Chapter Sixty-Seven: Sharing the Dwarves' Secret

For several days in a row, Han Shuo remained within the Death Cemetery, poring over the book "Elementary Necromancy" while tending to the "Primordial Demon Cavern." Making use of that green orb, which seemed to belong to the Death Cemetery itself, Han Shuo endured bouts of intense headaches but gained significant increases in his spiritual power each time. However, as he used the green orb more frequently, Han Shuo clearly felt the rate of his spiritual growth slow down. It appeared that this strange green orb could not help him increase his power indefinitely—each use yielded less and less benefit.

One day, after a period of meditation and infusing the "Primordial Demon Cavern" with fresh blood and demon power, Han Shuo left the Death Cemetery. He patrolled the area near where he had last encountered the dwarves and soon discovered the trail of a dwarf. Following him discreetly, Han Shuo walked a considerable distance until he saw the dwarf stop at the entrance to a secret cave.

The entrance was surrounded by thick shrubs, and the area had clearly been deliberately arranged. If the dwarf had not moved aside some large leaves to reveal the hidden entrance, Han Shuo might never have noticed the cave. Observing from nearby, Han Shuo saw several more dwarves appear, each carrying iron shovels and hammers as they entered the cave. Shortly afterward, Bennett—the one who had gifted Han Shuo a bag of fine wine—was helped out of the cave by two smaller dwarves, looking as though he had suffered an injury.

A faint sound came from the distance. Han Shuo, with keen ears, immediately recognized it as the approach of magical beasts. Perched on a tree branch, he waited for a moment until he saw two Windblade Demon Wolves slowly appear in the distance.

An idea struck Han Shuo. He snapped a branch from the tree and hurled it toward the bushes near the cave entrance. The sound of the branch hitting the ground drew the attention of the Windblade Demon Wolves, who immediately changed direction and trotted toward the dwarves’ cave.

By the time Bennett and the other two dwarves heard the commotion and began to look around, the two Windblade Demon Wolves had already entered their line of sight.

“Oh, damn it, Windblade Demon Wolves! We’d better get back into the cave quickly!” the injured Bennett groaned as he saw the two beasts and was about to retreat inside.

“Bennett, the cave is too crowded. If those two wolves follow us in, everyone inside will be in danger,” one of the dwarves said, shaking his hammer.

Bennett thought for a moment and replied, “Well, then let’s deal with these damned wolves right here at the entrance.”

“No, the three of us can’t handle them alone. I think we should have everyone inside stop mining and come together to fight the wolves,” the other dwarf interjected.

At that very moment, Han Shuo suddenly leapt down from the tree. With his body low to the ground, he shot forward like lightning, revealing himself as he dashed from the bushes toward the two Windblade Demon Wolves. His dagger flashed like a cold bolt of lightning, flying straight toward one of the wolves, while Han Shuo himself, swift as a leopard, closed in on the other with bare hands.

The two wolves, previously eyeing the dwarves hungrily with their backs to Han Shuo, were caught off guard. One was struck in the back by Han Shuo’s swiftly thrown dagger. The other spun around and unleashed a blade of wind at Han Shuo, but he dodged the attack with a sudden change in direction and was upon the wolf in an instant.

The wolf that had fired the wind blade met Han Shuo head-on, raising its sharp claws in defiance. First, bolts from the crossbow attached to Han Shuo’s left sleeve struck the wolf’s paws, and as it howled in pain, Han Shuo delivered a punch imbued with the chilling force of the “Mystic Ice Demon Flame Art,” smashing it squarely on the wolf’s skull.

With a shrill yelp, the wolf collapsed to the ground, frozen stiff as if it were a block of meat left in the cold.

Meanwhile, the other two dwarves hurled their axes at the wounded wolf. However, their strength was clearly no match for Han Shuo’s; the axes flew more slowly, and the wounded wolf managed to dodge them. Yet, though it evaded the dwarves’ axes, it could not escape the close-range bolts from Han Shuo’s crossbow. Ultimately, the wolf collapsed, unable to flee any longer.

“Oh, brave friend, you’ve saved Bennett again! How can I ever thank you?” Bennett exclaimed, watching in awe as Han Shuo dispatched the two wolves.

After skillfully extracting the magical beast cores and pelts from the wolves, Han Shuo smiled and said, “You don’t need to thank me. These two Windblade Demon Wolves were my prey to begin with. I wasn’t helping you; in fact, it was your friends who helped me with their axes!”

“You’re too modest. Wait, aren’t you taking the wolves’ bodies with you?” one of the dwarves asked in surprise, noticing that Han Shuo took only the cores and pelts, ignoring the carcasses.

“That’s right. I only need the cores and pelts—they fetch a good price.”

“Well then, dear friend, would you mind letting us have the bodies of the wolves?”

“Of course. But what do you want them for? They aren’t worth much.”

“We can use the meat for food,” Bennett explained, giving Han Shuo a puzzled look. “For us, Windblade Demon Wolf meat is quite a delicacy!”

Han Shuo had tasted it before and found it tough and hard to chew, not at all tasty by human standards. He was surprised the dwarves were so keen, but then again, dwarves were not humans and might have different tastes. The thought amused him.

“By the way, what are you all doing out here?” Han Shuo asked.

“This is a mine we discovered. There’s copper and iron inside, but the tunnels collapse all the time, and falling rocks make it dangerous to work. Several of our kin have already been injured, and just a few days ago, one was killed by a rockfall. I was forced to retreat after getting hit myself,” Bennett replied, evidently fond of Han Shuo and revealing the dwarves’ secret without hesitation.

The other two dwarves had wanted to stop Bennett, but before they could speak, he had already finished, leaving them no choice but to glare at him, their bushy beards bristling in reproach.

“I see. If you don’t mind, I could help you mine the place. With my help, you’d probably avoid many dangers,” Han Shuo offered with a smile, struck by inspiration.

“No, it’s far too dangerous inside. You’d get hit by falling rocks too, and if there’s a major cave-in, you might never make it out,” Bennett warned kindly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go in myself. I’m a necromancer—I can summon undead creatures to mine for you. There’s no risk,” Han Shuo replied cheerfully.

“In that case, let me go in and discuss it with the others. If they agree, you can help,” Bennett said, and, supported by the other two dwarves, reentered the mine.

A while later, one of the dwarves emerged and courteously addressed Han Shuo: “Honored friend, we’re willing to share the secret of this mine with you. Please come in and help us with the mining.”

Pleased, Han Shuo replied humbly, “Thank you for your trust. I’d be delighted to work with you.”

With that, the dwarf dragged the corpses of the two Windblade Demon Wolves inside, then joined Han Shuo in covering the cave entrance with leaves before leading him into the mine.

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