Chapter 332: Chapter 79: Play it Safe, Retreat First!_3
The special forces squad quickly descended from the top floor of the underground maze to the bottom one.
From the way they had traveled, Link deduced that the underground labyrinth was shaped like an inverted pyramid.
The bottom floor was also the narrowest one.
This floor was occupied entirely by an empty hall, with no other rooms in sight.
The ceiling, walls, and floors of the hall were all engraved with bizarre patterns.
Thin strands of greenish blood, previously absorbed, transformed, and refined from the levels above the inverted pyramid maze, turned into strange vitalities. It infused itself within these bizarre patterns, converging towards a stone platform located in the hall’s center.
On the stone platform, lay the unconscious Fairy King, with a severed arm and half of its upper body swollen.
Indeed, Assad’s speculation was correct.
The Fairy King was really attempting to recover its wounds by using dark rituals it obtained from the Abyss Demon.
However, it seemed that something went wrong with the ritual. Instead of healing the Fairy King’s wounds, it was transforming his life form.
Upon first glance at the Fairy King, Link intuitively felt that the Fairy King’s current condition was strikingly similar to that of the Insect God.
It was teetering between life and death, seemingly alive yet dead, and seemingly dead yet alive.
The physical body and the soul were in different states.
After all, a Level 4 Extraordinary Life has undergone a Life Essence Transition for the second time.
Even when severely injured and on the verge of death, the Fairy King was still alert to imminent danger.
At the moment when the special forces set foot in the hall, the previously sleeping Fairy King abruptly opened his eyes.
The Fairy King first glanced at the seven members of the special forces, then quickly locked his gaze onto Boss Otis, who he perceived as the most threatening, while also subtly guarding against the Lokan Wizard, whom he could not fully see through.
A hazy bloody light shot out from the Fairy King’s eyes, and he also exuded the oppressive aura characteristic of a Level 4 power.
Boss Otis didn’t flinch, looking directly into the Fairy King’s eyes and withstanding the oppressive aura, ensuring that the team members behind him were not affected. He gave orders consecutively:
“Betty to scout the surroundings and monitor for abnormalities.”
“Asaad and Link, guard the entrance to cut off the fairy’s reinforcements, ready to assist the battlefield depending on the situation.”
“Onyx, Mark, aim your firepower at these patterns and disrupt the ritual.”
“Lokan and I will wait for the right moment to attack. Our main target is to destroy the stone platform. Attacking the Fairy King is secondary.”
Everyone immediately obeyed.
“Black Cat” Betty, Asaad, and Link quickly retreated a few steps, leaving the hall.
One of them controlled a horde of Biomimetic Hummingbirds, monitoring the entire inverted pyramid underground labyrinth.
Two of them stood guard at the entrance of the hall, attentive to the scout images to fend off reinforcements, while prepared to support the combat situation in the hall at any time.
Link had actually noticed an anomaly with the Fairy King.
The color of the Fairy King’s eyes had changed from the Fairy race’s turquoise to a deep blue.
The pupils had even completely morphed into a whirlpool shape.
There must have been a reason for this anomaly.
However, the current situation wasn’t appropriate for extensive research or rashly bringing it up, which could distract the main four teammates.
Link could only take note of it in private and ponder.
The twin brothers Onyx and Mark made the first move.
Their methods were brutal and their target was clear.
Both brothers chose the Exploding Fireball, a powerful First Ring Fire System Technique, as their Destiny Witchcraft.
They initiated the attack with their Destiny Witchcraft.
In a blink, they unleashed a dozen or so orange fireballs the size of human heads, aiming at the ceiling, the surrounding walls, and the floor, trying to destroy those bizarre patterns.
Boss Otis and Lokan were ready to intervene at any moment, disrupting the Fairy King’s disruption.
However, apart from watching, the Fairy King remained motionless.
Explosions reverberated incessantly.
Waves of fire billowed, sparks flew, and the hall trembled violently.
Huge chunks of bricks and stones from the ceiling and the surrounding walls shattered and fell. The floor was blasted into large, deep craters.
The bizarre patterns in the hall were almost immediately completely destroyed.
The greenish blood had almost completely evaporated.
The only thing remaining was the stone platform on which the Fairy King lay, which was shielded by an invisible and immaterial barrier, unaffected by the explosions.
“Something’s wrong!”
At that moment, a hint of red light flashed in Asaad’s eyes. He cried out in alarm, “This is an illusion, not a real place! It may be a trap!”
Being a True Spirit Wizard, Asaad was more sensitive in the field of soul perception than the Tier 3 Wizard, Boss Otis.
It wasn’t until the Exploding Fireballs caused damage to the illusion that he became aware.
However, everyone else, Boss Otis inclusive, and even Link, whose perception has been enhancing due to his cultivation, hadn’t detected any anomalies.
Of course, they chose to believe Asaad!
“Retreat!”
Boss Otis decisively ordered.
With a dubious trap and unclear situation, recklessness was not an option.
The first thing to do was to retreat to a safe place, wait for reinforcements, and then discuss further steps.
The ritual had already been disrupted almost completely anyway.
Worst case scenario, they would try to deal with it from the outside, driving away the two groups of fairies.
The special forces squad rapidly left the bottom floor, retreating to the upper levels of the inverted pyramid, intending to swiftly exit the underground labyrinth.
Surprisingly, they encountered no resistance during the retreat.
Not only did the already awakened Fairy King not interfere, but the two groups of fairies who should have sensed the commotion on the bottom floor also did not interfere.
This situation was suspicious and unreasonable.
Link couldn’t help but recall the deep blue eyes of the Fairy King and his whirlpool-shaped pupils.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that something was amiss.
“Multi-Threading Thinking,” activate!
Without any hesitation, Link used his utmost strength, transforming into a humanoid supercomputer equipped with top-tier AI.
In conjunction with the “Mind Closure Technique” and Hall of Memories, he quickly retrieved memories.
Every scene after the rendezvous flashed rapidly through Link’s mind.
He quickly noticed the hint of red light flashing in Assad’s eyes before he warned them.
Recounting the first reaction of everyone including Boss Otis after hearing Asaad’s warning was to retreat.
They retreated immediately without even attempting to investigate!
Is this reasonable?
Does it fit with the identity of Boss Otis being a Tier 3 Wizard?
Is it in line with Lokan’s character and style?
“It’s wrong!”
Link felt as if he had punctured a veil over his consciousness. He woke up abruptly and yelled instantly.
“We are tricked! Get back quickly!”
“The Fairy King is trying to escape!”