But this time, Kaito was determined. This Spirit Stone Mine would not fall into the hands of outsiders. It would belong to the ancestral estate, and it would be used to raise the strength of his family.
In fact, before coming here, Kaito had already considered bringing Spirit Stones directly from the Ren family villa that they got from the library ruins. They had managed to obtain a lot during that discovery. However, there had been one serious problem transport.
Vehicles in the present era were not yet equipped with spirit rune technology. In his previous life, once spirit rune applications had matured, vehicles had been fitted with concealment runes. These runes could completely hide the spiritual energy within, ensuring that no trace of leakage could be detected while transporting valuable resources.
But now, with no such technology developed, transporting Spirit Stones openly was a huge risk. The stones would inevitably leak spiritual energy during the journey. And in a world where spirit energy was still scarce, such leakage would be glaringly obvious. Anyone in the area could detect it, and that might expose the Ren family's secret.
Kaito could not afford to take that risk. After remembering the existence of the Spirit Stone Mine in the Greystone Mountains, he had made his decision. This mine would be claimed for the ancestral estate. With it, they could cultivate faster and grow stronger without worrying about anything else.
This Spirit Stone Mine was already part of Kaito's broader plan his plan to raise the strength of the Ren family within one month.
When Kaito came out of his thoughts, he saw Marcus, Elias, Lucas, and Calvin crouched over the rubble left behind from the shattered mine spirits. They were poking through the broken rocks as if searching for treasure. Their eyes were bright with expectation, as if the monsters might have dropped something valuable.
Kaito could only smile bitterly. "Alright, alright, don't waste time there," he said. "We still need to keep moving. There will be more of these things deeper in the cave."
The others hesitated. Though they had already rummaged through the rubble and found nothing, their faces still showed reluctance. With sighs, they finally nodded. Forming up once again, they returned to their usual hunting formation and followed Kaito deeper into the cavern.
But their fight had not gone unnoticed. The clash of stone breaking and weapons striking had echoed through the tunnels, and it was enough to draw more mine spirits toward them.
Before the group had even walked ten steps further, new figures emerged from the darkness ahead. This time, the glow of green fire was brighter, harsher. At the center of the group, leading the charge, was a mine spirit larger than the others. Its movements were sharper, its aura heavier.
Kaito's eyes narrowed. This one was a Rank 1 mine spirit.
He exhaled slowly. "So it begins."
In his mind, he recalled how mine spirit leaders could always be distinguished they were bigger, sturdier, and carried a heavier aura. He had hoped, prayed even, that the leader of this mine would only be Rank 1. That would have given him an easy path to secure the place. But seeing that even a normal group leader was already Rank 1, Kaito knew the true leader of the mine spirits being only Rank 1 was barely a ten percent chance.
The Rank 1 mine spirit roared, its gravelly voice echoing through the cavern. Behind it, a dozen more mine spirits surged forward.
Kaito raised his sword and spoke quickly to the others. "You all take the ones behind. I'll deal with the leader."
Marcus and the others nodded firmly. They spread out just enough to cover each other, then braced themselves for the oncoming horde.
Kaito, meanwhile, darted forward. His feet blurred as he used Wind Veil Steps, closing the distance in a heartbeat meanwhile the Rank 1 mine spirit wasn't slow either it lifted both it's massive arms high above its head, preparing to smash them down and crush Kaito before he could reach it. Despite its huge body, its movements were faster than the Rank 0 spirits. Agility, speed, and power it had all been sharpened by its rank.
The monster's raised arms loomed over him like a collapsing wall. If Kaito stood still for even a second, he would be flattened. But he did not panic. Instead, he saw an opportunity.
This posture leaves it wide open.
Its arms, still raised, left its many weaknesses exposed. For Kaito, it was like the beast had turned itself into a practice target for his swordsmanship.
He then pressed off the ground with Wind Veil Steps, his figure shifting sharply to the side. His blade flashed.
"Cut!" His sword sliced downward in a clean motion, striking at the joint of the mine spirit's right arm. Sparks flew as stone cracked.
"Chop!" He swung again, this time from above, hacking into the left arm's joint. The blade dug deeper, chips of rock scattering across the cavern floor.
"Thrust!" He drove the sword straight forward, piercing into a crack already forming in the creature's shoulder joint.
Again and again, Kaito unleashed the eight basic sword moves he had practiced relentlessly cut, chop, thrust, sweep, pierce, slash, stab, and cleave. His blade moved like lightning, every strike hammering into the mine spirit's weak points.
The sound of shattering echoed with each blow. At last, with one final downward strike, both of the mine spirit's arms broke apart completely, crashing to the ground in a shower of rubble.
The Rank 1 spirit let out a guttural roar, its body shuddering as it stumbled backward two or three heavy steps.
But Kaito did not relent. Without pause, he dashed forward, blade angled for its neck. With its arms gone, the creature was defenseless. If his sword connected, its head would definitely be destroyed, ending the fight immediately.
Yet, just as his blade neared the stone neck, the mine spirit suddenly lurched back. Its massive body melted into the cavern wall, vanishing as if it had never been there.
Kaito froze mid-strike, his sword cutting only air. His brows furrowed deeply.
He hadn't known mine spirits could re-submerge into the rock walls. This was because even In his previous life, his knowledge had been limited as his status then had been too low, his opportunities too few. Even now, he was discovering things he had never learned before.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue in frustration. The Rank 1 spirit had escaped.
There was no time to dwell on it. The unranked and Rank 0 mine spirits that had followed in the group were already upon them.
Kaito turned his head. Marcus and the others had already engaged.
Elias stood a short distance back, firing arrow after arrow. His aim was precise, each shot targeting the weakness of the mine spirits. Lucas and Calvin flanked Marcus, swords flashing to cover his sides as he swung his staff with all his strength.
Marcus had engaged a Rank 0 mine spirit head-on. His staff crashed into its body, cracking stone with each heavy strike. Beside him, Lucas and Calvin cut down an unranked one together, their blades striking in perfect rhythm.
The narrow passage worked to their advantage. The spirits couldn't fully surround them, funneling the fight into a straight clash.
Kaito, wasting no more time, lunged into the fray. His blade swept low, cleaving through the legs of an unranked mine spirit before finishing it with a chop to the head. Another rushed at him, but he sidestepped with Wind Veil Steps, thrusting the sword through its shoulder joint and breaking it apart.
He fought without pause. One, two, three every movement was fluid, precise, merciless. Before the mine spirits could even touch him, he had already shattered more than ten of them into rubble.
Still, more kept coming. The cavern echoed with their gravelly roars as fresh waves poured in from deeper within. The ground shook under the weight of their stone bodies.
Kaito's eyes narrowed. This won't work. If they stay here, they will be overwhelmed.
He slashed another spirit down and shouted over his shoulder, "Everyone! Keep moving forward while fighting!"
They turned at his command, understanding immediately.
The truth was simple. The leader of the mine spirits wasn't just stronger it was the one connecting all the others. Every other mine spirit in the cavern was bound to it. Unless the leader was destroyed, the flow of enemies would never end.
Kaito tightened his grip on his sword. We can't waste our strength here. I need to destroy the leader as soon as possible.
Behind him, Marcus, Elias, Lucas, and Calvin began advancing step by step, pushing forward while cutting down the spirits that blocked their path. Elias's arrows struck joints and cracks with deadly precision, Marcus's staff smashed through skulls, and Lucas and Calvin guarded the sides with their swords.
Kaito moved at the front, carving open the path with every strike. They had no choice now their only way out was deeper in, toward the leader that controlled them all.