novel bin Chapter 38 The Perilous Situation in the Underground Cave
Chapter 38 The Perilous Situation in the Underground Cave
Clara's figure, like a blood-stained afterimage, rushed headlong towards the entrance to the deep cave.
The cave entrance resembled the open throat of a giant beast, and a wind, mixed with decaying soil, cold dampness, and some indescribable ancient stench, was blowing outwards with a "whooshing" sound, carrying a heart-palpitating suction force.
"Stop him! At all costs!" Hick's sharp voice pierced the noise of the forest, carrying a hint of barely perceptible shock and anger.
He knew all too well what it meant for the "protagonist" to fall into a desperate situation—it was often not the end, but the beginning of an extraordinary adventure! He absolutely could not allow it!
Several attacks followed immediately.
A condensed ice spike, carrying a bone-chilling cold, shot straight at Krall's back.
A viscous, corrosive acid blocked his escape route to the side.
Even more, an invisible mental shock struck his consciousness like a heavy hammer.
The third-level apprentices went all out, holding nothing back.
Clara's eyes were bloodshot, her senses pushed to their limits by the excruciating pain and the threat of death.
"Boom!"
The violent explosion kicked up large amounts of mud, rubble, and burning vegetation, instantly creating a brief but chaotic smoke barrier!
Ice spikes and acid plunged into the smoke and dust, producing dull impact and corrosive sounds, while the mental shock was also disrupted and deflected by the chaotic energy flow.
The entrance to the cave seemed to be subject to an invisible elemental interference, causing the incoming spells to deflect to varying degrees.
It's this offset that's causing the interference!
The shockwave from the explosion propelled Klara's body like a kite with a broken string, forcefully pushing him into the deep darkness of the cave entrance.
The figure was instantly swallowed by the thick, inky shadow, leaving only a muffled groan of suppressed extreme pain echoing at the cave entrance.
"Damn it!"
Kur roared angrily and was the first to rush to the edge of the cave entrance.
The rhombus-shaped crystal in his hand flickered violently with red light, almost bursting into flames, but its direction became chaotic, as if it were also distorted and interfered with by some powerful force field within the cave.
Other pursuers also arrived one after another, and various detection spells lit up, shooting into the cave.
However, the light disappeared without a trace, disappearing within ten meters before being completely absorbed and swallowed by a strange darkness.
The mental energy detection was like hitting a cold, malicious wall, and was violently bounced back, making the apprentices who tried turn pale and have splitting headaches.
The wind blowing out of the cave entrance howled even louder, as if carrying a kind of mockery.
"Kur, what do we do now?"
A third-level apprentice looked at the bottomless, deadly cave entrance, his voice hesitant.
The caverns of the Silent Forest are an absolute forbidden zone, passed down by word of mouth among apprentices, and legend has it that more than one formal wizard is buried there.
Kur's face turned ashen; he hadn't expected Krall to actually go in, and so decisively at that.
He looked up at the sky.
Hick slowly landed near the cave entrance on his eagle-headed bat, his face so gloomy it could drip water.
He jumped off the bat, walked a few steps to the edge of the cave entrance, ignoring the unsettling chill in the wind.
He stared at the darkness that seemed to devour everything. The diamond-shaped crystal in his hand, though gleaming red, had become completely ineffective.
"He's inside..." Hick's voice was icy, tinged with suppressed rage. "That madman!"
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. The protagonist's halo? A miraculous escape? In the underground cave? No, he didn't believe it! He would never allow Krall to come out alive again!
Thinking back, everyone thought that with so many people, Klar was no threat.
So he didn't use his full strength at all. Otherwise, how could Krall, in this state, have managed to injure several apprentices and escape from their encirclement?
Indeed, sometimes efficiency has nothing to do with the number of people!
"Kur!" Hick turned his head sharply, his eyes as sharp as knives.
"Yes, Lord Hick!"
"Get everyone inside, immediately! I want to see this rat's corpse with my own eyes!"
Kur's expression changed!
The veteran level three apprentices who rushed over also looked grim upon hearing Hick's words.
Looking at their reactions, Hick sneered:
"This person was specifically requested by the professor. If I don't see the rat's carcass, I won't be a big deal; at worst, I'll just get a scolding. But you guys..."
At this point, Hick paused, then continued:
"Gentlemen, please don't forget our mentor's preferences..."
These words are like the most vicious curse!
All the senior apprentices recalled the terrifying rumors about "human research" before the tower master took over, and the lowly apprentices who mysteriously disappeared...
The tower master is now a level two wizard, wielding immense power. If he were to set his sights on someone...
The third-level apprentices looked at each other, their eyes filled with a deep-seated fear.
Defection? Knowing the rules of the Silent Forest and the Tower Master's thirst for experimental subjects, they dared not even entertain such a thought!
Going down there would be a nine-out-of-ten chance of death!
If we don't go down, we're doomed!
Knowing that these apprentices couldn't refuse, Hick immediately made the arrangements loudly:
"Go down, quickly! That rat is badly injured, not far away! It might already be dead! Bring its body back, and I'll keep my promise as soon as we return to the tower!"
Many of the veteran apprentices looked hesitant, while the new apprentices were eager to try, something Hick had anticipated.
The new apprentice knows nothing and is certainly fearless.
Most of the veteran apprentices knew of the cave's infamous reputation and dared not descend.
"All second- and third-level apprentices, except in special circumstances, must go down! This is an order! New apprentices are not required to do so! But the commitment remains unchanged!"
Some of Hick's old apprentices, who followed his lead without question, immediately brightened up and echoed his words:
"Exactly! The Wizard Tower has trained us for so long, and they can't even bring back the corpse of a mere first-level apprentice?"
"That's right, anyone who doesn't go down should think about what will happen when they get back..."
Faced with the blatant threat of death and the pressure from Kur and the others, the old apprentices finally resigned themselves to their fate, and one by one, filled with fear and resentment, they stepped heavily into the dark entrance that resembled the throat of a giant beast.
A few greedy new apprentices followed suit.
A large influx of new and old apprentices into this legendary land of death instantly transformed the once desolate and empty cavern into a bustling hub of activity.
The new and old apprentices looked at the interconnected passageways in the underground cave and could only look at each other in bewilderment.
How should they pursue them?
The sensory devices could no longer pinpoint Krall's location within the underground cave.
They also discovered that the traces left behind would disappear shortly after the movement.
This also meant they had no idea about the route Krall had chosen.
If they got lost in the cave, they would basically perish there forever. The thought left the apprentices somewhat bewildered.
Entrance to the underground cave.
Watching the figure being swallowed by darkness, Hick's tense nerves, unaware of the specific situation inside the cave, finally relaxed slightly.
His gaze was sinister as he stared at the cave entrance:
"Klar... even if you have incredible luck, how far can you crawl out of this desperate situation with that broken body?"
"This time, we are doomed!"