Chapter 340 The Underwater Mine

With Yang Ling's help, the woman leader finally saw a hope of breaking the curse successfully. She planned to form a team to enter the underwater mine once daylight arrived. Although the team was small and only consisted of a little over ten people, they were all the elites among the pirates and among them was berserker Novgorod.

The berserkers' superb recovery ability, like their craziness after turning Bloodthirsty Frenzy, were known throughout the continent. Novgorod's injuries almost healed overnight, which left Yang Ling utterly shocked.

He had thought Novgorod, the stubborn bull, would not be able to get up for at least three to five days. He didn't expect him to be full of energy that quickly.

Novgorod shot Yang Ling a cold look and kept silent, following after the woman leader with a heavy axe.

After she returned his help, Margaret came clean with him. He has completely given up after their long talk, and understood that the beautiful woman leader would never have fallen in love with him, even if Yang Ling didn't exist.

Feeling dejected, he had planned to leave Dark Sand Island in the morning and return to the berserker tribe situated in the northern glaciers. Just as he was preparing to set sail, however, he received the news of Margaret breaking into the forbidden area and rushed back frantically.

He had hoped for his beloved to have a blissful life, even if he could not be with Margaret in this lifetime. He would still come to her rescue like he did in the past if there were to be any danger!

The entrance to the underwater mine was beneath a cliff, and was reached by a steep and narrow pathway. To prevent somebody from breaking in unintentionally, the female leader cordoned off this place as a forbidden area, and had two ferocious pirates to keep watch.

There were obstacles and stones everywhere at the foot of the cliff. Fish that got sucked in unintentionally were gone in a blink of an eye. There was a wave of unknown energy in the air that gave Yang Ling a familiar sense of danger.

What type of monster was this Super Demon, which could turn a group of people into ice sculptures?

Yang Ling grew cautious after sensing the wave of unknown energy in the air. According to Margaret, the tribe had admired armed strength during the land-sea war. They had had quite a few powerful worshippers other than that large group of ferocious warriors. The strength of the Super Demon that lived in the deep end of the mine had to be extraordinary for it to be able to force such a large tribe into a hopeless state and bind them with an evil curse.

"The entrance to the mine is beneath the sea. Follow me, sir!"

The woman leader took the lead after taking in a gulp of air nervously. She jumped into the water and dived under like a mermaid, her twin blades on her back. Novgorod and the others followed closely behind her.

"I sense the spirit of a high-level dead soul. You must be careful, sir!" The Corpse Wizard King had a solemn expression as he felt the wave of unknown energy in the air and took out a black magic staff.

As a Corpse Wizard King, who dealt with the undead all year round, his sharp senses could feel the spirit of a powerful undead beneath the sea. He also felt a strong wave of grievance. If he guessed correctly, many people had died beneath the sea. Furthermore, these people weren't ordinary people, as they couldn't have such a strong sense of grievance if they didn't have powerful souls.

"Don't act on impulse, Rodriguez. Safety is our priority. Be careful!" Yang Ling said as he took a look at the bottomless sea after taking out the sharp Blood Elf Dagger and reached for the Heart of the Sea. He jumped in with the Blood Elf Dagger in one hand and Heart of the Sea in the other.

An unexpected event transpired as he touched the sea water!

The sea water automatically split into a waterless space around him. Not a single drop of water was able to enter the space, which was filled with air.

The Water Repellent Pearl?

Yang Ling was pleasantly surprised as he looked at the Heart of the Sea shining in his hand. He had had a hunch previously that this so-called holy object from the Sea Tribe did not simply show nautical charts. However, he hadn't thought it could actually repel water.

Yang Ling was utterly shocked, let alone the others! Everyone gasped with admiration as they looked at the waterless space around him and the shining Heart of the Sea in his hands.

Sea Tribe, Margaret thought. He's definitely a big shot from the Sea Tribe!

There had been a rumor across the Tailun continent for hundreds and thousands of years of a holy pearl from the Sea Tribe that repelled water. Someone who had never swum would be able to roam freely in the sea once they got hold of this rare treasure. The woman leader is now even more certain of Yang Ling's high-level and noble status.

Rumor had it that, based on the caste system of the seafolks, they were divided into nobles, commoners and slaves. Yang Ling must have been born a noble to have such abilities at a young age. He would only be able to possess the legendary Water Repellent Pearl if he was from a prominent and great aristocratic family.

The woman leader regained her focus after being momentarily distracted, and waved her hands to signal for the group to follow closely behind her as they headed toward a huge grotto.

Although the grotto was deep, it had pearls mounted on both sides every few steps of the way. With adequate light and the woman leader leading the way, everyone managed to avoid the undercurrents without any mishaps. They finally emerged from the water after an hour, and walked through the waist-level sea water.

"This is where the entrance to the mine is!" The woman leader pulled out her sharp twin blades after catching her breath. She continued with a solemn expression: "There isn't any danger on the outside. However, according to the tribe's genealogy, we could be attacked by the Super Demon or other sea monsters after entering the mineshaft. Be careful, everyone!"

The pirates did not dare to risk any oversight and pulled out their sharp weapons as the female leader drew her twin blades.

The berserker Novgorod led the way with an axe, five soldiers followed closely with a javelin in their hands, and three warriors armed with twin blades went on each side. Finally, there were five archers shielding them at the back to protect the two spellcasters, the woman leader, Yang Ling, and the Corpse Wizard King in the middle.

They were well-trained and had great chemistry!

Yang Ling marveled at how they were able to form a close-knit defense within seconds. It was no wonder everyone was afraid of these pirates. It seemed that they did have some ability.

These pirates might not have been a match for any great sword masters or spellcasters in a one-to-one fight. However, they probably had far more experience than anyone else in actual combat.

The grotto was huge and fathomless, with strange statues everywhere. Some of them looked like huge pythons slithering on the ground, some others looked like thunder birds with their wings spread, and there were also some that looked like angels with wings… There were even some peculiar statues that he couldn't put a name to.

Yang Ling had felt a wave of unknown energy on the cliff, which felt even more prominent upon entering the mine and even more dangerous as they ventured deeper. He could feel the pagoda-shaped crease between his brows burning.

At the same time, the Corpse Wizard King's expression darkened and he seemed to realize something. One could even see a black aura ring looming around him upon a closer look.

Squeak…

Just as everyone was about to climb onto a big slab of stone to rest momentarily after going around a huge python statue, they suddenly heard a weird cry from the deeper end of the mine. Soon, they found themselves surrounded by a group of monsters. There was one, two… it's increasing in numbers!

The monsters that had appeared suddenly were fully black. Some of them were only as big as a rice bowl, while others were the size of a wash basin, or even bigger than a table. There was no obvious line between their heads and bodies, and they had eight wriggly arms. There were two rows of suckers made of flesh on each limb. The monsters also had openings in the middle, with a pair of sharp waxy palates and sturdy teeth. They looked exceptionally ferocious with their every movement.

"Be careful, it's the Eight-Clawed Octopus!" The woman leader screamed with a grave expression as she focused on the monster's outline.

According to the tribe's genealogy, apart from the Super Demon and Long-haired Evil Demons, there were also a huge number of sea monsters in the underwater mine. Over the hundreds and thousands of years, most of the warriors who had risked entering the mine had died at the claws of the innumerable sea monsters instead of the clutches of the Super Demon.

Even though she was mentally prepared, Margaret hadn't expected to see such a huge group of Eight-clawed Octopus right upon entering the mine. Her heart sank as they increased in number and as she looked at their arms that wouldn't stop wriggling.

Eight-clawed Octopus were usually a third- or low-level sea monster in the ocean and weren't scary when they attacked alone. However, it would be terrifying if there were more than a thousand of them. If they unfortunately were entangled by them, they could be sucked dry in a blink of an eye, without even any bones or hair left.

"Rodriguez, stay with the woman leader and don't let her fall into any danger!"

Yang Ling's brain felt numb when he looked at the large group of wriggly Eight-clawed Octopus. Things would have been much easier on ground level; they would be hugely disadvantaged in the waist-level sea water. It would be hard to guard against these creatures if they dived into the water to attack them.

He could have summoned the Horned Bee Beast and Self Destructing Bats to meet the attack, which would undeniably be the best solution. However, it was not worth the risk of exposing his identity!

He could have turned a blind eye if it were any other pirates. However, the woman pirate Margaret was a crucial character in his plan. All his past efforts would go to waste if she were to meet with any mishaps in the mine. Hence, he had no choice but to send the Corpse Wizard King over to protect her.

As a former peak-level domain expert, it wouldn't pose a problem for the Corpse Wizard King to protect a woman pirate, despite the fact that he hadn't fully recovered. Even if he couldn't eliminate all the Eight-clawed Octopus at one time, he could at least bring her to safety if the situation were to go awry.