sbdcsierra Chapter 376 Rat Hole
Chapter 376 Rat Hole
"Tick tock-"
Water droplets dripped down the cave wall with a 'plop' sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet cave.
"Everyone be careful," Yao Xi whispered a reminder.
The three continued to slowly advance deeper into the cave, and the further they went, the colder the air became.
After passing through a narrow and dark passage, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a huge underground cave.
The entire cave was filled with a putrid stench, like rotting flesh mixed with a strong, foul, and malevolent smell of rats, making one's throat tighten.
"What's this smell? It's awful, ugh~." Jinzi couldn't help but gag twice.
Gu Pan and Yao Xi couldn't help but cover their noses.
Some unidentified blue objects were vaguely attached to the cliff face. These objects emitted a phosphorescent blue light, and aside from the stench, they were actually quite beautiful.
Jinzi quickly lit a pine resin torch, the dim, flickering flame tearing through the darkness before him.
He raised the torch and waved it in front of him; the flickering flame illuminated the terrifying scene deep within the cave.
Wherever the firelight reached, there were scattered bones and animal remains that had not been completely eaten, with teeth marks left by the gnaws.
The discarded head and hair stained with dark red blood looked particularly grotesque and terrifying.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of filth, a mixture of rat droppings, animal hair, and blood, which was sticky and slippery to walk on.
That suffocating stench comes from the fermentation of these mixtures.
“Tick-tick-tick-tick-”
Water droplets fell from the stalactite peaks on the cave ceiling, splashing into small puddles on the dark ground.
The cave walls were covered with dense claw marks of varying depths, which were clearly not the kind of marks that ordinary rats could make.
“滴——嗒——”
The sound of dripping water still echoed in the quiet cave.
“Go a little further in,” Gu Pan said in a deep voice. “Watch your step.”
The three continued deeper into the cave, the torchlight casting their shadows on the rock wall, swaying and indistinct.
Soon, they arrived at a relatively dry stalactite cave.
The cave is filled with stalactites of various shapes, some hanging down like waterfalls, some in the shape of stalagmites, and some densely packed like towering mountain peaks, full of the wonder and beauty of nature.
Apart from a slightly fishy smell, the stench from before was gone.
All three of them focused their attention on a relatively flat corner ahead.
Jinzi passed the torch forward.
There was a pile of miscellaneous grains, including walnuts, sweet potatoes, kudzu root, wild mushrooms, grass seeds, wild fruits, peanuts, corn, grass, chestnuts, and even some insects.
"Is this...is this the rats' granary?" Jinzi couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
Gu Pan replied, "Isn't that right? It's so obvious."
Jinzi asked doubtfully, "Why would a rat demon hoard this kind of food?"
“Most of the rats here are ordinary rats, so it’s not surprising that they eat grain,” Yao Xi explained in a low voice. “If they all cultivated into demons, that would be terrible.”
Jinzi nodded silently. "That's true."
"Shh..." Yao Xi suddenly stopped and gestured for the two of them to be quiet.
Gu Pan and Jin Zi both turned to look at Yao Xi.
The talisman she held between her fingers turned slightly red, a sign that a demon was approaching.
Gu Pan took out a stack of talismans from his bosom, while simultaneously gripping the sword at his waist.
Jinzi held a torch in one hand and rested the other on the hilt of his sword, remaining vigilant at all times.
“They’re here,” Yao Xi said in a low voice, her gaze fixed on the darkness ahead.
As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from deep within the cave.
The three stood back to back, holding their breath and cautiously looking around.
"Squeak!! Squeak squeak squeak—"
Suddenly, the faint, dense, and ubiquitous squeaking of mice, carrying an irritating malice, came from the darkness from all directions.
Countless tiny eyes lit up as the torchlight swept across the scene, then vanished instantly into the deeper darkness.
They lurk in the darkness, lurking and watching, their numbers so vast it's terrifying.
A brief silence fell over the cave.
"Zhizhi——!!!"
Suddenly, a series of sharp, piercing shrieks erupted inside the cave!
Almost simultaneously, the rats inside the cave erupted in a frenzy, pouring out with overwhelming murderous intent and ferocity, and countless dark figures darted out from the cave's cracks from all directions.
Not only were there rats of normal size, but there were also rats the size of kittens, and they swarmed frantically toward Yao Xi and the other two!
"Rustle, rustle—"
They are incredibly fast!
"Whoosh—swish—"
The three of them drew their swords almost simultaneously.
"These things are disgusting." Jinzi swung his longsword and slashed fiercely at several large rats that pounced on him.
"Whoosh—Sizzle—"
With a thunderous swing of the longsword, an invisible sword aura cleaved the oncoming rats in half at the waist, sending them flying.
"You're asking for it!" Yao Xi roared.
The long sword in her hand transformed into a cold light, dancing tightly in front of her.
Wherever the sword touched, stench-filled flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the severed limbs and remains of rats scattered in all directions.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gu Pan threw out several talismans, which turned into flames and soared into the air, burning the rats and causing them to scream and scatter in all directions.
"Hiss!! Squeak squeak squeak—"
Suddenly, a sharp shriek came from deep within the cave.
"Get out of the way!" Gu Pan suddenly shouted, grabbing Jinzi by the back of his collar and pulling him aside.
Several rats, each the size of an adult cat, darted out of the darkness.
They have pointed faces like rats and long tails, gray-black fur, sharp teeth, and eyes that glow with an eerie red light in the firelight.
These larger rats have become almost supernatural.
Yao Xi flicked the talisman in her hand, and a golden light exploded, forcing back the few small mouse demons at the front.
Gu Pan quickly pulled out a demon-suppressing talisman from his robes and threw it out, shouting, "Freeze!"
The talisman shone brightly with golden light, and the few small mouse demons that were about to pounce on it froze in place.
It squeaked and squeaked, but couldn't move.
Jinzi and Yaoxi took the opportunity to unleash several sword strikes.
However, just as they were about to slay the little mouse demon with their sword energy...
"boom--"
A crimson demonic power surged forth, shattering the sword energy of Jinzi and Yaoxi.
With the immobilization talisman destroyed, the few mouse demons were rescued and quickly retreated into the darkness.
Then, all the mice retreated frantically, as if they were afraid of something.
"Tick-tock-"
A remarkably clear dripping sound rang out.
Yao Xi suddenly sensed something was wrong, looked up, and then saw the stalactite on the cave ceiling suddenly break off and fall towards the three of them.
Yao Xi promptly warned, "Get out of the way!"
The three of them tiptoed back.
"boom-"
The broken stalactite landed precisely where the three of them had just been standing.
At the same time, a huge dark shadow fell from the height!
With a loud "thud," the heavy object fell to the ground.
"Cough cough cough... What is that?" Jinzi coughed a few times, choked by the dust that was stirred up.
When Jinzi saw what was in front of him clearly, his eyes widened.