Yano and the three stood where they were in silence, an awkward atmosphere hanging in the air.
Not far away, the alarm from the Blacktooth mercenary camp grew increasingly shrill, and the chaotic sounds of footsteps and shouts were rapidly approaching.
"What are you still standing around for? Run!" The most agile-looking assassin at the lead growled in a low voice. The three instantly took off, desperately fleeing deeper into the Dark Realm.
Yano also quickly followed them.
"Halt!"
"The intel was wrong. The attackers aren't three, they're four. Don't let them escape!" The furious roar of mercenaries came from behind.
Yano's heart sank. How had he become an accomplice?
Sure, he had entertained the idea of raiding the warehouse, but he hadn't gotten around to actually doing it yet.
"Boss, the situation seems a bit dire!" Yano wailed internally as he ran for his life.
Chen Yu lay nestled within the lining of Yano's leather armor, feeling the jolts, but his mental waves were as leisurely as if he were on vacation.
Yano: "..."
He was at a loss for words.
The lead assassin, named Leon, glanced back at Yano, his brow furrowed. He seemed to think Yano's speed was dragging the group down and exchanged a look with his companions on either side.
The other two understood instantly.
They had to bring this Stone Descendant of unknown origin along. If he were caught by Blacktooth's men at this critical juncture, the fact that Stone Descendants had attacked the warehouse would be completely exposed.
Among the three, the one with the most slender and light build, whose movements were as graceful as a cat, Elara, immediately closed in on Yano. "Don't resist!" she hissed.
Her fingers clamped onto Yano's wrist. The next moment, Yano felt as if the surrounding shadows had come alive. A thick curtain of darkness enveloped the four of them.
[Shadow Slide]
The four figures seemed to transform into actual shadows. Defying common physical sense, they slid swiftly and silently along the ground and the shadows of obstacles. After a few flickers, they completely vanished into the labyrinthine ruins and darkness.
They left far behind the furious curses of the pursuing mercenaries and the flickering light of their torches.
...
Half an hour later, at the edge of the Dark Realm, inside a concealed small wooden hut built against a natural cave.
The faint glow of glowstone lamps barely illuminated the cramped space. The atmosphere once again grew tense and hostile.
"Alright, this unfamiliar stone gentleman."
The leader, Leon, held his dagger in a reverse grip, his eyes wary as he asked, "Now, can you tell us who you are? Don't try any tricks. You should understand how capable we are."
"Ahem."
Yano cleared his throat. Far from being afraid, he straightened his back and responded with utmost seriousness.
"Sorry, but judging by the current situation, it's actually you who are surrounded by me and my Boss. I suggest you abandon pointless resistance and surrender as soon as possible."
"Boss? He has accomplices?!" The three inwardly tensed, immediately stepping back and scanning the dark corners nervously.
Then, they saw the leather armor on Yano's chest squirm. A small, green Slime struggled to squeeze out, landing with a soft *plop* on the rickety wooden table in the middle of the hut. It blinked its eyes, staring back at the three Stone Descendant assassins who were on high alert.
"That's it?"
Elara, the only woman among the three, couldn't help but let out a "pfft" of laughter.
The other two also visibly relaxed, their tense muscles loosening as they prepared to move forward and restrain Yano again.
Just then, the seemingly harmless Slime gave a little bounce.
*Whoosh—!*
A sharp stone shortsword shot out from within its body like lightning, grazing past Elara's ear, precisely severing a few strands of her hair before embedding itself into the wooden wall behind her with a solid *thud*.
Instantly, the air in the hut froze again. Elara's smile stiffened on her face, her pupils contracting sharply.
Leon and Max immediately tightened their grips on their weapons again, cold sweat beading on their temples.
"Not good, this Slime is strange."
"Strike first!" Leon growled.
"If you want to harm the Boss, you'll have to go through me first." Yano almost simultaneously drew the broadsword from his back, positioning himself in front of the table with an air of "one man holding the pass against ten thousand."
For a moment, the cold glint of weapons filled the narrow hut.
Dagger and broadsword clashed with astonishing speed, producing a rapid-fire rain of sharp *clangs*.
However, whether it was Yano's broadsword striking them or their daggers slashing at Yano, they could only produce a series of dazzling sparks on each other's petrified skin, not even leaving a white scratch.
Neither could break the other's defense.
The four hacked and slashed wildly for a while. Their stone bodies slammed into the wooden walls, their daggers got chipped, and they finally resorted to fists and kicks.
The poor little hut suffered. Its walls were pounded with loud *bangs*, wood chips flew everywhere, and it looked ready to collapse.
Chen Yu, watching the show from the sidelines, was thoroughly entertained, giving off the vibe of someone who enjoys watching a spectacle without worrying about its scale.
"Huff... huff... Stop! Stop it!"
In the end, Yano, with his superior stamina, gained a slight upper hand. The other three were exhausted, leaning on their knees and panting heavily. Leon was the first to raise his hand, signaling a halt.
"Alright... spare me..."
Leon gasped, looking at Yano, who was only slightly winded, with disbelief. "How are you so full of brute strength? You're nothing like a normal Stone Descendant assassin."
Yano sheathed his broadsword, grinning smugly as he flexed his arm to show off his solid muscles. "Because I'm a proper warrior."
This infuriated Elara beside him, who pointed a trembling finger at him. "Heretic! An absolute heretic among Stone Descendants! To actually become a brute who swings a broadsword!"
"Enough nonsense. Tell me who you are. My Boss is still watching." He pointed at Chen Yu on the table.
Having finished enjoying the drama, Chen Yu hopped over in a timely manner, jumping back onto Yano's shoulder. His eyes swept over the three with a scrutinizing gaze.
Being scrutinized so intently by a Slime filled the three with an immense sense of absurdity and strangeness, but the deterrent power of that stone sword was still fresh in their minds.
Leon exchanged a look with his two companions, slowly let out a breath, and said in a low voice, "You don't know who we are. It seems you really aren't from the Dark Realm, and you probably have nothing to do with those Blacktooth mercenary scum either."
Yano's expression grew even stranger. "Are Stone Descendants that famous in the Dark Realm?"
Elara took over, her tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible pride. "Hmph, anyone who's spent some years in the Gray Zone knows the name of our Belmont Family. Our 'Stone Blades' are quite renowned in the Dark Realm."
"Belmont..."
Yano's face instantly became extremely peculiar. His gaze, filled with complex emotions, swept back and forth over the three.
Could it be that his ancestor back then was really that... prolific, leaving behind another branch of the bloodline here in the Dark Realm?
He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and formally stated, "I am Yano Belmont, from the Kingdom's border, Ironboot Town."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, all three simultaneously showed expressions of utter disbelief.
"Leon Belmont, seventh-generation Stone Descendant."
"Elara Belmont. This is Max Belmont. We are eighth-generation Stone Descendants."
After a brief moment of shock, the three simultaneously pulled back the hoods that had been covering their faces, revealing their relatively youthful features.
Unlike Yano, their petrified state seemed very unstable. Even in their normal state, their skin clearly showed varying shades of grayish-white stone-like patterns, like some kind of indelible brand.
Chen Yu was slightly surprised.
Well, well. All Belmonts.
This really turned into a major family reunion scene.
Inside the narrow hut, an eerie silence fell. The four stared at each other, the air seeming to solidify.
After a long silence, Leon pulled his hood back up, covering most of his face, revealing only his tightly clenched jawline. "Regardless of which rock crevice you crawled out from as a Belmont, we must leave this place immediately and return to the family."
"If you don't want to be relentlessly pursued by those Blacktooth mercenary hyenas who've caught the scent of blood, you'd better move with us."
"At the very least, the Belmont castle won't discriminate against any clansman who bears the Stone Bloodline."
The taciturn Max added in a low, rumbling voice, "Perhaps... the Ancestor would know about your origins."
"This..."
Yano didn't agree immediately. Instead, he instinctively turned his head to look at Chen Yu on his shoulder.
Only after the green gel blob bobbed up and down, indicating agreement, did Yano relax and nod. "Alright. But you have to tell me, where are we going?"
This time, it was Elara who answered him. She also pulled up her hood.
"The Belmont castle lies deeper within the Dark Realm. We need to pass through the ancient, ruined city of 'Gore' occupied by gargoyles to reach it."
"That area is teeming with magical creatures that possess petrifying gazes. Ordinary adventurers, unless they've prepared high-level anti-petrification spells or amulets in advance, have no hope of getting through alive."
"However, that's not much trouble for us."
In the end, Yano followed these three suddenly-appeared clansmen, quietly leaving the rickety little hut and walking into the darkness and ruins of the Dark Realm.
The three walked ahead, their figures weaving through broken walls and ruins, occasionally glancing back at Yano and the green Slime on his shoulder.
Especially regarding that Slime, their curiosity was practically overflowing.
A Stone Descendant warrior, who seemingly possessed ancient Belmont blood, actually addressed a Slime as 'Boss'.
Could this little thing be some kind of magical projection of an ancient, noble being?
Or perhaps it possesses mind-bending abilities?
Various speculations swirled in their minds.
Chen Yu originally thought the so-called "Belmont Castle" would be like the camp at the Outpost Ruins, at most half a day's journey away.
However, following these three professional stealth experts at a rapid pace, they still hadn't arrived by the next day. The three chose to set up camp and rest under a concealed rock fissure.
Because the Dark Realm was perpetually dark, with no distinction between day and night, these three Stone Descendants had rather peculiar sleep schedules.
Yano was already yawning from exhaustion when they finally remembered to rest.
Sitting around the campfire, Chen Yu learned from Yano's brief exchanges with them that reaching that castle would require at least another four or five days of arduous trekking.
As for why these three had traveled all the way from the Outpost Ruins to steal those "Bloody Scrolls" from the Blacktooth mercenary warehouse, they remained tight-lipped, their secrecy indicating they still maintained a degree of wariness.
The journey was monotonous and tense. Chen Yu left only a portion of his consciousness with Yano, observing this bizarre and fantastical underground world.
His main consciousness returned to the sunlit, vibrant swamp territory.