Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Entering the Whitemoon Mine
It was nightfall and completely dark when the expedition reached the outskirts of the mines. However, they didn't dare recklessly charge into the mines.
The reasons for that were twofold: firstly, they knew that the goblins were huge in numbers, and each of them was ferocious and aggressive in nature. Secondly, they could see the Whitemoon brands clearly on the goblins who were guarding and patrolling the entrance of the mines. The brand was shining like a faint moonlight on their foreheads, illuminating the dark night like how a luminous firefly would.
With a lack of proper illumination tools other than torchlights, it wouldn't do well for them to charge in recklessly at this moment.
Kael realized he missed out an important detail: visibility was reduced in the caves and mines. With that in mind, he hurriedly told Patten Eagle, "I have a spirit art that illuminates the surroundings. It's necessary to teach the teams this skill so that their chances of survival would be markedly higher."
Patten Eagle nodded and spoke to one of his elites, "Bring a ranged support from each team and gather here in 1 minute." His man complied and very quickly, ten people were present in front of Patten Eagle and Kael.
It was a simple spirit art with a basic incantation, named Illuminati. Within 10 minutes, all ten of them learned how to illuminate their surroundings in a 30 feet radius.
"Great, now we can enter the mines with greater ease…"
When dawn arose, the expedition was ready.
They could see clearly from a distance that there were 20 goblins guarding the entrance to the mines. 15 of them were standing on guard while a group of 5 was patrolling around. It seemed that the goblins followed the team system of 5 people in a team as well.
During the training, it was decided by Patten Eagle and Kael that the expedition would move progressively into the mines. It meant that they wouldn't rush in, but they would take time to decimate their opponents little by little, before inching towards the mineral veins where the Whitemoon Stones were located.
To follow this strategy, teams had to branch out to deal with the prevailing goblins. While these teams were dealing with the opponents, the other teams would move inwards and deal with the goblins inside. However, they must not split themselves too thin for fear of surprise attacks from the enemies. It was agreed that at any one moment, 3 teams had to be in proximity with each other.
The expedition had gone through training and was prepared physically and mentally. As such, when Patten Eagle gave the orders, they responded quickly. 4 teams quickly went to engage the goblin sentries. 6 of the teams then ventured inside into the mines, including Patten Eagle and Kael. The goblin sentries snarled, wanting to prevent the others from entering the mines. However, they were quickly blocked by the 4 teams.
After venturing in 30 feet into the mine, it became dark. Apparently the goblins could navigate their way in the mine by virtue of the Whitemoon branding giving off a faint light. For the expedition though, they have to navigate through a different method.
"Illuminati!"
10 different white flames of light appeared above the heads of the ranged support members. Instantly the whole area within 30 feet was illuminated.
The goblins in the vicinity were alarmed by the sudden illumination. There were at least 20 of them. Kael immediately ordered, "Form into your teams and engage the enemy!"
With that, the different teams split up and clashed with the goblins. The Beastmasters took the lead and collided with the goblins head on. All the Beastmasters were equipped with two axes. Their mounts were capable of combat with their large tusks as well. From afar, they looked like the reincarnation of war gods that descended upon the enemy flanks.
The goblins didn't dare to receive the attacks of the Beastmasters head on. Instead, some of them tried to encircle the Beastmasters and single them out from their teams. The melee support members, upon seeing the enemies' movements, immediately ran forward to support the Beastmasters. Some of them were using maces, some axes, some swords. All the weapons collided with the metal claws of the Whitemoon Goblins.
Kael, upon seeing the flow of the battle, was suddenly reminded of the teams that were fending off the enemies at the entrance of the mines. They must be doing the same thing that the teams inside the cave were doing.
He hurriedly shouted, "Remember your training with Spirit Steps and Sunlight Throw!!" When he shouted, he infused his voice with a spirit art that was capable of projecting his voice into the inner minds of the teams, so that only they could hear what he was saying.
The melee supports were the first to regain their clarity of mind. They quickly executed Spirit Step to confuse the enemies, then they used Sunlight Throw with their melee weapons (not stones) to hack at the lower limbs of the goblins. The ranged supports used the spirit art to give their arrows and gun bullets lethality, harassing the goblins and making sure that their defenses with their claws break down.
Dark blue blood and limbs sprayed everywhere in an instant. The goblins were left paralyzed and then were easily taken care of by the Beastmasters' axes and the tusks of the boar mounts.
The cave quickly regained an eerie silence. Soon, the members from the entrance joined up with the expedition. Clearly they took care of the goblins outside using the same tactics, albeit taking a longer time without Kael's instructions.
After regrouping, Patten Eagle was satisfied that the two small skirmishes didn't result in anybody dead. If they were dead, their souls would have to travel back to where they were soul-bound; in this case in the Cathedral of Lights in Fledgling City, before they could be reborn. It would be a hassle for them to travel all the way back to the Whitemoon Mine.
Cathedrals of Lights were everywhere in the Myriad Domain and in the Hundred Realms. As long as the cathedral didn't get destroyed, the cultivators would be able to revive after a certain period of time. In the Defense of the Ancients, the Fountain of Essence served as a revival point. The reason why Kael truly died was because the Fountain, which he was soul-bound to, perished. It was thus a mystery to Kael why he was able to revive in a different body.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone