Chapter 853: Monitoring Point, Communication Bat, and 'The Betrayer

The young Dwarf had one hand free, while the other carried a cage of Communication Bats that his elder had handed to him earlier.

The bats had been hanging upside down resting inside the cage, but as the Dwarf carried them along at a brisk pace, they were immediately jostled into squeaking loudly.

"Quiet! Everyone, be quiet!"

After taking a breath, the young Dwarf scolded the cage, but these bats, having been woken up and being both hungry and jostled, paid him no mind at all, which left the young Dwarf feeling somewhat discouraged.

He remembered clearly that when other Dwarves raised bats, it was nothing like this; they trained these bats as if they were dogs!

If told to be quiet, they would be quiet; if told to fly around someone, they would only fly around that person. When a finger was extended, the tiny bats, no longer than a finger, would land on the short, thick fingers the Dwarves held out, even in the dead of night or in the pitch-black Mine.

So, the Communication Bats that were quiet and obedient for everyone else were just being disobedient with him, right?

The young Dwarf angrily slapped the cage containing seven or eight bats hard, and the bats inside the cage became even noisier.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak—

Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp—

"This won't do, you're so noisy the whole settlement can hear you, how am I supposed to monitor the outsider? Quiet! Be quiet for me!"

He struck the cage a few more times, and the bats became even noisier out of terror.

Fortunately, at this moment, a small bag of berries that had been hanging under the cage fell to the ground due to the impact; the mouth of the Leather Bag had not been tied tight, and the deep red, slightly shriveled and wrinkled berries rolled out, tumbling through the dimly lit underground passage.

Both the young Dwarf and the noisy Communication Bats went quiet for a moment, then the young Dwarf patted the top of his Helmet and exclaimed, "Forgot about this, hmm, you're hungry, right? Anyway, whether you're hungry or not, come on, eat up, delicious berries! My mother picked them in the Forest, tasty berries! Of course, the best thing she makes is Golden Fruit Pie, pity you can't eat such delicacies, ha, you can only gnaw on raw fruit."

He carefully picked up the fallen berries with his fingertips and tossed them into the cage.

Sure enough, the tiny Communication Bats, which only ate fruit, saw the berries and immediately stopped squeaking, a small group of them scrambling for a single berry.

Seeing that it worked, the young Dwarf simply poured the entire bag of berries into the cage, letting these bats busy themselves with eating instead of squeaking and interfering with his monitoring mission.

After the bats each held a berry and ate in small bites, the young Dwarf quickened his pace and arrived at the monitoring point designated by his elder.

It was inside a tree that appeared exceptionally thick from the outside.

Here, the Dwarves had hollowed out the wooden core from the roots upward, and on the side facing the path in the Forest, they had cleverly excavated several thin, long, round holes that led directly to the small monitoring space inside the tree.

The monitoring hole facing the Dwarf Road was also small, only the size of a chicken egg; not only was the location chosen shrewdly—either pressed against the tree roots or located in a blind spot two meters high for Humans—but its appearance also resembled the natural round holes commonly chiseled into trees by woodpeckers.

The young Dwarf carefully stepped on the chiseled indentations on both sides of the vertical monitoring point, cautiously keeping his position behind a monitoring hole with a slightly better view.

He pressed one eye to the hole and watched the outside without making a sound.

Actually, he didn't need to be so careful; the monitoring point had been designed with sound-dampening methods for the interior. General noises inside the monitoring point could not be heard from the outside.

Even if the Forest outside was very quiet, it was the same.

The young Dwarf first checked the road in his line of sight for any footprints left by Humans and horses, and finding none, the fallen leaves from last year on the road were scattered in a disorderly fashion, presenting a very natural state.

"Good, made it in time. Hmph, keep a close eye on you, I'll show you what's what in a moment! Break your nose too! No, better to break it crooked."

The young Dwarf's nose felt a bit numb from the Ointment; it didn't hurt much, and besides, he was a brave young Dwarf who wasn't afraid of pain, but having his handsome, tall nose, which stood like a mountain, injured still made him very angry.

He imagined the scene where the elders would gather armed and surround that Human, beating him up in three layers inside and three layers outside, and just thinking about it made him feel happy.

Before he could enjoy himself for long, the moving figures of a Human and a tall horse appeared in his monitoring view.

This brought the young Dwarf back to his senses, and after further pressing his eye with the better vision to the monitoring hole to observe the Human carefully, the young Dwarf keenly noticed that the large pack originally carried on the back of the other's horse had disappeared.

"Abandoned it? Or hid it somewhere on the road?" he muttered to himself in a low voice.

He had only just looked, when the Human in his view suddenly became alert, holding a metal Long Spear in his hand, swaying left and right, not knowing what danger he was guarding against.

"Hmph... it won't be that easy for you to discover me."

Saying that, the young Dwarf still withdrew his gaze, then flipped a rotating Monitoring Stone above the monitoring point, letting a faint light shine down from above.

He took a small wooden tablet from his pocket, then carefully took a tiny, sharp metal carving knife from a hidden spot on his belt, and by the faint light, carefully and quickly carved his recent discovery onto the soft, lightweight wooden tablet.

【Monitoring Point No. 6, confirmed one armored person, one armored horse, horse-back supply pack missing, target's alertness increased.】

"Whew—"

Blowing out a breath to clear the wood shavings from the tablet, the young Dwarf then carefully pulled a Communication Bat with a satisfied, bulging belly from the cage hanging diagonally at his waist, and hung the 'small' wooden tablet—which was small to speak of, but actually the same size as the Communication Bat—onto the bat's claw.

"Hold on tight, little guy."

The young Dwarf stared at the round, plump Communication Bat in his hand; the fellow looked lazy from being full, and he wondered if he had fed them too many sweet berries at once?

"Deliver the message to 'Iron Fist', got it? An old guy nicknamed 'Iron Fist'."

The young Dwarf repeated it, then tentatively let go.

The overfed bat struggled a bit to fly at first, not only was its belly full of food, but its claw was also gripping a wooden tablet as 'heavy' and as large as itself. But soon, it flapped its wings and disappeared under the young Dwarf's feet, flying away along the interconnected underground passage network below.

"Good thing everyone trained them well."

The young Dwarf let out a breath, pressed his eye back to the monitoring hole, took one look at the suspicious Human outside, and seeing that the other was about to leave the monitoring range, he closed the light above, carefully stepped on the chiseled indentations on both sides of the monitoring point, climbed down, and then hurried toward the next Monitoring Point No. 7.

"Arm up! Lads, today we have to deal with a troublesome guy who broke in."

In another lounge under the Forest, the elderly Dwarf nicknamed 'Iron Fist' pushed open the wooden door of the lounge and shouted loudly, startling several Dwarf Miners who were resting inside.

One guy with bad sleeping habits even fell off his low stone bed.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Did a Magic Beast come again?"

The Dwarves scrambled up from their respective beds with lightning speed, asking the elderly Dwarf with nervous expressions.

At the same time, another Dwarf took the opportunity to express his opinion: "I said it long ago, just teaching those Magic Beasts in the mountains a lesson isn't enough! We have to set traps and kill every Magic Beast that approaches the Mine and the settlement!"

"Right! Hang the heads of those powerful Magic Beasts on the edge of the Valley, and no new Magic Beasts will come to attack us!"

The Dwarf 'Iron Fist' rolled his eyes, pushed aside the Dwarf who was spouting nonsense, and came to the middle of the lounge to explain: "Put away your meager imaginations, Aibo and Dulong. We haven't fought a Magic Beast in twenty years; this shows that the Captain's method is very effective, always has been."

"Only smart Magic Beasts that have been hurt know who in these mountains can be provoked and who cannot. As long as they don't die, they and their offspring, if they have any, will never come to attack the Valley. One battle, a hundred years of profit! You won't find a better deal anywhere."

The two convinced Dwarves shrugged and chuckled a few times.

"So 'Iron Fist', what happened?"

Seeing that all the Dwarves present had woken up and were looking over, the elderly Dwarf explained: "You've all heard the Humans in the village talk about those powerful guys in their society, right?"

"Heard of them."

"Hah, it's just bragging."

"What? What?"

The elder Dwarf continued: "One has just arrived in the Forest now. Uh, not one who uses Magic, nor one who uses the power of gods, but the kind that is simply exceptionally strong."

Speaking of this, the old fellow reached out and subconsciously touched his blood-stained beard hidden under his Helmet, his face carrying a hint of gravity.

The Dwarves present looked at each other; some had solemn expressions, while others whistled, appearing unconcerned.

Dwarf 'Tiequan' knew these guys were like this until they had seen it for themselves, so he did not force everyone to be vigilant, but instead raised the weapon in his hand: "No matter how you see it, I must say, the opponent is not easy to deal with. All of you, put on the Metal Armor you each forged for yourselves, and then switch to the same weapon and equipment as me."

"Move fast!"

Although their attitudes varied, everyone still began to change their equipment.

The break room where the Dwarves stood guard had pre-arranged spots, so each break room contained equipment prepared by the guards themselves. Regardless of whether everyone was fast or not, at least the equipment was complete.

"Damn it! There is a nest of newborn rock-boring mice in my Boot!"

"Where? Where? Let me see, oh—they are still all pink and tender."

"Ha, these kinds of young mice are best when deep-fried in an oil pan."

"Then do you want them if I give them to you? They were just born in my stinky Boot, oh, rest assured, they are guaranteed not to smell the same as my feet."

"Forget it then, there isn't enough oil here anyway, I was just saying. You keep them for yourself to enjoy."

Dwarf 'Tiequan' watched them joke while putting on their weapons and equipment in silence, and exchanged a look with the companion following behind him. The Dwarf companion behind him shrugged: "At least everyone's morale is good. It would be best if an excellent ambush could take the opponent down. Ha, don't worry, my old friend, trust everyone; we have taken down many difficult Magic Beasts in the mountains, are we really afraid of a single Human with thin arms and thin legs?"

The old Dwarf let out a breath: "You're right, old friend. I am a bit nervous, it's fine, um, it's fine."

Although he said so, he was still somewhat uneasy; his hundreds of years of life experience seemed to be sending him an obscure warning. But this bad premonition had no basis; surely they couldn't say that with so many of them, they still couldn't take down one Human Knight?

If everyone threw one Heavy Throwing Spear, they could even repel a Great Earth Bear with cubs, how could they not take down one person?

While everyone was changing equipment amidst the noise, a small Communication Bat flew in from outside the break room door. This poor little thing was clutching a wooden sign about its own size in its claws.

The old Dwarf, who had been distracted and keeping an eye on the door, immediately spread his left hand upon seeing this, signaling for the little thing to land on his Glove.

But the Communication Bat was not a small animal that relied on vision; it struggled as it flew around the break room with the wooden sign, turning left and right following the sound of everyone's voices. It approached every Dwarf who spoke as if 'sniffing', but in reality, it was getting close to distinguish the tone of each Dwarf's voice.

Unlike other animals that rely on vision and smell to identify others, the Communication Bat raised by the Dwarves relies on the accent and tone of the speaker to specifically identify someone.

Dwarf 'Tiequan' thought of this, coughed lightly, and without speaking, relied solely on the coughing sound the bat was familiar with to attract the Communication Bat to land on his open palm.

Rubbing the little bat's head slightly with his finger, the old Dwarf looked dissatisfiedly at the round-bellied Communication Bat, and only then did he take off the wooden sign to look at it.

The temporarily carved Dwarf characters were not that easy to distinguish, but fortunately, the lighting in the break room was sufficient. With a simple glance, the old Dwarf grasped the trail of the Human who had broken into the Forest.

Considering the distance from the surveillance point to this break room and the flight speed of the Communication Bat, the old Dwarf immediately spoke to the companion behind him: "We must hurry. I will watch everyone here; please make a trip, call the guys on both sides of the Forest over, arm them, and gather directly at the agreed-upon place."

"Companions on both sides of the Forest? Will there be enough time?" his companion asked.

The old Dwarf fiddled with the beard slightly protruding from under his Helmet and pondered: "Notify the far side first, then have people go directly to the agreed ambush spot to rendezvous, and then you go to the other side. That way, even if the people on the other side and you don't make it in time, at least the people on the first side will definitely be able to come."

The Dwarf companion thought it was indeed the case, so he nodded and set off.

Before leaving, this one confirmed: "It's the ambush at the Shishu, right?"

"Yes, that is the last place to set an ambush before walking out of the Forest, just there."

After the companion confirmed, he walked away quickly, heading in one direction.

The Dwarves have been standing guard in this underground passage for as long as one or two hundred years, and as short as nearly one hundred years. They are too familiar with this place; even if there is no lighting in the passage, these guys can move freely here even with their eyes closed.

Therefore, this group of Dwarves never uses the orientation signs on the walls common in labyrinths or tunnels.

After all, what if a newcomer gets lost?

If they get lost, they get lost. No matter how easy it is for someone to get lost, after standing guard here for decades, they can find their orientation with their eyes closed.

The elder Dwarf took advantage of the time waiting for everyone to dress to roughly explain the armament situation of this Human target.

Upon hearing that the Human Knight had no effective weapons to break through Metal Armor, the Dwarves' morale was even higher. Some flamboyant guys even boasted, claiming that they would only need one of them to go up alone later to take down the target who had broken in.

'Tiequan' curled his lips and did not make a fuss, nor did he state his own judgment to disturb some people's fantasies and unlikely 'battle results'.

"Very good, very much Yongqi. Then who else wants to compete alone with that Human Knight in a while? As long as the ambush is successful and everyone surrounds that Human, I agree to let you fight that Human one-on-one."

Once this proposal was made, several Dwarves in the break room excitedly raised their Helmets: "Me, me, me! Let me try first, I even killed a Stone-Armored Blind Mole yesterday; a Human Knight? He is simply no match for me!"

Other Dwarves were not to be outdone, constantly waving their Helmets at 'Tiequan': "Let me come first! The guy before was no match for me when wrestling, let alone that every time I dig for Mineral Ore, I get more! Ha, only the strongest Dwarf is qualified to fight a tough enemy!"

Once these words were out, it caused dissatisfaction among some Dwarf Miners nearby: "The strongest Dwarf? 'Longtail', did you use your brain before you bragged? When the Mine Captain was still here, I never heard you say such things. Heh, do you dare to say it to his face?"

The Dwarf Miner nicknamed 'Longtail' spat on the ground with disdain: "Of course I dare! Where is he? You let him come out and see if I dare to say who is the strongest in our Mine to his face! Huh? Where is he? Where is he now? Pfft, we all placed our hopes on him, and what was the result?"

"Where is he? Everyone gave him the armor made of the best materials, the weapons made of the best materials, the accurate map snatched from the Humans, enough dried meat to eat for a month, plus the pitiful wealth we all saved and the raw Gems accidentally found in the mine, all for him to take as he set off to find the way home. And the result? You tell me, where—is—he?"

"How long have we waited for him? One year? Two years? Five years? Ten years? Hahahaha—"

This Dwarf was full of anger: "Everyone said he was the most capable guy in our Mine, which is why he was sent by those above to guard this place. Fine, he is very capable, then where is he? Ah, did he return to our Dwarf lands, and then turn around and forget about everyone? Taking all of our money and wealth, forgetting everyone in a good place! Five—ten—years! It is a full %%%—five—ten—years!"

This Dwarf angrily smashed the Metal Single-Handed Axe in his hand onto the ground, knocking Suishi out of the stone floor: "That guy who claimed to be the most capable didn't even want his own wife and son. Ha, most capable, I spit on that!"

The Dwarf who was arguing stammered a few times and sighed: "Maybe he just had an accident on the way..."

"Do you believe that? A guy who can even suppress Magic Beasts with brute force would be defeated by a Human on the road? Wake up, you pathetic guys who still believe in that guy, you poor guys who still superstitiously believe in that guy's power; we have been forgotten. And after being forgotten by our own kin one after another, we were then nakedly betrayed."

"In the end, all of us can only hide in the mountains and forests like moles, in the caves, covering the eyes and mouths of every Human who looks over out of curiosity, for fear that those Humans will make a sound and call out the whereabouts of us poor guys who are not even as good as moles..."

Speaking of this, the Dwarf nicknamed 'Longtail' actually had tears flowing from his eyes.

This guy looked at the oldest Dwarf among everyone with red eyes, and finally said: "'Tiequan', you tell me, how much longer will days like this last? I, I want to go home..."