Chapter 325 Changes in the Underground Space

A pillar of fire composed of magma flew madly towards the direction from which the enemies came, intercepted by the enemy, but with the support of endless magma, it only paused briefly before continuing to attack them. At this moment, Shaoke's Death Slash had already struck its target.

No unexpected incidents occurred; under Shaoke's perception, all life there rapidly vanished after the spell attack. Then the pillar of fire controlled by another Seventh Tier Mage arrived, fulfilling the function of cleaning the corpses from the stone path.

Shaoke immediately dispersed the Green Flame and loudly warned everyone to leave. As for any magic bags that might be on the dead, they were not a concern at the moment. According to the Eighth Tier Female Mage's speculation, casting spells here could easily trigger eruptions of magma, and more importantly, there was a chance of activating some Defensive Magic Arrays in the area. If that happened, without control over the area and identity markers, they would be unable to walk on these stone paths covered with magic scripts and arrays.

Streams of magma erupted from below, either crashing against the stone path or flying into the air and falling back down. All this caused great trouble for Shaoke and his party as they fled.

After once again casting a Tearing Vortex to disperse a stream of magma, Shaoke and the others finally escaped that turbulent area. At that moment, Shaoke realized that another team member had vanished—a Sixth-rank Warrior who had been covering the rear had disappeared without notice.

"He must have been swept away by the magma," a Sixth Tier Mage speculated. However, this triggered objections from the other warriors, as ordinary magma could not possibly injure a Sixth-rank Warrior who had activated Aura protection. Faced with this, Shaoke had no choice but to pacify them, urging them to speed up and leave the area. As for the task of finding the marker, Shaoke intentionally or unintentionally forgot about it.

We must leave here. This was now Shaoke's only thought. In fact, it was the same thought shared by everyone, but no one voiced it.

Perhaps due to the influence of that battle, the vast, seemingly endless space became chaotic. Silent magical fluctuations emerged from nowhere, and the magma beneath the stone path began erupting wildly. Over a distance of a thousand meters, Shaoke and his group encountered three magma eruptions, and the frequency was increasing, causing everyone to panic. After all, they needed rest and recovery; if this continued for too long, accidents would easily occur.

After traveling a bit further, a mage had just dispersed a stream of magma when a huge tentacle suddenly shot out from the magma, coiled around the mage who had no time to evade, and dragged him into the magma. This sight shocked Shaoke and the others; it was their first time discovering that magical beasts existed within the magma. The mage was helped up from the ground by a nearby warrior; the mage's Defensive Spell had shattered, and it seemed the tentacle had injured him.

"It must be an ancient magical beast," the mage said, struggling to calm his fear before loudly revealing his discovery to Shaoke. "Smooth, reversed scales, soft—everything matches the ancient Fire Snake..." His voice trailed off under Shaoke's stern gaze.

After this incident, the group's pace quickened again. Shaoke motioned for the Seventh Tier Mage to lead the way, while he took out a violet crystal ball to survey the surroundings. Extending his mental power into the magma, Shaoke detected a slender red thread slithering within it, moving in the same direction as their escape.

Whenever magma erupted, the red thread would float upward a bit before sinking again; it seemed it had missed out on its hunting opportunity.

Just after the group passed a sunken stone fortress, two streams of magma erupted simultaneously. At that moment, Shaoke saw the red thread suddenly rise and lunge toward a warrior at the front of their party.

"Decree Splitting Ray." This seventh-rank single-target spell with the most powerful attack was unleashed by Shaoke. Under his precise control, the black ray struck the huge tentacle-like object fiercely, creating a gaping wound. The tentacle then lashed out violently, knocking the evading warrior and seven or eight others away. Then, under Shaoke's detection, the red thread quickly dived, and he could no longer sense its specifics.

"That monster has left," Shaoke said through clenched teeth, his expression grim as he surveyed the scene. "Let's continue a bit farther. When we reach the next stone fortress, we'll rest there." With that, he took the lead and pressed on. The atmosphere among the group, having lost many companions, was extremely heavy, but no one spoke—such things were beyond saving. Those swept away by the tentacle had their protective spells or Aura shattered and fell into the magma.

The situation on the road was dire. Though the stone path hadn't cracked, the magma erupted almost continuously. Finally, Shaoke sensed a violent magical disturbance in the distance, and the situation worsened. In the distance, some huge stone pillars began sinking slowly, as if about to submerge into the magma. Some sunken stone fortresses were also sinking. At this moment, the violent magical disturbances and explosion sounds became more frequent. Shaoke concluded that the high-ranking beings had begun fighting, and this terrible state was triggered by their battles.

While running, Shaoke suddenly noticed a group at an intersection of stone paths. The group was small, and from their attire, they belonged to another empire. Without hesitation, Shaoke launched an attack. The other side also spotted Shaoke's party and initiated their attack.

Due to the heavy magical disturbances, the mages couldn't perform magical detection. Thus, when they met, the distance between them was only a few hundred meters. At this range, the warriors played a crucial role.

There were few warriors on either side, but it was easy to hold the narrow stone path. No fancy techniques—only brute force determined the outcome. The warriors collided fiercely; some were sent flying by enemy battle-axes, others pierced by javelins. There was no dodging, only mad charges. At that moment, Shaoke once again witnessed the warriors' frenzy.

In the collision, a warrior sent his opponent flying, ignoring the javelin in his own shoulder. He let out a fierce roar, hurled his small shield at the enemy side, then charged forward with his battle-axe. Though the shield infused with Aura didn't achieve much, it caused some trouble for the opposing mages, making it easier for Shaoke and his mages to attack.

The battle was brief. During the fight, Shaoke's group not only had to avoid enemy attacks but also watch out for erupting magma. Often, just as two warriors were about to decide the outcome, a magma burst would sweep both into the magma. No warrior could withstand magma while fighting. Some mages, when their protective spells were shattered, had no time to cast new ones before scattered magma fell on them, reducing them to ash.

After Shaoke killed the fourth mage, the enemies on the stone path were all gone. However, Shaoke's own group, which initially had more than thirty members, was now reduced to fewer than ten, with only three warriors surviving.

"Leave here," Shaoke said, glancing at the three injured warriors before loudly urging them onward. Now was not the time for rest or grief—especially not grief; as military professionals, they had no right to grieve. Moreover, Shaoke estimated that they were only a few hundred thousand meters from the tunnel. At this point, the massive magma eruptions had reduced visibility to less than a hundred meters.

After a soft incantation, the green flame at the tip of his burning staff suddenly exploded, forming a fine net of fire. Under his spellcasting control, the net rapidly extended forward. Shaoke relied on this detection spell to ensure they wouldn't lose their way in this labyrinth-like place.

Just as Shaoke felt they were about to reach the tunnel, a powerful magical fluctuation came from the sky. He then sensed a mage ahead; the mage's powerful aura allowed him to discern their identity even from several thousand meters away.

"Hurry over here, this is the exit," said the mage, who was a Blue-robed Mage. She loudly reminded them through magic. Under these circumstances, Shaoke and the others sped up again, rushing forward. At this moment, no one conserved energy—after all, being near an Eighth Tier Mage provided a strong sense of security. Of course, it had to be their own Eighth Tier Mage.

It took Shaoke's group some time to cover the few thousand meters and dash through. On the way, they encountered another huge stone pillar, which had begun to sink slowly. Though the sinking was slow, the downward trend was unstoppable.