Chapter 65 The Return Journey
Avoiding several remaining patrols, the two easily circled around to the west side of the stone house, guided by the fox-woman.
This place is indeed remote, nestled against a steep mountainside, with almost no guards.
Using the faint starlight, they found an area half-hidden by weeds and rocks.
"This should be it." Yueqing carefully examined the area and could smell a stronger, more intense scent of blood and despair emanating from the cracks in the rocks, unlike any other place.
Silver Tiger stepped forward, parted the weeds, and sure enough, saw a huge square stone slab.
He tried to push it, but the stone slab didn't budge.
"I'll do it." Yueqing took out a small but sturdy crowbar from the system space, which was another freebie from some inconspicuous corner of the system.
She found a crack at the edge of the stone slab, inserted the crowbar, and then gestured to Silver Tiger.
Silver Tiger nodded, gripped the other end of the crowbar, took a deep breath, and suddenly exerted force.
With a soft scraping sound, a crack was pried open in the stone slab.
Silver Tiger continued to exert force, slowly pushing open a corner of the stone slab to reveal a dark hole.
A chilling aura, mixed with the smell of mildew, blood, and a heavy sense of despair, swept over me.
"I'll go in first," Yin Hu said in a deep voice. Before Yue Qing could object, he slipped inside silently like a cat.
A moment later, his voice came from below, tinged with suppressed emotion: "Safe, no traps, there's a downhill slope below."
Yueqing followed closely behind.
The tunnel was narrow and damp, filled with a nauseating smell, even worse than the passage behind the previous hidden door.
The two proceeded cautiously, the tunnel winding downwards. After walking about several dozen steps, a faint light appeared ahead.
The exit leads to a place that resembles a dungeon or storage room, with light coming from a small ventilation hole high up in the wall.
There were some broken instruments of torture and miscellaneous items piled up here, and the air was filled with a strong smell of rust and blood.
"This should be the underground of the stone house," Yueqing whispered. She could sense that there were more orcs imprisoned here than at the wooden house, and their auras were weaker.
The two pressed themselves against the wall, listening intently.
Indistinct footsteps and occasional shouts came from above, but not frequently.
"It seems there aren't many guards left up there," Silver Tiger concluded.
They found a stone staircase leading upwards.
Yin Hu was in front, and Yue Qing was behind, as they made their way upwards step by step.
At the end of the stone steps was a heavy wooden door, its hinges seemingly loose. Yin Hu listened intently and gestured for Yue Qing to step back.
He pulled hard and pushed hard, and the wooden door creaked open a crack.
Outside the door was a dimly lit corridor, with what appeared to be firelight in the distance.
Just then, footsteps and rude laughter came from the end of the corridor: "Lord Black Wind is off having fun again. This damn place is so damn boring!"
"Enough talk, keep an eye on these goods. If anything goes wrong, we'll all lose our heads!"
They are guards! And it sounds like there's more than one.
Yin Hu and Yue Qing quickly exchanged a glance.
Yin Hu made a gesture, indicating that he should distract Yue Qing so that Yue Qing could take the opportunity to enter the detention area.
Yueqing shook his head, pointed to himself, then to the special effects smoke grenade produced by the system at his waist, and mouthed the words "take them down".
These smoke grenades are colorless and odorless, but inhaling them can quickly induce a state of unconsciousness, making them an excellent tool for infiltration.
A hint of surprise flashed in Silver Tiger's eyes, but he immediately understood what she meant and nodded slightly.
The footsteps grew closer.
Yueqing held her breath, calculating the distance.
As the two guards walked unnoticed from the door, cursing and swearing, Yueqing seized the opportunity and suddenly threw a smoke bomb through the crack in the door.
The smoke grenade landed silently, quickly releasing smoke that was almost invisible to the naked eye.
"What is that..." One of the guards had just taken a breath when, before he could finish speaking, his body went limp, he swayed twice, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Another guard exclaimed in surprise. He was about to step forward when he also collapsed.
"Done!" Yueqing gave a victory sign and pushed open the door.
Yin Hu quickly stepped forward to check and confirmed that the two were just unconscious. He breathed a sigh of relief and his eyes showed even more curiosity about Yueqing's secret weapon.
The corridor was lined with rows of sturdy cells, separated by thick iron bars.
The scene inside was even more appalling than that of the wooden house.
The orcs were bound by thicker chains, many bearing gruesome new and old wounds, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost all hope.
The cries of the cubs were muffled in their throats, and the females huddled in a corner, trembling.
"Hurry, time is running out," Silver Tiger whispered, already drawing his bone blade from his waist, alert for any possible emergencies.
Yueqing took out a universal lock-picking tool and quickly began to act.
These locks are more complex than those in the wooden house, but they are still no match for the tools produced by the system.
"Clatter, clatter."
As the chains were unlocked one by one, a slight disturbance began to stir in the deathly silent cell.
At first it was unbelievable, then a faint glimmer of hope shone again in those numb eyes.
"Don't make a sound, follow us, and leave through the cellar," Yue Qing whispered to each of the rescued orcs.
The number of orcs imprisoned this time far exceeded that of the wooden hut, reaching as many as seventy or eighty. Among them were some males who appeared to be quite strong, but at this moment they were all extremely weak.
Yinhu was responsible for guarding and covering the rear, while Yueqing focused on unlocking the lock.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The baby in her womb seemed to sense her tension and sense of mission, and only moved slightly without causing her any trouble.
Just as they had rescued most of the orcs and were preparing to guide them out of the cellar, a sudden change occurred!
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps and roars came from outside the stone house.
"Oh no! There's movement coming from the dungeon!"
"Quick! Someone's trying to break us out!"
Clearly, this was a contingency plan left behind when Black Wind left, or perhaps a patrol team happened to return.
"We've been discovered!" Yin Hu's face darkened, and he pulled Yue Qing behind him. "You take them and leave first, through the cellar. I'll cover the rear!"
"No! We'll go together!" Yueqing knew very well what it meant to stay behind to cover the retreat.
"Stop talking nonsense, their target is the people you rescued, you must get them out of here safely!" Silver Tiger's tone left no room for argument. He turned around abruptly, a cold glint flashing in his bone blade, and faced the guards who rushed into the corridor.
With a roar, the silver tiger descended the mountain like a fierce tiger, instantly engaging the enemy in battle.
Yueqing gritted her teeth, knowing that now was not the time to hesitate.
She turned to the panicked orcs and shouted, "Quick, follow me, this way!"
She led a large group of weakened orcs, stumbling and staggering towards the cellar entrance.
Fortunately, the cellar entrance was spacious enough for them to pass through quickly.
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