Book 3: Chapter 305: Underground Bloodbath

The tunnel was pitch black, and as she continued descending, Anari first felt cold, but gradually the warmth began to return around her.

Hundreds of meters of rock and soil isolated the freezing wind and snow on the surface, yet warmth still flowed deep beneath the earth.

After more than ten seconds, her vision suddenly brightened, and her view instantly opened up.

Anari manipulated the specter of the eagle to carry her as she slowly descended, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

This was a great hall located deep underground, with tunnels visible leading to different sections. In the hall were blazing furnaces, a chaotic mess of dining tables, scattered records and documents, and panicked figures running in every direction.

Quite a number of Black Mages and Black Wizards had made their lair here, most of them at Second or Third Tier, with a handful reaching Fourth Tier.

"Is the Alliance's 'Review Hall' here!?"

"Run!"

"Damn it, how did they find this place?"

"Hurry, go notify Lord Slando in the underground research lab!"

"What about the punishment squad? Get them out here to block the way, don't let the Review Hall people in!"

"Lord Mi'odo! Lord Mi'odo!"

Amidst the shouts of panic, a robed mage burst out from a side passage, his face dark and gloomy. He strode quickly while pulling a serpentine staff from his waist.

By this time, Oren and Luke had already slaughtered dozens of low-tier Black Mages and Black Wizards in the hall, and had thrown out numerous bombs and smoke grenades to terrify the crowd and throw the scene into chaos.

"Two stupid thieves who don't know the height of the manor!" He glared at the two with ruthless eyes, then swung his staff.

Six blue-purple magic arrays materialized beside him, rapidly extracting soul fragments from the fallen dead. Countless ghostly lights converged like a whirlpool, and then sinister scaled serpent figures burst forth from the arrays.

【Soul Extraction Spell · Sinister Shadow Serpent】(Nightmare · Dead Embers)

A witchcraft that extracts shattered souls from the dead and transforms them into black serpents that bite and devour, capable of inflicting violent impact on the soul and consciousness. If one cannot resist, it will shatter the soul and turn it into fuel to strengthen the spell.

In the hall, six black serpents raised their heads, slithering rapidly to surround the two, then lunged in to bite.

Luke's figure leaped and twisted, suddenly transforming into four identical copies, each swinging blades in a slashing arc. Unfortunately, his attacks couldn't deal effective damage to the black serpents; on the contrary, his strikes allowed the serpents to discern his true body.

A black serpent blocked Luke before he could dodge, piercing through his chest. A bone-chilling sensation instantly flooded his body, his consciousness stiffening at that moment, followed by a violent tearing pain from the depths of his soul, filling Luke with terror.

This was the first time he had encountered witchcraft targeting the soul, and a danger he had never faced in all his previous battles with mages.

Seeing his body freeze, the other black serpents quickly slithered over and bit viciously. Just as this genius seemed about to have his soul torn apart on the spot, the horned beastgirl in the distance took a deep breath and shook the bell in her hand with all her might.

Invisible ripples spread outward with the bell's chime, briefly freezing the black serpents and slowing their movements.

【Ice Death School · Soul-Calming Ripples】(Slumbering Winter · Death)

A secret art that can briefly halt the activity of specters and ethereal beings. If the target's strength surpasses the caster's, the effect is greatly diminished.

Since the one who cast the witchcraft was a Seventh-Tier White Wizard while Anari had only reached Seventh Tier, she could only freeze the black serpents for a few seconds at most. But that was enough to buy Luke precious time.

He tore himself free from the freezing sensation in his soul, then flipped and leaped, his form transforming into a streak of light that briefly vanished, leaving the reanimated black serpents unable to locate him. The next instant, he appeared before the wizard controlling the serpents, his blade sweeping across silently until the head was severed from the body before the man even registered what had happened.

The Phantom Light School's secret arts were known for illusions and phantasms, quite bizarre and unpredictable. And with the arrival of the Sinking Fog season, secret arts and abilities related to the Mist Shadow Aspect had all been greatly amplified.

After killing that powerful Black Wizard, Luke became even more cautious. His form flickered, and several identical copies rose and fell in succession, swiftly cutting down the resisting wizards and mages in this stronghold.

Meanwhile, Oren had also encountered a powerful foe. A squad of beastmen charged out from the tunnel, all wearing enchanted exquisite armor and wielding formidable weapons, rushing toward Oren like a wave of war wagons.

"Oh? Inscription Warriors, huh? These Black Mages have stacked up quite a fortune." Oren flipped and leaped, nimbly dodging thrown javelins, then gripped the golden spear in his hand, spun it in the air, and hurled it with ferocious force.

Golden lightning pierced through the tunnel, carrying the roar of crackling thunder as it skewered a beastman warrior in the front row. But that was all—just one man—and the enchantment bound to the spear was spent.

The remaining dozen-plus warriors continued their charge, squeezing Oren's space to move. Their eyes were blood-red, and as their bloodline abilities and Breathing Techniques activated, their movements accelerated even further. By now, even if Oren wanted to run, it was too late.

"Since I dared to come find you, you can be sure I came prepared." Oren grinned, then pulled a crystal orb gleaming with cyan lightning from his arm ring and smashed it to the ground.

【Thunder Orb】(Fifth Tier · Vaulted Sky · Secret Word)

A creation of the Lightning School, forged during thunderstorm weather to seal the lightning of the heavens. When shattered, it unleashes the terrifying thunder and lightning once more.

Violent electric light flooded the tunnel, instantly piercing through the dozen-plus beastman warriors, and the smell of scorching permeated the air.

The beastman warriors who had been charging moments ago now lay sprawled on the ground one after another, while Oren himself was covered in black scorch marks, his once dashing attire now tattered rags.

Even though he was the one who threw the Thunder Orb, the lightning inside was beyond his control. It was only because he had prepared beforehand that he hadn't ended up like those beastman warriors collapsed on the ground.

After dealing with that squad, he finally had the leisure to look back and check on the other two.

Anari stood at one side of the hall, scattering a stream of dark purple sand. The grains shimmered and twinkled as they were absorbed by the specters swirling around her, growing stronger in the process.

【Ashen Ember Sand】(Fourth Tier · Rare)

Sand that can temporarily enhance the power of specters. The crafting process is intricate and often comes with a hefty price tag.

A hard battle was imminent, so Anari couldn't afford to be frugal. Ahead of her, Luke was currently locked in combat with a Black Mage. The man seemed to have studied the secret arts of the Puppet Shadow School, using threads to control four frenzied mutated creatures, pressing Luke into a difficult defensive struggle.

【Mutated Life · Molted One】(Fifth Tier · Bloodline · Distortion)

A mutated lifeform that has lost all reason, leaving only bestial instinct. Its outer skin has vanished, leaving only tough muscle and sinew. Its body continuously regenerates, moves with extreme speed, and its claws and fangs are sharp and dangerous.

Originally, such lifeforms, even if powerful, lacked rational control and could be easily slain by Transcendents of the same tier. But with that Puppet Master controlling them from behind, that weakness vanished entirely. Moreover, being devoid of reason, they became even more fearless of death and exceedingly dangerous.

During the battle, Luke kept splitting his form, each illusion holding back one of the Molted Ones, while his true body charged toward the Puppet Master hiding in the rear, attempting to replicate the process of killing the Black Wizard earlier.

However, this Puppet Master was well aware of Luke's tactics. He had strung perception-linked threads throughout the tunnel; the moment Luke approached, he would know instantly, then dodge while commanding the Molted Ones to cover and attack, never giving Luke the right opening.

The two clashed continuously in the tunnel, blood splattering everywhere. Illusion after illusion was extinguished and torn apart, while the Molted Ones kept accumulating sword wounds. The sharp blade cut through muscle and flesh each time, only for the wounds to heal on their own, leaving them seemingly impossible to kill.