deep shadow
In the past two years, the seven sets of large-scale teleportation arrays that have gradually deepened have been repaired by experienced experts. When repairing the two sets of magic circles closest to the bottom of the abyss, the cold-sweaty mages were preparing to escape every minute.
However, the nineteenth-generation Demon King was unexpectedly quiet, except for a few occasional rumblings from far away underground, no sense of oppression leaked out.
Although scholars could not be sure whether the rumbling sound was the migration of the lantern blind insects or something else, the Demon King did not walk near the teleportation array as Muni taught Calapan said, which was barely a good phenomenon.
[While they were gathering for dinner, I asked Bagelmore to change the coordinates of the teleportation formation, and the teleportation formation would bring the expedition to a more suitable location. The underground stone city has a lot of sharp corners, and I don't really want to see a group of people falling from the sky and strung themselves bloody on it.]
In my memory, Nemo's voice came out from the voice spar, extremely clear, with a hint of helplessness.
[Humans are relatively disciplined, remember to keep an eye on the elves, and don't let the gatekeepers run around.]
His lover rambled, his voice a little murky. His Majesty the Demon King's words were mixed with soft, crisp chewing, as if he was nibbling on fresh fruit.
In the past two years, a lot of images, sounds and photos have been exchanged, but there is no magic that can replace the other party's untouchable body temperature. Missing has not eased because of this, but it has become heavier.
Oliver nibbled at the raw carrots melancholy, and stuffed the rest of the nibble into the dark horse. Dark Horse lifted his lips, snorted the radish with disgust, and then turned his head resolutely.
Oliver had no choice but to throw the radish into the wide stone gap in the distance, watching a small group of abyss insects carry it away with joy.
Different from the escort mission two years ago, this expedition will inevitably have top knights from various religions, as well as powerful mounts that share their hearts. But not to mention the dark horse or the Fuller goat, even if the notorious tumbleweed leads a goose down, the human team can only turn a blind eye, too lazy to argue with those gangsters.
Right now, the expeditionary force has just passed through two large teleportation formations and is resting in the calm windless belt. Looking down from the protruding cliff, the armies of various forces are very orderly even when they eat.
Of course, it's natural to get rid of the tumbleweed that has slipped onto the cliff.
"How do you feel?" Adrian Cross patiently opened a soft cake sprinkled with sugar and handed the larger piece to Jesse Dylan.
"Well, like I said before - our Pillar of the World is awake, but he doesn't take me as a warning now, and I'm comfortable enough to fall asleep."
Jesse chewed the soft cake and looked into the bottomless abyss: "Is that parrot ready?"
"Baggarmoru won't make mistakes in this kind of thing." Oliver's eyes were still fixed on the neat army below.
"Don't look at it, you don't look at it, they won't take the opportunity to get lost quickly."
"Anything can happen in reality." Oliver responded worriedly, "It is inconvenient for us to let go of our momentum, in case a demon similar to Witherspoon suddenly rushes out..."
The girl with braids sitting in the distance snorted coldly. She played with the bagel in her hand and didn't intend to eat: "I have checked and there are no powerful demons that would threaten the army within a radius of 30 kilometers. In the past few hundred years, expeditions have It’s not unreasonable to have a relatively fixed route.”
"By the way, Witherspoon has moved to the area furthest away from human activities." Slim fingers poked into the hole of the doughnut and turned it around at will. "I guess he hasn't figured out what the hell is going on with that flat snake. At least his muscle-packed brain can barely figure out what's going on with the enemy on that side—you don't have to worry about him popping up out of nowhere."
However, these words did not have any practical effect, and Oliver still looked nervous. The tumbleweed's vicious leader carefully rubbed the mud spots off his armor as he looked around.
"I think our Mr. Ramon is nervous for some other reason." Jessie dragged her cheek in one hand, the soft cake still in her mouth. "Leave him alone, lovely lady."
Delarion thought for a moment, then decided to pretend she didn't hear anything.
The cliffs were full of picnic smells, and in the tent below the cliff, Godwin mechanically stuffed his mouth with soft-boiled bacon as he devoured his lunch.
"This afternoon, we will advance to the vicinity of the ghost's throat. If there is no response from the Demon King, I suggest retreating immediately."
The leader of the elf taps a point on the map of the ghost's throat with a finger, and a golden fork is left on the paper.
"The nineteenth generation couldn't have noticed the activation of the large teleportation formation near the bottom of the abyss. If it was indifferent, there would definitely be traps behind. The army retreated, and some scouts brought wizards who were good at illusion to take the lead in feigning the attack. relatively stable."
"A lot of materials will be wasted in retreating!" The representative of the one-eyed dwarf objected sharply, "According to the changes in the landscape at the bottom of the abyss, this may be a protracted battle. Even if the materials are sufficient, we must consider—"
The headed male elf's face was not very good-looking: "For a little material, bet the lives of the expedition warriors?"
"Since we're all here, no matter whether it's for the sake of fame or for profit, there will be no cowards who will shrink back!" There was a hint of mockery in the one-eyed dwarf's voice. "Excessive caution equals timidity. Of course we can consider other solutions. As soon as we come up, we decide that everyone will retreat... Ha."
Godwin silently sipped the hot bacon soup from the bowl.
There are not only a few people in the huge tent, just as there are several strong human beings from various countries and political backgrounds sitting behind him, whether elves, dwarves, dragons or other intelligent races, there are threads of countless forces behind them.
Of course no one is really timid, but no one wants to be this heroic early bird.
If you don't know the situation of the Demon King at the bottom of the abyss, the person sitting here is still himself a few years ago. Now he may try his best to suppress the boiling blood and inner excitement, however...
Godwin gulped down a mouthful of soup, not loudly, but clearly in the small, silent confrontation. Although it was a lunch party in name, in fact he was the only one eating politely.
The crowd instantly swept their gazes. The elf who just spoke narrowed his eyes and looked up and down the human powerhouse with a not too rude gaze.
"You look confident." The male elf's voice was very pleasant.
In the eyes of most humans, elves are undoubtedly beautiful, although their appearance is far from that of humans.
This forest race has finer and softer hair than humans, and it glows like fine satin. The limbs of elves are more slender and slender, the nose is more convex, the big moist and beautiful eyes are inclined to the sides of the head, and the eyelashes are long and thick, full of the fragile beauty unique to herbivores.
Although elves are more similar in size to humans than one-eyed dwarves or dragons, they prefer enchanted leather armor that is soft, sturdy, and silent to humans' icy armor.
As an omnivore, Godwin Lopez slowly swallowed the bacon in his mouth and coughed twice: "Yes, the ghost's throat is still some distance from the bottom of the abyss. Since many arrangements have been made at the bottom of the abyss, I don't think the Demon King will act so early - but this is only my guess, and I fully understand your love for your people."
The male elf blinked, obviously not buying this muddy remark.
"We have to agree," he said dryly. "As agreed at the beginning, the plan must be adjusted according to the situation underground. I think this is the right time to adjust the plan."
"Maybe some of the representatives can take the lead, and the rest of the troops will follow in a triangular formation." The dragon who had been silent for a while finally joined the conversation.
"The triangular formation must require a head formation. This is back to the topic just now, isn't it? No one wants to suffer." A swordsman behind Godwin spread his hands and swept the spoon in the hand of Head of Horizon in dissatisfaction. .
"You can filter according to the proportion, which is the most fair."
"...We can transport most of the expedition warriors, and it is not appropriate to rashly place dragons in the position of scouts. One-eyed dwarves focus on intelligence reserves and spell response. Elves and humans are the most flexible groups."
"We are good at long-range attacks and are accustomed to acting in groups. Individual soldiers are only used for surprise attacks." The male elf took a sip of leaf tea, "If you are unwilling to call for manpower..."
"I'd like to lead with Horizon." Godwin put down his spoon and sighed.
"Lopez!" The mercenaries on the horizon were still calm, and the powerhouses from other mercenaries or organizations immediately objected. "You have to consider—"
"It'll be fine." Godwin waved his left hand, his voice flat and sure.
He stirred the cold broth with a spoon in his right hand. Facing the turbulent forces in the peaceful atmosphere in front of him, the head of Horizon suddenly felt a little tired.
It's a pity that the people who followed behind didn't think so. Everyone present is a smart person who is proficient in human feelings, and it is impossible not to hear the confidence and certainty in that sentence. That's not blind confidence in his own strength, Godwin Lopez is pretty sure Horizon can handle anything.
Maybe this is the real power gap. With a sense of reverence for the stronger, the part of the human warriors who came with impure intentions began to readjust the proportions of the interests of all parties in their hearts, pressing a few weights to the horizon.
When the expedition army reached the throat of the ghost, this inexplicable sense of awe reached its peak—
The magnificent white ground of the ghost's throat was completely buried by black gravel, and here, they could even see sharp stalagmites from the bottom of the abyss protruding from the gap.
Godwin Lopez did not show any concern, commanding calm and calm, all the way to the final large teleportation array, I don't know if it was a coincidence or the blessing of God, they did not encounter any demons that could be rivals.
In the face of the large teleportation formation leading to the unknown, the head of Horizon moved forward without hesitation, and took the lead in leading people in according to the agreement.
"The Pope of the Radhist religion doesn't admit it, but I think he is probably the swordsman in the prophecy."
"... At times like this, you should let that Lopez of Tumbleweed in first."
"If the tumbleweed really had an affair with the abyss, the situation there would be really uncontrollable. Godwin's decision was no problem. And he rushed in front of himself, and the tumbleweed would be needed later, and there was nothing the tumbleweed could do. Just refuse - those bastards did a bunch of horrific things, and the name of the coward never came up."
The mercenary's guess was soon "fulfilled".
After the final teleportation formation that crossed the throat of the ghost, the army finally reached the bottom of the abyss. And the moment they stepped on the ground and saw the foreground, almost all creatures shuddered—
Contrary to the peaceful and unusual atmosphere before, the fighting spirit and oppression here are so heavy that people can't stand upright. Unlike any previous expedition records, this time there was light at the bottom of the abyss.
Hundreds of thousands of high-level demon skulls filled with silver light hovered above the bottom of the abyss. The pitch-black stalagmites were directed towards the surface, with no tip in sight. The black stones formed a strange lair, and the teleported army was in the center of a deliberately surrounded empty flat.
The place is square and square, no matter how you look at it, it is not a natural formation. The sense of terror that fell into the net was too strong, and a few visitors who were relatively fragile and more like the forces of authority than warriors slumped on the ground with their knees weak.
Although Godwin Lopez showed a somewhat surprised expression, he did not even frown.
The black stone lair in front of it has a strange beauty, like a prosperous town dying and drying into a dark corpse.
The high "city wall" surrounded everyone's sight, and under the light of wandering skulls, the solemn atmosphere made people unable to breathe. Coupled with the magic pressure poured from the head in the distance, the expedition army solidified in place for more than ten seconds.
Godwin drew his holy sword, the blade glowing with a dim glow of warmth. The human hero stepped forward without hesitation, observing the terrain.
And he just stepped on a neat ruin, the whole ground trembled violently.
An extraordinarily large snake-shaped demon raised its head from the corner of this strange dead city, spitting out purple-black letters, and the blood-red sparks flickering between the scales almost formed a line—
It opened its mouth and let out a sharp, unpleasant growl. Accompanied by the gas explosion generated by the sound wave, the poisonous smoke swayed around it, and the stone chips and dust instantly collapsed along the stone.
There are no other tiny creatures living naturally in this dead city, and no one would think that this superior demon just happened to pass by.
"Oliver Lopez." Godwin took a breath and ordered immediately. "This thing belongs to you, is it alright?"
"As I said, tumbleweeds don't take command."
"I allow you to pick reinforcements, and if you can kill it, its body will be disposed of with tumbleweeds."
"Well… "
The villain who was wandering at the back of the line finally pulled the reins, rode the black horse closer, and said in a disgustingly arrogant tone: "If everything belongs to us, it's not impossible."
"I need a more definitive answer."
"Yes." The head of the tumbleweed tightened the skeleton helmet on his head and glanced at the turbulent expedition behind him. "But I don't need reinforcements. Cross, Dylan. That thing is handed over to you, go back early, and remember to bring back the most valuable part."
"Yes, Commander." Jesse the viper blew a kiss in a sweet voice. "Let's go, sweetie Ed."
"Two people?! Even tumbleweed—"
However, before the human team had time to raise objections, a bigger crisis came.
Behind the ominous snake-shaped demon, an even larger demon appeared. It was still far from them, but it was so large that people could see it quite clearly in the dim light.
The four alien wings were wide open, and the edges flashed with a cold blue light. The black alien bent its neck and let out a series of low-pitched roars in the direction of the expedition army. The chilly hurricane swept through in an instant, and the brilliance, which was not bright in itself, dimmed a little for a while.
Like a sponge soaked in water, the fear engraved in instinct was violently wrenched out of all living objects present by this roar. Several younger soldiers directly peeed their pants.
Compared with that breath, the incomparably powerful snake-shaped demon in front of him immediately became a decoration.
"It's the Nineteenth Demon King."
Whispers weaved through the gaps in the army.
"...is the Lord of Illusions."
But most of the people present were powerhouses who had been tested by life and death. Even under the pressure of this mind-blowing terror, the warriors barely kept their formation and clustered together vigilantly.
Godwin Lopez still had some terrifying calmness on his face. He shook his head and whispered in the ear of the head of the tumbleweed, looking a little tired but not afraid.
After saying that, Godwin simply adjusted the marching direction neatly, avoided the serpent demon, and led the army in another direction.
For bards decades later, that whisper was the last word of blood for the hopeless Oliver Lopez.
In reality, however, Godwin's words were unexpectedly short.
"Watch your parrots," he murmured dryly.
The author has something to say:
Godwin: Tired, don't want to accompany, but considering the peace on the surface... ugh. (eyes die)
Expeditionary Force: Calm, calm, and fearless! This is the real powerhouse.
Oliver on the other side: Close, Dylan. That thing (Baggarmoru) is handed over to you, go early and return early, remember to bring back the most valuable part (the flesh and blood in the parrot). (It's really impossible to divide it with some snacks and fruits)
Legendary Battle (×