Chapter 236: The Void Serpent
"The battle was fierce..." Leon observed from a distance. The ground was littered with the corpses of magical beasts—over three hundred, at least. Every one of them was Level 10 or higher, with the strongest approaching Level 27 or 28. Judging by their ranks alone, they were not much weaker than the united exploration team.
Fortunately, the united exploration team had Sylas West, a newly minted Title Archmage whose overwhelming power had completely changed the course of battle. Hundreds, if not thousands, of magical beasts were crushed; the corpses alone numbered over three hundred. As for the exploration team, they had lost fewer than twenty people.
By now, the battlefield had been cleared. The bodies of magical beasts, after some quick handling, were being hauled back to camp by wagon. Excavation work was in full swing. Thanks to the cooperation of hundreds, a tunnel leading underground had already been breached. Salomon, Lance, and others stood at the entrance, anxiously discussing their next move.
"Leon, Salomon, perfect timing..." Lance spotted them from afar and hurried over. After a few pleasantries, he led them toward the tunnel entrance, explaining the situation as they walked: "Earlier, we sent scouts ahead. Judging by the architecture, this is likely a Third Dynasty ruin. However, the tunnel stretches nearly two thousand meters. If we keep expanding it, a collapse is likely. So, we've tentatively decided to abandon the previous team exploration plan and instead have each faction send one or two members to form a small squad of about twenty to enter the ruins..."
"Mm, that's likely." Leon nodded in agreement. A tunnel over two thousand meters long was already dangerously unstable. Any further expansion and even the slightest tremor could cause a collapse. If that happened, the Nine Great Factions of Seaview City, plus the two Mercury Tower grandmasters, might all be buried here in Four Seasons Gorge.
Everyone understood this principle...
So when Leon and Salomon arrived, everyone sat down to discuss, and the new exploration plan was quickly finalized: each major faction would send one or two of their strongest—Salomon and Thorpe from the Sage's Spire, Lance, Basoro, and Granger from the Alchemist Guild, Soth and Bell from the Viper's Nest, Leon, William Merlin, and Hughban from the Gilded Rose...
But the Monchi Family was a different story. Monchi himself was no fighter, and though Ryan had great potential, he was only a Level 2 Grand Mage. After much deliberation, they could only send a family elder with the strength of a Level 9 Grand Mage.
It was a bit awkward, really. One of Seaview City's top factions, and yet in this joint exploration, all they could offer was a Level 9 Grand Mage. This wasn't just about pride—it meant the Monchi Family would lose all influence. Among a team of Title Archmages, Swordmasters, and Sharpshooters, a mere Level 9 Grand Mage hardly had the right to speak—unless his name happened to be Mafa Merlin.
By evening, the twenty-person team began their descent into the tunnel. Guided by the glow of Illumination spells, they soon reached the tunnel's end.
The space here had been widened a bit—a clearing about a few dozen meters across, just enough for the team to stand together. From this vantage point, the intricately patterned stone wall was clearly visible. This was unmistakably Third Dynasty style; only in such an era of excess would so much effort be lavished on a single wall. The excavation team had already broken a gap in it, wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Beyond it, darkness reigned, with faint magical ripples occasionally seeping through...
"Let's go." Sylas West, now a Title Archmage, barely registered the danger. Even faced with a Third Dynasty ruin, he merely glanced at it before bowing his head and walking inside.
Beyond the patterned stone wall lay a long corridor. The candles on either side had burned down to stubs, leaving two lonely rows of candlesticks. The floor was paved with Moonstone, its faint glow illuminating everything in a ghostly white...
"Watch behind us!" At that moment, Sylas West spoke in a low, urgent tone.
"Damn it..." Almost as soon as Sylas finished speaking, a soft rustling sounded from behind. Everyone turned—and there it was. Two bright lights, as large as windows, flickered in the dark. Lit by the ghostly glow of Moonstone, they could see it clearly: a serpent at least ten meters thick, its twin eyes the size of windows, its monstrous head resting in the corridor, its coiled body stretching who knows how far...
The only consolation was that, as they stepped onto the corridor, the terrifying serpent was still asleep...
Otherwise, in such a cramped corridor, facing a monster like that—even with Sylas West on their side—they'd be in for a brutal fight.
"Keep moving. Don't look back." Sylas made a snap decision and led the way in the opposite direction.
Everyone instinctively held their breath, terrified of waking the sleeping serpent.
The twenty of them continued down the corridor. After nearly ten minutes—when the serpent's eyes finally faded from view—everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief...
"That beast just now had to be at least Level 30..."
"Good thing it was asleep..."
"Yeah, this place is way too cramped. If we ran into something like that here, we wouldn't even have room to run..."
Everyone was quietly thankful, so much so that no one noticed Leon's gaze lingering on the candlesticks lining the corridor...
With the sleeping serpent behind them, the group pressed on, walking for another half an hour...
"Wait." Leon suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Sylas West instantly frowned. After sweeping Four Seasons Gorge, this Title Archmage had become the team's core, used to having his word be law. Now, in the middle of their advance, someone called a halt—Sylas's face darkened.
But when Sylas realized the one who'd stopped them was Matthew Merlin, it was too late to take back his words...
Sylas was a Title Archmage, after all. Even after a long night talking with Caron, he'd learned not to cross this young Grandmaster. But since he'd already spoken, taking it back now would mean losing face.
So Sylas could only force a stiff smile and, as politely as possible, asked, "Merlin... Grandmaster Merlin, did you discover something?"
"Not exactly..." Leon wasn't about to hold it against Sylas. He simply smiled. "But, Lord Sylas, haven't you noticed how long this corridor is?"
"Too long?" Sylas was momentarily stunned, then his brow furrowed.
Sylas hailed from Mercury Tower, and after countless battles on the Munster Plane, his experience and insight far surpassed the others. He hadn't noticed anything amiss before—simply hadn't considered it. But now, with Leon's reminder, he caught on immediately.
That's right. Could it be too long?
Since they'd encountered the serpent, they'd been walking for nearly an hour—yet still hadn't reached the corridor's end.
"And these candlesticks..." Seeing Sylas's puzzled look, Leon pointed to the candlesticks on either side.
"What about the candlesticks?"
"Every candlestick is exactly the same—the spacing between them, the rust on them, all identical. It's like... like someone copied them by hand..."
Sylas sucked in a cold breath and instinctively looked to either side. Sure enough, if what the young Grandmaster said was true, the candlesticks were perfectly identical, as if hand-copied. Even if Sylas had been a hundred times slower to catch on, he now knew something was seriously wrong with this corridor.
"Mer... Grandmaster Merlin, are you saying we've fallen into an illusion?"
"It's not just an illusion..." Leon shook his head. "Since that serpent appeared, I've cast three Mind Wards and two True Sight spells. Not a trace of illusion anywhere."
"Then..."
"By the way, Lord Sylas, haven't you noticed the magical fluctuations here are... odd?"
"A bit, yes..." Sylas now looked thoughtful, brow furrowed, as if recalling something but not quite sure. "It comes in waves. It feels... almost like a heartbeat..."
"Exactly—a heartbeat."
Sylas had spoken offhand, but now he froze, eyes locking onto Leon. His voice trembled, "A... a real heartbeat?"
"Legend has it that at the end of the Third Dynasty, a great disaster struck Angel Coast. A Void Serpent, thousands of meters long, invaded overnight—thousands vanished in a single night. The emperor was furious; all three imperial fleets were dispatched for battle over the Eastern Sea. Only after a terrible cost did they finally wound the serpent, and after that, it vanished without a trace..."
Leon didn't answer Sylas, but instead casually recounted the story...
But as soon as he finished, everyone went pale.
"Are we... are we inside the Void Serpent?"
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[Author's Note: Many readers asked about my stomach problems. It's nothing serious, just an old issue—when it hurts, I get an IV drip and I'm fine in three hours. Yesterday's cold was rough, though. Anyone know a medicine that works instantly after taking it?]