Keep attacking girls and try not to be killed by them

Viviana still had great respect for Elder Yuhong. She immediately got off her horse and saluted the elder, but her words did not indicate that she was changing her mind.

"Really? Then tell me, what would be the worst case scenario if you went to the southern mine?" Elder Yu Hong asked slowly.

"The worst-case scenario is that I'll die in the southern mines."

"No, you're wrong, that's not the worst."

The answer that Viviana thought was correct was flatly denied by Elder Yuhong, who then pointed out an even worse possibility.

"The worst-case scenario is that you're in danger at the southern mines, forcing the family to allocate additional resources to rescue you. However, the family ends up wasting resources, failing to rescue you, and wasting time, leading to Lord Scarlet's death... Do you understand, Viviana?"

It has to be said that Elder Yuhong obviously saw things farther and broader than Viviana. His words made Viviana's face turn pale, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out of her forehead.

But what Elder Yuhong didn't expect was that even after he said so, Viviana still insisted on going to the southern mine.

"I understand, Elder... I will definitely not cause any trouble for the family!"

After thinking for a few seconds, Viviana firmly expressed her attitude to Elder Yuhong.

Elder Yuhong originally planned to use his status as an elder to forcibly stop Viviana, but after seeing the determined look of this good student, he changed his original intention.

Perhaps the day when Viviana will be able to stand on her own is approaching, thought the Red Prison Elder Rodrigo.

"Alright, then take this with you when you set out. With your current strength, you should be able to use it."

Elder Yuhong changed his mind and took off the gorgeous cloak from his shoulders and handed it to Viviana.

This red silk cloak, edged with gold thread and embroidered with flame patterns, is called "Sky Flame Cloak·Firwin". It comes with the extremely precious flying skill "Flame Wings" and is one of the most precious equipment of the Hell Red Elder·Rodrigo.

[Note: This equipment first appeared in the chapter "7.27 - Game of Two Sides" in the "Maze: Green Ghost Lair" chapter.]

"Master Elder, such a valuable item, I... I..."

Viviana knew the importance of the "Sky Flame Cloak·Firwin" to Elder Yuhong, and hurriedly declined, but Elder Yuhong forced the cloak into her hands.

"Why are you so nervous? I'm not giving it to you. You have to return it to me after you use it this time." Elder Yu Hong said a little rudely.

Hearing this, Viviana blushed in embarrassment and obediently took the cloak.

"Ming...understood."

"Remember, make sure to bring it back to me intact." Elder Yuhong said, and poked Vivian's forehead twice with his finger.

"Yes, Elder!"

Viviana, on the other hand, gained immense confidence and courage due to Elder Yuhong's recognition and temporary gift.

·

·

Looking at Viviana's departing back, Elder Yuhong sighed softly.

If he could fight now, why would he let the kid take risks?

However, in this cruel world, there are not so many ifs and only facts.

When difficulties come, those who can overcome them will survive, while those who cannot will become experience for others' growth.

After Viviana's figure completely disappeared, Elder Yuhong clapped his hands and called three trusted subordinates from the reconnaissance team, asking them to follow Viviana to the southern mine, but not to be discovered by her.

Because they are a reconnaissance team, the combat capabilities of these three people are not outstanding. What they are really good at is reconnaissance and escape. This is why Elder Yu Hong arranged for them to go together.

If Viviana really encountered a life-threatening situation, Elder Yuhong's three trusted subordinates would risk their lives to cover Viviana's evacuation.

——(Come on, Viviana, let me see your growth.)

After watching Viviana leave, Elder Yuhong sent away three of his trusted subordinates.

However, when people are unaware, they sometimes "mean well but do bad things."

At this time, the Hell Red Elder Rodrigo did not realize that among his three trusted subordinates, one had become a loyal puppet of the Lord of Eternal Winter.

Regardless of whether Viviana would go to the southern mine alone, or with the consent and arrangement of Elder Yuhong, all of these were within the calculations of the Lord of Eternal Winter.

9.75 - Southern Mine (Part )

With the incredible speed of the Scarlet Flame Divine Horse, Viviana arrived at the southern mine of the Scarlet Flame Family before dark.

The once prosperous southern mines are now in ruins.

Everywhere Viviana looked, she saw devastation and rubble everywhere. All the workers who usually toiled here had already evacuated. Only the hot and humid wind of early autumn whistled in her ears, blowing the dust in the mine farther away.

The cause of this tragedy is the recent series of monster attacks. Not only have many mines collapsed, but even the surrounding warehouses and backup equipment have not been spared. The losses are indeed heavy.

—(The damage here is even worse than at the northern mines… but the monsters mentioned in the report should be similar to those at the northern mines. Why is there such a difference…?)

Viviana immediately became alert. Any detail on the battlefield could contain crucial intelligence, not to mention such a huge difference now.

One of the main reasons why Viviana decided to deal with the monsters alone this time was that she was almost unstoppable in the northern mines, and according to the scouts' report, the strength and number of monsters in the southern mines were similar to those in the northern mines.

[See chapter 9.57 - Viviana's Efforts]

Now, Viviana discovered that the information was likely wrong, so the premise of her coming to the southern mine alone no longer held true, and the level of danger would increase by several levels.

The instructions from the Prison Red Elder Rodrigo before leaving, coupled with Viviana's own alertness, allowed her to immediately withdraw from the southern mine to avoid being in an unfavorable environment when dark.

——(Do you want to go back to Yanji City directly?)

——(Or should I try my best to gather some intelligence from the outside first?)

Viviana hesitated.

Mines, as places rich in mineral resources and magic power, are places where monsters like to live or attack.

There are many types of monsters that appear near the mine, such as ore-type monsters that are born from ore, or stealth-type monsters that prefer the dark environment in the mine.

The mineral monsters that Viviana had previously encountered in the northern mines were relatively easy to deal with. Although they were huge, powerful, and had thick skin and flesh, their fatal weaknesses were their slow movement and attack speed.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Silver Queen Bee Viviana, with her incredibly fast speed and penetrating attack capabilities, can even dance among a pile of ore monsters.

However, the situation at the southern mine was obviously different, because if the mineral monsters attacked the mine successfully, they would basically settle down in the mine. Viviana did not see many traces of mineral monsters in the mine just now.

In other words, there must be different types of monsters in the southern mine.

——(If it's the type of 'Shadow Devouring Rock Demon' we encountered in Shadou Canyon, it would be troublesome...)

Viviana still vividly remembered the cunning monster she and Banning had defeated in the underground cave.

If Banning hadn't come up with some clever tricks, Viviana would have had no choice but to trigger the hidden magic circle in her body to summon the two elders, Red and Black, to rescue her.

While thinking about the battle, the kiss in the underground cave that day also appeared in Viviana's mind.

The touch of Banning's lips, Banning's body temperature, and Banning's strong body, all of these are engraved in Viviana's memory and cannot be erased.

——(Banning…)

Thinking of this, Viviana suddenly slapped her cheeks twice to clear those weak emotions from her mind.

She told herself that this was a critical moment regarding the future of the Feiqi family, not the time to think about love affairs.

——(Also, if I can’t overcome the current predicament, how can I find Banning?)

Viviana was immediately filled with courage. She put on the "Sky Flame Cloak - Firwin" temporarily lent to her by Elder Yuhong, and decisively and carefully sneaked back into the southern mine.

·

With the experience in Shadou Canyon last time, Viviana paid close attention to the surrounding ecological environment this time.

After careful observation, she did not find any creatures like the "long-eared jerboa". Instead, broken ore was scattered everywhere, which seemed a bit unnatural.

[Note: The Shadow Devouring Rock Demon cub looks no different from an ordinary long-eared jerboa. This information comes from the "Shadou Canyon Chapter"]

In addition, the remains of the fortifications in the mine were also somewhat strange. Viviana saw that some of the destroyed fortifications were smashed by physical means, while others seemed to have been melted by high temperatures.

——(Among the mineral monsters...are there any that can use fire?)

Viviana looked through her own monster knowledge, but she couldn't think of any mineral monsters related to fire. The closest thing was a self-destructing mineral monster that would produce shock waves, which was different from a melting attack.

Just when Viviana was about to continue exploring the mine, she suddenly stopped and then jumped up on the spot!

The next second, two huge rock hands hidden in the ground suddenly stretched out and crushed Viviana's foothold!

——(Floating Crimson Silver Sword!)

Without any hesitation, Viviana, who was still in the air, immediately released three scarlet silver rapiers, and used one of them as an air step. She took another step in the air and jumped out of the enemy's attack range.

——(No, it’s too dark here, it’s not good for me.)

Without waiting for the enemy to react, Viviana turned and ran. At the same time, she did not forget to control the three scarlet silver rapiers to patrol and deploy defenses behind her so as to deal with the enemy's pursuit in the first time.

However, the subsequent developments were not thrilling and were basically in line with Viviana's expectations.

The bulky rock monster could not catch up with Viviana's speed at all. When Viviana ran to the flat ground illuminated by moonlight, the rock monster had just slowly walked out of the mine, and every step it took caused the earth to shake slightly.

——(I see, it’s a granite giant statue.)

By the moonlight, Viviana saw clearly that the monster that attacked her was a third-level granite monolith, with a level between 51 and 90. This kind of monster usually lives in mines and rocky mountains. It is famous among reward hunters for its sneak attack method of "disguising itself as stone and then suddenly attacking."

According to Viviana's experience, as long as she avoided the initial sneak attack, this third-level monster would be easy to deal with for her who had now reached the early fourth level.

The remaining question is whether she should expend her energy and magic power to collect this "experience pack".

——(This place is too close to the mine. For safety reasons, let's lure it to the open flat ground ahead and then start the battle.)

In order to prevent the noise of battle from attracting more monsters, and to avoid being besieged, Viviana used her scarlet silver rapier to remotely attract the hatred of the granite statues until she reached the battle location she wanted.

Keeping in mind Elder Yuhong's warning, Viviana planned to first safely deal with the granite statue in this absolutely favorable environment for her.

However, just as Viviana was about to take action, the granite boulder began to knock on the ground in a very strange way. Then, after more than ten seconds, the surrounding ground suddenly shook violently. Then, not far from Viviana, the ground cracked, and then boiling red magma surged up!

·

·

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9.76 - Endless

——(What’s going on…?!)

Viviana immediately changed her original battle plan, prioritizing distance from the granite statue and ensuring her own safety first.

Then, Viviana soon realized that she had made the right decision, because from the crack in the ground and from the rolling magma, a red-hot "stone statue" crawled out!

——(A giant stone statue that can lurk in the magma? How could such a monster exist?)

Viviana was a little panicked because the lava giant statue in front of her was most likely a mutant, and the mutants of most monsters would be at least one level stronger than the original species.

In other words, this unknown lava giant statue has at least the strength of the fourth level, on the same level as Viviana!

Another thing that concerned Viviana was that before the lava monolith appeared, the granite monolith had made strange knocking movements on the ground. Looking back now, it seemed as if it was "transmitting a signal."

——(Could it be that these giant stone monsters still have the wisdom to ask for help from their companions?)

When this thought appeared in Viviana's mind, she had basically given up the idea of ​​continuing to fight. The danger of the situation was now beyond her control.

·

In the Prison Star world, generally speaking, a third-level monster would only be dealt with relatively safely by at least two fourth-level combat professionals. The reason why Viviana dared to challenge it alone was because she not only had experience in defeating granite monoliths and understood the properties and strength of granite monoliths, but also had the "compatibility" to completely overcome this type of monster.

But now, not only has a giant lava statue with unknown details appeared, but the enemy may also have subsequent reinforcements. In contrast, Viviana herself does not have any trump cards that can compete with the enemy, so she has no choice but to run away quickly.

——(I’m sorry, Father, I can only make you wait a little longer...)

Viviana blew a whistle towards the night sky. Within a few seconds, a brilliant flame appeared on the horizon and was running towards Viviana at an extremely fast speed.

Next, as long as she could ride the Scarlet Flame Divine Horse, Viviana could escape from danger safely.

Although she failed to hunt down the monster this time, she at least obtained important information, which will play a crucial role in the Feiqi family's next attempt to retake the southern mine.

However, just as Viviana was thinking this, a huge crack suddenly appeared on the ground between her and the Scarlet Flame Divine Horse, dozens of meters long and more than ten meters wide. Then, countless fist-sized "four-legged stone insects" crawled out from it!

Seeing this scene, Viviana's body froze. Although these "four-legged stone insects" were only first-level strength, their self-destruct skills were extremely troublesome.

Once the "Quadruped Stoneworms" gather together in groups, even third- and fourth-level monsters will be afraid of them.

After pausing for a few seconds, Viviana finally reacted. She blew a whistle of a different melody towards the Scarlet Flame Divine Horse, causing the loyal Scarlet Flame Divine Horse to turn and retreat immediately instead of risking its life to meet up with the "four-legged stone insect swarm".

Immediately afterwards, Viviana also hurriedly found a retreat route for herself on the battlefield. As long as she evacuated along the undulating terrain, she would not be caught up by the "quadruped stone worm swarm".

Viviana now finally understood why the situation in the southern mine was so much worse than that in the northern mine. The monsters that appeared here were too abnormal... It was as if some powerful guy was directing them behind the scenes!

The strange scenes she had seen in the mine before, such as the fortifications melted by the high temperature, or the broken ore scattered everywhere, all made sense at this moment.