Chapter 954 – Rescue at the Outpost

Roughly half an hour later, an extremely faint whistle drifted through the forest — like wind blowing through leaves at a very specific frequency. It was the short-range identification signal used among the Emerald Green Tribe’s Elf rangers!

“They’re here!” Lila’s spirits lifted immediately, and she responded in the agreed-upon manner.

Soon, several ghostlike figures flickered out from between the trees and swiftly approached the rocky shoal. It was Kelly, who had gone to deliver the message, along with a ranger squad led by Elder Rhindor.

“Kelly already told me about how the Underground Waterway might run through the mountains and connect to somewhere beyond the forest, and about the possible slave-catching party outpost.

“Aiwendar hasn’t shown up yet for some reason. We won’t wait for him — prepare to enter the water!”

Rhindor made the decision swiftly. He turned to the only herbalist in the group. “Lila, I need you to prepare some potions that will help us move freely underwater!”

Lila had long since finished her preparations. From the multi-layered potion pouch at her waist, she produced several sets of small Crystal vials containing a viscous, pale-blue liquid.

“Gill sac potions. After ingestion, they allow free breathing underwater for one hour and provide some resistance to water pressure and low temperatures. One set per person — this should be enough.”

She hadn’t expected they’d need to go underwater this time, and her stock of gill sac potion ingredients had been running low. It was only because Mo Lan had gone with her to the lake to gather fresh materials on-site that they’d managed to put together this many.

Rhindor took the potions and said in a deep voice, “Take your potions, check your equipment, and waterproof everything. In five minutes, we enter the water from here.”

“Understood!” everyone replied in unison, each swallowing their gill sac potion.

As the potion went down, a cool sensation spread through their bodies. The sides of their necks tingled faintly, as though new organs were forming.

Bowstrings were coated with waterproofing grease, metal components were carefully wrapped, and potions and magical materials were placed into waterproof leather pouches.

“Into the water!”

With a crisp, decisive gesture from Rhindor, he led the way, sliding into the lake as silently as a seasoned seal, barely raising a splash.

Mo Lan, Kelly, and the others entered the water one after another. Before long, only faint ripples remained on the lake’s surface, quickly smoothed away by the waves churned up by the waterfall.

The underwater world enveloped the group once more. The gill sac potion worked wonderfully — breathing was completely unhindered, and both water pressure and cold were warded off by the gentle energy contained within the potion.

Mo Lan led everyone toward the cave entrance she had discovered.

When they reached the opening, Rhindor drew a small pebble from his waist, inscribed with leaf-vein runes, and gently tossed it into the cave mouth.

The pebble emitted a soft pulse of energy, and the faint alarm ward dissipated like ripples being smoothed away.

This was the silence rune stone Rhindor had prepared — specifically designed to counter magical alarm devices.

With the alarm neutralized, Rhindor didn’t hesitate. He swam into the dark cave mouth first, and Mo Lan followed right behind.

The interior of the waterway was wider than expected, but also more winding and dark.

The current alternated between flowing with them and against them, and the waterway’s structure was extremely complex.

After roughly ten minutes of travel, as they passed through a relatively spacious water chamber with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, Rhindor suddenly raised his hand to signal a halt.

Ahead, the waterway split into two paths. One continued forward with a swift current; the other angled upward with a gentle flow, and above it, rough, man-made stone steps could just barely be seen emerging from the water. Faint, muffled noise drifted down from above.

The slave-catching party had indeed established an outpost here!

Rhindor signed to Kelly and one ranger to guard the rear waterway, then led Mo Lan, Lila, and the remaining rangers silently up the angled passage, slowly surfacing.

It was a natural cavern that had been converted into a small dock. The water’s surface sat about half a meter below the cavern floor, with crude wooden platforms and mooring posts in place.

The cavern’s interior was quite spacious, illuminated by torches and a few dim Magical lamps. The air was stale — a foul mixture of dampness, mildew, body odor, and smoke.

Empty wooden crates, wine barrels, and even a simple forge with bellows were piled in the corners.

At the moment, about a dozen humans occupied the cavern — all of them professionals. Some sat, some lay down, resting, cleaning weapons, or talking in low voices.

Two figures were shackled with rough iron chains to a corner of the rock wall, far from the firelight — it was Polly and Celine! They appeared to have only recently regained consciousness, their faces pale, their eyes full of exhaustion and wariness. Fresh wounds marked their bodies, but they didn’t seem to be in mortal danger.

What made Mo Lan and the others’ hearts sink was that beside them, there were three more imprisoned figures — a scrawny Goblin, a forest goblin with dark green skin and pointed ears, and what appeared to be a halfling-Gnome hybrid! All of them bore injuries and looked listless and defeated.

“Just as I thought — they haven’t only been capturing our Elves! These bastards have turned the forest into their hunting ground!” Fury surged in Lila’s heart.

Rhindor observed the scene with cold composure.

The enemy’s numbers were slightly higher than anticipated, and the terrain favored the defenders. But fortunately, the other side seemed rather lax — they hadn’t expected pursuers to find this place so quickly or breach their underwater alarm.

“Move!”

Rhindor crouched at the wooden edge of the dock, his hands whipping out in rapid succession. Several blowdarts soaked in potent paralytic tree sap shot from his sleeves, striking with pinpoint accuracy the exposed necks of the two nearest humans, who had their backs to the water and were gnawing on dried meat. Their bodies stiffened and they crumpled to the ground.

A third man — a leader of some kind — noticed the disturbance and spun around, drawing his blade.

What met him was not a blade, but a small glob of sticky spider silk spat from Rhindor’s mouth.

The web unfurled in the air and plastered itself across the man’s face, instantly blocking his vision and sealing his nose and mouth.

The leader thrashed in panic, but Rhindor had already sprung forward like a leopard. The hardened ancient-wood spike in his hand — non-metallic — lanced into a pressure point on the side of the man’s neck with lightning speed, dropping him limp in an instant.

At the same time, Mo Lan and another ranger crept ashore from the shadows on the opposite side.

Reaching the corner where Polly and Celine were imprisoned, she scattered a handful of vine seeds. The vines sprouted and grew wildly at visible speed, like nimble tentacles wrapping around the ankles of the nearby guards before yanking them off their feet.

Her ranger companion seized the moment to dart out, hand crossbow firing rapidly. Short bolts coated in paralytic potion sank into the fallen guards’ shoulders and thighs, completely stripping them of their ability to move.

Mo Lan dashed to Polly and Celine. A small segment of living root appeared in her hand. She pressed it against the keyhole, and it wormed its way into the lock mechanism, then twisted and expanded on its own.

Several soft clicks, and the locks sprang open.

She quickly handed them the healing potions she had prepared, helping them rapidly recover their mobility.

She freed the other captives as well — the Goblin, the forest goblin, and the half-Gnome.

“Grab weapons and stay close to us!” Mo Lan ordered briskly.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking mage who had emerged from a separate rest chamber after sensing the commotion in the cavern was struck by a cloud of pale-gold soporific pollen that Lila had scattered.

The mage instinctively held his breath, but was then drenched by a large glob of anti-Magic tree sap, instantly losing all ability to cast spells.