilong replied with a nod, eyes still fixed on the depths of the cave.
“Everyone, gather around. I’ll explain the team formation for this capture operation.”
Everyone followed Owen’s instructions and formed a circle in front of him.
After assigning everyone their roles, the group grabbed their weapons and entered the eerie magic stone mine.
Xilong led the way at the front. His keen sense of smell helped locate the vampire’s position and detect danger in advance to alert those behind.
Behind him were four knights personally selected by Viscount Jarvis. Each held a torch in their left hand and a longsword in their right.
In front of Owen was Lusha, gripping his giant axe tightly with both hands, responsible for blocking attacks from the front.
Maple and Theresa guarded Owen on either side, staying alert. Owen also held a magic staff, ready to cast supporting spells when the time came.
At the rear was Maddy, armed with a musket. He was only to fire in emergencies or under Owen’s command.
After walking a short distance, the group encountered their first fork in the path.
Xilong stepped forward and sniffed both directions. Then he turned back and whispered,
“There’s a strange smell in the left passage. It should be the vampire’s scent.”
Everyone nodded silently and proceeded down the left passage.
They encountered two more forks afterward. Thanks to Xilong’s nose, they continued down the correct path each time.
As they ventured deeper into the mine, it became noticeably warmer and more humid than outside.
Suddenly, Xilong stopped and raised his right hand, signaling everyone to halt.
“The scent is strong. The vampire might be just—watch out!”
Before he finished speaking, a dark blur leapt from the shadows, lunging at a knight’s torch.
The flame was snuffed out instantly, and the torch dropped to the ground. Chaos ensued. The knights swung their swords wildly, but not a single hit landed.
At the rear, Maddy raised his musket and tried to aim, but hesitated to fire.
Under the flickering light of the remaining torches, they could see the knights struggling with a small, fur-covered creature—like a “little furball” cloaked in brown animal hide. It darted around nimbly, easily dodging every attack.
“Don’t panic!”
Owen shouted.
The knights quickly regained their composure and began trying to predict the creature’s evasive patterns.
But the furball had no interest in continuing the fight. After several dodges, it dashed toward the rear of the group.
“Lord Owen, watch out!”
Maple raised her magic sword, preparing an Ice Blade attack.
On the other side, Theresa had already begun praying to the divine.
The furball tried to scale the rock wall and break through from the side, attempting to escape to the outside.
Escape? Not that easy.
Maple swung her sword, launching a sharp Ice Blade. Sensing danger, the furball abruptly changed direction and leapt away, narrowly dodging the attack.
The flying Ice Blade left a trail of frost on the rock wall.
Seizing the moment, Lusha swung his giant axe, aiming the flat side at the furball to knock it down—but missed.
This was something Owen had instructed Lusha beforehand: if the enemy didn’t intend to kill, and only wanted to flee, then they were not to kill it either.
Holy Light!
Theresa decisively cast a divine spell. A soft white light burst from her body, instantly illuminating the passage.
“Ahhh!!”
Some of the holy light seeped into the animal hide, causing the furball to scream in pain. It quickly wrapped itself entirely in the hide and curled up on the ground.
The holy light faded just as quickly—Theresa hadn’t intended to kill it.
The knights surrounded it again, but realizing it couldn’t escape this way, the furball took advantage of the fading light and quickly turned back, dashing deeper into the mine.
Xilong tried to intercept it, but the creature was too fast, and he failed to stop it.