Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 60: The Rabbit Army

Asp put a collar on the rabbit. The rabbit kicked its legs in displeasure, but no matter what it did, it couldn’t get the thing off.

“How annoying. What did you people do this time?” it asked in its sharp little voice.

Asp immediately looked at Beverly.

“Just a tiny anti-escape measure.” Beverly set the rabbit down. “We’ll compensate you with fresh leafy greens—”

Before she could finish, the rabbit bolted, shouting, “Only an idiot would believe that!”

But the moment it got ten paces away from Asp, it slammed into an invisible magical barrier with a bang. Fortunately, the barrier didn’t seem too hard. The rabbit just bounced back, dizzy and disoriented, suffering no serious injury from the impact.

It managed to steady itself, then thumped the ground furiously with its hind legs.

“Once we find the survivors, we’ll remove that collar and compensate you with plenty of supplies,” Professor Gentry said apologetically. “…However, if you lead us into a death trap, you’ll be trapped beside the corpses for the rest of your life.”

The rabbit spat out several angry curses, then grudgingly shifted its body. “All of you, follow me.”

It stuck out its rear and began hopping along in front of them.

Myss followed behind the rabbit with curiosity, glancing around at the ruined surroundings.

The place lined with giant paintings just now was probably some kind of loading area. The path ahead had turned into a spiral stone staircase, far steeper than before. A carriage could no longer pass through here.

It resembled an inverted tower. In the hollow center hung rotted chains and ropes. There wasn’t a trace of wind, so they hung perfectly still like stalactites, leaving behind nothing but silent shadows.

“Those were mechanisms for transporting heavy goods,” Salaar said, following his gaze. “Back then, carriage compartments were specially made so they could be detached as whole units.”

“People would lower the compartments full of supplies down there and lead the horses along the stairs.”

Myss gave a quiet acknowledgement and leaned over to peer into the bottomless pit.

There was more moisture in the air now. He caught the faint fishy tang of water. There had to be a subterranean river flowing beneath them.

On the nearby rock walls, the paintings had returned to normal size. Their subjects were still figures from the Hope family, or suns hanging in clear skies.

For no reason at all, an image surfaced in Myss’s mind: a young Salaar being carried in the arms of a faceless woman, descending the spiral stairs step by step into the darkness underground. One sun painting after another slid past his eyes, gradually retreating from view.

No wonder this guy had managed to endure three hundred years in darkness. He had probably been used to it already.

Ordinarily, repetitive scenery would have made Myss sleepy. But now he was wide awake, studying every corner he could see with unusual vigor.

“It’s kind of cold here,” Tass muttered on his shoulder. “I don’t like it here. My stomach feels weird.”

Father Kalen soothed him gently. “Dark environments always make people nervous. Want some herbs?”

Salaar’s brow twitched. His gaze swept over Tass and Kalen, then settled on Myss, who was looking around everywhere.

“Nervous…” He traced the word with his tongue, then swallowed it back down.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone’s emotions seemed somewhat taut, yet it didn’t feel like the mental contamination from before.

The round white rabbit continued leading the way. Beverly and Asp followed right behind it, looking as though they wished they could run ahead of it instead.

Professor Gentry, meanwhile, walked at the very back. Every so often, he pressed a crystal nail into the rock wall. In the darkness, they emitted a warm orange-red glow.

The nails were almost fused with the stone itself and carried practically no magical aura.

“What are these?” Myss reached out and tried to pry one loose but failed.

“Trail markers,” Professor Gentry explained kindly. “If there’s major magical interference, they make the best beacons.”

“But you’re a Grand Archmage,” Myss muttered.

In terms of sheer magical power, Professor Gentry was roughly on par with Salaar in his current state. Trail markers were a weakling’s trick. Gentry had no need for them. As strong ones, they were supposed to simply resist magical interference head-on.

“A common misunderstanding among the young,” Professor Gentry said in his teacherly tone. “Having a lot of magic doesn’t mean you’re highly skilled at magic. If ‘pure power’ were all that mattered, then the strongest person by physical force would be the best warrior, and the smartest person the best leader. Clearly, that’s absurd.”

“The amount of power matters, certainly. But timing and technique matter just as much. Placing too much faith in your own power leads only to destruction.”

Myss gave a noncommittal grunt, appearing only half-convinced.

Having witnessed a human lecturing an Archdemon firsthand, Salaar could only rub his temples. His mouth twitched, though it was hard to tell whether he was about to smile or sigh.

……

After passing through the entrance tower, Myss caught the smell of that subterranean river, along with the faint stench of bones and corpses.

The ground under their feet became gravel again, and darkness surged in from all sides.

Myss could vaguely make out countless nested caves, riddling every direction, even the ceiling above, making it look like a gigantic anthill.

“To save labor, most underground cities were built by modifying natural cave systems. Normally, people wouldn’t choose terrain this…” Salaar considered his wording. “This complicated. I have to say, this sight makes me kind of nostalgic.”

Myss perked up. “You used to live somewhere like this too?”

“No. These holes remind me of your eyes,” Salaar replied honestly.

Myss: “…”

He felt something was wrong with that answer, but he couldn’t quite refute it. So, he could only let out a sullen huff.

“Look, there’s a trail marker!” Beverly interrupted their private exchange. “It must have been left behind by Roman’s group. They’re the only ones who’ve come here recently.”

Among the countless caves of all sizes, one entrance flickered with orange light, identical to Professor Gentry’s markers.

“I’ll measure it right away.” Asp jogged over to the cave entrance and hurriedly set up a pile of odd-looking magical devices.

The devices buzzed. Bored out of his mind, Myss squatted down and pawed at the gravel with his fingers.

He had an odd feeling that this expedition was turning out to be remarkably… lucky.

Not long after entering, he had found a rabbit that could guide them.

On the other side, Professor Gentry had brought Beverly and Asp specifically to handle all the ruin-related work for them. At this rate, it almost seemed like all they had to do was follow the rabbit, find the survivors, and unravel the mystery of the Abnormal Fruit here… right?

On the gravel, Myss drew a crude stick-figure corpse of Salaar with X-eyes and its tongue lolling out. While thinking, he viciously jabbed at the nonexistent nostrils on its face.

“I’m still cold,” Tass said softly from his shoulder. “Myss… Hey Myss, can you pull in your magical aura a bit? It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“I am holding it in.”

“You’re not!” Tass yanked his sideburn. “Your aura’s been floating all around your body like your fur’s standing on end. If you really can’t be bothered, I’m going to stay with Salaar instead.”

His magical fluctuations had been unstable this whole time? Myss frowned.

“There are no danger markers left by Roman inside the cave, and no unusual magical fluctuations either. We should continue forward…” Asp suddenly spoke, cutting through Myss’s thoughts.

“Hurry up!” Beverly almost immediately moved to stand by the cave mouth.

“Stop rushing me! It’s not like I’ve got big human legs!” the rabbit snapped, grudgingly hopping into the cave.

Professor Gentry set another trail marker and moved toward the cave as well. For the first time since entering, he was no longer bringing up the rear.

Myss’s heart sank slightly. All at once, he had a bad feeling.

He had felt that something was off all along. At that moment, he finally realized what it was.

In four directions plus the ceiling, there were caves of all sizes everywhere. So why was the ground beneath their feet unnaturally flat?

Rustle, rustle.

Myss looked down. The crude little dead-Salaar doodle he’d drawn had split into a grin, as if it were smiling at him.

The next instant, the crack widened violently, and the ground beneath him vanished.

The rustling turned into the thunderous sound of earth and stone collapsing.

Salaar came sprinting over at a ridiculous speed and grabbed Myss in one arm. Tass screamed and vanished back into the gemstone of the pocket watch.

In the split second before they fell, Myss’s peripheral vision swept upward. Besides Salaar, he saw a white blur charging after them and jumping into the pit along with them.

He heard Father Kalen shouting, heard Beverly scream, and then he heard nothing at all.

A massive boulder sealed the hole above them, trapping them completely in darkness.

Crack, crack. 

Salaar’s shields shattered and regenerated again and again as they fell.

Around Salaar’s shield, Myss wrapped a net woven of magical threads, trying to slow their descent a little.

Even so, they still ricocheted off the hard cave walls like bouncing balls. Myss felt as if his brain had been shaken into a smooth paste. A huge white furball shoved itself insistently into the middle of their embrace, replacing Salaar’s scent with a dense rabbit smell.

As the world spun around him, Myss wrapped all four limbs tightly around Salaar and badly wanted to squash that rabbit that had no sense of personal space.

—Bang!

At last, they hit the ground miserably. Fate was fair this time. They landed on their sides. The shields protected their bodies from real injury, but mentally they were thoroughly wrecked.

The moment they struggled up, both turned their heads and—threw up.

After painfully emptying their stomachs, Myss wanted to grab something to wipe his mouth with. His hand wandered with ill intent toward Salaar, only to grab a soft bundle of fur instead.

The rabbit was sprawled on the ground, looking lifeless. “Ugh…”

Salaar waved one hand, cleaning the filth from himself, then grabbed the rabbit by the scruff in one swift motion. “What did you do?”

Even Professor Gentry hadn’t managed to react in time. This was no trivial trick.

“…I didn’t do anything!” the rabbit said weakly. “I just thought, if I suddenly rushed into a dangerous place… the humans, worried about my safety, might remove the collar restrictions…”

“This wasn’t your doing?” Myss looked around. Great. It was even darker than before. Their lighting devices only illuminated the space immediately around them. The darkness beyond was as dense as the floor of the deep sea.

Given the cozy, familiar atmosphere, he’d almost thought he’d fallen all the way back into the seal.

“It’s because your luck is too terrible. This is the first time I’ve ever met anyone with luck as bad as yours,” the rabbit gloated. “Miserable, just miserab—Aaaahhh!”

Fork coiled around its neck, taking the collar’s place.

The rabbit was so frightened it froze in place, not daring to move. Knife, seeing this, tentatively coiled over it too, adding yet another layer to the rabbit’s terror.

“Let’s have roasted rabbit for dinner,” Myss said thoughtfully. “The priest got separated from us again. Just like I thought, his ominous-divination thing only works on himself.”

“Gentlemen, I’m right here,” Kalen said.

Myss, Salaar: “?”

Even Tass poked his head out of the gem and sucked in a breath. “You came down without a shield?!”

“I jumped.” Father Kalen gestured honestly. “This shaft isn’t vertical all the way down. There are lots of places you can brace yourself.”

Tass was incredulous. “But you didn’t know that before you jumped!”

“There was no ill omen in the divination. I knew I’d be fine.”

The priest sounded utterly confident. “But right after I came down, the boulder fell and the cave tunnel collapsed completely. Professor Gentry probably won’t be able to follow.”

A heavy silence fell over them.

Was the question really whether the Grand Archmage could follow? The path was blocked off. Getting back out was a problem now. And on top of that, this man trusted the Lord of Shadows far too much. He had jumped without knowing a thing.

“…Yes, all of us are down here.” No sooner had Myss turned his head, Salaar had already contacted Professor Gentry. “No one’s injured. The surrounding environment is still unclear. The rabbit’s with us. Asp removed the collar restriction in time, so it’s unharmed as well.”

Professor Gentry’s voice came through the golden badge. “You must keep hold of that rabbit, but don’t believe a word it says. A minor underground city shouldn’t contain an alchemical creature of that grade.”

“I’m very sorry. I’m the one who brought you here, and I will get you out safely.”

“What about Roman’s group?” Beverly’s voice came through the communicator, a bit muffled. She sounded as if she were urgently questioning Gentry.

“Roman’s team has been missing for more than half a year. If there really are survivors, that means they at least possess basic survival ability. Besides, now that we no longer have the rabbit, we can only conduct a standard search.”

“Salaar’s group is different. They know nothing about exploring ruins. Their rescue takes priority.”

“No,” Salaar said suddenly.

Myss raised a brow.

In this familiar darkness, Salaar wore an expression Myss knew very well. For a moment, he looked exactly like the military leader who tolerated no disobedience.

“The fact that the rabbit dared jump down here suggests it’s confident it can get back out.”

“I’ll make it keep guiding us to the survivors. You should continue your search for Roman by standard procedure. The tunnel we came down has collapsed. We happen to need a new way out.”

“If we’re lucky, we may even meet again at the same place.”

The words sounded like a mild suggestion, yet it carried an air of indisputable authority.

On the other side of the golden badge, Professor Gentry fell silent for a full half minute.

“Are you all really you’ll be alright?” he asked.

“You’ve seen it yourself on the way in. I know the underground cities of the Night Scourge fairly well,” Salaar answered crisply.

“Very well. We’ll continue forward on our side. Contact us immediately if anything happens.” Professor Gentry ended the communication.

“…Not to be difficult, but are we really sure?” Tass’s voice had gone dry.

In the darkness around the four of them, beyond what the lighting devices could illuminate, a pair of red points suddenly lit up.

Then a second pair. Then a third.

They lit up the darkness layer upon layer, like scarlet stars.

Rabbits. Countless rabbits.

An army of rabbits surrounded them on all sides, packed together into a sea of fluffy white fur. Innumerable pale-red eyes stared at them fixedly, and beneath those eyes, countless little three-part mouths moved all at once—

“Intruders! Bad people!”

“Tie them up! Take them away!”

“Catch them! Let’s throw a feast!”

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