Bab 36: Silver Spear, Silver Bullets, Silver Phantom
"Ahh?" Katheren recoiled in terror, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream, her body breaking out in a cold sweat.
"What's wrong?" Grayson turned to follow her gaze, spotting a complete monster skeleton suspended from the cavern ceiling. Its massive skull gaped open, showcasing two fearsome rows of sharp fangs.
"Don't be afraid; this is just a goblin trophy display!" Grayson patted Katheren's shoulder reassuringly and tapped the bone fangs with his sword. "See, nothing to fear. This creature was picked clean by the goblins and then strung up here as a decoration."
"My goodness, do goblins eat just about anything?" Katheren, hand on her chest, tried to calm her racing heart, still shaken.
Grayson shrugged and chuckled. "Not everything. They don't eat meteor hammers, or else why would they throw them at you?"
Katheren couldn't help but laugh, her tense nerves finally relaxing. They continued deeper into the cavern until they reached the mouth of the abyss.
"I believe we've arrived at the master's front door," Grayson observed, gazing into the unfathomable depths of the vast cave alongside Katheren.
"I've never seen such a large underground construction!"
Katheren's eyes widened in awe at the sprawling cavern. The goblins had constructed an elaborate network of underground walkways and bridges using planks and logs, with torches tied to the side, illuminating the space.
These interconnected walkways not only joined the cave's bottom to upper levels but also linked to living quarters jutting out from the cave walls, forming a complex network of aerial pathways.
"It's like an underground kingdom!" Grayson approached the cliff's edge, looking down into the deep pit below. "These hideous creatures certainly have some skills. If they didn't eat human flesh, they'd be rather endearing!"
"Did someone just mention food? Is it time for dinner?" The little owl hopped out from the hood of Grayson's cloak and onto his shoulder, ruffling her wings sleepily.
"Greedy little piggy, one day you'll be too heavy to fly!" Grayson plucked her from his shoulder and tossed her into the air. "Go move those little wings and shed some fat. And while you're at it, find that black-cloaked man we're looking for."
"I'm not fat; I'm a sleek little bird!" Elyra flapped her wings to stabilize herself, then dove into the cave's depths with a defiant shake of her tail.
"Let's head down," Grayson said to Katheren.
They stepped onto the wooden bridge, one after the other, descending into the cavern. Initially, Katheren felt uneasy on the suspended walkway, fragile and perilous with no handrails or barriers, but she soon grew accustomed to it, finding it solid and stable under her feet.
They navigated the complex pathways, twisting left and right through the air, descending to a third of the cave's depth. Peering down from the walkway, Grayson could just make out the flicker of firelight from below.
"It's a long way down. I wonder where Elyra has gotten to," Grayson surveyed the area, seeing no sign of the little owl. He beckoned to Katheren, signaling to press on.
After a few steps, Grayson suddenly halted Katheren, pulling her down on the wooden bridge. They crawled forward, rounding a bend to a downward-sloping junction. From a distance, Katheren could see a group of goblin guards stationed on a wide floating platform below.
"It seems we have some dedicated fellows down there," Grayson whispered, counting the guards. He turned to Katheren, "Twenty-one in total. Can you handle them?"
"I have only twenty bullets," Katheren murmured, looking down at her silver pistols.
Grayson shrugged. "Leaving one alive to run back for help is as good as killing none."
Katheren glanced at the platform's goblins, then at her pistols; a lightbulb went off. "I have an idea! Let me try!"
"Hold on!" Grayson stayed her eagerness. "You plan to shoot wildly and alert the entire cave?"
Katheren hesitated, unsure. "Then... what do we do?"
"Have you never studied your weapons?" Grayson took one of her pistols, twisting a small knob from vertical to horizontal. "Do this with your other gun too. Set it to silent mode, and you can kill without making a sound."
"Silent mode?" Katheren's eyes lit up as she adjusted her other pistol accordingly.
"That's right. In this mode, the gunshots are barely audible, but the power and range decrease, and it's single-shot only, so you'll have to work your fingers a bit more."
"I understand!" Katheren set her second pistol and prepared to descend the plank bridge. "Push me," she instructed Grayson.
With a knowing grin, Grayson pushed her, and Katheren slid rapidly down toward the platform.
The goblins were oblivious to her approach until the muted shots rang out. Two goblins' heads exploded, shocking the others into a frenzied panic.
Gliding down, Katheren's eyes blazed, her pistols like extensions of her soul, each bullet finding a goblin's head with deadly precision. The goblins saw only a silver phantom before falling lifeless in her wake.
Landing deftly on the platform, Katheren sprung forward, guns blazing, and dispatched two approaching goblins mid-air. She touched down and immediately crossed her arms, firing to either side, taking out two more.
The remaining nine goblins were stunned. Eight charged at her while the ninth turned to flee and raise the alarm.
As the escapee reached the platform's stairwell, a whistling bullet pierced his head, and he tumbled down the steps, leaving a trail of blood.
The other eight encircled Katheren, but wary of damaging the fragile walkway, they refrained from throwing their meteor hammers, instead swinging them menacingly at her.
Katheren leaped up, vaulting over the diminutive goblins, her golden ponytail drawing an elegant arc in mid-air. As she descended, her pistols targeted the goblins below.
Six trigger pulls, six meteoric bullets sent six goblins sprawling, their heads fountains of blood. When Katheren's silver boots landed, six bodies lay behind her.
The two remaining goblins swung at Katheren, now holding an empty pistol in one hand and a single silver bullet in the other.
Backflipping to increase the distance, Katheren fixated on the two goblins lunging at her. As their green forms aligned, she fired. The silver bullet pierced the first goblin's forehead and exited through the back, continuing its lethal trajectory into the second goblin's skull.
With the bloodied silver bullet clinking to the floor, the two goblins lay fallen at Katheren's feet. She moved to retrieve the precious bullet, but a chilling flash interrupted her—a gleaming silver rapier spiraled through the air, impaling the wooden floor by her feet.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone