Crimson Servant

Chapter 21 Demining Expert
  Lightning was completely confused. John, who was fine at first, turned into the eye of a low-pressure storm like Carl in the blink of an eye. Following them, he felt that his body temperature had dropped a little, and he thought about what it would be like to be a dwarf caught in the middle. . Lightning tightened his feathers and looked at his surroundings.

The building on the second floor of Optitedam is obviously more refined than the stone wall above. The obsidian blocks are cut into squares of the same size and spliced ​​into the wall. The closely fitting gaps are exposed by the hidden rainbow light, and the entire space is made of obsidian. The magic power of the bond between them is fixed into a whole, completely isolated from the outside world, preventing the possibility of time and space intrusion. The solid city built by the ancient Asht people was so ingenious that it looked like an indestructible fortress. If they had not committed suicide to connect with the alien world where the demon gods and other beings were entrenched, this ancient race would have left their own traces in the city federation. , and even build empires.

"The periphery of Optitedan was a former transportation area. The automatic system for material transportation can still perform normally a hundred years later. After the ancient Ashites were exterminated, the automatic system that lost its owner started a self-defense mechanism, so we launched the self-defense mechanism in the first The problem faced on the second level is...the trap."

Jurgen, who was holding the map with his nose almost pressed against the dungeon manual, squinted his eyes and read the last word. He looked across the page at the silent warlock, closed the manual and handed it back to John.

Separated by a thin piece of paper, the dwarf's palm held hands with the warlock's pale hand under his black robe, and Jurgen did not let go.

"John, I'm not very good at researching traps. I'm ashamed to say that I spent too much time in the Druid Woodland on pharmacological research, and I have only a limited understanding of these traps. Now that I'm in such a strange environment, The safety of our team depends on you."

"I understand." John quickly adjusted his mentality. The self-inflicted depression about Nora's worries has almost dissipated. The warlock knows that staying rational can get closer to the goal. Jurgen Mercer was not necessarily unfamiliar with traps. The old and mature dwarf just used this hint to give the two conflicting people a way to ease off.

"You don't have to worry about this at all, old man, I will protect your safety." Paladin Karl said his first words after arriving on the second floor. Jurgen's praise of the warlock seemed to inspire the paladin. Effect, Karl patted his chest and said that he was completely able to handle the trap, and he didn't need anyone.

In response, the dwarf just squinted his eyes and laughed, pretending to be kind to the fool.

"Okay, okay, then I'll have to rely on you, kid."

Lightning felt the change in wind direction and went down the slope, "Yes, yes, yes, our team is full of trap masters. I am actually a mechanical idiot and have no idea how to deal with traps."

The rangers who live in the wilderness don't know how to design traps. Lightning must have said this without thinking. Even if the Crow Man is a true novice, his agility trained in hunting activities is more suitable for handling traps than others.

However, using this reason to defeat the Paladin, John already had a plan in mind.

The four people walked out of the passage and arrived at the formal area on the second floor, a ten-foot-wide arc-shaped passage with two dim steel arcs etched on the ground, protruding two inches from the ground, which should be some kind of transportation line. Complex inscription nodes are carved on the walls on both sides, and the hanging green lanterns emit cold light.

After walking a few steps along the track, the three people except the Paladin all stopped. Carl noticed something strange about his companion and stopped, asking: "What's wrong?"

The dwarf druid walked in front of the paladin and pointed forward with his free left hand. Because the traces were exposed, the surface mine where the cognitive interference magic failed showed traces. A metal mine about the size of a dish has tiny hooks extending around it and is fixed between the two rails, tightly fitting the ground.

The paladin frowned and suggested to his companion: "This trap is not big, we can go around it."

The three of them did not move. John denied Karl's idea: "Magic traps can be triggered by the surrounding magic. Look at the inscription next to it. The trap arranger cleverly used the magic circuit of the transportation line itself to combine the mine's fuse and track. The lines are connected together. The triggering range of this mine is probably this transportation node. If we want to cross it, we have to dismantle it."

"Or detonate it in advance." Jurgen took out a black stone from his bag and handed it to Karl. The paladin understood and threw stones from a distance to hit the metal shell of the mine.

With a bang, the rocks continued to bounce away with physical inertia, but the mines showed no change.

"Dumb thunder?"

John looked at the traces around him and shook his head.

"It should be that the mine itself has insurance against accidental contact, and it will not hinder normal operation if it is set in the center of the transportation line. It will not be detonated by physical impact, and I am afraid that magic will not work either. Then, the triggering condition should be life energy, which is Mines for living creatures. Full of malice against outsiders.”

There seemed to be only two ways in front of him, to dismantle the trap or turn back. The feasible roads extended to both sides. John speculated that the entire transportation line was a complete circle, and no matter which side he took, he would eventually lead to a terminal. Judging from the density of the traps on the second floor, it is not difficult to judge that the other road will have the same obstacles, and turning around will also need to face the same traps.

"I'll do it." After observing for a moment, Ling Ling felt that the mines in front of him were not beyond his ability, and it would not be difficult to dismantle them.

"Aren't you a mechanical idiot?" John deliberately teased. "Huh? Ah! Although... but... this... you are right, but I can try it." Lightning sweated and said hesitantly.

John nodded understandingly, "If it is an attempt, we should let the noble paladin try it."

"Why me? Don't you understand very well?" The paladin felt that the warlock had no good intentions.

John spread his hands and looked helpless, "I only have some theoretical knowledge, but in actual operation... I'm afraid we are on the same level. Do you know that when everyone's skills are at the same level, what is the decisive ability to dismantle traps? ?”

"It's the armor value." John said nonsense seriously.

"The stronger the armor, the less damage caused by trap triggering. This increases the ability of trial and error in disguise. The cost of your mistakes when you are equipped with armor is much lighter than the cost of my mistakes when I am wearing a cloth robe."

Karl looked at the warlock's thin body compared to his own, and mentally agreed with his words. He is a paladin, so it would be outrageous to let a weak warlock stand in front of him. In terms of resisting beatings, he is indeed more suitable.

"you're right."

Taking the disassembly tool from the arakkoa with a distorted expression, Karl walked to the dwarf druid and asked him to apply armor to himself to improve his defense. The tall paladin began to dismantle the trap.

Karl was unsure. The small tool was held in his hand by the gauntlet, like an orc holding a sewing needle. The conscience-stricken arakkoa stood at the side to provide technical guidance. They were lucky.

"...Tear off the top cover and put the tip in, yes! Don't touch the side. Oh, I can see it. This is a spider web trap. It does no harm in itself."

"...It's still a little short, turn the gear a little to the left..."

"Oh my God! You succeeded! Carl! You perfectly defused a spider web mine!"

Lightning jumped up on the spot, appearing even happier than Carl. Instructing the Paladin to dismantle the trap was no small achievement for him.

The paladin calmly put away the demolition tools, clapped his hands, turned his head sideways, revealed a handsome profile, showed a bright smile to several people, no longer stopped, and took out his right foot, as if crossing an unattainable milestone, crossing Node.

At this moment, the paladin's back image burst into light.

boom!
  The flames of the explosion engulfed the Paladin, and he was blown away by the shock wave and slammed against the wall.

Karl climbed up, his body intact, the tips of his hair were burnt black, and there were still a few sparks burning. He looked at his dull companions with eyes that seemed to be eating people. The light of the armor spell was dim, but the armor was intact, a little black at most, maybe due to internal injuries, and his face was red.

"You...none of you saw that explosive mine, right?"

There was not only one mine, but a bundled spider web mine, and right next to it there was an undiscovered explosive mine, hidden even deeper. Once triggered, a chain effect will occur.

John was a little dumbfounded, and looked at each other with Jurgen.

They were set up by the mine organizers. The simple spider web mines were just to attract attention. The real explosion was yet to come. Judging from the explosion, this mine's damage can only be dealt with by the Paladin Karl.

The paladin managed to protect the safety of his companions.

(End of this chapter)