Chapter 199 - 199: Returning Kobolds and Lizardmen
The next day.
Ji Chen walked out of the Lord Manor, looking refreshed and full of energy.
Today, there were many things that needed to be taken care of.
Last night, news came from the underground cave that they had found several Kobolds who had disappeared after rashly entering the mysterious entrance due to the vibrations.
However, Ji Chen was busy at that time and couldn’t spare time for it.
So, he temporarily put the matter aside and planned to handle it this morning.
Being his first encounter with Kemonomimi in his life, he couldn’t help but feel excited.
Don’t blame the lord for being irresponsible, only blame the beauty for being too charming.
Ji Chen was in a very pleasant mood at the moment, leisurely leading Alice and the others to the entrance of the underground cave.
The entrance had been expanded several times to facilitate the transportation of mineral resources. The resources were gathered here and then transported back to the territory.
“Lord!” Two Kobolds guarding the entrance saw him coming and their eyes were both fanatical and awed.
Ji Chen waved his hand casually and said a few encouraging words that made them ecstatic. Then he got to the point.
“Last night, you found those Kobolds. Where did you find them?”
“Reporting to the lord, we found them in a branch cave below that entrance.”
Ji Chen nodded and stopped asking. He led the troops into the cave.
He wanted to meet those Kobolds and inquire about more information and details.
In the largest cave of the underground cave.
A group of emaciated Kobolds with pale faces and gaunt bodies were brought before him.
They looked fearful and bowed almost to the ground.
Ji Chen looked at them and couldn’t help but furrow his brows.
Weren’t there over twenty Kobolds missing? How come there were only a few here?
With this doubt in mind, Ji Chen called one of the Kobolds over.
“Why are there only a few Kobolds? What about the others?”
“Lord, when we found them, only these few were left. We don’t know where the others went.”
“We also asked the other Kobolds about their whereabouts, but as soon as they heard the question, their emotions became agitated, and we couldn’t continue the communication…”
Ji Chen nodded and looked at the Kobolds in front of him, gesturing for them to stand up.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through during this time.”
As these words were spoken, tears welled up in the eyes of these Kobolds, and they cried uncontrollably, “We’ve been through such hardships during this time. When we were hungry, we could only eat the mushrooms growing in the cave, and when we were thirsty, we could only drink water droplets from the rocks. If you hadn’t found us a little later, we would have starved to death!”
Ji Chen fell silent for a moment.
He had almost given up on the idea of finding them earlier and had only sent a few teams of Kobolds out to search symbolically.
But unexpectedly, these Kobolds had survived against all odds and were found alive.
It was truly remarkable.
After these Kobolds finished pouring out their grievances, Ji Chen continued to speak.
“Don’t worry, from now on, you won’t have to worry about food. The territory will make sure you are well-fed.”
“Now, I have a question for you… Besides you, where did the other dozen or so Kobolds go?”
“Did they go missing, or… did they die?”
As soon as the words fell, these Kobolds all looked horrified at the same time. They covered their heads with their hands and cowered on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
This reaction startled Ji Chen. He didn’t expect their response to be so intense as if they were reminded of something they feared greatly.
Just when Ji Chen was at a loss, Alice approached, saying, “My lord, let me try to soothe their emotions.”
Ji Chen was initially puzzled, but soon he understood the reason behind it.
Alice’s singing could take creatures into beautiful illusions, and perhaps it could be used to calm these fear-stricken Kobolds.
With his permission, Alice took a step forward.
Her melodic voice slowly echoed in the cave.
Even though it didn’t contain any magic, the singing was incredibly pleasant to the ears.
It was more ethereal than the singing of a nightingale and more melodious than a cuckoo’s call.
Even those without a musical bone in their body could feel the beauty of this singing.
Gradually, the Kobolds lying on the ground, convulsing in fear, stopped trembling and perked up their dog-like ears to listen to the melody.
Seeing this scene, Ji Chen’s face lit up.
It’s indeed effective!
Several Kobolds stood up from the ground, their faces gradually calming down.
As the song ended, Alice stepped back to the rear.
At this point, most of the fear on the faces of the Kobolds had dissipated.
Observing this, Ji Chen carefully asked again.
This time, although there was still some fear on their faces, they no longer lost control of their emotions.
With his guidance, they narrated everything they had seen and heard from the day they were trapped until they were rescued.
“On that day, after the passage was blocked due to the tremors, we discovered a new cave formed from the collapse. We thought there might be another exit inside, so we all went down together.”
“Once we descended, we found that it was another vast cave… as we wandered around, we reached an enormous underground space, ten times larger than this one!”
Hearing this, Ji Chen subconsciously looked around.
The place they were currently in was the largest chamber in this underground cave system, with an area approximately the size of a football field. But if the other place they mentioned was ten times bigger, wouldn’t it cover tens of thousands of square meters?
“That cave connects hundreds of caves of varying sizes embedded in the rock walls, and there were clear signs of creatures living there.” As they spoke, the Kobolds’ faces displayed evident fear..