Spying Techniques

Chris spent the next night tinkering with the small grey mana crystals.

According to Mia, they contained mana that could be used by mages through magic artifacts for great effects. It seemed that unlike elves and other magical beings, humans do not have enough mana in them to cast spells, making them rely on such crystals.

But mana crystals could be considered as extra batteries and as such were valued by every race. Chris saw it as such: Humans are the equivalent of a device that needs to be plugged to a power supply to function since that device has no internal battery. While most races have their own internal storage and can work without external input. But having more crystals means they can use magic longer and cast bigger spells.

In the end, everyone wants them, individuals want them as a backup in case of trouble, governments stockpile them for war. This means the demand is higher than the supply, and prices are very high.

Their size and elements can also boost the price higher. The bigger the crystal is, the more mana is stored up and the higher its mana output is.

Unfortunately, the ones in Chris' hands were very small and of the death energy, the least sought after elemental energy. It was unlikely anyone would want to purchase them. Even human mages.

So Chris was free to play around with them.

After one night he found out that they could easily break, they are about as resistant as actual crystals from his world. Breaking them would release the mana inside in a cloud of grey smoke that made him feel sick when he breathed it in. It was very obvious it was due to the mana's element. Chris was curious to try his hands at other crystals. Would fire crystals make him feel hot when he breathed the mana in?

He also tried immersing the crystals in water, and this turned the water grey-ish.

He was now standing in front of a cup filled grey-ish with water, and he was wondering what to do.

[Eesh. That looks nasty. What can I do with this?] He gulped nervously as he looked at the content of the cup. He could feel the aura of death escaping from it. He was not stupid enough to actually drink it... Even though he was stupid enough to breathe the grey fog before. [Should I trick Berg into drinking it?]

[No, no, this might end up worse than him getting diarrhea. Let's test it on plants first.]

That's when he remembered seeing a few potted plants in Mia's tent...

***** *****

The next morning.

"Cid, I am leaving the camp to you." Said Chris. "Be careful, I am counting on you.

"I will, my Lord." He said as he bowed.

"Catherine, protect our people well." He paused but then added with a smirk: "Please don't chase the Gnolls around. You'll get to do that another day."

"Fine." She answered clearly disappointed.

Everyone was ready, and it was now time to leave for the cave.

"Bergy! My royal mount!" Shouted Chris.

"E-eh?" Berg was standing near Chris with Dalahan. He was clearly startled. "I assumed you'd make the trip with Dalahan as always. I even promised Petunia you'd reward her for borrowing him."

"Pfrrt" Said Dalahan, as he enjoyed Mia's rubbing.

[Damnit. My nemesis, we meet again...] Thought a jealous Chris.

"Come on, bring him with us." Said Mia in a teasing manner. "Look, he seems so lonely."

"B-but we can't share a mount if I ride him." Appealed Chris.

"Huhu. It was never going to happen anyways. Come on, bring the little guy!" She answered.

It didn't take long for Mia to convince Chris and the group left for the south, where a mysterious cave awaited them.

****** ******

"Haha, it's so light old man!" Shouted a young man.

"Right?" Excitedly answered Carmelo.

He was checking the wheelbarrow prototypes with his son. The shouts attracted Rinat's attention as well as the other blacksmiths around.

They were currently testing the wheelbarrows maximum load. On the side, many crushed handcarts could be seen.

"I see more iron parts this time." Commented Rinat. "Are you sure we can afford that?"

"It should be fine. We just found a few iron lodes." Answered Carmelo in his usual jovial tone. "And the miners' work should be easier and faster if the wheelbarrows can carry more."

"Let's see." Rinat bent down and checked the new prototype. "This model has a slightly larger tray, you've added a light iron skeleton. The supports for the wheel are also reinforced." Detailed Rinat. "This looks good."

"Yes! Let's start making it right away and surprise the Lord when he comes back!" Decided Carmelo.

****** ******

The trip to the mysterious cave took roughly four hours. Slightly longer than Carl on his first trip, but this time there were more people and goods to carry.

Mia rode in front of the carriage carrying goods for the trip, while Chris and Berg rode next to her to chat.

"We are almost there." Signaled Carl.

"Alright, let's go as we planned." Ordered Chris. "Let's have our soldiers fan out and converge on the cave. We can't have skeletons roaming the Valley. Who knows if whatever is inside can call them to attack us from the back."

Chris had taken out his +5 sword but stayed behind for some reason.

"Not fighting?" Teased Mia.

"If I go I can't protect you can I ?" Answered Chris with a serious expression.

"Mister Silowas is still here; it should be fine." She continued.

"A promise is a promise. I can't go back on it!" Insisted Chris.

"Huhu."

After fanning out, the soldiers removed every skeleton they met on their way to the cave. They could each defeat multiple skeletons at the same time, so a few stragglers were no problem. Finding the skeletons was easy. All they had to do was make a little noise, and they would react instinctively and charge at the noise.

Chris finally saw his first real-life skeleton. He was surprised that it matched his imagination quite well. It was basically a human skeleton walking around.

"You seem disappointed my Lord?" Asked Berg.

"I expected as much... But I still somewhat hoped to be surprised." He explained.

"I am far from an expert on the subject, but the more powerful the necromancer, the more exotic his summons become. I have even heard of dragons being summoned." Encouraged Berg.

"Ooh."

The cave was finally in full view. Everyone still on horses or donkey, which were not many, dismounted and prepared.

"Alright, time to check out that mysterious cave." Said Chris, and in the next instant, he disappeared into a bush.

"What are you doing?" She asked to his butt poking out.

"Spying, what else? When you spy, you've got to hide. It's protocol." He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Come, come."

"Mister Silowas?" She asked. But Berg wasn't about to rain on his King's parade. So he signaled her to join in.

She hesitated but finally joined in. "You know that the others are standing next to us right?"

"But we are the ones spying. Look they are pretending to look around."

[That's because they are too embarrassed to look at us...] She thought.

"Let's see. There are undead leaving the cave, as Carl said." Commented Chris.

Carl who was standing next to them nodded. He was relieved his report was confirmed.

"There is also this nice enticing smell." Noted Chris as he raised his nose.

"Really? I don't smell anything." Said Mia.

"Ah, sorry, it's coming from you."

"... I'm leaving."

"W-wait, do you hear that?" Said Chris who suddenly changed the subject.

Mia Perked her ears up. "Actually, I do. What is it? It sounds like a roar."

"Not sure. But at least we know there is something inside."

Somehow this did not seem to reassure anyone.

After a more thorough investigation was done, a few scouts confirmed that the inside of the cave was filled with skeletons. Fighting was necessary to reach the end of the cave.

Berg took the lead now that they knew what they were dealing with. One hundred and twenty soldiers were split in three groups of forty each, and they would take turns fighting in the front. Forty soldiers would protect the rear, and the remaining twenty were assigned to Chris' and Mia's protection.

Berg really tried his best to convince them to stay outside, but as Chris said, they would be safer surrounded by soldiers than outside with a small guard.

The group was now in front of the cave. It was so deep and dark that it was impossible to see anything past a few dozen meters. The loud noises coming from inside were now creepier that they were in front of it. The cave was twenty-five meters wide, this meant that forty men could easily fit shoulder to shoulder. The ceiling was perhaps four or five meters high. It was clear that this was not a natural cave as the walls were too smooth.

Chris inspected the walls. "Are those claw marks?"

Mia nodded. "It is very likely that the necromancer used his summons to dig up a base."

Chris gripped his +5 wooden sword and went back to the middle of his guards, where Mia stood.

It didn't take long for the group to find their fist skeleton inside the cave.

At first, they only had to dispatch a few of them, but as they went deeper, the skeletons' numbers increased, as their numbers increased the battles became louder and louder, which in turn attracted even more skeletons.

It soon became an all-out battle with thousands and thousands of undead crashing against Chris' soldiers.

Luckily, the skeletons were weak and the cave acted like a funnel, making sure the soldiers were not overwhelmed by the enemies' numbers.

Berg, Ferlin, and Carl each had forty soldiers and they each took a turn fighting in the front line to preserve the soldiers' stamina.

The group managed to make good constant progress inside the cave. A few soldiers were injured but they were simply swapped out by soldiers from the rear guard to recuperate.

As they progressed, they noticed one thing. The layout of the cave was very simple. They feared it would be a labyrinth, which would expose them to danger and traps. But the necromancer who dug this cave was most likely after convenience. As it was dug straight into the cave.

The fight continued for roughly one hundred meters, the first line of soldiers dealt with the skeletons, and the second and third waves waited for their turns while making sure the skeletons were truly disabled.

Chris was very excited. Each undead defeated meant a new mana crystal.

Mia noticed his excitement: "You look happy." She said.

"Well, all these crystals would be a big help to us. We can sell them or find more uses for them."

"You might not know, but I have done some experiments with the crystals Carl brought back. For example, I noticed that water could absorb its death energy. There might be many other ways to use the energy contained inside." Said Chris. He was quite honest as he wasn't going to hide anything from Mia and his people. He was an honest man! He had no need for secrets!

"Oh right. One of my plants died this morning. Did you water it with death infused water? Cat said she noticed you leaving my tent in a hurry this morning." Asked Mia with an inquisitive look.

"M-me? Of course not, I was just looking for you, but you weren't there, so I left." He answered while sweating quite a bit.

[W-well maybe some secrets are alright after all...]

"Lord! There is a clearing in front!" Shouted berg from the front line.

Everyone was stunned as they looked at what was ahead of them.

[What the...]