Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 166

Chapter 166
Riska and Feller retired to their rooms, but Suzanna insisted on staying with Anfey . The two entered the underground tunnels following a few dwarves . The main entrance to the tunnels was slanted and facing upwards, and took a sharp turn downwards after about thirty feet . Anfey thought it might have been built this way to prevent flooding and keep excess rain from pooling in the tunnels . There could be other reasons that Anfey did not know . The dwarves and the gnomes obviously knew better than he did .


Anfey had been to the tunnels a dozen times before, but every time he was down there he felt very uncomfortable . The dwarves clearly did not care to waterproof the tunnel, which was extremely humid . There was obviously no electricity, and the dwarves could not afford to buy ever-burning lamps . They used as a kind of phosphorus light that runs on magic potions . The lights glowed an eerie faint green . The light stretched people’s shadows and cast strange shadows on their faces . Living in a place like this was surely uncomfortable .
After two hundred feet, the tunnel opened up and became more spacious . Countless dwarves were busy at work, the sound of tools hitting the soil rang out . There were dwarves working on expanding the cave nearby . Anfey wanted the work to be done by dawn, but it seemed like the dwarves could finish before that . He was shocked by the efficiency of the dwarves .
After another two hundred feet, they came to a large hall . The hall had no decorations and looked like a large beehive . The walls were dotted with holes . This was where the tunnels in the town’s houses led . In the past, Anfey did not think much of this place . Now, after his conversation with Christian, Anfey found himself looking at the place differently . This cavern wasn’t a byproduct of population expansion . It was part of the larger plan and was meant to be built .
If it had been built for protection, it should be hard to navigate, so it could confuse the enemies . If the tunnels were so hard to navigate that even its residents could get lost, it would be a death trap for enemies unfamiliar with it . Concentrating all the entrances meant that it would be easier to control and regulate . The builders not only wanted to protect the residents, they wanted to control them as well .
Beyond the great hall was a large stone door that blocked the way . The door was bright and glowed with a strange green light, though it was unclear whether the glow came from the door itself or from the eerie lights . Feller had already told Anfey about the door . It was very strong, at least a few tons . Even if they destroyed the tunnels, the door would still be standing .
The dwarf in front of them walked to the left side of the door and pulled on a piece of metal chain . Anfey heard the faint sound of bells from above, and the door began to rise slowly . The dwarf walked in without waiting for the humans . The door was open, but the humans had to crouch to enter . This was a major obstacle in expanding the tunnels . Unless they completely destroyed the door, they needed to dig a trench under the door for the horses and the carriages .
After the door, there were more holes in the ground . Some slanted upwards, others pointed downwards . Some had large openings, while others had tiny openings . This was the most dangerous thing in the tunnels . Only two openings led to the real tunnels . The others were all fake . In some of the fake tunnels were openings that led to the real tunnels . All the fake tunnels were cramped, only enough for one man to climb through . This was something used to confuse the town’s enemies . They could come out and attack their enemies and retreat quickly . Even if the enemies could find the fake tunnels, they couldn’t do much . Even a swordsmaster couldn’t do much if he was stuck in a tunnel . The fake tunnels were filled with traps as well, helping the dwarves defeat their enemies fast .
Anfey didn't know what to do with it, either . In the end, he had to use a very despicable way to find the right tunnels . He released the children, telling them that they could go home . He had Christian mark the children, and waited for the children to find each other . That was how they were able to find the two usable tunnels . The remaining residents were forced to move around in the different caverns, and were forced to surrender .
They entered a side tunnel, and it was even more dank than the large cavern . There were hundreds of smaller tunnels branching off to the side . A long line of magic lanterns appeared on the side . This was what Christian left as markers . Seeing the lanterns meant that they were on the right path .
A small underground city appeared before Anfey and Suzanna . The city consisted of two major paths that crossed at the middle of the city . Next to the roads were neat lines of houses . Where the roads crossed was a small square . A stone slab laid on the ground, and under the stone slab was the city’s supplies . To show this was a city, the dwarves and gnomes had the walls of the cavern very high . It was just enough for a human to stand up straight .
"Didn’t Katuru tell you to make the walls taller?" Anfey asked quietly . Unless the dwarf was trying to provoke him, he was always gentler with the dwarves . One could not establish respect with shouts and accusations .
"No," one of the dwarves replied .


"Wouldn’t it be hard for them to move around down here?"

"Doesn’t make that big of a difference whether they walk on two legs or four," Suzanna said .
"I’ve never seen one walking on four legs, though . "
Suzanna shrugged .
"It’s probably because of their dignity . They had to prove that they are not like the wild wolves . "
Suzanna giggled . Anfey did not intend to make fun of the werewolves, and intended his words as a joke . However, the dwarves took it differently . After Moramatch fell under the control of Alibaba mercenary, the discrimination towards the dwarves ceased . The dwarves and gnomes’ lives improved greatly, as well . They had time to drink ale and eat chicken after work everyday, and they had wages . These things had been unthinkable in the past . Therefore, they laughed at Anfey’s words instead of getting angry .


"My lord, Lord Christian is already down there . " A dwarf lifted the stone slab and told Anfey .
"He just went down there like that?" Anfey frowned . He knew the danger of carbon dioxide . Carbon monoxide had a distinct smell to it . Carbon dioxide was scentless . When the buildup in the air exceeded ten percent, it could cause loss of consciousness . If it exceeded twenty percent, it could cause paralysis and death in seconds .
"Yes . "
"Christian!" Anfey hurried to the cave and called out .
"Down here!" Christian called back .
Anfey spotted a segment of thin rope swaying by the mouth of the cave . He realized that although dwarves might not know exactly how much carbon dioxide would lead to death, they knew the importance of keeping the air flowing .
Anfey jumped into the cave and glanced around . The cave was very unorganized . The food bags were pushed aside, exposing another cave’s entrance . There were lights flickering down there . Sante was sitting on the food bags . He looked at Anfey and grinned . Next to Sante were two bonded werewolves . They seemed like they were still conscious, and were struggling .
"Did they cause any troubles?"
"No . I told them that I had to talk to them, and they fell for it . Christian and I knocked them out easily," Sante said, grinning .
"Good . " Anfey nodded .
"You're going to be disappointed, Anfey," Christian said . He appeared through the cave, floating . He left the lantern down in the cave, and looked like a ghost in the eerie green light . "I looked through everything . Nothing worth our time . "
"Really?" Anfey walked to the cave and peered down . "These are things those werewolves treasure . There has to be something more valuable . "
"What did you expect? Like last time?" Christian smiled and shook his head . "Go look for yourself . "