Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

Lin Feng and Feng Ling waited on guard below. About fifteen minutes later, Feng Jue returned.

"I peered ahead and saw that the plank road was very long, with several turns. At the end, it seemed to connect to a large cave. Inside, there were bright lights, noisy voices, and a lot of... sounds of chains being dragged and whips being lashed. I didn't dare to get too close."

A cave? The entrance to a mine? Or... a place where "sacrifices" and mine slaves were imprisoned?

"Let's retreat first and rejoin Chen Heng and the others. Tomorrow, we'll try to sneak in again."

The three of them quietly returned the way they came.

Back in the mountain hollow where they had temporarily taken refuge, Chen Heng and the others had already built a makeshift shelter using stones and dry grass. They ate some simple dry rations and water and sat together.

"How is the situation, garrison commander?" Chen Heng asked.

"The security isn't too tight," Lin Feng said. "We found a plank road leading to what appears to be a large cave. There was a lot of noise inside, so it's likely the entrance to the mine or a place of confinement. Tomorrow, we need to capture a 'tongue' to find out the internal layout, the strength of the guards, the location of the 'sacrifice' being held, and the exact locations of 'Earth Fire' and King Lin."

"I'll go catch it!" Chen Heng said immediately.

"No, you and the brothers stay here and be ready to provide backup at any time." Lin Feng shook his head and looked at Feng Ling and Feng Jue, "Tomorrow, Feng Ling, Feng Jue, and I will go."

Feng Ling and Feng Jue nodded, offering no objection.

"Also, have the brothers check their equipment, especially arrows and oil. 'Crimson Flame Crystal' is highly flammable, so perhaps... we can use their own methods against them."

Everyone perked up, realizing Lin Feng's plan.

The next day, it was already dark.

Lin Feng, Feng Ling, and Feng Jue reappeared in the shadows of the rock wall below the plank road from yesterday. Unlike yesterday, the number of guards on the plank road had clearly increased, and they were no longer listless. Instead, they were alert, pacing back and forth, their weapons drawn, clearly having received some warning and tightening their guard.

"It seems the news from Blackrock Town has already reached us," Wind Chime said in a low voice.

"The number of guards has increased, but there are still gaps between shifts," Lin Feng said in a low voice. "At the corner of the plank road, three guards linger for a bit longer. There's a blind spot there, a weak point during the shift change. We'll wait for the next shift to change and then go up when they're exchanging shifts and their attention is diverted. Feng Jue, use your sleight of hand. Be quick and accurate; don't let them raise the alarm."

"Understood." Feng Jue nodded.

After waiting for about half an hour, a cacophony of footsteps and muffled shouts came from the end of the plank road, as a new squad of guards came to relieve them. Just as the two groups met at the corner of the plank road, complaining about the awful weather and their chores, their attention most scattered, Lin Feng and Feng Ling, like two bolts of lightning that had been gathering momentum, suddenly leaped out from under the rock wall, using their hands to gain leverage from the protrusions in the rock face, and nimbly flipped onto the plank road! They found a recessed spot with a blind spot and hid there.

After the group of guards who had just handed over their duties walked away, Feng Jue silently shot out several thin, dark blue beams from his hand, accurately piercing the necks of the new guards!

The guards froze, then collapsed, quickly caught by Lin Feng and Feng Ling, who had rushed out, and dragged them into the shadows on the inner side of the walkway. The whole process was silent, and the guards on the other side of the walkway were completely unaware.

"Change into their clothes." Lin Feng said in a low voice, quickly stripping off the tattered leather armor and headscarf of a guard of similar build and putting them on himself.

Feng Ling and Feng Jue each chose a person and quickly switched places. The three of them covered their mouths and noses tightly with the gray-black cloths carried by the guards, leaving only their eyes exposed, and then grabbed their weapons—crudely made scimitars and spears.

"Come on, follow that changing of the guard team ahead." Lin Feng gestured, and the three of them lowered their heads and quickly followed the guard team that was cursing and swearing as they walked into the depths of the fog. Their newly changed guard uniforms and similar attire were temporarily concealed by the thick fog and dim light.

The plank road finally came to an end, leading to the entrance of a huge natural cave that looked as if it had been cleaved by a giant axe. The cave was ten zhang high and over twenty zhang wide, and was brightly lit inside.

The scene inside the cave was shocking.

Several rudimentary platforms and passageways had been carved into the cave walls. Countless ragged, emaciated figures crawled within them like ants. Some used crude pickaxes to chip away at the exposed, dark red "Crimson Flame Crystal" veins on the cave walls, while others loaded the mined ore into wicker baskets, carrying them shakily deeper into the cave.

In the center of the cave, on a slightly flattened area, there were several furnace-like structures, inside which churned molten, crimson lava. Some slaves dressed as artisans were using specially made long-handled crucibles to scoop up the lava and pour it into stone molds nearby. Nearby were piles of fist-sized, already cooled and solidified crimson "Crimson Flame Lightning" semi-finished products.

Deep within the cave, near the mountainside, stood a towering, trapezoidal altar, three zhang high, constructed of massive black stones! The altar was square, with a flat top and what appeared to be a sunken pool in the center. Around the altar stood several stone pillars carved with twisted flames and strange runes.

This is the core of "Flame Valley," which is both the "Crimson Flame Crystal" mine and the "Crimson Flame Lightning" workshop, as well as the evil altar where "Crimson Abyss" prepares for "blood sacrifice"!

Lin Feng and his two companions mingled among the guards, suppressing their shock and anger, and walked in along a slightly cleaner passage at the edge of the cave with their heads down.

"Hurry up! Move all the 'fire essence' we dug out today to Warehouse Number Three! If you delay the 'Venerable One's' business, I'll throw you all into the 'Fire Eye'!" A burly foreman brandished a leather whip and roared at a group of slaves carrying heavy loads of ore.

"The Venerable One?" Lin Feng's heart stirred, and he secretly raised his eyes to look. He saw a hut, slightly larger than the others, built against the mountainside behind the altar, constructed of animal hides and wooden planks. At the entrance stood four guards with exceptionally somber auras, clad in dark red leather armor and wearing bronze animal-patterned masks—the same kind of attire that had surrounded "Earth Fire" in the Fulong Ridge underground palace!

This is the abode of "Earth Fire"! He really is here!

"Earthfire" may be inside the house or patrolling outside. But in any case, finding his lair is the key.

Just then, an even more piercing cry came from the other side of the cave.