Chapter 656: Chapter 248: Illusions
Batty looked around, the source of light was the blue crystal on the cave wall, emitting dazzling light. If one focused their eyes on it, a feeling of dizziness would occur, as if some voice was calling out to them, ... brother...
Brother...
Batty heard the call of his sister, both clear and distant, which made him want to draw nearer to the source, but soon Batty frowned. How could his sister’s voice appear here?
Hallucination?
The next moment, Batty’s atypical eyes appeared, and he looked again at the blue light source. Beneath it were skeletal remains merged with the wall, on which blue crystals formed at certain points, emitting reactions of Spiritual Ability.
Looking at the others, Bamuta’s skinny body struggled, showing pain on his face, while the other five foremen slowly walked towards the wall, seemingly trapped in the Illusion Realm.
Batty quickly took out the wooden fish, containing Spiritual Ability, he struck it... Dong~~~
The sound of the wooden fish temporarily halted the steps of the five people, but they remained in the Illusion Realm. Instead, Bamuta’s eyes became clear, "Batty, don’t stop, continue, reduce the power a bit, don’t be too hasty."
Batty in his hand rang the wooden fish dong dong dong, Batty controlled the rhythm, the people like Yalamur slowly entranced in the Illusion Realm heard the familiar sound of the wooden fish, this sound being so reliable for such a long time, beyond familiar, and realized they were under an illusion.
The reason for not being too harsh is that forcibly pulled from an illusion can cause harm, while discovering and breaking free on one’s own is the best method.
Yalamur and others regained their senses one by one, Spiritual Ability blossomed from their bodies, seeing the sights around them were drenched in cold sweat, they had come once before, but it was long ago when their power was still weak. Why after their power became stronger did the temptation grow greater?
Seeing everyone awake, Batty put away the wooden fish, for the blue light itself he did not feel much, because he had seen the real light at the Round Table Conference.
"Elder, why is it not better this time than last time?" Yalamur said with a bitter smile.
"Perhaps our will is weaker now." Bamuta took a deep breath, "Perhaps only Tishili receives the protection of the trinity god, and not us."
Everyone recalled that last time Tishili led the team; they were only scouts meant to pave the way, not undergoing the true trial.
Batty looked at the wooden fish in his hand and understood why Bamuta always seemed so humble and cautious, "The gentleman will bless us."
Bamuta nodded, raised the oil lamp, "All those on the wall were explorers of the past, they’ve become part of the cave, the entire Land of Mist is cursed, and the closer to redemption, the stronger the curse."
"Elder, no matter how hard it gets, we must try. Preparation can never truly be prepared for. We can only try while finding ways along the journey," Batty said, something he learned at the Round Table Conference.
Yalamur and others looked at Batty with burning eyes, feeling lost, self-conflicted, needing a firm and decisive person to lead them. Previously it was Bamuta, now it includes Batty.
"Yes, Batty has spoken well. I am old, getting more timid. If we grasp the situation well, we can try repeatedly; ultimately, we will find a way out. Be more cautious further ahead."
Batty raised the oil lamp, observed the people on the wall, some had no traces left, some were vaguely human-shaped, faces showing pain and horror, Batty slowly approached wanting to understand the blue glowing crystal when suddenly that face retaining human form opened hollow eyes, emitted blue light, and howled, "Save me..."
Then the whole cave followed with sharp piercing howls, like demonic sounds breaking into the brain. No one dared to stop, they quickly advanced following Bamuta’s lead. In front of them appeared seven uneven rugged cave entrances. Bamuta picked up the oil lamp and within one or two seconds Batty confirmed the entrance.
Everyone followed behind Bamuta into the entrance, "Elder, why don’t we mark the entrance?" Batty asked.
There would be a day Bamuta might die, if so, no one would know the way but the Illuminati would enslave Roto.
Bamuta shook his head, "It’s useless. The passage changes every time."
Batty opened his mouth and didn’t ask further, it was evident Bamuta didn’t want to reveal the method, while the others tacitly agreed the method should be kept by Bamuta.
The group entered the passage again, this time particularly narrow. Bamuta’s slender figure fit well, but others, especially Batty, faced difficulty as they squeezed through slowly. Fortunately, they carried tools, all skillful miners, quickly chiseling through.
The group trod in darkness, ate when hungry, rested when tired, then quickly resumed their journey. The environment did not greatly affect Roto, they never had it good from birth, just during the prolonged crawling process Batty couldn’t help but worry if Bamuta chose wrongly, as retreat would be nearly impossible. During silent moments, no one spoke as they pressed forward.
Unknowable time passed, the cave gradually widened, everyone felt freed from shackles and could finally stand up. At this moment, each person felt the taste of freedom, then the surroundings became slippery, a strong foul stench permeated the air, intensifying with depth.
"Let’s rest for a moment, when the battle begins Lord Batty doesn’t need to fight, we’ll handle it," Bamuta said.
"Battle?" Batty asked curiously.
Yalamur and others shook their heads, "We’ve never reached here."
"I’m the last left to reach here alone. Time flies fast." Bamuta smiled at them, "But you all have grown, better than me and my friends."
"Elder, what’s ahead?"
"Not sure, I’ve been here five times, each time different. Haven’t you noticed we haven’t encountered Fallen yet?" Bamuta said.
Everyone was stunned, nodded, knowing Fallen would be outside the city, even in the mining area battles were frequent. Exploration leaving meant encountering Fallen for cleaning, overseers didn’t worry about Roto escaping; outside was only death, only within the city lay redemption, assuming they didn’t report to the warden.
"As we go deeper, Fallen will increase."
"Elder, I can fight too!" Youngest among them, having awakened two destinies, Batty was confident in his combat ability, and having joined the Round Table Conference demonstrated his talent.
"The road is long, let’s conserve strength, at this stretch Lord Batty doesn’t need to risk." Bamuta said.
Everyone understood Batty’s importance, nodded supportively, full of confidence. Compared to monsters, what they feared were the murmurs.
After completing their rest, Bamuta still carried the oil lamp leading the way while everyone remained on alert. The entrance widened further, and a vast corridor appeared, very humid, growing many unknown entities, not moss, more like vines, the darkness seeming to stir.
Suddenly, a shadow darted out, Yalamur flashed ahead, wielded a jet-black long spear, directly piercing the shadow.
In Yalamur’s hand, the spear burnt with Divine Relic’s blue light, impaling a Licker, Spiritual Ability blazing, the Licker shrieked and disintegrated into ashes.
Just this skill alone made Batty realize Yalamur’s Spiritual Ability was no weaker than his, while others presently also drew irregular weapons, emitting the blue light of Divine Relic, though not fully formed yet.
At some point, countless eyes appeared everywhere, the whole cave swarmed with Fallen, awakened by Batty and the others’ arrival, rustling sounds arose and grew restless, hundreds at least visible, perhaps more in depth.
Bamuta held the oil lamp, slowly retreated beside Batty while Yalamur and others stood upright; under the blue light, muscles gleamed with firm radiance, eyes bright.
"Fight out." Bamuta said.
Yalamur and others gave a low response, began advancing, hordes of monsters surged from all angles. Yalamur, Jose, and others formed a defensive propulsion Array, Yalamur as the spearhead, showing courage to guard and keep all away, the spear raining as they pushed forward, the other five encircled Batty and Bamuta.
Bamuta raised the black oil lamp, it too now glowed bright blue, illuminating dozens of meters around, ... everywhere were Fallen, seeming an entry into their underground lair.
Batty coldly gazed at these monsters, devoid of emotion. As a Lightkeeper, inherently an enemy to Fallen, without hesitation, Bamuta grabbed Batty’s arm, "No hurry, this is just the beginning, conserve strength."
