Chapter 118: Escape

After the tremors subsided, the surroundings gradually returned to calmness. Hilda squinted her eyes as dust filled the air, coughing a few times before looking around. The lighting magic device had been crushed, leaving darkness all around. Hilda quickly raised her hand, and magic energy surged, emitting a golden light.

Universal Magic—Lighting Spell.

She looked around and found that the surroundings were covered with rocks and dirt, leaving only a narrow space, which was upheld by Field.

She hurriedly turned to look at Field.

At this moment, Field was kneeling on one knee, with his heavy hammer propped against the ground, one hand gripping the handle with a boulder on top. The heavy shield was on his back, also pressed down by a large stone. He remained motionless, kneeling there like a devout temple guard. However, blood was dripping continuously from the cracks in his armor and helmet.

"Field..." Hilda's lips trembled slightly, then she quickly came to his side and opened the faceplate of Field's helmet.

She saw him with his eyes closed, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, and blood flowing down from his head.

"Field! Field!!" Hilda panicked, kneeling on the ground and lifting Field's face with her hands, calling out continuously.

For the first time, she felt such panic in her heart.

Even when facing the ferocious Wolf Demon back then, she had never felt like this.

But at the next moment, Field's voice came, "Stop shouting, you're going to deafen me."

Her heart instantly relaxed, and Hilda couldn't help but smile, but the smile lasted for less than two seconds before it turned into deep concern again.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

"Not good, got sand in my eyes, blow them for me... Damn it, blood got into my eyes too..." Field said, blinking his right eye continuously, showing signs of discomfort.

With one hand still supporting the ground and the other gripping the hammer handle, he couldn't let go, or the stone on top would crush him. The heavy rocks and dirt on his back were all supported by him.

Upon hearing this, Hilda quickly took out her handkerchief and wiped the blood from Field's forehead while using her fingers to open his right eye, pursing her lips and blowing gently.

"Better now?" she asked.

"Much better," Field replied.

Then Hilda looked around somewhat bewildered, saying, "You hold on, I... I'll use magic to dig us out..."

"Don't!" Field immediately interrupted.

Hilda quickly withdrew her hand, looking at Field.

"Hilda, calm down, first calm yourself down," Field's voice was gentle, noticing Hilda's rapid breathing.

Don't get it wrong, he didn't have the mind to pay attention to those things at the moment—of course, this girl still had quite a figure. It's just that the sudden collapse had definitely scared her, especially since she had no experience being buried alive.

But Field did.

That was a thing of the past, with the outcome being surviving a disaster, then getting back and having those bastards who buried him alive shot.

So, it's best to shoot them in the head if you can, and forget about burying alive.

Right now, Hilda seemed a bit panicked and didn't know what to do. On the one hand, it was the sudden collapse, and on the other hand, it was because of his condition.

Don't get him wrong either, he just had some minor injuries.

"Adjust your breathing," Field said, lowering his head because of the large stone pressing on his neck.

"Don't let your breathing get out of control."

"Okay, okay..." Hilda nodded repeatedly, her voice less trembling now.

After a moment, she nodded again, "I've calmed down."

Her voice wasn't as shaky now.

"Next, you can't dig outward because the rock structure outside is a bit unstable. I noticed it just now, but I didn't expect the Tunneling Beast to suddenly appear here. Its digging tunnel caused the collapse."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't..." Hilda's eyes were slightly red.

"Don't say that," Field interrupted, "Now, dig downward. The rock structure around us may be unstable, but the ground beneath our feet must still be stable."

"Dig down and create a space large enough for both of us to shelter in. Then we'll drill into it."

"The boulder on my back is a solid piece, it will cover the entrance to prevent us from being buried again."

"Then we need to dig diagonally downward. After digging for a distance, we'll dig diagonally upward again to minimize the risk of a second collapse."

"There are many underground tunnels around here. As long as we find one at random, we'll be safe."

"Understood?" 

"Understood!" Hilda nodded, then extended her hand, and a golden light appeared in her hand, which quickly turned into an earthy yellow light.

Universal Magic—Earth Fusion Technique!

The soil beneath Hilda began to churn, then spread out along the cracks in the surrounding rocks, gradually forming a hole.

Gritting her teeth, Hilda increased the output of magic energy to make the soil spread faster.

"Don't rush, Hilda," Field's voice came.

"Don't waste your magic power, maintain a steady pace. Save your magic power, because earth-type monsters generally have the ability to sense vibrations. The collapse here should attract monsters soon, and we might have to fight later."

"I understand..." Hilda nodded, biting her lip to slow down the output of magic power.

Although this slowed down the rate at which the soil spread, it saved a lot of magic power.

It's like the difference between stepping on the gas and stepping lightly on the gas.

After a while, Hilda had dug out a hole about one meter wide and over three meters deep, which was mainly thanks to Field holding up the large boulder. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much space for her to dig.

As for the soil dug out, there was nowhere to put it, so Hilda stored it in her storage ring.

Hilda had also thought about using this method to help Field escape, but she was afraid that retracting a large stone would break the current balance and cause more boulders to fall.

"Is this okay?" Hilda asked.

"Okay, next, dig diagonally downward," Field said.

"What about you?" Hilda asked anxiously.

"When you've dug enough, I'll enter the hole," Field said.

"You can come down now, this hole can accommodate both of us." Hilda said, worried that Field's physical strength wouldn't hold up.

Field smiled and said, "Not yet, I have to adjust slowly to minimize the risk of a second collapse."

Upon hearing this, Hilda could only grit her teeth and continue digging downward.

And Field also started to exert force. The heavy stones on top were too heavy; every movement required all his strength. The veins on his forehead slightly bulged, and blood and energy patterns appeared around him.

With magic power, strength maxed out, Field moved little by little towards the hole dug by Hilda.

Soon, Field's hands and hammer were near the edge of the hole.

He took a deep breath, then slowly lowered his body.

With a crackling sound around him, the veins on Field's forehead

 became more prominent.

It's too damn heavy!

It was like doing push-ups with a mountain on his back!

He quickly lowered his body halfway, making sure the boulder was aimed at the hole. He tensed all over, ready.

Next moment, the heavy hammer was stored in the storage ring, and with a push against the edge of the hole, Field's massive body slid into the hole like an eel, the heavy shield rubbing against the boulder, sparks flying.

"Boom..."

Chapter 118: Escape

Upon hearing the commotion behind her, Hilda quickly turned and called out, "Field?!"

"I'm fine," Field's voice came, and Hilda turned the light from the illumination spell to see Field lying upside down in the pit, with his head down and his butt up.

Normally, such a ridiculous scene would have made Hilda laugh, but at this moment, she just felt much relieved.

Field turned his body around and climbed to Hilda's side, smiling as he reached out his hand and ruffled Hilda's golden hair with his dirty big hand.

"You did well, Hilda. Leave the rest to me."

Feeling the big hand on her head, seeing the smile on the face before her, Hilda's heart trembled slightly. Unconsciously, her cheeks turned red.

Unfortunately, Field didn't see it.

He had already taken out the shovel and pickaxe from his storage ring. He had prepared such essential tools for mining, even including spare illumination magic devices.

Just now, he couldn't free up his hands, but now that he could, he retrieved the magic device and hung it on his waist, then started digging.

Field's speed was much faster than Hilda's; all the soil and rocks were collected into his storage ring.

After digging down for about ten meters, Field began to dig diagonally upward.

The reason he did this was that he judged that the collapsed underground passage they came through was only part of it. Digging upward might lead them out of the cave and back into the passage. As for digging downward, he couldn't determine whether there was deeper ground or another underground passage below. He wasn't going to take that risk now.

As expected, Field's judgment was correct. It was only a partial collapse of the passage. After digging upward for about ten meters, when the light emitted by the ore penetrated through the soil and shone on their faces, Hilda felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.

"Phew... That was exhausting," Field crawled out of the cave and sat on the ground, looking at the blocked passage not far away, smiling.

Hilda also sat on the ground, but she was looking at Field.

She lacked experience and didn't anticipate the danger. Field foresaw it and immediately took the best protective measures.

That heavy boulder, even if Hilda were a platinum-level warrior, the chances of being buried alive were slim.

After that, Hilda fell into a panic, but Field still managed to remain calm and clear-headed, providing the best survival plan.

He could even smile as if the life-threatening danger wasn't a big deal.

His gentle reassurance seemed to still echo in her ears, and listening to his voice, Hilda felt reassured.

She just looked at him, at the deformed heavy armor on his body, at the scratched heavy shield on his back, and then at the smile on his face that shouldn't have appeared in such an environment and situation.

Her heart trembled.

"Hilda? Hilda?" It was not until Field's voice came that Hilda gradually came back to her senses.

"Ah... ah?" Hilda blinked, then finally responded.

"What are you spacing out for?" Field stood up, reaching out his hand. "Can you still stand?"

"I can..." Hilda nodded and took his hand.

Field gently pulled her up, but perhaps due to the adrenaline wearing off after the ordeal, Hilda stumbled for a moment and then directly fell into Field's arms.

At that moment, both of them froze.

Hilda looked up at Field with her small face, somewhat absent-minded.

And Field looked at Hilda, who was covered in dust. At that moment, even though her hair was covered in dirt, Hilda's beauty couldn't be obscured by these dust, making her even more captivating.

Field was the first to react. He steadied Hilda and smiled, "Alright, let's go. We still need to find another Tunneling Beast."

"Oh..." Hilda replied softly, then followed behind Field, looking at his back.

After walking for more than a hundred meters, Field suddenly stopped and turned around, laughing, "Don't just look at me, pay attention to your surroundings. Don't forget we're still in the underground maze."

"Ah, yes!" Hilda blushed and quickly looked around.

But she still seemed a bit absent-minded.

She touched her cheek.

It felt a bit hot.

She shook her head slightly to clear her mind.

She felt something was off with herself, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. So, she began to shift her attention.

"Field, how are your injuries? Shouldn't we go back first?" Hilda asked.

"Minor injuries, nothing serious," Field replied.

It was just some scratches and bruises on his back, and his head had a few scratches. With his self-healing ability, these minor injuries would heal in the time it takes to have an afternoon tea.

"Hilda, were you scared just now?" Field suddenly asked.

Hilda's heart tightened, and she subconsciously said, "No..."

"Be honest," Field's voice came.

Hilda looked over and found that he didn't turn around, just waiting for her answer.

She pursed her lips slightly and finally said, "Yes... I was a little scared."

"It's normal to be afraid. Not being afraid would be the problem," Field's voice carried a smile.

"When encountering danger, people will inevitably feel some fear. It's a self-protection mechanism. You don't need to doubt your heart."

"Even strong people feel fear, but the difference between strong and weak lies in the ability to overcome fear."

"Lift your head, look ahead, and don't let this small collapse bury your path forward."

Field's voice echoed in the spacious passage, and Hilda felt a wave of warmth in her heart.

She knew that Field was afraid that the sudden danger would affect her state of mind.

But what she was really afraid of was not the danger itself, but the fear of Field being in danger.

She smiled gently, looking at his back, nodding slightly.

"I understand."

"Thank you, Field."

"No need," Field waved his hand.

"What about you? Are you afraid?" Hilda suddenly asked curiously.

Field: "No."

Hilda: "?"

"But you just said..."

"Yeah, not being afraid would be the problem, so I have a big problem," Field chuckled. "I'm a lunatic who enjoys challenging danger."

"If you don't want to be infected by me, you'd better stay away~"

Hilda was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, and quickly caught up with his pace, walking beside him.

"I'm not afraid!" she declared.

Field turned his head and saw Hilda looking at him with a smile.

He blinked, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Hilda tilted her head, "What's so funny?"

"I feel like you should take a look in the mirror. Right now, you look like a little kitten," Field laughed.

"Later, I'll tell Qiqi that Hilda is also a cat person."

"Haha."

Hilda was stunned, then took out a mirror from her storage ring and looked at it.

Indeed!

Her small face was covered in dust.

Hilda puffed her cheeks but couldn't help but laugh.

"And you're not any better, you look like a big pig!" she teased.

"Huh, can you turn into a big pig too?"

"Haha, big pig!"