The blockade boards at the mine entrance, once destroyed, were now almost completely smashed by the surge of infected.
At this moment, it gaped open like the fangs of some monstrous beast, and the stench flowing from within was no longer just rot, but a nauseating mix of blood and thick magic.
Kaili walked in front, still using the cold-glow Illumination Crystal, while the other three held torches as they filed inside.
“Sigh, we just came here, and now we have to come again.”
Jocelyn walked behind Kaili, the heavy Destruction Armor echoing dully through the tunnel as she complained, “Why do these monsters never think of improving their living conditions? Don’t they get sick of such a foul smell?”
Wright brought up the rear, unable to resist responding, “As the saying goes, the deaf never worry about noise being harsh.”
Those creatures have lived in places like this since birth, so naturally, they don’t see any problem.
“These monsters are fundamentally incompatible with the creations of the gods. Sending them back to hell is their best fate.”
Kaili’s expression was grim, clearly disgusted by the magic around them.
Jocelyn couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander, her tone tinged with a glutton’s optimism.
“Do you think there might be Rock Fungus in the mine?”
Li Qiuchen rolled his eyes.
“Fourth, don’t think about eating at a time like this.”
“I’m nervous, okay? By the way, have you ever had Stone Ear? It’s a fungus that grows on the back of rocks, very crisp, kind of like pork.
I once had Stone Ear Fried Rice made by a chef in a restaurant in the Kaili City-State of the Northern Frontier.
Loads of oil and salt, stir-fried over high heat.
Then you spread soybean paste on Dao Vegetable leaves, wrap the fried rice inside, and one bite is pure satisfaction.”
Jocelyn earnestly described the wonders of the dish, and Wright swallowed hard, while Li Qiuchen felt his own appetite awaken.
Jocelyn had two talents: eating, and talking about food. But never expect her to cook.
If she tried, you’d be lucky if it wasn’t poisonous.
Even when she helped out in the kitchen at the inn, she was only allowed to tend the fire or fetch water.
“Miss Jocelyn, can you cook?”
Wright couldn’t help but ask.
In fact, most people who’d listened to Jocelyn talk about food liked to ask the same question.
Of course, it was always a pointless question.
Kaili, who was scouting ahead, turned back with a helpless look.
“Stay alert.”
She reminded softly, her Knight’s Longsword emitting a faint golden light like a beacon in the darkness.
“I’ll make it for you when we get back.”
Jocelyn replied quietly.
No, please.
That was Li Qiuchen’s silent cry from the heart.
“Alright.”
Uncle Wright nodded, gripping the Long Blade on his back. His hands, once used for kneading dough, now bulged with veins as he watched the rear and overhead with vigilance.
Contrary to expectations of a passage crawling with infected, the tunnel leading deeper in was eerily ‘clean’.
The remnants of infected previously cleared out were nowhere to be seen, even traces of battle erased by some force, leaving only a deathly silence and a growing sense of malice in the thickening air.
The abnormal calm had everyone’s nerves stretched tight.
“Too quiet,” Kaili whispered, “It feels… like walking into the gullet of a giant beast.”
“Could you not be so vivid with your descriptions, Miss Kaili?”
Li Qiuchen felt his stomach turn.
“If only the giant beast could be grilled.”
Jocelyn was muttering, when suddenly Wright, at the rear, made a surprised sound and stopped.
“Found something?”
Li Qiuchen perked up, forgetting his discomfort as he hurried over.
Kaili and Jocelyn also became instantly alert.
At the tunnel’s edge, faintly glowing purple Magic Array patterns shimmered.
“Is this left by Aescher?”
Kaili was puzzled.
“Probably not. Judging by the weathering on the array, it’s been here for a while. I think it’s the work of that old sorcerer. Let me see… It looks like a Soul Restriction Array.”
Li Qiuchen analyzed the patterns, using the Perception effect of the Zhesi Gem.
The magic in the Yellow Crystal in his hand had unknowingly dropped to a quarter.
“Impressive. No wonder he had Baron Horn put all the bodies in the mine.”
Li Qiuchen explained further.
“This array targets the souls of magic beasts, keeping them in a near-death state.
Although the corpses Baron and the others brought in were infected, the excess magic was drained, preventing that Mankor beast from recovering.
And as for the soulless infected, the beast wouldn’t release them either, since that would bring down the Temple of the God of War’s wrath.
Thus, a delicate balance was formed.”
“And the magic exposure by Aescher outside the town damaged the array from the outside. We have to find Aescher and interrupt his Conversion Ritual quickly, or… the consequences will be unimaginable.”
The four quickened their descent into the tunnel.
Due to repeated explosions and cave-ins, a large Mine Chamber had formed at the bottom of the tunnel, and the group decided to split up and search.
Jocelyn and Li Qiuchen were moving toward one of the chambers together when Jocelyn suddenly stopped.
Li Qiuchen bumped into her backplate, clutching his forehead with annoyance.
“What the hell, fourth?”
“Look…”
Jocelyn pointed at two red dots in the distance.
Under the dome of a broad Mine Chamber, in the dim shadows, two red lights glowed. Looking closer, they saw a giant bat hanging upside down.
It was much larger than normal, its wingspan nearly that of an adult human.
Sparse hair exposed blue-black skin beneath.
Most striking were its tightly shut eyelids, under which two pinpricks of red light faintly shone.
“Just this?”
Li Qiuchen sighed in relief, almost wanting to laugh.
“When did you become so timid, fourth? It’s just a bat, a bit bigger from magic infection, probably an original resident of the mine. Just kill it, don’t make a fuss…”
“Can you kill it?”
Jocelyn asked.
“A single Fireball Spell is enough.”
Li Qiuchen smiled calmly.
“Then your fireball should be…”
Jocelyn lifted her armored hand, not at the bat, but at the deep, boundless darkness behind it.
“Very big, right?”
Her voice, muffled through the helmet, was uncharacteristically dry.
Li Qiuchen followed her gesture, straining his eyes.
The next instant, his blood seemed to freeze.
In the shadows behind the giant bat, first two or three pairs, then dozens, hundreds, thousands—countless red dots ignited, like ghost flames in the dark, layer upon layer, spreading out endlessly!
That was no bat.
It was a red sea, hanging from the mine ceiling, composed of countless giant bats!
“Goddess of War above…”
Kaili gasped, her grip on her sword turning her knuckles white.
Almost simultaneously, the red-eyed sea ‘boiled’!
An ear-splitting shriek tore through the air, soundwaves battering them like a physical force! Countless huge shadows surged forth, blotting out the tunnel as they flooded toward the four!
“Formation!”
Kaili shouted, charging ahead.
Her Knight’s Longsword blazed with dazzling holy light, forming a golden barrier that shredded the foremost bats like a wall, flesh and blood raining down in a storm.
But there were simply too many!
No matter how many fell, more came!
The golden light quickly began to dim.
“Get behind me!”
Jocelyn roared, the towering Destruction Armor standing firm as a bulwark.
She stepped forward, shielding Li Qiuchen and Wright, arms crossed over her head and chest.
Countless bats slammed into her iron armor, producing a deafening clang, but not a single one could break through, only leaving white scratches on the black metal with their fangs and claws.
Like a black sea breaking against stone.
Uncle Wright quickly put away his Long Blade, pulling out a silver Magic Staff.
“Goddess’s Blessing, Silence Barrier!”
He chanted.
A semi-transparent barrier of white light flickered into existence, barely enclosing the four and blocking the bats trying to slip through from the sides and rear.
“This can’t go on! There are too many!”
Kaili’s sword arm was already going numb.
Though strong, holy light consumed great energy.
Li Qiuchen looked at the now faintly glowing Yellow Crystal in his hand, gritting his teeth.
“Buy me ten seconds!”
He shut his eyes, shutting out the overwhelming swarm, focusing inward on the tiny well of magic, and the last energy inside the Yellow Crystal.
Perception activated, countless lines of Elemental Pathways weaving through his mind.
He needed a combination that saved magic but dealt the widest area of damage…
Must it be 1+1>2?
Got it!
The core of Flame Burst Spell, combined with Meteor Shower’s spread, amplified and guided by Swift Wind.
“Push everything into it… Fourth, here comes my giant fireball!”
He guided the flames with his right hand, the Yellow Crystal in his left trembling violently.
The last glow flashed, then faded away, turning clear and colorless.
“Summon! Meteor Fireburst!”
BOOM——!!!
At the top of the mine, searing fire elements converged into dozens of giant molten fireballs over a meter wide, like meteors streaking through the air, crashing into the red sea of bats!
Explosions erupted, flames roaring, heatwaves engulfing the tunnel!
The bats’ screams were drowned in thunder, and the stench of burning flesh overwhelmed all else.
It lasted less than five seconds.
When the last fireball exploded and the light faded, silence returned to the tunnel.
Only the charred corpses of bats and burning debris remained as proof of the destruction.
Li Qiuchen collapsed to one knee, gasping for air, face pale as paper.
This time, he had truly drained every drop of magic.
Jocelyn relaxed her defensive stance, the armor seams still stuffed with bat remains. Her black armor was now stained red.
Uncle Wright’s barrier vanished, and he sat down heavily, faith nearly spent, his magic no longer as effective.
A giant bat, burned and blackened, lunged from behind, hurtling toward the kneeling Li Qiuchen—golden light flashed as a sharp sword pierced its throat mid-air.
“Is it… over?”
Kaili panted, tossing aside the last bat.
“For now.”
Li Qiuchen nodded weakly.
“My ‘ultimate’ is on cooldown… no, wait, the crystal is just out of magic. Here, you can have it back. It’ll take a week to recharge.”
He handed over the Yellow Crystal, but Kaili shook her head.
“Keep it for now.”
“I still have a Blue Crystal…”
Wright said, pulling one from his bag and passing it to Li Qiuchen.
“Uncle, did you bring bread?”
Jocelyn asked.
Kaili leaned on her sword, refusing to sit down. She took out a water flask.
“Miss Jocelyn, I have water. Let’s rest a moment before we hunt down the fake Aescher.”
As everyone finally let their guard down, a hoarse, ancient voice suddenly echoed in the silent mine, as if right beside their ears.
“No need to hurry, pitiful worms.”
All four stiffened instantly, whipping their heads toward the source.
In the deepest shadow of the tunnel, a figure slowly emerged.
He wore a tattered black cloak, white bone protruding from his shoulder.
A pointed wizard’s hat hid his face, but the darkness he radiated was colder and deeper than Aescher’s.
The old sorcerer who had died in the mine.
He’d been alive all along?
But what shocked Li Qiuchen and the others even more was the sight beside him—Aescher stood, motionless, like a puppet drained of Soul.
His once-cunning, crazed eyes were now empty and black, just like Baron Horn before.
It was as if all his consciousness had been seized by this suddenly appearing elder.
“Soon,”
The old sorcerer raised a withered finger, pointing at the four, a cruel smile in his voice.
“You’ll become his companions as well.”
***
Taya Cultural Notes:
On Mud Transformation and Swamp Spell
[Mud Transformation] Spell Level: 1
Main Element: Earth Sub Element: Water
Spell Difficulty: 1 Hand Technique Difficulty: 1
Core Effect: Consumes user’s magic to increase moisture in a small area of land, turning its surface into slick, sticky mud.
Short duration. Mainly used to create obstacles and slow movement.
Common Applications:
Adventurers: Briefly hindering pursuers, creating temporary traps.
Farmer Sowing: Mixing seeds and fertilizer to sow special crops (controversial—some believe vegetables grown this way are poisonous).
Construction Engineering: Temporarily softening ground to aid piling (amusingly, no one thinks buildings made this way are poisonous).
***
[Swamp Spell] Spell Level: 2
Main Element: Water Sub Element: Earth
Spell Difficulty: 2 Hand Technique Difficulty: 3
Core Effect: Creates a larger, sustainable swamp area with strong adhesion and engulfing power. Magic cost and duration/area scale together.
Common Applications:
Battlefield Magic: Sealing key routes, trapping heavy enemy units (huge magic consumption but highly effective; credited with turning the tide in early human wars).
Area Defense: Deployed around castles or camps as additional fortifications.
Environmental Modification: Creating wetlands in arid regions (requires sustained casting or a Magic Array; expensive. Recorded cases at the edge of the Moonshadow Forest).
[Comparison & Commentary]
In practice, these two spells are often underestimated by magic apprentices.
As Master of Seven-layer Pointed Hat, Reno, wrote on the title page of The Victory of Vermin: There are no low-level magics, only incompetent mages.
In Grand Mage Weekly, a priest who participated in war wrote:
“In human wars, the real threat doesn’t come from earth-shattering forbidden spells.
When you see an armored knight leader fall, shattering army morale, because a muddy pit suddenly appeared underfoot; or watch an entire proud assault team silently sink into a swamp mid-charge…
You realize that the right amount of ‘trouble’ can be more tactically valuable than pure ‘destruction’.”
In One Hundred Practical Magics compiled by the Osses School, there’s a note on Swamp Spell: “Friendly reminder, don’t practice Swamp Spell alone. At least have a friend stand five meters away and tie a rope between your waists. Mastering the casting position of Swamp Spell is a skill that takes long-term practice.”