In the abandoned underground laboratory, chaos reigned. The once orderly display of specimens and skeletons were shattered beyond recognition, and bloodstains and traces of battle were everywhere walls and floor alike, filling the air with the stench of blood.
In one corner of the laboratory, the bodies of magicalized wild beasts were piled high, blood still dripping from them.
These signs indicated that a fierce battle had just taken place here.
Wolban and his group had lost their usual casual demeanor, each appearing rather silent and despondent, a demeanor not even Wolban could avoid.
Cooke said helplessly, “I’ve almost used up everything I had.”
“Same here.”
His statement was echoed by the others.
Being a sorcerer apprentice was a complex profession, encompassing a wide range of combat capabilities, including not only mental power and spellcasting Mana but also consumables like various potions, magic-casting materials, disposable runes, and magicalized items.
The previous battle had nearly depleted all their consumables.
Over the past day, the laboratory’s defensive array membrane had been breached twice. The first time they were caught off guard, but fortunately, none present were easy to handle, and they managed to exterminate the invading magicalized wild beasts by leveraging the lab’s equipment.
The second time, the five of them were prepared. Under Wolban’s lead, they fought their way out.
Facing countless magicalized wild beasts on the outside stairs, the five bravely fought back and advanced against the continuous waves of beasts, making their way to the end of the stairs.
And then the five were taken aback.
There was simply no way out as they had guessed; their adversaries had thoroughly blocked it, collapsing the path at the end of the stairs, with only narrow rat holes and even narrower snake paths visible on the sidewalls.
The mastermind had not shown their face from the beginning to the end, just wave after wave of magicalized wild beasts attacking them until the stairs were strewn with corpses.
They couldn’t possibly escape through the rat holes, less than thirty centimeters wide. Failing to find a way out and with their inherently low defense as apprentices, injuries had already begun to take their toll, with one person suffering a leg injury and another a severely injured arm.
They had no choice but to retreat to the abandoned laboratory.
By the time they returned to the lab, the defensive array had already recovered. Fortunately, Wolban’s array-breaking drill could still be used one last time, allowing the five of them to safely return to the abandoned laboratory.
Upon entering the laboratory, they were ambushed by magicalized wild beasts hidden inside, and it took a great deal of effort to settle them.
Currently, the situation was very much against them.
Thinking that they hadn’t even seen the real enemy once, Wolban wore a glum expression; it was his first encounter with such a troublesome and disgusting opponent.
“Regardless, next time we must break out again and find a way through the encirclement, even if we have to dig our way out. I’m not used to simply waiting for the enemy to make a move.”
His array-breaking drill had already shattered, and escaping the lab and thinking of returning would not be easy next time.
He was worried that he would only be able to defend in the lab, while the enemy outside could comfortably prepare other methods. A prolonged defense was doomed to fail, and the next attack might bring about their doom.
“Alright, we will kill a magicalized wild beast every time one appears, clean and thorough.”
“Done, I’ve long tired of being cooped up here.”
The others exchanged glances, as waiting for others to make a move was not the style of their Hunting Team, and they all spoke out in agreement.
Fighting desperately was always better than just waiting to die.
As for the Enchantment Group, the five would not place their hopes on others.
Moments later, the defensive array membrane became visible and began to ripple, as the five readied their swords, prepared to fight their way out.
The protective membrane automatically opened a portal, and the five immediately leapt out of the lab, confronting an even stronger smell of blood and stench.
Several hours had passed, and only scattered remnants of limbs were left on the stairs; evidently, the corpses had filled the stomachs of other magicalized wild beasts.
“Kill!”
“Roar.”
Continual roars of beasts filled the air, this time the magicalized wild beasts on the stairs were no fewer than before, including a multitude of magicalized rats, snakes, spiders, centipedes, and bats, along with larger magicalized pythons.
Under Wolban’s leadership, the apprentices remained composed, drew their swords, and began to battle the horde.
They pressed against the onslaught of beasts, advancing step by step up the stairs.
Soon, the wild magicalized beasts on the stairs suddenly retreated, quickly pulling back into the passageways on either side.
“What’s happening?”
“The reinforcements must have arrived.”
The spirits of the five lifted as they quickly guessed the reason—people from the Enchantment Group must have heard and come.
Meanwhile, under the thorough search of the black two-headed hound, Ivan and his group found the enemy’s secret pathway into the mountain; however, the entrance was sealed off. After reopening the entrance, they stepped inside the mountain.
Within the passage, barely tall enough for a person, they constantly faced harassment from magicalized wild beasts, which was extremely irritating.
In such a narrow place, they had to remain cautious, as no one knew whether the surroundings of the pathway were stable; many powerful spells couldn’t be used. Fortunately, they had Ivan’s rapid wood silkworm and Gina’s venomous fire ants.
Protected by the swarm, the four advanced further.
“Drink this quickly.”
Heidi handed each of the three a potion.
Ivan instinctively took it—it was an upper class detoxification potion.
Could it be they were about to release poison?
He glanced at Heidi and, seeing that she had no intention of explaining, followed her instruction by drinking the detoxification potion. He also recalled the rapid wood silkworm scattered outside and sealed the insect nest behind him tightly, curious to see what other tricks Heidi had up her sleeve.
‘Death Dark Cloud’
Under Heidi’s casting, a thick dark gray cloud of poisonous gas formed instantly. Driven by gusting winds, the toxic flow penetrated the surrounding pathway crevices, enveloping every exposed hole and immediately emitting a series of ethereal howling sounds.
Witnessing this move, Ivan secretly clicked his tongue. He could feel a chilling coldness from the poison cloud, indicating the deadly nature of the toxin.
This woman was ruthless, he thought, wondering if Wolban and his people might be accidentally hurt, hoping for the best.
Not far away, Melinda sensed the unusual disturbance; the next second, she saw gray smoke rising. She was surrounded by numerous holes, with poison smoke emerging from both front and back, quickly closing in on her.
“Retreat!”
Her expression drastically changed, and she immediately drank a detoxification potion. While retreating, she manipulated dense vapors in an effort to block the approaching smoke.
Melinda was the quickest to react, retreating swiftly to completely avoid the approaching poison smoke.
Her two companions were not so lucky; Allen just sniffed a hint before promptly running away, while Yosef was engulfed by the seeping poison smoke. As the other two retreated, Yosef collapsed.
At that moment, the other two could no longer concern themselves with him and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It only took a few seconds before Ivan and his group approached where Yosef had collapsed.
Walking along the pathway, Ivan truly witnessed the ferocity of Heidi’s tactic; everywhere it passed was devoid of life.
A rumbling sound ahead made the relentlessly pursuing group uneasy, and as expected, the enemy had collapsed the passage ahead, blocking their pursuit path.
Indistinct voices came from ahead; it seemed the enemy wasn’t hurrying to leave.
The three looked at Heidi almost simultaneously, wondering whether to continue the chase or not.