Chapter 1359
It's all because of that Leon Merlin, that damned bastard. How could he have such deep research into bloodline transplantation? That's impossible! We never had the slightest intelligence about this in all our reports...
How could that guy possibly...
If he knows so much about bloodline transplantation, then has Amy already fallen? Damn it, she must have already fallen. Leon Merlin would surely find her weakness and make sure she's truly dead...
How could Leon Merlin make such a terrifying potion? Now it's all over...
"Lady Sunny, I remember the headquarters originally decided to entrust the Rose Circle to you and Amy because we trusted your abilities. But over the years, the intelligence you've gathered hasn't been particularly outstanding, and you've even exposed the Rose Circle's secrets multiple times.
This time, you even acted on your own to take revenge on Leon Merlin for those idiots from the Shadow Tower. Did you really think your actions would leave no trace? For all we know, every top power in the Odin Kingdom now has your intelligence in hand.
And what kind of intelligence work are you doing? Did you not investigate any of this? Foolish woman. When this is over, you can explain yourself to the Elder Council in person!"
Maxwell jabbed his finger at Sunny's nose, roaring in fury. After he finished, he led the Thorned Crown members down one of the tunnels and left.
A group of people entered one of the tunnels. The black-gray mist on Sunny's body churned violently, then suddenly exploded. The black-gray fog spread through the whole cavern, filling it with a deathly aura of ominous power, corroding everything it touched.
"Leon Merlin, I want you dead! You're dead, you hear me? I'll make you suffer for every humiliation you've given me—I'll pay it back double!"
Sunny stood in the cave, roaring in fury. A few minutes later, she sneered, refused to follow the Thorned Crown group, and instead chased after the tunnel Leon had just entered.
Leon led Hubert and Reina, weaving through one cave after another. Countless tunnels connected these chambers, forming a labyrinth of staggering size.
The previous cave seemed to lead upward, but the next one offered routes deeper underground. Any tunnel here might take you to the depths below.
That was just for show, meant to trick the Thorned Crown into thinking we were heading back to the surface. Whether they believe it or not doesn't matter.
"Leon, why did we split up from those people? Didn't you say things would go smoother with them around?"
Lord Shaun clutched a mana crystal, perched on Hubert's shoulder. Like snacking, he gnawed off chunk after chunk of the hard crystal, chewing it into fragments and swallowing them.
Leon was squatting on the ground, searching for traces. Hearing Lord Shaun's question, he chuckled softly.
"Before, we went underground with them because we needed their strength. Those who transplanted alien bloodlines have special abilities that let us go deeper without too much fighting.
No fighting means we won't wake that terrible monster deep underground. But now I'm sure that, even if we do have to fight, it won't be anything that requires overwhelming force or supernatural power.
That's enough. Besides, when we reach the deepest point, having those people with us would only make things worse."
Lord Shaun frowned, clearly confused.
"Isn't it more dangerous the closer we get to the monster underground? Wouldn't it be better to have those people helping?"
Leon shook his head.
"That's not it. The situation here is special. The closer we get to that sleeping monster, the less dangerous it becomes. We're already about halfway down. If all goes well, after this much time again, we might reach our destination.
From here on, the deeper we go, the safer it gets. The closer we are to our goal, the safer we are. Do you remember those giant worms from earlier?
Those giant worms are the most dangerous things underground. The ones we encountered weren't high-level—they're the lowest rank, just food scouts, the lowest in their group. Even if they find food, they're not allowed to eat it. They have to bring it back for the higher-ranking ones."
As he spoke, Leon brushed his hand over a mark left on the stone wall nearby, smiling slightly.
"We're in luck. I thought those giant worms were acting strange—had a hunch, and now I'm sure. The underground worms are facing a food crisis, and it's their hunting season. They rush to the surface, hunt everything they see, and bring all the prey back underground.
A single hunting season might last one or two months. The worms we met were just the outer patrol grunts. Now that they've left, and judging by these marks, it means the whole worm colony has moved out, all heading to the surface. We've got plenty of time now.
With the giant worms gone, anything else we run into underground can be handled with ordinary spells—no need for supernatural power. Even if that thing below wakes up, we'll have enough time to get past it."
Leon was in good spirits. The hardest part was always the stretch from the surface to the underground—the monsters down here are just too many.
If any battle fluctuations get too strong, or if supernatural power is used and sensed by that thing below, once it's awakened, there's no way to reach the depths.
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content ahead!)
Underground, combat is already heavily restricted. If that thing wakes up and the problem isn't solved, you'd have to wait years—maybe decades—until the monster sleeps again to have another shot. Otherwise, developing this plane is out of the question...
With those shapeshifters from the Thorned Crown, the hardest part became the easiest. The journey went smoothly; now things get easier. As long as the monster isn't awakened, once we reach the deepest point, Leon is confident he can keep it asleep. Developing this plane will be simple then.
They pressed on, and sure enough, didn't encounter any underground monsters. Passing through cave after cave, all they found were a few leftover traces.
Those traces were left when the underground monsters were torn apart by the giant worm horde on their way to the surface. But there were no bodies—everything had been carried away as food. Even spilled blood was cleaned up by the worms, not a drop wasted.
Every mark Leon found was left by the giant worm horde—either during cleanup or just while moving through.
The rest of the journey went quickly. The tangled underground tunnels and caves were extremely complex, and gravity here became chaotic. It was no longer possible to just head straight down as before.
The traces left by the giant worm horde as they surged to the surface became guideposts. Even underground, the worms can't really tell up from down, but they never get lost—they mark their path as they go, then retrace it back. With such huge numbers, getting lost simply isn't a problem.
With the worms heading for the surface, all we have to do is follow their tracks in the opposite direction. At least for most of the remaining journey, this method will get us through.
In the darkness underground, only the caves glimmer with the light of mana crystals. Most places are pitch black, and in such darkness, time itself seems to lose all meaning.
As they got closer to the depths, mana crystals began to appear in the connecting tunnels, embedded in the stone walls. In the caves, pure mana crystals could be found. Though their quality still couldn't compare to those in Leon's demi-plane, they were more than enough to fuel a mana-powered warship.
Even the most powerful future warships could use these mana crystals as reactor fuel.
They pressed on through the darkness. Suddenly, a ring of sharp stone spikes erupted around Hubert. The earth trembled as the spikes snapped shut toward his waist.
A strange magical ripple appeared. The stone beneath their feet seemed to soften. Only then did everyone realize these weren't spikes—they were the jaws of a monster, two meters wide. The 'spikes' were its teeth, hundreds of them interlocked.
The stone-like monster bit into Hubert's waist, its teeth trembling as it tried to tear him apart. The grinding sound was like a beast gnawing on a rock. In less than a second, a dozen of its teeth snapped off...
Sensing its prey was too tough to chew, the monster began to retreat into the ground, trying to drag Hubert along.
Hubert screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Master Merlin, help me! Hurry, save me—damn it, this monster's going to eat me..."
Hubert shouted in panic, his voice booming. Though the monster had his waist in its jaws, his skin wasn't even scratched. As he was being dragged underground, Hubert braced his hands against the stone walls, his arms suddenly doubling in thickness. Panicking and calling for help, he used his arms to pull himself—and the monster—out of the hole by sheer force.
As Hubert dragged himself and the monster out of the stone wall, the creature still wouldn't let go. Its body was like a massive worm, but made of stone, its aura indistinguishable from the surrounding rock.
It had no eyes, nose, or ears—just a huge mouth full of sharp teeth. Hubert's legs kicked inside its jaws, and within seconds, his foot broke open a crack from inside. The shattered part really was just stone, crumbling to gravel. Even when injured, the monster bled no blood.
Screaming, Hubert smashed the creature's jaws—still clamped on him—into a pile of rubble.
Only then did Hubert stop screaming, feeling his unharmed waist. Seeing the monster trying to retreat into the hole, he flew into a rage.
"Damn it! You dare mess with the great Lord Hubert—and now you want to run?"
Hubert roared, lunged, and grabbed the monster's body. A terrifying surge of power erupted from him. Instantly, the creature—like a worm poking its head out of the ground—was yanked out of the stone wall by Hubert.
The monster's body, made of ring after ring of stone, was dragged out bit by bit. Over thirty or forty meters of it came out, and at the other end was another mouth full of teeth. Once out, the creature twisted and lunged at Leon.
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content ahead!)
A burst of wind exploded in the monster's mouth, shattering it into a cloud of gravel. Its body collapsed into a pile of ordinary stone rings.
These stones were much harder than the surrounding rock. Among the debris were crushed worm corpses and some remains of other monsters, impossible to identify.
Those were the parts the stone monster couldn't digest.
Dozens of meters away, Hubert threw down a stone and stomped over angrily, smashing every slightly larger stone underfoot.
After crushing the stones, Hubert walked over with a bitter face, embarrassed by his own actions.
"Master Merlin, why didn't you save me? What if I'd really been eaten? Why did that damned monster target me?"
Leon smiled, while Lord Shaun lay on the ground clutching his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
"Idiot, you're the meatiest one here. Who else would the monster go for? Should it go after me? I walked right past its mouth and it couldn't be bothered to eat me...
Idiot, that's a level thirty-five monster. With your thick skin and tough flesh, even if it swallowed you, it wouldn't be able to digest you..."
Hubert glowered in silence, grinding his teeth as he kept stomping on the rubble.