Chapter 3089 Labyrinth (Part 1)

Chapter 3089 Labyrinth (Part 1)

The group used Life Vision to advance in the darkness while Ryka used Earth Vision to perceive threats coming from too deep in the ground for the other mystical senses to see.

Their advance was slow but not for the presence of obstacles or hostile creatures. After the experience in the Garden, they took their time casting life-sensing and array-detecting spells at regular intervals.

Also, they looked at moss, rodents, and small bugs with suspicion, expecting them to turn into plant monsters and attack them at any moment. For several kilometers, the only enemy was the shadows in their minds and their advance proceeded smoothly.

'Gods above and below!' Strider cursed via the mind link, the only method of communication they used to avoid making any noise. 'If only we had flown instead of wasting time and mana, we would have gotten here in minutes.

'Too bad that hindsight is always 20/20.' No one felt safe advancing blindly so even though they shared his feelings, they had to take it slow until it paid off.

'What the heck?' The Zouwu's life-sensing array detected negative energy signatures, the mark of undead and Abominations. 'There are at least twenty hostiles ahead but they are too weak to be a threat even to a fake mage.'

A check with the array-sensing spell detected nothing which was even more absurd.

'What's the point of using as guards creatures so weak that they can block scared farmers at best?' Ryka asked.

'Only one way to find out.' Lith said. 'Wait for me here.'

He shapeshifted into the Voidfeather Dragon and activated Shadow Step, becoming one with the surrounding darkness. He kept the Eyes of Menadion active, to spot eventual dormant arrays and study the equipment the undead might carry.

'Fuck me sideways. I hate being always right.' Right behind a sharp corner, there was an X-shaped junction leading to three different directions.

Lith could see with the Eyes that Adria's energy signature shone on the west of the crossroad and guess the right path. Yet there was a bone to pick there. Or rather, lots of them. Foolloow new stories at novelhall.com

Twenty-four skeletons, six for each corridor, were lined up at tens meters of distance one from the other. It made it impossible to destroy them all in a single swoop and, to make matters worse, each one of the undead held a glass marble.

'Even worse, they can use the skeletons to collect information on us and attack us from a safe distance.' Lith said.

'Wait a second!' Solus said. 'Undead, underground caves, shady stuff. Isn't it what we picked from searching that asshole Redcap? The third Forgemaster who returned home?'

'Great Mother almighty, you are right.' Strider replied. 'I think I know what happened here. He lied about his abilities to get hired but the moment they brought him here the other Forgemasters identified him as a fraud and kicked him out.'

'I was thinking the same thing.' Lith telepathically nodded. 'You can't fake your skills. Be honest with me, Ryka. Are Redcaps the Wyverns of the Fae or are we just that unlucky?'

'A bit racist but I can't deny it's a fair comparison.' She chuckled. 'Redcaps are considered among the strongest of us because based on who they feed upon, they can use Origin Flames, Life Maelstrom, and every other bloodline ability they can get their vines on.

'The stronger a Redcap gets, the stronger the opponent they can feed upon. It allows them to increase their powers in a virtuous cycle. Useless to say, it makes them arrogant like spoiled brats. By the way, I'm stealing that line.

'The good news is that we know what we are against and how to avoid it.'

'We do?' The rest of the group asked as one.

'Yes, follow my lead.' The Titania flew a few centimeters off the ground and used the darkness spell, Concealing, to cancel her smell. 'Skeletons have perfect vision in the darkness so we can't use darkness magic to shroud us.

'If they suddenly see nothing instead of rocks, they'll sound the alarm. Lith, can you carry someone else in your shadow form?'

'Yes, but only Solus since she already knows how it works and I don't want to reveal my secret.' He lied through his teeth.

'It will be enough. Take her with you, I'll bring Strider with me.' Unbeknownst to them, Solus went back to her stone ring and she was assimilated by the shadows with the rest of Lith's equipment.

As for the Titania, she used a chore magic spell to dig a hole big enough for Strider to get in and then closed it. The rest of the way, she dug through the rock by turning her body into a bundle of vines and without using magic aside from a Hush spell.

The skeletons didn't notice anyone passing through the corridor because no one did.