Chapter 523 - 522: Prelude to the Surprise Attack

Chapter 523: Chapter 522: Prelude to the Surprise Attack

Selan then nodded.

The group then hurried back.

The journey was relatively smooth, and they didn’t run into any trouble or monsters.

Colin and the others arrived back at the armory door.

He reached out and knocked with three short taps and one long one. The armory door slowly opened, and Langgrin’s face peeked out from the lower half of the opening. He glanced at the people behind Colin and said, "Come on in and we can talk."

Colin nodded and led the Tritons behind him into the armory.

Langgrin looked at the Tritons and said, "Is that all of them?"

Colin looked at the Dwarf and sighed.

’He was telling the truth, but these Tritons came all this way to help. Was it really necessary to complain about their numbers right to their faces?’

"So, where is this monster?" Selan asked.

"Don’t be hasty, I’ve almost figured it out," Donkexes, who was sitting at the table, interjected. "You can all wait here for a bit."

"Rest and regroup!"

After Selan gave the order, the other Tritons found empty spots to sit on the floor and began to check their equipment.

"You can use the chairs over here," Colin said to them before walking over to Donkexes. "How’s it going? Have you calculated the location of the Aboleth’s lair?"

"Just one last point to go. We have to wait for Dorn." Donkexes’s short legs tapped restlessly against the ground.

Colin crossed his arms and went to the door to wait quietly.

After everything that had happened, he felt a bit weary.

The monster density in the Undercity was absurdly high. Back on the great plains of the North, he could travel for weeks without running into anything out of the ordinary.

Here in the Undercity, however, they ran into trouble almost every day. Moments of peace were rare, and now they had provoked a particularly nasty monster.

While he waited, some of the Tritons would occasionally strike up a conversation with Colin, chatting about their enemies and the surface world. Ale and Orelia gathered nearby to listen, which was a form of relaxation in itself.

Time ticked by until a rhythmic knock sounded at the door again.

Colin opened the door and, just as he’d expected, saw Dorn.

He strode into the armory, spread the map in his hands out on the table, and pointed to a spot. "This is the border of the lair. The contamination in the river water is abruptly cut off. It’s incredibly obvious."

Donkexes grunted in acknowledgment, then started scribbling and sketching in his small notebook.

After a moment, the sound of the charcoal pencil gliding across the paper came to an abrupt halt.

"I’ve figured out the location," Donkexes said, letting out a long breath. "It should be above the reservoir. In any case, it’s not far from there."

"The reservoir?" Colin asked.

"Remember that giant hammer we talked about? The reservoir is what provides power for it," Langgrin explained. "Specifically, the creature is probably on the level above, but it can use the reservoir pipes to get down to this level."

"Now that we know the location, that makes things easier," Selan said, rising from his seat. "We should act quickly. We can’t be away from our settlement for too long; the area around it isn’t particularly safe."

"That’s our thought as well. We’ll rest for a day to recover our magical energy, then we’ll set out," Colin said. "If a lot of Kuo-toa get involved, we’ll have to rely on you."

Selan nodded in agreement.

Colin then clapped his hands. "Alright, I need to mention a few things about Aboleths. When powerful creatures live in one place for a long time, they tend to amass wealth and Magic Items in a hoard.

"Just as Casting Materials can affect the Magic Net, a large accumulation of precious metals, Gemstones, and Magic Items can have a similar effect. This allows these creatures to slowly influence and assimilate the surrounding Magic Net, which in turn affects the environment around their lair."

"So that’s why the water around here stinks? Come to think of it, it does seem to snow more in places where White Dragons live."

Kase rubbed his chin and continued, "But why haven’t we run into this situation before when we fought monsters?"

"Because the monsters we’ve faced before were all too weak."

"What about that Giant Skeleton? White Frost? The man in chains under the Shaman’s Hut?" Kase fired off a series of questions. Orelia, beside him, insisted on correcting him, "That was the White Dove Monastery, not a Shaman’s Hut."

"None of them were truly powerful monsters. What we’re facing now is a genuinely formidable foe," Colin said slowly. "Things are different now. We’re not wet-behind-the-ears rookies anymore, and our opponents are no longer easy pickings."

Colin continued, "Getting back on topic, the more powerful the monster, the larger its area of influence. Contaminating water sources and creating illusions are both abilities of the Aboleth.

"That thing can create illusions of itself around its lair, transfer its consciousness to them, and even cast Magic through them. That’s also how it controlled the Dwarves.

"On top of that, the Aboleth has a toxin. This toxin will force us to breathe underwater, and our skin will begin to fester if we leave the water. We need to be careful with that."

"The biggest issue is still its Mind Control ability," Dorn said.

Colin glanced at the others around him.

’Mind Control is a lot like Magic such as Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. If a victim can immediately perceive that they are being controlled, there’s a chance to break free. Simply put, the higher one’s Perception Attribute, the easier it is to escape. Looking at it this way, Ale will definitely have some resistance. And judging by everyone else’s usual environmental Perception Ability, their Perception Attributes can’t be low... It seems,’ Colin thought, ’that I’m the one most likely to be controlled.’

"I can use Rising Tier Spellcasting to cast Intelligent Barrier on you beforehand, but the number of people I can cover is limited," Donkexes said.

Orelia raised her hand. "Um, I’m well-trained in resisting illusions, so you probably don’t need to use your energy on me."

"I have a resistance to Mind Control," Ale said. "That kind of ability doesn’t work on me."

Selan interjected, "Our Warriors are all trained to resist Mind Control. They won’t be easily affected."

"That just leaves Colin and Kase," Donkexes said. "My spell can cover exactly four people."

"Better for me to cover two of us. You need to save your Tier Six Magic to turn the tide of battle," Colin said. "As for everything else, we’ll have to decide on the spot. For today, let’s just rest."