On the Seven Towers

Xiao Chen and his party, including Ansaldo's guards, totaled more than 60 people, and they formed a large team in this underground passage.

The long and deep underground passage relied on the lighting crystals inlaid on the walls and the top to maintain brightness. But even so, the light could not reach all places, and most of the roads were still in the shadows.

Walking on the road, you can often see teams moving in the opposite direction from the direction of the capital. These teams are the same as the caravans on land, and most of them are guarded by several guards to transport goods. Xiao Chen noticed that most of the dwarf guards remained vigilant, especially when they looked at their team, they were a little wary.

"What are these dwarves guarding against? Are there robbers in this tunnel?" Xiao Chen, Luo Ling, Farrell and Ansaldo were sitting in the same carriage. The dwarf carriage was very low, and Xiao Chen's head was almost touching the top of the carriage when he sat there.

"Of course there are robbers. The underground city is not peaceful." Ansaldo said.

"Where did the robbers come from?"

"There are many large and small tunnels on both sides of this main road, leading to various underground cities and towns. We dwarves are very good at digging such tunnels, so this tunnel network may expand at any time. From time to time, there will be an additional road leading to an unknown stronghold, or a collapse will occur, completely burying a road." Ansaldo pointed, "Look there."

Xiao Chen saw a small road more than one meter high branching off from the main road. There was almost no light in the road. If you don't look carefully, it is easy to overlook it.

"This is a fairly large branch road. I remember it seems to lead to a nearby village. We dwarves have the ability of night vision, so in such a dark road, we can see the surrounding situation clearly with the help of some slightly glowing things. So many branch roads are such dark paths." Ansaldo explained.

"Look at that one, it's also a road." Ansaldo pointed in another direction.

Xiao Chen looked over there. It was a low tunnel that was not much bigger than a dog hole. If Ansaldo hadn't pointed it out, they might have thought it was just a small hole on the roadside.

"This kind of road is a privately dug road. We usually call them earthworm roads. Because they are like roads made by earthworms. If this kind of road is slightly covered, even dwarves will find it difficult to find. Robbers like to dig this kind of small road and then launch a surprise attack from inside. Even if they are not robbers, some thieves will rush out from inside and steal the goods of the caravan when the caravan is not paying attention. The guards of the caravan are on guard against these." Ansaldo said with regret, "The kingdom has become more and more chaotic in recent years. There are more and more such bad things. I remember when I was a child, I didn't have to be so cautious when walking on these roads. The caravans with better luck would not run into robbers many times, so some caravans didn't bring many guards, but now it's not possible. Now the caravans without guards can't finish this road alive."

Xiao Chen could hear that Ansaldo was deeply dissatisfied with this situation, but he was powerless. A decayed and fallen kingdom cannot be saved by the will of one or two people.

"Is it possible for us to catch up with those strange guests of the Black Rock Family in front through these small paths?" Xiao Chen asked.

"That's impossible. The main road we are taking is basically the shortest way. Taking the small path will only be slower." Ansaldo said.

At this time, Farrell said: "Unless, we take that road after passing the first post station."

"That road? You, do you mean the 'Death Trail'?" Ansaldo's eyes widened.

Xiao Chen asked with great interest: "What kind of road is the Death Trail?"

"No, it's too dangerous." Ansaldo said.

Farrell said, "You should know that this main road is actually a winding road. The straight-line distance from the capital to the entrance is actually much shorter than the length of the main road. The Death Trail is a road that is very close to a straight line, and the road is very inclined. If you can't fly, it is almost impossible to walk on that road without a magic shield. You will either fall to death or be crushed to death by the collapsed rocks. Even for high-level warriors, it is very dangerous to walk on that road. But I think as long as you, Luo Ling and Mei Tiantian are three great magicians, there should be no problem."

"Three great magicians?" Ansaldo was shocked. He never thought that Luo Ling and Mei Tiantian, a woman and a child, were also great magicians.

"Yes, and that dark elf is also a master-level warrior." Farrell said proudly, "Do you think it's feasible to take a shortcut now?"

Ansaldo looked at Xiao Chen, who nodded seriously. He said helplessly: "If you insist, you can give it a try. But they left so much earlier than us, and we may not be able to catch up with them by taking a shortcut.

And the number of people you are chasing should not be too large, but the level should be higher, otherwise it will slow down the speed of travel. I will not go with you, I will let my guard Rockman go with you. If your action is not smooth, he will also take you to the capital to meet us."

"Very good." Xiao Chen said with satisfaction.

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Rockman is a middle-aged high-level dwarf warrior. He is thin and has nimble hands and feet. People of this size are very rare among dwarves. At first glance, he is very suitable for such a cave exploration mission. After receiving this task, he changed out of his steel armor and put on a black cloth. He carried a dagger and a crossbow and came to Xiao Chen, Luo Ling and Evelin. A four-person team will be formed to try to block the Black Rock Family convoy ahead.

The death path is not directly connected to the main road. Under the leadership of Rockman, Xiao Chen and the other two turned onto a branch road from an abandoned roadside inn, and then walked for more than ten minutes to a smaller cave entrance. It was covered with moss and looked like no one had set foot there for a long time.

"This is the entrance to the Death Trail," Rockman said.

Xiao Chen released a small ball of light, which went down the path and illuminated the inside of the path. This is a really steep road with a smooth inner wall and not many places to stay. It looks like a barrel slide in a water park.

Rockman squatted beside the entrance and pressed his hand on the rock on the ground: "I have only walked this road twice. It is very difficult and dangerous. You must use your hands and feet together with your fighting spirit to anchor each step in order to climb down more safely. Every year Someone will fall to death in the tunnel, and you will see a lot of dead bones in it. Those are the unlucky ones who died in it. That’s why there is a term for the death path.”

Xiao Chen said: "It seems that this road is very straight?"

"It's basically straight, with only a few twists and turns," Rockman said.

Xiao Chen looked at the road: "Well, so... I have an idea."