Caiman decided to stay in the mines for good, with no intention of leaving.
His plan was simple: stall!
It was true that his forces were currently at a disadvantage on the twelfth floor.
However, the Grey family still had the largest number of people in the entire Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Although many members of the exploration knight order had been lured and killed by the elves in the tenth-floor castle, they still held the numerical advantage.
As long as he hunkered down at the bottom of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment's mines, the scattered members of the knight order would continue to gather.
Thus, the longer he stalled, the greater his advantage would become.
These purple-skinned blacksmiths were actually doing him a huge favor.
Previously, Caiman had been bound by the purple-skinned blacksmiths' rules, preventing him from attacking Manfred.
Now, the tables had turned; Manfred and the elves were the ones bound by the rules, unable to move against him.
As more scattered knight order members entered with pickaxes in hand, Manfred's team and the elven team gradually realized this as well.
As time passed, the advantage in the depths of the mines tilted further and further toward Caiman's side.
If they continued to stall, their advantage would only keep shrinking.
The situation was looking grim.
Even though this was a prime opportunity to kill Caiman...
They had to give it up for now. They couldn't afford to be stubborn and keep wasting time.
Instead of idling here, it was better to take the lead in exploration progress and head for the Lava Lake first!
Manfred's team and the elven team quickly came to a decision.
The ore they had mined already met the requirements; they had only stayed in the mines as free labor to find an opening to kill Caiman.
Having made up their minds, both teams left the mines simultaneously and paid the purple-skinned blacksmiths for the fire-resistant boats.
Two new fire-resistant boats were quickly forged.
Compared to Purple Hammer's fire-resistant boat, the adventurers' boats had a small sail.
The sail was made of fire-resistant leather tanned by the purple-skinned blacksmiths, capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures of the Lava Lake.
By using wind magic to drive the sail, one could control the navigation of the fire-resistant boat across the Lava Lake.
However, it required a mage to constantly manipulate the wind magic to maintain it, and controlling the direction demanded a high level of magical proficiency.
The size of the fire-resistant boat was just enough to accommodate a five-person team.
More people could fit, but if overloaded, the space on the boat would become too cramped and maneuverability would decrease.
With the help of the purple-skinned blacksmiths, the two fire-resistant boats were pushed into the Lava Lake.
As droplets of magma splashed across the lake's surface, the fire-resistant boats floated steadily atop the lava.
“Does this feel a bit unsafe to you?”
Rhine asked, looking at Manfred in front of her.
The tiny fire-resistant boat floated on the massive Lava Lake, where even their fireproof suits couldn't fully block the searing heat.
Against the vastness of the Lava Lake, the small boat felt like a lone leaf; a gentle push from the scorching lava could bury them in the lake forever.
It was stable enough here by the shore.
But once the fire-resistant boat reached the center of the lake, there would be no land in sight—only the searing, churning, never-ending magma.
At that point, any crisis could instantly claim the lives of an entire adventure team.
Manfred gazed at the layer of thick smoke drifting over the Lava Lake and jumped from the shore onto the fire-resistant boat.
The fire-resistant boat swayed slightly, drawing a gasp from those still on the shore.
Manfred calmly steadied himself and stood straight.
“We have no way back now.”
It was true; they had long since lost the luxury of choice.
In this deep-dive conquest, to retreat was to die.
They were like people sprinting across a collapsing bridge; if they were a step too slow, the falling deck behind them would catch up, burying them all beneath the ruins.
Rhine and Weiss understood this cruel reality as well and jumped onto the fire-resistant boat one after the other.
“Rhine.”
Manfred called out in a steady voice.
Even without further words, the rapport built by the team allowed Rhine to immediately understand Captain Manfred's command.
She quickly moved to the sail at the center of the fire-resistant boat and channeled wind magic to blow against it.
Precise magical manipulation was exactly what Rhine excelled at.
Driven by the wind magic, the fire-resistant boat began to sail firmly and smoothly toward the Lava Lake until it was swallowed by the unyielding thick smoke.
One by one, the small boats sailed into the depths of the Lava Lake, as if heading into the heart of hell, swallowed by the mists of death.
Faintly, one could almost see massive shadows of death weaving through the fog above the Lava Lake.
...
The air was scalding and boiling, and thick smoke blinded their vision; in this haze, it was nearly impossible to discern any direction.
Squinting their eyes, their vision was limited to a range of barely five meters.
All they could see clearly was the boiling lava flowing around them.
Sailing within it, they couldn't even tell if they were moving forward or backward.
All the preparations made on the shore seemed like a joke now that they were actually navigating this Lava Lake.
Only after entering the lake did they realize just how dire the situation truly was.
Manfred sat at the bow, the scorching air making him feel as though he were trapped inside a furnace.
The compass in his hand no longer pointed the way; the needle spun wildly as if it had a mind of its own, failing to provide even the slightest guidance.
This wasn't an ordinary compass, but a magic item imbued with mana, designed to have extreme resistance to various environments.
Yet here in the Lava Lake, it had simultaneously lost its function.
They were like headless flies, struggling within this web of death.
The surroundings were like a boundless chaos, offering not a single shred of hope.
At this point, let alone retreating, they couldn't even find the way they had come after sailing deep into the thick smoke.
“Captain, something is approaching in the thick smoke!”
Rhine, who was driving the sail, hadn't forgotten to remain vigilant and sense their surroundings at all times.
The moment she sensed something was wrong, she immediately alerted Manfred.
“Weiss!”
As Manfred shouted, Weiss had already grabbed the shield resting at his side.
Immovable Fortress!
In the environment of the Lava Lake, Immovable Fortress received an epic buff.
Since their range of activity was limited to the fire-resistant boat, the protection expanded by the Immovable Fortress skill perfectly enveloped the entire vessel.
As the protective barrier of the Immovable Fortress unfolded, the sound of flapping wings gradually drifted from the thick fog.
Flying monsters!
Manfred hurriedly unslung the crossbow from his waist. With a sword in one hand and the crossbow in the other, he aimed at the sky.
The crossbow in his hand was a piece of magic equipment purchased from the monster merchant.
It could store bolts for rapid fire and simultaneously imbue the fired bolts with Sword Qi.
Sword Qi not only strengthened the bolts but also allowed for simple manipulation of the fired projectiles.
For instance, he could control the bolts to make minor turns or even retrieve them after they were fired.
Although it was a magic item, its powerful effects allowed it to barely function as a magical artifact.
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