Chapter 55: Dwarf Watchtower

Refreshing!

Standing amidst the pile of goblin corpses, Kana relished the moment, even as the stench of decay swirled around him.

Massive amounts of experience—this group of goblins, having turned to the Evil God and obtained its bestowed power, had provided Kana with plenty of experience points.

Most importantly, slaughtering these goblins was no different from slaughtering chickens or ducks, because they were all being controlled.

Kana only needed to act like a harvesting farmer, reaping them like wheat.

Shaking off the foul green filth from his blade, Kana turned around.

He was met with the strange gazes of everyone present.

Even Aliris looked at him with a hint of concern.

*He's done it; he got too carried away with the killing.*

"Ahem, creatures like goblins deserve to be exterminated by everyone. So let's get out of here quickly. Don't you find it too stinky?"

Hearing this, the others nodded and withdrew their gazes. They hurried to leave the area, heading deeper into the tunnels.

【Experience: 213/1000】

Between the large and small ones, there were nearly thirty goblins in total, and Kana alone had hacked down more than half of them.

However, the ordinary goblins were at most level two, providing Kana with only a meager ten or so experience points at this stage.

The bulk of it came from the armored large goblin just now, who contributed 32 points alone, and another large one, a strong goblin, who contributed 26 points.

As they left the pile of corpses, the stench gradually faded.

Before they could catch their breath, an even more severe stench wafted toward them.

Even though Kana had fashioned a filtering mask from his own blood, he couldn't completely block out this odor.

"Damn it, what is that smell!" Eric couldn't help but curse.

Even their filtering masks were no longer effective.

George had his mouth covered with cloth and was on the verge of rolling his eyes back.

Ahead lay a pool about six or seven meters in diameter, filled with the limbs of various unknown creatures.

A mixture of murky red and sickly green pus permeated the water.

"Don't look, move fast!"

Kana shouted. There were no more traps here; this was the main area of activity for these goblins. They strode forward.

They wound their way through the twisting tunnels.

The area was starting to resemble a labyrinth, but Kana moved as if he knew the path, constantly leading the group through turns until they soon began to head upward.

By this point, the stench had gradually vanished. They were surrounded by various excavated passages, and it was evident that the passages became newer the higher they climbed.

Lurik's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Finally, they caught sight of a glimmer of light.

Kana climbed out directly. Outside was a patch of wild grass, and the fresh air allowed him to remove the blood mask from his face.

"Huff! Phew~"

Everyone who climbed up was panting, greedily inhaling the fresh air.

The moon was already high in the sky. When they entered the cave, it was near dusk; by the time they emerged, it was late at night.

But compared to the mountain paths that would take an entire day, this was considered a shortcut.

"Is that your outpost over there?"

Facing the moonlight, Kana pointed toward a low stone tower on another connected mountain peak in the distance.

Compared to the first time Kana had been here in the game, the place was indeed much more desolate now.

But the geographical location had not changed.

Lurik looked toward it and nodded; he hadn't expected this passage to lead here.

"I bet there are diseased dwarves in that outpost too, right?"

"You are correct." Lurik nodded with a serious expression. The experiences along the way had fully revealed the source of the entire situation to him.

He couldn't help but turn to look at Kana.

"Thank you, friend. Thank you for your guidance."

Lurik's words were sincere. After speaking, he placed his warhammer on the ground, bent down, and gave a deep, respectful bow.

"The dwarves of the Gray Mountains will remember your kindness. I apologize for my previous doubts regarding you."

At this moment, amidst Gettari's smug smile, Eric also walked over and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I misunderstood you before; I was too impatient back then. You were right. I am ashamed of my actions and my words."

As he spoke, he also gave a deep bow.

Did Kana really want to take a shortcut?

No, how could this honorable human friend do something for such a trivial reason?

He wanted to tell them—to show them with facts—exactly where the problems they were facing originated.

To tell them that the problems he spoke of were indeed real.

Kana hurried forward, bending down to help the two men to their feet.

"There is no need for apologies. After all, we have only known each other for a day, haven't we? It is already quite remarkable that you are willing to place trust in a strange human you've only met for a single day."

Lurik shook his head and looked at Kana, saying solemnly, "And what about you, friend? You are willing to provide help to a group of strange dwarves, and even when faced with their distrust, you remain willing to assist them. You are an upright man; the light you radiate makes us feel ashamed."

"Alright, this isn't the place for talking, is it? Now that we know the problem, it's time to resolve these issues quickly." Kana hurriedly cut off the mutual flattery.

He was willing to trust and willing to help, naturally because he possessed foresight.

The future in the game had already shown him that these dwarves were beings worthy of trust.

This foresight, combined with his personal experiences, was Kana's most powerful safeguard in this world.

"You are right. Please, follow me, friend."

With that, he led Kana and the others quickly toward the distant watchtower.

As soon as they entered the tower, a dwarf opened the door and walked out.

"Yata? Why have you come?"

Lurik waved his hand without much explanation. "Arrange a few rooms for these friends. I remember there are still some available, right?"

"Yes, of course." The fully armed dwarf nodded. "Chiku and Erich are both sick; their rooms happen to be vacant."

To be honest, the dwarven dwellings were not very friendly to them.

The group could only walk with their heads slightly bowed to get inside.

By the time they were inside, their heads were almost touching the ceiling.

George was exceptionally curious, looking left and right; he had never been to the dwelling of another race before.

Until ten days ago, he had thought humans were the only ones in this world.

"Take a few men and go down to the riverbank at the foot of the mountain, outside the forest. I made marks along the way. There is a human camp there. Protect it until we arrive."

"What?" The dwarf looked puzzled.

"Is it that hard to understand, you useless glutton?" Lurik suddenly became angry, his tone turning irritable.

This inexplicable irritability left the dwarf bewildered. He could only scratch his head in confusion. "No, I'll take a few men down immediately."

"Remember to take the shortcut we used, bring your mining masks, and move fast."

The dwarf nodded in confusion, then called several other dwarves to gear up and head out with their weapons.

Only two strange dwarves remained in the outpost.

One of them was the one who had just finished preparing the rooms and walked over.

"Yata, are you angry?" the dwarf asked.

Hearing this, Gettari couldn't help but sigh. *You're just asking for it.*

"Angry? Haha, how could I be angry? You bunch of useless idiots who only know how to drink every day. I really should throw all your alcohol into the valley, you blind fools!"

Only then did Kana understand what he was angry about.

Clearly, the passage was located less than a hundred meters from the watchtower, yet this group of dwarves responsible for patrolling and guarding had failed to notice it.

However, the location was indeed quite concealed, and the entrance was very small.

The insulted dwarf looked completely lost.