“You damn octopus, you finally got what you deserve…”
Ye Lin let out a joyous cry that no one else understood. In the former Tian Wei Giant Beast map, if only considering threat level, the giant black octopus’s disgusting spinning ability was even more formidable than Lotus.
The most difficult part of the Second Vertebra was actually the excessively long map and the extremely rare and precious potions. This led to a very interesting situation: Berserkers didn’t dare to use dual blades in the Second Vertebra because their blood energy wasn’t enough!
“Boss, I think that move just now was very interesting, but the name Nen Wave isn’t imposing at all.”
Mo Mei gripped her palm, seemingly having some realization. She was afraid of pain, so she cultivated the Nen Shield skill to its extreme; then, others couldn't hit her.
But what if she blew up all the enemies? Wouldn't that also mean no one could hit her? That way, it wouldn't hurt anymore. Why hadn't she thought of that before?
A light, floating Nen petal revealed a shimmering phantom above her head, quietly landing on Mo Mei’s bun-shaped hair.
Ye Lin quickly made a shushing gesture, telling Isha Dula to stop donier and wait for Mo Mei to awaken from that strange state.
The iconic phenomenon of a Qigong Master becoming an Awakener, the Nen petal—Mo Mei had clearly already touched the threshold!
“Boss, give the skill I just used a name.”
After a while, the confusion in Mo Mei’s eyes flickered away, and she became the enthusiastic and cheerful Hua Hua again. Indeed, becoming an Awakener was not that simple.
“Let’s call it Great Jade Spiral Orb!”
“Boss, that’s quite ordinary. It’s not even as good as Nen Spiral Orb.”
“That’s not bad either.”
donier moved again. The donier floating in the sky and the rampant octopus monsters on the ground formed a stark contrast, making the Adventurers envious.
It wasn’t that no one had been to Jizhou (Polar Day) before, but even if they broke through layers of octopus monster encirclement to find such an airship, they wouldn’t know how to pilot it.
The closer they got to the Second Vertebra, the more octopus monsters and transformed octopus monster cultists there were on the ground. A considerable number of Adventurers were blocked at the entrance of the First Vertebra.
The GBL Order had already plundered most of the items in the ruins, so many people turned their attention to the areas where large numbers of cultists gathered… the Second Vertebra.
“Strange, have you noticed that Lotus seems to be spreading its psychic power less often? These Adventurers don’t have interference emitters, but they don’t seem to be controlled either.”
“Lotus must be fully concentrating on controlling the Tian Wei Giant Beast, so it can’t spare the effort.”
Although many people were blocked by the octopus monsters, their morale grew stronger with each battle. Every killed octopus monster would have its legs chopped off and collected. These could be sold to various restaurants.
As for whether anyone would eat these octopus legs… these are one-eyed octopuses, wild game from Solaris! (Sarcastic face)
“And what’s even stranger is…” Shia looked in the direction of the Second Vertebra, puzzled, “I can understand Barn disappearing, but what about the Iron Wolf Knights? Kakun said the Iron Wolf Knights even deployed their junior knights to deal with Lotus. Could they all be in the Second Vertebra?”
“Impossible.” Yuena pointed at Lotus’s tentacles that frequently erupted from the ground, which had instead become the main threat Adventurers needed to guard against. “If Barn were here, Lotus wouldn’t have the spare energy to drive away these Adventurers.”
“I’m not sure either.” Ye Lin’s eyes showed some worry. Although he had managed to get Leini, he couldn’t control the rest of the Iron Wolf Knights.
Isha Dula slightly increased the speed of the donier. The sudden tentacles from the ground made her extremely cautious, fearing that a single oversight could lead to a crash…
The flight to the Second Vertebra was destined to be agonizing. Although they knew that the interference emitter was Lotus’s fatal weakness, the title of “Apostle” was still like the momentary calm before a storm, pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
The interference emitter required three golden small crystal pieces to be replaced to ensure that they wouldn't be controlled by mental attacks in the upcoming battle.
Below the airship, the mountains were rugged and the forests dense. If it weren’t for a flying tool like donier, this journey might take another day.
Rustle…
In the forest below, several tall figures swiftly passed by—human torsos on horse bodies—the Centaur race that lived in the Tree Spirit Jungle. However, since they couldn’t reach them, it didn’t matter.
Ye Lin still had a bit of leisure, poking Mi Gao, who was enjoying a “righteous cushion” in Mai Lu’s arms, and said enviously, “Look, Centaurs. Perhaps eight hundred years ago, you were relatives.”
Mi Gao seemed to be drunk again and was not in the mood to entertain him.
About an hour later, Ye Lin pulled out a telescope he had “borrowed” from Kelly and aimed it at the Second Vertebra to observe Lotus.
“Holy crap, Luo Zong’s size is too massive!”
At the end of his vision was a barren giant mountain with little vegetation. On its summit stood a tall, ancient temple. The temple had a multi-layered structure with a spherical building at its apex. The vast temple almost occupied the entire giant mountain, and the greater part of Lotus’s enormous red body was coiled within the temple, while a smaller portion of its body was covered in a fresh, thick layer of mud bricks. Its tentacles, due to insufficient space, could only extend outside, directly exposed to sunlight.
Lotus could reach from the Second Vertebra all the way to the First Vertebra with room to spare. Its length was initially estimated to exceed a thousand meters!
But what was rather unexpected and amusing was that many GBL cultists were lining up with wooden buckets, constantly fetching water from the foot of the mountain to either pour on Lotus’s tentacles or enter the temple to feed directly to Lotus.
The ocean overlord of Solaris, the famous Eighth Apostle, reduced to needing others to feed it water to drink—it looked quite pathetic…
“That is our GBL Order’s oldest and most mysterious temple, but it was severely damaged with a leaky roof. I didn’t expect it to actually manipulate cultists to rebuild the temple.”
Ophelia’s eyes flashed with intense hatred, her teeth grinding audibly. The source of all the GBL Order’s calamities was this large red octopus. Isha Dula, beside her, wore the same expression.
“Why doesn’t it jump down? There’s an ocean below.” Mai Lu mumbled softly.
“Haha, did you forget Alice said that Held’s magic is restraining it? And this is ten thousand meters high. Falling from this height would probably make it explode into a puddle of fragments on the sea surface. Staying here allows it to barely survive.”
Everyone’s emotions grew tenser, but their internal doubts also deepened. Where was Barn? Why wasn’t he in the Second Vertebra either? Could he have accidentally fallen off the Tian Wei Giant Beast and kicked the bucket?
“Ophelia, I suggest you all stay here in donier.”
Ye Lin tightened his grip on the Flame Sun light sword, signaling for the airship to lower its altitude slightly. The final stretch from the foot of the mountain to Lotus’s temple still had to be traversed on foot.
The airship was too large a target and could easily get entangled by the tentacles from underground and be destroyed, causing an accident.
“I know a little magic. I’ll go with you.”
Isha Dula Held a magic staff, her demeanor brave and resolute. Not witnessing Lotus’s death would not appease her heart, which was full of intense rage.
“Alright, let’s hurry. Barn always makes me feel uneasy.”
Ye Lin nodded, then tossed the telescope to Ophelia. The group quickly jumped off the airship and headed straight for Lotus’s temple.
“Isha Dula, let me ask you a question.”
“Hmm?”
“Ophelia’s adoptive father, Marcel, do you really not know where he went?”
Isha Dula’s steps suddenly halted. She sighed and said bitterly, “I am the Library director. I happen to know the forbidden spell that Lord Marcel used. It is a forbidden spell that separates the soul from the body, allowing it to pass through certain physical obstructions.”
“And the only place in the entire Tian Wei Giant Beast worth Marcel sacrificing his body to deal with Lotus…” Ye Lin stomped his foot. Sure enough, it was the Tian Wei Forbidden Zone, or rather, inside the body of the Tian Wei Giant Beast!
“Lotus’s psychic power cannot penetrate the Tian Wei Forbidden Zone, which also corroborates a conjecture: it cannot control the Behemoth’s brain and is temporarily unable to manipulate it to fall into the sea or rush towards the Sky Sea.”
“How long ago did Marcel use the forbidden spell?”
“One day ago!”
“Accelerate. If we can establish a good relationship with Luo Zong, Marcel might still be saved.”
Ophelia’s master, Aden Bard, had already embraced the great blue truth. Marcel was the adoptive father who raised her. This girl, though outwardly strong, had sadness in her eyes that was too easy to read.
What greatly surprised Ye Lin was that besides his own team, another team had broken through the First Vertebra’s octopus monster blockade and was heading towards the Second Vertebra.
Moreover, the composition of this team was very interesting: a Battle Master who used a spear with flexible and varied spear techniques, a Wandering Gunner with a toothpick in his mouth and flashy shooting skills, who was actually a rare Heavenly Realm native!
The third person was, surprisingly, an acquaintance: Po Feng, the Blue Fist Saint who had gotten hand cramps from smashing Stone Giants with Euler’s stone back then!
“The three handsome guys of the sewers?”
Ye Lin twitched his lips. Wasn’t Po Feng part of the Saint’s team? Why was he with others? Had the four perverts in his team changed their minds?
“Yo, Yuena of the Obes Order, and you guys…”
Po Feng also noticed them, immediately stopped, and greeted them. As a member of the Holy Order, he naturally understood the terror of an Apostle. More people meant more strength later.
“Po Feng, where’s your team?” Yuena asked first.
“Uh…” Po Feng awkwardly stroked his chin. “The boss dislocated his arm swinging the hammer yesterday. Third brother’s White Tiger divine beast played ball and knocked out fourth brother, who was passing by, and he hasn’t woken up yet…”
“Oh, by the way, these two are my friends. Their boss fainted from anemia after using the ultimate skills 【Berserk】 and 【Blood Frenzy】 and is currently recuperating at the inn.”
After introductions, Ye Lin learned that the cold Battle Master “Shi Ku” was from the Delos Empire’s gladiatorial arena, seasoned in battle and sharp in demeanor.
Just as Princess Isabella had said, after the Transfer Experiment and the Magic Gun Experiment, more victims chose to stand against the Delos Empire.
“Brother, this revolver of yours is pretty good. You seem to be a Sword Soul. How about selling it to me for ten thousand gold coins? You won’t use it anyway.”
The Wandering Gunner’s taste was quite unique. He immediately spotted the revolver he had on his waist for show, which was surprisingly an epic item.
“Friend, what’s your name?”
“Carbensis.”
Uh…
“This gun belongs to Kelly. I borrowed it.”
“That crazy woman, three battles at Arden Heights couldn’t kill her. Never mind, never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything.” Carbensis shivered, waving his hands repeatedly.
“By the way, have you seen Barn?”
“Yes, we have.”
Po Feng nodded, which surprised Ye Lin and then delighted him. There was news of Barn here!
But then his answer stunned Shia and the others.
“Barn, early this morning, took the mogaduo and returned with the Iron Wolf Knights. He said the knight Order suffered heavy losses and would fight another day.”
“Returned? Wasn’t he going to kill Lotus? Why would he go back?”
An incredibly strong sense of conspiracy rushed to his heart. Why would he go back? Luo Zong was still perfectly fine in the temple, his tentacles twitching so swiftly and flexibly.
Even if Barn was a veteran Sword Saint, he couldn’t possibly kill Lotus from ten thousand meters in the sky. Soderos might have a slight chance if he came.
Ye Lin frowned, gesturing to the others, “Is there any way to kill Lotus if the person leaves?”
“Poison it, let it die of poisoning.” Yuena said, then felt it was unrealistic. Lotus had such a massive body; how much poison would that require?
“Robots. Those guys from the Iton Industrial Zone are best at that stuff.” Carbensis said disdainfully.
The Heavy Weapon users of the Coast Guard looked down on the Lawless Zone Gunners who used small guns. The Wandering Gunners, who valued exquisite marksmanship and one-shot kills, despised Mechanics who were slow and had to set up robots before battle. Mechanics, in turn, declared that if the Heavy Weapon users’ heavy weapons broke, they shouldn’t come to them for repairs, forming a chain of contempt.
As for the Ammunition Experts, they were impressive. Their Professional motto: “Only laymen focus solely on firearms; the power of bullets is just as important.”
“Robots are unlikely. Although the Delos Empire has some scientific technology, it’s only superficial.”
Ye Lin shook his head repeatedly, still feeling something was wrong. For Lotus, unless War Lord or Gai Bo Jia's Fist were summoned, ordinary explosive machinery wouldn’t be very effective.
Boom!
A sudden fiery explosion came from behind. Turning around, they saw a male mage with cold eyes, a fair complexion, and even a slightly weak demeanor, dressed in women’s clothing… cough, floating in mid-air, casually wielding flames to burn the octopus monsters.
The Adventurers who could reach the vicinity of the Second Vertebra were all skilled Professionals. It was not surprising that Arad Continent was full of talents.
But Ye Lin’s expression changed slightly, not because the other party was the third Demon Realm native besides Alice and Beiana, or because he had a Dark Eye inside him, but because of the flames!
The Tree Spirit Jungle was a dense forest surrounding the entire Tian Wei Giant Beast. Although the mountain where Lotus was located was barren, the foot of the mountain was still lush with vegetation.
It happened to be rather cold now, and he remembered that Celia at home had already put on her white cotton skirt.
Once the entire forest caught fire, whether it was Lotus, the GBL, or the Adventurers, there would be virtually no chance of escape at ten thousand meters in the sky.
“Foolish souls, decaying bodies, what do you intend to do with these things?”
A thundering voice boomed from the mountaintop.
“Damn it!”
Misfortunes never come singly. Ye Lin pressed his hand to his forehead, smiling bitterly in resignation. Why did Luo Zong have to start philosophizing at this exact moment?
“Po Feng, I suspect the Empire has placed something in the forest, intending to burn the Tree Spirit Jungle. Please notify the other Adventurers to evacuate or find these things.”
The awakened Luo Zong needed to be dealt with, and the items left by the Empire needed to be found. Things instantly became tense.
“This… that’s impossible, isn’t it? The Empire isn’t that insane, are they…?”
Po Feng hesitated. Burning the Tian Wei Giant Beast? It sounded somewhat ridiculous. Would they really go that far?
“Before the fire in Gran Forest started, the elves probably thought the same way.”
Ye Lin rubbed his nose, finding it amusing. It indeed sounded funny, but those bodies seen in the Dark Thunder Ruins back then probably couldn't laugh anymore.
“Alright, we’ll go. Bishop Majello praised you highly, and Grandis and Yuena often mention you. I’ll stake my honor and trust you this once.”
“Who… who mentioned him? Don’t talk nonsense! He’s such a mischievous and unprincipled person, didn’t I say he was hateful?”
Yuena’s face instantly flushed, and her hateful gaze almost flayed Po Feng alive.
“Haha…”
Po Feng chuckled, then, taking Shi Ku and Carbensis, he grabbed the medal on his chest and strode down the mountain, shouting, “In the name of the Remidia Holy Order, timed incendiary devices are buried in the Tree Spirit Jungle. Please prioritize your safety and first search for suspicious items.”