How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 258 - The Dwarves' Mountain Range (1)

The chill of the north greeted us as we moved on the dragon carriage. The imperial troops were already prepared.

I felt anew that we’ve been moving around a lot lately. We went to the east, then from the southwest end to the northeast end.

It meant we were that busy. We had to do everything we could before they could make any moves.

Anyway, since I came along with Erendil in disguise, I wasn’t in the appearance of Carl Schurtafen.

Carl Schurtafen had been out of sight in Chenarus for two weeks before departing for the north. It was to confuse the devil worshippers.

The imperial army didn’t move in hiding. It was meaningless since this was their land anyway and we had to enter the mountain range anyway.

‘They probably know.’

Still, most of their response would probably be monster or beast armies. Many of those were consumed last time, so there was no worry.

At best, it would be support from the devil worshippers, but I didn’t think there would be that many.

With my whereabouts being vague, the possibility of the devil heading to the northeast mountain range is extremely low. I personally was expecting the devil worshippers to retreat.

Even if there’s damage to the empire, the battle here is likely to result in our victory, so they’ll want to reduce their losses.

‘But the dwarves can’t do that.’

Unlike the devil worshippers, it won’t be easy for the dwarves to abandon their home. Elves and dwarves don’t like to leave their homes.

If elves change the mana of the forest, dwarves have built their own world by creating deep tunnels in this mountain range.

All their smelting tools and devices would be underground, and it’s not easy to abandon all that and leave for the east.

Instead, they would have asked the devil worshippers for help. The devil worshippers would have naturally refused.

Creating a rift between the two like this was another purpose of the northeast subjugation.

‘We can’t deal with all the dwarves in the tunnels anyway.’

Although it’s called the northeast mountain range subjugation, our primary goal was to eliminate monsters and beasts, not to exterminate the dwarves.

We know their tunnels are too vast. There are quite a few dwarves captured as slaves.

Even if we don’t know the recent information, we knew it was impossible to drive them all out.

Moreover, if we go deep into the tunnels and they respond by collapsing the tunnels, our losses become even greater.

‘We lose too much compared to what we gain.’

Anyway, if we reduce the number of monster groups as much as possible and create a rift between the dwarves and devil worshippers, the next action would be easier.

In this situation, I decided to move separately from the imperial army led by Erendil and Count Campbell.

Denif, Terka, Rina, and I formed a team of four. Our goal was to infiltrate the dwarves’ tunnels.

Even if we achieve the empire’s goal, the Flynn Powder they produce was also a headache.

Even if we reduce their numbers, they could use it to create another army in the east or harm the empire.

We were tasked with the mission of destroying the Flynn Powder refining facilities in the tunnels carrying magic bombs. As it was quite dangerous, Erendil’s worry was natural.

-Schurtafen, do you really have to go? There are many other talents.

-It’s right that I go.

However, there was no one as suitable as me. Even Count Campbell and the Sword Master supported me.

-Your Majesty, there’s no one like Schurtafen. He can use the mystic winds. Moreover, the possibility of the devil appearing is extremely low.

When everyone showed the same opinion, Erendil had no choice but to back down. Instead, she just asserted that moving alone was impossible.

Of course, I had no intention of doing so. I called Denif, Terka, and Rina.

It was because Rina had a talent for finding things, and Denif and Terka were the strongest among the people I could trust.

‘We have to move carrying bombs too.’

We plan to infiltrate carrying bomb bags. The amount is definitely not small. The purpose is to destroy the Flynn Powder refining facilities, but if possible, it’s better to cause as much damage as we can.

If we couldn’t find the Flynn Powder refining facilities, we planned to blow up key facilities.

In addition, before departure, through intelligence that the devil worshippers showed some kind of movement, an exploration mission was added.

The level of danger had increased even more. Erendil tried to persuade me again with worry, but it was too late to turn back.

Anyway, it had become equally difficult for the imperial army side. Due to that mysterious exchange, Count Campbell also worried that resistance could be fiercer than expected.

Still, the plan didn’t change. At the front of the northeast mountain range, at the battlefield where Minteron had met his death in the past, as the imperial army began to form ranks, the four of us secretly entered the mountain range.

We had to enter the dwarves’ tunnels when the imperial army started attacking and it was chaotic.

***

As we entered deep into the mountains, we encountered groups of monsters. Even the smallest clustered monster groups had at least 100 creatures.

As these weren’t all we encountered, the number of monsters was far greater than we had thought.

I thought they had gathered all they had for the last attack, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. They couldn’t have created so many in such a short time.

Hmm. Maybe the dwarves were hiding a card up their sleeve too.

Even if they were in league with the devil, they probably didn’t want to give everything away without achieving anything.

‘They might have given a little support and tried to test the devil.’

Of course, we can’t know their true intentions. They might have thought that was enough, or they might have been trying to make us let our guard down.

The search of several days didn’t take that long. The dwarves’ tunnels weren’t magically hidden like the elves’ spaces.

While entering the mountain range, we found a group of dwarves, and after following them at a distance, we were able to discover a passage leading to the tunnels.

We infiltrated there after taking some time.

It was dark inside the tunnels. Dwarves can see in the dark, so there’s no need for light.

Of course, even they find it more comfortable with some light, so there were torches placed here and there.

The problem was that less than 30% of them were lit. Of course, as our eyes adapted to the darkness, it wasn’t a big problem.

I headed inside while concealing our group’s presence with winds. However, we had to stop before long.

‘It’s too complicated.’

The tunnels connected by winds were linked in dozens of branches. I couldn’t know their ends even with my current power. I tried to draw a map in my mind with the information transmitted by winds, but it wasn’t easy.

Moreover, we didn’t know which places were important. It was a difficulty I had somewhat expected. The reason I brought Rina despite her not being excellent in combat was because I was worried about situations like this.

“Rina, which way should we go?”

“Hmm.”

Rina pondered in front of a five-way fork. Meanwhile, Terka and Denif chimed in.

“In cases like this, it’s left.”

“From what I’ve heard, for mazes, you should break through in one direction.”

“Hey, this isn’t a maze. We’re looking for something important.”

“Then why left?”

“That’s… my intuition?”

I completely ignored the kids talking nonsense and didn’t even respond. After pondering for about 1 minute and 30 seconds, Rina pointed to the fourth passage.

“Here.”

Such things repeated. There were times when we almost encountered dwarves. As there was no place to hide in tunnels with only one passage, we had no choice but to retreat.

We briefly returned to the previous fork and hid on the opposite side to avoid them. In case we were surrounded from both sides, I planned to use Denif’s sand. There’s plenty of soil in tunnels.

The plan was to create a hole in the path with sand, hide, and then close it again. It wouldn’t be that noticeable in the dark, and Denif’s sand skills have improved quite a bit.

However, there was no need to use sand yet. We hadn’t gone deep enough, and I thought it might be because the imperial army had invaded the mountain range.

“Carlyn, are you sure it’s right to go as I say?”

At the 4-hour mark since entering the tunnels, Rina expressed doubt at another fork we encountered while advancing like that.

It seemed her confidence had dropped as nothing appeared despite continued searching. I nodded firmly.

“Nobody knows this place anyway. We’re just trusting your intuition.”

“That’s why. I’m not sure if trusting my intuition is right.”

“It’s okay.”

Rina shook her head at my words as if it wasn’t okay. It seemed she lacked self-confidence. Denif chimed in.

“Rina, don’t worry. We trust you. You’re the best at finding things.”

Before coming to the northeast, Denif and Terka opposed Rina’s participation. The reason was her lack of skill. To show Rina’s ability, I took the kids to rob a noble’s mansion.

Of course, we didn’t actually steal anything, it was about who could find the most valuable items the fastest.

After three competitions, Denif and Terka admitted it willingly. Rina’s skill at finding things is the best among us.

However, Rina lowered her head shyly at Denif’s encouragement. Even in the darkness, her cheeks seemed to turn slightly red.

“…Okay. I’ll try my best.”

“Fighting!”

Denif cheered sincerely, and Rina started pondering with a serious face as if she had made some resolution. Another hour and thirty minutes passed after that.

By now we had gone quite deep, and we had encountered dwarves both in front and behind. We hid in the tunnel using Denif’s sand.

We were a bit tense, but fortunately, we weren’t caught. Then, at the end of my winds sense, I discovered some strange space.

It was a fairly large space with many people restrained by their limbs. They were humans, not dwarves. On one side, corpses were piled up.

‘Is this where they create beasts?’

If it was a place where they create them through Flynn Powder addiction, I thought there might be a Flynn Powder refining facility nearby.

“Wait. I think I found something.”

I said that and stopped the group. Denif opened his mouth in delight.

“Finally!”

It seemed he didn’t particularly like this tedious search. Well, nobody would. Denif couldn’t contain his excitement.

“As expected of Rina!”

“…No. I didn’t do much.”

Rina turned her gaze away once again at Denif’s praise. Anyway, we needed to move quickly enough to find something.

It’s been about 5 hours since we entered the tunnels. We haven’t been caught yet, but it would be best to handle things as quickly as possible and get out.

There were two people standing in front of the place we arrived at. I could tell at a glance that they were devil worshippers. I move the winds.

The blade of winds, which had been strengthened over time, was at a level that could ambush even fairly strong individuals.

“…!”

The two whose necks were cut couldn’t even scream before collapsing. The winds grasped the corpses and gently laid them on the ground.

There was still one person left inside the cavity.

“I’ll handle this.”

It was best for me, the strongest among the four, to move cleanly. I rushed at full speed. The winds block my presence.

The guy didn’t see me until I was at close range. Moonlight cuts his neck.

The vial that the falling corpse was holding flew through the air. I caught the vial safely. It was filled with dark purple blood.

Up to that point was clean. But what came after was the problem. Looking around, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

The space where people’s limbs were tied wasn’t a place to create beasts through Flynn Powder.

What unfolded before our eyes were people stained in darkness. On one side, corpses consumed by darkness were piled up.

‘Don’t tell me these bastards were artificially creating Devil’s Blood here?’