89. Digging Through the Underworld
From deep within the earth, a dull, relentless roar echoed, as if a giant beast were stalking the mud. Along a vertical cave wall, ochre-colored sand and gravel seemed to come alive, defying gravity and flowing upstream along the rough rock face, pouring endlessly toward the surface like a massive drainage pipe efficiently transporting waste.
At the bottom of the cave, Luo Tianyi took a deep breath, faced the hard rock formation in front of her, and issued an order: "Please go out!"
The moment the words fell, the thick stone wall seemed to lose its solid form in an instant, turning into a sticky, ochre-colored stream and then rushing towards the cave entrance.
Obviously, the endless stream of sand and gravel on the surface just now was Luo Tianyi's masterpiece.
At the top of the cave, Elaina, who was suspended on a broom, waved her wand. The tip of the wand emitted a soft, steady white light, like a small artificial sun, illuminating the huge underground space below and making it as bright as daylight, dispelling all the haze and blind spots around.
Elaina observed her surroundings, alert to any possible accidents.
Outside the cave, on the surface, Houraiji Kyuushou was busy dealing with the spitted-out sand and gravel.
The invisible gravitational field of the Dark Night Wings controls these waste materials, making them smooth and piled up as if by an invisible hand, avoiding clogging the hole or forming new obstacles.
Elaina's main responsibility is to ensure Luo Tianyi's safety.
Although Luo Tianyi's ability to communicate with all things is the core of the excavation project, she is still just a frail little girl who lacks the strength and reaction speed to deal with sudden dangers. Therefore, Elaina's existence is her most solid backing.
Luo Tianyi's power sent another batch of sand and gravel to the surface. From above the cave entrance came the voice of Houraiji Kyuushou, clearly exhausted: "Tianyi! It's time! Take a break!"
Luo Tianyi, stationed at the bottom of the cave, heaved a long sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although the mental energy consumed by manipulating the rock one time was not a burden to her, the continuous use would still accumulate fatigue, making her head feel a little swollen.
Luo Tianyi raised her little hand and gently wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.
At this moment, a slightly dull but still cool breeze with a bit of the smell of earth blew through the cave.
Elaina waved her wand, and with a bit of control, a spell was cast, then a delicate breeze flowed through the cave. The air began to flow slowly, and the feeling of the breeze made people who felt it feel comfortable.
"Huh... I feel like we're making good progress."
Elaina jumped lightly from the floating broom with satisfaction. She looked around at the huge space that the three of them had worked together to carve out, which had begun to take shape as a shelter. A relieved smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah..." Houraiji Kyuushou also walked down from the cave entrance.
She patted her lower back and looked bitter, "We've dug several thousand meters deep... My magic power is almost drained out!"
Her job is to efficiently move the earth sent up by Luo Tianyi to avoid accumulation. This job is quite tiring for her.
When Houraiji Kyuushou looked around, the fatigue on her face was instantly replaced by amazement and excitement!
"Wow--!!!"
Houraiji Kyuushou's eyes lit up, and she excitedly trotted a few steps to the center of the cave.
"Here! This place can accommodate tens of thousands of people, right? I feel like even if the entire population of Uruk moved in, it would be big enough! Tianyi is amazing!"
Hearing the praise, Luo Tianyi's face blossomed with a bright and proud smile:
"Well! I didn't expect to achieve such a big thing!"
As the main force in the excavation, this sense of accomplishment made her feel extremely satisfied.
"The capacity is sufficient for now," Elaina took a few steps forward, illuminating the rock face farther away with the light from her wand, and pondered, "But didn't Xiling say before? Besides Uruk, there are still survivors outside. The exact number is unknown. To be on the safe side, we'd better expand the space reserve a little. Also... the most critical problem hasn't been solved yet - food and water!"
"There is indeed a problem with the food and water supplies. We need to tell the king as soon as possible, but the king seems a little fierce." Houraiji Kyuushou's face fell when she thought about talking to the other party.
"Indeed." Luo Tianyi also thought of this. Although she saw the emperor every day, her father wasn't so fierce; at least she had never seen him act like that.
"How about..." Elaina touched her chin, smiled, and decisively suggested, "Why don't we report this problem... to Xiling? Let him negotiate with the king!"
She had not forgotten the terrifying pressure Gilgamesh exerted on her when they first met, which almost overwhelmed the entire audience. Thinking back on it now, she still felt a chill on the back of her neck.
It would be more appropriate to entrust this important task of facing the king to Xiling!
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately received enthusiastic responses from the other two.
Just when Houraiji Kyuushou, Elaina, and Luo Tianyi reached a consensus and were about to happily pass the hot potato of "negotiating with King Gilgamesh for supplies" to Xiling—
"Huh?" Houraiji Kyuushou was attracted by an unusual scene at the edge of the cave, and she took a few steps closer curiously.
Right there were clusters of dark stones growing from deeper into the ground.
Unlike the surrounding rock formations, which are naturally ochre or gray-brown, they are pure inky black, and their smooth surface is in stark contrast to the rough earth and stone walls of the shelter.
"What is this?" Houraiji Kyuushou tilted her head, feeling confused.
"It feels... a little unusual." Curiosity made her subconsciously stretch out her finger and gently touch the surface of one of the black stones.
"Hiss--!"
An indescribable, piercing chill instantly penetrated her fingertips! The chill wasn't just a physical chill; it was more like a chill that froze the soul! Houraiji Kyuushou shuddered violently, retracting her hand as if struck by electricity!
"Kyuushou?" Her obvious abnormality immediately caught the attention of Elaina and Luo Tianyi. They walked quickly to her side.
"What's wrong?" Elaina looked around vigilantly, raising her wand slightly.
"This stone... There's something wrong with it!" Houraiji Kyuushou pointed at the cluster of black stones with lingering fear.
"Something's wrong?" Elaina frowned, took a step forward, and cautiously tapped the black stone with the end of her wand.
"Knock, knock."
The sound was dull, and there was no unusual magical feedback or curse coming from the wand.
"Then... should we get rid of this thing now?" Luo Tianyi suggested, looking at Houraiji Kyuushou, whose face was still a little pale.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Tianyi." Houraiji Kyuushou felt that this thing was not safe for other people here, so if it could be taken away, then better take it away.
Elaina nodded in agreement. Safety first, cleaning it up is always the right thing to do.
Luo Tianyi didn't think too much of it and said to the black stone, "Please go out," just like she always did with countless ordinary stones before.
However, as soon as she said this, the ground beneath her feet collapsed without any warning!
...
"Awesome!"
Xiling clapped his hands, looked at the area above his head, and couldn't help but give two thumbs up to Elaina, Luo Tianyi, and Houraiji Kyuushou.
"You guys dug a hole and even dug into the underworld. That's amazing, my friends!"
The three people dared not speak out, because the owner of this place was standing next to them.
They never dreamed that just by clearing a strange stone... they would actually dig a hole all the way to the underworld!
Now, to put it in a rounded manner, they really went to the underworld!
They even got caught red-handed by the landlord!
"The kids are ignorant and are just joking," Xiling said to Ereshkigal, who had a sullen look on her face.
"And this just happens to help you dig a tunnel. When the time comes, you can just simply take action, and you will definitely capture Uruk!"
Ereshkigal could no longer listen. Her beautiful red eyes stared at the huge hole, filled with disbelief:
"It's pierced! The ceiling of my underworld has been pierced!!"
What else could Xiling say? He could only keep smiling. What should he do if his friends in the group dug up the home of an ally he just tricked? Waiting online it's urgent.
Seeing that Ereshkigal was about to turn black, Xiling immediately made a suggestion.
"Well, Ereshkigal, how about I help you fix it?"
"Eh?"
Ereshkigal looked at Xiling with a blank look and subconsciously asked, "Can you do it?"
Xiling smiled and pointed to the collapsed underworld above, "Repair."
Time was forcibly reversed at this moment! Like a movie playing in reverse, the massive rock blocks that had been falling towards the underworld roared back up, fitting seamlessly into the collapsed gap!
The whole process was so fast that it seemed like an illusion!
In just a few breaths!
Xiling clapped his hands and showed his results to the surprised Ereshkigal.
"Finish"
——