Larvitar's digging speed was extremely fast. Its short claws danced into afterimages, and the hard rock before it crumbled as if it were soft soil.
In the blink of an eye, a neat tunnel—slanting downward with a diameter of about two meters, had already stretched dozens of meters deep, then further into several tens of meters more.
Lin Xia and Lou Gao followed closely behind. One hand held a torch to provide light, while the other gripped their firearms tightly. The weight of the shotgun gave Lin Xia a small sense of reassurance.
Lou Gao steadily carried his beloved AK assault rifle, finger loosely resting near the trigger, his sharp eyes sweeping over the darkness ahead and the constantly opened black rock walls on both sides.
The torchlight flickered and leapt, pulling the shadows of master and disciple, as well as Larvitar, long and distorted across the uneven corridor walls.
From behind came the steady sound of wind rushing through the pipes, the surface windmill ventilation system was continuously delivering fresh air, ensuring that breathing in the deep underground remained safe.
Time passed minute by minute. The tunnel kept extending, and its depth had already exceeded one hundred meters.
Yet the surrounding walls were still that same deep and heavy black rock layer. Apart from the freshly turned fractures Larvitar had clawed open, there was not the slightest trace of ore, let alone the imagined rare mineral vein.
Doubts in Lin Xia's heart grew thicker and thicker.
He finally stopped, examining the smooth black rock wall beside him under the torchlight. His fingers brushed over the cold, rock-hard surface as he could not help asking in a low voice:
"Teacher, are you really certain there is a mine down here? We're already more than a hundred meters deep, and it's nothing but black rock after black rock. By your earlier explanation, if this were truly a rich mine, we should have touched the edge of the vein or at least some associated minerals by now. This… feels wrong."
Lou Gao also frowned deeply, his calloused fingers unconsciously rubbing the icy wooden guard of the AK.
He was observing and thinking as well.
Experience told him that black rock beneath meant mineral deposits without exception, but the fact that such depth still showed no sign of mineralization had clearly gone beyond his expectations.
"It is indeed strange."
Lou Gao stroked his chin beard, voice low.
"The black rock layer is abnormally thick, yet the energy reaction is obviously strong. Could it be that we misjudged the position? Or…"
Before he finished speaking, Larvitar ahead suddenly halted its excavation without any warning.
"Larvitar—!!!"
A short, piercing, vigilant growl ripped through the underground silence in an instant!
Larvitar's crimson pupils shrank to pinpoints. Its entire body tightened at once, faint light seeming to flow beneath the rocky armor.
Without the slightest hesitation, Larvitar kicked off the ground with all four claws. Like a fired shell it shot backward, retreating to stand before Lin Xia and Lou Gao in a flash.
The small body crouched slightly, blocking the two humans while giving continuous threatening "wu-wu" growls.
The fine sand around it suddenly accelerated and swirled, producing rustling friction sounds and forming a visible miniature sandstorm shield!
Master and disciple felt alarm simultaneously!
Lou Gao did not waste one breath. His body leaned forward; the AK was raised instantly, dark muzzle pointing at the direction Larvitar had been digging moments ago, eyes sharp as falcon claws.
Lin Xia also turned sideways quickly, shotgun firmly leveled, finger touching the trigger guard. His heart pounded violently from the sudden tension.
Larvitar's warnings had never been mistaken. For it to react so fiercely meant that the thing lurking deeper in the darkness ahead was absolutely no trivial presence!
Just as Lin Xia finished setting the battle stance—
"Roar—!!!"
A deep, heavy, terrifying howl with the texture of rock scraping and penetrating force exploded from the front of the excavation point, even deeper underground!
This beast roar was not sharp, yet it carried horrifying vibration power! The entire tunnel shook violently as if gripped by an invisible giant hand!
Boom rumble!
The roof and both sides of the incredibly sturdy black rock walls trembled and clattered!
Dust and small stones fell like rain!
Tiny cracks even appeared along the walls!
Lin Xia and Lou Gao were jolted, blood surging, eardrums buzzing. Torchlight swayed and almost extinguished!
"Bad! retreat now!"
Lou Gao's face changed drastically. Years of experience told him this soul beast underground was extremely terrifying in power and attributes and likely commanded rock or shockwave abilities!
Fighting it inside the narrow underground tunnel was practically suicide!
Lou Gao made the decision instantly, calling Lin Xia and Larvitar to withdraw along the original path.
But at the very moment they turned—
"Boom!!!"
An even more violent explosion detonated at the position of the Larvitar excavation point!
The solid black rock wall there was shattered from the inside by a surging tremendous force, as fragile as soft tofu. Broken stones shot out like cannonballs, and thick dust filled the air.
Immediately after, an enormous head completely covered with pitch-black scales gleaming with a cold, rock-hard luster thrust out from the breach!
The head was triangular in shape, thicker than a water vat. Its pair of vertical pupils resembled dark-gold furnaces, emitting a light that was icy, savage, and violent, yet carrying a trace of crafty cunning.
Then its incomparably robust body followed, winding out. The exposed part alone was already more than five or six meters long!
This huge black-scaled long snake, or rather giant python, radiated intense earth soul beast fluctuations all over its body, accompanied by a suffocating gloomy cold aura.
Its dark-gold pupils instantly locked onto Lin Xia and Lou Gao in the tunnel. The massive forked tongue flicked in and out, as if carefully assessing the threat posed by its prey.
Yet when its gaze swept across Lou Gao, an extremely obvious expression of humanlike dread flashed through those frigid eyes!
It seemed to have judged in a split second that the combination of these two humans and that strange soul beast was definitely not an existence it could provoke at will.
Without the slightest hesitation, this black giant snake suddenly shrank back its huge head. The thick body twisted, trying to drill back into the depths of the rock wall it had broken open, clearly intending to rely on its innate talent to move freely underground and escape!
"Want to run?! Leave it to me!"
How could Lou Gao possibly let go of this fellow that had delivered itself to the door and was obviously guarding the underground secret?
The grievance of almost suffering a setback from its roar earlier, together with the frustration of digging for half a day without seeing any ore, was transformed entirely into raging battle fury!
Lou Gao's eyes burst with sharp brilliance, and a wild excited grin spread across his lips. He bellowed loudly—
"Da da da da da da da—!!!"
The deafening gunfire instantly tore apart the silence of the underground!
The AK assault rifle in Lou Gao's hands spurted blazing hot flames.
He pulled the trigger and swept a full magazine directly at the massive snake body that was rapidly withdrawing!
And these were not ordinary bullets.
Lou Gao's self-made thunder fire rounds!
Every single bullet that struck those pitch-black, iron-hard scales did not merely penetrate or embed, but erupted with dazzling blue-white electric light! Then—
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
It was like small explosive packs being set off one after another!
At the impact points, the apparently indestructible heavy scales were ripped apart by the double devastation of thunder electricity and explosion shock waves, as fragile as thin paper.
Together with ear-splitting sounds of metal cracking and flesh tearing, clusters of brilliant blood blossoms bloomed violently across the giant snake's enormous body!
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