John glanced at the body of a Dark Rat lying nearby. He could sense a powerful dark energy emanating from it.
These rats didn’t seem ordinary.
He didn’t dwell on it for long and continued following Medusa.
The sewer was dark and damp, filled with the stench of decay that made his head spin. Read new chapters at empire
John forced himself to ignore the discomfort and kept up with Medusa, navigating through the intricate underground passages.
The filthy water was littered with all kinds of garbage, broken corpses, discarded weapons, and strange metals of unknown origin.
“Serpent King, what are these metals?” John asked, looking at Medusa with confusion.
He could feel that these metals were no ordinary materials. They radiated a powerful dark energy, yet they had been casually tossed aside.
Medusa glanced at the metals in the sewage and responded indifferently, “Those are weapons corrupted by the laws of darkness. They can no longer be used, so they were discarded.”
Corrupted by the laws of darkness?
John was intrigued and was about to step forward to inspect the metals when a series of shrill screeches echoed from below.
Several Dark Rats emerged from beneath the metals, seemingly gnawing on them.
John was startled and instinctively released a sword beam.
Whoosh!
One of the rats was instantly sliced in half, its dark red blood spilling out.
[You have slain a six-star magical beast, Dark Rat. Plunder ability activated.]
[Mental Power +100, Poison Resistance +1, Harsh Environment Adaptation +1.]
The system prompt flashed, indicating that John’s Plunder ability had activated, granting him a boost in poison resistance and harsh environment adaptation.
Can I adapt to this environment too?
John glanced at the prompt with some curiosity.
However, in such a harsh environment, he had no intention of staying. His only goal was to rescue Nature God and Jean, and he’d never set foot here again afterward.
Squeak…
The rats screeched, their eyes fixed on him. They bared their claws and charged at him with vicious intent.
John snapped back to reality. United Sword appeared in his hand, and with a flash of sword light, he slaughtered the rats in an instant.
The system prompt continued to flash as he gained additional poison resistance and adaptation to harsh environments.
He suspected that these Dark Rats might be capable of enhancing his dark attributes.
However, his Laws of Darkness comprehension had already reached 100%, and with the transformation into the Body of Dark Elements, further improvement was no longer possible.
“Ah, such a waste,” Medusa remarked as he approached, gazing at the scattered bodies of the Dark Rats on the ground, his face showing a hint of regret.
It seemed he was full and didn’t feel the need to continue slaughtering the Dark Rats.
Boom! Boom!
At that moment, distant sounds of fighting and the shrill screeches of Dark Rats reached their ears.
“It must be the rat-catching team. Let’s go!” Medusa’s eyes lit up as he quickened his pace toward the sounds.
John was puzzled, unsure why Medusa would be so eager to find this rat-catching team.
The group hurried after Medusa, turning a corner to see a few individuals in protective suits, engaged in battle with a group of Dark Rats.
The moment John and his group appeared, they immediately caught the attention of the rat-catchers.
“Hm? Intruders!” one of them shouted angrily. He raised his arm, and from beneath his protective suit, a stream of black flames shot out, sweeping toward them, enveloping the group.
These flames, too, seemed to contain the power of the laws of darkness.
John quickly swung his hand, effortlessly blocking the flames. Just as he was about to take action, Medusa stopped him.
“Don’t interfere. We can’t damage their protective suits,” Medusa cautioned, swiftly rushing toward the group. His eyes flickered with a faint golden light.
“Look into my eyes!” he commanded, his voice laced with enchantment. The rat-catchers immediately froze in place, their eyes glazed over, and even the Dark Rats were charmed.
“Good. Now, take off your protective suits,” Medusa ordered.
The rat-catchers complied without resistance, removing their suits to reveal their bodies.
They weren’t human.
Or rather, they were not entirely human. Parts of their bodies were metallic, infused with a malevolent dark energy, similar to the discarded metals in the sewer.
Squeak…
At this moment, the screeches of the Dark Rats rang out. They hadn’t been charmed by Medusa, and in their frenzy, they charged toward the rat-catchers.
John immediately sprang into action, his sword flashing as he effortlessly slaughtered the rats. He Plundered several more points in poison resistance and harsh environment adaptation.
By the time the rats were gone, the seven rat-catchers had fully stripped off their suits. Medusa wasted no time and killed them all without hesitation.
John frowned. The seven corpses gave off a foul stench, and their flesh showed signs of rot. Moreover, there were mechanical implants embedded in their bodies.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Are these guys even alive?”
“Pah! Whether they’re alive or dead makes no difference,” Medusa spat, his face filled with disgust.
Then he pointed at the discarded protective suits on the ground. “Put these on. They can block the pollution of Dark City and hide your identities.”
Medusa casually picked up a suit and slipped it on, blending in perfectly. It was almost impossible to tell the difference without close inspection.
John felt that the harsh environment of Dark City no longer affected him. However, since the protective suits could conceal their identities, he decided to wear one. He also collected the extra suits.
The group stretched a bit, finding the suits didn’t restrict their movements much.
Medusa looked at John and spoke, “Human, we part ways here. With the rat-catching team here, there’s definitely an exit nearby. You’d better search carefully.”
Sword Demon furrowed his brows and asked, “Aren’t you coming with us?”
He didn’t like Medusa, but the situation here was so strange that being with him gave him a sense of security.
Besides, if they were able to rescue John’s companions, how were they supposed to leave?
Medusa gave him a glance and replied coldly, “I have other matters to attend to. You’re on your own now.”
Without waiting for anyone to speak, he quickly disappeared into the depths of the underground.
“We should leave as well,” John said, unfazed. He continued to follow the sewer tunnels, searching for an exit.
Soon, they found a passage leading to the surface.
John climbed up first, carefully lifting the manhole cover, and emerged onto the surface.
Everything around him appeared dull and gray, with buildings on both sides of the street in a state of decay, creating a desolate, post-apocalyptic scene.
The adventurers in this area were mostly dressed in protective gear, and no one seemed to pay any attention to John and his group’s appearance.
“I feel like we’re still underground,” Cand-Dragon said, looking up at the dark sky. The pitch-black environment didn’t look any different from the sewers.
He waved his hand in confusion, “Shouldn’t it be daytime? Why is it so gloomy here?”
The place felt too strange.
The sky was dark and oppressive, and the surrounding buildings were crooked. Even with their protective gear on, they could still smell a pungent stench.
Unlike the foul smell of the sewers, this scent carried a corrosive power, and inhaling it caused a fiery pain in their chests.
John couldn’t help but wonder: Is this environment truly suitable for human survival?
He began to understand what Medusa had meant—those who live here are not human.
Perhaps it wasn’t just humans; any life form would struggle to survive in such an environment.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed through the air. A building in the distance collapsed in an instant, and a shockwave swept across the area.
Amid the wreckage, a figure emerged, clutching a massive iron box and struggling to escape.
“You bastard, stop right there! How dare you destroy my laboratory? You’re asking for death!” The voice rang with fury as a group of people pursued the figure.
Whoosh!
A Black Demon Bomb flew toward the fleeing man.
Boom!
There was another explosion, and the man was sent flying by the blast wave, crashing to the ground.
The group quickly surrounded him.
“Master, please spare me! I know I was wrong…” The man looked up at the large group of burly men, struggling to kneel and pleading for mercy.
“Hmph, you’re not sorry; you’re just scared,” the leader of the group growled, his arm extending out. In his hand, a longsword appeared, and with one swift motion, he ended the man’s life.
“What’s everyone looking at? Get lost!” The burly man drew his longsword and disdainfully wiped the blood off the blade. He glared at the onlookers, cursing at them.
The crowd seemed unfazed by this scene and quietly dispersed.
The large iron box had rolled to John and his group’s feet, and inside it was a black mechanical arm. A black crystal also rolled over to John’s side, landing at his feet.
Seizing the opportunity, John stepped on the crystal when no one was looking.
At that moment, two more burly men approached, picked up the mechanical arm from the ground, and glared coldly at John and the others. “What are you staring at? Scram, trash!”
“Damn it!” Sword Demon’s anger flared, and he was about to take action, but John grabbed him by the arm.
“Sorry, we’re leaving right now.” John moved his foot, and using Mind Manipulation, the black crystal flew into his hand without the two men noticing.
He quickly pulled a reluctant Sword Demon away from the scene.
One of the men carefully placed the mechanical arm back into the iron box.
“Kid, you can really stand all this?” Sword Demon said, his face full of resentment.
Those guys were only at the Seven Star level, yet they dared to insult him like that.
“Don’t forget why we’re here. Let’s try to avoid trouble,” John replied, not particularly bothered by the insult. Moreover, he could sense that the black crystal was likely the most valuable item in that box.
He looked at the crystal in his hand. There was a powerful energy fluctuation emanating from it, and he felt that this power was strangely familiar.
“Huh, what’s this?” Sword Demon and Cand-Dragon, both intrigued by the black crystal in John’s hand, asked in unison.
John frowned and spoke, “This doesn’t seem like dark energy. Do any of you feel like it’s… familiar?”
Sword Demon shook his head in confusion.
Cand-Dragon took the black crystal from John’s hand, looking thoughtful. “It does feel somewhat familiar.”
His eyes lit up as he suddenly seemed to realize something, and both he and John spoke at the same time: “Powers of the underworld!”
The energy contained in this crystal was identical to the powers of the underworld that Sini had been cultivating.
“No, wait!” John’s expression changed slightly, and he exclaimed, “That means Senren’s target isn’t me.”
“Sini,” Cand-Dragon responded, understanding now. “Sini is still in Forest City, with Forest King protecting her. She should be fine.”
John’s face under his mask grew grave as a bad feeling gnawed at him. He looked at Sword Demon.
“I’ll contact the city lord,” he said quickly, taking out a communication jade and activating it. The face of Great Bear appeared in the jade, and he handed it to John.
“How’s everything going? Did you succeed?” The voice of Forest King echoed from the jade stone.