No, more importantly… where am I? he wondered.
From where they first fought the Beast Lords, he must have fallen a great distance. Judging by how long he spent in freefall, the space here must be taller than a twenty storey building… What exactly was in this mountain? A cavity this big was unusual. And more importantly, where was that monster? He was next to her when they fell and he doubted that fall was enough to kill her, considering how little damage she took from their strongest attacks. That thing was armored like a fortress! Therefore… Benedict felt the hairs raise on his back. She should be around here then, right? He gulped. Even though he could use Martial Perception, his body was in too rough of a state currently. It would put too much of a strain on him. That meant he could only helplessly stare into the darkness, hoping that the monster was not looking at him too.
Boom! A loud explosion blasted off far below him, making him jump. The shockwave and resulting 'shower' sounded like water tumbling. How strange. There should not be that much water inside these mountains. He instinctively turned around to peer between the silk. Truthfully, he had not expected to see anything, because it was dark, but to his surprise, there were some faint specks of light in the distance. It was too far away to make out the details. He pondered and cautiously used his Martial Perception. He had to know whether that light was friendly or not. His eyesight turned razor sharp, allowing him to view the scene as if he was close up. Seconds later, the strain was too much for him to handle, and he stopped. There was a searing pain in his eyes and head, almost like he was caught staring at the suns for too long. However, he did see it, and that made his face darken.
The Rank 2 Beast Lord, the one they were fighting against, was down there. Somehow, even after it fell from the height of a thirty or forty storey building, it was still alive! Just how strong was that damned creature? It boggled the mind! Benedict wondered if they could actually kill something like that. As for the explosion of water, it came from the water that covered the bottom of the cavern. It was hard to estimate its size, since it was pitch black, but Benedict wagered it was definitely deep. The monster stood on a rocky island in the middle of the water. And then, there were those lights. Those lights were not torches like he hoped. They were not fire either. Instead, they came from a strange sight. Twenty giant salamanders, the size of carriages, were glowing bright red as they surrounded the Silk Snapping Turtle Insect, their battle intent easily sensed.
Benedict raised an eyebrow. It was another new creature he had never seen before. The Mordrigan Peaks, or more specifically the One Summit Three Kings natural formation, really was a breeding ground for all sorts of monstrosities. If they escaped into the Zino Kingdom, they could devastate entire towns, leaving bloody trails in their wake. Perhaps, they were lucky that did not happen yet, or maybe nobody reported it. Either way, the thought there was a den of monsters here disturbed him.
Below, the Silk Snapping Turtle Insect snapped her mandibles unhappily. She dove toward the closest salamander, and before her enemy could react, her mandibles closed with a chilling sound. Blood spewed, as the poor salamander was cut in half. At the same time, her tail came whipping around like a mace and crashed into another enemy, ruthlessly transforming it into meat paste. Although she was not in perfect condition, that seemed to trigger her natural ferocity. Her attacks became more intense and brutal. She was a killing monster! Benedict thought it would have been a one-sided slaughter like their battle was, but apparently not. The bisected salamander suddenly glowed bright red and exploded! Boom! A large explosion rocked the cavern. Even the one that was paste seemed to do something, only it failed to trigger. Amidst the smoke and flames, the monster recoiled in anger.
The remaining salamanders unhinged their jaws, and red hot flames converged in their throats. By this point, Benedict's Marital Perception had already worn off, so he could not tell if they were using spells, martial techniques, or something else entirely. Bang! The fireballs were shot at the monster with thunderous booms. Even the dust around them was blown away, and the cavern was briefly illuminated, allowing Benedict to see everything clearly. He wished he did not. That was because although the fireballs looked small and unintimidating, like something that a Low or Medium Gaseous Fog Arcanist would create, their power was not.
Boom! It sounded like multiple volcanos erupted, as large explosions rocked the cavern floor, drowning the monster in a cloud of flame. The resulting light almost blinded Benedict, who had grown accustomed to darkness. It was like day had arrived for a split-second. Benedict was properly dazed. The salamanders' attacks were not as powerful as Freon's, far from it, but they possessed exceptional might regardless. If he had to estimate it, their attacks were probably around the Peak Gaseous Fog level. They could blast an entire building into rubble. And when they concentrated on a single target, their destructive potential increased accordingly! The heatwave evaporated the water around them, creating hot steam clouds that obscured vision. Water that was blasted up by the explosions came showering back down like a rainstorm. And in the middle of it all, the monster writhed and howled chaotically. It was still not down!
After that, the insect and the salamanders showed no signs of stopping and engaged in a savage brawl. The entire cavern trembled under their titanic battle. Benedict belatedly realized what had happened. When the cavern collapsed, taking Benedict and the monster with it, they fell into this vast silk web. Since Benedict was much lighter than the creature, his descent was slowed by the many layers of webbing. It saved his life. Conversely, the creature was too heavy and tore through every layer, eventually crashing into the massive pool of water below. This place was likely the territory of those fire-breathing salamanders. When they saw the insect, they regarded her as an intruder and immediately attacked. This was the result. Benedict preferred they finish each other off. That would be ideal. Unfortunately, he did not have the leisure to sit around and spectate. He needed to use this time when they were distracted to reunite with everyone.
His mental clarity gradually returned, and his body regained some power. He was not exactly recovered, and his Martial Energy was depleted, but this was all he could ask for. In this situation, it was better than nothing. He assessed his next move. Thanks to the intermittent flashes of light coming from below, he could see around him. There were an uncountable number of silk threads stretching in every direction, forming a truly vast network of silk 'roads'. The insects must have used them to cross from one side of the cavern to another. Benedict was about halfway down, or the middle layer. It would be challenging to find his way back up. One because it was high up, but the real problem was that… there were hundreds, if not thousands, of insects crawling around every silk road! They must have fallen with Benedict and the monster and landed in the webbing like Benedict did. Currently, they were still dazed from the fall, so they did not notice him yet, but that would not last. The prospect of fighting through them to get back up made his face twist. It was a death wish!
Benedict paused. A question popped up. The monster and the thousands of insects… Everything came down with him. So, what about Shirley? She must have fallen down here too. If so, where was she? He quickly searched for her using the flashes of light, and when that proved insufficient, he unleashed his Martial Perception. Worry planted itself on his face, when she was nowhere to be found. The silk roads were not exactly all-encompassing. There were many places where she could slip through the cracks. Benedict displayed that himself. Furthermore, what awaited them at the bottom was not a soft landing. Hitting water at this height was equivalent to hitting a brick wall. They would instantly die! Benedict searched frantically, hoping that he was proven wrong.