The entire grand army sprung to do different missions at the same time. Few started to build many formations, many tried to dig tunnels, while few went out there to test out their luck.
William didn't wait for long to get the same news he expected. All of the people who went outside suffered the same ugly fate as the ones sent from his side. Not a single one of them survived, not a single one of them passed a single step beyond the same point.
[So we are trapped inside? Why won't we go deeper and attack the academy then?] Lara was feeling furious and impatient. She came here while feeling supreme by her family's portal cores. And yet these cores proved to be worthless for unknown reasons to her.
The sight of lightning falling over the portal core and ruining it was still lingering in her mind. She didn't like it here and wanted to get done from this dark academy as soon as possible.
"We can't risk doing this," William listened to more supportive opinions to Lara's coming from many leaders, and yet he refused to listen to them, "this is just a clear sign that inside this place is far more dangerous than that trap. We shall focus on finding a way to get out of here."
[We are now digging tunnels] Stark said, [But we found a weird layer that proved challenging to our masters]
"For real? Tell me more about it…"
[It's like a solid thick layer of black substance, extending all down there. I got reports from other sides of the presence of the same substance. The problem isn't just about it being sturdy and hard to crack, but the weird phenomenon it showed when met with any spirit power]
"What happened?" William got his interest piqued by such news.
[It sounds like the substance can repel spirit power, as if it's antagonising it or something…]
"Oh, let me try and see it first," William didn't hurry to jump to conclusions before seeing this thing by himself. So, he looked for the digging teams on his side, and looked for the holes they dug.
The teams didn't dig just small tunnels, they unearthed large parts of the ground, enough to exceed a half kilometre in diameter. William could see lots of lights spread all over the deep holes there.
These lights came from many candles and ores that emitted light. They were thrown down there by the digging teams. And under such light, he could see a black thing at the bottom, one that looked like it could absorb and kill any light touching it.
It looked gloomy and ugly, quite threatening actually. William looked in a serious way towards this blackness, tried to see things clearly using his spirit sense.
"Ouch!" the moment he tried to do that, he felt a stabbing pain in his head, like he just got hit with a sword or something. He staggered a few steps to the back. And when he regained control of his body, he found himself lying on the ground, vomiting weird black blood.
If he had a mirror right now, then he'd see his face turning ashen white. "Damn! This is the Black Death Vapour! How come such a nasty thing exists here?!!!" William wasn't that surprised to see something from the outer world like when he recognised this substance.
He knew such evil substances. It wasn't immune to spirit power; it was in fact hungry for it. It acted like a black hole, a magnet that would suck any spirit power coming in contact with it dry.
When William spread his spirit sense over, touching this vapour, he ended up suffering a backlash out of his spirit power depletion.
He hurriedly took a potion and gulped lots of drops from it. When he got done with the third potion, he felt much better. "If this substance got released out, like a volcano erupting its lava, then we are doomed!"
William now realised this place was indeed a deadly trap, going inside was suicidal. He also got why the black fox warned him in a hidden way against keeping the grand army here.
Keeping ten percent alive? If he was lucky, he'd escape with little of this immense force if they followed their initial plan.
"To make this substance, one had to use a thick power of death… How many innocent souls did that bastard kill to get this thing to appear here?"
William knew many things about this vapour, including how to make it. He also knew its deadly effects, how to counter it.
"I have to relay the news to others," William knew that trying to dig tunnels now to get out wouldn't work. Walking outside wasn't an option, and digging the ground was now impossible. He felt helpless, the same way others felt.
[So… We have no other option then but to wait here?] one of the leaders asked. And William couldn't help but sigh and said nothing.
[Let's hope to grow wings and fly then, that will be a greater way to die rather than rotting here] another one joked, but his simple comment turned on something in William's mind.
"Berry, do we still have those big war gears? The catapults?" William suddenly asked out of the blue, and no one guessed what he was truly thinking about.
[I collected them after the last war] Berry responded in hesitance, [They didn't suffer any damage, but why? Do you want to bombard that dark academy from afar?]
[That would be a nice touch] Lara and other leaders mistook what William wanted to do. But his guild vices knew he wasn't the type to crack jokes in such hard times.
In fact, he got a glimpse of a crazy idea, one that could save them.
"That damn fox… He said there is one side out from here, and it was right in what it said. But… Won't it have been nicer if he just added a little extra hint here or what?" William shook his head while thinking about the black fox.
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