Chapter 408: Storage Cavern

Five half barbarians warily approached the direction of the sound, but when they arrived, there was nothing unusual.

"False alarm. It’s probably just a stray animal or something." One of them chuckled while shaking his head.

The group was about to return when three figures suddenly emerged behind them.

In the blink of an eye, all five of them were killed. They didn’t even know how they died.

"Get their equipment. Make sure that your faces are covered." Those were the last words they heard before they closed their eyes for eternity.

After putting on the armor of the half barbarians, the trio headed straight to the colony.

"Just walk calmly and don’t do anything that would make them suspicious. If someone comes to question us, let me do the talking." Varys said as he led them towards the complex cave entrances.

Just as they were about to head inside one of the entrances, a deep voice echoed behind them.

"Hold on!"

Aldrin and Bane subconsciously grabbed the handles of their weapons, but Varys quickly motioned for them to keep calm.

Varys turned around and looked at the one who had spoken.

It was another half barbarian with orc features.

"I don’t recognize you three. Who is your chieftain?"

"Brother, we know the rules. Just pretend you didn’t see us this time. Please do us this favor. We will cover your shift tomorrow." Varys answered without stuttering.

The half barbarian narrowed his eyes. "What’s your name?"

"I’m Bane... what is your name, brother?" Varys gave the first name that came to his mind.

\n(o)v.e\l.com

The half barbarian didn’t respond for some time, but his expression gradually loosened and bloomed into a relaxed smile. "Alright. I will remember your words, Bane. I’m called Rugal. You better not go back on your words or I’ll come looking for you."

"Haha! Rest assured, Rugal. I will find you tomorrow."

Looking at Varys freely conversing with an enemy made Aldrin and Bane genuinely impressed.

This guy was slick with his words.

A moment later, the half barbarian finally let them leave.

"That was close." Varys let out a nervous chuckle.

"You did well." Aldrin praised while smiling beneath his mask.

Bane also gave him a thumbs-up.

Varys shook his head. "Enough with the idle chatter. It’s time to go."

The trio entered one of the cave entrances. The path was a narrow tunnel illuminated by crudely made torches.

They encountered some monsters along the way, but they acted calmly and just walked straight without speaking.

When there was no one nearby, Bane whispered. "This tunnel is like a maze. I have already forgotten which way we came from."

"It’s fine. The route is inside my head." Responded Varys while pointing his head.

Hearing this, Bane no longer said anything.

As they headed deeper, the tunnel became even more crowded with more monsters passing by.

To avoid attracting attention, the trio chose to follow a large crowd that they heard was heading towards a place they called ’the storage’.

From the bits and pieces of information they heard, Varys guessed that this place was probably where the colony stored its food reserves.

I think we are on to something really important.

He thought to himself, anticipation and a trace of nervousness brewing in his heart.

After a quarter of an hour, they emerged to a a spacious cavern filled with all sorts of preserved food and resources like drinkable water.

There were monster workers inside the cavern, monitoring the resources with unblinking eyes.

There were also monster warriors eyeing everyone that entered with stern gazes.

"Varys, we should leave now. Discovering this storage cavern should be enough to help the main army." Bane whispered.

There were more monster warriors around so the situation was becomint increasingly dangerous for them. One wrong move and their cover would be blown.

Aldrin didn’t say anything, but he agreed with Bane’s words. They could use the knowledge about this cavern to sabotage the food supply of the monster colony. Doing this would definitely cause chaos and make the monsters panic.

Varys didn’t respond right away. He discreetly observed the cavern and the monster warriors.

"We will burn this place." He suddenly said, his words shocking his two companions.

"What?!" Bane stared at him in disbelief.

"That is too dangerous. The exit might be blocked if we cause a commotion here. That would leave us no room to escape." Aldrin chimed in, expressing his opposition to the plan.

"I know, but trust me on this. I have a plan." Varys didn’t want to give up.

Aldrin and Bane hesitated for a moment, but they eventually relented under his persuasion.

"Fine. Let’s do it. Dying like this wouldn’t be too bad. At least we can do something big to guarantee our victory in the war." Bane forced a smile.

"Do I still have a choice?" Aldrin shook his head with a defeated expression.

Varys grinned. "Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I won’t let you two die."

.

***

Meanwhile, Lesley’s team of six was on their way to regroup with the main army when one of them discovered that they were being followed.

"Someone’s on us!" Sandro shouted.

(Author’s Note: See Chapter 403 for reference. Sandro is a barbarian warrior from the Green-eyed Falcon Tribe.)

His words made everyone alarmed.

"What?!" Lesley’s face fell.

She didn’t sense anyone’s presence, but when she focused on her auditory senses, she finally heard the distant galloping of horses.

"Enemies are behind us!" She shouted.

"What should we do, Dame Lesley?" Someone asked, looking incredibly pale-faced.

Everyone turned their heads to her.

Lesley furrowed her eyebrows and replied. "Our horses have been running for hours. Those guys will catch up soon. We need to slow them down."

With a resolute gaze, she said. "I will lure them away. You guys should move separately to increase your chances of escaping. Once you find the main army, report everything we discovered without missing a detail!"

Everyone was stunned.

"No, Dame Lesley. Leave this task to me..."