abnabooks Chapter 40 The Cave Thief
Chapter 40 The Cave Thief
The first thing to emerge from the fog was a bear's head.
The furry bear skin was attached to its head, covering its head and draped over its shoulders, shimmering a dull brownish-black in the spore light.
Mr. Bell stood at the edge of the fog, wearing a tattered brown shirt covered in mud and dried blood. His face had several new wounds, one of which ran from his left cheekbone to his jaw, covered with a dark red scab.
"Simon!" His hoarse voice was filled with joy.
Simon stood up from the campfire, and Mr. Bell came over, opened his arms, and gave him a tight bear hug.
Those arms tightened like iron clamps, squeezing Simon's ribs and forcing the air out of his lungs, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
"Alright, alright," Simon patted Bell on the back.
Bell released his grip, took a step back, and looked him up and down with a broad smile.
"Hahaha, Iron Emperor above, may we meet again."
"And who is that?" Simon looked behind Bell and saw another figure in the fog, standing three steps behind Bell, not following.
The man was not short, only a few inches shorter than Bell. He was thin and wore a dark gray long coat with the collar turned up, covering half of his face. The coat was made of thick fabric with signs of wear and tear. He also wore a pair of orange gloves.
A pair of short-handled trekking axes hung on his belt. The axe heads were iron gray with a brightly polished blade, and the handles were wrapped with non-slip hemp rope.
He wore an iron mask on his face.
A gray metal plate covered his forehead and nose, revealing the lower half of his face. He had thin lips and a sharp jawline.
"This is Elphis." Bell turned around and pointed to the man. "When I was chasing the smiley bats, that bastard led me near a beast's den. The beasts were chasing me, but luckily he appeared in time, chopped down two of the beasts with his two axes, and dragged me out."
Elphis, it sounds like a pseudonym.
Elphis approached the campfire, the firelight flickering on his iron-gray mask. He didn't sit down, but stood beside Bell, his hands hanging at his sides, his fingers slightly curled.
"You killed Theodore?" Mr. Bell asked again.
"That's right, we killed him and took over his camp," Simon replied. "Sit down and rest."
The three sat around the campfire. Simon took two cans of food out of the box and handed them to the two men. They looked starving and wolfed down the food. They used their fingers to scoop out chunks of meat and stuffed them into their mouths, chewing slowly with their cheeks bulging and their Adam's apples bobbing up and down.
Elphis lifted a corner of the iron mask, finished the canned food, drank the soup, and then used his gloved hands to grab the can's sides, easily tearing the can in half and carefully licking the soup off the sides.
Simon handed over the water jug again, and only after the two had finished eating and drinking did they begin to talk about serious matters.
"Mr. Elphis, may I ask who you are...?" he began to ask.
The man before her looked neither like a criminal nor a member of the empire, and the aura he exuded did not resemble that of a heretic.
Which faction is he loyal to?
Elphis adjusted the iron mask on his face to make sure it was properly worn.
"I am a cave raider," he replied calmly.
The Cave Thieves, a mysterious force that only existed in Klein's descriptions, made their first appearance before Simon.
"So you came up from the second floor?" Simon asked immediately.
"That's right. A month ago, I had a premonition that the Hungry Angel would come here, so I came up to scout ahead of time."
Simon's eyes lit up. Since he had risen from the second level to the first level, he must have a way to return to the second level.
"Then can you take us back to the second level?" Simon pressed.
Elphis shook his head.
"The cave raiders kept a large carrion bird. We injected it with stimulants on the second floor to make it fly upwards until it was exhausted. I tied myself to its feet and could not bring anything except two axes. When it could no longer fly, I untied the rope, jumped to the rock wall, and climbed up with the climbing axe."
As he spoke, he bent down, pulled a trekking axe from his waist, and handed it over. The spikes on the back of the axe were made of tungsten steel. Simon took it, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be quite heavy.
Simon returned the climbing axe to Elphis, twirled it in his hand, and spun it back to his waist with a juggling flourish.
"Mr. Simon..." he began, "There's something I'd like to discuss with you privately."
"Let's go to the woods over there," Simon nodded.
Mr. Bell is still trustworthy; the people he brings back should be fine.
The two entered the woods side by side, facing each other in the dim light of the spores.
Elphis looked up at Simon.
"I'm not one to ramble on and on with a bunch of useless nonsense, let's get straight to the point..."
Simon stared intently at the eyes behind the iron mask; those eyes were the same deep black as his own pupils.
Elphis spoke slowly, as if he were talking about something trivial:
"I want to cooperate with you to kill the Hungry Angel and take its flesh as evidence of its sins."
Simon leaned against the tree trunk, arms crossed, and remained silent for a long time. The surroundings were quiet, except for the crackling sound of the burning branches in the campfire.
"Even the Empire couldn't kill him. The Impure Physician and the Death Angel's Armor—these weapons combined were enough to destroy a small country, yet they couldn't kill the Hungry Angel." Simon frowned, his tone full of doubt. "And what do you Cave Raiders have? To be honest, I don't believe you have the ability to fight that monster."
Even when questioned, Elfis remained calm, like a salesman who always maintained a composed demeanor and a composed tone.
"You're right. The Empire's weaponry is powerful, but they don't understand the Hungry Angel. I've been tracking it since the moment it was born, watching it devour the offspring of the abyss, the strongest beasts in the Beast Garden. I've followed it all the way to where it is now, and I'm the person who knows it best in this world."
"The Hungry Angel cannot be killed by gunfire. Its regenerative ability comes from the blessing of the abyss. If more than half of its body cannot be destroyed in one go, it will continue to regenerate, and each time it will grow harder tissue. What cannot kill it will only make it stronger. Soon it will adapt to the attack of gunfire, and its body will generate tissues that can defend against flames and bullets, evolving into an even more terrifying existence."
"Then tell me, how exactly can we kill it?" Simon was eager to know the answer. "What secret weapon does the cave raider plan to use to destroy half of its body in one go?"
The eyes behind the iron mask were filled with weariness, yet still shone with a glimmer of hope. He slowly spoke, uttering something that existed only in legends:
"The Summoner's Bones Jar"