Chapter 261: The Broken Sword

With a determination to not give up until they achieved results, Gelin 's team had essentially made their home underground.

Even so, progress remained far from ideal. Exploring all branches of a single passage took a long time and consumed considerable physical and mental energy.

Moreover, the number of personnel available was limited, further increasing the burden on participants.

Church personnel could remain stationed here indefinitely, but the professor could not—he still needed to return to the clinic every day. On one hand, he couldn't bring himself to leave the clinic, which relied primarily on Dai Wei and was assisted by Ku Pu; on the other, he needed to consider Yi Feng's need for rest.

But after several consecutive days, it seemed his concerns were unfounded.

The girl demonstrated resilience consistent with her established character—expression was not her strength, but persistence, or rather stubbornness, was. This once again reminded Kraft of her uniqueness.

Though he would never show it, he could not deny that he had quietly hoped these days of searching might achieve the goal of discouraging her.

The facts proved this was merely wishful thinking.

After overcoming the initial difficulties, her adaptability quickly allowed her to integrate into the environment, like moss that sprouted in the brickwork and icy currents, gradually taking root and forcing open fissures.

She daily traveled back and forth between the two locations, accompanying the team through the tunnels, until the cultivators eventually accepted her as a member of the group rather than an interference in normal search operations.

As the unexplored areas shrank, the collapsed zones on the map formed an increasingly distinct circular boundary, and Gelin gradually ceased worrying about appearing too eager, accelerating the pace.

From Kraft's perspective, this meant that each night, the search progressed by one or two additional tunnels compared to the previous day. He had to urge Gelin in advance not to rush ahead upon discovery, but to notify him first before proceeding further.

This advice proved prescient. Under intense searching, strange but not entirely unexpected items soon began to be recovered.

On a morning no different from those before, when Kraft arrived at the camp, Gelin showed him the results of the previous night's overtime work.

A rusted rod.

More accurately, a long, flattened chunk of rust, both ends broken off and lost due to brittleness.

The cultivators had found it in silt within a niche of a tunnel wall, apparently dislodged by a shift in water flow, revealing swollen, lumpy edges resembling fused lymph nodes.

An indescribable thing—a diseased metal, the remains of some artificial object. They tried to pull it free but discovered part of it was embedded directly into the brickwork—not in a crack, but at its center—and were forced to break it off to retrieve it. This made it resemble something that had taken root in the tunnel like a disease.

Kraft dried its surface moisture with a linen cloth, donned gloves, and held it beneath candlelight, gently tapping it with a small pair of tweezers, then attempting to pry off a small fragment—beneath it was still red rust.

The oxidation layer was too thick; the object could essentially be defined as a rust lump. After stripping away the shell, little remained, leaving only instinct to guess its original purpose.

Not excluding the bias of personal perception, he felt it resembled a sword blade, or at least a segment of a long-bladed weapon.

Regardless, Kraft was glad the priest had followed his advice and chosen to bring it back immediately upon discovery rather than upstreaming to trace its origin.

"Actually, this isn't the only one," Gelin said, arms crossed, leaning against the wall to rest—he worried every second that the moisture above might again condense into rain clouds. "There are some smaller fragments, but they're too tiny to sift out or identify."

"They look like part of a sword—the central ridge is thicker than the sides."

"Great. Now we've got armor lying here, and a sword too. Are we assembling an entire army?"

"I advise you to keep your mouth shut," Kraft said, his expression grim. If he was right, they were nearing their target.

What needed doing now was simple—prepare, descend, and wait until something appeared before deciding whether to advance or retreat. Good or bad, everyone had waited too long for it.

But before setting out, one final issue remained to be resolved.

If he remembered correctly, not everyone here was ready to move out—there was still a trainee.

Kraft had never originally intended to turn the trainee directly into frontline personnel. He glanced at Yi Feng, who was idly playing with the dagger—the girl seemed to have a special fondness for this old trophy beyond its practical use.

She, of course, felt her mentor's gaze and clearly understood its meaning; she met his eyes in return—she had not come here to take a few leisurely walks and then leave at the critical moment.

Kraft had intended to say something like, "This time is different—I'm not certain enough," or "Take it step by step; you can go next time."

But Yi Feng had already passed the initial test, having faced similar situations more than once; in experience, she matched most present. As for ability, those who had previously doubted her would never doubt again.

She desperately needed this deserved respect—to be treated as an individual capable of independence, even if that respect might come at a high price.

There would never be a perfectly certain moment; perhaps beginning with a preliminary deepening mission was just right.

"Bring me a hammer—not too long." Kraft requested a smaller-sized page hammer from the stationed cultivator. He had assumed Ku Pu would always handle this role, but the squire's duties had lately grown increasingly meticulous, spending most of his time assisting Doctor Dai Wei with puncture needles.

"Hold this—it's like swinging a candlestick."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Hold back your strength—most of the time, you won't need full force. With an average adult's strength, this thing, driven home, can crack open a skull protected by armor and send it to meet your great-grandfather. And most importantly: do exactly as I say. Otherwise, there won't be a next time. Understood?"

Yi Feng nodded eagerly and eagerly took the beautiful weapon, its hammer head forged into the shape of fluttering wings.

After giving these instructions, Kraft turned to Gelin. "Shall we depart early? I have enough people."

He had no intention of bringing Ku Pu—this was only a preliminary deepening; manpower was sufficient. Rather than summoning Ku Pu, it was better for him to stay at the clinic and learn more. One knight squire was unnecessary here for now, but a professor's assistant might soon be required.

"No, let me sleep a bit," Gelin said. As signs began to emerge, the priest showed surprising patience. He found a relatively comfortable spot against the wall, leaned against a bundle he'd pulled over, and forced his eyes shut.

In truth, he did not sleep. Behind his eyelids, he could still sense those eyes shifting beneath the cover.

After a very short time, Gelin opened his eyes again and led the team across the rock fissure toward the waterway where the rusted relic had been found.