Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

Caledo took the short axe hanging from his waist, called out, and jumped down without hesitation. He stumbled slightly on the slippery moss and barely managed to stand by holding onto the rock wall beside him.

"Don't be reckless, Caledo. Those scoundrels inside might try to ambush you. Let's retreat first and then make further plans."

"It's okay, I'll be careful... It looks like this guy hasn't gone far. If we can catch him... we can't miss this opportunity!"

Before he could finish speaking, Kalido was about to duck and crawl inside when he heard another dull thud behind him. Turning around, he saw Baria removing his armor.

“Take off the outer armor and we’ll just wear the chainmail. Otherwise, we won’t be able to turn around in this kind of place. It’ll be more reliable if the two of us look out for each other.”

Without even hesitating, Kalido reached out and untied the leather straps from his shoulders.

"Then we need to hurry..."

....................................

This is an extremely crude underground space. The surrounding walls are not covered with blue bricks; they are just a huge hole left after the damp, hard soil was dug out. There are still traces of tools used for digging on the surrounding soil.

It was cold and damp here. With each breath, my mouth felt even wetter, and waves of chill washed over my respiratory tract. It felt as if a coldness permeated my entire body, spreading from my mouth to my lungs. The only light was a torch stuck in the wall, its tip wrapped with strips of cloth coated with resin, which had just been lit.

This is not a place suitable for living. Not to mention living here, even passing by here would make one feel uncomfortable, especially since sewage is constantly flowing from the sewers next to it. The pungent stench lingers in this confined space through the cracks that can be squeezed in. Living here is nothing short of a terrible torture... Of course, if you get used to the smell, this is also an extremely secluded and safe place, enough to evade most of the pursuit.

The small, thin figure walked barefoot on the ground, tucking the fire-starting tools he had stolen from above into his waistband... The ground here was paved with pebbles, which he had brought back bit by bit from outside and embedded in the ground to keep the place somewhat dry.

The figure appeared extremely thin, with only a thin layer of muscle covering his arms and legs. A tattered burlap garment covered him, stained with various kinds of dirt and grime. His skin was equally dirty and dull, and his messy hair covered most of his face, making it impossible to recognize him.

Both feet were also covered in scars, but calluses a finger's thickness had grown on the soles of his feet, tougher and stronger than cowhide, enough to support him running fast on sharp, hard ground. However, he had also lost the ability to bend his toes, and his five toes were crowded together, with the gaps between them looking more like strange cracks, separating the hard, yellowish-black calluses.

Its palms were equally tough and rough, its nails rough and black, and its crevices filled with black mud. At this moment, it was carefully touching the mud wall.

He cautiously turned his head and leaned against the mud wall, listening carefully for a while before finally relaxing a little and continuing to walk into the space.

In the innermost corner, hidden by a large clump of collapsed earth, there was a small shack built from various bamboo, wood scraps, rags, and cotton wadding. It was just big enough to fit a half-grown boy, and looked more like a large dog's kennel.

Upon seeing the shack, his whole body visibly relaxed, his steps became lighter, and he naturally darted forward, disappearing into the shack before he even stopped. He wrapped himself in the tattered cotton and rags inside, and then knocked down a rotten wooden support pole next to him.

The roof of the shack collapsed downwards as he moved, like a clam closing its two shells together. The roof, framed by bamboo and wood, completely covered him, and the pebbles held together by mud on top provided excellent camouflage, effectively concealing him.

Now, this already hidden corner looks even more flawless. Anyone who comes here would think it's just a pile of worthless rubble.

With a tug on a rope, the torch stuck in the wall fell and was buried in the soil, extinguishing the light and plunging the area into darkness once more.

After shutting out the cold and dampness outside, he finally felt at ease. His spirit, which had been spying on the situation since the early hours of yesterday, could no longer hold, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

........................

"I'm starting to regret it..."

"Aren't you afraid I'll shove your face down a sewer to wake you up if you say that?"

Baria, somewhat annoyed, muttered a low grumble to his friend, while simultaneously gripping the shield in his left hand even tighter, tensing his nerves, and using the torch in his hand to light the way ahead.

"Who would have thought this place would be so disgusting... I feel like throwing up. Did you see that? There's that pale and bluish dead child over there!"

Caledo's face was also pale and bluish. Looking at the small corpse floating down the sewer and the various small creatures wriggling on it, his face revealed a complex expression, and he had a strong urge to turn around and leave right now.

"Now that you're down here, stop complaining. Haven't we seen enough dead people?... Now it's time to tell me your thoughts, isn't it?"

"What?"

Barea rolled her eyes:

"Stop pretending in front of me. You're in such a hurry to come down, you must have something on your mind. I know your character all too well."

"Hehe..." Kalido chuckled dryly, speaking softly without turning around:

"It's not really an idea, just a guess... Did you notice that the direction of this sewer seems to lead all the way to that inner fortress..."

"what do you mean……"

Baria, of course, wasn't one to be left behind, and instantly understood his friend's intentions. A look of surprise immediately appeared on his face:

"Then why don't we report it first? If it's really possible, wouldn't it be easier to succeed if we gather our elite forces? What can the two of us accomplish on our own?"

"Don't panic, look here..."

Caledo raised the torch slightly, letting the light illuminate more areas—after traveling a distance, they were surprised to find that this was not the narrow sewer they had expected, but rather quite spacious. They could now stand up and move around, and there were holes of all sizes and winding gaps everywhere, like some kind of natural maze that made them feel daunted.

“This place is definitely not a simple place... I originally just wanted to check the situation, but now we have to catch that guy... I noticed earlier that the kid was frighteningly thin, like a skeleton covered with skin. How could a spy be so thin? He must be a beggar living near the sewers. Although I don’t know why I haven’t seen any other beggars, they must be the most familiar with the terrain here.”

"If we could get that guy to help us, maybe we could..."

"There must be other reasons."

"Of course... once we capture him and get the way out, the credit will go to our team. It's a rare opportunity, we can't let it slip by."

"I still think you're being too reckless; you should be more cautious."

"You're too honest. With tens of thousands of troops, who knows when it will be our turn to shine? How can we succeed if we don't make some great contributions? Sometimes, decisive action is a sign of wisdom. Wealth and glory always go to those who can seize the opportunity."

"We are young and strong now. If we don't make more contributions and accumulate more wealth now, it will be too late later."

Baria chuckled softly, but said nothing more.

The two of them walked along the sewer, occasionally squatting down to examine the footprints left on the moss, and then using these as clues to follow the trail. They turned into a crevice and carefully crawled in one after the other.

After taking only seven or eight steps forward, the space suddenly opened up, the narrow crevice widening into an underground space the size of a house. The surrounding soil showed signs of digging, the ground was relatively flat, and small pebbles were embedded in it, making it firm enough to walk on.

The two men simultaneously raised their torches, and the light from the burning branches and pine wood illuminated everything around them, casting a hazy yellow hue over it.

…………

Silence spread among them. The two looked at each other, then looked around in even greater confusion—it looked like just an underground space, and there wasn't a soul in sight, not even a shadow.

"Let's look for it first. We've come all this way, we can't just turn back now."

Baria nodded in agreement, then slung his shield back over his waist, holding a torch in one hand and a short axe in the other. He began to explore the surroundings, occasionally poking and prodding the walls with the sturdy axe to check for any hidden spaces behind them.

Caledo then explored the pebbles paving the seam between the hole and the ground—clearly, someone had deliberately laid them there to keep out the damp soil; in nature, stones wouldn't be so neatly and evenly distributed on the ground.

He found his torch in the way, so he took out a short knife from his waist and sharpened the bottom. He was about to find a good spot to stick the torch in so he could free his hands and search for more clues, but suddenly stopped.

After a few breaths, Caledo squinted, took two steps forward, and then reached out to touch a protruding clod of earth, his fingers tracing the recessed circular hole on it thoughtfully.

He raised the torch again, glanced at it, and then looked down towards the direction the cave entrance led, a smug smile on his face. He saw the ashes left by the burning torch on the ground, then focused his gaze on an inconspicuous corner…

Chapter 267 Another one (1)

Gestures are often a good way to convey information when you can't make a sound. As long as your companions can see them, you can convey your thoughts in an instant without disturbing your frightened prey.

Caledo put his left hand behind his back, raised it slightly, and then curled it back three times so that his friend could see clearly by the torchlight behind him. He also silently tightened his grip on the axe in his hand and went around to the left.

Wearing chainmail makes it impossible to move silently. The fine chainmail rings rub against each other, making a soft, rattling sound, which is especially noticeable in such a closed and quiet environment.

But their target remained motionless, whether stunned or fast asleep, which made the two of them draw closer and closer.

As they got closer and took a closer look, they discovered that there was a makeshift shelter on the ground covered in mud, inlaid with pebbles, with a frame made of grass and wood and partitioned with tattered cloth. If it weren't for the cover, they wouldn't have noticed the flaws at all; at first glance, it would just look like a patch of yellow earth.

The two men exchanged a glance, then without further hesitation, bent down and grabbed the edge of the shed, lifting it up forcefully as if they were lifting a large wooden basin off the ground…

In the torchlight, a pile of tattered cotton wadding was tangled together with scraps of cloth, providing some insulation. There was a deep mark on it, but there was nothing breathing inside.

Calido frowned, squatted down, and reached into the pile of rotten cotton. After rummaging around for a bit, he muttered in frustration and annoyance:

"It's still warm in here, that little thief couldn't have been gone long! If only we had been a little quieter..."

"What should we do now?... The trail ends here. We've probably already gone somewhere along these tunnels and gaps. It'll be hard for us to catch him now."

Caledo scratched his head vigorously, and when he stood up, he actually looked a bit dejected.

"There's no other way, let's go back... This time we'll get more people and search this place thoroughly, inside and out, we'll surely catch him. We can't be away from the team for too long now, or we'll be punished."

"That's all we can do. Don't forget to put your torch back on; we'll have to replace it for you once we get up there."

………………

The sounds of footsteps, the scraping of chainmail, and voices gradually faded into the distance, even the distinctive crackling of the torches grew fainter. Then, as darkness enveloped the area once more, and after a long while, the pile of tattered cotton suddenly rose, a wooden plank was supported by a hand, and a small, thin figure crawled out of the pit below.

He didn't dare to delay for a moment. After carefully restoring his shack to its previous state, he quickly fled out into the darkness, clinging to the wall. He had clearly heard the two uninvited guests say that they would bring more people to search the place later, at which point he would truly have no way to escape. It was better to take this opportunity to slip away quickly.

He made up his mind to hide in that deep place. Normally, he would rather crawl into a cesspool than go there, but now he had no choice, in order to avoid falling into the hands of those terrible soldiers…

He ran forward two quick steps, his movements slightly flustered, and reached out to touch the corner of the wall, when suddenly he felt a breeze brush past him, and his fingers clearly touched the hard steel...

“I can hear your footsteps. Stand still if you don’t want your head chopped off by an axe next time.”

The young man's powerful, deep, and intimidating voice reached his ears, making him freeze like a frog startled by a venomous snake. Sparks flew up and the torch that had just been extinguished was rekindled, illuminating the space and the two young soldiers who had appeared beside him at some point. They were wearing red padded military uniforms, had removed their chainmail, and were only wearing headscarves and arm guards.

………………

Tying prisoners with ropes is a skill every soldier should learn. After all, no one can guarantee they won't need it someday, and Imperial soldiers use it even more frequently. After each war, there are always a large number of prisoners of war whose mobility needs to be restricted, so the leather ropes around each soldier's waist always come in handy.

In response to this, the Empire's scholars compiled and summarized a binding method that could effectively restrict the movement of strong individuals, and it was quickly promoted in the army and became part of the training.

But now, Baria found himself facing a problem—generally, prisoners of war captured on the battlefield were strong and healthy soldiers, at least men who could lift a spear. They had never considered how to bind such a skinny, half-grown boy. If they used the conventional method, they might break his bones directly, since he had no fat or muscle and could not provide any basic protection.

But this guy was extremely clever and cunning, so he didn't dare to relax too much. Otherwise, if the brat got away again, catching him would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

In the end, all they could do was tie his hands and feet together, connect the two ropes in the middle, and have two people grab his hands and feet respectively, just like slaughtering pigs and sheep during a festival, and carry him away.

Because the kid was so pitifully thin, this action, which should normally consume a lot of energy, was surprisingly easy. The two of them carried him to the area near the middle of the sewer with almost no effort.

As they approached, for some unknown reason, the little brat, who had previously given up all resistance, suddenly began to struggle desperately like a carp thrown ashore, almost breaking his own arm.

At the same time, his face turned extremely panicked—although his dark face was covered with oil and grime, this simple yet intense emotion was still directly conveyed to their eyes, causing Kalido and Barea to exchange puzzled glances.

"Back off! Back off! You'll die! I'll die too! Quick! Run!"

The voice was sharp and piercing, filled with terrible fear and despair. This emotion genuinely affected the other two, causing Calido's hand holding his short sword to tremble slightly, and his chainmail to clang crisply with his movements.

What are you talking about?

"We can't get here at this time! That thing has already woken up! We have to escape, quick!"

Baria silently released his grip, letting the screaming man fall to the wet, muddy ground. He picked up the shield hanging behind him, secured it to his left hand, and simultaneously put on his helmet.

"Hold your things tight, Kalido, I heard a sound, something is approaching..."

The quality of Calibor also became more serious:

"Let me light the fire for you."

As he spoke, he raised the torch high in his left hand and kicked his left foot backward, causing the struggling man on the ground to roll behind a rock.

Just as they finished these actions, a series of heavy, sticky footsteps came from their left. In the firelight was a wide gap about the height of a person, large enough for an adult man to pass through.

The first thing to emerge was a hand with sharp black bone blades, pale and oily skin, and shocking stitches on its skin. After prying it open for a moment, it pulled hard—