Chapter 134: March to the Queen

The group moved silently through the mine tunnels. A few lanterns clipped to their belts lit the way, but it was the mages’ magical orbs that provided true visibility—floating spheres of light hovered near them. Every ten minutes, they also cast a spell that granted the group night vision. But the excessive lighting wasn’t just for visibility. It was essential for Perception to work.

“To the right,” Luke murmured.

“Confirmed,” said an archer, nocking an arrow.

Without hesitation, the archers fired. Two sharp cries rang out, followed by the dull thud of collapsing bodies. Dead ants. Unlike the others, Luke saw beyond. His Perception field worked even in total darkness—better, in fact, when shrouded in shadows. A perk of his [Demonic Perception].

“Fall back! Don’t push so far ahead!” Bob shouted to the soldiers up front.

He was the officer sent by Bartholomew, a support healer who had come along with four soldiers to reinforce the team. The path was littered with corpses. Bodies of soldiers dragged off by the ants. Remnants of battles that had taken place before they arrived. The group moved carefully, alert to any sound that didn’t come from them.

“Aaaargh!”

Three ants appeared from the far side, charging fast. One sank its jaws into a soldier’s arm, but before it could do more damage, a whistling arrow pierced its skull—Angelica. The soldier finished the attack, and within seconds, the creatures lay dead.

“Light!” Bob called.

The mages conjured new floating orbs. The old ones were starting to dim. Bob raised his hand, and a circle of green energy enveloped the group. The wounded stepped back inside, receiving the healing from the spell.

“Good thing we’ve got you,” Jonathan said with a tense smile.

No one mentioned the hidden healing potions. Best to keep that quiet. The Haven was already under enough suspicion regarding the stolen loot from Reward Event chests.

“How much farther?” Angelica asked.

One of the soldiers stepped up, studying the map under the light. Angelica and Bob gathered around him. The mine had been mapped years ago by Bartholomew’s men. But it was unstable. Too risky to use as a base. There were too many exits into the Wild Zone, and creatures frequently invaded the tunnels. It was safer to stay in a hideout within the Safe Zone, near the border.

Bob pointed to a spot on the map. “The queen ant is here. In the center of the mine, close to the exits to the Wild Zone. It’s a more open area—almost like a cavern. There are still mine carts down there for those who want to go deeper into the lower levels.”

The soldier folded the map, and the group started moving again. Mages and archers held their power back. None of them could use destructive magic down here—a cave-in would be fatal. They passed through a section where the walls had collapsed. The ground was unstable.

“All tunnels lead to the central cavern,” Bob explained. “From there, you can branch into the Wild Zone or descend even deeper into the mine. If someone gets lost, just keep going forward… unless they’re too much of a coward to continue.”

“As if anyone here’s smart enough to turn back and enjoy a good night’s sleep,” Jonathan joked.

The soldiers laughed.

“You’re not half bad, actually,” remarked Ricardo, one of the mages.

“You think we’re just a bunch of authoritarians? We’re just like you. We just want to get out of this tutorial,” Bob said, his tone nearly resigned.

“Give us some machine guns, a helicopter, a few tanks… and I promise I’ll take care of the whole thing,” Jonathan replied, drawing a round of laughter from the soldiers.

The group kept moving. One of the scouts ahead stepped back after reaching a fork in the path. Everyone stopped.

“Now what?” Jonathan asked.

“Any of these tunnels leads to the same place. We just want to avoid the ones that twist and turn too much. They’d slow us down,” one of the soldiers explained.

The archers quickly fired arrows enchanted with Perception magic. One landed firmly in the ground of the tunnel to the left.

“This one’s more direct,” said the archer, and the group began advancing again.

A mage launched a fresh orb of light, illuminating the darkness ahead. The tension hung thick in the air.

“What do you think it’s like to face a General?” Anna asked.

“Dangerous, of course… but now, maybe a bit easier. The situation favors us,” one of Bastion’s soldiers said.

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“We’ve taken down two of the Beast Lord’s Generals in the past three years,” Bob added casually.