EFB Chapter 105 Coastal Cave
Chapter 105 Coastal Cave
Chapter 105 Coastal Cave
As we approached the shore, a faint smell of the sea gradually began to fill the air.
In the distance, on the treetops and among the nearby rocks, seabirds with black bellies occasionally call out "caw caw".
"Are we almost there?"
Xia Tong turned to look at Burke, who was riding on a black horse.
Whether from cold or excitement, the latter trembled slightly, his eyes fixed on a certain direction ahead.
"We're almost there—Brother Tong."
Burke's voice was a little hoarse: "Keep going forward, that's where the Coastal Caves are."
"The place where I live—my mother's things are all there too."
Xia Tong nodded, and then she and Burke headed in the direction he pointed.
This place is close to the coastline.
From afar, Xia Tong could see many black, resembling giant reefs slowly wriggling in the shallow waters of the coast.
"Tong--Tong-ge, that's a land-based octopus!"
Burke suddenly shouted nervously, "Don't go near them! They're extremely ferocious!"
"A land-dwelling octopus?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Tong immediately recalled that day in Moen City, when Elena served chunks of land octopus meat in her pot.
The taste is still very delicious.
"They must be mobile ingredients, right?"
Xia Tong rode his horse and tried to get close to a giant terrestrial octopus stranded on the beach, hoping to get some tentacles to try.
However, at a distance of about ten meters from it.
The latter suddenly contracted its body and then leaped up like a giant pinball.
Those countless intertwined giant tentacles, for some reason, possessed such great strength that they were able to support its enormous and heavy body and bounce it several meters high.
In an instant, it crashed down on Xia Tong like a mountain of flesh.
"Holy shit!"
Xia Tong was completely stunned!
Fortunately, Torret reacted faster and, without needing to be reminded, simply double-jumped to avoid it from a great distance.
A loud "BOOM!"
The beach was smashed into a huge crater, with wet mud and water splashing everywhere.
Xia Tong wiped the mud off her face, still shaken.
"So ferocious—how do the people of Moen City hunt?"
Perhaps they have other methods.
After all, Moen City stands on the coast, and hunting land-dwelling octopuses must have been a long-standing tradition.
"Knock knock knock knock knock!"
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from behind.
The two turned around to look.
A mercenary named Kadan, riding a warhorse, was charging towards them, brandishing a long sword.
Xia Tong was somewhat stunned.
Why are there Kaidan mercenaries here? This place is way too far from the main road.
But he still smiled.
Since the opportunity had come to him, he didn't mind helping this lost mercenary end his suffering.
The mercenary, Kadan, brandished his massive single-edged cleaver, howling "Awoo Awoo!"
It was clearly Xia Tong's pathetic performance in front of the Lu Sheng Octopus that led him to mistakenly believe that Xia Tong was a weakling who could be easily manipulated.
"Buzz—!"
When the mercenary from Kaidan was only five meters away from Xia Tong.
Xia Tong pointed her staff.
The Radiant Stone Giant Pebble burst forth.
The deep blue magic stone, the size of a head, struck the mercenary Kaidan squarely in the chest like a heavy cannonball.
"Crack!"
Accompanied by a clear cracking sound.
The mercenary, Kaidan, was thrown from his horse and crashed heavily onto the beach.
He struggled to get up, but the excruciating pain in his chest prevented him from moving, and he could only groan in agony.
"you go."
Xia Tong didn't finish the job, but instead gestured with her lips to indicate to Burke.
At this point, Burke was no longer as cowardly as Xia Tong had been when they first met.
He gave a soft "hmm" and dismounted.
He then drew the brass dagger from his waist and approached the fallen Kaidan mercenary step by step.
Blood was still dripping from the corner of his mouth, and his pupils were fixed on Burke, who was walking slowly toward him, his eyes filled with ferocity.
Burke paused in his tracks, startled by the glare.
With a "hiss!" sound.
Burke didn't immediately engage in hand-to-hand combat, but for some reason, he suddenly pulled out his staff.
"Swish! Swish!"
Two beams of brilliance magic gravel.
Two more shots were fired at the fallen Kaidan mercenary, one each at his leg and face.
With a "clang!"
The mercenaries from Kaidan were indeed feigning weakness.
The instant Burke brandished his staff, he swiftly raised his machete to block in front of him, sparks flying.
Clearly, if Burke had walked straight over there, he would probably have been cut down with a single blow.
Even so, he still couldn't dodge the shot aimed at his leg.
"Pfft!"
Fresh blood gushed out from his skirt armor.
Xia Tong was not going to get involved.
Such a severely crippled and incapacitated mercenary like Kadan was an excellent candidate for Burke to hone his combat skills.
Instead of waving his short knife and closing in as Xia Tong had expected, Burke did not do so.
Instead, they stood at a safe distance and fired shot after shot of Radiant Stone Shards.
moment.
The mercenary from Kaidan was riddled with holes, his body riddled with bullets.
Finally, his face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Only then did Burke carefully pick up the brass dagger, lunge forward, and plunge it into his throat, ending his life.
"Well done, Burke."
Xia Tong exclaimed sincerely, "It seems you haven't forgotten what I told you before."
"Extremely steady! This is how mages should play!"
"Hehehe, it's all thanks to Brother Tong's excellent teaching."
Burke wiped the bloodstains from his face and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"Hmm? Wait a minute."
After killing the Kaidan mercenary, Xia Tong, as always, looted the corpse and took its equipment.
He was surprised to find that this Kaidan mercenary was about the same size as him, and not as tall as before.
He picked up the bloodstained Kadan armor, compared it to his own body, and found that it was almost a perfect fit.
"That's good."
Although it's leather armor, it offers decent protection and is lightweight.
You can wash it and wear it later.
Although his blessed space still contained the heavy armor he had taken from the Night Riders and the ancient hero Samir.
However, those things felt very heavy. Xia Tong's stamina was not high to begin with, and after wearing them, she would probably have trouble even running.
After collecting their spoils, the two continued on their way.
Finally, a warm campfire appeared in a sheltered harbor ahead.
The person was in a semi-enclosed space formed by a huge rock wall.
"----what?"
"If you're looking for trouble, I'd be happy to oblige."
The man looked up at Xia Tong, who was fully armed, and Burke, who had a staff at his waist, with a wary expression.
Based on the image of the crazed Kaidan mercenary who had just attacked anyone he saw, Xia Tong roughly understood his thoughts.
It's obvious they're behaving like robbers trying to steal from you.
"I was introduced by Kalie."
Xia Tong spread her hands to indicate that she meant no harm.
"This is a gift from Kale to you. He said he wanted me to give him his regards."
As she spoke, Xia Tong took out the bottle of crystal-clear red fruit wine from Torret's bag.
"Oh—oh, I see."
Upon seeing the bottle of fruit wine specially made by Kalie, the wandering merchant's expression immediately softened, and the hostility in his eyes dissipated.
"Sorry, friend."
He sighed and took the bottle: "I was robbed by some passersby who were fading away before, and I almost lost my life."
"Therefore, I assumed you were also—"
Xia Tong gave an awkward laugh.
As far as he knew, there weren't many good people among the Faded Ones; most were desperate outlaws who would do anything for Rune.
Moreover, many of the faded ones have joined the Volcano Mansion, specifically hunting down their former brethren.
With the misunderstanding cleared up, the wandering merchant gladly opened the backpack on the donkey and warmly asked Xia Tong if there was anything she needed.
Xia Tong glanced at it briefly.
It contains some antidotes for poisoning, some hemostatics for bleeding, and even some rare hypnotic herbs.
And a weapon craftsman's production notes.
Xia Tong bought them without hesitation, then glanced at them; they contained animal bone rockets and animal bone fire crossbow bolts.
And the method for preparing poisonous moxibustion.
Although those medicinal herbs were important, Xia Tong didn't have an urgent need for them at the moment, so he skipped them.
In addition, there were two intelligence documents.
One is information about terrestrial sea squirts, and the other is information about the Stone-Digging Mountain Demon.
Xia Tong thought about it and bought them all.
The information about the Stone-Digging Mountain Demon was not very valuable; it only mentioned that when fighting the mountain demon, you should aim for its head to cause massive damage and knock it down.
Xia Tong, as a veteran player, knows about this thing; it's not like he hasn't fought it before.
But this information about terrestrial sea squirts is indeed interesting.
Intelligence reports say that if you apply a potent poison to this thing, it will explode violently due to the imbalance of toxins in its body.
The only thing Xia Tong currently has that can poison others is the latrine pot she just learned how to make.
"No, no, that's disgusting."
Xia Tong shook her head, abandoning the idea that had a certain flavor.
After the transaction was completed, Xia Tong bid farewell to the wandering merchant and prepared to enter the cave.
But the latter forcibly kept him there.
"Since he's a friend of Karlie, then he's also my friend."
"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
As he spoke, he ladled two bowls of the bubbling soup from the pot on the campfire and handed them to Xia Tong and Bai Ke.
Xia Tong took the bowl and was stunned.
He was surprised to find that the soup in the bowl was an eerie dark green color, something he hadn't noticed before.
"Ah, this—"
The thick, green soup had several thick slices of turtle meat floating on top, along with some unidentified herbs.
"Never mind, anyway, this wandering merchant sells poisonous moss medicine, so there's a cure if you're really poisoned."
Xia Tong steeled herself and took a small sip of the turtle soup.
An extremely overpowering herbal scent, mixed with a strong meaty odor, assaulted the nostrils.
It contains no spices, only the purest aroma of meat and the taste of sea salt.
At first, you might find the taste a bit strong, or even a little bitter.
But after a few bites, I found that the turtle meat was quite chewy.
It's like chewing a salty, chewy gummy candy; the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes.
the other side.
Burke held the bowl, drinking the broth, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"This—this is the turtle soup I used to be able to eat only after a long time in the coastal caves—"
"It's been so long since I've had this—it's been so long—it's so delicious!"
As he spoke, Burke actually asked the wandering merchant for another bowl.
Xia Tong's reaction was much calmer.
Perhaps because he had seen too many Chinese delicacies in his previous life, this thing in front of him did not amaze him.
It was barely enough to fill our stomachs.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two continued walking and soon approached the coastal cave.
"This must be the coastal cave."
Xia Tong pointed to the dark and deep cave entrance in the distance.
"Yes—yes, Brother Tong."
Are you scared?
Xia Tong asked, because he noticed that Burke's body was visibly trembling and his teeth were chattering.
"Before, here—my tribesmen would often suddenly gather and beat me up!"
They threw me out of the cave and poured icy seawater on me—without giving me anything to eat.
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As Burke spoke, his body trembled more and more.
"Things were better when my mother was alive, but after she passed away, things became even more difficult."
He lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion.
Xia Tong looked towards the cave entrance ahead.
There were three or four ordinary demi-humans scattered around, carrying worn-out machetes and shields, seemingly on guard duty.
Xia Tong didn't say anything more.
The staff was lifted slightly.
Several streaks of pyroxene meteors shot out.
"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"
Before the demi-humans could react, they were knocked to the ground.
Two more, whose vital organs had not been hit, lay on the ground howling in pain, trying to get up and call the police.
"Hehehehehehe!"
Xia Tong and the other person approached.
The two injured demi-humans seemed to recognize Burke in front of them.
They pointed at Burke, cawing incessantly, their eyes still filled with contempt and threat.
"Since these people treated you like that, they don't deserve to be your people."
Xia Tong said to Burke, her eyes icy: "You do it."
Looking at the two faces, Burke seemed to have figured something out.
He took a deep breath and slowly walked forward.
Looking at the gleaming brass dagger in Burke's hand.
The two injured, thin subhumans immediately began to scream even louder.
At the same time, it was babbling in a demi-human language that Xia Tong couldn't understand, and it seemed to be cursing.
But this time, Burke didn't hesitate like before.
The brass dagger, blessed by his faith, gleamed with a sharp light.
"Sizzle! Sizzle!" Two soft sounds.
The necks of the two demi-humans melted like butter under the blade of the brass dagger.
Blood spurted out immediately, staining Burke's face red.
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