Staring at the giant metal door, the dark elves who led the way yelled loudly for attention. One of them extended his arm and reached for a steel plate from his waist pouch. Then, he roasted it in the heat above the lava moat and tossed it high. This was the dark elves' emergency signal to request the opening of the gate.
Rumble!
After a few moments, the steel door was lowered as a heavy, sturdy bridge appeared over the moat. Shortly after, sharp, enormous iron fences expanded in piercing creaks. The city of dark elves, Gandor, finally revealed its true identity to everyone.
Sweeping a glance at the surroundings, Maria confirmed her doubt. It seemed like the dark elves had no intention of stopping them from entering the city. After all, Gandor was a large city, populated with hundred dark elf families. Every family consisted of thousands of well-equipped dark elf soldiers and also tens of thousands of goblins and slaves of other races. If Maria's group didn't reveal her strength to terrify the dark elves into yielding, perhaps she and her group would have to pay the price.
At that moment, Maria's group witnessed seven, well-armored dark elf soldiers scuttling toward them. Then, the dark elf who seemed to be their leader saluted.
"Welcome to Gandor City."
The dark elf spoke emotionlessly like someone forced to do something he doesn't want.
"We received notice of your arrival, but we have to apologize in advance. I suppose you're aware of the current lockdown in Gandor City. Not only here, but the paths to other regions are also blocked off. As there were some accidents, we are unable to open up the paths temporarily. If you were to pass through the City and head to other areas, I need to warn you that it may take a long time."
"Thanks for the reminder."
Upon hearing his words, Maria simply twitched her brows. It was apparent that this was a delaying tactic by the dark elves. If she displayed enough strength to terrorize the dark elves, they would open up the path for them in no time. But if she failed, they wouldn't be able to leave this underground city ever again.
'Hoh! How amusing.'
Stretching Maria's arm and caressing the hilt on her waist, she narrowed her eyes at the dark elf. Facing Maria's subtle provocation, the dark elf didn't seem frightened at all. He nodded to Maria's group, before turning around and entering the city.
Maria waved her hand, beckoning her group to follow the man. The moment they entered the city, she turned around and glanced at the surrounding shadows casually. Then, she looked away and continued sauntering ahead.
It seemed like Maria didn't realize the three young ladies clad in black clothes were hidden in the shadows of the stalagmite wall in the distance. The three young ladies gripped the whips in their hands. A black spider was sewn on their pitch-black robes. That was the emblem of advanced guards under the powerful family, they're mostly mages. They stared at Maria's group until they disappeared into the city.
"I don't think these people are threatening. They seem just like a group of surface bugs, that's all."
One of the dark elf mages said in disdain. Then, she gazed provocatively at the silent companion standing beside her.
"Seems like the guards of the seven families need improvement. I can't figure out how those people managed to wipe out the entire patrol team. Frankly, I think the Lorr Family needs to watch their men. It isn't anything honorable for dark elves to hide their failure and exaggerate the enemies' threat."
''Shut up. Let's just observe quietly and report.'' Another one said shutting the others down. Afterward, they followed Maria's group in the darkness but not going too close as they didn't want to alert the enemy. Unbeknownst to them they have been discovered already just the group was playing pretend with them.
•••
Under the lead of the dark elf guard, Maria's group arrived at the inner city on the left side. This was the gathering place for visitors. But despite that, there weren't many humans around. Unless they were slaves, if not humans couldn't possibly arrive in this city of dark elves.
The arrival of Maria's group attracted the attention of almost everyone. Without mentioning the rarity of humans in the dark underground world, just the shining gems in these beautiful and mesmerizing young ladies in the group were enough to be the center of attention.
"You people can stay here for the time being and wait for further news."
The dark elf guard said to Maria, before signaling with a hand gesture and turning around to leave.
Maria wasn't bothered by the indifferent attitude of the dark elf guard. She merely scanned the surroundings and spotted her target—the inn. However, unlike other places, this inn was built entirely from wooden logs, which was extremely rare to see in the underground. It could also be said that it was as extravagant as a building constructed with platinum on the surface.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm "Let's go."
She beckoned and led the group into the wooden inn.
The inn was spacious and brightly lit by lantern grasses found only in the underground. The flames burning in the fireplace piled up with stones eliminated the chilliness, bringing them a comfortable warmth. An old man, who seemed to be the boss of the inn, took a nap over the counter. Due to the years of being unexposed to the sun, his skin appeared sickly pale, like a funny-looking wooden barrel. But what was most eye-catching about him was his legs. The areas below his knees were completely severed and the balance of his upper body was supported by prosthetics made from black iron. Maria admired it for a moment before her eyes scanned the surrounding.
In the meantime gazing at the arrival of Maria's group, the old man widened his eyes and showed a bewildered expression. He opened his mouth and revealed an excited smile.
"Oh, welcome everyone. I haven't met any human customers in a long time. May I have your orders please?"
''We want a quiet place to stay.'' Maria declared while slipping one platinum coin under the old man's hand which shocked him.
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