The entrance to the underworld is a cavern deep in a vast hill, beyond which grows a huge ginkgo tree. The ginkgo tree has verdant, turquoise leaves, and its lush canopy extends in all directions, covering most of the potholes.

"Gary, does this tree really have a lifespan of tens of thousands of years?" William walked around the trunk, taking more than a dozen heartbeats. The ginkgo tree was so large that although the height of the tree was not unusual, its body was thick enough to resemble a small castle.

"That's what most people think anyway. The goblin approached with the goat in tow and tethered his mount to a root that protruded from the ground.

"Does that mean that this tree already existed when you goblins were still the masters of this continent and before they declined?" William looked up at the canopy, amazed.

This was a slight offense, but Gary, as a goblin who could walk normally in the human world, obviously had a pretty good temper, so he didn't mind, "That's true, if it's forty or fifty thousand years old." Of course, the premise is that the historical legends that have been handed down are true. Alas, God knows if my race really had a glorious history, as stated in the book "The Last Goblin". Maybe the book was made up in a dream by some human writer. ”

"I think it's true. Weimar walked over and looked Gary in the eyes with sincerity, "Because that's what everybody thinks, books, poems, paintings...... , which is mentioned in many works. And the mages think so - goblins, elves, and then humans, and civilizations are constantly changing across the continent. ”

"Perhaps, my ancestors didn't leave anything useful to us descendants anyway. Oh, except for a good appetite, and the ability to reproduce like a mouse. The modest goblin said this, with a rare hint of complaint in his tone, "The latter point guarantees that no matter what situation we encounter, at least the genre will not be exterminated." But that's all, there's no more use. ”

Everyone smiled politely, and did not continue to discuss the inappropriate topic of 'goblin ancestors'.

"You say, after us humans, who will rule this continent again?" William casually plucked an unripe fruit from the ginkgo tree, looked at it in his hand, and threw it into the pit, "Orcs, or trolls, or kobolds?" he said with a smile.

I'd rather be a rat than an orc, Barrett thought to herself.

He led the 'carrot' under the ginkgo tree, took out enough forage and food from the spatial ring, and placed it in front of the mount, "It's hard for you to wait for me a little longer as before, old man." "He was holding the neck of the carrot.

And this young horse, who could not be said to be obedient or disobedient, only concentrated on eating the forage in front of him, and did not react to the affectionate confession of his master.

Barrett shrugged, accustomed to this.

"Half-elves, I guess!" said Blake, the bow-wielder, suddenly, solemnly.

"Why?"

"Because the half-elf has a longer lifespan than us humans, its learning ability is not weaker than ours, its fertility and maturity are also moderate, and its personality is not as arrogant as its elven mother, and it can get along well with other races. Therefore, they are most likely the masters of the continent after our human race. "To be honest, I think the half-elves are a more perfect race, more perfect than humans. ”

These words had to give Barrett a new understanding of this young man who always looked absent-minded. Only people who have really thought carefully about such questions will give such a well-founded and convincing answer.

What is this guy's mind going on? Is it all this kind of pointless question?

"But there are so few of them, even fewer than elves. William objected to this answer, "With these half-elves right now, they can't even conquer kobolds." ”

"Just because it's small now doesn't mean it's going to be the same in the future. What about a thousand years, ten thousand years from now?" Blake said solemnly, "At that time, the half-elves only needed a chance to rise, and yes, the rise of any race needed such an opportunity. ”

"But......" William was about to say something, but was interrupted by Barritt clapping his hands.

"Hey, boys, I think we should stop talking about these nonsensical things. The barbarian shouted, "Double-check the weapon, we're ready to start this underground adventure in earnest!"

"Barrett, isn't your horse tethered?" asked Weimar, pointing to the 'carrot' under the tree, "what if it runs away? ”

"Don't worry, if it really wanted to run, it would have had many chances to disappear without a trace. Barrett replied. With that, he got up and walked towards the spiraling 'dazzling staircase' at the edge of the pit.

The roots of the ginkgo tree are like thick pythons, crawling on the rock walls and stone stairs of the deep pit. The dazzling staircase has no handrails or siderails, and if you accidentally trip over or fall from a tree root, your life can become a luxury.

Just as Barrett descended the stairs to parallel to the ground, he subconsciously glanced out of the pit. The unripe ginkgo fruit that William had picked before stopped at the edge of the pit. The turquoise fruit was reflected in Barrett's eyes, and a question of little significance suddenly popped up in the barbarian's mind.

Why is it that tens of thousands of years have passed, and why is there only this one big ginkgo tree in the vicinity? Why hasn't a new ginkgo tree grown after the ripe fruit fell to the ground? Or maybe something happened to them?

It seems that the continuation of all life is not without a price. The barbarian thought for no reason.

......

Carefully descend to the bottom of the pit, where there are four different passages in a cross shape. These channels are not completely independent, but are connected in many places. The entire dark region is like a huge cobweb divided into multiple layers, no matter which entrance or passage you enter from the continent, you will always come to the place you want to reach after passing through countless intersections.

"Which one should we choose?" asked Weimar to Barrett.

The barbarian took out a simple map of the first layer of the dark region from the spatial ring, which roughly marked some of the more important locations, main passages, and large karst caves. There were also some new locations and routes marked in ink, which were specially drawn for them by the kind-hearted dragon-blooded kobold Old Colin after listening to the content of their mission.

Each of the four passages is marked with a number of small mossy spider nests, but the two passages due south and east have an additional large spider nest.

Colin Sr. once said that the number of spider egg sacs in a small nest may not be enough for the task, and it is likely that two or three nests will have to be swept to make it up. And if it is a large spider nest, even if the number of spider egg sacs required for their task is several times over, it can be easily done.

"This!" Barrett said, pointing to the passage directly south and towards the young man behind him, "The large spider nest in this passage is closest to the exit here, and we can rely on that nest to complete the task directly." ”

What's more, this passage was also the one he had chosen the last time he went underground.

"No problem, just like we have agreed before, we will listen to you when it comes to adventures!" said the young people behind them with confidence.

Barrett took out a few more stones with a constant 'Illumination' and threw them behind him, "Wrap it in a strap and don't make it look too bright." Remember, Underground creatures hate heat and bright lights, so torches and campfires can be an extra danger for us. However, the faint cold light emitted by fluorescent plants does not attract hatred, and the glow of 'Illumination' barely belongs to this. So for us on the surface, it's the only reliable way to see things clearly. ”

The barbarian looked at the dark and deep passage, took a deep breath, and took the lead inside.

......