Chapter 88 | Transmigrated Into a Poor Girl, Armed Myself With Heavy Armor

The edge of her blade traced a sweeping arc.

A dog-sized rat had barely leaped into the air when her blade sliced into the side of its neck, cutting through fur and muscle as beads of blood sprayed through the air.

The large rat was already dead by the time it hit the ground. Dark red fluid seeped from the gash in its neck, soaking into the dusty ground.

“Fireball!” a soft cry rang out from behind Rosie.

A streak of fire shot from the tip of the wand, drawing a bright arc through the air before landing dead center in the thickest part of the rat swarm.

Boom!

With a deafening blast, flames surged upward. A scorching wave of heat rushed over them, carrying the stench of burnt hair.

Dozens of rats were instantly engulfed in flames, the tongues of fire licking at their fur.

The rats scurried about like ants on a hot pan, leaving trails of fire in their wake as they let out a barrage of high-pitched squeals.

Soon, the squeals turned into raspy shriek-like hisses, and the dozens of fiery bundles collapsed one after another in the darkness, illuminating the surrounding ground.

Rosie flicked the beads of blood off her blade, her eyes scanning the area.

The remaining rats had already turned and scattered, vanishing into the depths of the darkness in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the fading sounds of scurrying paws and squeaks.

“Lass Rosie, how many did you kill?”

The dwarf's voice came from beside her.

He was currently kicking a rat carcass beside him, flipping it over and grinding the sole of his boot into its belly, seemingly confirming it was dead.

Rosie glanced at the carcasses around her feet. “A dozen or so.”

The dwarf slung his axe over his shoulder and laughed heartily. “I got twenty-five! Hahaha!”

Rosie smiled faintly. “As expected of Master Ginli. You truly are impressive.”

In reality, the rats were small and agile. Once they scattered, they were incredibly difficult to hunt down. If she hadn't caught several off-guard right at the start, she probably wouldn't have slain even that many.

But the dwarf was different. Usually a toe-trimmer, dealing with rats was right up his alley. A single wide sweep of his great axe cleared out a whole patch.

The dwarf laughed proudly, his voice echoing across the empty sandy ground for a moment before being swallowed by the darkness.

“I killed at least fifty,” Anna's voice chimed in from the side.

The dwarf's smile instantly vanished, and he snapped his head toward her. “No, yours don't count. Magic is cheating!”

He pointed at the smoking black remains on the ground.

“And look at yours! They're completely charred. You can't even eat the meat...”

Anna pursed her lips. “How boring.”

Rosie bent down, wiped the remaining blood off her blade against a rat carcass at her feet, and sheathed her sword.

Knight John stood silently at the front of the group, shield raised, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding shadows.

The dwarf squatted down, picked up a rat by its hind leg, held it up to inspect it, and gave it a sniff.

The rat was plump with smooth fur. Aside from the fatal wound on its neck, it looked fairly clean.

He set the rat down and said, “The meat looks decent. Should be edible.”

Knight John finally spoke. “I will mark this location. We can have people come here to hunt these rats later.”

The dwarf nodded and clapped his hands. “Good idea.”

Anna's gaze drifted past the group toward the depths of the building. “Well then, let us keep moving, everyone.”

Knight John raised his shield to cover his chest again and stepped through the ruptured gap in the wall.

The other three followed closely behind.

The interior of the ruins was completely different from the outside.

The corridors were wide and straight, with high ceilings spacious enough for several large creatures to walk abreast.

The floor was barely damaged and remarkably well-preserved.

The walls and vaulted ceilings were covered with glowing mushrooms. They filled every crack and crevice, weaving together into a thick, luminous carpet that bathed the entire corridor in an eerie green glow.

“Ha! There are actually so many mushrooms here?” the dwarf marveled.

A dark shadow suddenly darted out from the mushroom patch at extreme speed.

Quick on his feet, the dwarf swung his axe. The blade struck the shadow with a dull thud. The creature let out a sharp cry and collapsed onto the ground, twitching twice before going still.

It was a rat.

It was smaller than the ones outside, but its fur was lighter and its belly was round and bloated.

Its back had been split open by the axe, and its limbs were still twitching slightly. Its mouth hung open, a trickle of clear water spilling from the corner and wetting the dust on the floor.

Rosie noticed the trickle of water. “Oh?”

She squatted down, glanced at the corner of the rat's mouth, and then looked up at the nearby mushroom patch.

The dwarf had already walked over. Squatting beside the patch, he brushed aside the glowing caps with his hand, felt around the roots, and leaned in for a closer look.

“These mushrooms are still very damp. This rat was watering them.”

He picked up a small, dark, granular object, crushed it between his fingertips, and sniffed. “There are also rat droppings here—likely used as fertilizer. They are farming these mushrooms.”

“As expected of Master Ginli, you really know your stuff,” Rosie said.

“Hehehe,” the dwarf chuckled proudly.

Knight John looked at the glowing mushrooms and the dead rat, his voice filled with wonder. “These rats actually know how to farm mushrooms? Truly fascinating.”

“It's quite normal,” the dwarf said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his hands. “Some creatures are born with these instincts. For instance, ants farm fungus too. They use leaves and chewed-up wood pulp to cultivate mycelium.”

For once, Anna didn't argue with him. She nodded. “It seems you really do know a lot.”

The dwarf raised his chin slightly, about to say something, but Rosie beat him to it. “If the rats are watering the mushrooms, it means there's a water source nearby.”

The dwarf slapped his thigh. “Exactly!”

Rosie said, “Talk about a stroke of luck. It fell right into our laps.”

This mushroom patch alone solved their food problem. Combined with a water source, this trip wouldn't be a waste of time even if they failed to find any authorization.

Anna turned her head to look at her. “Rosie, where did you learn that saying? It sounds so strange, yet it makes perfect sense.”

Rosie replied casually, “Just something I read in a book once.”

Anna didn't press further. She turned her gaze back forward. “Let us keep going.”

The four of them continued onward.

The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of rats became.

However, those rats only loitered in the distant shadows, squeaking nervously and not daring to approach the four of them.

To these rats, John and Rosie, clad in plate armor, were probably just two walking blocks of iron—impossible to bite and terrifying to approach.

Although the dwarf only wore leather armor, he was tough and thick-skinned.

As for Anna, she walked in the middle of the formation, occasionally turning her hand slightly as if gathering something.

Rosie figured this female mage definitely had some trump card up her sleeve; otherwise, a caster couldn't possibly remain so calm.

After walking a bit further, rooms began to appear on both sides.

The doorways stood wide open, their interiors completely empty with nothing inside.

However, in some of the rooms, massive claw marks were left on the walls, as if scraped by giant talons.

Other spots bore deep indentations, with cracks spiderwebbing outward from the center of the impacts.

It was worth noting that even a full-force strike from the dwarf's axe would only leave a shallow white mark on these walls.

One could only wonder what kind of ferocious beasts had once been kept inside.

Rosie suddenly spoke up. “This doesn't look like a core area. It looks more like a prison.”

Anna nodded. “It is indeed somewhat different from the ruins I visited before.”

“So, do we turn back or keep going?”

The dwarf gripped his axe and stood in the middle of the corridor, his gaze shifting between the two women.

John didn't speak. He simply stood quietly at the edge of the passage, his eyes vigilant.

Rosie thought for a moment. “Since we're already here, let's keep going. Who knows, we might find a nice surprise.”

The others nodded and pressed onward.

After rounding a corner, the glowing mushrooms on the walls grew sparse. The light dimmed, leaving only scattered specks of faint luminescence.

John's pace slowed down as well.

He stopped and whispered, “There's something ahead.”

Rosie had already spotted it without his warning.

A massive room entrance appeared ahead. The doorway was incredibly wide, easily over ten meters across, as if specially carved out to accommodate some sort of colossal creature.

A row of large rats stood guard at the entrance. They were a size larger than the dog-sized ones outside, their fur sleek and shiny, even glinting with a metallic sheen.

They squatted quietly on both sides of the doorway, their dark red eyes staring intently at the four intruders.

A few even stood on their hind legs, their front paws dangling in front of them. The tips of their claws were sharp as blades, longer than an adult's palm.

They didn't move or pounce; they just watched.

Rosie stopped in her tracks. “These rats seem to be guarding something.”

The dwarf spat into his palms and gripped his axe handle. “Who cares what they're guarding? Let's just kill them and find out!”

Just as he was about to take a step, a heavy footstep echoed from inside the room.

Thud.

Then came a second.

Thud.

The ground trembled slightly.

A colossal figure stepped out from the shadows of the room.

It stood easily four meters tall; Rosie had to tilt her head back to take in its full height.

Its lower body was as massive as an elephant's, with four legs like grayish-white stone pillars that made the stone floor groan with every step.

Yet its upper body resembled a giant beastkin, with two thick, long tusks protruding from its lips. Its muscular arms gripped a metal club as thick as a man's wrist.