Griffinde moved quickly, clearing away the soil above the wooden board in no time.
Seeing the board bend slightly downward, Mu Xuan could already tell there was empty space underneath.
Moreover, the board was quite large—big enough to hold two children side by side.
With a loud clang, Griffinde lifted the board with some effort.
When he placed the board to the side, Mu Xuan’s mouth twitched. The underside was covered with nails.
What was the point of all these nails?
Regardless, the passage beneath was now exposed.
The earthen bricks were damp, with patches of green moss clinging to them.
As for traps—given the temperament of goblins… it was entirely possible there’d be traps.
Before Mu Xuan could give the next order, Griffinde had already crawled inside. Soon, Griffinde’s voice came from within.
“Your Eminence, please wait a moment. I’ll scout ahead.”
It had to be said, Griffinde was always thorough in this kind of task, even knowing the risks.
After a short while, Griffinde’s voice echoed again.
“Your Eminence, it’s safe in here.”
The opening was a bit deep, with steps leading down. Mu Xuan crouched, jumped lightly down, and steadied himself before moving forward a couple more steps.
There was none of that rotten stench here, only the damp smell of earth. Grass and moss grew thick in the cracks between the steps.
Why was there so much water here?
Watching droplets run down the wall, Mu Xuan touched one with his finger and gave it a sniff.
It was normal groundwater—not the kind tainted by the Calamity!
This truly surprised Mu Xuan.
The surface water was all filthy and vile, so how could the underground water escape contamination? The black mist here was even thicker, which should mean heavier pollution and stronger abnormalities.
This time, Mu Xuan actually felt a flicker of interest in the goblin. If things were as he suspected, then the goblin could indeed be of significant use.
“Your Eminence, the path ahead leads to a fork, and it’s all clear.”
Just then, Griffinde finished scouting and returned, waiting for Mu Xuan’s instructions.
Without an order, they still needed to consult before choosing at a fork. After all, Griffinde didn’t know the way, nor where Buzachi was.
Hearing Griffinde’s report, Mu Xuan was momentarily stunned, then chuckled softly.
An underground labyrinth, eh? That’s a classic goblin feature.
Mu Xuan tapped his scepter, sensed Buzachi’s location, and followed Griffinde to the fork.
He didn’t hesitate and chose the left path.
Buzachi was still further below. The left path sloped downward, while the right was level and seemed to curve upward.
Griffinde asked no questions, faithfully performing his duties, and entered the left passage to scout ahead.
It wasn’t long before Griffinde returned again.
Another fork ahead—this time, a four-way split.
Mu Xuan’s mouth twitched, and he pointed out another passage.
After passing through a dozen more forks, Mu Xuan realized he’d gotten even farther from Buzachi.
Frowning, Mu Xuan tapped his scepter again.
These goblins sure know how to dig…
At this rate, finding Buzachi was hopeless.
Without a goblin guide, it was nearly impossible to find the right path through such a complicated underground labyrinth relying only on vague senses.
“My beloved Goddess, surely you don’t want your Pope getting lost in this wretched place?”
He called out to the scepter in his mind, and seeing the Goddess didn’t respond, Mu Xuan frowned again and said, “Don’t play dead. I’m recruiting followers for you here. Conservatively, there are about a hundred people. That’s a hefty amount of faith to help you recover your strength.”
“Then, my Pope, since you know you’re a Pope, why do you show me no respect at all?” The divine voice sounded in Mu Xuan’s mind, a hint of displeasure in its tone.
“How could that be? I’m your most devout believer,” Mu Xuan replied with a straight face. “In a situation like this, only a great Goddess like you could resolve it.”
“……”
The voice in his head fell silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Enough, I’m not that petty. Follow the trail of light on the ground. Also, it’s very dangerous here.”
With that, no matter how much Mu Xuan called, there was no more response in his mind.
To be honest, Mu Xuan was baffled—what exactly did the Goddess do all day in that realm of hers? Did she really just idle around in that space, doing nothing?
Shaking his head, Mu Xuan watched as a faint trail of light slowly appeared on the ground, his expression turning solemn.
Even the Goddess said this place was dangerous…
Step by step, he’d have to see for himself. Some dangers couldn’t be avoided, but just turning back now—Mu Xuan wasn’t willing to accept that.
Seeing the glowing trail on the ground, Griffinde was inwardly amazed. Without waiting for instructions, he took the initiative to scout ahead along the light.
Mu Xuan followed behind at a cautious distance.
Fortunately, there were no traps along the way, only a few monsters that had survived the Calamity hiding in various corners of the underground maze.
The monsters weren’t strong, so the journey was relatively uneventful.
Soon, his field of vision widened. A vast underground space appeared before Mu Xuan, with a squat palace sitting at its center.
Though not large, it was still quite imposing.
Directly ahead of Griffinde and Mu Xuan was a sizable crowd, among them short, green-skinned goblins.
They looked a lot like goblins…
Mu Xuan couldn’t help but think, as he noticed Buzachi and Na’er standing on the outer edge of the crowd.
“Your Eminence!”
Buzachi had been watching the entrance to this chamber the whole time. Seeing Griffinde and Mu Xuan emerge, he immediately stood and hurried over to Mu Xuan’s side.
“What’s the situation here?”
“Your Eminence, this is the goblin-built underground palace. If you count the surviving goblins here, there are about one hundred and seventy people, and there’s a pregnant black mare.” Buzachi quickly replied, right hand giving a respectful salute, his left tightly holding Na’er’s hand.
So you two are together now?
Mu Xuan glanced at Na’er, secretly thinking to himself. But he wasn’t going to interfere with their relationship. Na’er needed someone to rely on, and a shrewd fellow like Buzachi could use some emotional support.
“Why is there a palace here?”
Normally, only goblin nobles or royalty would build a palace. Small goblin settlements wouldn’t build underground palaces—at most, a maze.
“Your Eminence, this was built by a branch of the goblin royal family. But that branch… Your Eminence, you must have seen the message I left? The back mountain is where the member of that branch mutated into an abomination and fell asleep.”
That made Mu Xuan frown, but it did explain quite a bit.
If the disturbance in the back mountain was caused by a royal mutation, that would make sense.
But why did the goblin royalty mutate in the back mountain and not in this palace?