Chapter 1041: Chapter 580: Bay 2
Lance wielded the warhammer, blocking the escape route of the Deep Sea Shaman, resembling a scene where a sinister murderer obstructs an innocent pedestrian.
It was at this moment that the Deep Sea Shaman realized all the sea snails had been smashed to pieces, leaving only itself now.
Lance was reluctant to kill it directly, for he had slaughtered countless Deep Sea Warriors on his way here, and encountering a Shaman was rare.
Moreover, observing the transformation of the Deep Diver, Lance even suspected that ordinary people could become Deep Sea Warriors, while those with extraordinary talent might be twisted by the curse into Shamans capable of wielding evil witchcraft.
Given the chance, Lance preferred to send it to an asylum for research, studying their intelligence levels, physical structure... perhaps even conducting infection experiments.
How does the curse twist humans into monsters?
Or he was somewhat curious whether these Fishmen could mutate the heretics by biting them.
Simply put, he wanted to see an engaging battle between the ancestor and the beings behind the Deep Divers, curious who would win the resurrection round—a fascinating study indeed.
The Deep Sea Shaman, naturally refusing to die idly, directly pulled out a knife against Lance who was observing him. Who would have thought a Shaman could resort to stabbing?
Ritual Cut!
But this was a joke to Lance, who casually hammered its skull, killing it instantly.
He held back his strength to preserve the corpse intact, or else half the body would be irrecoverable from the hammer strike.
Knowing he couldn’t take it alive, Lance could only take the most valuable corpse.
As for those sea snails...
Lance found one, slightly stained his finger with slime, rubbed it at his fingertips, and sniffed it—eating was clearly out of the question.
Strangely, Lance had initially expected corrosiveness but found none; it was merely thick like glue and did not lose its efficacy over time.
However, with his mastery over bodily control, Lance discovered some issues—the slime carries toxins and bacteria. Without injury, the skin protects against these.
Yet once the slime touches a wound, chances are the toxins and bacteria would invade the body, leading to potential poisoning or disease.
This discovery piqued Lance’s interest, prompting a simple study of their condition through the remaining corpses.
Collect enough samples—it’s okay to forget other matters, but bringing a local specialty to Paracelsus is a must.
The relationship between these sea snails and the Deep Sea Shaman was estimated to be similar to SpongeBob and Little Snail.
Like camouflaged marine organisms, these mutated sea maggots were tamed by the Deep Sea Shaman, clad in thick, spiky shells, becoming disgusting monsters.
After brief research, Lance wasted no more time on this; he wasn’t here for research—enough commotion must be caused. How else could he draw back the Deep Divers from outside?
His goal was to surround and conquer.
Only then did Lance have time to observe the surrounding situation, preparing to chart the next course.
The cavity wasn’t large, its floor a muddy slush with scattered bricks and stones. In the middle was a water pit formed by accumulated water, taking up most of the space. Like a collapsed building around it, abundant bricks and mud poured into the water, with fragile moss-like vegetation covering it.
Firelight reflected off the water, resembling shimmering waves and emitting a cold, eerie glow.
Lance did not know the former purpose of this place nor why it collapsed, and had no desire to explore what lay beneath the water’s surface.
Instead, he looked up at the winding staircase skirting the pond’s edge, leading deeper, instinctively sensing it was the way forward.
Ascending the moss-covered, winding steps, he hadn’t gone far from the prior area before encountering a peculiar-shaped stone relief collapsed beside him.
At first glance, this thing lured Lance closer.
The relief was man-high; spreading both arms barely measured its width, unfortunately, its preservation was worrying, showing severe damage and barnacle-like growth.
Yet it vaguely retained a disk shape; within was a familiar curved shell pattern, albeit damaged.
While the edges appeared severely damaged, the central area’s pattern was well-preserved, albeit the design was very odd.
An orb at the circular region’s center, with veiny structures embedded on its surface, extending randomly outward.
Within were intersecting, intertwining, branching things creating such a bizarre scene.
The relief’s pattern seemed to possess magical power, drawing one in at first sight.
Indeed, it carried magic, apparent to Lance at first glance due to the faint spiritual light—it contained supernatural power.
Yet compared to this, the pattern deeply unsettled Lance, reminiscent without knowing precisely why...
This wasn’t a 3D design, appearing rather like a cross-section. Inner and outer circles—what did they signify?
What did those vein-like tangled complex lines mean?
Complex thoughts made Lance freeze in place; moments later, he seemed to realize something, failing to suppress his emotions and exclaiming suddenly.
