RNP Page 419
Page 419
Latis had only vaguely sensed that the ruins resembled a Roman amphitheater, but upon closer inspection, it did indeed appear to be an arena. Looking through the collapsed outer wall, one could see not only spectator stands on a high platform but also inner chambers where gladiators were imprisoned.
Under the dim sky, the arena, covered with rubble and dust, faintly glowed with a dark red, suggesting the fierce battles that had taken place there in the past.
Latis stood there and watched for a moment, a sense of curiosity rising within him.
"I wonder who used to fight here... Could it have been the nearby Naga tribe?"
"Maybe it's all the monster tribes in this area? But it's probably been around for several decades."
"Gladiator combat is quite cruel... Could it be that there's some kind of conflict of interest among the monsters?"
"I seem to sense a powerful force of light, much stronger than any I've ever explored before... It seems this side is indeed the right path?"
“wee!”
"..."
Snyder listened quietly to the discussion around him, and subconsciously adjusted the shelter he was carrying on his back.
The old man's kindness warmed her heart; even though she didn't have much strength, he still generously took her in.
In her simple mind, this should perhaps be considered separately from what happened before. Latis promised to help her rescue her brother and other companions, so she tried to repay Latis with her own strength. As for the extra care Latis gave her, she would also try to repay him in other ways.
She blinked and a slight smile appeared on her face.
Suddenly, some runes on the audience seats caught her attention. She turned her head, stared intently for a moment, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Sir, look... at the patterns there..."
"Ok?"
Latis stopped and looked back. He walked to Snyder's side and, following the direction the tiptoeing girl was pointing, couldn't help but show a hint of surprise, muttering to himself:
"This is... the symbol of the Illuminati?"
The Illuminati once had a place in the underground monster arena? What exactly was its role there...? Was it just a spectator?
He glanced at the knights who weren't very familiar with the mark, stroked his chin, shook his head, and said:
"Anyway, let's keep going!"
……
It took Latis more than half an hour to navigate the enormous arena, during which he encountered several battles, but all of them were successfully resolved with the cooperation of the two female knights and the female priest riding a ray.
Latis was completely bewildered as the two high knights used him as a magical blood bank to heal their apprentice. Although he had to admit that it felt quite nice to hold the two girls' small hands while healing them, especially since Miss Geeta's hands were cool and steady while Little Leafa's hands were soft and delicate, the simultaneous sensation of the two was truly enjoyable. However, this made Latis feel a little embarrassed...
After all, he's not a lolicon!
Putting aside the girls' affairs, Latis also broadened his horizons along the way. In addition to encountering beetles, snails, and flying mosquito monsters parasitized by light, he even encountered a man-eating flower that spews lava.
These underground plants are all shade-loving and generally do not absorb the power of light. If even they can be parasitized by light, then the situation does seem a bit serious.
While it's possible that the carnivorous plant ate parasitized insects, we should still consider the consequences if all plants were parasitized.
Latis pondered for a moment, picked up the remains of the man-eating flower, and began to analyze them as he traveled.
It wasn't until a huge collapse appeared on the outer edge of the arena, blocking everyone's path, and the Naga village mentioned by Lady Roseti came into view that Latis realized that the carnivorous plant species had been recorded in his list of plants he could cultivate.
I have a feeling that if things continue like this, my dragon's back will eventually become an experimental field...
Latis muttered to himself, looked up in the direction of the Naga village, and suddenly stopped, his brows furrowing slightly.
not right...
This village is so quiet.
Rosette's description of the Naga slowly surfaced in his mind.
"The Naga tribe is actually a relative of us night elves, but due to different customs, our two tribes settled separately."
The Naga are monsters with human heads and snake bodies. Their faces have some fish-like features. Some adult Naga have four arms. With their flexible snake bodies, they are a tribe that is very good at fighting compared to us Night Elves.
The Naga village is nestled in a small river valley. When I arrived there, the river was still flowing through the village, making it quite lively; the sounds of flowing water accompanied their activities.
However, the village of Naga is now completely silent.
Latis stroked his chin and sighed softly.
It seems the ancient river has dried up, and the Naga tribe may no longer exist...
I wonder if the old stag beetle station is still in use.
Latis shook his head and walked along the edge of the collapsed arena toward the sloping valley village not far away.
It has to be said that the extent of the collapse on this side of the arena is quite severe, and it looks rather bottomless. I wonder if it has collapsed into the so-called deep underground.
Latis walked to the edge of the valley, stood still, looked around, and then looked down.
Suddenly, a long gun covered in copper rust shot out from the bottom of the valley and pierced Latis's chest in an instant.
Chapter 412 Farewell to the Naga Tribe
Keng!
The ear-piercing impact echoed through the deep and shallow underground river caves, shaking down a cluster of fine sand and stones.
A small, bluish-black hand peeked out from the narrow opening of the mud pit, and then a tiny head trembled as it cautiously peered outside before quickly retreating back inside.
"What, what do we do... that monster has started going berserk again..."
The little Naga, with its still-developing pale scales, fearfully covered its pointed ears, as if that could shield it from the terror in its heart. It curled up, seemingly afraid that the sound of its teeth chattering would disturb the "monster," and subconsciously bit the back of its hand.
She originally thought that she could reach the Night Elf tribe for protection with her uncle's help. After all, her uncle was the most powerful adult among the exiles. Insect monsters and such were no match for him!
But to her surprise, her uncle, who had charged forward as if he would win, found that monster... cleaved him in two with a single move, and it seemed not to have had enough...
A metallic taste of blood rose on the tip of Little Naga's tongue. She slowly came to her senses, released her bitten hand, let out a soft sob, and raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes.
She couldn't give up like this. Her uncle said that the night elves were relatives of the Naga, and as long as she got to that place! As long as she got to that place... things would definitely get better!
Little Naga gritted his teeth, ending his pointless fantasy, and glanced at the cave entrance once more.
The monster's voice had stopped, and she could no longer hide like this. She had heard that the river where her ancestors had lived had interconnected waterways. Although so many years had passed and the waterways might have been blocked, she would try to dig through them to escape from here!
At least we won't run into that monster...
Just as the little Naga was about to find a softer spot to start digging, he suddenly heard a dull thud from the ground not far away, along with the thud of weapons hitting the ground.
Huh……?
She looked up at the sky in confusion. In the dim light, the edge of the underground river cave seemed to blend into the surroundings, making it impossible to see the outside world.
Little Naga hesitated for a moment, then suddenly his ears twitched as if he heard faint footsteps.
Is it...
She held her breath, swayed her snake tail, and moved to the cave wall. Then, she gently used her tail to prop herself up, clung to the edge of the cave, and cautiously peeked out with her eyes to look in the direction from which the sound had come.
"W-what?!"
Little Naga's eyes widened instantly, and he froze on the spot.
The invincible monster lay sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud, completely unrecognizable as human! Its four arms, along with its four incredibly sharp weapons, were all twisted into a jumbled mess…
On the monster's body, a burly man dressed in noble robes was scratching his head and examining the monster at his feet. Seemingly hearing the little Naga's involuntary scream, the burly man frowned, turned around, and then took heavy steps toward the little Naga's cave.
"..."
Little Naga stared blankly at the burly man for a moment, opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she saw the burly man bend down, wave his hand, grab her by the back of her neck, and pull her out of the cave.
Then, the burly man turned around, grinned at his curious teammates who were walking over, lifted the little Naga in his hand, and said:
"What luck today, we found a snake, family!"
……
"Um... I really can't eat this..."
The little Naga sat obediently on the ground, its snake tail coiled up. It glanced timidly at the line of people before it, and whispered anxiously and fearfully:
"It's true... My uncle said that when we Naga grow up, our skin will have a certain degree of poison..."
"is it?"
Latis listened to the Naga language, which sounded somewhat like an Elvish dialect, scratched his head, glanced at the small Naga who, even with its snake tail, was probably only 1.6 meters tall, and asked with a tight smile:
"So, are you all grown up now?"
"Not, not yet..."
Little Naga was stunned for a moment after answering, then immediately realized what he had just said. His face turned pale instantly, and he couldn't help but cry out with a mournful expression:
"Don't eat me! I might be poisonous... You'll get stomach aches if you eat me!"
"Alright, alright... I won't eat you, I won't eat you."
Latis couldn't help but laugh out loud, quickly stopping his wicked act of bullying the child. He turned to look at his teammates, who were looking at him with curiosity, thought for a moment, cast a "Language Proficiency" spell on them, then looked at the little Naga, coughed lightly, and said:
"In short, please explain your background and purpose first."
"oh oh……"
Little Naga glanced hesitantly at Latis's expression, seemingly wondering if he would eat her, but the wretched adult's expression remained completely impassive. Left with no other choice, she obediently explained:
"It's like this... My uncle and I came from a group of exiles..."
……
……
According to Little Naga, the Naga clan had been scattered for decades. Her fellow Naga elders in the same exile group said that when the power of light appeared, the Naga tribe was the first to be severely affected.
Although the underground world has a complex and diverse environment, the terrain of this valley, where the Naga tribe lives, is unique. Here, there are countless natural circular pools scattered throughout the village.
These circular pools, though they may appear to be just stagnant water, are actually connected by countless waterways at the bottom. These waterways eventually converge and gush out at the mouth of a small canyon, then flow back into the underground river at the end of the canyon, continuing to flow into the distance along this underground river zone.
This place was the perfect habitat for the Naga, and the circular pool became the perfect home for pairs of Naga. However, under the scorching heat of the Light Power, the water temperature in the Earth River first rose, severely affecting the reproduction of the Naga race, and then the water level dropped rapidly until the entire Earth River area was dried up.
Naga eggs need a cool, aquatic environment to develop. This temperature rise had already severely damaged the Naga race. However, if that were all, they could still dig the pools deep enough to bury the Naga eggs in the mud and continue to reproduce. But the drying up of the Earth River instantly shattered all their struggles.
At that time, the Naga people were divided into two factions. One faction felt that they should leave this place and find another way out, while the other faction felt that it would be difficult to find such a suitable place in the underground world. Moreover, they had lived here for so long that this place had long been considered their homeland. They should try to develop this place in order to find a way to revive their homeland.
The two factions could not persuade each other, but they did not argue. Instead, they agreed that if either side succeeded, they would send a team of Nagas to find the other side and eventually settle down together again.
However, the Naga who went out to find a way out failed in the end, and they scattered into more than a dozen exile groups, gradually losing contact with each other. As for the Naga who stayed in their homeland... although the little Naga believed that they had found another place to live, it now seems that they have probably failed as well.